7 BRITISH PHRASES You Need to Sound Like a Native!

you have been learning English for years so why  is it hard to understand native speakers having  

a conversation that's because they use so much  idiomatic language now don't despair it's very  

easy to learn With a Little Help from me or any  other teacher but today from me so stick with me  

and I'm going to show you a short conversation I'm  going to decode the idiomatic language and give  

you some additional extremely common idioms that  you may hear from native speakers and to make it  

easy for you I've packaged up all of these idioms  into a lovely PDF worksheet that you can download  

for free I'll leave a link in the description are  you ready let's listen to that first conversation  

oh I love Couer if you're putting the kettle on  oh look at you all scrubbed up yeah I've got this  

work to do tonight so I thought I'd make an effort  it be nice for you to let your hair down it's  

been a while so I'm going to make the most of it  good for you you deserve it cup of tea then I'll  

have a cuppa I said I'll have a cuppa a cuppa is  basically a cup of tea now you wouldn't take tend  

to use this if you're asking for a coffee you'd  say I'll have a coffee if you want a coffee but  

if you want a cup of tea it's common to say I'll  have a cuppa you could also say I'll have a brew  

now a brew means the same thing it's more common  for you to hear this in the north of England but  

we all move around so much these days that you  could hear anyone anywhere in the UK saying I'll  

have a brew tea features very strongly in our  culture there's a couple of phrases here that I  

want to share with you if you are instigating the  tea making ritual then you might say I'll pop the  

kettle on to pop the kettle on it's just a way of  saying I'll put the kettle on I'll pop the kettle  

on fancier Brew here I'm asking you would you like  a cup of tea I'll pop the kettle on fancy a brew  

I'll put the kettle on would you like a cup of tea  now if you are wanting someone else to go and put  

the kettle on and make you a cup of tea then you  might say stick the kettle on will you uh stick  

the kettle on will you and you would only do this  with people that you know well you wouldn't ask  

someone above you at work to go and stick the  kettle on you might also passively ask someone to  

pop the kettle on by using the phrase oh I could  murder a cup of tea or any other version of cup of  

tea you could say I could murder a cuppa I could  murder a brew these all mean I'm really really  

thirsty I really want a cup of tea and if you say  it loudly enough in front of someone who may get  

up and serve you then you might be surprised they  might respond in kind and say okay I'll pop the  

kettle on next I said look at you all scrubbed up  when you're saying that someone has scrubbed up  

you're saying that they are looking well presented  they've dressed themselves well they're looking  

nice and smart where they don't normally so you  could say you're all scrubbed up what you all  

scrubbed up for you might also say oh don't you  look Posh and that would be used if someone is is  

dressed in a very smart way in a way you've never  seen them before for example if a man normally  

only wears tracksuit bottoms and a and a a hoodie  and suddenly they're wearing a a full suit they've  

got a shirt and a jacket and a tie and trousers on  a nice shiny shoes oh don't you look Posh it's a  

way of complimenting them for looking so smart  but again you use it in familiar relationships  

I wouldn't use this to say that someone at work  looks very smart you could also say look at you  

all doled up wow look at you all dled up I'd only  use this for a lady who who's suddenly wearing  

lots of makeup and has styled their hair in a nice  way to be dolled up look at you will doll up you  

could say that someone looks rather Dapper if it's  a man saying that they look very smart very nice  

you look rather Dapper and you could say that to  anybody so at work wow you look rather Dapper or  

you look quite snazzy or rather snazzy snazzy if  uh it's a girl or a boy this one could work for  

a lady or a man you look quite snazzy and this  is if they're wearing like sparkly um I don't  

know why I have to do a shimmy for that if they're  wearing something sparkly and glamorous if a guy  

is wearing just something that looks really cool  and smart wow you look rather snazzy where are  

you going back to the conversation in response to  you're all scrubbed up my character said I thought  

I'd make an effort I thought I'd make an effort  so this is deciding to dress well deciding to make  

yourself look smart you could also now you could  say I didn't want to look like I've been dragged  

through a hedge backwards so I love this phrase  to be dragged through a hedge backwards we often  

use this to describe someone who looks really  bedraggled really scruffy like like Anna what's  

what's happened to you you look like you've been  dragged through a hedge backwards um I've just  

had a really hard day working on the accounts yes  so um in this character's case I would say well I  

I don't want to look like I've been dragged  through a hedge backwards I said it'll be good  

for you to let your hair down it'll be good for  you to let your hair down to let your hair down is  

a a phrase that means to relax to have a good time  where you normally don't so somebody who works too  

hard who never goes out who doesn't really spend  time socializing who can't relax okay occasionally  

still has to let the hair down and it's good to  occasionally let your hair down so someone like me  

I should probably go out more rather than spending  all my time in the office talking to you although  

it's lovely we're having a nice time other phrases  that you could use are to cut loose so you might  

say yeah it's time to cut loose I'm scrubbing up  well I'm going to let my hair down it's time to  

cut loose so imagining that you're tethered you're  tied to your responsibilities to your work and  

finally it's time to cut that tie Release Yourself  there we go I'm dancing how embarrassing oh you  

might also say in this scenario you need to live  a little it's a very common phrase oh go on live  

a little so if you're holding back from going out  you're struggling to cut loose you're struggling  

to let your hair down you can't get away from  those responsibilities you feel that need to  

work all the time I might say look just leave it  go on live a little go and have a good time so I'm  

encouraging you to live your life to have fun live  a little in the sketch I said it's a work do I've  

got a work do tonight now a work do is a party in  this case a a work party you could use do for all  

sorts of other types of party so you might have a  hen do you might have a big do a little do so you  

might call a work do a St staff do so you refer  to the people who work in a company as the staff  

so it might be a staff do or an office do which  would be a party in the office that you work in  

an office do so that's a party not to be confused  with a hair do which is a hairstyle English oh  

there could also be a team do so if you work  within a huge company and you're part of a smaller  

team like your core team which is part of a bigger  team or the wider team then you might be having  

a small team do then you might have a wider team  do then a full staff do oh of course at Christmas  

you're going to have a Christmas do okay I'm I'm  away from the de step away from the de next I said  

to make the most of it I'm gonna make the most of  it I don't get out very often so I'm going to make  

the most of it this means to enjoy something last  I said good for you good for you it's a genuine  

expression of I'm happy for you good for you  that's a good thing for you you might also hear  

good on you good on you good on you notice how  they blend together good on good on good on you  

good on you they both mean the same thing  I'm happy for you well done but you need to  

be careful with this because the tone sometimes  will suggest that this is not well-meaning it  

could be sarcastic it could be like an I don't  care that's good for you but it's not good for  

me kind of sentiment so if you win the lottery  and you've now got lots and lots of money but I'm  

struggling to pay my rent and I don't care much  about you then you might be going look I've got  

all this money and I might be saying good for  you good on you I'll give you the conversation  

one more time so that you can hear it through and  remember I've put all of the phrases together in  

one big PDF for you so that you can have access to  do that oh I'll have a cuppa if you're putting the  

kettle on oh look at you all scrubbed up yeah  I've got this work to do tonight so I thought  

I'd make an effort it be nice for you to let your  hair down it's been a while so I'm going to make  

the most of it good for you you deserve it cup  of tea then I hope you found today useful please  

put in the comments your favourite phrase or any  that I may have missed that you think think are  

relevant I look forward to reading your comments  until next time take very good care and goodbye