Slang and Colloquial Terms 3 (For B2/C1 level students)

Dear ELT community,

Here´s EPISODE 3 of SLANG AND COLLOQUIAL TERMS HEARD IN AMERICAN MOVIES AND SERIES (For B2/C1 level students)

This time we´re gonna focus on the following 10 terms: GAME PLAN – KNOCK IT OFF – PULL A FAST ONE ON SOMEBODY – THE REAL DEAL – A CINCH – BANG – PATCH THINGS UP – FULL OF SHIT – BLOW SOMEONE´S MIND – HIGH MAINTENANCE (PERSON)

I – MEANING/EXPLANATION + EXAMPLE SENTENCES

1. Game plan: plan of action; strategy

Ex.: “We need to come up with a good game plan if we are to achieve our goals.”, said Howard to a coworker.

2. Knock it off: stop doing that!; be quiet!

Ex.: “Knock it off, for Chrissake!I can´t study with all that noise!”, said Roy angrily to his younger siblings.

3. Pull a fast one on somebody: deceive or trick someone

Ex.: “I would watch out for those sleazy salesmen if I were you. They´re always trying to pull a fast one on people.”, Frank advised Randy.

4. The real deal: someone or something considered to be a genuine good example of their kind;authentic; superior; the best

Ex.: “This Greek restaurant is the real deal. They make the best moussaka in town.”, said Ralph to a friend.

5. A cinch: something very easy to do

Ex.: “Buying the perfect gift for Anna was a cinch for me since I know her so well.”, Barry told Nick.

6. Bang: have sex with

Ex.: “So tell me, did you bang her last night?”, Fred asked his friend Mick.

7. Patch things up: become friends again after an argument

Ex.: “Why don´t you forget what happened and patch things up with Amanda?”, Roy told Gary.

8. Full of shit: completely false or wrong; nonsense; full of crap

Ex.: “I find Mike´s story so hard to believe. It all sounds weird. Honestly, I think he´s full of shit.”, Derek told Hank.

9. Blow someone´s mind: impress someone very much

Ex.: “Gregory just loves technology. I think this new gadget will blow his mind.”, said Monica to her friends.

10. High-maintenance (person): someone who needs a lot of attention or is difficult to please or deal with

Ex.: “My ex-girlfriend was very high-maintenance. That´s why I left her.”, explained Josh to a friend.

II – EXERCISE 1: REWRITE THE SENTENCES IN A MORE COLLOQUIAL WAY (10 SENTENCES)

“We didn´t know our friend Dave was such a good actor. His performance on stage impressed us very much.”, Jason told Stephanie
“Hey, you two, can you, please, stop doing that? I´m trying to read a book here!”, said Gary to his roommates.
“Listen up! Can you hear the couple upstairs? Sounds like they´re having sex again.”, said Ryan to his roommate.
“Mr. Martin is the greatest basketball coach this school has ever had. He´s the best.”, said Jim to a friend.
“The marketing director is supposed to detail his strategy for the new project tomorrow.”, Jefferson told a coworker.
“I enjoy working with the new manager because she´s not hard to please at all.”, said Barry to a coworker.
“Do you take me for a sucker? I know you´re trying to trick me.”, Jake told Mick.
“This dish should be very easy for you to make. Just stick to the recipe.”, Martha told Claire.
“I´m pretty sure Jeff and Liza will become friends again soon enough. Deep inside they like each other.”, said William to his friends.
“I don´t believe Brian for a second. I think he´s lying.”, said Jordan to a friend.

III – EXERCISE 2: MATCH THE COLLOQUIAL TERMS WITH THEIR DEFINITIONS (10 TERMS)

A. The real deal
B. Bang
C. A cinch
D. Patch things up
E. Knock it off
F. Game plan
G. Full of shit
H. Blow someone´s mind
I. Pull a fast one on somebody
J. High-maintenance

1. Deceive or trick someone ____
2. Someone who needs a lot of attention or is difficult to please or deal with ____
3. Impress someone very much ____
4. Completely false or wrong; nonsense; full of crap ____
5. Someone or something considered to be a genuine good example of their kind;authentic; superior; the best ____
6. Stop doing that!; be quiet! ____
7. Plan of action; strategy ____
8. Have sex with ____
9. Something very easy to do ____
10. Become friends again after an argument ____

IV – KEY TO EXERCISES

I– Rewrite the following sentences in a more colloquial way

“We didn´t know our friend Dave was such a good actor. His performance on stage blew our minds.”, Jason told Stephanie
“Hey, you two, can you, please, knock it off? I´m trying to read a book here!”, said Gary to his roommates.
“Listen up! Can you hear the couple upstairs? Sounds like they´re banging again.”, said Ryan to his roommate.
“Mr. Martin is the greatest basketball coach this school has ever had. He´s the realdeal.”, said Jim to a friend.
“The marketing director is supposed to detail his game plan for the new project tomorrow.”, Jefferson told a coworker.
“I enjoy working with the new manager because she´s not high-maintenance at all.”, said Barry to a coworker.
“Do you take me for a sucker? I know you´re trying to pull a fast one on me.”, Jake told Mick.
“This dish should be a cinch for you to make. Just stick to the recipe.”, Martha told Claire.
“I´m pretty sure Jeff and Liza will patch things up soon enough. Deep inside they like each other.”, said William to his friends.
10. “I don´t believe Brian for a second. I think he´s full of shit.”, said Jordan to a friend

II – Match the colloquial terms below (A–J) with their definitions (1–10).

1. I 2. J 3. H 4. G 5. A 6. E 7. F 8. B 9. C 10. D

FALE TUDO EM INGLÊS AVANÇADO – Author: José Roberto A. Igreja / Disal Editora

José Roberto A. Igreja is the author and co-author of several ELT books, including:

LET´S TALK ABOUT IT! – The Ultimate ELT Conversation Book, now available on the Amazon stores of the following countries:

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240 pages – 31 QR-CODES for the audio tracks (dialogues) “even the paperback comes with built-in technology”