Premier: Advanced Vocabulary From The Netflix Show You 4 Season

Tori Tornreviewed byNataliia Afonina / more about Editorial Process19 min
Created: Feb 13, 2023Last updated: Jan 21, 2024
Advanced Vocabulary From The Netflix Show You 4 Season

It's been a while since we last saw you. Oh, c'mon, we are just joking. Of course, we know that you read the Promova blog regularly to expand your vocabulary. The you that we've mentioned in the first sentence is an Easter egg to the creepy but intriguing Netflix tv show You, season 4 of which premiered on February 9th, 2023.  

Many fans of the series were dying to know what happened to Joe Goldberg after he killed so many people in a San Francisco suburb, burned his house with his wife Love inside, imitated his own death, left his son to start fresh, and followed his new obsession-crush Marienne. While the tv show finale left us hanging and expecting the main character to pop up in Paris, the creators of season 4 of You changed their plans. As we discovered from the trailer season 4 You, instead of Paris, Joe moved to London, where he changed his name to Jonatan Moore and became a university professor. 

Not only did You season 4 become more interesting because of such a plot twist, but also the tv show turned out to be more beneficial from a linguistic point of view. The company of young people that Joe got into comes from money and is a part of the elite British society. So, the language they use is quite fascinating and more advanced from the point of view of the English learner. That is why we couldn't miss the opportunity to teach you some more complex words and phrases from the Netflix tv show You season 4. As usual, we will do our best not to spoil anything vital, but we can't promise. So, read this article before watching You season 4 at your own risk!

 Why Promova Recommends You Season 4 For English Learners

Being an advanced English learner means you mastered the grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and worked on a decent chunk of vocabulary to reach one of the highest proficiency levels. However, it is the English language we are talking about. Only the sky is the limit when there are more than a million words in the modern English glossary, and dozens more appear regularly. So, learning new vocabulary from all possible sources is important. 

One of the best helpers in discovering new English words is tv shows. Depending on the topic, you can find a series according to your English level. For instance, words from quotes from Emily In Paris season 3 will fit the needs of intermediate learners. The fans of sophisticated British lingo will definitely find words and quotes from the Crown on Netflix beneficial for themselves. And Wednesday, Addams quotes and useful vocabulary from tv series will match the rebel spirit of Gen Z. 

However, today we will focus on vocabulary for more advanced English learners from the tv show You season 4. So, what did make us think that You quotes and lexicon would do the job of leveling your vocabulary?

  1. Joe's manner of speech. The main character has read a lot of books. Such a fact makes his speech less primitive and pushes the guy to show his enriched vocabulary. Also, Joe has a great American accent that is easy to understand, but his speech's speed will force you to keep up with the rhythm and grasp the sense more rapidly. 
  2. High-class British society lingo. American and British vocabulary distinguish. On average, people from two countries can understand each other easily, but two variants of English have nuances. Americans tend to simplify their speech, when British are known to build sentences more complex, using some high-end words and phrases. The more words from both American and British English you know, the more fluent you get. 
  3. Two different English accents. The accent might complicate the perception of speech by ear. Usually, in terms of pronunciation, English learners mainly divide into two parties – those who pick American and those who stick to the British accent. However, it can play a bad joke because your ear will stop recognizing sounds from different accents. You, season 4, let advanced English learners train their ears to understand both accents and switch between them. 

If you get a crush on the actor Penn Badgley who plays him despite all the freakiness of the Joe character, you can watch the tv show Gossip Girl with him in a leading role. The Promova app will help you memorize words and phrases from the Gossip Girl since we have a bunch of lessons dedicated to the iconic 2000s show. Moreover, the Promova Platform provides learners with the unique course English With TV Series, where you can learn vocabulary not only from Gossip Girl but also from Friends, Office, Desperate Housewives, etc. Also, you can sign up for one of the Promova tutoring programs to get themed lessons about the series of your choice. Earlier, we've written an article about the best 20 tv shows for English learners

Season 4 You: Advanced Words And Phrases To Expand Your Vocabulary

As you know, Joe Golberg loves to read books and pick up new words for them. So, let's try to see something good in his character and learn some advanced vocabulary from the tv series You season 4. Jump in the train of You the best quotes, phrases, and words. 

Episode 1 Joe Takes a Holiday

Joe

To wind up – to annoy

Wind them up, let them go. 

To table – to present formally

Okay, all right, let's pause, table this one. 

To dog-ear – to turn down the corner of a page to find it later

She may not own a hairbrush, but does she dog-ear a page?

A purgatory – a place where souls go through expiatory purification after physical death

If LA was purgatory and suburbia was hell, London may be when I finally got to the good place. 

Bridge-and-tunnel – an adjective that refers to people who live outside of Manhattan in New York City but pass over the bridge to work and entertain on the island 

Insufferable hipsters are apparently universal, as are the bridge-and-tunnel crowd. 

To get smashed – to get very drunk

And while Malcolm is off getting smashed, she's, you guessed it, still working. 

To tick – to mark or select an option on a form

I study to learn how they tick, so I can avoid the circus. 

A humblebrag – a self-critical statement or reference made to attract attention to someone's qualities or achievements

I think that was a humblebrag?

Unfathomably – in a way impossible to understand

Adam Pratt' Sundry House is the most exclusive club in Soho, a hideaway from London's unfathomably fortune and privileged. 

A blunder – a careless mistake

Every blunder and bikini wax was documented by the tabloids since she was 15. 

Painstakingly – demonstrating care and effort

Salmon painstakingly cultivated a tortured artist persona as though he's ever suffered worse than a paper cut that's Daddy's money banged immediately. 

To disparage – to criticize, expressing no respect, to lower in rank

Gemma Graham-Greene managed to disparage Americans, trans people, the poor and Jews in a single sentence while doing a shot of Patron. 

Ding-a-ling – an expression said to represent the sound of the bell

Ding-a-ling, we have a winner. 

Sordid – dirty 

For what it's worth, I didn't find your book sordid. 

An adjacent – someone who is close to someone else

He wasn't lying about being Royal adjacent. 

Others

Pants - rubbish, not good

I just think the entire premise of the story is just pants. 

A heap – a significant number or large quantity

Americans do write heaps of it. 

Vaguely – approximately, slightly

Why do you keep assigning stuff like Ted Chiang instead of all the, you know, usual canonical, vaguely racist men that drink?

To rouse – to wake up or make angry and exited

Rouse you my minds and etcetera. 

Jet-set – an adjective that describes wealthy, stylish people who travel frequently 

Sophie is a jet-set influencer. 

To mingle – to move around and talk to people, usually at a social event

I have to go mingle, but I'll be back. 

Dulcet – sweet and soothing

I crave the dulcet tones of the fellow countryman. 

Out of hand – out of control

Things tend to get out of hand. 

A cock-up – something done wrong 

I wouldn't beat yourself up if you made some sort of cock-up. 

To summon – to order to be present

You've been summoned. 

Episode 2 Portrait of the Artist

Joe

To frame – to make someone look guilty with false evidence against them

And now they are trying to frame me for it. 

To stash – to store in a hidden place

Call me paranoid, but you managed to stash a corpse in my flat. 

To taunt – to make fun of someone with insulting remarks

Did you murder your shitty boyfriend, leave him on my table, and now you're taunting me?

To reacquaint – to get familiar with something

I get to reacquaint myself with my least favorite genre. 

To zero – to focus on

I'm still zeroing in. 

To impart – to make known

An aristo-brat – an aristocrat who behaves terribly

It's hard to impart urgency to aristo-brats who can't fail. 

To be stumped – to be unable to answer the question or solve something because of its difficulty 

Okay, I'm stumped. 

To be a doll – to be a pretty but clueless young woman

Be a doll?

A tryst – a private romantic meeting

Per Nadia, Adam killing Malcolm to stop blackmail about a secret tryst fits all three motives in one. 

To bust – to arrest for a crime

We don't want to bust you. 

One-off – singular 

So much for one-off murder theory. 

Others 

Riveting – compelling 

Jonathan was saying your story is riveting, but it's time for a toast. 

To slam – to criticize a lot

I'm slammed with prep, Mal. 

A snooze – a boring person or thing 

To morph into – to change something from one thing to another

Honestly, being a snooze has now morphed into something of high art while the rest of us if you wanna be published, you better be riveting, and that is why Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. 

A brass – something bad or annoying

That's the brass. 

Bespoke - custom-made

All I'm saying is every club is a bespoke destination created by people who know for people who know. 

Diffusion – spreading widely

We can't have any random beardo showing up in some diffusion line. 

To fathom – to comprehend after a lot of thinking

I can't fathom why you care. 

A grift – a way to obtain money with dishonest actions

I know a grift when I see it. 

A vanity – excessive pride in oneself

Only because sometimes I find that people say that they are writing a book for vanity.

Episode 3 Eat the Rich

Joe

To dredge up – to remember or mention something terrible from the past

You violated my safe haven, dredging up the me I've been trying hard to leave behind. 

Ambiguous – doubtful 

But why he's interested remains ambiguous. 

To get hands full with – to be extremely busy

She needs to talk to someone, but I've got my hands full with you. 

To coerce into – to force someone to do something

We both had too much to drink and Malcolm was telling me things that maybe he didn't mean to like he found out Simon had been coercing artists into making his paintings. 

Strapped – short of money

I guess Malcolm gambled and was strapped, so he was going to make Simon fix it. 

A common knowledge – something that everybody knows

I don't think it's a common knowledge. 

Crosshairs – being aimed by a gun

I must keep her out of your crosshairs. 

To lurk – to hide, lie low

Call me crazy, but it feels like that will complicate lurking anonymously to kill people. 

To get on the wrong foot – to make a bad start

I think we've somehow gotten off on the wrong foot. 

To come in to – to show sexual interest in someone

Is she coming in to me?

Exhilarating – thrilling 

That was exhilarating. 

Others 

To reek – to stink 

Apparently, the finger reeked so badly, a copywriter passed out. 

Crass – stupid and insensitive

To bits – into small pieces

Just being crass about another human being getting chopped to bits. 

To corroborate – to confirm

Anyone who can corroborate this?

Off-color – slightly unwell

Sure, you may have seen an interview where he said something wildly off-color. 

Waifs and strays – abandoned or neglected kids

Lady Phoebe, she treats me like my family, but being the kindhearted soul that she is, she has a tendency to take in waifs and strays. 

Dodgy – potentially dangerous, dishonest

What I find dodgy about you, mate, is absolutely fucking everything. 

To expedite – speed up

Then all I did was expedite the clearing of your name. 

A damsel – a young unmarried woman

Because I'm a fragile damsel?

To gallop – to go fast

I'm supposed to be the grieving girlfriend. It's quite sweet, you galloping around after me like some sort of white knight. 

Noble – belonging to aristocraty

I can see you're trying to seem noble while you hide your true motives. 

Episode 4 Hampsie

Joe

To grill – to ask a lot of questions 

They've grilled everyone. 

Bubble-wrapped – fake, plastic

Their lives are so bubble-wrapped. 

To seize – to hold to something

If I'm going to seize the opportunity this weekend provides, I need zero distractions. 

Devoid – lacking of something

She's completely devoid of empathy. 

Coked-out – to be under the influence of drugs

Hit-and-run – an accident when a driver didn't stop after hitting someone

Not calling in a coked-out hit-and-run I'd buy, but double homicide and a sadistic of cat and mouse?

To be doomed – sure to fail or die

He's doomed

Inclined – likely to do something

To smite – to be attracted to

I was hoping you might have tips to make him less inclined to want to smite me with his laser eyes. 

A hostage – a prisoner

Last night became a hostage situation. 

Abhorrent – morally very bad

Given that I believe in gun control, pretty abhorrent. 

To be in a bind – to be in a difficult situation

She was in a bind and I helped her out. 

To wager – to bet

I'd wager the goal was more sadistic. 

Others 

To jet – to leave in a hurry

I have to jet. 

To fall in favor – to like or support someone

Someone must have fallen in favor with the last of the manor. 

Batty – insane 

Twatty – foolish 

No, don't be such a batty twatty loser. 

Crippling – causing serious injuries or harm, like inability to walk

Eventually, I will get a smile out of you, despite your crippling personality disorder. 

To despise – to dislike a lot

I think I despise her. 

To be full up – to be so packed that you can't add anything else

My day's full up. 

To crack up – to burst into a laugh 

Greta's cracked up, slit her wrists over some man.  

To sneer – to smile or talk in a mocking manner

I won't let you sneer because it's true. 

To cut off at the knee – to humiliate  

You have cut yourself off at the knees. 

A resentment – a feeling of anger caused by being forced to accept something you don't like

Do you harbors resentment for what we have that people like yourself do not?

Impoverished – poor 

Here is what I find peculiar that the one among us racing to the defense of the impoverished professor would be the first to the guillotine. 

A vile – someone morally wrong

Gemma is just vile. 

Estranged – separate in marriage, no longer living with a wife or husband 

We've been estranged since I was 20. 

To cut the ties – to end up relationships

I cut all ties. 

Episode 5 The Fox and the Hound

Joe

To vouch – to confirm

They can vouch for me. 

Hairy – scary 

It was looking hairy and you're right. 

A dungeon – an underground prison cell

I just have to escape a dungeon to save this asshole before the psycho gets back. 

Extrajudicially - illegally

There's not much to say after you extrajudicially sentenced an innocent man to death. 

Others

Wobbly - unsteady

He seemed a bit wobbly.  

A forebear – an ancestor

Our forebears didn't pretend to earn what was rightly theirs. 

A muppet – a foolish person

Oh, Gemma, you were an absolute muppet, but you didn't deserve this.  

A buck – a dashing man

There's the young buck. 

Entombed – trapped 

Now she's entombed with them. 

Gutted – very upset or disappointed

I'm gutted. 

To ingratiate – to make someone like and accept you by flattering and pleasing them

He ingratiates himself to Malcolm, who invites him into our circle, gets drunk, Malcolm takes him home and the minute Jonathan is alone with him he murders our dear friend in cold blood. 

Vested – given 

By the power, vested in me by God and Empire, I hereby sentence you, Jonathan Moore, to death. 

To pin on – to blame something on

We're gonna pin all the murders on him. 

Coy – shy 

Don't be coy.

To retrieve – to bring back

To go to great lengths – to make a great effort to do something

I've never had someone go to such great lengths to retrieve a bracelet. 

Heinous – wicked 

And would that be so heinous?

Episode 6 Best Friends

Joe

A disguise – a camouflage

Perfect disguise.

To turn the tables – to change the situation to your advantage over someone

How long until you turn the tables and try to pin it all on me?

Irrefutable – impossible to deny

But I can catch you and get the irrefutable evidence I need to stop you forever.

To latch on – to stay close to someone

No surprise that tapeworm in Tom Ford has latched on her again.

Good riddance – an expression of relief

Good riddance, he doesn’t deserve her or her very kind invitation.

A vice – an immoral behavior

Your vice is online poker at home.

To swamp – to overwhelm

I’m swamped.

A liability – someone who causes a lot of problems

Because they all became a liability to your campaign in some way.

A pillhead – a person addicted to pills

Translation: fame-seeking pillhead more rapid than evil.

To assess – to evaluate

I asked Connie to lunch to assess him from frame-ability.

Oblivious - unaware

A busy event, oblivious guests, strong drinks, the perfect place for a frame job.

A train wreck – a chaotic situation

Love to, but I have to plant a decomposing ear on a train wreck.

A figment – a thing that exists only in someone’s imagination but a person believes it’s real

It’s a figment of your imagination.

Others

To off – to kill

What about these rich friends of yours being offed?

A trinket – a small and cheap piece of jewelry

Bring me back a trinket or a bottle of rum.

Knackered - exhausted

You look knackered.

Smitten – overwhelmed or stuck with feeling or love

I’ve never seen her so smitten.

Untethered - released

He’s untethered.

To be off my tits – to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol

I’m so off my tits I barely remember my own name sometimes.

To abstain – to restrain from something

I’m abstaining, but it doesn’t mean you have to.

A meal ticket – a person used for receiving money

He’s using you as a meal ticket.

To shove – to push roughly

I’ve been watching you since you shoved in with Phoebe.

To think on your feet – to think or react quickly

You thought on your feet.

Episode 7 Good Man, Cruel World

Joe

To be unpretentious – not showy

She’s unpretentious, just wanted to go for a walk in the city.

To graze – to touch lightly

We’ve barely grazed the surface.

An atrocity – an extremely wicked or cruel act

Kate already told me some atrocities he’s committed.

Deceptively – in a way that makes you believe something is not true

He’s deceptively down-to-earth, likable even.

Remorseless – without regret or guilt

No wonder she ran away from a dad who’s proud of her goodness and a remorseless corporate culture.

Others

A leverage – an ability to influence situations or people

You are the only reason to blame for all the leverage I have over you.

To expunge – to remove completely

He is the breed of influence-peddling corruption I’m trying to expunge.

Subpar – below the usual or normal level

I mean, it’s actually subpar at best.

To riff off – to improvise

Daft - silly

I’ve been riffing off of what happened at Sundry House. Don’t be daft.

Feisty - courageous

She’s a feisty one.

To stand a chance – to have a possibility

You and I, we would never stand a chance.

Episode 8 Where Are You Going, Where have You Been?

Joe

Allegedly - supposedly

I would be helping you, not running around, trying to save a woman I allegedly mystery-hid while in a blackout.

Off-color – slightly unwell

Deep significance or an off-color joke?

To pry – to inquire

I don’t mean to pry.

Others

To relapse – to worsen after a period of improvement

I’ll relapse.

To brew – to plan, to make

This has been brewing for quite some time.

To emanate – to come out from a source

I emanated directly bloody from it.

To dangle over – to offer something attractive

You’re a master of denial, and I can’t get through without dangling you over the sharks.

A leech – a person who gets money from someone without giving anything in return

This is the worst time to get legally bound to a leech.

Episode 9 She’s Not There

Joe

Discerning – having or showing good judgment

Anyone with a discerning eye can comb the shadier lanes of the Internet and find offers for fake IDs disguised as posts about Beanie Babies.

To annihilate – to destroy utterly

A comet could annihilate the planet.

To taunt – to provoke with insulting remarks

You’re taunting me while I’m trying to save a woman.

Others

To jab – to poke or inject with something

He jabbed them from the back so they didn’t see it coming.

To fret – to be constantly anxious

Don’t fret.

Scattered - distracted

They’re literally scattered around the building.

To look sharp – to act quickly

You look sharp.

To roger – to have sex

You didn’t even have the decency to give me a good rogering first.

Episode 10 The Death of Jonathan Moore

Joe

Class dismissed – students are free to go

Class dismissed.

To interfere – to intervene

Someone was interfering?

Silver lining – an advantage that comes from a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Silver lining, last corpse I’ll ever have to bury.

Substantial - considerable

I now have access to substantial resources.

To redeem – to compensate for the faults

But the important part is I’ve been given a chance to redeem myself and make up for what I’ve done.

Others

Dead to rights – in the act of doing something wrong or illegal

We need him dead to rights or not at all.

Sanguine - optimistic

The only thing that doesn’t line up is his sanguine attitude towards a wife stabbed who’s dating his daughter.

To bicker – to argue about something small

Let’s stop bickering and come together.

An ambush – a trap

I don’t like any ambush.

To bundle up – to put on warm clothes

Might have to bundle his arm up a little bit, but otherwise, it’s gonna be very convincing.

To take the bait – to engage in the provocation of doing something

Don’t take the bait.

Be my guest – please do

Please, be my guest.

To make the world – to succeed in the world

I didn’t make the world, Joe.

Stellar – high in quality

You are a stellar example of the human condition.

To hit rock bottom – to reach the lowest point

I don’t think it required much acting for Marianne to hit rock bottom.

To hit a wall – to reach a point where a person can’t make a progress

I feel like we’ve hit a wall.

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