You probably know the verb to act used for actors acting in a film or in the theatre. When used as a phrasal verb with the preposition up it has a different meaning:
Act up- Misbehave; behave badly or strangely.
'My computer has been acting up recently. I need to get it repaired. It's probably got a virus.'
Today we are taking a look at an English joke. This joke is an example of a play on words - meaning that a phrase or word can can be used for more than one meaning to make a joke.
Hole in one- is used in golf when a golfer gets the ball into the hole with just one shot.
Hole in one - in this case the 'hole' means a hole in one pair of trousers.
Here we take a look at the phrasal verb hold up. Like most phrasal verbs it has more than one meaning. Here's how we can use hold up:
to hold up- to hold something / someone up in the air.
'When we landed in the airport our driver was waiting for us; he was holding up a sign with our names on it.'
to hold up - to stop / delay someone for a moment.
This month's phrasal verb, see through, has two meanings. You can probably guess both meanings from the picture. Here's an explanation to help you out, just in case.
Of course, we can use see through to mean 'look through':
'The window is too dirty. I can't see through it.'
Let's take a look at the phrasal verb fall out. Like most phrasal verbs, it has more than one meaning. Here's how we can use fall out:
to fall - to separate. When one thing separates from another thing. In the cartoon the birds might separate from their nest (fall from the nest onto the ground), or you might fall out of your bed at night!
'When you get old your hair and teeth start to fall out.'
Let's take a look at the phrasal verb step on. Here it can be seen as having two meanings:
The key to this joke is hair.
Hair has the same pronunciation as hare, which is an animal similar to a rabbit. So, when the woman tells him he has a stray hair, he thinks she is talking about his rabbit (his hare).
The word stray means 'away from its place.' In this case stray could refer to his hair or the rabbit.
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"What do you mean, he rides his bike like lightning?"
"He's always hitting trees!"
Explanation:
Today's joke is based on the expression ...like lightning. We usually use this metaphor to mean that something happens quickly or fast. For example:
"What makes the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?"
"It never eats!"
Explanation:
The key to understanding this joke is the word lean.
Lean has two meanings:
Lean (verb) means 'to slope to one side/ not straight' (as you can see, the tower isn't straight).
The phrasal verb Break down + noun can be used to talk about analysing something in detail: "You need to break down the maths problem in order to solve it properly."
Break down is also used to talk about something that has stopped working properly: "Can you please come and pick me up from work? My car has broken down."
