ejs2000

When the fleet arrived 21 Terran years later, there was no one left to rescue.

I’m reading Stephen King’s novella “Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream” from his 2024 collection You Like It Darker and came across an idiom I’ve never heard before. The story takes place in Kansas, I’ve added some context in brackets, and boldface is mine:

“Pat Grady [normally a lazy, unreliable employee] shows up on time for work every day of the following week. Danny dares to hope Pat's learned his lesson, but he’ll never be the worker Jesse Jackson [an exemplary employee] is. As the oldtimers used to say, that young man knows how to squat and lean.”

What does “knows how to squat and lean” mean? Searching online hasn’t gotten me anywhere. Thanks!

If I’m interested in romancing a companion, but if I say the wrong thing once (-2 reputation), am I locked out of the romance permanently? Or is there some wiggle room?

I’ve searched up a bunch of sites, and while they tell you all the right things to say, none have been clear whether that’s the ONLY thing you can say.

Thanks!