Partial to

Partial to

Today’s expression is a good one—partial to. “Partial to” means you have a preference for something, and we usually use it with categories of things. I’ll explain more about what I mean in a second. Larry King was partial to celebrity interviews and sensational crime stories. That means Larry King had a preference for this one category, this one type of story: celebrity interviews and sensational crime stories. Yes, he had a preference for those types of stories, but that wasn’t all he did.

We talked about all the interviews he did—fifty thousand of them. World leaders, actors, authors, media celebrities, sports stars, business leaders. But he had a lot of people talking about celebrity scandals and sensational crimes. The OJ Simpson murder trial took up a lot of media attention in 1995. But Larry King gave his show over to the trial for weeks on end. The attorneys would argue their case in the courtroom during the day and then go on Larry King Live at night. Larry King would interview the witnesses and experts. Night after night, an hour devoted to the OJ trial.

And it was the same with so many other high profile crimes. A child model named JonBenet Ramsey was murdered. Larry King had the parents on the show; he had the police on the show. He was partial to this type of story. He liked it. It wasn’t all he did. He did a lot of other stuff; he did a lot of other stuff well. But he did clearly have a preference for this kind of story.

Let’s think about food for a second. What kind of food are you partial to? I like a lot of food—fish in the oven, a bowl of pasta with meatballs, a salad with chicken, a sandwich every now and then . But if you’ve been listening long enough, you know I’m partial to meat on the grill. Pork chops, steaks, burgers, sausages—come summer time, I’m more often than not having something on the grill for dinner.

Now that’s not all I eat. It’s not the only thing I like. But I have a preference for it. Remember, this is about categories, not specific things. I’m partial to cooking on my grill: that’s a category of food. I would not say, I’m partial to pork chops with asparagus. That’s too specific. I’m partial to cooking on the grill because that’s a category.

If you have a favorite sports team, you would not say you’re partial to that team because that’s too specific. But, if your preferences change, or if you’re not 100 percent committed to a team, you can use “partial to.” You might say you’re partial to a style of play or a type of team.

University sports are big here. I was watching college basketball as I wrote this lesson. Many of the biggest and most famous universities have big and famous sports programs. But some smaller schools also manage to have good sports teams. I’m partial to the smaller schools. If a small university is playing a big university, I’ll root for the smaller school. I’m partial to them—it’s not like I always root for them. We’re not talking about a hard-and-fast rule. But I went to a smaller school—no good sports teams, but still—I went to a smaller school, so I’m partial to the smaller schools like Gonzaga or Creighton or Butler, or others in the same category. I have a slight preference for them.

When you travel, you might have preferences for activities; it doesn’t mean you refuse to do other things, but you have preferences. I mentioned that I heard Larry King’s voice in the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City. I recommend that museum if you like history and great art; they have old coins from hundreds of years ago, old firearms, old postage stamps. They have great art, too, sculptures from Rodin, paintings from El Greco. Some people like to go to the biggest and best museums a city has to offer and Museo Soumaya is a great one. However, it might not be for everyone. For example, if you’re partial to more contemporary art, then maybe you’d enjoy Museo Jumex next door. Others are partial to smaller, more specialized museums. If you’re partial to the smaller museums, you might try the Frida Kahlo house instead.

I’m partial to art that at least attempts to depict reality. I walked through Museo Jumex and got bored: contemporary art is just not my style. I’m partial to landscapes, cityscapes, photography—it doesn’t have to be a perfect depiction of reality, but it has to come close.

JR’s song of the week

JR’s song of the week of “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat. The lyrics are sad; it’s about a young gay man who’s forced to leave home after being isolated, ostracized, and targeted for abuse in his small town. The video is really sad; in one scene, you see the man leaving home. He gets a hug from his mother and a little money from his father, but his dad refuses to shake his hand. “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat is JR’s song of the week.

See you next time!

And that’s all for today’s lesson. It was a long one, so we’ll wrap up now.

Just remember, if improving in English is part of your 2021, then JR and I invite you to come along with us in Plain English Plus+, which will help you sound more natural, express your ideas, learn new words, and improve your confidence in English. You can learn more about that at PlainEnglish.com/Plus.