Intermediate | Idioms Lesson 07 _LEVEL 7_

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Idioms | Lesson 07
couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

Example Dialogue

Faye : Ever since Craig resigned from his job, Jake has been ruling the roost here at

the office.

Ken : Yeah. If only you'd known Jake back in high school. He was only watching TV

and playing video games at home.

Faye : Oh really? I didnt know he was such a couch potato back then! He is smart,

witty, and works hard here.

Ken : Thats true. Even I was caught off guard when I first met him at the office. I

never pegged Jake for a hard worker! All I could remember about him was his

sweaty face. He was always sweating like a pig while playing video games. He

didnt like to be disturbed by the sound of the electric fan.

Faye : I see. He dislikes being disturbed by its sound now, too. He turns on the air

conditioner, though. Anyway, I admire him. He has never hesitated to explore

virgin territories in any business field, so nobody can match his broad

knowledge about business.

Ken : As one of his high-school classmates, I must say I'm proud of him.

Try to figure out the meaning of these idioms.

couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

1
Copyright since 2013 Engoo All Rights Reserved.
Intermediate | Idioms Lesson 07 _LEVEL 7_
http://eikaiwa.dmm.com/

Idioms | Lesson 07
couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

Example Passage

Ken and Faye are working for a clothing company. One of their workmates who resigned was replaced by

Jake, a high-school classmate of Ken's. Ken remembered Jake as a lazy person who would always stay at

home and play video games, sweating like a pig in a hot room without air conditioner. So Ken was

caught off guard when he saw Jake in a nice suit at the office. Ken told Faye that he thought Jake was

a couch potato but he was wrong. Faye said she respects Jake and believes that he can rule the roost

at the office, since he has been trying his best in various virgin territories after he was transferred from

the publishing industry.

Again, try to figure out the meaning of these idioms.

couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

2
Copyright since 2013 Engoo All Rights Reserved.
Intermediate | Idioms Lesson 07 _LEVEL 7_
http://eikaiwa.dmm.com/

Idioms | Lesson 07
couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

Definitions

couch potato | a lazy individual, usually addicted to television-watching

Billy stayed at home all day long. He is a couch potato.

Mary is such a couch potato! All she ever does is watch TV!

catch someone off guard | to surprise someone

I was caught off guard when my mother arrived.

I caught John off guard and frightened him.

rule the roost | to be the boss of some place

After my father died, my brother has ruled the roost in our family.

This manager literally rules the roost in the Shibuya office.

sweat like a pig | to sweat a lot

After the fun run, all the runners were sweating like pigs.

You might sweat like a pig on Christmas in the Philippines. Its very humid!

virgin territory | unexplored or unstudied area

Harry likes to find virgin territories and make documentaries about them.

He made a ton of money off the internet, back when it was still a virgin

territory.

Make sure you can understand the meaning of these idioms.

couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

3
Copyright since 2013 Engoo All Rights Reserved.
Intermediate | Idioms Lesson 07 _LEVEL 7_
http://eikaiwa.dmm.com/

Idioms | Lesson 07
couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

Practice

Fill in the blanks with the correct idioms (in a correct form) to complete the sentences.

1 | Tom got scolded by his mother because hes becoming such a .

2 | Tommy is looking for a for the photo shoot of a magazine.

3 | The teacher his students with a surprise test.

4 | The weather was so hot today. I while walking down the street.

5 | The vice president in the country when the president is away.

6 | Whenever a king was sick, the queen in his palace.

7 | Lisa was when her crush asked her to dance at the prom.

8 | The dead body was found by the police officers in a inside a dark

forest.

9 | Joey has been watching movies all day long. He is becoming a .

10 | Summer in Kyoto is hot and muggy. You are bound to there.

APPLICATION: Create your own sentences using these idioms.

couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

4
Copyright since 2013 Engoo All Rights Reserved.
Intermediate | Idioms Lesson 07 _LEVEL 7_
http://eikaiwa.dmm.com/

Idioms | Lesson 07
c ouch potato | c atch someone off guard | r ule the roost | s weat like a pig | v irgin territory

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct idioms (in the correct form) to complete the dialogue.

(June and Leo are planning to go camping.)

June : I discovered a in the forest! Its a nice and serene place. We can

enjoy camping there!

Leo : Oh, wonderful! Is it far from your place?

June : Sort of. We can go hiking, but I always on account of my weight.

Leo : We need to prepare properly so as not to be by any unexpected

developments.

June : Of course! No one is allowed to be a when we get there. Everyone

must work.

Leo : Lets make a plan then. I think you should in this endeavor, since

you are the one who found the place.

June : My pleasure.

APPLICATION: Create your own dialogue using these idioms.

couch potato | catch someone off guard | rule the roost | sweat like a pig | virgin territory

5
Copyright since 2013 Engoo All Rights Reserved.