Hello, I’m Mandeep. Welcome to my Watch and Learn English substack. My aim is to teach “real-life” English using videos and topics that are in the news.
What’s on this week?
I hope you like the new video introduction! Let me know what you think.
In the video, I explain what you will find in this week’s post:
Video of the week. The new Bridgerton trailer.
Language focus. Fun expressions to talk about “being embarrassed”.
Learn with Wednesday. A free look at our new study guide.
Vocabulary test. A crossword to help you learn the vocabulary from this week’s video.
Let’s get started!
1. Video of the week - Bridgerton
The biggest show this week around the world was always going to be Bridgerton! Are you a fan?
This series, set in England hundreds of years ago, deals with a very modern problem - what happens when you fall in love with a friend?
Our video this week takes a look at a scene from the first episode of Bridgerton season three.
Click here to watch the trailer with clear, correct captions (not auto-generated), definitions for the key vocabulary, an AI-powered dictionary to help explain any words, and an option to slow the video down so you catch every word.
2. Language Focus - To be a laughing stock
In this week’s clip, Penelope is devastated that Colin has made her into a laughing stock. Have you heard this expression before? It means a person or group that everyone thinks is stupid, criticises, or laughs at.
In this weeks language point, I’m going to give you five more ways to explain feeling embarrassed or humiliated just like poor Penelope.
1 - Sheepish (adjective)
I felt sheepish when I realised I’d photocopied the wrong page for everyone.
This means a “bit embarrassed”, usually because you have done something wrong. It’s interesting to investigate how the meaning of words changes over time. In old English ‘sheepish’ meant to look like a sheep but with time, the meaning changed to “innocent” or “easy to deceive”. Today, it’s a fun way to describe someone who knows they’ve made an embarrassing mistake.
2 - To have egg on one’s face
You’ll be the one who has egg on your face if your plan doesn’t work.
This means “to look stupid because of something you have done”. The phrase may come from the theatre, where actors who weren’t very good would sometimes have eggs or old vegetables thrown at them.
3 - To want the ground to open up and swallow you
When I saw my exam result I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me, it was awful.
This means “to be so embarrassed that you want to suddenly disappear”. This expression has its origins in the Bible, when guilty or rebellious people were punished by god by having the ground open up and take them.
4 - To eat humble pie
He had to eat humble pie when he came last after telling everyone he’d win easily
This means “to admit that you were wrong”. The phrase is believed to originate from ‘umble’ pie, which was a food made from the parts of an animal nobody wanted to eat. This type of food was considered low quality, so it’s not something you would choose to eat.
5 - To want to curl up and die
I wanted to curl up and die when I accidentally walked into the wrong bathroom!
This means that you would rather die than face your embarrassment! To “curl up” means to make yourself very small - possibly so no-one can see you any more!
3. Learn English with Wednesday
Have you tried our free study guide to Wednesday yet?
Click here for a free look which explains all the language and cultural points found in the very first episode. There are also some fun quizzes.
I’d love to know what you think and if you have any ideas of how I could make these guides better. Let me know in the comments or using the feedback form in the guide.
4. Watch the video … and test!
Now lets go back to our clip from Bridgerton. Can you remember the vocabulary that was highlighted in the captions? It’s time to test your memory.
Click here to try a crossword that tests your knowledge of the language in the video.
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