First Dibs
2023-01-29
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2See if you can guess the meaning of first dibs from the following exchange:
3A: "Hi, I was calling about the house for rent, and I was wondering if it's still available."
4B: "Yes, well, it is empty, at the moment-but I can't rent it out yet. My nephew is interested, and he's got first dibs on it, so I'm waiting to hear from him."
5A: "Oh, OK-do you know how long it'll be until he decides?"
6B: "Um, you know, it could be a month. I'm not really sure."
7Here, the owner is giving his nephew a chance to rent the house before anyone else can.
8Having first dibs on something means having the right to get something before anyone else.
9We can have first dibs on one thing or on one or more things from a collection of objects.
10For example, you can say: "She has first dibs on the World Cup tickets."
11In both examples, note that we use the preposition on before a noun.
12American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says the expression first dibs likely comes from a children's game called dibstones played in 17th-century Britain.
13Children would try to catch small objects like pebbles on the backs of their hands.
14The objects were called dibstones or dibs.
15By the early 1900s, get first dibs was in common use in American English.
16Here are the verbs we often use with the expression:
17You can have first dibs. You can get first dibs.
18Someone can give you first dibs, or you can give first dibs to others.
19And when you call first dibs, that means you claim possession even if nobody said you could choose first.
20If you call first dibs, you should only do so if you think other people probably do not want, or care about, the thing you are claiming.
21Otherwise, people might view you as selfish or not respectful of the rights of others, and that could create conflict.
22Can you think of something you'd like to have first dibs on? You can let us know in the comments section.
23Until next time, I'm Andrew Smith.
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2See if you can guess the meaning of first dibs from the following exchange: 3A: "Hi, I was calling about the house for rent, and I was wondering if it's still available." 4B: "Yes, well, it is empty, at the moment-but I can't rent it out yet. My nephew is interested, and he's got first dibs on it, so I'm waiting to hear from him." 5A: "Oh, OK-do you know how long it'll be until he decides?" 6B: "Um, you know, it could be a month. I'm not really sure." 7Here, the owner is giving his nephew a chance to rent the house before anyone else can. Having first dibs on something means having the right to get something before anyone else. 8We can have first dibs on one thing or on one or more things from a collection of objects. For example, you can say: "She has first dibs on the World Cup tickets." 9In both examples, note that we use the preposition on before a noun. 10American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says the expression first dibs likely comes from a children's game called dibstones played in 17th-century Britain. Children would try to catch small objects like pebbles on the backs of their hands. The objects were called dibstones or dibs. 11By the early 1900s, get first dibs was in common use in American English. 12Here are the verbs we often use with the expression: 13You can have first dibs. You can get first dibs. Someone can give you first dibs, or you can give first dibs to others. And when you call first dibs, that means you claim possession even if nobody said you could choose first. 14If you call first dibs, you should only do so if you think other people probably do not want, or care about, the thing you are claiming. Otherwise, people might view you as selfish or not respectful of the rights of others, and that could create conflict. 15Can you think of something you'd like to have first dibs on? You can let us know in the comments section. 16Until next time, I'm Andrew Smith. 17Andrew Smith wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. Hai Do was the editor. 18______________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20guess -v. to try to answer a question correctly but without having the necessary knowledge to know if the answer is correct 21rent -v. to pay a fee for the temporary use of something, such as a car, apartment, or piece of equipment 22nephew -n. the son of one's brother or sister 23ticket -n. a small card, piece of paper, or other document which allows entry to an event such as a concert, athletic contest, and the like 24pebble -n. a small stone about one to two centimeters in diameter 25selfish -adj. characterized by not sharing with others and being concerned only for oneself 26_______________________________________________________________ 27We want to hear from you. Do you have a similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. 28We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 29Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.