BOX SET: English vocabulary mega-class! 🤩 Learn 8 three-word expressions!

Hello, I'm Feifei, and this is The English We Speak, and joining me is Rob.

Hello, everyone.

OK, Rob, let's get on with our piece of real English, shall we?

Yes, let's! It's a great expression. It's one you don't want to forget.

Yes, yes, come on, Rob. This is the moment everyone's waiting for.

Er, oh, I've forgotten.

Rob! It's now or never.

No, I don't think that's the expression.

No, Rob. I mean this is our only chance to learn it.

When we say, 'it's now or never' we mean something 'must be done immediately,

'because you might not get another opportunity to do it in the future'.

So, Rob, get thinking, we have no time to waste!

OK. Let's have some examples of your phrase first, shall we?

It's now or never if you want to buy a cheap ticket

to go to the big rock festival.

If you're thinking of taking a career break,

it's now or never, because you won't get the chance again.

It's now or never if you want to ask her out — she's leaving town today.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English

and, so far, we've heard about the saying 'it's now or never',

which means 'do something immediately,

'because you might not get a chance to do it later'.

And, Rob, now is the chance to learn a new English phrase.

Oh, can't we do it later?

No, it's now or never!

Never mind!

Ah, that's it — that's my phrase, which means 'don't worry about it'.

Just in time! Now we've learnt two new phrases that we'll never teach again.

Great. OK, time for coffee? I'll buy them.

Yes, definitely — it's now, because Rob will never offer again!

— Bye. — Bye-bye.

Hello, I'm Feifei and this is The English We Speak.

And hello, I'm Rob. So, Feifei, about tonight.

Oh, yes, you have kindly agreed to help me decorate my living room after work.

Yes, er, that was very kind of me.

Too kind, in fact. I'm very sorry, but I've got other plans now so I can't help.

Thanks a bunch!

Oh, you're not angry then? You're thankful I'm not helping you?

No, Rob. I'm not happy. I was being sarcastic.

When we say 'thanks a bunch' to someone, we're not saying thank you.

We're being ironic and really mean we are unhappy, annoyed or angry,

because they're being unhelpful or not doing what they said they would do.

What am I going to do now, Rob?

I need to get the decorating done before my parents visit tomorrow!

Why don't you listen to these examples, then you'll know you're not alone?

Thanks a bunch!

You've used all the milk in the fridge. Thanks a bunch!

Thanks a bunch for telling everyone I'd split up with my boyfriend —

I was trying to keep that secret!

Thanks a bunch!

You said you'd do the shopping and you didn't —

now we've got nothing to eat.

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English.

We're hearing about the phrase 'thanks a bunch',

which can be used as a sarcastic reply to someone who is being unhelpful

or not doing what they said they would do.

A similar phrase is 'thanks for nothing'.

Rob, what's so important that you can't help me decorate tonight?

Well, it's Neil's birthday and he's having some drinks.

And you'd rather do that. Well, thanks a bunch — enjoy yourself!

Sorry, Feifei. But I have bought you a present to say sorry.

There you go, a bunch of flowers.

Oh, I love flowers,

but not dead ones. They have all dried up!

Ah, well, it's the thought that counts.

Thanks a bunch!

— Bye for now. — Bye!

Welcome to The English We Speak, with me, Neil.

And me, Feifei.

Our expression is 'famous last words'.

We say this when we believe something someone says will soon be proven wrong.

Have you ever said 'famous last words'?

Yes, I went to a party at the weekend.

I told my friend that I never forget people's names.

Famous last words.

I was so embarrassed because, immediately after saying that,

I called my friend's new boyfriend by the wrong name three times!

Yes, famous last words. Could you give us another example in context?

I went to a restaurant the other day and ordered a curry.

The waiter warned me it was very hot.

I said I love spicy food, and nothing's too hot for me. Famous last words!

What happened? Was it too spicy for you?

Yes! I couldn't even finish one mouthful.

I was sweating and nearly crying — it was so spicy.

Let's hear some more examples of this expression.

My grandfather says he never cries when he watches sad films.

Famous last words!

We watched a very sad film at the weekend, and he cried a lot.

I said my cricket team would win the championship this year.

Famous last words — we finished last.

Lei said he didn't need to study for his exam.

Famous last words. He failed in the end.

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English,

and we're learning the expression 'famous last words',

which is said when someone says something that they believe will happen,

only to be proven wrong.

Yes. We often say it when we think it will be quite embarrassing for the person

when their statement is shown to be wrong,

like, for example, when I told you I was brilliant at my favourite board game,

and then you beat me easily. Really embarrassing!

Yes, and we sometimes say it to ourselves

to laugh at something we have said previously, don't we?

That's right!

It's a form of laughing at ourselves about something we believed or predicted,

and then realised we're embarrassingly wrong —

like when I said England would win the football World Cup!

Famous last words!

Do you think they'll win the next World Cup?

Of course, definitely.

However, those could be famous last words!

— Bye. — Bye.

Welcome to The English We Speak, with me Phil.

And me, Feifei.

We have a phrase which is about building something up carefully,

or taking it apart carefully — it's 'brick by brick'.

Brick by brick — this sounds like something related to construction.

It can be, but actually we often use it more metaphorically,

especially where we can use the verb 'build' in that way.

So, for example, my brother is really proud of his business.

He built it brick by brick.

So, your brother's job has nothing to do with building, has it?

No, he's an accountant. It's his company that he built.

He grew it carefully and gradually and now it's really successful.

Your brother built his success brick by brick!

You also said that it can be used for taking things apart?

Yes, that's right.

If you take a house apart brick by brick,

you're doing it carefully enough that it could be rebuilt somewhere else.

Again, it's not just literal — if you're trying to disprove someone,

you can take their argument apart brick by brick.

That would be when you carefully argue against

each of the points someone has made.

Yes, that's right. Listen to these examples.

It's nice to be recognised with this award.

I've spent years building up my career, brick by brick.

The historic building was moved, brick by brick, to the museum.

I thought I was well-prepared,

but the professor pulled my argument apart, brick by brick.

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English,

and we're learning the phrase 'brick by brick',

which is a way to refer to 'something done carefully and gradually'.

As well as the idea of something done carefully and gradually,

it often suggests that something is the result of hard work.

If someone says that they have built their success brick by brick,

they're likely to be proud of the effort that they've made.

We've come to the end of this episode,

but we'll be back soon to help you build your knowledge of English, brick by brick!

— See you next time. — Bye!

Welcome to The English We Speak, with me, Phil.

And me, Feifei.

We have a phrase which is about being able to judge

how the people around you think or feel.

'Read the room'. When could we use it?

Well, you know that we're all so busy at work,

we had to cancel our holidays to make sure that everything gets done?

I know, terrible!

I'd been planning to go somewhere for ages, and now that's all ruined.

Someone from the other team came in

and started talking about the great holiday they're going on next week.

He tried to get us interested in it,

but none of us want to talk about holidays right now.

He needs to learn to read the room!

Some people just don't get it, do they?

You'd think they'd be able to read the room from people's reactions.

No, he just kept going on about it,

saying how nice the beaches are, how great the weather is where he's going.

He definitely wasn't reading the room.

You've been talking to us about football for 15 minutes now — none of us care.

Read the room!

Look, the three of us have given up sugar, and you're offering us doughnuts?

Come on, learn to read the room!

You're always complaining, but read the room —

none of the rest of us feel like that.

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English,

and we're learning the phrase 'read the room',

which means 'to judge how the people around you feel,

'or what they think about something'.

We often use it when we don't think people are doing it.

Yes, it's often used in the imperative to criticise someone who isn't doing it.

If they say something inappropriate,

or just something that no-one else is interested in.

Now, Feifei, did I tell you about my new hobby?

Read the room, Phil!

I don't want to hear any more about your stamp collecting.

Maybe I do need to learn to read the room better!

You do that! We'll see you next time.

— Bye! — Bye!

Welcome to The English We Speak with me, Jiaying.

And me, Neil.

What's wrong, Neil? You don't sound that happy.

I'm not. I went to bed late and this morning, I overslept.

It's all been a bit of a rush

and I haven't even had time for my morning coffee.

Oh, dear, Neil. I guess that explains it.

Explains what?

Why you are a mess!

Your clothes are scruffy, you've got food stuck to your beard and your hair!

What about my hair?

It's not very tidy.

Am I having a bad hair day?

I think you are!

A 'bad hair day' describes 'a day when everything goes wrong',

just like there are days when your hair is a mess.

Don't worry, Neil, you're not alone. Listen to these people.

Today's a bad hair day for me, I feel a complete mess.

Oh, no! I've got an interview today, and it's a bad hair day.

I'm having a bad hair day. I think I'll go back to bed!

This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English

and we're talking about a 'bad hair day' — a phrase that describes

'a day when you feel and look messy, especially because of your hair'.

It can also be used to describe a day that doesn't go well.

Oh, Neil, I think you'd better go and tidy yourself up.

Really? But I'll need your help.

Do you need a brush?

No, I need a cup of coffee.

OK. If that'll help to make your bad hair day become a good hair day.

It will, thanks.

— Bye. — Bye.

Welcome to The English We Speak with me, Jiaying.

And me, Neil. Are you OK? You look really stressed!

Well, I had a crazy lunch.

I went to the park to eat my lunch, but then I couldn't find my nuts.

Then, I saw who'd stolen them.

Was it Rob?

No, it wasn't.

I'd looked everywhere, and lo and behold, a squirrel had stolen them.

What? What did you say? Lower and below?

No, Neil, I said 'lo and behold',

which is often used to express surprise at an event

or introduce an unexpected part of the story.

Ahh, that makes sense — like a strange coincidence.

Like the other day, I wanted some biscuits,

but lo and behold, guess who'd eaten them all?

Rob! Let's talk about some other surprising twists after these examples.

I was just thinking about my uncle when, lo and behold, he rang.

I'd completely forgotten to finish just one task, and lo and behold,

it was the only one my boss asked for!

My wife was so angry the other day.

Lo and behold, it was her birthday and I'd forgotten.

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English,

and we're talking about the expression 'lo and behold'.

We use this expression to introduce a surprising event to a story we're telling.

So, what happened after you saw the squirrel had stolen your nuts in the park?

Well, I said to the squirrel, "Hey, you, give me back my nuts,"

and lo and behold, the squirrel returned my food!

That's amazing! That squirrel must have felt really guilty!

Yes, he apologised. You see, he didn't mean to steal my nuts, but he needed them.

Lo and behold, he has a young family.

So, I gave him the nuts. Guess what happened next?

Hm, the squirrel asked if you'd like to join him for dinner?

Don't be ridiculous, Neil!

He ran off!

Oh, OK. That's not as surprising as I imagined!

Bye, Neil!

Bye.

Hi, Neil, you look stressed?

Oh, not really. Just writing a script for The English We Speak. I'm a bit stuck.

What's the phrase?

Social media influencer.

Well, that's easy.

Well, maybe for someone young and trendy like you! Go on then, tell me.

Let me talk you through it, step-by-step.

Well, you know social media?

Of course! Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.

A social media influencer is someone who has a lot of followers online

and who is an expert or authority in a particular subject,

— like photography or cookery or make-up. — OK.

What that person says, or does, or buys, or wears

can influence the decisions of their followers,

which is why we call them 'social media influencers'.

Or simply, 'influencers'.

OK, I have a few followers.

So if I start, say, growing a long moustache, and all my friends copy me,

would you say I was a social media influencer?

Erm, I suppose so!

And then, what might happen is the marketing department

of a company selling moustache products gets in touch

and pays you to start using their moustache oil.

OK, I like the sound of this!

Grow a moustache and get paid. Let's listen to some examples.

Our company was finding it hard to reach new customers aged 16 to 25.

Then we hired a few social media influencers and sales just rocketed.

Kylie Jenner is one of America's biggest social media influencers.

Companies pay her up to a million dollars for a single post!

There's a lot of debate about whether or not influencers

should be open about who is paying them to promote products.

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English.

Our expression is 'social media influencer'.

So, Neil, how's the script going?

I'm not writing it any more, Feifei. I'm focusing full time on my new business.

Ah, I see you've grown a moustache.

Are you going to post a picture, so all your 20 followers can see it

and be influenced by your amazing style?

Don't worry, I've realised I don't have enough followers or authority,

to influence anyone, Feifei.

But I have discovered there's a gap in the market for organic moustache oil!

Oh, well done! Neil's Marvellous Moustache Oil.

Nice. Now, I just need to find an influencer to help me with marketing.

A hairy influencer.

Good luck, Neil!

— Bye. — Bye.