Here are some words and phrases you can hear on this week’s languagecaster’s Good, Bad and Ugly section of the podcast – a review of the footballing news. For more English practice check out our worksheets, football glossary and English for football phrases.
- all eyes are on: the main news story, everybody is talking about…
Example: All eyes have been on Maradona since his appointment.
- win under the belt: got the result, a good start (should be able to relax more in the next game)
Example: Maradona’s got that win under his belt.
- bitter rivals: huge rivals, usually with a lot of history between the clubs
Example: Mascherano is a former River Plate player, bitter rivals of Boca, Maradona’s former team.
- on a high note: with a good result, with a good performance
Example: He finished his first year as England manager on a very high note indeed.
- to brew: to loom, to start, to be imminent – used with trouble, problem, storm etc.
Example: Theo Walcott’s club boss Wenger will not be pleased at all and we may see a club versus country row brewing.
- to give (someone) a break: to not criticise, to give a second chance, to not be too harsh.
Example: Give the man (the referee) a break! Even on replay it wasn�t an easy decision to make.
- to be fed up: tired of, angry with, annoyed with, sick of
Example: China Central TV, is fed up of a series of players� attitudes and actions, most recently a fight between the players and staff of Beijing and Tianjin.
- full-blown: big, full-scale, total
Example: A full-blown riot ensued after the match (in Uruguay) and the league has been suspended.
