Give someone a heads up meaning in English
Learn how to use Give someone a heads up correctly with Gymglish.
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Definition
to give someone a heads up: to warn someone, to give someone advance notice
Just to give you a heads up before the meeting: Jane, the director, hates the color orange. I wanted to warn you in advance.
Examples
- "I just wanted to give you a heads up before you two meet this Wednesday!"
Exercise 1
Polly uses the following idioms in her email. Choose the best definition for each idiom.
Polly is giving Susie a heads up. She is .
She writes, Stay on your toes. She wants Susie to .
A person with a knack for doing something .
Polly is giving Susie a heads up. She is .
She writes, Stay on your toes. She wants Susie to .
A person with a knack for doing something .
Polly uses the following idioms in her email. Choose the best definition for each idiom.
Polly is giving Susie a heads up. She is giving her a warning 1.
She writes, Stay on your toes. She wants Susie to be alert 2.
A person with a knack for doing something has an aptitude for doing it 3.
Polly is giving Susie a heads up. She is giving her a warning 1.
She writes, Stay on your toes. She wants Susie to be alert 2.
A person with a knack for doing something has an aptitude for doing it 3.
1 giving her a warning: The expression "to give someone a heads up" is to warn them about something or let them know in advance that something is happening. Example: The teacher gave us a heads up about the test, saying that it would be difficult.
1 giving her a bit of advice: "Advice" is information or an opinion regarding a problem or subject. Example: Take my advice, and buy Microtosh stock now! A "heads up" is a warning, and not a piece of advice.
1 giving her some encouragement: "Encouragement" refers to supportive words given to someone. Example: My wife's encouragement helped me tremendously after my accident. A "heads up" is a warning, and not encouragement.
1 giving her a head-butt: A "head-butt" describes two men (it's always men because women are too intelligent to do this) knocking their heads together. A "head-butt" can also be an aggressive and violent blow made with the head. Example: The football player was sent off for head-butting the official during the game. There is no relationship between a "head-butt" and a "heads up".
2 be alert: The expression "stay on your toes" is a suggestion that someone stay aware and attentive. Example: Pilots must stay on their toes during the take-off and landing of the airplane. Telling someone to "stay on their toes" is a warning to them to "keep alert" or "stay sharp". Polly is essentially telling Susie to be careful.
2 stick to the point : Someone who "sticks to the point" stays on the main subject and does not get sidetracked or distracted during a discussion. Example: My dad never sticks to the point when he makes political arguments. "To stick to the point" expresses a different idea than the idiom "stay on your toes".
2 be honest: Polly is not encouraging Susie to "be honest", but rather to remain alert or simply to be careful.
2 be polite: Polly is not encouraging Susie to "be polite", but rather to remain alert or simply to be careful.
3 has an aptitude for doing it: To "have a knack for something" is to have a skill or talent for it. Polly writes that Fiona "has a knack for being nosy", which means that Fiona has an aptitude for being curious (to the point of being intrusive). Note: "nosy" is seen as a negative adjective, therefore to say someone "has a knack for it" is slightly ironic. We usually use "knack" with positive qualities. Example: Jim has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time.
3 enjoys doing it: "Enjoying doing something" is different than "having a knack for it". "To enjoy" is to experience pleasure or take satisfaction (from doing something). Example: I enjoy massages.
3 does it very quickly: "Doing something quickly" describes the speed at which someone does something, and not "having a knack for it".
3 avoids doing it: To avoid (doing something) is to stay clear of it, or try not to do it. Someone who avoids hard work tries to never work hard.
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