Zapp! English Colloquial 2.11 - Things in the House
Taught by Tom Wilkinson — Cambridge CELTA
Recorded and taught by a team of British and North American English teachers, based in Oxford (UK) and Barcelona (Spain).
Katie opens this one by telling Tom where they are: "We're in your house." "Yes we're in my bedroom," he replies. From there the rules are simple — Katie describes an informal expression, Tom has to finish it. Some he gets instantly. One of them ends the conversation early, because when Katie explains what people say to each other in bed, Tom's answer is "don't ask me any questions about pillow talk" and Katie decides they had better stop there.
What you'll hear in this episode
Two unscripted English conversations, each built around expressions that use the name of something you'd find in a house.
In the first, Katie feeds Tom half an expression and lets him complete it. "The lights are on, but no one's home" gets picked up straight away, and the two of them try to define it between them — Tom says "there's nothing within the head", Katie adds "no thought processes". For home is where the heart is, one of the speakers offers the example of a country they weren't born in but still call home. Then come as safe as houses and it's curtains for you, which Katie demonstrates by threatening Tom directly: "It's curtains for you Thomas!" She also gives the version she always thinks of, watching someone walk into a dark house in a horror film — "Oh it's curtains for her!"
In the second conversation Katie works through five more expressions with Clare, who declares she's "pretty good at this" and then proves it, guessing to come out of the closet from a single word. There are two lovely stumbles: asked what boils water in a British kitchen she answers "A saucepan", corrects herself to kettle, and admits "I've been here too long, clearly." Moments later she mishears the clue as "That uses hot and kettle." She's warmer about strike while the iron's hot — "Oh I like this expression" — and glosses it as "do it right this minute".
Quick facts
| Episode | Zapp! English Colloquial 2.11 – Things in the House |
| Number | 2.11 |
| Pack | Colloquial 2 |
| Level | 2 |
| Duration | 20 minutes 29 seconds |
| Expressions taught | 10, with politeness ratings |
| Speakers | Katie with Tom; Katie with Clare |
| Workbook | Included in the €39 all-in-one pack |
What you'll learn
The useful thing about a guessing game is that you hear the definition before the phrase. Katie describes the meaning in plain language — "somebody who is crazy", "the opposite to dangerous", "conversations you have when you're lying in bed next to somebody" — so you can predict the idiom yourself before Tom or Clare says it.
You'll also hear how these expressions shrink in real speech. Katie points out that the pot calling the kettle black is often cut down to just "Pot kettle!", and that to come out of the closet is frequently reduced to "come out". Clare notes that the pot and kettle one sounds "quite British English" to her, which is a judgement worth listening for.
Because native speakers hesitate, you get useful evidence of how memory actually works: Clare knows the expression but says she can't remember "the construction of it", and reassembles it out loud. Tom and Katie negotiate a definition together rather than delivering one. Two Meaning and Pronunciation tasks then follow each conversation, prompting you with the first words — "As safe...", "Home is..." — and giving you a beep to repeat after, with full example sentences like "If you upset her again, it'll be curtains for you!"
The expressions
- the lights are on but no one's home – a way to say someone is in a dream or a bit crazy, they are here but nothing is happening in their brain
- as safe as houses – very safe
- home is where the heart is – home is not always where you physically are, but where you love
- to be curtains for – something or someone will end, die, finish (humorous)
- pillow talk – conversations people have when they are in bed together
- to come out of the closet – for someone to tell people they are homosexual, often after a long time hiding it
- the pot calling the kettle black – for someone to criticise another person for doing something they do themselves
- to strike while the iron's hot – do something when you have the chance, not to wait until later
- to iron something out – to take away difficulties and problems so that people can agree again
- as white as a sheet – for a person's face to be very white, often because of illness or shock
In the workbook
The workbook for this unit contains the full transcript of both conversations, so you can go back and see exactly where Clare hesitated and how Katie set up each clue. The glossary lists all ten expressions with a politeness rating from 1 to 3 — 1 being usable with almost anyone, 3 being the sort of thing you don't say to your mother-in-law. Pillow talk, come out of the closet, the pot calling the kettle black and the lights are on but no one's home are all marked 2: fine with people you know well.
Practice Exercise 1 gives you six situations and six responses to match, including "OK. I've put the money in a locked box" and "He calls me noisy, but he's always shouting". Practice Exercise 2 is error correction, and it's the sharper of the two — the mistakes are the near-misses learners really make: "as safe as homes", "Pot saucepan!", "came out of the cupboard", "as pale as a sheet". Answers for both are supplied at the back.
This workbook comes with the all-in-one pack at €39, which includes the workbooks for every episode.
Get the complete courseAll workbooks and audio — €39
Common questions
Is the audio scripted?
The conversations are completely unscripted — the guessing, the mishearing and the laughter are all real. The teaching sections that set up the tasks and give the answers are scripted, so the instructions stay clear.
Do I need the workbook to follow the episode?
No. The audio works on its own, and the Meaning and Pronunciation tasks review everything. The workbook adds the transcript, the politeness ratings and the two practice exercises.
What level is this?
Level 2 of the Colloquial series. If you can follow two native speakers talking at natural speed, you'll be fine.
Why does the workbook rate the expressions 1 to 3?
Because "informal" isn't one thing. As safe as houses is rated 1 and works almost anywhere; the ones rated 2 are best kept for people you know well.
How many expressions are there?
Ten, split across two conversations — five with Tom, five with Clare.
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