Learn British English with Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (First Gameplay): Chuffed to Bits, Have a Knack and Make Amends

I couldn’t be more excited

• Rowan: You too. <mark>I couldn’t be more excited</mark> to get to Hogwarts.
• Alex: This is a great expression: I couldn’t be more excited to do something. You can even say “<mark>I couldn’t agree more</mark> with you.”
• Rowan: I know. <mark>I haven’t stopped</mark> staring at my acceptance letter <mark>since</mark> it arrived. Can I see yours?

Reading dates

• Letter: Term begins on <mark>September the 1st</mark>. We await your owl by no later than <mark>July the 31st</mark>.
• Alex: When we read dates like this in English, we say “September <mark>the</mark> first”, even if it’s written “September 1st”.

Ollivander’s wand shop

• Ollivander: Dragon heartstring, nine inches, rigid. Go on, <mark>give it a twirl</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Twirl</mark>: that’s the pronunciation of this word in British English.
• Ollivander: Go on now. <mark>I look forward to seeing</mark> what becomes of you.
• Alex: Look forward to <mark>doing</mark> something, guys, because as Ollivander says: “I look forward to seeing what becomes of you.”

Stand up for myself

• Player: I can <mark>stand up for myself</mark>, but I’d feel better if I knew you were on my side.
• Rowan: Understood. I’ll use my extensive vocabulary to verbally pummel anyone who attempts to <mark>besmirch</mark> your reputation.
• Alex: <mark>Besmirch</mark> means to try and ruin somebody’s reputation. It’s not a very common word: it’s literary.
• Alex: Chapter two: Welcome to Hogwarts. “<mark>Perched</mark> atop a high mountain with its turrets…” This is so literary, so bookish!

Chuffed to bits

• Rowan: For now, let’s just <mark>take it all in</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>I’m chuffed to bits</mark>. That would be a British expression to say you’re really pleased.
• Rowan: Here we go, Alex. Our <mark>first step to becoming</mark> great wizards.
• Alex: You say “your first step to <mark>becoming</mark> a great wizard”, not “to become”. It’s just like look forward to doing something.

You’re a natural

• Professor: Yours was still better. <mark>You’re a natural</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>To be a natural</mark> means that you’re talented at something.
• Alex: In informal British English there’s another expression: to <mark>have a knack for</mark> something.
• Alex: If you have a knack for something, it means you’re a natural at it.

Merula the bully

• Merula: I should <mark>put you out of your misery</mark> before you ruin Hogwarts like your brother tried to.
• Alex: To put someone out of their misery means to kill them, to stop their suffering. (In everyday life it also means to finally tell someone news they’re anxious to hear.)
• Merula: You think you’re good enough to be friends with me? You really are <mark>as mad as</mark> your brother.
• Game: Based on the <mark>bewildered</mark> look in your eyes, this could very well be your last.
• Alex: Look at that word: <mark>bewildered</mark>. That means <mark>confused</mark>.

Potions with Professor Snape

• Alex: <mark>Sabotage</mark>: that’s a difficult word, isn’t it? SAB-uh-tahzh.
• Alex: I’m sorry, Professor Snape! I meant to say: <mark>I didn’t mean to let you down</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Coat</mark>: to cover something with a layer of a particular substance. <mark>To coat something in something</mark>.
• Alex: “When the biscuits are cool, <mark>coat them in</mark> melted chocolate.”

Belligerent and standing up to bullies

• Alex: <mark>Belligerent</mark>. Belligerent. What does it mean?
• Alex: Belligerent is an adjective. It means <mark>wishing to fight or argue</mark>. You can have a belligerent person.
• Ben: Ben Copper. I’m a first-year like you. Just wanted to say thank you for <mark>standing up to</mark> Merula.
• Alex: To <mark>stand up to</mark> somebody means to say something to a person who is being unfair, maybe to you.

Sneak up on someone

• Ben: <mark>I’ve been following</mark> her, so she can’t <mark>sneak up on</mark> me. And if she sees me, I’ll at least have a chance to run away.
• Alex: “I’ve been following her”: this is the <mark>present perfect continuous</mark>.
• Alex: That’s a great phrasal verb, isn’t it? <mark>To sneak up on</mark> someone: to come close to someone quietly, without them seeing you.

Should have kept a closer eye

• Prefect: Considering what your brother did to Ravenclaw’s reputation, I <mark>should have kept a closer eye on</mark> you.
• Alex: Can you say that, guys? I should have kept a closer eye. Listen to the linking R: closer‿eye.

Fed up, a credit to the house, despise

• Alex: I think I’m a bit <mark>fed up with</mark> being accused of being like my brother.
• Alex: Being <mark>fed up</mark>, guys, means that you’re tired of something.
• Player: I know my brother broke school rules and damaged Ravenclaw’s reputation, but I want to <mark>be a credit to</mark> our house.
• Alex: “Probably because he <mark>despises</mark> you.” To despise somebody means to dislike somebody very much.

Make amends

• Alex: It seems we’ve got a chance to <mark>make amends</mark>, to <mark>set things right</mark>.
• Alex: Make amends: to do something good to show that you are sorry about something you have done.

I take it and have a fit

• Professor: And <mark>I take it</mark> you once again don’t have any proof.
• Alex: That’s a great expression. “I take it that something is the case.” I <mark>assume</mark> you once again don’t have any proof.
• Game: Professor Flitwick will <mark>have a fit</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Have a fit</mark>: literally, a sudden attack of uncontrolled movements. Informally, it means to become very angry or upset.

If I were a broom…

• Player: <mark>Would I listen</mark> to me <mark>if I were</mark> a broom?
• Game: Yes, you’re the one who got <mark>tangled up</mark>.
• Alex: <mark>Tangle up</mark>, guys. Getting tangled: when ropes, hair or branches get twisted together, or you get caught in them.