Your cousin is dating a guy who seems a little dishonest and dangerous. You think he might be a criminal of some kind. You're gossiping about them with a friend who knows your cousin. You say:
That guy she's seeing is a bit of a shady character.
casual, dating, gossip, personality 
You're upset because you work hard at your job but don't get much money or respect. The people who get promoted at your company are all very friendly to the boss. You're complaining to a friend:
Unfortunately, the people who seem to get ahead are the ones who know how to kiss ass the best.
adverb, boss (topic), curse words, gossip, phrasal verb, work (topic) 
Your husband has been having trouble with some of his coworkers. They gossip about him to other colleagues and try to make him look bad in front of his boss. Your husband is upset about them, so you reassure him by saying:
Don't let their pettiness and negativity get to you.
emotions, gossip, nominals, personality, reassuring someone, support 
At work, a software designer made a design for a new product. You saw some problems with the design, so you talked to him about the problems. He got angry and fought back against each point. Now you're telling another coworker about it. You say:
Albert got all defensive when I commented on his design.
anger (topic), casual, coworker, coworker (topic), criticism, gossip, simple past, work 
Your coworker came to work looking really scruffy. His hair is messed up, his clothes are wrinkled, etc. He doesn't usually look this way, so you're worried about him. When someone comments on how he looks, you say:
That's unlike him. He's usually so clean-cut.
appearance, concern, coworker, coworker (topic), gossip, office, worry, 日本語サポート 
One of your coworkers came to work today with a dirty shirt. His hair is also uncombed and he has a little bit of stubble. You're talking with a coworker about him. You say:
Earl's looking pretty scruffy, isn't he?
appearance, gossip, office, progressive aspect, tag question, 日本語サポート 
Earlier today, the Vice President of your division at work seemed to be really angry about something. Now you're telling a coworker about it. You say:
She was yelling at us and barking out orders.
The Vice President of your division at work seems to be really angry about something. She's barking out orders, slamming doors, and yelling at employees. You're talking quietly with another employee who's seen this behavior. You say:
Valerie's really on a rampage today, huh?
addressing people, anger (topic), boss (topic), gossip, work 
At work, you sent an email message to someone in the tech support department to get one of your computer programs fixed. The tech support manager sent you back an angry e-mail saying that you are supposed to go through him to get tech support help. You're annoyed that the manager got angry at you for such a small mistake. You're complaining to another coworker about it. You say:
He's just worried about people undermining his authority.
authority, gerund, gossip, work, work (topic) 
At work, your coworker is complaining because she got yelled at by the manager of the tech support department. She sent an e-mail to one of the tech support staff directly instead of going through the manager. You've been yelled at by this person in the past, so you have some experience dealing with him. But you don't want to say anything too bad about him. So you say:
Yeah, he's a real stickler for following the proper chain of command.
