English Vocabulary in Use Upper-intermediate » Unit 49: Emotions and moods

Word List
  • death’s door
  • done in
  • down in the dumps
  • exaggeration
  • fit as a fiddle
  • frighten the life out of sb
  • get carried away
  • happy as Larry
  • head spinning
  • in a bad mood
  • in high spirits
  • jump out of your skin
  • keep a cool head
  • keep your chin up
  • like a bear with a sore head
  • long face
  • on cloud nine
  • on top form
  • on top of the world
  • proud
  • scared out of your wits
  • scared stiff
  • shake in your boots/shoes
  • swell with pride
  • take everything as it comes
  • things are looking up
  • throw a wobbly
  • under the weather
Exercises

49.1 ‣ Match the sentence beginnings on the left with the endings on the right to make fixed expressions.

  1. Imogen was on
  2. Michaela was in _____
  3. Anna kept _____
  4. Lilian was as _____
  5. Kathy was like _____
  6. Rosie threw _____
  1. a) her chin up.
  2. b) a bear with a sore head.
  3. c) cloud nine.
  4. d) a bad mood.
  5. e) a wobbly.
  6. f) happy as the day is long.

49.2 ‣ Complete the fixed expressions from A and B opposite.

  1. Has something good happened? You all seem in high .
  2. What's the matter? You've got a long _____.
  3. As long as he has his car to work on, he's as happy _____.
  4. It's been an awful day! No wonder everyone is in a _____.
  5. Has something bad happened? You look down _____.

49.3 ‣ Read the comments and then answer the questions.

Mark: 'I've never felt so terrified in my life.'

Lidia: 'I was just not feeling very well yesterday.'

Andrea: 'I felt as if I couldn't keep my balance and was about to fall.'

Krishnan: 'I've been feeling really well recently.'

Lars: 'I was very ill indeed last week.'

Karen: 'I've gone to the gym every day this month and I can feel the results.'

commentname
1 Who was feeling under the weather?
2 Who is probably as fit as a fiddle?_____
3 Who was scared out of their wits?_____
4 Who was at death's door?_____
5 Whose head was spinning?_____
6 Who is feeling on top form?_____

49.4 ‣ Use fixed expressions to rewrite the words in bold.

  1. I gave a sudden jump when he fired the gun.
  2. I think you should not panic and just be patient.
    _____
  3. He scared me very much when he came in wearing that ghost mask!
    _____
  4. Everyone was trembling with fear when they saw the door open all by itself.
    _____
  5. I was very scared before I did the bungee jump, but it was OK.
    _____
  6. She felt very proud indeed as her daughter received the gold medal.
    _____
  7. I think I got too excited by the idea of joining a rock band. It's actually very hard work!
    _____
  8. I try to just deal with events in a calm way as they happen.
    _____

49.5 ‣

Over to you

Write sentences about yourself.

  1. Describe a situation or event which would make you feel on top of the world.
    _____
  2. Which of the expressions in C opposite best describe(s) your state at the moment?
    _____
Answer Key

In this unit we focus on fixed expressions describing various emotions. You may not need to use them often yourself, but you need to understand them when you read or hear them.

A ‣ Positive feelings, moods and states

Maria seems to be on cloud nine these days. [extremely pleased/happy]

Everyone seemed to be in high spirits. [lively, enjoying things]

She seems to be keeping her chin up. [happy despite bad things]

Jo’s as happy as Larry / as happy as can be. [extremely content]

B ‣ Negative feelings, moods and states

He had a long face. [looked depressed/sad]

She certainly looked down in the dumps. [looked depressed/sad]

Zac is in a bad mood. [a bad mood/temper]

Martin was like a bear with a sore head. [extremely irritable] (See Unit 97.)

Alice threw a wobbly the other day. [became extremely angry and upset]

C ‣ Physical feelings and states

I'm feeling done in. [exhausted]

You're looking a bit under the weather. [not very well / ill]

She looked, and felt, on top form. [in good physical condition]

I suddenly felt my head was spinning. [unable to balance, feel as if you will fall over]

I was almost at death's door last week! [very sick/ill]

Old Nora's as fit as a fiddle. [very fit indeed]

D ‣ Fear/fright

She was scared stiff. [very scared]

She frightened the life out of him. [frightened him a lot]

We were all shaking in our boots/shoes. [trembling with fear]

The poor lad was scared out of his wits. [ very scared indeed]

I jumped out of my skin when I heard the bang. [gave a big jump]

E ‣ Other expressions for actions and feelings

Capricorn (21.12-19.1)

Don't get carried away1 by promises not kept. Keep a cool head2 and take everything as it comes3. On the work front, things are looking up4.
Taurus (21.4-20.5)

If someone says something that makes you swell with pride5 and feel on top of the world6, enjoy the moment!

1 get too excited
2 stay calm
3 deal calmly with events as they happen
4 improving
5 feel proud / very pleased because of something good that you did
6 very happy indeed

Language help

There is often an element of exaggeration in these expressions. They make quite strong comments on the situation and often lighten the tone of what you are saying. So use them only in informal situations.

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