BOX SET: English vocabulary mega-class! 🤩 Learn 8 English single-word expressions in 19 minutes!

Hello and welcome to

The English We Speak with you, Neil….

... and you, Jiaying.

And, as always, we’ll be teaching you a

useful and informal English phrase or word.

Obvs!

Excuse me?

Obvs! Isn’t that what we always do?

Err, yes Neil, I suppose we do.

So, what are we teaching today?

Isn’t that obvs?

Oh, I get it. You want to talk  about the word ‘obvs’ - obvs!

‘Obvs’ is a short or slang  way of saying ‘obviously’ –

which means ‘in a way that’s  clear or easy to understand’.

So, Neil, shall we hear  some examples of this word?

Obvs!

If you’re making tea, you’ll find  the milk in the fridge – obvs!

Our football team is the best in the world – obvs!

It’s obvs that you’ve forgotten my birthday –

you didn’t buy me a present!

This is The English We Speak from

BBC Learning English, and we’re talking about

a short and slang form of the  word ‘obviously’ which is, Neil?

Obvs – obviously!

As you can see, it can sound a bit rude

when you say it to someone –

so, be careful who you say it to.

Who would get offended by  a small word like ‘obvs’?

Well, some things aren’t  always obvious to everyone.

Like today is your turn to make the tea – obvs!

How rude!

Thanks, Neil.

OK, I’ll go and make the tea. Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei… and, not for the first time,

it looks like Rob is late…

Here I am! Yes, really sorry. The bus

was really slow.

Hmmm… Bad on the roads today, huh?

Terrible traffic.

That’s funny, because I took the

train in this morning and I saw you at the

other end of the carriage.

Err, OK. Sorry. Yes. I took the train,

not the bus. Little fib there.

Why would you want to fib about

that? Well, not to worry, it gives us the

perfect opportunity to talk about fibs and

fibbing – something Rob is very good at.

Oh yes, to fib is to tell a small lie,

nothing too serious. Like giving a false

reason for being late. Come on Feifei, you do it too!

I’m always on time! Well, almost always.

You can use fib as a verb ‘to fib’ - and

it can also be a noun – ‘a little fib’,

or ‘to tell a fib’. Let’s  listen to these examples:

Marty fibbed that he was going to study

at his friend Lucio’s house, when in fact

they went to see a movie.

While watching the horror scenes, Marty

was so scared he had to close his eyes.

But after the film he fibbed he was not

frightened at all.

Marty told Lucio that he knew the main

actor from the movie, but that was just

another fib. In fact, Marty had just met the

actor for five seconds and taken a quick

selfie together.

This is The English We Speak from

BBC Learning English. So anyway, I’m still

a bit confused about why you had to fib

about being late?

Well, I just had something to do before

coming in to the office.

Really? That sounds mysterious.

Not really. I wanted to go to a shop.

Do tell me why.

OK, OK – well it was going to be a

surprise, but I wanted to buy you a little

cake, because it’s your birthday today and

I can’t come to your party later.

Oh, that’s so sweet. Though you

know, it’s not really my birthday today.

What?

Yes. It’s on Saturday. Sorry, a little

fib there. I told everyone it was my

birthday today so they would be more

likely to come to my party.

Oh right, very sneaky! Enjoy the cake anyway. Bye.

Yum. Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Jiaying...

...and hello, it's me, Neil.

So, Jiaying, what do you think?

What do I think of what?

My outfit. I'm off to a party soon, so I thought

I'd dress up a bit.

Err, Neil, if you don't mind me saying, you need to

'zhuzh up' your outfit.

Excuse me? Did you just sneeze?

No, Neil. I said 'zhuzh'.

Bless you.

No! 'Zhuzh'. This verb is

an informal word to mean

'make something more

interesting or attractive by

changing it slightly'. It's often followed by the word 'up'.

So, I'm just saying your outfit needs a slight

improvement - if you really

want to make an impression!

Oh really! Shall we see if

we can zhuzh up these examples first?

I've tried to zhuzh up my

living room with some bright yellow cushions.

Try zhuzhing up your suit with a coloured tie.

She zhuzhed up her cooking by

adding a bit of chilli powder.

You're listening to The

English We Speak from BBC

Learning English, and I'm trying to explain the

word 'zhuzh' to Neil!

You sneezed again!

No, I didn't! When you 'zhuzh up'

something, you make something

more interesting or attractive

by changing it slightly. So, Neil,

how about a coloured shirt to zhuzh things up?

No, thanks - I prefer to wear black.

Come on, Neil, how about some fancy shoes?

Black ones are fine. To be

honest, I don't have anything fancy to wear.

Oh dear... it looks like you

need to zhuzh up your wardrobe, Neil.

No need - this is a horror-themed party, so

just black will be fine.

If you say so, Neil. Bye.

Bye.

Welcome to The English We

Speak with me, Jiaying...

... and me, Neil.

Neil! What are you wearing?

Is that a tuxedo? Have you got a top hat on?

Well, you said that I should

dress smartly for our online meeting!

Yes, but a tie and shirt would

have been sufficient.

You're so extra!

Extra what? Extra-cool?

Extra-amazing? All true!

Some call me a fashion icon!

Your mum calling you a

fashion icon doesn't count!

No, Neil, we say someone is

'extra' to mean they are

excessive, over the top or too much.

Wait - so you think this tuxedo

is excessive? That I'm a bit

extra? I'll go and change into

something more comfortable.

Yes, while you go and change,

let's listen to these examples.

Aunty Joan is so extra.

She keeps asking when we're

going to have a second child.

Lei always sings karaoke and

feels the need to say hello to

everyone in the club.

He's really extra.

She's always using such formal language and

over-stressing syllables.

She's a bit extra.

You're listening to The English

We Speak from BBC Learning

English, and we're talking

about the word 'extra'.

If something or someone is

'extra', it means that thing or

person is a bit excessive or exaggerated.

Yes! For example, Rob is a

bit extra when it comes to

his obsession with biscuits.

Exactly - but, Neil, what are

you wearing now?!

Well - I said I'd put something

more comfortable on - so I

thought I'd put on my famous

flamingo outfit! Do you like it?

I do, but you're so extra!

You know we have a meeting

with our boss, right?

Yes - our boss has a

matching flamingo costume too!

Well, in that case - it sounds like

it's going to be OK.

I've also decided I'm going

to sing some opera to make

the meeting more fun!

That sounds really extra!

Bye, Neil.

Bye.

Hello, I'm Jiaying. This is

The English We Speak. And hello, I'm Roy.

Hey Jiaying, I've just bought this new animal

jumper! What do you think? It's got a

sparkly unicorn on it! Well, it certainly is

colourful! And you clearly love it.

I'm not sure I'd wear it,

but it is nice... ish. Nice fish? What are you talking about?

It's a stunning unicorn,

not a nice fish! No, Roy. I said niceish.

We add the suffix 'ish'

to some adjectives to

mean 'not exactly' or

'less than'. Sometimes we can use 'ish' as a word

on its own - usually

as an answer. So, when I said 'niceish' - I

meant to say that your jumper is OK, but

not exactly nice. Wait - so you don't

like my jumper? Do you think it looks a

bit unprofessional? Ish! 

Oh no! I think I need to go and change.

I have a big meeting later on and... I'm

going to buy a new jumper. Let's listen to some

examples of 'ish' while you buy a jumper.

I didn't love the film, but it was

goodish. It was OK. When she asked me

if I was OK, I just said 'ish'. I think

she knows I'm not happy. I might be a little

late to the meeting, but I should arrive by about 5ish. 

This is The English We Speak

from BBC Learning English. We're talking

about the expression or suffix 'ish'. We

can add it to some adjectives to mean

'not precisely' or use it as a word on its

own - usually to answer questions. We can also

add it to a number to mean it's not

precisely that number.

For example, time or age. So, I bought a new

jumper. This one has a beaver playing a

ukulele on it! Do you think this

one is better? Ish. At the end of the

day, it doesn't matter whether I like your

jumper or not. What's important is that

you like it. Well, I love it.

But I think I might change into my suit for

that meeting. I want to make a good

impression with the new boss.

That's a good idea! Yes - I'll get changed now.

Can you tell everyone I'll be

lateish - but I should get to the meeting by 1ish?

I sure will!

Bye, Roy.

Bye.

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.

I'm Feifei…

…and I'm Rob.

And today, we’re going to use a common word

in a slightly different way.

It’s a preposition you’ve no doubt

known for a long time.

Yes, our word is 'across'.

Of course, you can say things like:

Rob is sitting across from me.

Or: This food is popular across China.

But what about this:

Rob, are you across the plan for tonight’s event?

You’re not asking me if I’m sitting across

or on the other side from a plan, are you?

No, when we use 'across' in this way,

it actually means 'to be familiar with'.

If you’re across a plan, you’re familiar with it.

You know what you need to know about it.

We often talk about being across a subject.

Especially a subject that is complex or changing.

It indicates you know all the important things

about the subject.

Let’s listen to some examples to help clarify

how we use it.

Professor Zhang is a specialist in the European economy.

He’s across all the latest developments.

Did you come to last week’s meeting?

Afraid not, no.

OK, so you’re not across the new plan.

Let me give you a quick summary.

Pete, I want to make sure you’re across the

food for tomorrow.

Now, remember two of our guests are vegetarian.

Got it.

This is The English We Speak

from BBC Learning English.

There we are.

I hope you’re now across how  we use this word 'across'.

Yes, you’re across 'across', so to speak!

Anyway, as I was asking earlier, Rob,

are you across the plan for tonight’s event?

That was just an example of

how to use this phrase, right?

No, you really don’t know about it?

What event?

This isn’t good.

I thought you had sent out all the invitations?

What are you talking about, Feifei?

Oh, just kidding! There’s no event tonight.

That’s not funny!

Now, getting back to the subject,

if you want to stay across

all the latest slang English expressions,

do remember to listen to The English We Speak.

Bye.

That really wasn't funny.

Welcome to The English We

Speak with me, Jiaying...

... and hello, it's Neil here.

Oh, yikes - what have you done to your hair?!

Don't you like my new hairstyle?

Well... err...

You said 'yikes!' - that normally

means you're shocked or worried about something -

is it my hair?

Well, 'yikes!' is also something we say when

we are surprised, and I

was just surprised by your

new hairstyle - but in a good way!

Hmm, if you say so. When

someone says 'yikes!' it is an

informal way to express surprise,

shock or concern about something. So, Neil, what

has 'surprised' you about my hair then?

Errr... Well, shall we hear some more examples first?

Yikes! It's only three weeks

until my exams and I haven't

done any revision yet.

Yikes! We're stuck in a traffic

jam and our flight leaves in

an hour - do you think we'll make it?

I've got a football match tomorrow,

and I haven't done any training. Yikes!

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning

English and we're finding out

about the word 'yikes!' it's an

exclamation to express surprise, shock or concern

about something. And yikes -

Neil actually likes my new hairstyle!

Why are you so surprised?

I didn't think you'd like red hair.

It matches your ... eyes. Only

kidding, but changing your hair

colour must have cost a lot of money.

Hmm eighty pounds.

Big yikes! How much!

Big yikes! That's a more intense version of yikes! -

but, Neil, it looks good, so

it's worth it, isn't it?

If you say so. Wasn't there a cheaper colour?

No, Neil, there wasn't!

Bye.

See ya.

Welcome to The English We

Speak with me, Jiaying...

...and me, Neil. Have you seen

that new film about a wizard who

makes friends with an ugly horse

that turns into a beautiful unicorn?

Oh yeah! The acting is the definition

of cringe! The whole film is so cringe!

Cringe? What do you mean cringe?

You don't like the film?

Don't like it?! That's an

understatement - it was awful.

The actor who played the

wizard was really terrible, and

the plot was stupid. We use the

word cringe when you want to

say something is really

embarrassing and makes us

feel uncomfortable. It can be

used as a verb or an adjective.

So you can say the film made

you cringe, or the film was cringe.

Why? It wasn t that bad!

Neil - it was so cliched. The

acting was over the top, and

the ugly horse becoming a

beautiful unicorn didn't make

any sense - it was so cringe!

But that s the point of the film -

it was designed to make you

cringe - it was that kind of

humour! It wasn't trying to be serious!

Oh, in that case, I didn't get it!

So, actually, if it was intentionally

cringe, it was quite funny. Let's

talk more about things that are

cringe after these examples.

Did you hear that terrible joke

he told! It was so cringe!

When my uncle starts dancing -

it's really cringe.

When she told me how she had

sat in the wrong meeting for

an hour before realising,

I cringed.

You're listening to The English

We Speak from BBC Learning

English, and we're talking about

the word 'cringe'. It can be

used to describe something

or someone that makes you

feel embarrassed. You can also say 'cringey',

as an adjective.

Yes, so you can describe

someone or something as cringe - so like an

embarrassing person or joke.

Yes! Or even an experience.

What's the most cringe thing

that's ever happened to you?

Well, you may be surprised,

but quite few cringey things have happened to me!

I can imagine! I think your

most cringey moment is when

you arrived at the party

dressed as a giant cucumber!

To be fair - I was dressed as a

courgette, and I thought it was

a fancy dress party because

you said dress fancily!

It was so cringe! I meant

to wear a fancy suit - it was a wedding.

Yeah - I cringed a lot. But at

least I ended up in lots of photos!

You certainly did!

Bye, Neil.

Bye.