Advanced phrasal verbs 4

• simmer down (become calm): Leave him to simmer down and we'll talk again later.
• rustle up (quickly make a meal): I'll see if I can rustle up something to eat.
• muddle up (confuse): I muddled up the salt and the sugar.
• kick back (relax): She went on holiday to kick back, not to work!
• gloss over (say as little as possible about something): She talked about work for hours but
glossed over her home life.

Let's review! Which phrasal verb do we need? (If there's a tense, it's the past simple.)

1. She was really angry but she ______________________________ quickly.

2. The children ______________________________ their reading books. They took the wrong
ones.
3. He ______________________________ an omelette and salad.
4. I'm shattered! I really need to ______________________________ and do nothing this
weekend.
5. I feel like he takes a long time to ______________________________ after an argument.
6. You ______________________________ the problems. We need to talk about them
properly.
7. Our friends aren't at home - maybe we ______________________________ the dates.
8. We went into the kitchen and ______________________________ a quick meal.
9. During the interview, he ______________________________ why he left his last job.
10. They went to the beach and ______________________________ for a week.
Answers

1. She was really angry but she simmered down quickly.

2. The children muddled up their reading books. They took the wrong ones.
3. He rustled up an omelette and salad.
4. I'm shattered! I really need to kick back and do nothing this weekend.
5. I feel like he takes a long time to simmer down after an argument.
6. You glossed over the problems. We need to talk about them properly.
7. Our friends aren't at home - maybe we muddled up the dates.
8. We went into the kitchen and rustled up a quick meal.
9. During the interview, he glossed over why he left his last job.
10. They went to the beach and kicked back for a week.