The English Breakfast ☕
Hi there,
Welcome back to The English Breakfast — the newsletter for Italian professionals who want to feel more confident in English at work.
Let’s get started with a quick quiz. Do you know all 6 of these essential idioms? There’s only one way to find out.
Where are my phrasal verbs?
If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you’ll know we talk about phrasal verbs a lot. They’re verbs like get up to and put up with that can be hard to understand unless you know them already.
Well, don’t worry. Today is no exception. Check out this week’s video to learn two phrasal verbs with opposite meanings.
Intrigued? Hit play!
📬 The Big Debate: Is an "Influencer" Degree Worth £30,000?
Can you actually teach someone how to become a successful influencer—or is a £30,000 university degree in Content Creation a waste of money?
With higher education evolving rapidly to keep pace with the creator economy, UK and US universities are launching degrees focused on video production, audience analytics, and brand monetization. But industry opinions are split: while some argue these programs provide essential transferable business skills, others insist that success comes down to personal drive, online resources, and plain old luck.
💡 What to Watch Out For
Before you dive into the article, take a look at these three high-impact expressions from the text that every business professional should have in their toolkit:
Raise a few eyebrows (verb phrase) — To cause mild surprise, shock, or disapproval.
Context: "As university courses go it may raise a few eyebrows, but Destiny McGowan has no doubt that hers was very useful."
Cut through the noise (verb phrase) — To make your message stand out and get noticed in an environment overcrowded with information.
Context: "The University of Brighton says it teaches students how to create content that cuts through the noise."
Ahead of the curve (idiomatic expression) — To be more advanced, innovative, or adaptable than competitors or trends.
Context: "She adds that such courses are ahead of the curve in recognising that content creation is an important part of marketing."
🍃 All the leaves are brown… and the bears are fat 🐻
I’m a big fan of Autumn. There’s a chill in the air, pumpkins and chestnuts start appearing in supermarkets, and of course, there’s Fat Bear Week.
If you’ve never heard of it before, it’s an annual competition run by the US National Park Service in Alaska to determine which of their resident bears has gained the most weight in the run-up to hibernation. The public votes in a bracket-style tournament, and this year, a bear known as 89 Backpack took home the crown with over 103,000 votes after a fierce season of salmon-munching.
Check out these playful expressions from the article.
Strategic loafing (noun phrase) — Taking deliberate, high-level rest and relaxation. While bears use it to conserve calories for winter, it's an equally valid technique for Sunday afternoons.
Context: "A battle of size, skill, snack acquisition, and strategic loafing."
Find your niche (idiom) — To discover a comfortable, suitable role or position where you can thrive.
Context: "His quiet toughness has allowed him to find his niche alongside the biggest bears at Brooks River."
Gorge on (something) (phrasal verb) — To eat large quantities of food greedily or until completely full.
Context: "From June until mid-October, the bears gorge on food, including salmon..."
Chonk & badonk (slang) — Informal, playful internet slang used to describe a pleasantly chubby animal (chonk) with a noticeably large rear end (badonk, short for badonkadonk).
Context: "Backpack was described by one supporter as having both the chonk and the badonk."
I think I’ll propose holding a similar competition amongst us English teachers for next year.
OK, that’s all for this week’s edition.
Let me know if you enjoyed it, and I’ll see you next time.
Have a great week. 😎
All the best,
Dan
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