Learn the English Phrases "to blow off steam" and "Don't blow it!"

4,509 views ・ 2024-02-16

Bob's Short English Lessons


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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So I thought we'd start this video by
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watching the sander truck go by backwards.
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We're getting a little bit of snow here,
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so that's a little bit of fun.
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So I'll start the lesson in just a sec.
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Let me get set up.
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I wasn't quite ready.
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Well, there's a little bit of snow on my lens,
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but hopefully you can see this. In this English lesson
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I wanted to help you learn the
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English phrase to blow off steam.
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Now, when you need to blow off steam,
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it usually means you go do something physical
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to relieve some stress you might be experiencing.
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Here's a great example.
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If I have a really stressful day at work, I
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might go for a walk to blow off steam.
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Let's say at work, I'm not getting along with
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my boss, and I really like playing basketball.
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That night I might go and play
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some basketball to blow off steam.
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So it's an activity you do, usually
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a physical activity that helps you to
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reduce the amount of stress you're feeling.
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Have you ever exercised when you're stressed and
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when you're done, you're usually not as stressed.
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Hey, is the snow the same color as my hair?
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It probably is.
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So anyways, to blow off steam means to do
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a physical activity to help yourself relax, help to
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reduce the stress that you are feeling.
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The other phrase I wanted to teach you
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today is the phrase don't blow it.
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So when you blow something, it means you mess it up.
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So sometimes when you're going to do something that
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takes some skill, someone might say, don't blow it.
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It's not a nice thing to say.
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Basically they're saying, don't mess up.
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Don't screw up. Don't blow it. When you do that.
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The very first time I did a live
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stream, I was a little bit worried.
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I thought I was going to blow it.
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I thought I was going to mess up, and it wasn't
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going to go very well, but it ended up going okay.
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And the way I look at it is you got to do one so
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that you can get better at doing the ones that you do later.
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So to review, to blow off steam means to physically
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exercise or do something to relieve anxiety and stress.
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And when you say to someone, don't blow
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it, you're basically saying, don't make a mistake
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for whatever the thing you're doing.
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Don't make a mistake.
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But hey, let's look at a comment from a previous video.
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I think this is the most
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snow that's fallen during a video.
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I'm kind of cracking up.
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This is from Tammy.
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I am prone to eating too much,
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so I avoid going to the kitchen.
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And my response that's a good strategy.
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We try to not buy the bad food so it isn't
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in our house. But it doesn't always work with kids.
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Have you ever noticed that?
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I don't know if some of you are in the
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same situation as me, but when you have children you
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tend to buy a lot of snack food.
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And then at least in my situation, I
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tend to eat lots of that snack food.
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But hey, anyways, thanks for that comment, Tammy.
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That is something I'm prone to do as well.
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Anyways, again, I hope you can see this.
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I see little flakes of snow landing on the lens.
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We are finally in a winter wonderland again.
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And you know that this makes Bob very, very happy.
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I really enjoy a good winter.
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I was starting to get worried that
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maybe we wouldn't see snow again.
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It certainly is nice to get a little bit
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of snow so it can land on my head
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and on my face, I guess a little bit.
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But yes, certainly appreciating this.
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It isn't so cold that the creek is frozen.
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You can see some ducks swimming over there.
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Actually, you can see one right down here.
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I think there's a few more coming through, but
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it's certainly cold enough for us to have a
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little bit of snowfall instead of rain.
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So yes, certainly enjoying it.
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Happy to be outside.
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And what else was I going to say? A week ago...
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I can't remember if I said this in a
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members only video or in one of these videos,
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but it was starting to feel like spring.
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It was starting to feel like April instead of February.
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So I am really happy that we're
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getting a little bit of snowfall.
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And I hope you enjoyed the clip
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of the sander at the beginning. See you in a few days
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with another short English lesson.
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And thanks for watching this one. Bye.
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