21 Advanced Phrases (C1) to Build Your Vocabulary | Advanced English

hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy today we are focusing on an advanced level of English this is an advanced C1 level vocabulary lesson we are going to Deep dive into 21 Advanced English words and phrases that will significantly elevate your level of proficiency in English now before we get started I have two incredibly relevant things that I need to share with you firstly I have created a free PDF for this lesson that contains all of the phrases we're going to talk abou

t and a quiz so that you can test your understanding now we're working on a very specific level of English it's called the advanced level or the C1 level of English for lots of students this is the ultimate goal in English but many of them don't actually know what they need to learn grammar and vocabulary and listening and speaking to be able to say that they are at that level I have developed an ebook a C1 ebook that tells you all of the grammar all of the vocabulary all of the skills that you

need to master to be able to say confidently that you are at a C1 level of English now it just so happens that on the 15th of May I release the beautiful British English C1 program this is my first ever advanced level English program nothing has been announced yet but in this ebook I have also included the curriculum for the program so if you would like to download the PDF and quiz for today's lesson the C1 ebook that will show you everything you need to achieve a C1 level and you want to take a

sneak peek at the curriculum for my brand new C1 program all you have to do is go to the link in the description box you sign up to my mailing list the lesson PDF and the C1 ebook will arrive directly in your inbox and you will sign up to the waiting list for my C1 program so you will be the first to know when it's released on Monday the 15th of May all right let's get started with the lesson the words and phrases are divided into three topics we have lifestyle and well-being people and work an

d I'm going to give you a short quiz after each section to check if you can remember what you've learned let's start with lifestyle and well-being firstly we have a face value at face value means accepting something as it appears to be without questioning its true nature or its authenticity for example you shouldn't take everything you read about nutrition at face value always verify the information is from reliable sources next we have to have a crack at something to have a crack at something t

his means to attempt or try something often for the first time or with great enthusiasm for example even though she had never tried rock climbing before Tara decided to have a crack at it during the team building event we also have a lovely one to burn the Midnight Oil to burn the Midnight Oil this means to study or work late into the night often to complete a task or to prepare for something or meet a deadline for example with exams approaching Sarah found herself burning the midnight oil to co

ver all the required material we also have to strike a balance to Striker balance this means to find a compromise or a middle ground another nice phrase between two competing factors for example it's essential to strike a balance between work and Leisure for a healthy lifestyle next we have to let off steam to let off steam this means to do or say something that helps you to release some anger or frustration that you feel I was so Furious that I had to go for a walk around the block to let off s

team to release my anger we also have to count one's blessings this one's lovely this means to make an effort to be grateful for the good things in your life to count your blessings for example when I'm feeling down I try to remember to count my blessings and be grateful for what I have sometimes we use it in a sarcastic or patronizing way if someone is being ungrateful for what they have we might say count your blessings there are people that are way worse off than you are the final one for our

lifestyle and well-being section is to bloom to bloom and you might know this word in connection with flowers the flower opens it blooms such a nice word bloom bloom when a person blooms they become health see happy and confident we sometimes use it when talking about maturity although we'll use Blossom as well but it's a really positive phrase Carl bloomed during his six-week holiday in the countryside thanks to the fresh air and healthy food okay first break first quiz what can you remember f

rom what I just taught you firstly which word is missing from this sentence I'm going to have a a kayaking today I'm nervous but I'm sure it will be a lot of fun I'll give you five seconds it's crack well done okay next if I'm really angry and I decide to go for a run to calm down what am I doing am I a letting off steam or B letting out a scream it was a letting off steam if you said letting out a scream I think people would understand you were releasing anger okay and lastly which of the words

that I just taught you means to develop healthily and happily can you remember it it was Bloom well done if you got it right okay let's move on to talking about people first one to stick one's neck out to stick one's neck out this means to take a risk or to expose yourself to possible criticism or danger by doing or saying something for example despite the controversy surrounding the issue Jane decided to stick her neck out and support the new policy next we have a knee-jerk reaction a knee-jer

k reaction have you ever been to the doctor and they hit your knee with a hammer and you just can't help but react it's your reflex isn't it well a knee-jerk reaction is an immediate automatic response to a situation often without careful consideration or thought for example when we heard about the increase in crime rates our knee-jerk reaction was to insist on more police Patrols in the area that was just the immediate gut reaction we also have to split hairs and I do have a few split hairs oh

I just love doing my hair that's the problem but if you split hairs it doesn't mean you're styling your hair too much it means you have a very annoying character trait it means to argue or worry about very small details or differences that are unimportant for example sometimes I feel like my husband splits hairs over insignificant matters and it leads to unnecessary arguments another phrase with a relevant backstory is pecking order pecking order this is social hierarchy in a group in which all

individuals in that group are aware of how important everyone is the different levels of important and I presume that this comes from chickens or Birds an example there's a clear pecking order in their group of friends with Sally being top of the pile I was never top of the pecking order at school I just didn't have it in me now the next three words are adjectives used to describe people and the first one is shrewd shrewd and this describes someone who is good at understanding and making judgmen

ts about situations they're often quite good at taking the emotion out a shrewd person is able to make decisions that will give them an advantage for example Claire was a shrewd business person and she made several wise investment decisions when she was still young next number 13 we have obstinate obstinate and notice how I pronounce it with a schwa at the end obstinate not obstinate this means refusing to change your opinion or actions despite people trying to make you do so we could also say s

tubborn in a way is often used for children Henry was a very obstinate teenager and he consistently refused to admit that he might be wrong about something an extra little Lucy's note here I've seen some students mix up obstinate with another Advanced adjective abstinent abstinent it might be the combination of T's and ends but abstinent has an entirely different meaning it means to refrain from indulging in a particular Behavior this is often related to Vices or bad habits you abstain from doin

g something our final word in this topic is Placid Placid with the sound the soft sea we use Placid to describe someone who's very calm and isn't easily excited or annoyed despite the hullabaloo around her Ali remained Placid and continued with her work it's quiz time it's quiz time can you answer these three questions I'm going to give you five seconds to answer each one firstly which word is missing my knee reaction to hearing my son had been arrested was to be utterly livid ja Jam jet or jerk

it's jerk excellent job if you got that right number two sometimes it's best to keep your opinions to yourself and not your out is it stick your head stack your neck stick your neck or stuck your nose have a think stick your neck out don't stick your neck out or they'll chop your head off and the third one which words that I just taught you are synonyms for these words calm and stubborn which two words are synonyms Placid obstinate bonus points if you've got the pronunciation right of obstinate

okay let's move on to our last section it is work and our first phrase is to pull some strings to pull some strings this means to use your influence or connections often secretly or unefficiently to achieve a desired outcome by pulling some strings Tom was able to get his sister a prestigious position at a london-based accounting firm the next one is to have a field day to have a field day which means to take advantage of a situation typically for personal benefit and often at the expense of ot

hers for example when the news of the Scandal broke tabloid journalists had a field day writing Sensational stories next we have to be privy to to be privy and note that pronunciation not privy privy this means to have access to or knowledge of secret or confidential information the CEO's assistant is privy to all the important decisions in the company another one one I use quite a lot is on the back burner on the back burner if something is on the back burner it's low priority and it's not bein

g dealt with at the present moment let's put this project on the back burner and focus on more pressing matters however I'm really busy I put lots of things on the back burner next we have an adjective cushy I wonder if you can guess what it means it's very similar to another word cushion if something is Cushy it means it's very easy requiring little effort comfortable sometimes people say kushti as well this is slang but we use it in professional situations Ellen got a cushy job that pays well

but allows her lots of free time number 20 is a fantastic idiom it is to get your foot in the door to get your foot in the door this means to enter a company or organization at a low level with a chance of being promoted or being more successful in the future Lena got her foot in the door as an intern but she worked her way up to department head in just a few years and my final phrase for you is to go Belly Up To Go belly up and we use this to talk about companies and it means to fail completely

and to have to close the business went belly up after just a year of trading okay oh that time again quiz time which word is missing I managed to get my in the door at an amazing company earlier in my career and I've worked my way up to management level head foot leg or hand but you get your foot in the door number two you know the prime minister right can you pull some and get me an interview with her is it strikes strides streams or strings that's right we pull some strings and finally if a j

ob is very easy and doesn't require much effort how can we describe it cushy or if you said kushti I'll let you have that one too okay that's everything from me today I really hope you enjoyed learning these 21 Advanced words and phrases in English if you would like to download the PDF we've got all of the information from today's lesson lots more examples and we have an extra more difficult quiz actually plus I will also give you our C1 ebook which will talk you through everything that you need

to master to be able to say that you are at a C1 level of English it also includes the curriculum of our brand new beautiful British English C1 program that is released on the 15th of May if you would like to download those and sign up to the waiting list for the C1 program click on the link in the description box it's just down there that's all from me I will see you soon for another lesson [Music] foreign [Music] [Music]