In this lesson, your tutor will help you go over this topic: April Fools’ Day. First, go over the following vocabulary and expressions with your tutor. Read the word/expression and definition out loud, and your tutor will go over anything you do not understand. Practice creating a sentence or two to make sure you know how to use the word/expression properly.
|Prank||a trick of an amusing, playful, or sometimes malicious nature
e.g. Frank always enjoyed good pranks.
|Pull a trick/gag||to deceive someone or to play a trick on someone.
e.g. Let’s pull a trick on the teacher. Don’t you dare pull a stunt like that!
|Poisson d’avril||In France, chocolate fish are enjoyed throughout the Easter season and appear on April 1st. Children play an April Fools’ Day trick by placing a paper fish on adults’ backs then running away yelling ‘Poisson d’Avril’.|
|Go to great lengths||to try very hard to achieve a result
e.g. This champion marathon runner is going to great lengths to help raise money for needy children.
|Mess with~||to bother or interfere with someone or something.
e.g. Don’t mess with me unless you want trouble. Come on, don’t monkey with my new camera.
|Fake||(n) a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or sham.
(adj) not genuine; counterfeit.
(v) forge or counterfeit (something).
e.g. That show was hilarious!
|At someone’s expense||if someone has a joke or enjoys themselves at your expense, they enjoy laughing at you
e.g. I don’t appreciate any jokes at someone else’s expense.
|Off-color||dirty or smutty; raunchy
e.g. That joke was sort of off-color.
|Mean no harm||not intend to cause damage or insult
e.g. That trick was cruel, but the kids meant no harm by it.
Use the following questions as a guideline to form an interesting conversation with your tutor. Feel free to diverge from these suggestions if anything interesting comes up.
- What are some pranks people play on April Fools’ Day?
- What is the story behind this day?
- Best April Fools’ Day joke you played? Worst April Fools’ Day joke played on you?
- Did you get mad when you found out you’ve been fooled?
- Is it still easy to fool people on April 1st or is everyone on guard?
- Do you think a prank can be forgiven on April Fools’ Day, no matter how cruel it is?
- How long is acceptable to seek revenge on a prank?
- Why do some people enjoy fooling others for fun?
- Does any good come from April Fools’ day?
- “Mix a little foolishness with your prudence: It’s good to be silly at the right moment.” What do you think? Share your thoughts with your Cambly tutor!