[ti:All About Names]
[ar:Faith Lapidus]
[al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES]
[by:www.51voa.com]
[00:00.00](MUSIC)
[00:09.73]Now, the VOA Special English program,
[00:14.41]Words and Their Stories.
[00:18.24]A person's name is very important.
[00:21.83]Some names also have special meanings
[00:25.13]in popular American expressions.
[00:28.11]To better understand what I mean, 
[00:31.12]sit back and listen. 
[00:33.66]You might even want 
[00:35.03]to get a cup of Joe, 
[00:37.35]I mean, a cup of coffee.
[00:39.55]One day, an average Joe 
[00:43.43]was walking down the street.
[00:45.64] An average Joe is a common person 
[00:49.03]¨C either male or female.  
[00:51.38]This average Joe was lost. 
[00:54.62]He did not know Jack 
[00:57.16]about where he was going. 
[00:59.46]By this, I mean he did not know 
[01:02.59]anything about where 
[01:04.24]to find things in the city.
[01:06.53]So average Joe asked 
[01:10.27]John Q. Public for directions 
[01:13.40]to the nearest bank. 
[01:14.95]John Q. Public is also 
[01:17.54]a common person 
[01:18.79]¨C male or female.
[01:20.84]"Jeez Louise," said John Q. Public. 
[01:24.97]This is an expression of surprise. 
[01:27.41]"Jeez Louise, don't you know 
[01:30.59]that all banks are closed today? 
[01:33.60]It is Saturday."
[01:36.13]"For Pete's sake," said average Joe. 
[01:39.98]This is also an expression 
[01:42.72]used to show a feeling 
[01:44.42]like surprise or disappointment.
[01:47.01]"For Pete's sake. 
[01:48.75]I do not believe you," 
[01:50.35]said average Joe. 
[01:52.11]He was being a doubting Thomas, 
[01:56.41]someone who does not 
[01:58.00]believe anything he is told.
[01:59.85]At that moment, 
[02:02.19]Joe Blow was walking 
[02:04.23]down the street with a woman. 
[02:06.79]Joe Blow is also an expression 
[02:09.88]for a common man. 
[02:11.65]Now this Joe Blow was NOT 
[02:15.41]walking next to a plain Jane. 
[02:18.49]A plain Jane is a woman 
[02:21.00]who is neither ugly nor pretty. 
[02:24.44]She is simply plain. No, 
[02:27.35]the woman with Joe Blow 
[02:29.71]was a real Sheila 
[02:32.20]¨C a beautiful woman.
[02:34.12]Average Joe asked the woman 
[02:37.81]if all banks were closed 
[02:40.13]on Saturday. "No way, Jose," 
[02:43.37]she answered. 
[02:44.61]This is a way of saying "no." 
[02:45.98]"No way, Jose. 
[02:49.43]Many banks are open on Saturdays."
[02:51.27]Average Joe did not know 
[02:55.15]either of these two people from Adam. 
[02:58.19]That is, he did not know them at all. 
[03:01.37]But he followed their directions 
[03:03.96]to the nearest bank.
[03:06.12]When he arrived, 
[03:08.71]he walked to the desk 
[03:10.80]of the chief bank employee. 
[03:13.14]Now this man was a true 
[03:16.13]Jack of all trades. 
[03:17.94]He knew how to do everything.
[03:21.48]"I am here to withdraw some money 
[03:25.11]so I can pay my taxes to Uncle Sam," 
[03:28.55]said average Joe. 
[03:30.35]Uncle Sam represents 
[03:32.64]the United States government. 
[03:34.68]The banker produced some papers 
[03:37.81]and told average Joe to sign 
[03:40.70]his John Hancock at the bottom.  
[03:43.65]A John Hancock 
[03:45.94]is a person's signed name 
[03:48.31]¨C a signature. 
[03:49.87]Historically, John Hancock 
[03:52.42]was one of the signers 
[03:54.42]of the United States Declaration 
[03:57.31]of Independence. 
[03:58.66]Hancock had a beautiful 
[04:01.31]signature and signed his name 
[04:03.90]larger than all the others.
[04:06.78]As average Joe left the bank 
[04:10.62]he began to sing. 
[04:12.24]But sadly, average Joe 
[04:15.58]was not a good singer. 
[04:17.68]He was a Johnny One Note.  
[04:20.44]He could only sing one note.
[04:24.09](MUSIC)
[04:34.79]This VOA Special English program, 
[04:39.05]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, 
[04:41.25]was written by Jill Moss. 
[04:43.45]I'm Faith Lapidus.