C1 Advanced Use of English Column
Test your English, learn and get better with our fortnight Use of English quiz.
C1 Use of English Quick Quiz
Do You Remember?
Revise the previous quiz from our Advanced Use of English column. Good luck!
We hope our fortnight quizzes will do the trick. Not only will they help you step out of your comfort zone as an English learner, they will also enhance your English proficiency in the Cambridge C1 Advanced exam. Whatever the case might be ;), just try all out and you will get there!
Time to dive into the origins of an idiom!
In the limelight today:
RAIN CATS AND DOGS
Meaning
To rain very heavily, often in a sudden and unexpected way.
Example
We were planning a picnic in the park, but the weather suddenly changed, and it started raining cats and dogs, so we had to cancel our plans.
Origin
It comes from the time when houses had thatched roofs. When it rained heavily, animals such as cats and dogs would seek shelter on the roofs, and as the rain continued, some of the animals would fall through the thatch and into the house, hence the expression “raining cats and dogs”. Another theory suggests that the phrase is derived from the Old English word “catadupe”, which means “waterfall”, and may have been used to describe heavy rain.Â
You’ve armed yourself with your daily dose of knowledge, have you! Now you do deserve a study break!
Stay tuned for more words of advice and handy material!
