“Pulling an All-Nighter”
In the title, pull an all-nighter is an informal expression for staying up all night to study or work. An all-nighter is something that lasts the whole night. It describes Tina working on her paper without sleeping.
A2-19 / CEFR A2 / EPISODE 19
Pulling an All-Nighter
Showing concern for a tired friend
SceneFrank worries about Tina's repeated all-night study sessions.
WORDS & CONTEXT
Words & context
“working on a paper”
Here paper is an academic essay or report, rather than the material. Work on a paper means to spend time preparing that assignment.
“Is this a bad time?”
Is this a bad time? considers the listener's availability, like Is now a good time to talk? in A2-17. Using bad time adds a slightly stronger suggestion that the speaker can return if the person is busy.
“Coffee. And chips.”
American chips are potato chips, called crisps in British English. British chips are what Americans call fries. They appear here as a familiar late-night snack.
“The paper's due tomorrow!”
Due identifies a deadline. The paper's due tomorrow! means the academic report must be submitted tomorrow.
“Make it two hours.” / “get back to your paper”
Here make it ... means to change a proposed time to something else. Tina offers thirty minutes, and Frank answers, "Let's make it two hours." Get back to ... means to return to or resume something; Frank promises to wake her so she can continue her paper. The two hours are just what Frank suggests in the conversation.
“wake up to pancakes”
Wake up to ... means to find something there when you wake up. Tina wants pancakes ready for her when she wakes. The small punchline is that Tina, who did not want to spend time sleeping, adds a breakfast order as soon as she agrees to rest.