Take a look at the 3 phrasal verbs in these sentences. Do you know what they mean? You can write your guesses in the comments box below:
"The music was so loud that I couldn't make out what he was saying."
"The hotel takes on extra staff during the summer season."
"We've been putting away a little money every month to buy a laptop."
This cartoon looks at two meanings of let down.
Definitions of let down
Let down - When you let something down, you deflate it (let the air out of it).
This month's cartoon is based on the double meaning of click.
Definitions of Click
Meaning:
To say clearly what you think or feel about something, however unpleasant or awkward it.
To make no bones about something means to say something in a way that leaves no doubt, or to have no objection to it.
At EC San Deigo English school they recently had a class discussion on Bucket Lists.
A Bucket List is where you write down all of the things you want to do in your life before you die.
The term comes from the slang idiom "to kick the bucket" meaning "to die".
Today's joke is based on two meanings of bring down.
Bring down: Make someone depressed, unhappy or exhausted. Get Down can also be used:
"This rainy weather is really bringing me down."
People, especially English people, love talking about the weather and there are lots of weather related idioms.
Have you come across any of these idioms before?
Read through the meanings of the idioms and then check your understanding by choosing the correct idiom for each sentence below.
Let us know how you do!
As right as rain - Feeling fine and healthy.
This month's joke is based on the expression long face.
As you know, a horse, compared to a human, has a long face! We can use long face to describe someone's physical appearance e.g. "I have a long face but my brother's is quite round."
As an idiom long face means to look unhappy or sad:
Definition:
When we say that something happens once in a blue moon, what we mean is that it happens very rarely.
History of expression:
The 'moon' in this expression does, in fact, refer to the real moon when it is full.
There are generally three full moons in a season, although sometimes there may be four.
These idioms could relate to relationships between friends, family members or partners. Can you work out which idiom completes each sentence? When you're finished, why not try and write some of your own sentences using these idioms?
Lesson by Caroline