Spotlight – September 2019

60 Spotlight 9/2019 SPOKEN ENGLISH

There are many idioms in English that refer to the head, face or

parts of the face, but it’s not always obvious what they mean.

Head and face

To say or think something off the top of your head means that

it’s a spontaneous idea:

⋅ Off the top of my head, I think it’s a good plan. (= that’s my

instant reaction)

If you lose face, you are humiliated or embarrassed. If you save

face, you avoid being embarrassed:

⋅ I didn’t criticize him because I didn’t want him to lose face.

Nose, eyes and ears

If you have a good nose for something, you have a natural ability

to find or recognize it:

⋅ She has a good nose for bargains. She always seems to find

clothes that cost almost nothing.

If you follow your nose, you go in the most obvious direction:

⋅ Can you tell me the way to the station? — Just follow your

nose down this street, and you can’t miss it.

If a person is nosy, he or she wants to know other people’s pri-

vate business:

⋅ She always wants to know where I’m going. She’s so nosy!

If you see eye to eye with someone, you share the same opinions:

⋅ I like our neighbours, but we don’t really see eye to eye on

politics.

SPOKEN ENGLISH

It’s on the tip

of my tongue

How do we use idioms connected with the head

and face in conversational English? Look at

the examples, read the explanations and try the

exercises. By ADRIAN DOFF

MEDIUM PLUS

Exercise 2

Choose the correct word in bold in the sentences below.

A. We caught the train by the skin of our lips / teeth.

B. I’m not going to tell you! Don’t be so nosy / nosing.

C. I’ll keep an ear / eye on grandad while you’re away.

D. The company doesn’t really believe in workers’ rights.

It just pays lip / mouth service to the idea.

E. I’m going to give up studying economics. I’m fed up

to the back / front teeth with it.

F. How do you say “receipt” in German? It’s on the tip /

top of my tongue.

Exercise 1

Match the expressions in bold on the left to the mean-

ings on the right.

1.A–3B–1C–2D–4

2.A. teethB. nosyC. eyeD. lipE. backF. tip

If you keep an eye on someone or something, you watch or take

care of that person or thing:

⋅ Could you keep an eye on the chicken? Don’t let it burn.

If something catches your eye, you notice it and like it:

⋅ Do you like my new earrings? They caught my eye when I

was out shopping for clothes.

If you don’t bat an eyelid, you show no surprise or shock:

⋅ My parents didn’t bat an eyelid when I told them I was

leaving home. I think they were expecting it.

If you are all ears, you listen to someone with great interest:

⋅ Do tell me how the meeting went. I’m all ears.

Mouth

If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you just manage

to do it:

⋅ She passed the exam by the skin of her teeth.

If you’re fed up to the back teeth with something, you find the

situation unbearable:

⋅ I’m fed up to the back teeth with my job. It’s so boring!

If a word is on the tip of your tongue, it means you can almost

remember it, but not quite:

⋅ What’s his name — Rod, Ralph, Randolph? It’s on the tip of

my tongue.

If you pay lip service to an idea, you pretend to agree with it, but

you don’t really believe in it:

⋅ I think the government is just paying lip service to cutting

CO 2 emissions.

Answers

bargain [(bA:gIn]

, Schnäppchen, Angebot

earring [(IErIN]

, Ohrring

embarrassed

[Im(bÄrEst]

, verlegen, beschämt

humiliated

[hju(mIlieItId]

, gedemütigt, erniedrigt

in bold [In (bEUld]

, fettgedruckt

unbearable [Vn(beErEb&l]

, unerträglich

A. She didn’t bat an eyelid.

B. We always see eye to eye.

C. I’m all ears.

D. She has a nose for a good

story.

1. share the same opin-
   ion


2. be very interested


3. show no surprise


4. have a natural ability
   to find something