Here are some words and phrases you can hear on languagecaster’s Full Podcast’s Good, Bad and Ugly section – a review of the footballing news. For more English practice check out our worksheets, football glossary and English for football phrases as well as the Learners’ Podcast.
- Indian summer – warm weather late in the year, summer weather in autumn
Blue skies at last up here in the north-west of England. Maybe we’re in for an Indian summer.
- tough – difficult, hard
We’re also going to ask you which Champions League group you think is the toughest.
- to retain – to keep, to win a cup or a title again
It was good for Argentina as they retain their Olympic title by defeating Nigeria one nil.
- sweltering – extremely hot (and humid), sweaty
It was good for Argentina as they retain their Olympic title by defeating Nigeria one nil in sweltering Beijing.
- bogey team -a team you traditionally do badly against, a team that you find difficult to beat
Nagoya finally beat their bogey team Kashima in the league.
- to slot home – to score accurately, an accurate goal
Johnson slotting home the winner from the penalty spot to seal a famous victory.
- to leapfrog – to overtake in the table, to go above in the rankings
It was also good for Urawa Reds who leapfrogged Kashima to go top of J-League.
- horror tackle – a bad tackle that could result in injury, a very dangerous tackle (see x-rated tackle)
My bad this week is John Pantsil’s horror tackle on Arsenal’s Eboue during Arsenal’s defeat at Craven Cottage.
- to put your money where your mouth is – to act on a promise, to do as you say
I wonder wether Platini’s going to put his money where his mouth is. I doubt it.
