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Retro English
Welcome to Retro English, the place
that's all about yesterday's phrases and crazes. Today, we are looking
at economic boom - and doom in the 80's.
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| The 80's: boom
and bust |
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The song 'Money for Nothing' by Dire Straits sums up the consumerism
of the 80's. |
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Big
Bang
Britain in the 80's experienced a period of economic growth, commonly
known as a boom. That's when the country's industry and businesses
are doing really well. But according to the laws of physics, what
goes up, must come down - and the boom years ended suddenly in 1987,
on what went down in history books as 'Black Monday'. We asked Tony
Thorne from King's College, London, to tell us more.
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Listen
to Tony talking about the UK economy in the 80's:
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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Yuppies
The boom of the 80's gave rise to 'yuppies', young people with
strong ambitions and lots of spending money. As you listen to Tony
Thorne, see if you can catch the exact meaning of the word 'yuppie'.
Also, listen out for the explanation of another 80's phenomenon, 'consumerism',
or as Tony puts it, 'knowing how to consume'. |
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Listen
to Tony sharing some of his memories of the 'yuppies':
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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Power
dressing
So, with all those people making all that money, what did they do
with it? Well they bought things, of course! A lot of money was spent
on clothing - a special type of clothes that emphasized your wealth
and social status. |
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Listen
to Tony explaining the expression 'power dressing':
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Check
the transcript - note the words in bold |
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See how much of a 80's language expert you are - check out today's
Retro English exercise!
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