Choose the correct word in bold to complete the responses in these dialogues. In one of them, all three options are possible.
1. “I’m feeling a bit miserable at the moment.”
“Jeer / Cheer / Sneer up!”
2. “Can we have your decision?”
“Um, let me dream / think / sleep on it.”
3. “I, er, um, well, you know, I, er, the thing is, you see, well…”
“Come on, spit / cough / blow it out!”
4. “I, er…………………………….”
“What’s the matter? Has the cat got your tongue / lips / teeth?”
5. “Come on darling, give me a great big kiss and then have a dance with me!”
“Go and take a running leap / jump / fall!”
6. “I’m taking my IELTS exam tomorrow.”
“Good luck. I’ll be keeping my toes / fingers / legs crossed for you.”
7. “Can I borrow your mobile to make a quick call?”
“Sure. Be my host / friend / guest.”
8. “It’s my birthday today.”
“Is it? Oh, well, many happy reruns / returns / repeats.”
9. “Could I use your car tonight?”
“I’d prefer / wish / rather you didn’t”
10. “I promise not to be late from now on.”
“Yeah right, that’ll be the day / week / month!”
11. “My girlfriend left me last week.”
“Oh dear, so you’re on the fence / wall / shelf again.”
12. “Do you know Patrick Hartley?”
“No, the name doesn’t ring any phones / bells / changes”
13. “I’m the boss here, and you will do what I say!”
“Stop throwing your weight / body / head around!”
14. “I’m afraid I’ve run out of coffee. I can only offer you tea.”
“That’s all right. Any harbour / dock / port in a storm.
15. “I’m sorry, but I forgot to do my homework again.”
“Again? It’s time you pulled your trousers / socks / pants up, young man.”
16. “I’m under too much pressure at college.”
“Well, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the fire / oven / kitchen.”
17. “I failed my driving test again.”
“Oh, hard / bad / tough luck!”
18. “What’s the name of that restaurant we went to last week?”
“It’s on the tip of my tongue / finger / nose. I’ll remember it in a minute.”
19. “Have you ever been to hospital?”
“No, touch cloth / paper / wood.”
20. “Excuse me, could you take our picture?”
“Sure, give me your camera. OK, say chips / cheese / cheers everyone!”
Correct Answers:
- Cheer
(We say this when we want someone who is sad to be happy) - sleep
(The second speaker wants time to think about his / her decision) - spit
(The second speaker wants the first speaker to say what he / she means) - tongue
(The second speaker wants to know why the first speaker is having problems speaking) - jump
(The second speaker is angrily and very impolitely telling the first speaker to go away. Some people might say Get lost, Get knotted, Shove off, Take a hike, Sling your hook, Take a long walk off a short pier, Go and play with the traffic, Get on your bike, or other expressions which are much too rude to print here) - fingers
(The second speaker is saying that he / she hopes the first speaker will be successful) - guest
(Be my guest is a polite way of saying Yes you can. We can also say Help yourself) - returns
(This is a slightly more formal way of saying Happy Birthday) - rather
(This is a polite way of saying No you can’t) - day
(We say That’ll be the day when we don’t believe something will happen. We might also say “And pigs might fly!”) - shelf
(Someone who is on the shelf hasn’t got a girlfriend / boyfriend) - bells
(When something like a person’s name rings a bell, it sounds familiar to you, but you can’t remember why: “Have you been to that bistro on the High Street? It’s called Quasimodo” “Quasimodo? I’m not sure. The name rings a bell”) - weight
(Someone who throws their weight around uses their authority in an unreasonable or unpleasant way) - port
(We use this expression when something that we want or need is not available and we must have something else instead. Beggars can’t be choosers has a similar meaning) - socks
(The second speaker wants the first speaker to work harder) - kitchen
(This expression is used for telling someone that they should not do something if they cannot deal with the difficult or unpleasant aspects of it) - hard, bad, tough
(These all have the same meaning. Tough luck is more informal. Some people also say Hard cheese, but this is usually used in an ironic way) - tongue
(The second speaker knows the name of the restaurant, but cannot remember it at the moment) - wood
(We say touch wood to prevent bad things happening to us. Some people also touch a piece of wood when they say this) - cheese
(We say Say cheese when we take someone’s photograph and we want them to smile)
