kick up a fuss
make an unnecessary or excessive complaint about something informal
“How do we know? Well, there are two interesting pieces of vocabulary here. First, we have kicking up a fuss.”
Shadowing lesson · Advanced British English in Everyday Situations
Advanced British English in Everyday Situations — English shadowing practice
Practise following natural everyday stories and conversations packed with useful idioms, precise verbs, and informal expressions.
Level: B2 · Upper-intermediate 178 lines 1 minute of speech 151 words a minute About 39 minutes
Original video
B2 · 24-minute practice If you can understand this FAST English, your English is ADVANCED (C1-C2 Listening Test)
Model leadsYour echo follows
ReadyLine 1 of 178
One click starts the full rehearsal
Hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy.
Listen until the video pauses. Repeat the sentence during the four-second practice window; the next line then starts automatically.
Is this clip right for you?
The material moves across neighbourhood, transport, workplace, and social contexts, giving learners several kinds of everyday meaning to infer.
- The material moves across neighbourhood, transport, workplace, and social contexts, giving learners several kinds of everyday meaning to infer.
- Several expressions encode attitude rather than just literal information, including complaining excessively, upsetting someone, and causing embarrassment.
- 178 complete, word-timed practice lines.
Speaking speed
- Level
- B2 placement is vocabulary-led; 2.5% of caption tokens were marked above the dominant B2 vocabulary level.
- Speed
- 151 words a minute across the prepared speech.
- Longest line
- 40 words in 10.4 seconds.
Where it gets hard
So, I yanked up the handle to carry it for a bit just to give myself and everyone else some respite, but it snapped clean off, which then sent the whole thing crashing to the floor and jammed the wheel.
So, I yanked up the handle to carry it for a bit just to give myself and everyone else some respite, but it snapped clean off, which then sent the whole thing crashing to the floor and jammed the wheel.
Phrases worth keeping
Useful English from this exact clip. Hear each phrase in context, then make one sentence of your own.
muck in
join other people and help with a shared task informal British English
“The alley running down the back of the houses was chock blocked with rubbish, but loads of people in the neighborhood met last week and mucked in to clean it up.”
haggle over
negotiate repeatedly about a price
“If you haggle over or haggle about something, you argue to try to get the best price for something.”
be wary of
feel cautious because something may cause a problem
“Have a listen. I'm just a little bit wary of putting my bag there. Technically, you're not supposed to leave belongings unattended, are you?”
tread on someone's toes
upset someone by interfering with their responsibilities or area of control idiomatic
“This missing phrase is trodden on a few toes. Trodden on a few toes. Have you ever heard this expression before?”
rock up
arrive somewhere, often casually or unexpectedly informal
“So I rocked up with a jar of strawberry jam and a pot of clotted cream. So you can imagine how bewildered I was when I arrived to find the table fully laid.”
polish something off
finish all of something, especially food informal
“If you polish something off, you finish all of it. Would that be considered a social fauxar in your country or culture? Let me know.”
Sounds to notice
Copy the rhythm, strong beats, and linking used in this clip.
Grammar you can reuse
Patterns the speaker uses naturally, ready for your own sentence.
gives background duration before a later event in a past story
Check what the speaker means
Answer from the clip before revealing the evidence-grounded explanation.
What happened when the speaker lifted the suitcase by its handle?
Show answer
The handle broke off, the suitcase fell, and the wheel became jammed. The account gives the events in sequence after the speaker pulls up the handle.
What does the speaker think they may have done in the meeting?
Show answer
They may have upset people by interfering in their responsibilities or area of control. The caption explicitly explains the meaning of the expression used after the meeting.
What surprised the speaker when they arrived?
Show answer
They found the table fully laid. The speaker directly contrasts what they brought with what they found on arrival.
Make it yours
Answer these real situations out loud, then compare with one possible answer.
Neighbours are cleaning a shared courtyard and you decide to help. Tell them you will join the work.
muck in
You gave instructions about a project another colleague normally controls. Tell a coworker you're worried you interfered.
tread on someone's toes
You had recently moved to a city when someone invited you to a local event. Describe the timing using one sentence.
had been + -ing + for + period + when + past event
All 178 practice lines
Jump back to any line, or save the ones you want to practise again.
- 010:00Hello lovely students and welcome back to English with Lucy.4.2s
- 020:04Would you survive in Great Britain when it comes to listening in English?7.6s
- 030:12How advanced are your English listening skills? Let's test them today.5.8s
- 040:18I have collected 15 examples of very advanced English overheard here in Great Britain.8.9s
- 050:26We have four categories. In the neighborhood, on public transport…6.7s
- 060:34In the office, and my personal favorite, embarrassing fauxars.6.2s
- 070:41Now, a fauxar is an embarrassing mistake made in public. If you can understand… Just 50%…8.9s
- 080:50Of these incredibly advanced snippets or small parts of a conversation, your English listening skills are advanced.9.2s
- 090:59They are superb. And because this is such an important lesson…4.4s
- 101:04I've created a detailed PDF that includes all the key vocabulary highlighted in the lesson, plus loads of extras.7.9s
- 111:12To download that, just click the link in the description box or scan the QR code on screen and I'll send it straight to your inbox.7.9s
- 121:20I'll also add you to the waiting list for my most advanced course ever, the beautiful British English C2 program.8.2s
- 131:28It launches on the 19th of January, 2026. If you're ready to move past advanced into a level where English feels flexible…9.9s
- 141:38Expressive, and fully yours, you're going to want to be on the waiting list.4.9s
- 151:43You'll get access to the incredible launch discount, and you'll be one of the very first to experience this program.7.6s
- 161:51Make sure you click the link in the description box or scan the QR code to get your PDF and join the C2 program waiting list.7.9s
- 171:59Okay, let's get started with our first category in the neighborhood. I will ask the question and then play each audio twice.8.8s
- 182:08I'll give you some time to think and then I will explain the answers and highlight any other interesting bits. Are you ready for number one?9.4s
- 192:17What's the speaker's attitude towards car's reaction? A. They think it's justified. B they think it's exaggerated.10.2s
- 202:28Or C, they think it's admirable.2.9s
- 212:31Do you hear about Car number 22 kicking up a tremendous fuss about Jim painting his garage door canary yellow?7.9s
- 222:40Honestly, it's turned into a ripe palava.2.7s
- 232:43Do you hear about Car number 22 kicking up a tremendous fuss about Jim painting his garage door canary yellow?7.9s
- 242:52Honestly, it's turned into a ripe palava. The correct answer is B. The speaker thinks Cara's reaction is exaggerated.8.8s
- 253:01How do we know? Well, there are two interesting pieces of vocabulary here. First, we have kicking up a fuss.9.0s
- 263:10Now, this informal idiom means to complain loudly about something, but we often use it when we think the complaint isn't necessary.9.0s
- 273:20You can also say kick up a stink or row as an argument.5.6s
- 283:26Then we also have the very informal British English word palava.5.1s
- 293:31Now a palava is a great deal of unnecessary excitement or trouble. Again, especially about something that is not important.9.2s
- 303:40So from these two phrases, we can infer that the speaker thinks car's reaction is exaggerated. Okay.7.6s
- 313:48Number two, listen to the audio and complete this sentence with two words.6.2s
- 323:54The neighbors to clean up the dirty alley.6.1s
- 334:00The alley running down the back of the houses was chock blocked with rubbish, but loads of people in the neighborhood met last week and mucked in to clean it up.9.1s
- 344:10Aisha even managed to find some local artists to paint a mural and brighten the space up a bit.6.1s
- 354:16The alley running down the back of the houses was chucka blocked with rubbish, but loads of people in the neighborhood met last week and mucked in to clean it up.9.1s
- 364:25Aisha even managed to find some local artists to paint a mural and brighten the space up a bit. Did you catch the two words?8.0s
- 374:33The answer is mucked in. Mckin.4.6s
- 384:38Now notice the catenation or consonant to vowel linking there. Mckin. Mckin.8.3s
- 394:47I'm joining them together to make my speech more efficient. Now, what does it mean? Did you figure it out from the context?7.0s
- 404:54This phrasal verb means to come together with others and share work in order to complete a task.6.5s
- 415:01There's some more challenging vocabulary in this snippet like alley, cho block, and mural.7.2s
- 425:08Make sure you download the PDF for a more in-depth analysis of each audio. QR code there, link down there. Let's do question number three.8.7s
- 435:17What are the last two words you hear to complete this phrase? And what does it mean?5.4s
- 445:22I'm going to have corettes coming out of you're right, Ra. Your veggie patch seems to be coming on a treat.10.2s
- 455:32Cheers. Yeah. Well, with all this rain and sun we've been having, I'm going to have corettes coming out on my ears in the next few weeks. You're right, Ra.8.2s
- 465:41Your veggie patch seems to be coming on a treat. Cheers. Yeah.3.7s
- 475:45Well, with all this rain and sun we've been having, I'm going to have corettes coming out of my ears in the next few weeks. So, you actually heard me.8.8s
- 485:54M. In many British accents and some other accents, the possessive adjective my is pronounced with a shorter i sound.9.9s
- 496:04Me. There's also a soft y sound that links the two vowel sounds. The speaker isn't saying years, although it does sound like it.10.3s
- 506:14So, the last phrase in full is I'm going to have corettes coming out of my ears. Me ears.9.0s
- 516:24Any idea what that phrase in bold means?3.2s
- 526:27Well, if you have something coming out of your ears, you have far more of it than you want or need. Such a great expression.9.0s
- 536:36Okay, time for our final conversation snippet. Overheard in the neighborhood. Listen and tell me what change the speaker is describing.9.2s
- 546:46It used to be that on a Saturday morning, the air hummed with friendly chatter and customers haggling over prices. Now there's only a handful of stalls left.9.2s
- 556:55It's such a shame that shopping's been reduced to an act of clicking, not mingling.4.7s
- 567:00It used to be that on a Saturday morning, the air hummed with friendly chatter and customers haggling over prices. Now there's only a handful of stalls left.9.2s
- 577:09It's such a shame that shopping's been reduced to an act of clicking, not mingling.4.7s
- 587:15So, if you answered the decline of local markets, the shift towards online shopping, or something similar to that, you are right.10.1s
- 597:25Let's take a closer look.1.6s
- 607:26The biggest clues here are probably the phrases customers haggling over prices and only a handful of stools left.9.8s
- 617:36If you haggle over or haggle about something, you argue to try to get the best price for something.8.1s
- 627:44A handful is a small number of something. In this case, stalls. We don't need to pronounce the duh in the middle there. Handful.9.1s
- 637:53A stall is a table or a small shop that people sell from at a market. Now, did you know enough of that advanced vocabulary to get the answer?9.4s
- 648:03Make sure you keep track of your score out of four so far. I will ask you to share it at the end. Okay, let's move on to a new category.9.0s
- 658:12Things you might overhear when out and about on public transport. Here's something I heard a little while back.6.4s
- 668:19Listen and tell me what item the speaker is talking about. It was making such a racket.6.3s
- 678:25So, I yanked up the handle to carry it for a bit just to give myself and everyone else some respite, but it snapped clean off, which then sent the whole thing crashing to the floor and jammed the wheel.10.0s
- 688:35Absolute nightmare. It was making such a racket.4.1s
- 698:39So, I yanked up the handle to carry it for a bit just to give myself and everyone else some respite, but it snapped clean off, which then sent the whole thing crashing to the floor and jammed the wheel.10.0s
- 708:49Absolute nightmare. Did you get it? Here's the full bit of text. If you need a bit of help, the speaker's talking about a suitcase.10.0s
- 719:00A wheeled or wheelie suitcase to be precise. How did you figure it out if the speaker just says it all the time?9.4s
- 729:09Well, we have the context. We know this was overheard on public transport. A lot of people carry cases when traveling.8.1s
- 739:18Then we had the phrase making such a racket. A racket is a loud, unpleasant noise.9.3s
- 749:28Now, I don't know about you, but my wheelie suitcase sometimes makes horrible noises. Then we have the word handle.8.8s
- 759:36This is the top part of the case you can use to carry it. And then jammed the wheel. If a wheel jams, it stops moving.9.8s
- 769:46Imagine the wheel getting all covered in jam. Horrific nightmare fuel. Let's move on to number six. Listen to this snippet.8.0s
- 779:55Which adjective do you hear and what does it mean?4.2s
- 789:59Is it a weary, b weary, or c wiry?9.1s
- 7910:09Have a listen. I'm just a little bit wary of putting my bag there. Technically, you're not supposed to leave belongings unattended, are you?8.1s
- 8010:18I'm just a little bit wary of putting my bag there. Technically, you're not supposed to leave belongings unattended, are you? The answer is B. Wary.9.7s
- 8110:28I'm just a little bit wary of putting my bag there.4.2s
- 8210:32If you are wary of doing something, you're very careful or cautious about it because you think there might be a problem or some kind of danger.9.2s
- 8310:42Weary means to be tired of and wiry is thin and bendy like a wire. Okay, time for number seven.9.4s
- 8410:51Listen to this announcement over the loudspeaker. There are six pieces of information.6.2s
- 8510:58All numbers that could be relevant and important for you. How many of them can you catch?6.6s
- 8611:05Final call for passengers on flight BA793 to Copenhagen.6.6s
- 8711:12Boarding for rows 13 to 70 is now taking place at gate C18.5.8s
- 8811:18Please be advised that checked baggage exceeding 15 kilos will incur an additional fee of €65 at the desk.7.9s
- 8911:26Okay, these announcements are notoriously difficult to hear, even for native speakers.5.8s
- 9011:32So, here's a bit of a clue before you listen again, but feel free to look away if you want more of a challenge.6.9s
- 9111:39Final call for passengers on flight BA793 to Copenhagen.6.5s
- 9211:46Boarding for rows 13 to 70 is now taking place at gate C18.5.8s
- 9311:52Please be advised that checked baggage exceeding 15 kilos will incur an additional fee of €65 at the desk.7.9s
- 9412:00Okay, so the speaker said flight BA793… To Copenhagen rose 13- 70…9.9s
- 9512:10Gate C18, baggage exceeding 15 kilos, and an additional fee of €65.8.6s
- 9612:20If you got more than half of those right, give yourself a point.5.1s
- 9712:25Now, for our final snippet in this category, I'd like you to try and finish the passage with a word or a short phrase that makes logical sense.10.1s
- 9812:35I thought I'd be fine, but the minute we left the harbor, the swell really hit me. I tried to read for a bit. Bad idea.8.5s
- 9912:43Couldn't focus, and every lurch of the boat made me feel worse.4.6s
- 10012:48I had to sit perfectly still, staring at the horizon, just trying not to.6.4s
- 10112:55I thought I'd be fine, but the minute we left the harbor, the swell really hit me. I tried to read for a bit. Bad idea.8.6s
- 10213:03Couldn't focus, and every lurch of the boat made me feel worse.4.6s
- 10313:08Had to sit perfectly still staring at the horizon just trying not to.6.2s
- 10413:14Okay, if you said something along the lines of vomit, be sick, or throw up, then give yourself a point.10.2s
- 10513:25Now, did you manage to figure out what was going on? There's quite a lot of boat related vocabulary here.7.6s
- 10613:32The harbor, swell, lurch of the boat, and horizon.5.2s
- 10713:38And then clues that point to seasickness, like I thought I'd be fine, but and made me feel worse.8.5s
- 10813:47Check out the PDF for a more in-depth analysis if you found that one tricky. Okay, what's your score out of eight so far?8.1s
- 10913:55Are you ready for the next category? We're heading into the office now for number nine. Listen and complete this sentence with five words.9.9s
- 11014:05The speaker is worried that they've what? Well, judging by the stony silence in that meeting, I think I may have tredden on a few toes.9.9s
- 11114:15All I said was that we should invite contributions from the whole team, but the reaction was as if I'd questioned the whole project. I clearly struck a raw nerve.9.4s
- 11214:25Well, judging by the stony silence in that meeting, I think I may have tredden on a few toes.5.2s
- 11314:31All I said was that we should invite contributions from the whole team, but the reaction was as if I'd questioned the whole project. I clearly struck a raw nerve.9.4s
- 11414:40This missing phrase is trodden on a few toes. Trodden on a few toes. Have you ever heard this expression before?9.8s
- 11514:51Here's the full transcript. Which definition fits best? Does to tread on someone's toes…7.0s
- 11614:58Mean A to inadvertently upset someone by interfering in their responsibilities or area of control or B…9.4s
- 11715:07To avoid getting involved in something as it might cause conflict.4.6s
- 11815:16The answer is A. We can also say step on someone's toes. Now, did you catch the other juicy C2 language in that clip?8.8s
- 11915:24I've highlighted it in the PDF. Download that so you don't miss out on phrases like struck a raw nerve.7.2s
- 12015:32Oh, that's a beautiful phrase to strike a raw nerve. Okay, this next one is a real challenge.6.3s
- 12115:38You're going to hear a snippet with four abbreviations or to be more precise, initialisms.6.7s
- 12215:46FAQ, for example, is an initialism. The letters stand for frequently asked questions.7.0s
- 12315:53Now, can you catch the office initialisms and come up with their full form? Can you send me the draft of the KPIs ASAP?8.4s
- 12416:02I need to get it to the CEO by EOD. Can you send me the draft of the KPIs ASAP? I need to get it to the CEO by EOD.9.1s
- 12516:11Okay, so we had… KPIs…3.0s
- 12616:15Key performance indicators, ASAP, sometimes pronounced as ASAP, meaning as soon as possible.9.9s
- 12716:25CEO, chief executive officer, and EOD, end of day.7.2s
- 12816:32Now, if you caught more than two of those, you deserve a point. Oh, and an important pronunciation point.6.7s
- 12916:39Did you notice how I stressed the last letter in these initialisms?4.7s
- 13016:44KPIs, ASAP, CEO, E O D. Try to do the same when you pronounce them.9.1s
- 13116:54You'll sound nice and natural. Okay. For number 11, I'm going to show you the text and I want you to choose the word or phrase you hear.9.5s
- 13217:03Now, don't worry if you can't see the screen. I will give you the options once you've listened twice. Okay, so we have some very similar sounding expressions here.9.4s
- 13317:12This quarter's exceeded expectations, so we'll be sure to order it before the report goes out. We'll wrap things up there. Benefits all clear for you.8.6s
- 13417:21This quarter's exceeded expectations, so we'll be sure to order it before the report goes out. We'll wrap things up there. Benefits all clear for you.8.6s
- 13517:30Did you hear one quarter or quarter? Two, audit or order it?9.0s
- 13617:40Three, benefits or ben if it replay the audio one more time if you need to. The answers are…10.4s
- 13717:51Quarter order it and then if it really tricky, isn't it?8.6s
- 13817:59Well done if you got all of those. Okay, it's time for our final audio from The Office.6.1s
- 13918:06Listen to it and complete the passage with a word or short phrase. Ready? The much hyped redesign promised to break down barriers and spark collaboration.10.2s
- 14018:16Yet within weeks, everyone was retreating…2.6s
- 14118:19Behind noiseancelling headphones, scrambling for secluded corners, and voicing frustration at the incessant buzz of distracting chatter.9.0s
- 14218:28What had been touted as an innovative step forward soon revealed itself to be…5.4s
- 14318:33The much hyped redesign promised to break down barriers and spark collaboration. Yet within weeks everyone was retreating…7.8s
- 14418:41Behind noiseancelling headphones, scrambling for secluded corners and voicing frustration at the incessant buzz of distracting chatter.9.0s
- 14518:50What had been touted as an innovative step forward soon revealed itself to be…5.4s
- 14618:56If you said something along the lines of counterproductive, a failure, or ineffective, you get a point.8.2s
- 14719:04In the PDF, I will delve deeper into the tricky vocab highlighted here. Okay, we're on to our final category and our last three questions.9.1s
- 14819:14These snippets are a little bit embarrassing. Listen to this and tell me what the mixup was.6.8s
- 14919:21I'd only been living in Manchester for a few weeks when a colleague invited me round for tea at 5. I was thrilled at the thought of experiencing this quintessential British tradition.9.5s
- 15019:30So I rocked up with a jar of strawberry jam and a pot of clotted cream. So you can imagine how bewildered I was when I arrived to find the table fully laid.10.4s
- 15119:41Not for a pot of Earl Gray and scones, but for a fullblown evening meal.5.4s
- 15219:46I'd only been living in Manchester for a few weeks when a colleague invited me round for tea at 5.5.5s
- 15319:52I was thrilled at the thought of experiencing this quintessential British tradition, so I rocked up with a jar of strawberry jam and a pot of clotted cream.8.8s
- 15420:01So, you can imagine how bewildered…1.8s
- 15520:03I was when I arrived to find the table fully laid, not for a pot of gray and scones, but for a fullblown evening meal.9.0s
- 15620:12Okay, this one confuses so many students. Dinner is the word that's usually taught to describe an evening meal.7.8s
- 15720:20But in many places around the UK, dinner is replaced by tea.4.5s
- 15820:24And the fact that many people have their evening meal as early as 5:00 just adds to the confusion. So if in doubt, make sure you check.10.2s
- 15920:34Do you mean tea as in dinner or tea as in tea and cake? Okay, for number 14, see if you can finish this audio with a suitable word or phrase.10.1s
- 16020:45Ready? I spoke to a fellow gymgoer about an odious man who was offering unsolicited advice to all in sundry.7.8s
- 16120:53Tried to dissuade him from going anywhere near. I wanted the ground to open and swallow me up when he turned around and said…6.9s
- 16221:00"I spoke to a fellow gym goer about an odious man who was offering unsolicited advice to all in sundry. Tried to dissuade him from going anywhere near.9.9s
- 16321:10I wanted the ground to open and swallow me up when he turned around and said…4.0s
- 16421:14"So, if you said something like, "He's my friend, husband, hubby, basically any relationship, that's another point for you. Well done."9.8s
- 16521:24There's a great idiom here that means to be so embarrassed. You wish you could disappear. Did you catch it at the end there?7.5s
- 16621:31I wanted the ground to swallow me up. I love this. It's so descriptive. I wonder if you've ever felt that way.8.7s
- 16721:40I'm sure you have on multiple occasions. Please feel free to share any anecdotes. I love laughing along with you. Okay, our final question for today's lesson.9.8s
- 16821:50What social fauxar did the speaker make? I'd gone to a friend of her friends for dinner. The host served a divine goat cheese onion tart as part of the spread.10.1s
- 16922:00As the music, wine, and conversation flowed, I polished off the lot. Took a sharp elbow to the ribs for me to realize what had happened. Oh, needless to say, I was mortified.10.4s
- 17022:11I'd gone to a friend of a friend's for dinner. The host served a divine goat cheese onion tart as part of the spread.7.0s
- 17122:18As the music, wine, and conversation flowed, I polished off the lot. Took a sharp elbow to the ribs for me to realize what had happened. Oh, needless to say, I was mortified.10.4s
- 17222:30If you polish something off, you finish all of it. Would that be considered a social fauxar in your country or culture? Let me know.8.9s
- 17322:38The speaker was left mortified. Now, this C2 word means to feel ashamed or humiliated.7.7s
- 17422:47So, my lovely students, that brings us to the end of today's video lesson. I would love to know what was your score out of 15.9.3s
- 17522:56Please let me know in the comments. If this lesson stretched your listening skills, imagine what you'll achieve at C2.7.1s
- 17623:04My brand new, beautiful British English C2 program launches on the 19th of January, 2026.7.4s
- 17723:12Get ready to unlock English at its absolute highest level. To join the waiting list, make sure you download today's PDF.9.5s
- 17823:22It's packed with all the key vocabulary and extra tips from this lesson. Scan the QR code or click the link below to join the waiting list. See you soon.9.0s
Your next clip
Where this comes from
Video: “If you can understand this FAST English, your English is ADVANCED (C1-C2 Listening Test)” by English with Lucy, played in YouTube’s own player. FunFluen does not download, edit, or host it. Watch the full video ↗
Lesson notes: Teaching notes were generated from the saved captions and passed exact caption-evidence validation.