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0:00Hello lovely students and welcome back
0:02to English with Lucy. Would you survive
0:06in Great Britain when it comes to
0:09listening in English? How advanced are
0:13your English listening skills? Let's
0:16test them today. I have collected 15
0:20examples of very advanced English
0:24overheard here in Great Britain. We have
0:30in the neighborhood, on public
0:32transport, in the office, and my
0:36personal favorite, embarrassing fauxars.
0:41Now, a fauxar is an embarrassing mistake
0:44made in public. If you can understand
0:50of these incredibly advanced snippets or
0:54small parts of a conversation, your
0:57English listening skills are advanced.
0:59They are superb. And because this is
1:02such an important lesson, I've created a
1:05detailed PDF that includes all the key
1:08vocabulary highlighted in the lesson,
1:10plus loads of extras. To download that,
1:13just click the link in the description
1:15box or scan the QR code on screen and
1:18I'll send it straight to your inbox.
1:20I'll also add you to the waiting list
1:21for my most advanced course ever, the
1:25beautiful British English C2 program. It
1:28launches on the 19th of January, 2026.
1:32If you're ready to move past advanced
1:35into a level where English feels
1:37flexible, expressive, and fully yours,
1:41you're going to want to be on the
1:42waiting list. You'll get access to the
1:44incredible launch discount, and you'll
1:47be one of the very first to experience
1:50this program. Make sure you click the
1:52link in the description box or scan the
1:54QR code to get your PDF and join the C2
1:58program waiting list. Okay, let's get
2:00started with our first category in the
2:03neighborhood. I will ask the question
2:05and then play each audio twice. I'll
2:08give you some time to think and then I
2:11will explain the answers and highlight
2:14any other interesting bits. Are you
2:16ready for number one? What's the
2:18speaker's attitude towards car's
2:21reaction? A. They think it's justified.
2:25B they think it's exaggerated.
2:28or C, they think it's admirable.
2:31>> Do you hear about Car number 22 kicking
2:34up a tremendous fuss about Jim painting
2:37his garage door canary yellow? Honestly,
2:40it's turned into a ripe palava.
2:43Do you hear about Car number 22 kicking
2:46up a tremendous fuss about Jim painting
2:48his garage door canary yellow? Honestly,
2:52it's turned into a ripe palava. The
2:55correct answer is B. The speaker thinks
2:58Cara's reaction is exaggerated.
3:01How do we know? Well, there are two
3:04interesting pieces of vocabulary here.
3:07First, we have kicking up a fuss. Now,
3:11this informal idiom means to complain
3:14loudly about something, but we often use
3:16it when we think the complaint isn't
3:19necessary. You can also say kick up a
3:22stink or row as an argument. Then we
3:26also have the very informal British
3:29English word palava. Now a palava is a
3:33great deal of unnecessary excitement or
3:36trouble. Again, especially about
3:38something that is not important. So from
3:41these two phrases, we can infer that the
3:44speaker thinks car's reaction is
3:48Okay. Number two, listen to the audio
3:51and complete this sentence with two
3:58to clean up the dirty alley.
4:00>> The alley running down the back of the
4:02houses was chock blocked with rubbish,
4:05but loads of people in the neighborhood
4:07met last week and mucked in to clean it
4:09up. Aisha even managed to find some
4:11local artists to paint a mural and
4:14brighten the space up a bit. The alley
4:16running down the back of the houses was
4:18chucka blocked with rubbish, but loads
4:21of people in the neighborhood met last
4:23week and mucked in to clean it up. Aisha
4:26even managed to find some local artists
4:28to paint a mural and brighten the space
4:30up a bit. Did you catch the two words?
4:33The answer is mucked in. Mckin. Now
4:39notice the catenation or consonant to
4:42vowel linking there. Mckin.
4:46Mckin. I'm joining them together to make
4:48my speech more efficient. Now, what does
4:51it mean? Did you figure it out from the
4:53context? This phrasal verb means to come
4:56together with others and share work in
4:59order to complete a task. There's some
5:01more challenging vocabulary in this
5:03snippet like alley, cho block, and
5:07mural. Make sure you download the PDF
5:10for a more in-depth analysis of each
5:12audio. QR code there, link down there.
5:15Let's do question number three. What are
5:17the last two words you hear to complete
5:20this phrase? And what does it mean? I'm
5:23going to have corettes coming out of
5:28you're right, Ra. Your veggie patch
5:31seems to be coming on a treat.
5:32>> Cheers. Yeah. Well, with all this rain
5:34and sun we've been having, I'm going to
5:36have corettes coming out on my ears in
5:39>> You're right, Ra. Your veggie patch
5:42seems to be coming on a treat.
5:44>> Cheers. Yeah. Well, with all this rain
5:45and sun we've been having, I'm going to
5:47have corettes coming out of my ears in
5:50>> So, you actually heard me.
5:54M. In many British accents and some
5:57other accents, the possessive adjective
6:00my is pronounced with a shorter i sound.
6:04Me. There's also a soft y sound that
6:07links the two vowel sounds. The speaker
6:10isn't saying years, although it does
6:13sound like it. So, the last phrase in
6:16full is I'm going to have corettes
6:19coming out of my ears. Me ears. Any idea
6:25what that phrase in bold means? Well, if
6:28you have something coming out of your
6:30ears, you have far more of it than you
6:33want or need. Such a great expression.
6:36Okay, time for our final conversation
6:38snippet. Overheard in the neighborhood.
6:41Listen and tell me what change the
6:44speaker is describing. It used to be
6:47that on a Saturday morning, the air
6:49hummed with friendly chatter and
6:50customers haggling over prices. Now
6:53there's only a handful of stalls left.
6:55It's such a shame that shopping's been
6:56reduced to an act of clicking, not
7:00It used to be that on a Saturday
7:02morning, the air hummed with friendly
7:04chatter and customers haggling over
7:06prices. Now there's only a handful of
7:08stalls left. It's such a shame that
7:10shopping's been reduced to an act of
7:12clicking, not mingling. So, if you
7:16answered the decline of local markets,
7:19the shift towards online shopping, or
7:22something similar to that, you are
7:24right. Let's take a closer look. The
7:27biggest clues here are probably the
7:29phrases customers haggling over prices
7:33and only a handful of stools left. If
7:36you haggle over or haggle about
7:40something, you argue to try to get the
7:43best price for something. A handful is a
7:46small number of something. In this case,
7:48stalls. We don't need to pronounce the
7:51duh in the middle there. Handful. A
7:54stall is a table or a small shop that
7:57people sell from at a market. Now, did
7:59you know enough of that advanced
8:01vocabulary to get the answer? Make sure
8:03you keep track of your score out of four
8:07so far. I will ask you to share it at
8:09the end. Okay, let's move on to a new
8:11category. Things you might overhear when
8:14out and about on public transport.
8:16Here's something I heard a little while
8:18back. Listen and tell me what item the
8:22speaker is talking about. It was making
8:24such a racket. So, I yanked up the
8:26handle to carry it for a bit just to
8:28give myself and everyone else some
8:30respite, but it snapped clean off, which
8:32then sent the whole thing crashing to
8:34the floor and jammed the wheel. Absolute
8:36nightmare. It was making such a racket.
8:39So, I yanked up the handle to carry it
8:41for a bit just to give myself and
8:43everyone else some respite, but it
8:45snapped clean off, which then sent the
8:47whole thing crashing to the floor and
8:48jammed the wheel. Absolute nightmare.
8:51Did you get it? Here's the full bit of
8:54text. If you need a bit of help, the
8:57speaker's talking about a suitcase. A
9:00wheeled or wheelie suitcase to be
9:03precise. How did you figure it out if
9:06the speaker just says it all the time?
9:09Well, we have the context. We know this
9:12was overheard on public transport. A lot
9:15of people carry cases when traveling.
9:18Then we had the phrase making such a
9:22racket. A racket is a loud, unpleasant
9:27noise. Now, I don't know about you, but
9:29my wheelie suitcase sometimes makes
9:32horrible noises. Then we have the word
9:36handle. This is the top part of the case
9:38you can use to carry it. And then jammed
9:41the wheel. If a wheel jams, it stops
9:46moving. Imagine the wheel getting all
9:48covered in jam. Horrific nightmare fuel.
9:51Let's move on to number six. Listen to
9:53this snippet. Which adjective do you
9:56hear and what does it mean? Is it a
10:09Have a listen. I'm just a little bit
10:12wary of putting my bag there.
10:14Technically, you're not supposed to
10:15leave belongings unattended, are you?
10:18I'm just a little bit wary of putting my
10:20bag there. Technically, you're not
10:22supposed to leave belongings unattended,
10:24are you? The answer is B. Wary. I'm just
10:28a little bit wary of putting my bag
10:31there. If you are wary of doing
10:34something, you're very careful or
10:36cautious about it because you think
10:38there might be a problem or some kind of
10:40danger. Weary means to be tired of and
10:45wiry is thin and bendy like a wire.
10:49Okay, time for number seven. Listen to
10:52this announcement over the loudspeaker.
10:55There are six pieces of information. All
10:58numbers that could be relevant and
11:01important for you. How many of them can
11:03you catch? Final call for passengers on
11:10to Copenhagen. Boarding for rows 13 to
11:1470 is now taking place at gate C18.
11:18Please be advised that checked baggage
11:19exceeding 15 kilos will incur an
11:22additional fee of €65 at the desk.
11:26>> Okay, these announcements are
11:28notoriously difficult to hear, even for
11:30native speakers. So, here's a bit of a
11:33clue before you listen again, but feel
11:35free to look away if you want more of a
11:39>> Final call for passengers on flight
11:44to Copenhagen. Boarding for rows 13 to
11:4870 is now taking place at gate C18.
11:52Please be advised that checked baggage
11:53exceeding 15 kilos will incur an
11:56additional fee of €65 at the desk. Okay,
12:00so the speaker said flight BA793
12:05to Copenhagen rose 13- 70, gate C18,
12:12baggage exceeding 15 kilos, and an
12:16additional fee of €65.
12:20If you got more than half of those
12:22right, give yourself a point. Now, for
12:25our final snippet in this category, I'd
12:28like you to try and finish the passage
12:30with a word or a short phrase that makes
12:33logical sense. I thought I'd be fine,
12:36but the minute we left the harbor, the
12:39swell really hit me. I tried to read for
12:41a bit. Bad idea. Couldn't focus, and
12:45every lurch of the boat made me feel
12:47worse. I had to sit perfectly still,
12:50staring at the horizon, just trying not
12:53to. I thought I'd be fine, but the
12:57minute we left the harbor, the swell
12:59really hit me. I tried to read for a
13:01bit. Bad idea. Couldn't focus, and every
13:05lurch of the boat made me feel worse.
13:08had to sit perfectly still staring at
13:11the horizon just trying not to.
13:14>> Okay, if you said something along the
13:17lines of vomit, be sick, or throw up,
13:23then give yourself a point. Now, did you
13:25manage to figure out what was going on?
13:28There's quite a lot of boat related
13:31vocabulary here. the harbor, swell,
13:35lurch of the boat, and horizon.
13:38And then clues that point to
13:40seasickness, like I thought I'd be fine,
13:44but and made me feel worse. Check out
13:47the PDF for a more in-depth analysis if
13:50you found that one tricky. Okay, what's
13:52your score out of eight so far? Are you
13:56ready for the next category? We're
13:58heading into the office now for number
14:01nine. Listen and complete this sentence
14:04with five words. The speaker is worried
14:10>> Well, judging by the stony silence in
14:12that meeting, I think I may have tredden
14:14on a few toes. All I said was that we
14:16should invite contributions from the
14:18whole team, but the reaction was as if
14:20I'd questioned the whole project. I
14:23clearly struck a raw nerve. Well,
14:26judging by the stony silence in that
14:27meeting, I think I may have tredden on a
14:29few toes. All I said was that we should
14:32invite contributions from the whole
14:34team, but the reaction was as if I'd
14:36questioned the whole project. I clearly
14:38struck a raw nerve. This missing phrase
14:42is trodden on a few toes. Trodden on a
14:46few toes. Have you ever heard this
14:49expression before? Here's the full
14:52transcript. Which definition fits best?
14:56Does to tread on someone's toes mean A
14:59to inadvertently upset someone by
15:02interfering in their responsibilities or
15:04area of control or B to avoid getting
15:08involved in something as it might cause
15:15[bell] The answer is A. We can also say
15:18step on someone's toes. Now, did you
15:21catch the other juicy C2 language in
15:24that clip? I've highlighted it in the
15:26PDF. Download that so you don't miss out
15:28on phrases like struck a raw nerve. Oh,
15:32that's a beautiful phrase to strike a
15:34raw nerve. Okay, this next one is a real
15:37challenge. You're going to hear a
15:39snippet with four abbreviations
15:42or to be more precise, initialisms.
15:46FAQ, for example, is an initialism. The
15:49letters stand for frequently asked
15:52questions. Now, can you catch the office
15:54initialisms and come up with their full
15:58>> Can you send me the draft of the KPIs
16:00ASAP? I need to get it to the CEO by
16:03EOD. Can you send me the draft of the
16:06KPIs ASAP? I need to get it to the CEO
16:10by EOD. Okay, so we had KPIs,
16:15key performance indicators, ASAP,
16:19sometimes pronounced as ASAP, meaning as
16:23soon as possible. CEO,
16:26chief executive officer, and EOD, end of
16:31day. Now, if you caught more than two of
16:34those, you deserve a point. Oh, and an
16:38important pronunciation point. Did you
16:39notice how I stressed the last letter in
16:50E O D. Try to do the same when you
16:53pronounce them. You'll sound nice and
16:55natural. Okay. For number 11, I'm going
16:57to show you the text and I want you to
17:00choose the word or phrase you hear. Now,
17:03don't worry if you can't see the screen.
17:06I will give you the options once you've
17:07listened twice. Okay, so we have some
17:10very similar sounding expressions here.
17:12This quarter's exceeded expectations, so
17:15we'll be sure to order it before the
17:17report goes out. We'll wrap things up
17:19there. Benefits all clear for you. This
17:22quarter's exceeded expectations, so
17:24we'll be sure to order it before the
17:26report goes out. We'll wrap things up
17:28there. Benefits all clear for you. Did
17:30you hear one quarter or quarter?
17:35Two, audit or order it?
17:40Three, benefits or ben if it replay the
17:46audio one more time if you need to. The
17:52order it and then if it
17:58really tricky, isn't it? Well done if
18:00you got all of those. Okay, it's time
18:03for our final audio from The Office.
18:06Listen to it and complete the passage
18:08with a word or short phrase. Ready? The
18:11much hyped redesign promised to break
18:13down barriers and spark collaboration.
18:16Yet within weeks, everyone was
18:18retreating behind noiseancelling
18:20headphones, scrambling for secluded
18:22corners, and voicing frustration at the
18:25incessant buzz of distracting chatter.
18:28What had been touted as an innovative
18:30step forward soon revealed itself to be
18:33the much hyped redesign promised to
18:36break down barriers and spark
18:38collaboration. Yet within weeks everyone
18:40was retreating behind noiseancelling
18:43headphones, scrambling for secluded
18:45corners and voicing frustration at the
18:48incessant buzz of distracting chatter.
18:50What had been touted as an innovative
18:52step forward soon revealed itself to be
18:56if you said something along the lines of
19:00a failure, or ineffective, you get a
19:04point. In the PDF, I will delve deeper
19:06into the tricky vocab highlighted here.
19:09Okay, we're on to our final category and
19:11our last three questions. These snippets
19:15are a little bit embarrassing. Listen to
19:17this and tell me what the mixup was.
19:21>> I'd only been living in Manchester for a
19:23few weeks when a colleague invited me
19:24round for tea at 5. I was thrilled at
19:27the thought of experiencing this
19:28quintessential British tradition. So I
19:31rocked up with a jar of strawberry jam
19:33and a pot of clotted cream. So you can
19:36imagine how bewildered I was when I
19:38arrived to find the table fully laid.
19:41Not for a pot of Earl Gray and scones,
19:43but for a fullblown evening meal. I'd
19:47only been living in Manchester for a few
19:48weeks when a colleague invited me round
19:50for tea at 5. I was thrilled at the
19:53thought of experiencing this
19:54quintessential British tradition, so I
19:56rocked up with a jar of strawberry jam
19:59and a pot of clotted cream. So, you can
20:01imagine how bewildered I was when I
20:04arrived to find the table fully laid,
20:06not for a pot of gray and scones, but
20:09for a fullblown evening meal.
20:12>> Okay, this one confuses so many
20:14students. Dinner is the word that's
20:17usually taught to describe an evening
20:19meal. But in many places around the UK,
20:22dinner is replaced by tea. And the fact
20:25that many people have their evening meal
20:27as early as 5:00 just adds to the
20:30confusion. So if in doubt, make sure you
20:34check. Do you mean tea as in dinner or
20:37tea as in tea and cake? Okay, for number
20:4014, see if you can finish this audio
20:43with a suitable word or phrase. Ready?
20:46>> I spoke to a fellow gymgoer about an
20:48odious man who was offering unsolicited
20:50advice to all in sundry. Tried to
20:53dissuade him from going anywhere near. I
20:56wanted the ground to open and swallow me
20:58up when he turned around and said, "I
21:00spoke to a fellow gym goer about an
21:02odious man who was offering unsolicited
21:05advice to all in sundry. Tried to
21:07dissuade him from going anywhere near. I
21:10wanted the ground to open and swallow me
21:12up when he turned around and said,
21:14>> "So, if you said something like, "He's
21:17my friend, husband, hubby, basically any
21:21relationship, that's another point for
21:23you. Well done." There's a great idiom
21:25here that means to be so embarrassed.
21:28You wish you could disappear. Did you
21:30catch it at the end there? I wanted the
21:32ground to swallow me up. I love this.
21:36It's so descriptive. I wonder if you've
21:39ever felt that way. I'm sure you have on
21:42multiple occasions. Please feel free to
21:44share any anecdotes. I love laughing
21:46along with you. Okay, our final question
21:49for today's lesson. What social fauxar
21:51did the speaker make? I'd gone to a
21:54friend of her friends for dinner. The
21:56host served a divine goat cheese onion
21:58tart as part of the spread. As the
22:00music, wine, and conversation flowed, I
22:03polished off the lot. took a sharp elbow
22:05to the ribs for me to realize what had
22:07happened. Oh, needless to say, I was
22:11I'd gone to a friend of a friend's for
22:13dinner. The host served a divine goat
22:16cheese onion tart as part of the spread.
22:18As the music, wine, and conversation
22:21flowed, I polished off the lot. Took a
22:23sharp elbow to the ribs for me to
22:25realize what had happened. Oh, needless
22:27to say, I was mortified.
22:30If you polish something off, you finish
22:32all of it. Would that be considered a
22:35social fauxar in your country or
22:37culture? Let me know. The speaker was
22:40left mortified. Now, this C2 word means
22:44to feel ashamed or humiliated.
22:47So, my lovely students, that brings us
22:49to the end of today's video lesson. I
22:52would love to know what was your score
22:55out of 15. Please let me know in the
22:58comments. If this lesson stretched your
23:00listening skills, imagine what you'll
23:02achieve at C2. My brand new, beautiful
23:06British English C2 program launches on
23:09the 19th of January, 2026. Get ready to
23:13unlock English at its absolute highest
23:16level. To join the waiting list, make
23:19sure you download today's PDF. It's
23:22packed with all the key vocabulary and
23:24extra tips from this lesson. Scan the QR
23:27code or click the link below to join the
23:29waiting list. See you soon. [music]
