There used to be a big sign in the arrivals hall at Manchester airport: “You’re welcome to London.” It gave a lot of passengers quite a shock – “London? Why London? Aren’t we in Manchester?” But look closely! The sign didn’t say “Welcome to London” but “You’re welcome to London” – which means something along on the lines of London könnt ihr euch an den Hut stecken, London könnt ihr gerne behalten or Wer braucht schon London? The sign was a clever trick by the City of Manchester to promote itself as a better alternative to the capital.
We explore similar potentially confusing phrases in English. The words are all very simple, but as a phrase, they might not mean what you first think. For each of the phrases, choose the correct meaning.
Quiz
You might not know these words from the quiz:
casual: locker, leger
miserably: elendig
fatal: tödlich
cake smash: Tortenschlacht
peeve (ifml.): Ärgernis
sympathetic: mitfühlend
raised eyebrow: Stirnrunzeln
escalator: Rolltreppe
