The phrasal verbs in this exercise have all been taken from British television and radio programmes (news reports, soap operas, quizzes, films, chat shows, etc) over a 3-month period. They are all very informal, and many of them are relatively recent additions to our common vocabulary.
Look at sentence (a) in each pair, then decide if sentence (b) provides a correct explanation of the phrasal verb in bold. Write ‘Yes’ if you think it does, and ‘No’ if you think it doesn’t.
1. (a) The Prime Minister has told his government to stop faffing about.
(b) The Prime Minister has told his government to stop wasting time doing unnecessary and unimportant things.
2. (a) I had to stump up almost £2000 for repairs to my car.
(b) I had to borrow almost £2000 for repairs to my car.
3. (a) All this talk about the war is really hacking me off.
(b) All this talk about the war is getting me excited.
4. (a) I don’t want to go out with a man who bottles out at the first sign of trouble.
(b) I don’t want to go out with a man who starts a fight at the first sign of trouble.
5. (a) When we heard the news, we freaked out.
(b) When we heard the news, we became so frightened we couldn’t control ourselves.
6. (a) The government has been accused of sexing up the facts.
(b) The government has been accused of making the facts too difficult for people to understand.
7. (a) She breezed through the final exam.
(b) She failed the final exam.
8. (a) When the minister was asked about pensions, he clammed up.
(b) When the minister was asked about pensions, he started telling lies.
9. (a) I wish my neighbour would stop banging on all the time.
(b) I wish my neighbour would stop making changes to his house all the time.
10. (a) It’s time everyone wised up to the illegal acts the government is committing.
(b) It’s time everyone became aware of the illegal acts the government is committing.
11. (a) The President has finally lucked out over world trade.
(b) The President has finally lost an argument over world trade.
12. (a) Lorraine never mucks in with any of us.
(b) Lorraine never goes out to bars, clubs, etc, with any of us.
13. (a) If anyone wants to wimp out, now is the time.
(b) If anyone wants to decide not to do something because they’re too frightened, now is the time.
14. (a) Ever since he started his new company, he’s been raking it in.
(b) Ever since he started his new company, he’s been so busy he can’t do anything else.
15. (a) Television bosses deny that programmes are being dumbed down.
(b) Television bosses deny that television programmes are becoming shorter, with longer commercial breaks.
16. (a) Why do you always suck up to your boss?
(b) Why are you always so rude to your boss?
17. (a) You’ll be OK in the exam if you mug up before.
(b) You’ll be OK in the exam if you have a drink before you do it.
18. (a) If you’re going to chuck up, go outside.
(b) If you’re going to be in a bad mood, go outside.
19. (a) The air-conditioning has conked out again.
(b) The air-conditioning has stopped working again.
20. (a) The Council will prosecute parents whose children bunk off school.
(b) The Council will prosecute parents whose children stay away from school without a good reason.
21. (a) The latest opinion poll suggests that in the next election, the current government is going to romp in.
(b) The latest opinion poll suggests that in the next election, the current government is going to lose.
22. (a) When we asked him if he had taken the money, he fessed up.
(b) When we asked him if he had taken the money, he denied it.
23. (a) The public are lapping up the latest news about football’s most famous player.
(b) The public are not interested in the latest news about football’s most famous player.
24. (a) I really wish that Fiona would lighten up a bit.
(b) I really wish that Fiona would be more serious about things.
25. (a) We spent all of Sunday vegging out.
(b) We spent all of Sunday relaxing.
26. (a) By half past eleven, half of us had zonked out.
(b) By half past eleven, half of us had gone home.
27. (a) I’m gagging for a cup of tea.
(b) I really want a cup of tea.
28. (a) The rail company flogged off half its stock to overseas companies.
(b) The rail company let overseas companies maintain its stock to keep it in good working order.
29. (a) Please don’t monkey around in here.
(b) Please don’t lose your temper in here.
30. (a) If you goof up again, you’ll lose your job.
(b) If you make a big mistake again, you’ll lose your job.
31. (a) Yolanda has been prattling on for almost an hour without stopping.
(b) Yolanda has been crying for almost half an hour without stopping.
32. (a) You shouldn’t mouth off to him like that.
(b) You shouldn’t laugh at his ideas and opinions like that.
33. (a) I’ve had enough of you. Shove off!
(b) I’ve had enough of you. Be quiet!
34. (a) Don’t ask him for advice on buying a computer: he’ll only geek you out.
(b) Don’t ask him for advice on buying a computer: he’ll give you basic and useless information.
35. (a) She never goes out without blinging up first.
(b) She never goes out without phoning her friends first.
Correct Answers:
- Yes.
- No. Stump up means to pay, often without wanting to.
- No. If something hacks you off, it makes you angry.
- No. If you bottle out, you run away in order to avoid a fight.
- Yes. If you freak out, you might become very angry, surprised or excited.
- No. The government has been accused of making the facts more interesting and impressive than they really are in order to try to trick people. We can also say juice up or jazz up.
- No. She took (and passed) the exam without difficulty.
- No. He suddenly went quiet.
- No. The neighbour talks about something for a long time in a boring and annoying way. We can also say harp on (about something); “He’s always harping on about politics”
- Yes.
- No. The President has become lucky.
- No. If you muck in, you join an activity in order to help people get a job done.
- Yes. This has a similar meaning to bottle out in number 4. We can also say chicken out.
- No. Someone who is raking it in is making a lot of money.
- No. They deny that programmes are being made simpler and easier to understand in a way that reduces their quality.
- No. If you suck up to someone, you are very nice to someone in authority so that they treat you well. This expression shows that you do not respect people who behave in this way.
- No. If you mug up, you revise. We can also say bone up (on something): “I’m boning up on my history for tomorrow’s test.”
- No. If you chuck up, you vomit or throw up.
- Yes.
- Yes. We can also say skive off. The usual idiomatic expression is play truant, or (in the USA) play hooky. Some people also say goof off, although this is usually used for work rather than school.
- No. They are going to win easily. We can also say romp home.
- No. He admitted it was true.
- No. They are enjoying the news and want to hear more.
- No. If you lighten up, you become less serious. This is often used as an imperative: “For heavens sake, Fiona. Lighten up a bit!”
- Yes. (The gg is pronounced like a j).
- No. Half of us had fallen asleep.
- Yes. This is a more informal version of dying for.
- No. It sold half its stock to overseas companies.
- No. If you monkey around, you behave in a silly way. We can also say mess about or muck about.
- Yes. We can also say mess up.
- No. Yolanda has been talking for almost an hour about unimportant things.
- No. If you mouth off to someone or about something, you give your opinions in an annoying way, especially when you are complaining about or criticising something.
- No. If you tell someone to shove off, you want them to go away because you are angry with them.
- No. He’ll give you lots of complicated technical information that will confuse you.
- No. If you bling up, or get blinged up, you put on lots of jewellery.
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