12 English Idioms YOU MUST KNOW! | Easy English 120

Hello, welcome to Easy English.

So today, I'm back up against the green screen

and I thought we could play a game,

trying to guess some typical British idioms.

If you don't know what idiom is,

it's generally a phrase which has a non-literal meaning.

But once you piece together the separate words,

you can generally sort of, figure out what the meaning is.

So yeah, without further ado,

let's just, dive in and start this game.

Here we go.

Let's go right at the beginning, number one.

This one, I believe, is; bury the hatchet.

Which, generally speaking,

you would usually associate with drinking,

but I'm pretty sure you can use it as a way to kind of,

make peace, essentially.

So, let's say you had a big argument

with someone and then you speak to them afterwards.

You'd sort of, talked it over

and you'd say; ''okay, let's just bury the hatchet''.

Burying the hatchet usually results in having a drink

with that person who maybe, you weren't so friendly with.

And that maybe, makes me think

that this is something to do with peace

and that's where this idiom would come from.

Maybe it's like a war...

erm...

a war based idiom, where you would, as a peace offering,

you'd bury the hatchet, literally bury your axe.

I'm sure it is bury the hatchet...

Perfect.

Okay yeah, There you go.

There's a peace idiom.

Okay next one, let's go (for) number seven.

What does this mean?

Okay, number 10.

Okay, this one is called, I think,

this idiom; at the drop of a hat,

let me just check.

Woo!

Okay, so at the drop of a hat, is an idiom

to describe the speed at which you would do something for...

a good example would be;

if I found out... if I was away on holiday

and I found out my dog got ill,

then I would leave to come to see my dog at the drop of a hat.

So you'd beat... as you'd drop your hat to leave;

''oh s**t, my dog is ill''.

You'd be at your dog before your hat even hit the floor.

Because maybe you're concerned or, you know,

to show your commitment to something.

Okay, let's move on.

Let's go for number four.

Very visual.

So this one, if you haven't got it already,

is; you're barking up the wrong tree.

Which is well illustrated by this dog barking at a tree.

You'd use this as a way to show that you're not the culpable one.

Someone is blaming you for something and you're not guilty.

And you can use this, you know, as...

it's a way to protest your innocence,

whether you're telling the truth or lying, I guess.

There's no preference for this,

but essentially, someone would be like;

''Ah, why did you...''

I don't know.

''Why did you eat my sandwich?''

You know.

''You're a terrible person.''

And you'd be like;

''Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.''

''You're barking up the wrong tree.''

''It was...

Isi did it''.

Okay; you're barking up the wrong tree.

Another really useful idiom to use, actually.

Let's go for another one, let's go for the last one, number 16.

Er... ah, this is (a) pretty obvious one, I think.

Related to tennis, it's; the ball is in your court.

Okay, so; the ball is in your court,

essentially means, it's time for you to make a decision.

It's time... it's your...

you've been alternating between something,

whether it's, an argument,

if maybe they haven't been barking up the wrong tree,

maybe the... you know, you have to make up for something.

Or, maybe it's also something like,

you know, I've...

I've done this for you

and it's your turn to respond and to do something for me.

So, you know, if you imagine tennis,

someone's hitting the ball...

oh s**t!

someone's hitting the ball...

oh s**t!

I hit the microphone.

Oh dear.

I knew this would happen.

So yeah, imagine tennis, someone's hit the ball

and it bounces over... it goes over the net,

bounces on your side of the tennis court,

and yeah, you have to return the ball back or else,

you know, you lose.

You... yeah, you lose the trust in that person.

So yeah, the ball is in your court,

you must return it, you must apologise, respond,

do something for the other person that,

this situation is alternating between.

Next one.

Number nine.

Hmmmmmmm...

Oh, this is a tough one.

I was going to say; cat's got your tongue.

But I think there's just only one word that needs replacing.

Ah!

this is; bite your tongue.

So, cat's got your tongue,

would...

would be something where you maybe,

couldn't find the right word

and you're kind of, almost stuttering and you...

you're struggling to find the right way to express yourself.

But to ''bite your tongue''

is something completely different altogether.

A good example of this, of where you have to bite your tongue is;

let's say, someone wants to go on a night out

and they come out and they're wearing like,

a glitter ball er...

No, no, I actually would find that quite cool,

if someone was to wear glitter ball coat.

Let's say someone is wearing like this garish green jacket

and they're gonna go out with no shoes on.

They're like; ''Don't I look really cool here?

I look swag.''

And then, you would have to bite your tongue,

because, you know, you don't want to offend your friends.

I mean, maybe you... maybe you do.

But if you didn't want to, you'd have to bite your tongue.

Also, you can use it for; let's say,

you're getting a free lift from someone.

And, you know, without them giving you this freebie,

you'd be pretty stuck.

And let's say, they say something which you don't agree with,

but you're in this precarious situation,

where you're relying on them quite heavily.

You might have to like, bite your tongue,

until maybe you get to where you're going and say;

''listen, what you said there, was crazy.

You need to check yourself''.

To bite your tongue is to kind of,

hold back your true feelings or emotions.

Another useful idiom.

I was right, by the way.

Okay, oh, I've got loads left.

Okay, number 12.

So

this one, I

believe is; once in a blue moon.

And I think this one is kind of, an obvious explanation.

If you know about blue moons, they...

I think they appear like, once every couple of years,

maybe three years.

So, if you were to translate this,

this means something happens very rarely, essentially.

So erm...

I don't know.

Wow, I'm really struggling to find a good example.

Erm...

erm...

my...

my favourite football team; Manchester United,

used to be very successful,

but now they win a trophy once in a blue moon.

If I'm lucky.

Next idiom, number five.

Okay, maybe this one's obvious,

but I think this is; actions speak louder than words.

Perfect.

And so, this idiom is actually...

this one is kind of like a proverb, to be honest,

'cos I think it's kind of, almost literal, saying...

saying this because, yeah,

sometimes you have to do something

and it's all well and good saying like;

''yeah, yeah, I'll take out the bins'' or

''I'll do the laundry''.

But until you actually do it,

that's when... you know,

something literally speaks louder than your words.

It has a bigger impact than just saying it,

if you do something then people will realise,

ah yeah, he actually can follow up.

We say; all pants, no trousers.

Which is, also similar as to saying...

but this is more accusative.

You can say; ''oh, you're all pants, no trousers''.

Like, yeah, you talk like you do something well,

but, you don't actually do it.

But if you did do it, then you'd say;

''ah, your actions speak louder than your words''.

Okay, let's move on to the next one.

Let's go (with) number two.

Woo!

I won 15 points, for no obvious reason.

Number three.

Okay, this one is; it's a piece... a piece of cake.

Which generally just means; it's easy.

I guess you can say something is like,

some food can be easy, like... or,

if you were to see something,

it can be easy on your eye like,

it's nice to look at.

So I guess if you put that into the taste department,

you could say, yeah, a piece of cake is easy to eat,

it's no problem.

So yeah, a piece of cake; easy.

Tie your shoelaces;

yeah, it's a piece of cake.

I can tie my shoelaces.

Okay.

Next one, near the end now.

Okay, this one is horrific.

It's called; kill two birds with one stone.

And I don't advocate doing this.

I don't know why this is an idiom.

There's probably some historical relevance between this.

Hopefully it's in self-defence.

Okay, so to kill two birds with one stone,

is a good way of saying I can complete two tasks

within one effort, essentially.

So, a good example of this would to...

let's say, you need to do the...

your weekly shopping.

But then also,

you need to, at some point,

go to the pharmacy to pick up medication.

So you could, you know, drive on Monday,

to the shopping on Tuesday to the pharmacy.

But, to kill two birds with one stone,

would be to do it in one drive.

So, on Monday, I'll do the shopping

and then I'll go to the pharmacy and kill two birds with one stone.

Really graphic idiom to say, for something so...

you know, kind and generous.

But yeah, I've heard it said quite a lot in Britain.

Okay, next one.

Okay, so this one is, erm...

yeah, the idiom kind of describes it,

but I wouldn't use a watermelon,

because the phrase or the idiom is;

bite off more than you can chew.

And yeah, I would use something like,

I don't know, like a steak,

or something that you really chew,

because watermelon...

I dunno...

it's a bit easier.

Because this phrase, kind of means,

that you've undertaken a task or something which,

is maybe beyond your...

your capabilities.

So let's say, for example,

Easy English; we make videos

and very soon we will be releasing our podcast.

Huh!

Excited?

I hope so, because myself and Isi are super excited.

But, you know, these videos take...

we do one a week and they take quite a long time to put together.

So maybe us also doing a podcast,

would be us biting off more than we can chew.

I hope that makes sense.

So yeah, essentially you are maybe agreeing

or you're undertaking something which,

you don't quite have the energy to do.

If you have a steak, you bite off, you know, a huge bit.

It's... it's quite hard, you know, you could end up choking on it,

if you buy off too much, more than you can chew.

So, I hope that explains it.

And I hope you're excited for the Easy English Podcast.

Okay, last four.

Number eight.

Erm... so this one, I believe, is;

it's the best of both worlds.

Okay, so the best of both worlds,

would be to gain two positives from one scenario, essentially.

So let's say, for example, you start a new job

and in your job they say;

''okay, we're making a change

and we're gonna give you a promotion

and you're going to get paid more.

And also, alongside your increase in wage,

we're also gonna give you longer lunch breaks''.

And it's like; ''wow!

This is the best of both worlds''.

Because, maybe in your mind, you think; oh, I have a promotion,

I get paid more, but maybe I have to be a bit more committed,

or maybe I lose a bit more time.

But yeah, it's the best of both worlds.

You can have more time and more money, perfect.

So, last three.

Er...

She's a what horse?

...

A horse!?

...

A dark horse!

Ah!

I knew it!

I don't really understand the... the meaning behind this.

But, a dark horse would be like, an unexpected victor.

For example, in football terminology,

you could say that; a few seasons ago,

Leicester won the Premier League.

Like, the highest achievable domestic trophy.

And yeah, they were always referred to as the dark horses.

Yeah, it essentially means you're like, the underdog, really.

This is, an idiomatic way of saying that someone is an underdog.

No one expects the dark horse to win.

But yeah, you would use this a lot for... especially for sport,

sporting events or competition.

Because, you have a favourite and then you would have a dark horse,

the challenger, which you do... nobody expects to win.

A true underdog.

Okay, I kind of got that wrong.

So, I am not going to get a perfect 100% record.

But, let's go for the last two.

Oh, I lost ten points.

Cheers.

'Kay, last one then.

Number 14.

Oh, I won 50 points.

Brilliant, The game's over.

I'd like to know if any of these idioms

are also in your native language

or any ones that you have, which are kind of,

alternatives for that... for the same meanings,

if you know what I mean.

So yeah, And let me know if you know any more British idioms

that you use quite regularly, that you know.

And yeah, let us know what you thought of the video

and if you'd like to see more videos like this

and we'll see you next week, bye!

Ah!

No no no,

no no no no.

I pressed close on my game

and now I must start again.