Colloquialisms are essentially informal words, phrases or sayings that are used in casual conversation.
14 Versatile Colloquialisms for IELTS Speaking
1. Head (verb) – Go somewhere. E.g. I’m heading to the library to study.
2. Loads of/ Piles of/ Tons of/ Heaps of (quantifier) – Many or much of something. E.g. There are loads of cafes in my city.
3. Mate (noun) – Close friend. E.g. I went to the cinema with my mate yesterday.
4. Ages (noun) – A very long time. E.g. I haven’t seen my cousin in ages.
5. Mad/ Mental/ Wild/ Nuts (adjective) – Wild, crazy, or intense. E.g. The party last night was absolutely mad!
6. Fingers crossed (idiom) – Hopefully. E.g. Fingers crossed, I’ll pass my driving test tomorrow.
7. Dead/ Knackered/ Shattered (adjective) – Extremely tired. E.g. I’m dead after studying all night.
8. Chuffed (adjective) – Very happy or proud. E.g. I was chuffed to get a high score on my test.
9. Gutted (adjective) – Very upset or disappointed. E.g. I was gutted when I missed the concert.
10. Skint/Broke (adjective) – Having no money. E.g. I’m skint, so I can’t afford new shoes.
11. A nightmare (noun)/ brutal (adjective)– terrible or very difficult situation. E.g. Our holiday was a nightmare! Everything that could go wrong did! The hotel was brutal!
12. Handy (adjective)- Convenient E.g. I live 5 minutes from the metro, which is really handy!
13. Rip-off (noun)– overpriced or bad value. E.g. The popcorn at the cinema is an absolute rip-off.
14. Grab a bite/ drink (verb)– go to eat/drink something. E.g. I’m gonna meet up with a mate later, maybe grab a bite or something, I dunno, we’ll see.
Can you identify the Colloquialisms used?:
Transcript
Interviewer: “What’s your first impressions of New York?” Interviewee: “It’s absolutely mental, but I love it! I’ve been doing too much shopping! I’m gonna be broke soon hahaha!”
