Learn British English In 90 Minutes - ALL The Idioms You Need (with Free EBOOK)

(bright music) – Hello lovely students, and welcome back to English With Lucy. Today I am going to teach you 100 idioms. It’s going to be epic. You are going to walk away from this video with so much more knowledge. And the best part is Ihave a free ebook for you to go alongside this video, Iknow you can thank me later. It is very generous of me. This ebook contains every idiom that we’re going to talk about today, and it has some extraexercise questions as well. So you can put what youearned into practise and test your understanding. If you want the 100 idioms ebook and you want to take the exercises, download it now becausesoon it will disappear. I’m not sure how long I will keep it up and available for you for free.If you’d like to download it, just click on the linkin the description box, you enter your nameand your email address, and the ebook will comedirectly to your inbox. After that, you will automatically receive all of my weekly lesson PDFs and any eBooks in the future, plus all of my news,course updates and offers. It’s a free service and youcan unsubscribe at any time. Before we get started withthis epic idioms lesson, I like to thank the sponsorof today’s video, NordVPN. You are here because you want to improve your English skills. And the thing that I alwaysrecommend to my students is watching English TVshows and English movies. It’s an amazing English learning tool. A really frustratingand annoying situation is when you finally findthat perfect TV show or film that will help you to learn English and it’s unavailable in your country. I highly recommendNordVPN, I use it myself, it’s the perfect solution,it hides your location.So not only does it improve your security, it also helps you to overcomegeographical restrictions. It allows you to unlock access to those entertainment providers that you can’t usuallyaccess from your country. It just takes a click. You open the map, you click on a location and you’ll be connected in seconds. There also won’t be any annoying delays because speed tests haveconfirmed that NordVPN is the fastest VPN out there. The team at NordVPN have given me a special offer to pass onto you, go to nordvpn.com/Lucyto get a two year plan plus one additional monthwith a huge discount. If you don’t like the product, NordVPN provides a 30day money back guarantee. So it’s risk free to try it out. The link is in thedescription box as well. Right, let’s get started with the idioms.(bright music) Hello everyone and welcomeback to English With Lucy, today I have an idioms video for you. I’m sure that you’ll agree with me that English is sometimesquite ridiculous. So today I have compiled15 of the funniest idioms, along with examples of course, these are idioms that you canuse in real life situations, but they are also idiomsthat have funny meanings, are just a bit strangeor tickle me in some way. If something ticklesyou, it makes you laugh. You can download the freePDF worksheet for this class, it’s got all of the idiomsplus extra examples.I always like my students to have nice worksheets to keep with them, just click on the linkin the description box, sign up to my mailing list and it’ll come directly to your inbox. Right, let’s get startwith the first idiom. The first idiom is a lovelyone, as are all of them really. It is a storm in a teacup,a storm in a teacup. And interestingly in American English, they say it in a slightly different way, they say a tempest in a teapot. So it’s still tea related. Now this means a lot of unnecessaryanger and worry or drama about a matter that is not important. Unnecessary drama. For example, she’s made anofficial complaint to the CEO about the type of cheese in the cheese sandwiches at the canteen.This seems to me to bea storm in a teacup. A lot of unnecessary worry and anger about something that justisn’t that important. Number two, this is onethat I have mentioned before many years ago, but it’s so important, and so widely used that I feelcomfortable saying it again. It is, Bob’s your uncle, Bob’syour uncle, very important. This is a phrase that we say when we have reached the endof a set of instructions, or when we’ve reached a result, it translates as, and thereit is, or there you have it. So an example would beto make a cup of minty, boil a kettle, add a teabag, wait two minutes and Bob’syour uncle, there you have it. Now number three is slightly morbid, it is as dead as a doornailand this means very very dead.You couldn’t be more deadthan a doornail I guess. An example would be, I tried to save the mousethat my cat brought in, but it was as dead as a doornail. Similarly, along the samelines, we also have number four, which is to kick thebucket, to kick the bucket. Now this is a verb andit means to die, to die, to kick the bucket to die. I dunno why I’m saying die in such a die, I just can’t help it, die.Let’s move on. Now the origins of thisphrase are quite interesting. It’s because when people died by hanging, they would stand on a bucketand then kick the bucket away. And that’s where to kickthe bucket comes from. An example unfortunately, our favourite neighbour kickedthe bucket three years ago, but we still feel herpresence in the neighbourhood. And that’s true, myabsolute favourite neighbour died at the ripe age of 93, I think, but every time I go hometo visit my parents, I always expect to see her.And then I realise she’s notthere, we miss her a lot, but she had a fantastic life. Number five is everythingbut the kitchen sink, everything but the kitchen sink. Now, if you’ve neverheard this idiom before, I would love to know whatyou think it might mean in the comment section andthen let’s see if you’re right. So pause now and write that. Okay, I’m starting it meanseverything imaginable. This phrase becamepopular in World War II, when newspapers would report that everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at the enemy. Everything imaginable. An example, Will packs lightly for travel, but I throw everything but the kitchen sink intomy suitcase, says plural. I’m one of those. Number six, oh, I love this one. It’s so expressive, it’s hilarious. It is, the lights areon, but no one’s home. I think I mentioned thisone in my seven polite ways to call someone stupid video, where I went through the seven ways in which I had been anidiot throughout my life.If you would like to see some serious serious self deprecation, then do watch that video. This is used to saythat somebody is stupid, even though they may appear normal. What’s a lovely phrase. An example, Jennifer has adegree in interior design, but the lights are on and no one’s home. Number seven is donkey’syears, donkey’s years. This is used to describe an action that has continued onfor a very long time. And supposedly thisoriginates from rhyming slang, donkey’s years used to mean years, but now they’ve just joined together to become donkey’s years. An example, Will haslived in the countryside for donkey’s years, he just wouldn’t survive in the city. He’s lived in the countryside for years. Number eight is to do arunner, to do a runner. And this means to leavea place hastily, quickly, in order to avoid an unpleasant situation or to avoid paying. An example, they orderedthe caviar and the lobster, but when the bill arrived,they did a runner. They left hastily to avoid paying.Number nine, nothing to write home about, nothing to write home about. If something or someone isnothing to write home about, it means they are not veryexciting or not very special. An example, I met a boy at the ice rink, but he’s nothing to write home about. He’s not that special, I’m not that excited about him. Or the meal was nice, but it was nothing to write home about, it was nothing extraordinary.Number 10, this is one of mymother’s favourite phrases, she has a lot, it is keep your eyes peeled,keep your eyes peeled. And this means keep youreyes open or be vigilant, keep on the watch. And it’s not because she’sworried about my security, she actually uses this phrase. If she’s looking to buysomething and we’re in a shop, she says, keep your eyespeeled for green scarves, or keep your eyes peeled for any calendars with chickens on them. It’s a very good phrase,I recommend you use it. Keep your eyes peeled.Number 11 is to pick someone’s brain, to pick someone’s brain. And this is very weird sounding isn’t it? To pick at somebody’s brainto look for information, but that basically iswhat it means in a way. It means to obtain informationby questioning somebody who is well informed on a subject. So it’s something youhear in business a lot, and it’s a really annoying question. Can I pick your brain for a minute? It basically means can I ask you loads and loads ofquestions about something that you know lots about andoffer you nothing in return. An example, Colin, can I pick your brainabout that new project? And undoubtedly Colin wouldrolling his eyes inside. Yes, you can pick my brain. Number 12 is to put feelers out or sometimes we say put the feelers out. And this means to makeinformal suggestions, so as to test a concept beforeany final decisions are made. So it’s basically to test an idea by asking people’s opinionsbefore they commit to something.An example, can I suggestthat we put the feelers out to see if the employees actually want a ZoomChristmas party this year? I honestly cannot imagine anything worse than a Christmas party on Zoom. I’m sorry if you’ve just organised one, but that sounds like hell. Oh number 13, this is a great one, but they’re all greatbecause I chose them. It is the best thing since sliced bread.This means that something is the best and most useful innovationor invention of recent times. It means that somethingis a good invention. Now you might be asking why sliced bread? Well, I asked myself thatquestion and I did the research. When sliced bread was firstbrought to market in 1928, it was a massive deal. There were huge marketingcampaigns about sliced bread, it was marketed as thegreatest step forward in baking innovationsince bread was wrapped. An example, when flip phones came out, I thought that they werethe best thing since sliced. I miss hanging up so sassily. Number 14 is take a chillpill, take a chill pill. And this is a slightlypatronising way to tell somebody to calm down or to relax. It never fails to enrage me when someone tells meto take a chill pill. To be honest, it enrages me when someone tells me to calm down.If someone is angry, telling them to calm downoften makes it worse. An example at the picnic, I told Mary to take a chill pill ’cause she was freaking out about a wasp. And number 15 is I’ll show myself out, I’ll show myself out. And this is used when youhave disgraced yourself, it means I’ll leave, you don’thave to show me the door, I will leave by choice. Nowadays it is almost alwaysused after telling a bad joke. You tell the joke, the reactionis awful and you just say, I’ll show myself out, byebye thank you everyone.I’ve got a joke let’s try it. What’s the difference betweensnowmen and snowwomen? Snowballs, snowballs. I’ll show myself out. Right, that is it for today’s lesson, those were our 15 funny idioms. Extra homework is to letme know of any ridiculous, hilarious idioms that youhave in your language, that don’t translate well to English. I would love to know therandom quirks of your language. Please put them in thecomment section down below. Today I’m going to talkto you about seven idioms that you can use to politely tell somebody that they are an idiot. So in simple terms, idiomsfor describing stupidity. “We Brits” like to beat around the bush to avoid talking about something unpleasant or uncomfortable. Many of us live in constantof offending people. However, that does notmean that we won’t throw in and under the table insult, disguised as a seeminglyharmless idiomatic phrase when we think that youare being a total buffoon.So today I’m going to teach you seven ways to tell someone thatthey are a total idiot without seeming too offensive, right? Let’s get on with this stupid lesson. Number one, he’s not thesharpest tool in the shed. If somebody is not thesharpest tool in the shed, they’re a little bit stupid, they’re not the cleverest person. It could have been said about me actually, when I was invited on a YouTube trip to Berlin the other day, we were in a lovelyporch hotel and I noticed that my hair dryer wasn’t working. So I called up room service and I said, please, can I have a new hair dryer? They immediately came upand gave me a new one, I plugged the new one in, and that one wasn’t working either, so I called up room service said, look, dunno what’s wrong withyour hair drier is here, but it’s not working, and I am really really soaking wet.So they brought up a third one, and at that point they realised that I hadn’t put thekey card in the door. So none of the electricity was working including the lights at night time. Not the sharpest tool in the shed. Number two, she’s onesandwich short of a picnic. This means that somebody isnot quite of full intelligence. It could have been usedto describe me actually, when I invited a plumberover to fit in a dishwasher.He texted me beforehandto ask for some photos and he asked me if therewas a trap under my sink. So I opened the sink and I lookinside and to my amazement, there is a mouse trapwith a lovely bright logo saying the words, the big cheese on it. And I remember thinking tomyself, how did he know that? But anyway, I thought, whatever, took a picture, sent it to the plumber and he just came back withlike a million laughing faces, and he said, no Lucy, the trap that I’m asking about is a type of pipe, a water pipe. Can I have a picture of that please? So yes, I can sometimes be onesandwich short of a picnic. Also I think in America they might say one French fry short of a happy meal or one fry short of a happy meal, that’s a McDonald’s reference. If they’re any Americans watching this, please comment down belowand confirm that to me. Number three means almost exactly the same as the previous one, it is to not be the full ticket.If somebody isn’t the full ticket, it means they’re not clinically sane. So be careful when using it, make sure that you don’t offend anyone. It could have been usedto describe me actually, I think my mother thoughtthat I wasn’t the full ticket on one holiday at my grandparentsholiday home in Portugal, I walked through themosquito nets on the door no less than three times, and they had to put upspecial stickers for me, which remained there to this day. So there are special stickers for Lucy because she’s not clever enough to just use a mosquito net properly. So yes, not the full ticket. Number four, there’s notmuch between the ears. And if you say that there’snot much between the ears, it means that somebodyhasn’t got much of a brain. This could have beensaid about me actually, when I was forced to go toa week long violin camp. (violin music) Violin camp, on day two Icouldn’t go on any longer, I had to leave.So I devised a plan. I would gently maim or injuremyself, but how would I do it? Ah, the bathroom door wasparticularly aggressive, swinging both ways at a 180 degree angle. I planned to gently catchmy finger in that door, exaggerate the pain, so I was no longer able to play my violin and therefore be sent at home. As I got my finger ready near the door, somebody else needed theloo and they came through and they injured my finger so badly that I had to go to hospital, and to this day I havea messed up fingernail, but like break, it’s just not right. So yes, not much in between the ears. Number five, the lightis on, but nobody’s home. This means they look normal,but really they’re very stupid. This could have beensaid about me actually when age nine and showing off in front of a group of younger children, jumped off the top of awooden castle in a playground, got the back of my jumper, stuck on one of the spikesand was left there dangling until one of thoseannoying little children ran to call my dad.Oh, it was so embarrassing and so stupid. The lights are on, but nobody’s home. Number six, it’s a saying someone’s village is missing their idiot. And this one comes from theterm, the village idiot, which is used to describe someone known locally for their stupidity. Could have been used todescribe me actually, two days after passing my driving test, I went into a nearbycity to buy my beloved new shiny orange mini Cooper, and when I drove out of the dealership for the very first time,after just 100 metres, I stalled at a roundabout, putthe gear stick into reverse and shut back at full forceinto the car behind me, obliterating his licence plate.It was dreadful, the police came, I had to be escorted away, but luckily my mother wastwo cars behind me because, oh my God, if she’d havebeen in that car behind me, there would’ve been trouble. So yes, on that day, the village was missing theiridiot, the idiot being me. Number seven, the lastidiom to describe stupidity is as thick as a plank and ifyou are as thick as a plank, you’re really stupid. This could have been usedto describe me actually, when on the school busaged about 12 to 13, I found a mobile phone andI opened the mobile phone and I found some very inappropriate images of the owner of the phone,images and videos shall we say, it was a man, I’d never seenanything like that before.So I did what any schoolgirl would do, and I took the videos and I sent them directly from the phone tomy best friend Felicity. It was a hilarious joke. I went into school and I acted like I knew nothing to Felicity,she was really scared. Brilliant I thought, mycheeky prank has worked. She then told me that she’d gone to the headmistress ofthe school and the school had called the police andthey were on their way in to interview everyone. I knew what I had to do. I ran in my little tar andkilt to the headmistress and said, no, it was me. I then had to spend the restof the day with the police explaining what I’d done, why I’d done it, and having them explainto me why it was so awful, all the while I was beggingthem not to tell my parents and in the end they didn’t,which I really appreciated, and I actually told my parents about it on my 21st birthday dinner that yeah, I thought it was gonna be hilarious, but the police just didn’t have any sort ofsense of humour, right? That’s it for today’s lesson, I hope you enjoyed it, Ihope you learned something.Please if you now doubt my intelligence, you can unsubscribe, youreally are welcome to, I would too, and I inviteyou to comment below with any embarrassing situationsthat have happened to you or any other idioms that you know of, that means stupid in English. You could also let me know aboutidioms in your own language and translate them into English, ’cause some of them are so funny. I mean a sandwich short of a picnic, that particularly tickles. Hello everyone and welcomeback to English With Lucy.I am in a really good mood today, so I decided to make avideo about expressions, English expressions related to happiness. Now, if you’re wondering why I’m so happy, honestly, there’s no single reason, it’s just, life is really fun right now. The channel’s going well, I think we’re just aboutto hit 300,000 subscribers, which is amazing. I’m moving house soon,the sun is coming out, the days are gonna start gettinglonger, just really happy. So those are the reasons I’m happy. When you’ve finished watching this video, please do comment belowand tell me something that’s made you happy recently. And if you want to useone of these expressions, you are more than welcome. Right, let’s get started with the video. The first expression relating to happiness is to be over the moonand to be over the moon means to be really reallyhappy believe it or not. So I can say that last Thursday, I passed my driving testand I was over the moon because I had to try three times.Yes, that was my third test. Yeah I was completelyover the moon because driving is not something thathas come naturally to me, and it really bothered me for a long time that I couldn’t drive but now I can, so I’m over the moon. The next expressionrelated to happiness is to have a whale of a time andto have a whale of a time, well you guess what this one means. Let me use this one in an example and see if you can guess what it means.Just a clue, it hasnothing to do with whales. So I went to a ball on Saturdayand a ball is a push party, you normally have dinnerand then you can dance. I went to a ball on Saturdaywith a group of friends and I had a whale of a time. Okay, so to have a whale of a time means to have a fantastic time, nothing to do with whales. Now the next one number three is actually a slang expression. But I think it’s really important that you guys know this one, we definitely use it a lot in England. It is to be buzzing. Now, if you say, oh, I’m buzzing, it means I’m really exhilarated,really enthusiastic, really happy, reallyexcited about something. So it means I’ve gotpositive emotions in my body and it is a good feeling, okay.So I could say I’ve just booked my tickets for (speaks foreign), which Iseem to mention all the time, but I am buzzing, I cannot wait to go. So that is a perfect situation, a perfect example of the word buzzing, because I literally am buzzing. Can’t believe I just did that. Okay number four. Okay, number four is to be happy as Larry. Who is Larry? It doesn’t matter ’causeit’s not relevant. I don’t know who Larry is. I’m sure one of you will Google the etymology of happyas Larry and find out, but to be happy as Larry meansto be really really happy. So I might ask, you know,does John like his new job? And you could reply saying,yes, he is happy as Larry. He is as happy as Larry, meaninghe is as happy as can be. The final expression relating to happiness is to be on top of the world,to be on top of the world.And to be on top of the worldmeans you guessed it guys, it means to be really really happy, to be just elated, so delighted, so happy. Yeah, so I would say when I found out that I graduated from universitywith a first class degree, I was on top of the world, I was really really amazed,happy and just buzzing. Right guys that is it for today’s lesson, I hope it brought a little bitof happiness into your life. And as I said before, I would love to hear about something that made you happy recently, maybe using one of the expressionsthat we discussed today, put it in the comments, I reallyam keen to hear about that. Hello everyone and welcomeback to English With Lucy. Today, I am bringing you loads of idioms related to sickness, illness and health. So it’s really going to help you improve your English vocabulary and it’s going to help yousound more like a native. The first idiom isactually one used to say, you don’t feel unwell, you feel very good, it is to feel as fit as a fiddle.And a fiddle is another word for a violin. So if you feel as fit asa fiddle, you feel great. I right now feel as fit as a fiddle. Another one is to be a picture of health. If you are a picture of health, you are a great example of good health. You could say my friend wasstruggling with an illness, but now she is a picture of health, she is really really healthy. Now the next one is negative and this is to have a splitting headache. And to have a splitting headache is to have a really really bad headache.Can you imagine it, to split your head? Very painful. Anyone who has suffered with a migraine will understand that. I’ve only had one in my life, but it was a very very bad couple of days. The next is one you haveprobably heard before, because when I ask for examplesof idioms from my students, they always say this one orit’s raining cats and dogs, which is an idiom wedon’t use very frequently, but the one I want to talk about is to be, look or feel under the weather. I normally use it with look, I might say, oh, you look a bit under the weather, and then the person could reply, yes, I am feeling a bit under the weather. And this means to look,feel, or be unwell. It’s quite a nice way of saying it because you don’t want to sayto someone, you look dreadful. You want to say, you look alittle bit under the weather. Are you unwell? Are you feeling okay? The next one is another negative one, it is to take a turn for the worse.If you take a turn for the worse, it means you are iller orsicker than you were before. So I could say I had a cold, but then I took a turn for the worse and I had to go to hospital. So I was quite ill, but then I got really illand I had to go to hospital. You can use it in a positive way, you can say to take a turn for the better, but it’s not as common. The next one is to be black and blue. I wonder if you can guesswhat this one might be, black and blue. If you are black and blue, it means that you havequite a few bruises. So the marks you getafter you’ve been hit. So if you are very bruised, then you could say thatyou are black and blue.This relates to the onebecause the next one is to take a tumble. If you have taken a tumble,it means you have fallen over. So if you fall over and youget bruises, you can say, oh, I’ve taken a tumbleand I’m black and blue. See if your Englishteacher understands you when you say that. The next one is to go under the knife. This means to have an operation, but it also can refer to cosmetic surgery. So if somebody says she’sbeen under the knife, it means she’s had cosmetic surgery. But if I said I had a really sore leg, but I went under the knife,it means I had a sore leg, but now I’ve had an operation. Now the next one is tobe on one’s last legs. And this means that somebodyis very close to exhaustion, to being very very tired andcollapsing or even death. So if somebody says, I thinkthey’re on their last legs, it means I don’t think they’regoing to live very long, which is obviously very very very sad. But in Britain, especially, we like to use a lot of idiomatic phrases around very serious situations.So instead of to die, wesay to pop one’s clogs, you’ve popped your clogs. It’s just a way of dealingwith something quite serious. So if someone’s on their last legs, we’re not trying to befunny, we’re not joking, we’re just, that’s how we deal with a really difficult, sad situation. Another one that’s quite similar is to be hanging by a thread. It means you are very close, it means you’re very close to either the situationbecoming very serious or even to death. The last one is actually myfavourite health related idiom, because it’s so funny,I find it really funny. It is to feel like or tolook like death warmed up. Again this is an idiomI would love to know if you have an example ofthis in your own language, if somebody looks just dreadful,so ill, so unwell, pale, grey, big bags under theireyes, you could tell them, they look like death warmed up.It’s just such a funny phrase. You cannot smile whensomebody says that to you, unless you’re feeling likedeath warmed up of course. So, yeah see if you can use that in conversation with a native, because I think they willreally find that quite funny. Hello everyone and welcomeback to English With Lucy. Today we are going to discuss body idioms and there are a lot of them. Today we are going to talk about 25 of the most commonly used idioms relating to the human body. I haven’t done an idioms video in so long and I’ve had quite a lotof requests for them, so I think this is a really really good topic to come back with.As always, I have created a free PDF that goes with this lesson. It contains everything we’llspeak about today plus a quiz. If you’d like to download that free PDF, just click on the linkin the description box, you enter your nameand your email address, you sign up to my mailing list and then the PDF will arriveautomatically in your inbox, and then every week after that, you automatically receive my lesson PDFs along with my news updates and offers.Right we’re going to go throughthese in alphabetical order. Number one is all ears, all ears, and I hope you can seeand appreciate my toast, my butter toast earrings today. I just thought they went quite well. If you are all ears, then it means you are fully listening. Let me finish hanging out the washing and then I’ll be all ears,I’ll be fully listening to you. It’s a nice way of saying Ican’t concentrate right now because I’m busy but in asecond, I’ll be fully listening, I’ll be all ears. Number two, you might know this one, this is normally one of thefirst idioms that people learn apart from its raining catsand dogs, which we never say, it is break a leg, break a leg. And this means good luck. It’s most commonly usedfor actors or musicians that are going to perform on stage.An example, I forgot you wereon stage tonight! Break a leg. Number three, moving on to teeth. This one is by the skin of one’s teeth. And this means onlyjust or barely the skin or the enamel on your teeth is so thin, you only just did something. This example is true. I passed my driving testby the skin of my teeth, I really did one more mistakeand I wouldn’t have passed.This is interesting actually, fun fact. I turned up to my driving test four times, but I only failed twicebecause one time I turned up and I hadn’t click to confirmwhen booking in my test. So I was a little nervous waiting there, turns out I didn’t have a test that day, had to wait another month. Number four, moving down to feet, cold feet, to have cold feet. If you get cold feetor you have cold feet, it means you suddenly feelnervous about something, something usually importantthat you plan to do, and it’s often used before weddings.If somebody suddenly thinks, ah, is this actually what I want? It means they’re getting cold feet, they’re suddenly doubting whether they want to do something or not, they’re getting nervous. An example I hope he doesn’t get cold feet before the wedding. Number five, moving on to arms, but still involving the legs,to cost an arm and a leg. If something costs an arm and a leg, then it is very expensive. An example, I bet that coatcost her an arm and a leg, I bet that coat was so expensive. Number six, eyes or heart,to cry your eyes out or to cry your heart out. I would say in BritishEnglish to cry your eyes out is more commonly used. I wonder in American English, if any speakers of AmericanEnglish are watching, please let me know in the comment section. This means to cry a lot. She was crying her eyesout, she was crying so much. An example, she cried her eyesout when she lost her cat.Number seven, moving on to chest, to get something off your chest. This means to tell someonewhat’s been on your mind or to tell someone one of your problems, it’s a heavy load on yourchest and you get it off. An example, I need to get it off my chest and tell my boss that I’m unhappy. Number eight, hands, to givea hand or to lend a hand.This means to help, and I would say lend is possibly more common in BritishEnglish, can you gimme a hand? Can you lend me a hand? Gimme or lend me, lend me? Can you lend me a hand? An example, if you needany help with moving, I can lend you a hand. Number nine, head, to haveone’s head in the clouds. This means to be unaware or unrealistic aboutsomething, to be naive.An example, he has his head in the clouds if he thinks he’s gettinga pay rise in this economy. Number 10, head and feethere, we have head over heels, head over heels, to fall head over heelsin love with somebody, head over heels means deeplyor completely in love. An example, she is head overheels with her new puppy, she’s completely inlove with her new puppy. Number 11, head again, in over one’s head, to be in over one’s head. This means that you’re taking on a task that you can’t handle. An example, I amcompletely in over my head in my new teaching position. Number 12 is eyes, to keep an eye on, to keep an eye on something or someone.This means to watch or monitor, normally in a protectiveway to keep something safe. An example, can you keep an eye on my bike whilst I nip into the post office? To nip somewhere is to gosomewhere very briefly. To nip into, to go into very briefly. I’m just going to nip to the shops, I’m just going to veryquickly go to the shops. Number 13, chin, to keep one’s chin up, to keep one’s chin up. This means to try to be cheerful or to try to avoid being sad. An example, keep your chin up! Exam season will be over soon. Number 14 is to learnor to know off by heart. You don’t always have to include the off, that’s quite common in BritishEnglish, to learn by heart, to know off by heart.This means to memorise. An example, I know the HarryPotter books off by heart, all seven of them. Number 15, we’re onto hair, this is to let one’s hairdown, to let one’s hair down, which means to relax or to have fun. Let your hair down, relax,have fun, enjoy yourself. This is usually said to somebody who’s a little more serious. An example, she needsto let her hair down, she is always so stressed. Number 16 lips, my lips are sealed, my lips are sealed and this means your secret is safe with me.An example, my lips are sealed, I have no idea how much your dress cost. Number 17 blood, I dunno where to point, all over my body hopefully,it is makes my blood boil. If something makes your blood boil, it makes you really really angry. An example, the way thatthey have underpaid you and mistreated you over allthese years makes my blood boil.Number 18, the body as awhole, over my dead body, over my dead body. This is something that’s said when you want to say, youcannot do that until I am dead, and then I can’t stop you. An example, over my dead body, I will never let you drive my car. You have to wait until I diebefore you can drive my car. Number 19 back, a pat onthe back, a pat on the back. And this means a thank you or recognition.An example, I think Ideserve a pat on the back after all of my hard work today. You will often see people doing a little, meaning oh pat on the back,I’ve done really well, well done me. Number 20 back to thosewonderful ears again, to play something by ear. This means to do something without a plan. An example, I don’t know if the weather will bedry enough for a picnic. Let’s play it by ear,let’s not have a plan. We’ll just decide if it’snice weather later on today, we’ll have the picnic, if not, and then we’ll have the picnic inside and living in Britain withvery unpredictable weather, I have had many picnic inside before.Number 21, back to legs, it is to pull one’s leg,to pull someone’s leg. This means to joke or to tease someone. For example, are you pulling my leg? Are you really moving away? Don’t pull my leg. Is she putting my leg? Number 22, thumb, the ruleof thumb or a rule of thumb. This means a general basicrule that’s not always true, but it’s generally true. An example, as a rule of thumb, a cup of coffee generally contains 80 milligrammes of caffeine. Number 23 eyes, to see eyeto eye, to see eye to eye. This means to agree on something. So if you say we don’t seeeye to eye, we don’t agree. For example, her parents didn’t see eye to eye on her education. Number 24, back to teeth,we have sweet tooth, a sweet tooth, and thismeans a love of sweet things. Can you tell me if that’sthe same in your language? If English isn’t your first language, I’ll be very interested.Do you have a sweet tooth direct translation or something different? My grandma has the biggestsweet tooth on earth. And here is your example, my grandma once requested a birthday meal consisting of just puddings. She has such a sweet tooth! And number 25 back to hands, it is to wash one’s hands of something, to wash your hands of something. And this means to stop dealingwith an issue or a problem.I’m going to wash my hands of it, I’m not gonna deal with itanymore, not my problem. An example, I’m goingto wash my hands of him, he causes too many problems. Right that is it for today’slesson, I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you learned something. Don’t forget to complete the quiz. Remember you click on thelink in the description box to claim that PDF. You just sign up for my mailing list and it goes straight to you. For homework I would like you to include five of these idioms, pick your five favourite anduse them in the comment section, and I will try to see asmany as I possibly can and give you some feedback.Welcome back to English With Lucy. Spring has almost sprung in England. We’ve had some very very sunny days, we’ve had a couple of rainy days that I’ve been enjoying lots of dog walks and lots of runs in the countryside as you might have seen on my Instagram. I have been feeling soexcited about spring, I cannot wait to see leaves onthe trees, grass everywhere, flowers everywhere andin the spirit of spring, I’ve decided to make aflower idioms video for you. A lesson, all about floral expressions that we use in British Englishand in American English. This lesson is going to be really good for building your vocabulary, that will help with your reading, it help you with your writing, it will also help with yourspeaking and your listening because you’ll be able tounderstand what natives mean when they say these idioms. Right, idiom number oneis to come up or out smelling of roses, tocome up smelling of roses or to come out smelling of roses. If somebody comes up smelling of roses, it means they emerge from a situation with their reputation undamaged.So it’s to have people believethat you are good and honest after a situation that could have made you look bad and dishonest. For example, the scandal couldhave ruined her reputation, but she came up smelling of roses. Number two, to go to seed, to go to seed. This is slightly negative, becareful who you say this to. If somebody goes to seed, it means their quality orappearance has declined. A flower is really really beautiful, and then it goes to seedand it doesn’t look so good.It might mean that they lookolder or worse than they did. For example, after having children, he started to go to seed. He didn’t look so good anymore. That’s a really nasty phrase. Let’s move on to something more positive. Okay number three, as fresh asa daisy, as fresh as a daisy, much nicer than the previous one. If you are as fresh as a daisy, it means you are healthyand full of energy. For example, I thoughtI’d have a hangover, but I’ve woken up as freshas a daisy, said no one ever.Number four, a latebloomer, a late bloomer. A late bloomer is somebodywho develops later on in life, either physically or mentally. So it could mean that theyhit puberty at a later age, or it could mean that theygot a job settled down, got married, had children at a much later age thanis considered normal. For example, Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC was a late bloomer. He founded KFC at 65 and thenhe became a multimillionaire. Congratulations late bloomer. Number five, no bed ofroses, no bed of roses. If something is no bed ofroses, it means it’s difficult, it’s not easy. For example, gaining a UKcitizenship is no better roses, it’s very very difficult.We also have number six,pushing up the daisies, pushing up the daisies. This is a slightly morbid one. If you are up the daisies,it means you are dead. You are underground and you are helping the daisies to bloom. For example, my late uncle Malcolm is pushing up the daisies, it’s very sad. Number seven, we have oopsa daisy! Oops a daisy! And this isn’t really an idiom,it’s more of an exclamation. It’s an expression usedto indicate surprise. It’s like silly me! Oh no! Oops a daisy! We can just shorten it down to oops! It is quite frequently used with children. So for example, when Will says to me, “Lucy, you left the frontdoor on locked again”. I might say, “Oops adaisy! Silly me! Oops! The next one is a shrinkingviolet, a shrinking violet.A shrinking violet is somebodywho is very very very shy. Somebody who doesn’t like to express their views and their opinions. For example, I am no shrinking violet when it comes to expressing my opinions, that’s a lie, sometimes I am, sometimes I’m not, depends who I’m with, don’t ask me about Brexit. And the next one, thisis a really good one, I use this a lot, to nipsomething in the bud, to nip something in the bud. This means to stopsomething at an early stage. For example, if you seeyourself developing a bad habit, try and nip it in the bud, before it becomes ingrained in your brain. I try to do this, butI’m not always success. And the last one, the final floral idiom is to smell the roses, to smell the roses. This means to appreciatewhat is often ignored. We sometimes say tostop and smell the roses or to wake up and smell the roses, and in general it means to taketime of your busy schedule, to stop and appreciatewhat is often ignored, like nature and the beauty of life.So I might say every morning, I like to stop and smell the roses and take my dog on a walk. There are no roses on the walk, but I just like to take a moment and enjoy the beauty that is around me. Right, that’s it for today’slesson, I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you learned something. Hello everyone, and welcome back to English With Lucy. Today I’ve got a spring in my step. It feels like spring is finally arriving.So today I have got fivespring related idioms for you. Now their first idiomis no spring chicken. And if you describe somebodyas no spring chicken, it means that they are no longer young. It comes from when farmers could charge much higher prices forchickens born in the spring because they were fresher and they hadn’t had to livethrough all the winter months. So it’s not a particularly nicething to say about somebody, if somebody describedme as no spring chicken, I would be a little bit offended. Now the next one is the grass is alwaysgreener on the other side.And I actually includedthis in a video that I made about Proverbs, because it’squite good one to live by, but it’s an expressionthat we say all the time, the grass is always greener,the grass is greener. The full version of this isthe grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and it means your neighbor’s grass always looks greener than your grass. So you always tend to envywhat other people have and you don’t actually appreciate how good what you have really is.So from your perspective, it might look like theyhave a perfect life, but once you change totheir side of the fence, they might think thatyou have a perfect life. Now the next spring idiom is lovely. This one is a ray of sunshine and this is a really lovelyway of describing somebody who is like the sun. They make things grow, they make you feel happy, they’re warm. It’s just a really niceway of describing a warm, friendly, happy, positive person. So I would say that mymom is a ray of sunshine, she always makes me feel better and people just enjoy being around her.Now number four is spring fever and spring fever is thatfeeling of restlessness just before summer, when the weather is starting to get nicer, flowers are coming out, you want to go outside and be active and you get a bit energetic. It doesn’t just have tobe used in spring though, it can be used to describe the feeling that you have in spring. I definitely get spring fever. Although I have met a few people that seem to get spring fatigue when they suddenly get reallytired just before summer, but the idiom is spring fever. The final idiom, areally lovely one again, is to be full of the joys of spring. Spring is supposedly oneof the most joyful months, there are lambs flowers, you know, it’s a veryquick and drastic shift from very cold, harsh weather to suddenly everything’s sunny and green.So if somebody is a veryhappy and enthusiastic person, you can describe them as beingfull of the joys of spring. So if somebody is constantlyhappy, enthusiastic, positive, smiling, laughing, then theyare full of the joys of spring. Welcome back to English With Lucy. Today I’m going to show you 20 idioms that you can use to soundlike a native English speaker. Idiom number one is a drop in the ocean, a drop in the ocean. I think that’s a songcalled a drop in the ocean, I used to really likethat when I was at school. A drop in the ocean means a very small or insignificant part ofsomething big or whole.For example, the government’s pledge to increase health funding by 100 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions that need to be spent. Number two is a lovely one, I think that all lovely actually, because I chose them myself for you, number two is actionsspeak louder than words, actions speak louder than words. This means that it’s betterto actually do something rather than just talk about it. For example, stop apologising to me and prove to me that I can trust you, actions speak louder than words. That’s a good one touse in your next fight with someone who has lost your trust.Number three is to add fuel to the fire, to add fuel to the fire. This simply means to make a problem worse, to exacerbate a problem. We learned exacerbate in another class, didn’t we recently, comment down below if you remember which it was. For example, don’t tellher about the delays, you’ll just be adding fuel to the fire. Number four is the ball is in your court, the ball is in your court. This means that it’s your turn to make the next step or decision. For example, I’ve done all I can do, the ball is in your court now. Number five is to bend over backwards, to bend over backwards. This means to do whateverit takes to help someone. For example, our companyis bending over backwards to satisfy our customers.Sometimes it can mean thatyou’ve helped too much, you’ve put in too much effort. Oh, I’ve been bending over backwards trying to solve his problems and he hasn’t given me the time of day. To give someone the time of day is to give someone proper attention. Number six, to bite offmore than you can chew, to bite off more than you can chew. This means to take ona task that is too big. For example, I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with this project. This is something I said all the way through my university degree, I was working, I had a YouTube channel, I was doing projects, Ihad taken on extra work, I bit off more than I could chew and I suffered the consequences, but it was worth it, I’m okay now. Actually homework here, have you ever bitten offmore than you could chew? Let me know about the situation in the comment section down below. Maybe you were studying andworking at the same time, maybe you were trying to maintain a long distance relationship whilst doing an internship,I don’t know, let me know.Oh, number seven is a good one, this is one my mom uses a lot, it’s by the skin of one’s teeth,by the skin of your teeth. This means to only just succeed something by a very narrow margin, bythe enamel on your teeth, but we say skin, we don’t normally say skin of teeth, but for this particular saying we do. An example, I think Imight have passed that exam by the skin of my teeth, only just.Number eight is derivedfrom a fable I think, or a childhood story, it’sto cry wolf, to cry wolf. This means to call for helpwhen you don’t need it. And I think the story is, I wonder if you have this inyour own country and culture, a boy kept pretendingthat there was a wolf so that people would come, and in the end when aWolf did actually come, he called for help and no one came ’cause they always thoughtthat he was crying for help when he didn’t actually need it. An example, my new flatmateis always crying wolf. Number nine is to cut somebody some slack, to cut somebody some slack. This means to give someone a break, to stop judging them so hard. For example, you need tocut the interns some slack, they are still learning. Number 10 is to cut to thechase, to cut to the chase.This means to leave out allof the unnecessary details and just get to the point. An example, to cut to the chase, I’m not comfortable workingalongside John anymore. Number 11, to get one’shead around something, to get your head around something. This means to come tounderstand something, to work to understand something. For example, I’m going to spend tonight trying to get my headaround this new legislation. Number 12 is to hear on the grapevine, to hear on the grapevine. This means to hear a rumouror an unconfirmed story. For example, I heard on the grapevine that our receptionistwill be leaving us soon. Number 13, a personal favourite, it takes two to tango,it takes two to tango. You’ve got to be comfortablewith the take sound to say that, it takes two to tango. This means that actions or communications need more than one person. For example, don’t justblame him for the affair, it takes two to tango. Two parties were involvedin that bad behaviour. Number 14 is to miss theboat, to miss the boat. This means to miss theopportunity to do something. For example, I thinkyou’ve missed the boat on that application, they’ve already startedinterviewing candidates.Number 15 is a lovely one,it is a piece of cake, a piece of cake. This means really easy. That pop quiz was a piece of cake. Number 16 is pull yourselftogether, pull yourself together. This means calm down and act normally. It’s normally said whensomebody is stressing out. For example, I think you needto pull yourself together and stop stressing about the presentation. Number 17 is to sit or to be on the fence, to sit on the fence, to be on the fence.This means to stay neutraland to not take sides. For example, I’m sittingon the fence on this one, I don’t want to offend anyone. Number 18 is to step up one’sgame, to step up your game. This means to start performing better. For example, if you reallywant to get this promotion, you’ll need to step up your game. Number 19 is to sell someoneout, to sell someone out. This means to snitch on someoneor to let their secret out. For example, I asked you to keep that information to your yourself. I can’t believe you sold me out like that. And number 20 is yourguess is as good as mine, your guess is as good as mine. This means I don’t know or I have no idea.For example, we justdon’t have enough data. Your guess is as good as mine. Right, those were are 20idioms that you can use to sound like a native speaker. I’ve got some more homework for you, this is the official homework, the other homework was justspur of the moment home homework spur of the moment means on impulse or without advanced planning.The real homework is towrite in the comment section five sentences using fiveof your favourite idioms that we have talked about today. If you’d like to add somesentences with additional idioms that you have heard native speaker say. And feel free to do so and wecan all learn from each other. Right, that is it for today’s lesson, don’t forget to connect withme on all of my social media. I’ve got my Facebook,I’ve got my Instagram, my personal one, Lucy, myEnglish page, English With Lucy. I’ve also got my websiteenglishwithlucy.co.uk, and on there I have got an awesome interactivepronunciation tools.So you can click on thephonemes and hear me say those phonemes and say words that contain those phonemes, it’s awesome. Finally, you can checkout my personal channel, Lucy Bella, where we vlog our lives here in the English countrysideand all of the vlogs are fully subtitled, so you can use themfor vocabulary practise and to improve your listening skills. I will see you soon for another lesson. Bye. (kissing) (bright music).

Learn British English In 90 Minutes - ALL The Idioms You Need (with Free EBOOK)

Learn British English In 90 Minutes - ALL The Idioms You Need (with Free EBOOK)

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Learn British English In 90 Minutes - ALL The Idioms You Need (with Free EBOOK)

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Learn British English in 90 Minutes – ALL the Idioms You Need (with free EBOOK)

Learn British English In 90 Minutes - ALL The Idioms You Need (with Free EBOOK)