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Vocabulary Quiz
peeves • mannerisms • embroidered
cheesy • paraphernalia
  1. I still have a lot of art from when I was taking classes.
  2. His remind me a lot of his grandfather's.
  3. People coming in right before closing time is one of her .
  4. The beat of his songs is good, but the lyrics are horribly .
  5. That skirt would look even better if it were at the bottom.
Comprehension Quiz
Answer the following questions about the interview.
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470 Simon's Pet Peeve

Simon discusses his pet peeve.

  • Transcript
  • Vocabulary
notes
Vocabulary notes (text only) explain key vocabulary and phrases from the interview. Learn more here.

pet peeves

I want to talk about one of my pet peeves.

A 'pet peeve' is something, usually an action, that makes you feel annoyed. Notice the following:

  1. What is your biggest pet peeve?
  2. People chewing with their mouths open is one of his pet peeves.

mannerism

Sometimes, you just don't like other people's noise, habits, or mannerism.

A person's 'mannerisms' are their habitual actions in certain situations.  Notice the following:

  1. Many of his mannerisms are just like his father's.
  2. He has some very interesting mannerisms.

embroider

I hate it when Canadians wear, or embroider, Canadian flags on their backpacks.

When you 'embroider' something, you sew a design on it using different colors of thread. Notice the following:

  1. I bought her a beautiful embroidered bag for her birthday.
  2. My mother loves to make embroidered wall decorations.

cheesy

I'm a Canadian and I do love my country, but for me, it's just so cheesy to see that on people's things.

Something 'cheesy' is of inferior quality or is used so frequently that it loses meaning or becomes stereotypical or predictable. Notice the following:

  1. Most of the things that he says to attract women are really cheesy.
  2. The ending of the that movie is so cheesy and predictable.

paraphernalia

I don't like it when they put Canadian paraphernalia, especially embroidered flags on their backpack.

Used like this, 'paraphernalia' just refers to objects that use Canadian symbols. It can also be used to describe objects that are used for a particular purpose or activity.  Notice the following:

  1. I can't believe all of the musical paraphernalia that you own.
  2. There is always a lot of sports paraphernalia around the house.
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