Meaning of THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE and I CAN'T COMPLAIN - A Short English Lesson
6,012 views ・ 2020-02-17
Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.
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We have a saying in English,
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the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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And we use this when we are talking about
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a person who complains a lot
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and then usually gets their way.
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We would say, "Well, the
squeaky wheel gets the grease."
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It originally comes from
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talking about wheels on vehicles
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and when they go squeak, squeak, squeak.
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We usually put some grease or oil on them.
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Grease and oil are two types of lubricants
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that will stop a wheel from squeaking.
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But we use this sentence mostly
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to describe a person who complains a lot.
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Maybe there's someone at your work
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who complains a lot
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and then they always get their way.
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The boss is always letting
them get what they want
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because they complain so much.
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You would say, "Well,
you know what they say.
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"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
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Maybe you have a brother
or sister in your family
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who complains a lot and
they always get their way.
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You could say, "Well,
you know what they say.
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"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
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Talking about complaining,
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here is another way to
use the word complain
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to answer the question how is it going.
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If someone says to you, "How's it going?"
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You can answer by saying,
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"Well, you know, I can't complain.
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"Life's going pretty good."
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It means that you're not super happy.
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You're not super sad.
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You don't really have anything
that you're annoyed about,
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but there's nothing that
you're really excited about.
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You could just say, "I can't complain."
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So sometimes at work,
someone will say to me,
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"Hey, Bob, how's it going?"
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And I will answer by saying,
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"Oh, you know, I can't complain.
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"I slept good.
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"I have a good lunch to eat later today,
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"and in general, life is going okay,
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"so I can't complain."
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So there's two phrases for you.
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The squeaky wheel gets the grease
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means that the person who complains
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always gets their way.
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And when you say I can't complain,
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it's just another way to answer
the question how's it going.
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Anyways, Bob the Canadian here
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and you're learning English with me
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and I hope you're having a great day.
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