Idioms in real conversation - The English we speak

totwigtomoochth
eflipsidetothro
wyourtoysoutoft
hepramontheflyt
hatsonyoumakesm
yskincrawlanuph
illtaskturnover
anewleaffindyou
rgroovesecondna
turetaketheplun
gepeaksandtroug
hsheavylifting
stompingground
toclutchatstraw
soffthecuffdoth
etrickinonit

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1. To twig

2. To mooch

3. The flip side

4. To throw your toys out of the pram

5. On the fly

6. That's on you

7. Makes my skin crawl

8. An uphill task

9. Turn over a new leaf

10. Find your groove

11. Second nature

The phrase:

The meaning of the phrase:

Register: formal / informal / neutral

Part of speech: noun / verb / adjective / adverb 

Synonyms:

Situations used:

Examples of usage:

_______________________________________________________________________

Write an example of your own:

_______________________________________________________________________

Conversation

1. Have you ever had one of those moments when it suddenly 'twigs' for you, and everything makes sense? What was it about?

2. Have you mooched around anywhere recently? Where? What did you find?

3. What's the good side of being from your country? What's the flip side?

4. Do you sometimes throw your toys out of the pram? What makes you get that angry?

5. What kinds of things do you like to do 'on the fly' instead of planning them?

6. Have you ever been in a situation where someone said, 'That's on you'? We're they right?

7. What’s something that always makes your skin crawl, no matter how many times you see it?

8. What’s been the most challenging 'uphill task' you've ever faced, and how did you manage to get through it?

9. Have you ever had a moment where you felt the need to 'turn over a new leaf'? What motivated that change?

10. At what point did you 'find your groove' in New Zealand? Are you still trying to?

11. What’s something that you can do without thinking about it, because it’s become second nature to you?

1. To tw___

2. To m___ch

3. The _____ side

4. To _____ your toys out of the _____

5. ____ the fly

6. T_____ on you

7. Makes my _____ crawl

8. An ______ task

9. Turn ____ a new ____

10. _____ your groove

11. ________ nature

Some more!

12. Take the plunge

13. Peaks and troughs

14. Heavy lifting

15. Stomping ground

16. To clutch at straws

17. Off the cuff

18. Do the trick

19. In on it

20. A million to one

 

1. What’s the biggest plunge you’ve ever taken that ended up being totally worth it?

2. How do you handle those peaks and troughs in life, especially when things feel like they’re at their lowest?

3. Have you ever been part of a project or job where it was you who had to do most of the “heavy lifting”?

4. Do you have a particular place or area that always feels like your stomping ground, where you’re just so comfortable?

5. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you were clutching at straws, trying anything to make things work?

6. Do you prefer to make decisions on the spot, or do you like to plan things out ahead of time?

7. What’s a quick fix or solution that you’ve found always does the trick when you’re feeling unfocused.

8. Is there ever a time when you felt left out of something, like you weren’t "in on it" with the group?

9. Have you ever experienced something that seemed like a million to one chance but actually happened? What was that like?

 

Emotions

---

Sad

Unhappy, Down, Blue, Upset, Lonely, Crying, Low, Hurt

Sentence 1:
After everyone left the party early, he felt very ________ sitting in the quiet room.

Sentence 2:
When her pet was sick, she felt ________ and didn’t want to play.

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Angry

Mad, Cross, Annoyed, Upset, Grumpy, Mean, Rude, Tense

Sentence 1:
When she found out someone had taken her bag without asking, she was really ________.

Sentence 2:
He felt ________ when his sister kept changing the TV channel.

---

Afraid

Scared, Nervous, Worried, Shy, Tense, Panicky, Afraid, Jumpy

Sentence 1:
The sudden bang made the cat ________ and run out of the room.

Sentence 2:
She felt ________ walking alone in the dark hallway.

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Happy

Glad, Smiling, Cheerful, Excited, Pleased, Calm, Joyful, Content

Sentence 1:
The children were ________ on the morning of their school trip and couldn’t sit still.

Sentence 2:
After finishing his homework early, he felt ________ and relaxed.

Try this!

Interactive map

Talk about things that...

Talk about things that...

Test your emotional EQ

relief    awe    boredom    fear   embarrassment   

  triumph   disgust   rage   exhilaration    contentment    

     amusement    despair      realisation

What makes you feel disgust?

What makes you feel exhilaration?

What makes you feel despair?

What makes you feel embarrassment?

What makes you feel awe?

What makes you feel rage?

What makes you feel relief?

What makes you feel contentment?

What makes you feel fear?

What makes you feel amusement?

What makes you feel triumph?

What makes you feel boredom?

What makes you feel realisation?

Which emotion being shown in the images below?

Triumphdisgustrageexhilarationcontentmentamusementdespairrealisationreliefaweboringfearembarrassment

 

 

 

•  tri___ph

•  dis__gust

•  r_g_

•  exhi__aration

•  con__entment

•  amuse__ t

•  de__air

•  re__lisation

•  re__ief

•  b__ring

•  fe__r

•  em__arra__ment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

triumph   disgust   rage   exhilaration    contentment    

     amusement    despair      realisation

relief    awe    boring    fear   embarrassment   

  

1.  She felt _______ when she heard her friend was okay.

2.  He looked at the tall mountains in _______.

3.  The movie was so _______ that I fell asleep.

4.  She felt _______ when she saw a big dog running toward her.

5.  He felt _______ when he tripped in front of everyone.

6.  They felt ________ after winning the game.

7.  She felt ______ when she saw the dirty dishes.

8.  He was filled with _____ when someone cut in line.

9.  Riding the roller coaster gave her a feeling of _______.

10. He felt ______ while eating his favorite meal.

11. The funny clown brought _________ to the party.

12.  She felt _______ when she lost her favorite toy.

13.  He had a ________ that he forgot his homework at home.

Shades of Emotion

What is the lizard feeling?

What is the dog feeling?

Discuss different types of animals

Which animals can feel...

guilt

anger

love

fear

joy

boredom

despair

hope

shame

jealousy

gratitude

insignificance

1. You accidentally break your friend’s favorite headphones and try to hide it, but you can’t stop thinking about it all day.
   What emotion do you feel?

2. Someone keeps interrupting you while you’re trying to explain your idea to the class, and eventually you snap at them.
   What emotion do you feel?

3. Your little sister runs toward you after school and hugs you tightly because she missed you.
   What emotion do you feel?

4. You wake up in the middle of the night after hearing a loud noise downstairs and you’re too scared to get out of bed.
   What emotion do you feel?

5. Your team scores the winning point in the final seconds of the game, and everyone jumps up cheering.
   What emotion do you feel?

6. You are stuck inside on a rainy weekend with nothing to do and no one to talk to.
   What emotion do you feel?

7. You study hard for an important exam but still fail, and it feels like nothing you do makes a difference.
   What emotion do you feel?

8. You’ve been practicing for months, and even though the competition is tough, you believe you might finally succeed.
   What emotion do you feel?

9. You trip and fall in front of a large group of students who start laughing.
   What emotion do you feel?

10. Your best friend starts spending all their time with someone else, and you feel left out.
    What emotion do you feel?

11. A classmate helps you understand a difficult math problem before the test without expecting anything in return.
    What emotion do you feel?

12. You look up at the night sky full of stars and suddenly feel very small compared to the size of the universe.
    What emotion do you feel?

Emotions (in random order):

• Hope

• Jealousy

• Joy

• Guilt

• Insignificance

• Anger

• Gratitude

• Fear

• Shame

• Love

• Despair

• Boredom

 A

1. Think of a time you felt guilty. What exactly were you telling yourself about what you “should” have done differently?

2. Remember a moment when you felt ashamed. Did you believe you had done something wrong — or that you were somehow wrong?

3. When you last felt anger, what boundary of yours had been crossed?

4. Describe a recent fear. Was it about something that was actually happening, or something that might happen?

5. Recall a time you felt deep joy. What made that moment feel meaningful rather than just fun?

B

6. Think about a time you felt jealous. What did that situation reveal about what you wish you had?

7. When have you felt truly grateful? How did that feeling affect the way you treated the other person afterward?

8. Describe a moment of boredom. What did your mind start craving in that silence?

9. Have you ever felt despair? What thoughts made the situation feel permanent or hopeless?

10. When have you felt hopeful even when things were difficult? What helped you hold onto that hope?

Dolphins singing

Questions to chat about...

How are you today?

Do you feel happy easily?   (too easily?)

Do you feel sad easily?

What's the most frustrating thing for you lately?

Try to guess the word: first letter "a"

_________ adj.

VERBS be, feel, look, seem, sound He sounded very ______ on the phone. | become, get, grow | make sb

ADV. deeply, extremely, highly, very | increasingly | a little, quite, rather, slightly | visibly

PREP. about She's ______ about getting there on time. | at She started to grow ________ at the sight of the spider.

PHRASES in an _______ state By now he was in a very _______ state.

 

Sadness

 

Do you think these feelings are “sad”?

 

Nostalgia/ /  nostalgic

Overwhelmed

Sick at heart

Devastation / devastated

Grumpiness / grumpy

Ennui

Sentimentality / sentimental

Isolation / isolated

Solitude / solitary

 

 

 

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try using them in a sentence...

Today I feel ____________ because ___________...

I'm a bit ___________ today because _____________...

______________ makes me feel so ______________....

Lately I've been feeling rather ______________ because...

idioms for feeling sad

down in the dumps

in low spirits

feeling out of sorts

Are you moody? Is is a bad thing to be moody?

Are you easily manipulated?

What's your passion? What are your biggest passions?

What is a 'pet hate' of yours? (something you really hate)

Do you panic sometimes? What helps you calm down?

Guess the missing word: first letter "h"

________ adj.

VERBS be, feel, lie, look, seem, stand, watch John felt completely ______. He lay _______ in the hospital ward. | become | leave sb, render sb He was left _______ and alone. She was rendered _______ by panic.

ADV. absolutely, completely, quite, totally, utterly | apparently, seemingly | physically

PREP. against She was _______ against his strength. | before Kirk stood ______ before this giant of a man. | in the face of feeling _______ in the face of all these rules and regulations 

Guess the missing word: first letter "c"

ADV. desperately, extremely, very | increasingly She was watching the clock and becoming increasingly ______. | a bit, a little, quite, rather, slightly, somewhat | genuinely | naturally, understandably Final-year students are naturally ______ about getting work after graduation. | unduly There's no need to get unduly ______ on my account. | suddenly

PREP. about I'm becoming very _____ about my son. | for We are extremely _____ for her safety.

What is your biggest fear?

Fear

Think of three words that mean the roughly same as "fearful"

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2

3

Now write three sentences with those words


I often get _______________ when _____________...

Every time _______________ happens, I can't help feeling ________________.

When I feel _____________, I find it helps to _____________...

Find words on the wheel related to fear and try to memorise them

Write as many words related to fear as you can remember:

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idioms for feeling afraid

to jump out of your skin

going white as a ghost

shaking like a leaf

scared stiff

paralysed with fear

Find words on the wheel related to anger and try to memorise them

Write as many words related to anger as you can remember:

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use some of these words in a sentence:

________________ really makes me feel _____________...

I get so ______________ when _______________...

When I'm  ________________ I ______________...

If people __________________, I get ___________ and I ____________...

Don't ever ________________ or I'll get extremely _____________ and _____________...

idioms for being angry

seeing red

beside yourself

makes your blood boil

 

Which emotion is more powerful, fear or anger?

Joy


The last time I was ____________ was when _______________...

Nothing makes me feel more ____________ than ______________...

Today I'm feeling very ____________ because _____________...

Today I'm not feeling ____________ at all, because_____________

Synonyms:

Review of 24 adjectives of emotion

Speaking practice:

Personality

Emotions

Imagine you're catching up after not seeing each other for two years.

One of you is showing an emotion that appears in the wheel. Think of a reason WHY you feel this way. The other can't see the wheel and has to figure out how you're feeling and why.


Personality test


Review of 60 personality adjectives

Guess the missing word:

 

first letter "h"

________ adj.

VERBS be, feel, lie, look, seem, stand, watch John felt completely ______. He lay _______ in the hospital ward. | become | leave sb, render sb He was left _______ and alone. She was rendered _______ by panic  ADV. absolutely, completely, quite, totally, utterly | apparently, seemingly | physically

PREP. against She was _______ against his strength. | before Kirk stood ______ before this giant of a man. | in the face of feeling _______ in the face of all these rules and regulations 

 

first letter "c"

ADV. desperately, extremely, very | increasingly She was watching the clock and becoming increasingly ______. | a bit, a little, quite, rather, slightly, somewhat | genuinely | naturally, understandably Final-year students are naturally ______ about getting work after graduation. | unduly There's no need to get unduly ______ on my account. | suddenly

PREP. about I'm becoming very _____ about my son. | for We are extremely _____ for her safety.

first letter "a"

_________ adj.

VERBS be, feel, look, seem, sound He sounded very ______ on the phone. | become, get, grow | make sb

ADV. deeply, extremely, highly, very | increasingly | a little, quite, rather, slightly | visibly

PREP. about She's ______ about getting there on time. | at She started to grow ________ at the sight of the spider.

PHRASES in an _______ state By now he was in a very _______ state.

What a driverless world could look like

The driverless future

 

What if traffic flowed through our streets as smoothly and efficiently as blood flows through our veins? Transportation geek Wanis Kabbaj thinks we can find inspiration in the genius of our biology to design the transit systems of the future. In this forward-thinking talk, preview exciting concepts like modular, detachable buses, flying taxis and networks of suspended magnetic pods that could help make the dream of a dynamic, driverless world into a reality.

Some words

Remedy (n)

Patina (n)

Congestion (n)

Network (n)

vascular system (n)

urban (adj)

vein (n)

expansion (n)

 

laboratory (n)

Before watching: Imagine the world with completely autonomous transport. What does it look like? Draw a picture!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. What is Wanis's strange pleasure?

A) Drinking wine

B) Looking down on cities from above

C) Driving through cities

2. Which cities have a patina of history?  _____________ and ____________

3. What was the remedy for congestion in Paris? ______________________

4. Why are network expansions impossible for many cities (3 reasons)

1.______________

2.______________

3.______________

 

5. What is “the world's most sophisticated transportation laboratory”?  - The ____________ system.

6. What is the difference between our urban systems and our vascular system?

7. Why do we not have traffic jams in our veins?
8. What is the problem with urban trains?

9. What is the solution?

10. What are self-driving cars trying to learn at the moment?

1.How to__________________________

2.How to_________________________

11. “The more _____________ our traffic grid will be, the more ___________  and _______ its movement will feel.”

The driverless future

·  arteries

·  admirably

·  industrious

·  devouring

·  dense

·  commuters

·  absurd

·  clogged

·  boulevards

·  habitat

·  monumental

---

Some people are obsessed with French wines. Others love playing golf or (1) __________ literature.

One of my greatest pleasures in life is, I have to admit, a bit special. I cannot tell you how much I enjoy watching cities from the sky, from an airplane window.

Some cities are calmly (2) __________, like Dusseldorf or Louisville. Others project an energy they can hardly contain, like New York or Hong Kong. And then you have Paris or Istanbul, with their patina full of history.

I see cities as living beings. When I discover them from far above, I like to find those main streets and highways that structure their space—especially at night, when (4) __________ make these (3) __________ glow dramatically red and gold: the city’s vascular system performing its vital function right before your eyes.

But when I’m sitting in my car after an hour and a half of commuting every day, that reality looks very different. Nothing—not public radio, no podcast, not even mindfulness meditation—makes this time worth living.

Isn’t it (5) __________ that we created cars that can reach 130 miles per hour and now drive them at the same speed as 19th-century horse carriages?

In the US alone, we spent 29.6 billion hours commuting in 2014. With that amount of time, ancient Egyptians could have built 26 Pyramids of Giza. We do that in one year. A (6) __________ waste of time, energy and human potential.

For decades, our remedy for congestion was simple: build new roads or enlarge existing ones. And it worked. It worked (7) __________ for Paris, when the city tore down hundreds of historical buildings to create 85 miles of transportation-friendly (8) __________. It still works today in fast-growing emerging cities.

But in more established urban centers, significant network expansions are almost impossible: (9) __________ is just too (10) __________, real estate too expensive and public finances too fragile.

Our city’s vascular system is getting (11) __________. It’s getting sick. And we should pay attention. Our current way of thinking is not working. For transportation to flow, we need a new source of inspiration.

 

 

Synonym-Matching List

A. blocked
B. thickly populated
C. ridiculous
D. steadily hard-working
E. passionately reading
F. channels
G. impressive
H. daily travellers
I. avenues
J. remarkably well
K. surroundings

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The driverless future

 

detachable 

 flowed 

dynamic

geek 

forward-thinking 

biology 

suspended magnetic pods 

genius 

What if traffic 1___________ through our streets as smoothly and efficiently as blood flows through our veins? Transportation 2__________ Wanis Kabbaj thinks we can find inspiration in the 3_________ of our 4_________ to design the transit systems of the future. In this 5___________ talk, preview exciting concepts like modular, 6____________ buses, flying taxis and networks of 7__________ that could help make the dream of a 8__________, driverless world into a reality.

Part 1: Beginnings

1. While our vascular system uses three dimensions inside us,
2. If our surface grid is saturated,
3. Because our network is so extensive,
4. When I’m sitting in my car after an hour and a half of commuting,
5. To create 3-D transportation networks,
6. Wagons can detach dynamically while you’re moving
7. Building a 3-D transportation network
8. Vehicles could drive much faster when all the cars are driverless and connected,

 

Part 2: Endings

A. we now have the dreams, the concepts and the technology.
B. urban transportation is mostly two-dimensional.
C. and become express, driverless buses that move on a secondary road network.
D. is one of the ways we can mitigate and solve traffic jams.
E. let’s elevate our traffic.
F. that reality looks very different.
G. each one of our 37 trillion cells gets oxygen precisely when it needs it.
H. because everything becomes predictable and reaction time is minimal.

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Part 3: Clause Types (Match each sentence to one type)

I. Clause of contrast
II. Conditional clause
III. Clause of reason
IV. Time clause
V. Clause of purpose
VI. Participle (-ing) clause
VII. Adverbial clause of time
VIII. Cause-and-effect clause