WATER - 5 Common English Idioms | Learn English With Anna English

Hi guys welcome to another English lesson with me Anna English here on

English Like a Native. As you can see I'm not in the normal setting, in fact I'm

here in Marsa Alam, Egypt and as I'm by the Red Sea I thought I would give you

five water-based idioms / phrases that we use in the UK.

Number one - a fish out of water.

If you're a fish out of water it basically means you're in a situation

where you do not feel comfortable. Imagine a fish jumping out of the water

the fish would not survive for very long because it's not equipped to be out of

the water so if you are a fish out of water then you are not comfortable or

confident in your environment.

Number two - water off a duck's back.

Water off a duck's back basically means that it doesn't bother you. Imagine if you

pour water onto a lady wearing her best outfit she would be very upset but if

you pour water onto a duck the duck would not mind at all.

It would ruffle its feathers and shake off the water but it would be perfectly

happy so if something doesn't bother you then you can say it is the water off a

duck's back it does not bother me.

Number three - smells fishy.

If something smells fishy we're not talking about the actual aroma we mean that something

doesn't seem right, so if someone's behaving in an unusual way you could say

"mmm something smells fishy, there's something fishy going on with

him" it means it's just not quite right.

Number four - to have a sinking feeling.

If you have a sinking feeling then it means that you are becoming more and more

aware that something bad has happened or that something bad is about to happen

it's having a feeling or a sense of doom on its way. You've got a sinking feeling

just like if you're in the ocean you're going down down down into the murky

depths of the ocean, to have a sinking feeling.

And number five is water under the bridge.

If something is water under Bridge then it means it has been forgotten

about, it's no longer something that bothers you or has any impact on your

daily life or how you feel. So if you and I have a fallout and at the time I'm

very upset about it but five years down the line I'm no longer concerned about

that argument and I'm not angry anymore or upset anymore, then I can say "oh that

argument, it's water under the bridge let's just be friends" so there you go

five water based phrases we have: fish out of water, water off a duck's back,

something smells fishy, to have a sinking feeling, and water under the bridge.

Guys if you know any other water-based phrases then please do put them in the

comments box below remember to give this video a LIKE, don't forget to SUBSCRIBE

take care and ... sounds like my boat's getting started. See you later! Bye!