Have you ever been so nervous or stressed about a presentation that you forgot everything you had prepared? Have you ever performed well during sports practice but made mistakes during the big game? There are lots of great idioms to describe these nightmare scenarios in English and, in this episode, Andrew and Kassy introduce listeners to two of the most common ones: to crack under the pressure and can’t take/handle the heat.

Fun facts

One of the best things you can do with a heavy, stressful workload is to break your responsibilities into manageable tasks. Try the Pomodoro Technique to stay focused and avoid feeling overwhelmed. Work on a task for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. Repeat this pattern three or four times, and then take a 15-minute break. You’ll be surprised at how much you can get done!

Expressions included in the study guide

To crack under [the] pressure

Can’t take/handle the heat

[One’s] mind goes blank

To egg on

Gut feeling

To suck the joy out of

Copyright: Culips.com

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Music Credit: Something Elated by Broke for Free

Image: Khwanchai Phanthong (pexels.com)