Name: Football: 'Super League' for Europe: BBC News Review
Uploaded: 2021-04-20T16:45:05.000Z
Duration: 11 min 19 s
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Hello. Welcome to News Review from BBC Learning English.

I'm Tom and joining me this morning is Catherine. Hi, Catherine.

Hello Tom and hello everybody. Today's story is about a

big development in the world of professional football.

Don't forget – if you want to test yourself

on today's vocabulary, we have a quiz at bbclearningenglish.com.

this story from a BBC Radio 5 live news report:

Yes, there are plans to start a new European Super League in football.

This Super League will include six English football teams

and more teams from Europe. Now, this news has been met with

mixed reactions to say the least: some are in favour,

but a lot of people are strongly opposed to the idea.

OK. So, we've got three words and expressions that you can

use to talk about today's story. Catherine, what are they?

We have: 'breakaway', 'beggars belief' and 'blunt take'.

'Breakaway', 'beggars belief' and 'blunt take'.

Some great British-English expressions there. Catherine,

let's take a look at your first one and your first headline, please.

Yes, we're starting in the UK with the Evening Standard – the headline:

'Breakaway' – independent, separate after leaving a group.

Catherine, what can you tell us about this word 'breakaway'?

Well, I can tell you that it's an objective and we use it

  Now, the spelling of this word is: B-R-E-A-K-A-W-A-Y.

Now, that's actually two words: 'break' and 'away',

but we put them together to make the adjective 'breakaway'.

OK. So, what does it mean, this word 'breakaway'?

you've broken with something and you've moved away from it.

So, you were part of a group or an organisation, but you've

now left that group and you've started doing a similar activity,

right, which is kind of 'broken away' from what has come before it.

Now, we've got these two words: 'break' and 'away'.

'Break' is not always a good word, right?

I could break my arm or I could break somebody's heart.

And it's often used – 'breakaway' means usually you've...

you're a 'breakaway group': you're doing your own thing,

but the group that you've left is not happy about it.

Or you weren't happy with the way the group was behaving or organising itself;

you think you can do it better, so you leave that old group

and you start doing the same thing yourself. Now, as you can imagine,

a lot of times when people do that, somebody's not happy.

So, 'to break away'. This is a phrasal verb, right?

Yes, absolutely. Yes, as well as an adjective,

You can 'break away' and start your own group.

You can 'break away from', and you use a preposition 'from',

a previous group. Now, Tom, I've heard on the grapevine a rumour

Yeah, Tom's Broadcasting Corporation Learning English.

This is my 'breakaway' group, which I've been thinking about starting.

You're going to 'break away' – phrasal verb – from the BBC and

you're going to start a 'breakaway' English teaching company.

And do you know what that would make me as a person?

That would make me a 'breakaway', which is the noun, right?

We can also use a 'breakaway' as a noun to refer to the person or

Let's take a look at our summary slide, please:

So, 'break' – a word with a lot of uses.

There's a video of Sam giving us some more, right, Catherine?

And to watch that video, it just takes a minute – just click the link.

Perfect. OK. Catherine, let's take a look at your next headline, please.

'Beggars belief' – is shocking, outrageous.

Catherine, what can you tell us about this one?

Yes, it's another two-word expression, Tom.

The first word – 'beggars': B-E-G-G-A-R-S.

It's a fixed expression; we don't change it. And it's a verb phrase,

so you use it after a subject, which is usually 'it'.

Now, it's similar to 'unbelievable', but it's like 'shocking'.

If something 'beggars belief', you're really shocked, you're outraged.

It's... it's a really, kind of, affronting thing that has happened.

So, you're really... you don't like what's happened.

If you beg... if it 'beggars belief', it's quite shocking.

Sort of like, 'I can't believe it,' right?

Yeah. In a bad way. You know, you're like, 'What??!'

So, when I first heard the story of Tom's Broadcasting Company, I've got to

say, I turned round and I said: 'It beggars belief that he's done that!'

OK. Concentrating on the language, good example.

And this is a common sort of way that we can use this expression, right?

Yes. You can use it as... you can just say the statement:

'Something's happened: Tom set up TBC – it beggars belief'.

Or you can say: 'It beggars belief that Tom has set up a rival to the BBC.'

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