House-warming party, in the doghouse, a big household
(Idioms related to "house")
Answers to the quizzes

    QUIZ 1 - HOUSE

    1. One of my friends has invited me to a house-warming party. Is he going to burn the house down?
      - I don't think so. A house-warming party is a party that people have after they've moved into a new house. After people move into a new house in Britain, North America and in many other parts of the world, they often have a special party in the house and invite all their friends.

    2. I met another friend this morning. He said, "I came in drunk last night and the wife got annoyed, so now I'm in the doghouse." Is he sleeping in the dog's kennel?
      - I hope not. Although we call a dog's tiny house （犬小屋） a kennel, the expression in the doghouse means somebody (in this case the man's wife) is angry with him and giving him a difficult time.

    3. My Aunt Martha is a very house-proud person. Do you think she enjoys having visitors? Are you house-proud?
      - A house-proud person is someone who works very hard to keep their house clean and beautiful. Aunt Martha probably loves having visitors, but she would get very annoyed if those visitors made a mess.

    4. One of my friends wants to buy a dog. He says that he wants to get a really good housedog. Does that mean he doesn't want a dog that barks too loudly?
      - No. A dog with a loud bark would probably be very suitable. A good house dog is a family pet that looks after the house well and barks if a stranger tries to enter the house. (Please notice that when we say house dog, we place the stress on "house" : HOUSE dog).

    5. My boss and I get on like a house on fire. Do you think we have a good relationship?
      Yes, we have a very good relationship. Many learners think get on like a house on fire suggests anger and violence but, in fact, it means that two people are very, very good friends.
        Here's another example: I didn't like Jack when I first met him, but after he joined our soccer club we became great friends. Now we get on like a house on fire.

    6. In some countries people involved in anti-government activities can be placed under house arrest. Does that mean they go to prison?
      Not exactly, but it means that they have to stay in a certain place (usually their home) and do not have freedom to move around. A well-known case is Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar.

      (*NOTE:
      Please note the collocations: BE PLACED UNDER house arrest. You can also say be kept under house arrest.

    7. We bought 3 bottles of wine and the manager gave us a bottle on the house. Were we happy?
      - We certainly were very happy. "On the house" means the restaurant or shop gives us something for free. In Japanese, they usually say 「サービスです」but "service" doesn't have this meaning in English.

    8. And a special question for Harry Potter fans: How many houses are there in Hogwarts School? What does "house" mean in this context?
      - There are 4 houses in Hogwarts School: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. In boarding schools （全寮制の学校）, a "house" is the building where a group of students live. When the school has sports competitions, the different houses compete against each other. My school wasn't a boarding school but every student was a member of a "house" and we competed against each other on sports days.

    QUIZ 2 - HOUSEHOLD

    1. How many people are there in the average Japanese household?
      Well, you'd know better than me.

    2. How many people are there in your household?
      My household is very small - just me and Ari. Your household may be bigger.

    3. How many cars are there in your household?
      In my household, there is only one car - a Daihatsu Mira which Ari and I share. We live right in the centre of Ena close to the bank, post office and supermarket so we don't need to do a lot of driving. Many households in Ena, though, seem to have one car for every adult member.

    4. What does "household" mean in this mini-dialogue:
      1. Who's Naoko Takahashi?
      2. You've never heard of Naoko Takahashi! I thought she was a household name in Japan.
      A household name refers to a person that everyone knows - famous politicians, writers, TV personalities etc.

    We hope you enjoyed this week's lesson and that you will be able to understand and use some of the expressions we looked at. There are plenty of other one-point lessonsClick here if you want to try some of my other one-point lessons.

    © Robert E. Jones, 2004