Speed things up meaning in English

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Definition

Can you speed things up a bit?: Can you do it more quickly or rapidly? Can you go a bit faster? idiom

to speed up: to go faster, to accelerate, to quicken verb

Examples

"Our flying time tonight will be just under 6 hours, but I'll see if I can speed things up a bit."
"Philip : Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt, but can we speed things up, here?"

Exercise 1

During his announcement, the pilot says "I'll see if I can speed things up a bit".

In this context, what is the pilot trying to say?

I'll find a way of getting there sooner.

I'll change direction rapidly to avoid the other plane.

I'm busy, so I'll try to make my speech short.

I'll quickly find another co-pilot; this one is blind.

I don't know

During his announcement, the pilot says "I'll see if I can speed things up a bit".

In this context, what is the pilot trying to say?

I'll find a way of getting there sooner.

This is the correct definition. "To speed things up" is a commonly used idiom which means to do something quickly, or accelerate a certain action. Example: The trip to LA is supposed to take 5 hours, but I'll try to speed things up and make it there in 4. The pilot says "Our flying time tonight will be just under 6 hours, but I'll see if I can speed things up a bit", meaning that he will try to arrive in Boston earlier than the scheduled time.

I'll change direction rapidly to avoid the other plane.

This is incorrect. The idiom "to speed something up" doesn't express the idea of changing direction. Moreover, the pilot does not make any mention of any other planes nearby in his announcement.

I'm busy, so I'll try to make my speech short.

This is incorrect. While it is true that the idiom "to speed something up" can be used to describe the act of finishing a speech quickly, this definition does not make sense in this context. The pilot does not make any reference to the length of his announcement.

I'll quickly find another co-pilot; this one is blind.

This is incorrect. It is true that the pilot introduces a co-pilot (Randy Williams) who is blind (unable to see), however he does not say that he wants to replace the co-pilot, and this is certainly not the meaning of the idiom "to speed something up".

Exercise 2

Put the words in the correct order to find useful phrases used in the meeting!

What think you do this about proposal? --> What proposal?

I'm up but speed we can sorry things here? --> I'm here?

Sorry Jean, that catch I didn't. Could again you that say? --> Sorry Jean, . Could ?

I don't know

Put the words in the correct order to find useful phrases used in the meeting!

What think you do this about proposal? --> What do you think about this 1 proposal?

I'm up but speed we can sorry things here? --> I'm sorry but can we speed things up 2 here?

Sorry Jean, that catch I didn't. Could again you that say? --> Sorry Jean, I didn't catch that 3. Could you say that again 4?

1 do you think about this: 'What do you think about (football, Brian's hair, this idea, etc.) is a versatile phrase that allows you to ask for people's opinions. Useful variations: How do you feel about this? What's your opinion on this?

2 sorry but can we speed things up: "To speed up" means to move faster or accelerate. Therefore, "can we speed things up?" asks people to be quicker; to make the proceedings of a meeting more rapid. Example: "I'm sorry, I'm late for another meeting, can we speed things up a bit?".

3 I didn't catch that: "I didn't catch that" is a nice way of saying that you didn't hear something - either because you weren't listening or didn't fully understand. It prompts your interlocutor to repeat what they said. In the meeting, Philip says, "I'm sorry Jean, I didn't catch that" because he didn't understand Jean's accent!

4 you say that again: "Could you say that again?" prompts the person you are talking to to repeat what they said. It works nicely with the previous phrase: "I'm Sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you say that again?"... Ok I'll repeat as you asked so nicely!

Exercise 3

During his announcement, the pilot says "I'll see if I can speed things up a bit".

In this context, what is the pilot trying to say?

I'll find a way of getting there sooner.

I'll change direction rapidly to avoid the other plane.

I'm busy, so I'll try to make my speech short.

I'll quickly find another co-pilot; this one is blind.

I don't know

During his announcement, the pilot says "I'll see if I can speed things up a bit".

In this context, what is the pilot trying to say?

I'll find a way of getting there sooner.

I'll change direction rapidly to avoid the other plane.

This is incorrect. The idiom "to speed something up" doesn't express the idea of changing direction. Moreover, the pilot does not make any mention of any other planes nearby in his announcement.

I'm busy, so I'll try to make my speech short.

I'll quickly find another co-pilot; this one is blind.

Exercise 4

"I'd like to wrap this meeting up"

This means:

I would like to summarize the main points discussed.

I would like to end the meeting.

I would like this meeting to move more quickly.

I would like to continue this meeting at a later date.

I don't know

"I'd like to wrap this meeting up"

This means:

I would like to summarize the main points discussed.

This is incorrect. To summarize the main points discussed, we might say: "I'd like to go over the main points" OR "I would like to resume what we've discussed today."

I would like to end the meeting.

This is correct. "To wrap (something) up" is to conclude or finish work on (something). Example: We need to WRAP UP this project before Christmas. In the conversation, Edward says, "Unless there are any other comments, I'd like to wrap this meeting up." This means that if nobody has anything else to say, he would like to end the meeting.

I would like this meeting to move more quickly.

This is incorrect. To make a meeting move more quickly, we might say, "Let's speed things up, shall we?".

I would like to continue this meeting at a later date.

This is not the best choice here!

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