0
Vocabulary Boost: All Hands
6 years agoEnglish has a number of phrasal verbs and idiomatic phrases with the word hand.
Read this "interview," then try the matching game and quiz.
An Interview
Hans: Thank you, everyone, for joining us on today’s show. You’ll love our guest, Handel Morgan. Everyone, please give a hand to welcome Handel!
[Applause.]
Handel: Thank you, Hans, for having me on your show. I’ve got to hand it to you - your show is, hands down, the very best talk show in the country!
Hans: Oh, Handel, thank you for your kind words. I certainly can’t do this by myself, so many people have had a hand in my success. Do you have any handouts about your whistles to share with our studio audience?
Handel: No, not today, but if you’ll give me a hand up from this chair, I will hand out some whistles from my factory.
Hans: Hohoho! Don’t spoil my audience! They might start expecting a handout at every show! But seriously …. Do you still make your whistles by hand?
Handel: Yes, they’re still handmade, and even though Louisa is my right hand over daily operations now, I keep my hand in by making one every week or so. … And, say, will you give me a hand with distributing the whistles to the audience?
Hans: Sure! Another question for you: What is your weekly whistle production?
Handel: About 10,000 a week, but in case of a surge in orders, we keep extra materials on hand.
Hans: You said you still keep your hand in things at the business. What kinds of things do you do other than making whistles? Do you repair broken equipment, for example?
Handel: Sadly, no. I’m not very handy with equipment repairs. I have a handyman for that kind of work.
