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Rachel: And everybody knows this?
Joey: Oh, yeah. Cushions the blow.


To cushion the blow means “to ease the pain or stress of something unpleasant”. When you don't want to offend someone, you're trying to ease his pain by doing something nice (or lying). You're cushing the blow.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Joey: I just wanna go back to my cell, because in my cell, I can smoke.
Chandler: ‘Smoke away.’


According to the OED away is used after verbs to say that something is done continuously or with a lot of energy.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Monica: Okay, let's let the Alan-bashing begin.


Bashing is the act of criticizing someone or something. She had a date and asked friends to tell her what was wrong with Alan.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Joey: Know what was great? The way his smile was kind of crooked.


Crooked sometimes means “dishonest” or “unscrupulous”, but here Joey says literally about the way how Alan's smile was curved, like it was beautiful.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Ross: So I think Alan... will become the yardstick... against which all future boyfriends will be measured.


Yardstick is a measuring stick one yard length. Figuratively, this word is used as a “test” or “standard” for measurement. Get more in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yardstick

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Ross: I mean, it was like he made us into a team.
Chandler: Yep. We sure showed those Hasidic Jewelers... a thing or two about softball.
Monica: Nice.


The Hasidic Jews are a very religious Jewish group. There are lots of Hasidic Jews in and around New York City. Also Jews are stereotypically seen as working in (and being successful in) the jewelry business. So The Hasidic Jewelers is a joke name for softball team based in these facts.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Ross: Yeah, it's his innate Alan-ness that we adore.


Innate means “belonging to the essential nature”. Also “native”, “inborn”.

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Phoebe: Um, I also have something else for you.
Lizzie: Saltines?


Lizzie is talking about a saltine cracker:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltine_cracker

#Friends #Friends_01x03

Lizzie: Do you want my tinfoil hat?


Tin is a chemistry element with the symbol Sn:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin

A foil is a very thin sheet of metal.

Actually, “tinfoil hat” is a wrong name, because it's made of aluminium foil. Tin foil was widely used before World War II, but was superseded by aluminium one. Howerver, people didn't notice huge difference and since than call these hats “tin foil hats”.

#Friends #Friends_01x03