| Feifei: | Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm here with Rob today. Hello Rob. |
| Rob: | Hi everyone. Now Feifei, I hope you appreciate me bringing you to this typical English cricket match. |
| Feifei: | (aside) Cricket is not really my sport but ... (pretending to be interested) yes Rob, it's wonderful. Such an exciting game! I love cricket, especially when a goal is scored. |
| Rob: | Err ... that's in football Feifei. |
| Feifei: | Oh yes, of course, I knew that. I am really quite an expert on cricket, you know. |
| Rob: | Really? So what do we call that man over there who's throwing the ball? |
| Feifei: | That's easy ... it's the ... errr ... hmmm ... |
| Rob: | That's stumped you! |
| Feifei: | Stumped! That's a word they use in cricket ... isn't it? |
| Rob: | Well, it is—when the ball hits the stumps—that's the three sticks that the batsman stands in front of—the batsman is stumped. But the word stumped has another meaning: It means you can't answer a question or you don't know how to solve a problem. |
| Feifei: | I see. So it means you're stuck and don't know what to say or do. Well, it's true Rob, your question has 'stumped' me! |
| Rob: | Well, have a think about the answer while we listen to some examples of the word 'stumped' in action ... |
| This extremely strange weather has stumped all the experts. |
| Oh dear, I was stumped by the final question on the exam paper. I'm going to fail now! |
- The rest of the team tried to work out why Sally lost the race, but they were totally stumped.
| Feifei: | Rob, I'm not stumped by your earlier question. |
| Rob: | What was that? |
| Feifei: | What do you call the man who throws the ball? It's the ... ballman! |
| Rob: | Oh, I give up! |
| Feifei: | What's wrong with that? Anyway, I bet you don't know what they're selling in the snack bar downstairs! |
| Rob: | Errr ... |
| Feifei: | Ah, that's stumped you! They're selling hot dogs, with mustard. Yum! |
| Rob: | Oh great, could you get me one? |
| Feifei: | You'll have to 'stump up' first! |
| Rob: | (confused) Are we talking cricket again? |
| Feifei: | No Rob. Keep up. 'To stump up' is a phrasal verb meaning to pay for something, usually without wanting to. So come on Rob, £3 please. |
| Rob: | But I paid for the tickets. Oh, this just isn't cricket! |
| Both: | Bye. |
