10 British Idioms in 10 Minutes

Guys welcome, if you haven't met me before I'm Tom the English hipster and I

teach real natural British English. What do you think of my flags? Pretty cool

right? The reason why I've got them is because today I'm going to teach you

guys ten idioms that are going to make you sound totally British. I'm talking

like Emma Watson Harry Styles if you want to sound like them then you're in

the right place.

Possibly the most British idiom of all is not my cup of tea. So if something is not your cup of tea

it means that you don't like it or it's the kind of thing that you don't like

doing. So for example you might say swimming is not really my cup of tea

swimming is not really my cup of tea and that just means that you don't like

doing it. Maybe you prefer running or doing other things but swimming you

don't like doing it so it's not my cup of tea. We often use it in response to

the question 'do you like?' so 'do you like running?'

'it's not really my cup of tea' and that just means I don't like doing it. So good

If something is a piece of cake it is easy to do not a problem not difficult

at all. So obviously for you guys learning English is a piece of cake

right okay maybe not learning English I know

it can be difficult but maybe you you did an exam and it was an easy

exam So you come out of it you tell your friend

ah that was a piece of cake and that just means that was really easy I might

say I I passed my driving test I it was a piece of cake it was really easy. So

something is a piece of cake it's really easy. I love love love this idiom this

one is to go pear-shaped and it means that if a plan goes pear-shaped it fails

it goes wrong it's a disaster. So for example

and maybe I planned to do a Facebook live lesson for you guys and then

there's no Wi-Fi, my phone breaks, someone calls on the phone then the Facebook

life lesson goes pear-shaped okay it goes wrong I wasn't successful okay so

to go pear-shaped is such a great British idiom. Maybe I'm planning a

weekend away with my family and then I get sick, I get ill, and maybe the car

breaks down it goes pear-shaped so the weekend went pear-shaped. Brilliant idiom

sounds so British see if you can use it in a sentence in the comments below. For

donkey years this is a great phrase now for donkey's

years means a very long time it doesn't specific time not exactly 20 years or a

hundred years or two weeks there's no set time it just means a long time so I

could say I haven't seen you in donkey's years and that means I haven't seen you

for a long time or I haven't been to the gym for donkey's years I haven't been to

the gym for donkey's years and again that just means I haven't been for a

long time again in your language what do you say do you have a similar idiom is

it for horses years or for four counties whatever it is let me know in the

comment below two idioms for one here the first one across the pond

now here the pond usually it's a small amount of water in this idiom

it means the Atlantic Ocean either side of the Atlantic Ocean we have Britain

and we have the United States so in Britain when we talk about across the

pond we are talking about in America in the United States and then if you're in

the United States and they're saying across the pond it means in Britain for

example if I was in Britain and I said Harry Styles is really popular across

the pond that means that Harry Styles is really popular in America

in addition we say down under to mean Australia because I guess we think that

they're the other side of the world so they're then down there somewhere

so if you're saying I it's really hot down under it means it's really hot in

Australia or Harry Styles is really popular down under

it means Harry Styles is popular in Australia I don't know what they say for

us I put up and over I don't know so nice idiom here cheap as

chips it just means something is really cheap okay so opposite of expensive

cheap and so on myself I love your jacket how much did it cost is that is

cheap as chips just means it's really cheap

I guess because chips are quite cheap here so it's just cheap as chips maybe

in other countries is cheaper something else let me know in the comments below

if you have a similar phrase it's as cheap as so cheap as I don't know

something else apples or cheap as mangoes or whatever it might be let me

know in the comments below I'd love to hear what your idiom is for the same

phrase so if something is really cheap what do you say in an India mastic form

this is a fun one pardon my french or excuse my french so if you say pardon my

french it's because you used or you are going to use a rude word now obviously I

know you guys don't use rude words and neither do i of course pardon my french

but that guy is a real and inside and in selling so you can have a lot of fun

with it but remember you know I don't use bad

language I hope you don't need to use bad language either we can we can

communicate without using bad words this next phrase to do a run so this means to

leave a place or a situation to avoid something unpleasant commonly it's used

maybe to describe leaving a restaurant without paying ok so maybe at the end of

the red at the end you get your bill and you

just leave without paying not very cool but this is to do a runner to avoid a

situation by leaving very quickly very hastily is not usually very cool to do a

runner but yes I think in a restaurant is probably the context that we do we

use it most so I've never done a runner there we are that's the example sentence

I've never done a runner from a restaurant means I've never left without

paying I promise I promise I love this idiom it she feeds so itchy is that

feeling that we get maybe when a mosquito bites us and then oh it's very

itchy you want to scratch it so that's the ceiling it she feet but it doesn't

have the same meaning each she feeds has a totally different meaning it means

that you want to do something different or go somewhere different than where you

are now so often we feel it maybe and when we are in one place and we want to

go somewhere different so for example when I when I'm in London I love being

here but I also want to go and travel somewhere else somewhere new go to a

beach in Thailand or go to walk around the city of Rome or Barcelona or Venice

or something so it's that feeling of wanting to go somewhere different or do

something different you can't do something to save your life can't do

something to save your life this is a great phrase really natural so if you

can't do something to save your life it's a very exaggerated way to say that

you are rubbish at doing it you're not very good at doing it let me give you an

example I am a terrible drawer I cannot draw it I when I try to draw fingers and

it looks like big potatoes it's a disaster so I would say I can't draw to

save my life I can't draw to save my life and that just means I'm rubbish at

drawing I'm not very good at drawing this is a great phrase

I can't do something to save my life so another example and I can't speak French

to say in my life I learned French for six years something like that and I'm

terrible it's embarrassing just read digitally which I think means

I'm sorry I think so I can't speak French to save my life just means I'm

terrible at speaking French guys have I left any British English idioms out

which ones have I forgotten please let me know in the comments below and you

can also teach your other EC dreamers as well thank you so much for hanging out

any guys remember to subscribe to my channel hit the like button share this

with anyone that you know that's learning English and let's help as many

people as we can learn English together thank you so much for hanging out with

me this is Tom the English hipster saying goodbye it's so good good cup of

tea honestly a good cup of tea you just

makes everything all right in the world you just feel calm relaxed all your

worries disappear so good kids

you