In this mini episode, you will learn the expression “judgment call.”
Episode 384 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the expression “judgment call.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi! This is Nanxi, from China. And you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 384 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting and useful phrase. The phrase is judgment call. Judgment call. That’s spelled j-u-d-g-m-e-n-t, c-a-l-l. That’s right: if you haven’t seen the word judgment spelled before, it might look a little strange. It is usually spelled j-u-d-g-m-e-n-t. I agree, that looks strange.
Okay, judgment call. What does judgment call mean?
Before I can explain what this phrase means, we need to talk for a moment about the word call. Call can be a noun or a verb, and it can have many different meanings. In the phrase judgment call, it is a noun, and it means decision. Or maybe something like opinion. It can also mean a ruling—in other words, an official decision by somebody like a judge. Judgment call uses call with that kind of meaning.
What is a judgment call? A judgment call is a decision that you make based on your own personal experiences and based on your own personal values. It is not a decision that is based on rules or exact facts or things like that. Instead, it is a decision that you make based on your own personal understanding of things or your own personal experience. Your own idea of what is right.
For example, we can say this: “When raising their children, parents often make judgment calls.” When raising their children, parents often make judgment calls.
In other words, when parents are raising children, they often have to make decisions based on what they think is right, based on what they think is the best thing to do. Based on their experience or their own personal understanding of the situation.
This is true for many people at various times of their lives. There is not always one exactly correct answer. We cannot look in a book or something and find out the one right answer. We cannot always do that, unfortunately. Many times, we must rely on our own judgment, our own opinions, our own experience. And when we do that, we are making a judgment call.
That is judgment call, an interesting and useful phrase that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 384 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Nanxi recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!