Lisa: Are you still on your phone? We were supposed to leave half an hour ago!
Tom: Oh, sorry, I lost track of the time.
Lisa: You know you waste hours on that thing. What is it now, social media? Online shopping?
Tom: Hey, leave me alone! I’m not that bad!
Lisa: Not that bad?!? You’re always staring at that screen from the moment you wake up!
Tom: Perhaps I do spend a little too much time on it, but it’s not like it’s a problem.
Lisa: But it is! You’re an addict!
Tom: Oh, come on! That’s not fair. You’re blowing it out of proportion.
Lisa: OK, let’s see, shall we? Did we get the cinema too late to see the film yesterday? Did we go overdrawn last month because of an online order you forgot about?
Tom: Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean I’m addicted.
Lisa: Prove it, then! Put down that phone right now.
Tom: I will! As soon as I’ve finished my comment on this post.
NOW LET’S REVIEW THE VOCABULARY!
To lose track of time means to forget how much time has passed, usually by being distracted.
In this context, that thing is a disparaging term for mobile phone. You can use ‘thing’ to refer to a specific object being discussed.
Leave me alone! is a common exclamation used when someone is bothering or harassing you. You can also say, “Leave me in peace!” or “Stop bothering me!”
It’s not like followed by a clause, is a popular way of saying that something is not true, by comparing it with something worse.
Come on! is an expression used to indicate indignation, disagreement or anger.
Fair means ‘just’ or ‘reasonable’.
When you make something sound more serious or important than it is, you blow it out of proportion.
When more money has been taken out of a bank account than it contains, the account becomes overdrawn.
