Learning English

Session 1: Phrases from Shakespeare

be the be-all and end-all
be the most important thing

a dish fit for the gods
the best possible food you can serve

be not for the faint-hearted
be not suitable for people who lack courage or determination

forever and a day
a very long time

be a foregone conclusion
be a result that is certain to happen

in one fell swoop
all at once and suddenly

have a heart of gold
be very kind and caring

a wild-goose chase
a situation where you waste time chasing something you can’t get

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 wild-goose chase
a situation where you waste time chasing something you can’t get

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?'

Session 3: Annoying advice for new parents

in short supply
not enough

be short of
not enough

worldly
experienced in life 

parents-to-be
people who will become parents 

competent 
able to do something well 

patronising
behaving towards someone as if they are stupid 

conception
process of a male and female sex cell uniting to form the start of a baby 

weaning
introducing a baby to food other than its mother’s milk 

potty training
teaching young children to use a potty (small bowl) or toilet 

gurus
a skilled or knowledgeable person who gives advice and is respected 

drone on
talk in a boring way  

implication 
suggesting something without saying it directly 

up to the job            
be good enough 

ransom 
money demanded in exchange for someone who has been taken prisoner 

toddlers 
young children 

hefty
big, heavy

manuals 
books with instructions (often on how to operate a machine) 

boot camps
short military training camps with harsh discipline 

cherished 
highly valued

Session 4: Babysitting advice

screaming
crying loudly

babysitter
someone who looks after someone else's kids 

win them over
make them like me or agree with me 

nutritious
healthy, containing things that are good for you

Session 5: Gulliver's Travels

mutinied
time when sailors take control of a ship against their captain's orders

ashore 
on the shore

tracks 
marks left by feet

ragged 
(of hair or clothes) untidy

leering 
making ugly faces

stallion 
male horse

dappled 
covered with areas of light and darkness

circled
moved in a circle

hooves 
horse's feet

mare
female horse

foals
young horses

it dawned on me
I realised

savage
not civilised, wild

vile 
digusting