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Speak English Confidently Like Sherlock and Irene Adler | Explaining Movie Scenes for English Learners

This English lesson explores a conversation between Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler when they first meet.  It explains several advanced vocabulary items and collocations for intermediate and advanced learners. These provide great opportunities for learning descriptive words, common phrases, idioms, and an informal, playful way to talking. The scene from Sherlock [season 2, episode 1] is used.



Alright, let’s get into it! In today’s lesson, we’re looking at the first meeting between Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler. This scene is full of clever lines and interesting vocabulary. Let's watch and learn.

"catch your name" means someone didn’t hear or remember the name of another person. This is a useful everyday phrase to ask someone for their name when you missed it, like in conversations or introductions. You can imagine being in a noisy place and asking someone to repeat their name because you didn’t "catch" it the first time.

'alias' is a false name or identity someone uses, often to keep their real identity secret. It's a fun word to use when talking about secrets or double lives, like in spy movies. In the clip, Sherlock pretends to be a priest, but Irene notices that he forgets his alias after being scared.

'fright' means the feeling of fear, especially if felt suddenly, or an experience of fear that happens suddenly.

"defrocked" – This word literally means removing someone's religious position, like taking away the title of a priest. But, in the scene, it’s used ironically to say both Irene and Sherlock have dropped their masks and are now being honest with each other. It’s not about religion here, but about being exposed, like saying, 'Now we’re showing our true selves'.

'presume' means to believe something to be true because it is very likely, although you are not certain.

'cheekbones' means two bones at the top of your cheeks, just below your eye and towards your ear.

'slap' means to hit someone or something with the flat part of the hand or other flat object.

'disguise' something that someone wears to hide their true appearance, or acts in a way that hides their true identity. 

'self-portrait' means a picture you paint or draw of yourself.

"disguise" and "self-portrait". In the scene, Irene talks about how a disguise is like a self-portrait. No matter how hard you try to hide, your true self still comes through, she says. The idea here is that the choice of costume can reveal a lot about the person wearing it. So, people can’t fully hide who they are, even when they try.

'vicar' means a priest in the Church of England who is in charge of a church and the religious needs of people in a particular area.

'delusional' means believing things that are not true, often because of some kind of mental confusion. In this scene, Irene uses these words to describe Sherlock as having emotional or mental issues, possibly believing things that aren’t based in reality.

'hiker' means a person who goes for a long walk in the countryside.

'bash' means to hit someone or something with an object.

"brainy's the new sexy" – This phrase means that being intelligent or "brainy" is now considered attractive, or "sexy". Some people think that being smart is more important than just looking good. In the scene, Irene says that Sherlock’s intelligence is what makes him so attractive.

'backfire' means a loud noise as a result of fuel burning too early in an engine.

'the death blow' refers to a strong hit that caused the person's death. The word 'blow' is often used in the context of a punch or strike.

Just a quick warning! Sherlock talks really fast in this scene, so don’t worry if it’s a bit tricky to understand at first, but it’s great practice.

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