Learn English with English, baby!

Join for FREE!

Social_nav_masthead_logged_in
 
in spades

in spades

Date: Dec 20 2007

Themes: Pop Culture, Work

Quote

1. Quote - Listen to the quote and guess what the slang means.

“I’ve had it all. I’ve had it in spades. It’s been an incredible career.”

- Actress Angela Lansbury on her success as an actress. (Entertainment Weekly)

Definition

1. Definition - Study the definition.

many; in the extreme

2. Use - Learn how the slang is used.

Do you the different suits of playing cards? There are clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. In a lot of games, spades is the best one.

So when you say you have something in spades, it means that you have more of it than other people. It can be a quality or an object, and it can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what the thing is. For instance, to say “Nick and Charlie both have intelligence in spades,” means they’re both really smart. But to say “Michelle’s house has rats in spades” means that she has a problem.

Angela Lansbury has been an actress for over 50 years. She’s starred in everything from the Disney classic Bedknobs and Broomsticks to the detective TV show Murder She Wrote. She’s played all kinds of roles and been good in all of them. She’s had experiences and success in spades.

Examples

1. Examples - Hear some example sentences.

“I think she’s perfect for the job. We need someone with ambition and charm and she’s got those things in spades.”

“You need tires? You’re lucky. I’ve got tires in spades. What size do you need?”

“We knew this was a bad neighborhood, but we’ve had problems in spades since we moved here.”

Winners

1. Winners - See who guessed the slang definition correctly.

ozdamarb great, extremely
by ozdamarb
susanking to a considerable degree
by susanking
annan69 in the extreme; without restraint
by annan69
Darlene a lot; extreme; significant.
by Darlene
MVP In large amount or to a great degree
by MVP
zz-katee It means sth like 'to the full, to a great degree, plenty of sth', maybe..
by zz-katee
in large amounts or to a great degree
by ali_5242
in large amounts or to a very great degree.
by omar_beyaty

Want to guess next week's slang?

The iTEP® test

  • Schedule an iTEP® test and take the official English Practice Test.

    Take Now >

Comments

Log in to Comment

Tony09

China

OK I think I have got it

02:48 PM Dec 20 2007 |

ych_tj

China

I’ve read it in spades.

06:20 AM Dec 20 2007 |

kaushalyats

Sri Lanka

i would like to lern new words from ebaby in spades

05:02 AM Dec 20 2007 |

Ocean01023

Ocean01023

China

various,kinds of

03:36 AM Dec 20 2007 |

Likes (209):

See all >

Share this lesson:

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Bebo
  • Share on Myspace
  • Share on Twitter
  • Email this to a friend
  • Share on Sina

Post Ebaby! lessons on your blog:

Ebaby! Cast