Learn the English Phrases "stick out like a sore thumb" and "stick with"

In this English lesson,

I wanted to help you learn the English phrase

stick out like a sore thumb.

Now, this is my thumb, and to stick out like a sore thumb

doesn't really have anything to do with thumbs.

It has to do with things like this orange vest I'm wearing,

or dressing in a way that's different than other people.

If I was to wear this orange vest

and I went to a basketball game and I was in the crowd,

I would stick out like a sore thumb,

because no one wears a vest like this to that kind of game.

By the way, I have this vest for walking along the road

when I go for a walk for exercise,

because I think it's just a good idea to be...

It's a good idea to stick out like a sore thumb

when you're walking along the road,

so I wear this vest.

The other phrase I wanted to teach you today

is the phrase stick with,

and in particular, to stick with someone.

Jen and I decided long ago when we got married

that we were going to stick with each other.

That means that we are going to stay together.

In fact, often when people get married,

it's one of the promises that they make to each other,

that they will stick with each other,

no matter what happens.

If life gets rough, if life gets bad,

they will stick with each other, they will stay together.

If life is good, they'll also stick with each other,

because it's fun to stick with someone when life is good.

You could also use this to talk about something

like where you bring your car to get fixed.

I brought my car to a mechanic years ago, and I liked him,

so I'm going to stick with him as my mechanic.

I'm not going to take my car somewhere else.

So to review, when you stick out like a sore thumb,

it simply means to be different

than all of the other people around you.

If I wore this vest to school as a teacher,

I would stick out like a sore thumb.

And to stick with someone

simply means to stay with them, to not leave them.

I forgot the comment in the house.

I'm going to run in and grab it.

I'll be right back.

Okay, I got it.

This comment is from Abdullrahman, and it says,

"You speak quickly, teacher.

Slow down, please."

And my response.

"You can always try slowing the video down a bit.

If you slow it by 10%, it will still sound clear,

but you'll be able to understand a bit better."

So I do sometimes get comments from viewers

that they would like me to speak more slowly,

and I think one of the things that I usually say,

which you just heard me say,

is that if you slow down the video in the YouTube player,

if you slow it down to 90% or 85%,

it still sounds the same,

but it's a little bit easier to understand.

I think it's better to do that

than for me to start speaking more slowly,

because I do speak a tiny bit more slowly in these videos,

but I speak pretty close to my normal speed,

and I think that's good for a lot of viewers.

They do actually enjoy the practice

of listening to an English speaker

who's speaking almost at their normal speed.

So anyways, thanks for the comment.

What I do suggest a good way to understand me a bit better

if you think I'm speaking too fast

is to simply slow the video down.

Hey, I'm out here watching.

Watching?

I'm out here walking.

You can probably hear the leaves crunching under my feet.

I wanted to show you that this piece of ground over here

actually has tiny little plants coming up in it.

I showed this to you a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure if you'll be able to see this,

but we put in what's called winter wheat.

That is a crop of wheat that will grow in the fall,

and then it will go dormant in the winter

and then it will grow again next spring.

So it's what we call a cover crop.

It's just really, really good for the soil.

I should check my time here.

Oh, I'm almost done.

Anyways, thanks for watching this short English lesson.

I'll make another one for you in a few days. Bye.