Home/Vocabulary exercises/April Fool's Day

APRIL FOOL'S DAY VOCABULARY (ESL)

level: Beginner/Intermediate (A2/B1)

April Fool's Day is celebrated on April 1st in many countries with pranks, jokes, and hoaxes. This exercise covers the vocabulary associated with this light-hearted day.

READY TO PRACTICE? LET’S GO!

1. April Fools' Day is not really a holiday. It's more of a day to play (jokes/funny) on people.✓

2. In English-speaking countries, this is the day when you try to make your friends believe something that isn't true. If they believe it, you're (supposed/supported) to say "April Fool!"✓

3. The origins of the day are (unclear/uncleaned).✓

4. April Fools' Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. In Poland, for example, the tradition is to get people wet by (pouring/poring) water on them.✓

5. A "practical joke" is a playful trick that usually puts the receiver in an (embarrassing/embarrass) position.✓

6. Another word for "practical joke" is (prank/plank).✓

7. I can't believe you (felt/fell) for it! = I can't believe you believed it!✓

8. A (saga/hoax) is an attempt to trick an audience (or person) into believing that something false is real.✓

9. In several English-speaking countries, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand, April Fools' ✓

(customary/tradition) says that you have to play a joke before noon (12:00 PM). If you play a joke after 12:00 PM, you, yourself, are (considered/consigned) the "fool".✓

10. A (gullible/sellable) person is one who believes things very easily. ✓

—

April Fool's Day Conversation Questions 1. Do people play pranks on April Fool's Day in your country? What kinds of pranks are common?
2. What is the best or funniest prank you have ever played or had played on you?
3. Do you think April Fool's Day is harmless fun, or can it go too far? Why?
4. Are there other times in the year in your culture when jokes or pranks are traditional?
5. What makes something funny in your culture? Is the sense of humour similar to or different from English humour?
6. Do you enjoy sarcasm and irony in humour, or do you prefer more straightforward jokes?

Did you know? The exact origin of April Fool's Day is uncertain, but one popular theory links it to the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in France in 1563. Under the old calendar, the New Year was celebrated around April 1st. People who were slow to hear of the change — or who refused to accept it — continued to celebrate in late March and early April, and were mocked as "April fools."

Some of the most famous April Fool's hoaxes have been carried out by major media organisations. In 1957, the BBC broadcast a documentary about the Swiss spaghetti harvest — showing farmers pulling spaghetti from trees — and received hundreds of calls from viewers asking how to grow their own spaghetti plant.