Some phrases we hear every day in the English-speaking world come from the times of William Shakespeare, the most famous playwright in the English language. Neil and Finn bring some of these to you in 6 Minute Vocabulary. Learn them and maybe you'll sound like a native speaker!
Listen to the programme and fill in the gaps
Danny is talking about cooking, and 1______________ friends.
There are people for whom food is the 2___________________ as a matter of fact some of friends produce a dish 3________________! However, as I see it, cooking is not for the 4_____________. I loathe spending 5_________________ in the kitchen. Dinner parties usually mean trying to 6________________ some rare ingredient, which ends up being a 7_________________. It's pretty much a 8___________________ that my chosen recipe won't 9_____________ as I hope. So I just throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in 10_______________. Fortunately, every one of them has a 11_______________________, so they understand!
KEY
There are people for whom food is the 2___________________ as a matter of fact some of friends produce a dish 3________________! However, as I see it, cooking is not for the 4_____________. I loathe spending 5_________________ in the kitchen. Dinner parties usually mean trying to 6________________ some rare ingredient, which ends up being a 7_________________. It's pretty much a 8___________________ that my chosen recipe won't 9_____________ as I hope. So I just throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in 10_______________. Fortunately, every one of them has a 11_______________________, so they understand!
KEY
Does Danny think it's easy to find special ingredients for recipes?
The answer is no, because usually it's a wild-goose chase.
wild goose chase: a search for something that is impossible for you to find or that does not exist, that makes you waste a lot of time. E.g. The police had been sent on a wild goose chase.
1. entertaining
entertain: /ˌentəˈteɪn/ to invite people to eat or drink with you as your guests, especially in your home. E.g. The job involves a lot of entertaining. Barbecues are a favourite way of entertaining friends.
2. be-all and end-all
the be-all and end-all (of something) (informal) the most important part; all that matters. E.g. Her career is the be-all and end-all of her existence. For some people, social networking is the be-all and end-all of their lives. Is food and comfort the be-all and end-all?
3. fit for the gods
a dish fit for the gods: the best possible food you can serve. E.g. You don't need to make a dish fit for the gods. It's just a relaxed supper.
4. faint-hearted
Mountain-climbing is not for the faint-hearted.
5. forever and a day
forever and a day: a very long time. E.g. This homework's going to take me forever and a day.
6. track down
track down: to find somebody/something after searching in several different places. E.g. The police have so far failed to track down the attacker.
7. wild goose chase
wild goose chase: a search for something that is impossible for you to find or that does not exist, that makes you waste a lot of time. E.g. The police had been sent on a wild goose chase.
8. foregone conclusion
be a foregone conclusion: be a result that is certain to happen. E.g. I'm sure our team win the match. It's almost a foregone conclusion.
9. work out
work out: to develop in a successful way. E.g. My first job didn't work out. Things have worked out quite well for us.
10. one fell swoop
in one fell swoop all at once and suddenly. E.g. Let's call a meeting and deal with all these points in one fell swoop. If the new law is passed, it will remove press freedom in one fell swoop.
fell (related to felony (serious crime)) Of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly, fierce, savage; cruel, ruthless; dreadful, terrible. E.g. the fell disease that was threatening her sister.
swoop: /swuːp/ an act of moving suddenly and quickly through the air in a downward direction, as a bird does. Dive.
11. heart of gold
a heart of gold: be very kind and caring. E.g. Alice always thinks of other people. She has a heart of gold.
fell (related to felony (serious crime)) Of terrible evil or ferocity; deadly, fierce, savage; cruel, ruthless; dreadful, terrible. E.g. the fell disease that was threatening her sister.
swoop: /swuːp/ an act of moving suddenly and quickly through the air in a downward direction, as a bird does. Dive.
11. heart of gold
a heart of gold: be very kind and caring. E.g. Alice always thinks of other people. She has a heart of gold.
Quiz
1. Some successful people
don't go to university. It's really not the most important thing. Which phrase from Shakespeare can replace the most important thing?
It's really not the be-all and end-all.
2. We got stuck in bad traffic so the journey took a very long time. So what can replace a very long time?
The journey took forever and a day.
3. Everyone thinks Clare is the nicest person. She's always been very kind. What can replace very kind?
She's always had a heart of gold.
It's really not the be-all and end-all.
2. We got stuck in bad traffic so the journey took a very long time. So what can replace a very long time?
The journey took forever and a day.
3. Everyone thinks Clare is the nicest person. She's always been very kind. What can replace very kind?
She's always had a heart of gold.
Other popular idioms :
the tip of the iceberg
only the beginning
in my mind's eye
in my imagination
to be cruel to be kind
to do hurtful things in order to achieve a good thing
a fool's paradise
a state of being happy for stupid reasons
sick at heart
sad, depressed
parting is such sweet sorrow
means that saying goodbye to someone you love is full of mixed emotion
to be or not to be: that is the question
'to be or not to be' means 'to commit suicide or not to commit suicide'
a plague on both your houses
said to show frustration or anger at both sides of a fight or argument
O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
means 'Why are you Romeo?'
Transcript:
NeilHello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary with me Neil.
FinnAnd me, Finn. In this programme we're talking about phrases from Shakespeare.
NeilThey're phrases that were either invented by Shakespeare or used by him in his plays and that we still use a lot today. We'll give you plenty of examples of these and we'll teach you what they mean.
FinnWe'll have a quiz; and we'll also bring you a top tip for learning vocabulary.
NeilLet's start with Danny. He's talking about cooking, and entertaining friends.
FinnAnd while you listen, think about this question: Does Danny think it's easy to find special ingredients for recipes?
DannyFor some people food is the be-all and end-all and I have friends who, whenever I visit, produce a dish fit for the gods! But in my opinion, cooking is not for the faint-hearted. I really hate spending forever and a day in the kitchen. Dinner parties usually mean trying to track down some special ingredient, which ends up being a wild-goose chase. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my chosen recipe won't work out as I hope. So I just throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in one fell swoop. Fortunately, every one of them has a heart of gold, so they understand!
NeilThat was Danny. And we asked you: Does Danny think it's easy to find special ingredients for recipes?
FinnAnd the answer is no, because usually it's a wild-goose chase.
NeilNow a wild-goose chase is used in Romeo and Juliet. This means a situation where you waste time chasing after something that you can't get.
FinnSo Danny clearly has had bad experiences of trying to find ingredients and not succeeding.
NeilExactly. Well, there are four more Shakespearean phrases in our first clip. Listen out for them!
CLIP 1 For some people food is the be-all and end-all and I have friends who, whenever I visit, produce a dish fit for the gods! But in my opinion, cooking is not for the faint-hearted. I really hate spending forever and a day in the kitchen.
FinnSo food is the be-all and end-all. That's the beginning and ending of everything, which means it's the most important thing.
NeilAnd that's why they always produce a dish fit for the gods. Clearly if something is suitable for the gods, it is the best possible.
FinnBut cooking is not for the faint-hearted, Danny says. The faint-hearted are people who lack courage or determination and he thinks people like that shouldn't cook. This phrase shows how difficult Danny finds cooking.
NeilAnd he hates spending a long time in the kitchen.
FinnHe does. Forever and a day is a very long time! Right, there are three more phrases coming up in our next clip.
CLIP 2It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my chosen recipe won't work out as I hope. So I throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in one fell swoop. Fortunately, every one of them has a heart of gold, so they understand!
NeilNow, if something is a foregone conclusion, it's a result that is certain to happen. He thinks it's certain that his recipe won't work out.
FinnAnd that's why he entertains his friends in one fell swoop. Now if you deal with things in one fell swoop, that means you deal with them all together and suddenly, like a bird sweeping down through the air to attack something.
NeilYes, he doesn't want to cook for people more often than necessary! But fortunately his friends understand how he feels, don't they?
FinnThey do. They each have a heart of gold. Now that means they are very kind and caring.
IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.
FinnAnd it's quiz time! Today you have to change the last three or four words of each sentence to use a phrase from Shakespeare from the programme. So number one: Some successful people don't go to university. It's really not the most important thing. Which phrase from Shakespeare can replace the most important thing?
NeilIt's really not the be-all and end-all.
Finn
Right. Number two. We got stuck in bad traffic so the journey took a very long time. So what can replace a very long time?
Neil
The journey took forever and a day.
FinnCorrect! And number three: Everyone thinks Clare is the nicest person. She's always been very kind. What can replace very kind?
NeilShe's always had a heart of gold.
FinnShe has. That's excellent! And that is the end of our quiz. Well done if you got them all right.
NeilBut before we go, here's today's top tip. English is very rich in phrases and idioms like the ones in this programme. Using them makes your English sound much more like that of a native speaker. Use an idioms dictionary and try learning five idioms a day. Then try working them into your conversations too.
FinnThere's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
BothBye!
FinnAnd me, Finn. In this programme we're talking about phrases from Shakespeare.
NeilThey're phrases that were either invented by Shakespeare or used by him in his plays and that we still use a lot today. We'll give you plenty of examples of these and we'll teach you what they mean.
FinnWe'll have a quiz; and we'll also bring you a top tip for learning vocabulary.
NeilLet's start with Danny. He's talking about cooking, and entertaining friends.
FinnAnd while you listen, think about this question: Does Danny think it's easy to find special ingredients for recipes?
DannyFor some people food is the be-all and end-all and I have friends who, whenever I visit, produce a dish fit for the gods! But in my opinion, cooking is not for the faint-hearted. I really hate spending forever and a day in the kitchen. Dinner parties usually mean trying to track down some special ingredient, which ends up being a wild-goose chase. It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my chosen recipe won't work out as I hope. So I just throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in one fell swoop. Fortunately, every one of them has a heart of gold, so they understand!
NeilThat was Danny. And we asked you: Does Danny think it's easy to find special ingredients for recipes?
FinnAnd the answer is no, because usually it's a wild-goose chase.
NeilNow a wild-goose chase is used in Romeo and Juliet. This means a situation where you waste time chasing after something that you can't get.
FinnSo Danny clearly has had bad experiences of trying to find ingredients and not succeeding.
NeilExactly. Well, there are four more Shakespearean phrases in our first clip. Listen out for them!
CLIP 1 For some people food is the be-all and end-all and I have friends who, whenever I visit, produce a dish fit for the gods! But in my opinion, cooking is not for the faint-hearted. I really hate spending forever and a day in the kitchen.
FinnSo food is the be-all and end-all. That's the beginning and ending of everything, which means it's the most important thing.
NeilAnd that's why they always produce a dish fit for the gods. Clearly if something is suitable for the gods, it is the best possible.
FinnBut cooking is not for the faint-hearted, Danny says. The faint-hearted are people who lack courage or determination and he thinks people like that shouldn't cook. This phrase shows how difficult Danny finds cooking.
NeilAnd he hates spending a long time in the kitchen.
FinnHe does. Forever and a day is a very long time! Right, there are three more phrases coming up in our next clip.
CLIP 2It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that my chosen recipe won't work out as I hope. So I throw a party once a year to repay all my friends in one fell swoop. Fortunately, every one of them has a heart of gold, so they understand!
NeilNow, if something is a foregone conclusion, it's a result that is certain to happen. He thinks it's certain that his recipe won't work out.
FinnAnd that's why he entertains his friends in one fell swoop. Now if you deal with things in one fell swoop, that means you deal with them all together and suddenly, like a bird sweeping down through the air to attack something.
NeilYes, he doesn't want to cook for people more often than necessary! But fortunately his friends understand how he feels, don't they?
FinnThey do. They each have a heart of gold. Now that means they are very kind and caring.
IDENT
6 Minute Vocabulary from BBC Learning English.
FinnAnd it's quiz time! Today you have to change the last three or four words of each sentence to use a phrase from Shakespeare from the programme. So number one: Some successful people don't go to university. It's really not the most important thing. Which phrase from Shakespeare can replace the most important thing?
NeilIt's really not the be-all and end-all.
Finn
Right. Number two. We got stuck in bad traffic so the journey took a very long time. So what can replace a very long time?
Neil
The journey took forever and a day.
FinnCorrect! And number three: Everyone thinks Clare is the nicest person. She's always been very kind. What can replace very kind?
NeilShe's always had a heart of gold.
FinnShe has. That's excellent! And that is the end of our quiz. Well done if you got them all right.
NeilBut before we go, here's today's top tip. English is very rich in phrases and idioms like the ones in this programme. Using them makes your English sound much more like that of a native speaker. Use an idioms dictionary and try learning five idioms a day. Then try working them into your conversations too.
FinnThere's more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
BothBye!
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