IELTS Energy 1637: Holidays on IELTS Part 1: How Halloween Can Boost Vocabulary Scores

This is an IELTS Energy Podcast, Episode 1637, Holidays on IELTS Part 1, How Halloween Can Boost Your Vocabulary Scores. Welcome to the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English, downloaded more than 35 million times with examiner-trained IELTS whiz Aubrey Carter and Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer. If you are stuck with a low score, our insider method will help you get the score you need to unlock your dreams. Get your estimated band score now with our two-minute quiz at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.

Today, we celebrate Halloween by sharing six idioms that are perfect for boosting IELTS vocabulary scores. Listen in for phrases that will knock the examiner dead.

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That's allearsenglish.com slash B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S. Hello, Lindsay. How are you? Hey, doing great, Aubrey. How's everything going? Excellent. Halloween is in just a couple of days.

Do you have any fun plans? Oh my gosh, I'm excited. I'll actually be in Cambridge, Massachusetts and we'll be seeing friends. My partner's running a, I think a half marathon there and then we'll be doing Halloween in Cambridge.

So our old, where we met originally and where we spent a lot of time and Yeah, super excited. I feel like that's the part of the world where like Hocus Pocus was filmed. Exactly right.

So Salem, Massachusetts is a huge tourist attraction. It's a really cute little town. It's the best place to be for Halloween. I love that. That's why it's really expensive to fly to Massachusetts.

Luckily, we booked our flights early, and we're going to get our son into some kind of Halloween costume. We don't know what yet, but it'll be fun. What about you, Aubrey? What's your plan?

We are doing a disco Halloween. We're all dressing 70s, and we're going to have roller skates in our cul-de-sac. It'll be like roller skating around. It'll be fun.

It's so fun. Oh, my gosh. Then trick-or-treaters come to us and just get candy in the cul-de-sac. We usually do a chili cook-off. It's pretty fun. Oh, wow.

That'll be really fun. I've never been a big Halloween person, but I think now that I have a baby, I think it'll be really, really fun. Absolutely. Cute baby in the costume.

And I know we talked about on the All There's English podcast, you potentially matching your dog and your baby's costumes. How cute would that be? I can't wait to see pictures. I know.

I know. But for all of you IELTS students out there, this is exciting because there are so many idioms in English related to this spooky time of year. You probably aren't going to be asked specifically on IELTS to talk about Halloween because this is an American holiday. Right.

Of course, it's a global exam, but you will be asked about holidays and traditions. And there are a lot of idioms using the words dead, deaf, and deadly that are actually really related to Halloween specifically that we use idiomatically and are flexible and great for boosting vocabulary scores. Yes, I love it. So important to have the right vocabulary.

So guys, today we're bringing you an episode with six band nine phrases that are flexible and can be used for answers on a lot of different topics. Okay. Exactly. And stay to the end.

We're going to give a couple of IELTS examples using these idioms. But as you hear them, I know that you're going to have light bulbs of like, oh, this is so useful in all of my IELTS answers. You're going to be able to use all of this vocabulary on pretty much any speaking answer. So I'm excited to dive in and have you guys learn this vocab.

All right. So we'll go ahead and listen to the episode now and then we'll be back at the end. Perfect. Let's do it. Good. Good. hey lindsey how are you doing good michelle whoa today is halloween is that right yeah happy halloween happy halloween how much fun oh my gosh are you a halloween person uh not that much actually are you not really but people love it so like you know and my husband is a big halloween person so i i try to uh you know like go try to be one yeah yeah i try to be supportive and have fun with it's funny

You know what's crazy, though? When did you start seeing Halloween decorations? Because I feel like I've been seeing them since July or August. Yeah, as soon as school... Basically, when school starts again, I feel like I start seeing Halloween.

People really... The season bleeds into the fall, or it starts early. Yeah. it's crazy yeah i think it even starts just like towards the very end of summer like maybe even slightly before kids go back to school it's crazy like i see like all these like pop-up halloween stores and on the street and like decorations and like the same thing happens for christmas like i feel like this is like very common like those two holidays especially well i think yeah yeah no sorry to interrupt go ahead

No, no, no. I mean, yeah, I think that we as a start like with decorations and everything so early. So sometimes, guys, you'll see you're like walking around New York and it's, you know, and it's like, you know, November or like even earlier, maybe. And you start to see some Christmas decorations.

Yeah. But I feel like there's a little bit of a speed bump with Christmas because most people feel like they have to get through Thanksgiving to start decorating for Christmas. Usually right after Thanksgiving is when the Christmas decorations come out. Usually.

Yeah. That's true. So you know, I actually I love one. I love that time of year. So I don't mind. Yeah, it's nice. It's nice. We're trying to figure out like a trip to take for Thanksgiving this year.

Yeah, to do something different to go like not have the traditional meal, just go take a trip somewhere. So want to do something different this year. We'll see what we end up doing. nice nice all right well have fun deciding on that yeah so so do you think you're dressing up for halloween um well i do i did get invited to a party for my tennis league so that's fun so obviously like i don't want to be that that person that shows up without a costume yeah to a costume party i've been that person before and it's totally lame

Yeah. Yeah. Well, do you usually like I mean, because there's so many different ways you can go with a costume usually go with like cute, easy, funny or scary or, you know, like, what do you usually do? I don't do like, well, I like to do kind of weird.

Like one year I was Times Square. Yeah. When I lived in New York, we went out, I don't know, my roommate and I, we didn't know anyone in the city. We went out to some random party and I had a big cup noodles on my head.

Oh, that's really funny. Cup noodles was in Times Square, the ad. Yeah, you have to see if you have a picture of that one. I think I have one somewhere.

I might be able to find it. that's cool yeah yeah i usually try and go also with like the funny easy costume like what can i find in my closet and like yeah and like i don't i don't do the whole like sexy costume thing no me neither that's funny i don't like that either but um a lot of people spend a lot of time and a lot of money on their costumes Oh, yeah. Yeah.

And sometimes I think like I don't like when people are too scary because I get scared. Sometimes it's actually really cool what people do with their makeup and things like that. So but sometimes I feel like the scary costumes are too much. So but I mean, I guess that's what it's all about.

Right, Lindsay? Yeah. I guess so. Yeah. So guys, so today we are focusing on the scary, right? Specifically, the words dead and death. Okay. And because those are quite appropriate for Halloween.

So I thought that'd be a good theme. So and how that you can use these words, how you can use these idioms or words in your conversations. But we've actually talked about this topic of it sounds so weird of death before and how we avoid the topic. I even feel funny saying it now.

Right. Do you remember that one, Lindsay? I remember when we did this episode. Yeah, we talked about the way that Americans look at death. It was a bit more serious, like a bit more of a cultural episode.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like how it's taboo. So guys, that was episode 845. So if you want to listen to that one, head on over, put it in the search bar and you can find it.

Yeah. Yeah. Put it in the search bar, especially if you're listening inside the app, guys, allearsenglish.com forward slash bonuses. Download the app.

You can now type any episode number into that search bar at the top of the episodes list and you'll get the episode right away. It's so convenient. So cool. Great, great, great.

So guys, you know, it's funny that we end up using so much about death in our idioms and we don't want to talk about it. I know. But so, you know, we wanted to go over some of the ones today. Some like interesting ones today in the spirit of Halloween.

So but Lindsay, before we do that, what do we want to tell our listeners? Well, I just want to remind you guys, I mean, if you are taking the IELTS exam, we have the best resource for you. Go over and subscribe. Go and search for the IELTS Energy Podcast from All Ears English.

We're there three days a week giving you the top tips for IELTS. We'll get you ready for that test, guys. So you don't need to go anywhere else. Just go straight to that podcast.

So good. Okay. So Michelle, let's get into it. What have we got here? I'm excited to learn these phrases. Yeah. Well, the first one is just to say that something is dead.

Right. So basically, it means not alive, boring. Right. It can be used in many different ways or it can be like completely. So like this, this place is dead.

Let's get out of here. Or Lindsay. Yeah, it makes it makes me think of like walking into a restaurant and there's no one there. And oh, man, this restaurant is dead.

The food must not be very good. Right, right, right. Or like if you say he's standing dead center, like it's like completely in the like exactly in the center. So that's kind of another way.

That's a little different. Yeah, that's a little different, right? That means directly, like exactly. So that's that's a slightly different use of it.

But the room feels a little dead. Let's put on some music. If you have a party and your guests are kind of not talking to each other or there's no one there. Let's put on some music and liven things up.

Right, right, right. Yeah, guys. So when you use the word dead, you can use it in those ways without something that's just not alive, boring. It needs to liven up, right?

Need some life in this party. That's right. What's another one, Lindsay? This is a really bad thing to say to someone. I mean, it's not bad, but it's direct.

So you look like death. You look like death. Oh, for example, I got no sleep yesterday and now I look like death. Wow. That's bad. Or maybe you look terrible.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. You have a hangover or you stayed up really late working last night. You look like death. exactly exactly um and the next one is dead tired this one's really common oh yeah yeah just extremely tired so um i'm dead tired can i have a cup of coffee

Yeah, that's I don't know. You're a coffee addict, Michelle, if you're relying on coffee. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. So this one, I think, is really common, don't you, Lindsay?

Oh, for sure. For sure. Yeah. You're dead tired. I like this next one. I wouldn't be caught dead. Yeah, I like this one, too. It's very it's very vibrant and colorful.

It's very expressive. Guys, these phrases are the way to be expressive. Add some color. Add some personality to your English. Okay? Even though they're about death, they liven up your English.

Kind of funny. That is weird. So what does this mean? I wouldn't be caught dead. It's like I would never do something because it could be embarrassing or just something that you don't want to do.

So like, for example, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing that outfit. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Hey guys, it's Aubrey. Have you ever sat in a meeting, had a great point and stayed quiet?

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Go to allearsenglish.com slash business. That's allearsenglish.com slash business. And then we have over my dead body. This one I hear all the time. You do.

You hear. I don't use this. I feel like it's a little bit. Well, I mean, so if you're saying that something will never happen, right? Oh, you think you're going out tonight over my dead body.

Maybe you'll say that as a mother. Yeah, I think it's quite frequently parents to children like in that way. It's like this is not happening, you know?

Maybe. Maybe. Okay. And what's the last one? Knock them dead. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah. So that one's just like, you're going to do great, like beat the competition.

So you got this. All right. Get out there and knock them dead. Yeah. Similar to if you guys have heard the phrase break, break a leg. It's similar to that.

So knock them dead. Knock them dead. My dad used to say this all the time. I mean, so Lindsay, so we just got through out a whole bunch of them. And I feel like all of them are like used pretty frequently.

Why do you think that we have so many idioms using? Maybe it goes back to what we talked about in 845. We're like weirdly obsessed with death, but we don't talk about it. But we think about it's like, I don't know.

I'm not sure who created these phrases. Who knows? Yeah, I know. I always think that's so interesting. But yeah, I think that like, because we talked about, you know, how even though it's like a taboo topic, I think that people are still, it's seeped into our language so much.

And it's just funny how that happens about such an uncomfortable topic that people avoid, yet it's overlapped into our daily, I mean, these are really common, I think most of them. Oh, for sure. Yeah, into our conversation. So it's just interesting to pick up on things like that and kind of question them.

I like doing that stuff. Yeah. And speaking of Halloween season, I mean, there are a lot of scary movies coming in the theaters now for this season. Are you going to see any of them, Michelle?

No, I'm not. Oh, come on. Are you? I don't know. Yeah, there's a few. I can't remember the name of it, but there's a few I'd like to see. I like seeing scary movies like I actually enjoy it.

But then when I get home, I can't sleep and then I'm miserable and I wish I hadn't seen it. But I like the idea of going to a scary movie. Yeah. I mean, I like the idea of like being thrilled and that fun feeling.

But yeah, it's what you said. It's just I know myself when I'm trying to go to sleep, like I'll keep on having like the scary images from the movie in my head. And it's like not worth it to me because then I got too nervous.

Sometimes even things that aren't scary at all, I find a way to be scared of. Things like clowns or something? Oh, yeah. Well, clowns for sure. For sure.

Okay. Do we have a role play? Should we show our listeners how to use these? Yeah, let's do it. So in this role play, you and I are about to shop for costumes together.

No. Okay. I hate shopping for costumes, but okay, here we go. We're doing it. All right. Hey, Michelle. Oh, I'm dead tired today. Well, you look great.

I look like death. I have a terrible cold. Oh, no. Should you skip the party tomorrow? Over my dead body. I've been so excited to go. I just hope it isn't dead when we get there since we have to go early.

Well, it starts at eight. You're dead wrong. It starts at nine. Oh, right. Sorry. Oh, man. Look at these costumes. I wouldn't be caught dead in that one.

Oh, yeah. That's not my style either. Well, I'm sure whatever we get, we'll knock them dead. That's right. Okay, guys. As often in our role plays, we try and put as many phrases.

Yeah. That's possible. But you're probably... This is really overdoing it, right? Choose a little bit of a stretch. A few of them, I feel like I would use this one.

This, oh, you're dead wrong. A little bit of a stretch to imagine saying that. Really? Yeah. Well, maybe. Would you? Would you say, oh, you're dead wrong?

I don't know. I feel like I hear that one a lot. Guys, we didn't go over that one. But that was how dead is used when you're saying exactly or completely.

So that was kind of like a tiny difference. Yeah. But yeah, dead wrong is just kind of like a little chunk as well. But I don't know. I feel like I hear that one.

But I don't know. No, but these are on the whole. These are good. These are very common. And guys, we want you to use them. They're fun. You know, even though we're talking about death, they're very expressive.

So let's go through it. So first you said, I'm dead tired today. Yeah, I'm dead tired today. And then you said, you look great, but I look like death.

I feel like that's extreme when you said that. You must really feel bad. I look like death. I feel like it's kind of used in a funny way as well. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I look like death. I feel like it's used in a dramatic, funny way. So that's how I kind of imagine it. I don't know. Yeah. That might be your New Yorker again.

New Yorker edge coming out. Everything on New York. Anytime. Anytime. I think saying something bad isn't really that bad. You're going to say I'm going to say I'm going to put you in that box, Michelle.

Exactly. And then I said over my dead body. I've been so excited to go. And then I just hope it isn't dead when we when we get there since we have to go early.

Right. Yeah, yeah. I love it. Yep. And then after dead wrong, which we discussed, what did you say? I said, I wouldn't be caught dead in that costume.

Nice. Nice. Yep. And then I said, whatever we get, we'll knock them dead. Yeah, we'll knock them dead. Okay, cool. I like it. I like it. So guys, remember, of course, we're not going to use them all at once, but we wanted to show you how they're used, a small sampling.

So yeah, great. So what's the takeaway for today, Lindsay? Well, I mean, I'm interested to know how you guys celebrate Halloween in your culture. So come over to the blog, which is where you can comment.

If you go to allearsenglish.com forward slash episodes, you could type 1044 into the search bar. You'll get to this episode and comment. Let us know. Are you dressing up this year?

Are you celebrating Halloween? What do people do in your culture? I know some cultures celebrate it and others don't. I'm curious to know. So and you could also type Halloween into that search bar there to learn to get other episodes that we have talked about.

For sure. All right. Well, happy Halloween, everyone, and thanks for listening. I'm just excited about the candy corn. I don't know about you, Michelle.

That's what it's all about. That's great. I'll just stay home and eat candy corn. Yes, yes, yes, yes. That could be fun. All right. Have fun. Enjoy it.

Bye, Lindsay. Have a good one. Bye. Bye. All right, Lindsay, my favorite idiom of all of these is wouldn't be caught dead. This is so useful. You could use it on almost any answer instead of just saying you don't like something or wouldn't want to do something.

Examiners will be impressed when instead you say you wouldn't be caught dead doing something. Yes. So for example, instead of saying, I don't like red meat, which is kind of bland, maybe more of a band six, we're not using any special vocabulary there. We could transition that into saying, I wouldn't be caught dead eating red meat.

Now that becomes a higher scoring answer, Aubrey. Exactly. And notice that interesting intonation. This boosts pronunciation scores as well. It's so easy to add emphasis here, right?

I wouldn't be caught dead going to Disneyland, eating anything that you can exaggerate. It's just something you don't really like. Say you wouldn't be caught dead doing it.

Another use of the word dead is when we're describing a party, a restaurant, an event, any place that you want to say is quiet and it's just not full of people. Maybe you expected there to be a lot of people, but there are not for whatever reason. I love that they taught this one in the episode as well. This is so useful.

Imagine you could be asked about restaurants, parties, anything you want to say. If there weren't a ton of people, it was a little quiet, a little boring. This is idiomatic. This is much higher scoring to say it was dead.

Exactly. So guys, go and think about how you can use these words you've learned today on the IELTS exam for a higher vocabulary score. Awesome. Yes. Practice with your own sample answers and happy Halloween, everyone.

Have a safe holiday if you celebrate Halloween. All right. Happy Halloween, Aubrey. Enjoy the day. You too. Bye. Bye. Thanks for listening to IELTS Energy.

Hit subscribe now and don't forget to find your estimated band score at allearsenglish.com slash myscore.