Close-up p 9. Character. Speaking 2

1. What has recently done your head in? 
2. Why do children tend to egg each other on to perform naughty acts?
3. Tell us about the last time somebody wound you up.
4. When was the last time someone let you down?
5. What activities chill you out?
6. Do you have a chip on your shoulder about anything?
7. Have you heard of any celebrities who have given someone the elbow?
8. What controversial issues have reared their ugly heads in recent times?
9. Do you think we are all romantics at heart?
10. Why are there people who bad-mouth others unfairly?
Add two more to ask a partner:
11. __________
12. __________




do your head in: make somebody feel confused, upset and/or annoyed. If something or someone does your head in, they make you angry or frustrated. To make someone feel confused or unhappy: E.g. Living with my parents is doing my head in. Working in this place is doing my head in. Getting up at four o'clock every morning was doing my head in.I've been trying to make sense of all these figures and it's doing my head in. My computer keeps crashing and it's doing my head in.  Shut up! You’re doing my head in.

egg somebody on

​(informal) to encourage somebody to do something, especially something that they should not do. E.g. He hit the other boy again and again as his friends egged him on.
Trevor's never been in trouble before, so I'm sure his friends egged him on to start the food fight.

wind somebody up

​(British English, informal) to deliberately say or do something in order to annoy somebody. E.g.  Calm down! Can't you see he's only winding you up? That can't be true! You're winding me up.

let sb down: to disappoint someone by failing to do what you agreed to do or were expected to do: E.g. You will be there tomorrow - you won't let me down, will you? When I was sent to prison, I really felt I had let my parents down. 

chill out

​(informal) to spend time relaxing; to relax and stop feeling angry or nervous about something. E.g.  They sometimes meet up to chill out and watch a movie. Sit down and chill out!

"I do exercise because it chills me out." 

have a chip on your shoulder (about something)

​(informal) to be sensitive about something that happened in the past and become easily offended if it is mentioned because you think that you were treated unfairly. To seem angry all the time because you think you have been treated unfairly or feel you are not as good as other people. E.g.  He has a real chip on his shoulder about being adopted. He's got a chip on his shoulder about not having been to university.

give somebody the elbow

​(British English, informal) to tell somebody that you no longer want to have a relationship with them; to tell somebody to go away. E.g. Jonathan has had a broken heart ever since David gave him the elbow. I hear she’s finally given her boyfriend the elbow.

rear its (ugly) head

Of a difficult, unpleasant problem, to present itself and force people to deal with it. [for something unpleasant] to appear or become obvious after lying hidden. E.g.  Fundamentalist extremism has been rearing its head all around the world over the last couple years. I can't believe tax day is already rearing its ugly head again.

 Jealousy reared its ugly head and destroyed their marriage. The question of money always rears its ugly head in matters of business.

rear to rise up or to lift something up. E.g. The horse reared (up) (= suddenly rose onto its back legs) when it heard the gun shot. The lion slowly reared its head (= lifted it up) and looked around

at heart

​used to say what somebody is really like even though they may seem to be something different.

In one's real nature, in contrast to how one may appear. E.g. He's still a socialist at heart. He had dozens of friends, but he was a private person at heart. He's a good lad at heart. • Paul was an easy-going fellow at heart who wanted only to enjoy himself.• I guess I'm just a kid at heart.• She's a traveller at heart. You'll never get her to settle down. He may be a working class boy at heart, but his lifestyle has been transformed.

bad-mouth: /ˈbæd maʊθ/ to criticize someone or something in a very unpleasant manner. E.g. Stop bad-mouthing him all the time.