Using English at Work：58 Socializing with Coworkers(4)

（单词翻译）

"Chips and dip" is a plate with a lot of potato chips or perhaps tortilla chips that are fried¹ in oil and salted.

The dip is a creamy sauce²; for example, the sauce may be made with onions and sour cream. There are many different types of dip.

We use the chips to pick up a little bit of dip and then we eat the chip and the dip together. I love chips and dip!

When I see a lot of deep-fried foods and chips and dip, I load up and go back to the table.

"To load up" means³ to put a lot of something on your plate, or perhaps in a container, or something that can hold other things.

For example, if I'm moving from one apartment to another,

I would load up my car with things from my old apartment to take to my new apartment.

I'm putting as many things as I can into my car.

When I get to my new apartment, then I would "unload," or take those things out of my car and put them in the apartment.

In this lesson, I'm loading up by putting a lot of food on my plate.

Then I go back to the table where my coworkers are and I say, "I'm going to eat this all by myself. You can't have any!"

No, I don't say that! I'm a nice person so I let them eat the food also.

One of the guys, or male coworkers, is Brian. We use the word "guy" to informally⁴ refer to a man.

Brian starts to grumble⁵ about work.

"To grumble" means to complain quietly, or sometimes not so quietly, about something.

You're not saying it very loudly so that everyone can hear you, but you're indicating that you are unhappy by the things you say.

In this case, Brian is grumbling⁶, probably talking about the reasons why he doesn't like his job.

Brian also starts to bad-mouth the boss.