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ESL forum >
Games, activities and teaching ideas > UNDERSTATEMENT - a brainstorm
UNDERSTATEMENT - a brainstorm
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Antonio Oliver
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UNDERSTATEMENT - a brainstorm
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Hi folks, This idea has been bouncing in my skull for a few days, to create a WS for my students to learn about this so-very-English thing, the provisional title of which is Understatement - the quintessential Anglo Saxon Outlook on things Infallibly, when I search the web for fun ideas, Monty Python �s Black Knight comes up first and foremost: Ha, ha... I �ll use this. And of course I �ll include such phrases as "I �ve been better", "Not too bad at all", "Fair to middling", etc but... I �d like to make it funny and unusual, so I �m calling on you (not in the sense of visit, Gi2gi -I wish!) for help: any good funny examples of understatement that come to your mind, please let me know? Thanks Regards to all
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25 Jan 2018
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spinney
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Excellent example, by the way. You could say that there was "a little friction" in Europe from 1939 to 1945 although that is probably a bit on the dark side. Perhaps you could say that the Beatles were a "fairly successful" pop group or that landing on the moon was "a rather clever piece of engineering" or that Brexit has been "a tad challenging" for the UK �s politicians. |
25 Jan 2018
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Petpet
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I don �t know�if�British�native speakers�will agree with me but I thought a good example of understatement was calling the�long conflict in Northern Ireland�"The Troubles". � Another example could be �a sentence I overheard from a�British colleague when he was having some serious problems at home stating: "I have a bit of a situation here." �
One more could be "It has seen better days." when talking about something really old and shabby. |
26 Jan 2018
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cunliffe
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�I may be some time. � On Robert Falcon Scott �s ill-fated Antarctic expedition, while suffering from frostbite and sheltering from a blizzard, Oates felt he was decreasing his companions � chances of survival. Oates voluntarily left the tent; it was his 32nd birthday. He was never seen again.
Well, that�s not funny, but it sounds old style British stiff upper lip. |
28 Jan 2018
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altjamessmith
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There are some great examples here! https://www.directlinegroup.com/media/news/brand/2017/22032017.aspx
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28 Jan 2018
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