Learn British English in 90 Minutes - ALL the Idioms You Need (with free EBOOK) (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

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- Hello lovely students,

and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today I am going to teach you 100 idioms.

It's going to be epic.

You are going to walk away from this video

with so much more knowledge.

And the best part is I have a free ebook for you

to go alongside this video, I know you can thank me later.

It is very generous of me.

This ebook contains every idiom

that we're going to talk about today,

and it has some extra exercise questions as well.

So you can put what you earned into practise

and test your understanding.

If you want the 100 idioms ebook

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Right, let's get started with the idioms.

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Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy,

today I have an idioms video for you.

I'm sure that you'll agree with me

that English is sometimes quite ridiculous.

So today I have compiled 15 of the funniest idioms,

along with examples of course,

these are idioms that you can use in real life situations,

but they are also idioms that have funny meanings,

are just a bit strange or tickle me in some way.

If something tickles you, it makes you laugh.

You can download the free PDF worksheet for this class,

it's got all of the idioms plus extra examples.

I always like my students

to have nice worksheets to keep with them,

just click on the link in the description box,

sign up to my mailing list

and it'll come directly to your inbox.

Right, let's get start with the first idiom.

The first idiom is a lovely one, as are all of them really.

It is a storm in a teacup, a storm in a teacup.

And interestingly in American English,

they say it in a slightly different way,

they say a tempest in a teapot.

So it's still tea related.

Now this means a lot of unnecessary anger and worry or drama

about a matter that is not important.

Unnecessary drama.

For example, she's made an official complaint to the CEO

about the type of cheese

in the cheese sandwiches at the canteen.

This seems to me to be a storm in a teacup.

A lot of unnecessary worry and anger

about something that just isn't that important.

Number two, this is one that I have mentioned before

many years ago, but it's so important,

and so widely used that I feel comfortable saying it again.

It is, Bob's your uncle, Bob's your uncle, very important.

This is a phrase that we say

when we have reached the end of a set of instructions,

or when we've reached a result,

it translates as, and there it is, or there you have it.

So an example would be to make a cup of minty,

boil a kettle, add a teabag,

wait two minutes and Bob's your uncle, there you have it.

Now number three is slightly morbid,

it is as dead as a doornail and this means very very dead.

You couldn't be more dead than a doornail I guess.

An example would be,

I tried to save the mouse that my cat brought in,

but it was as dead as a doornail.

Similarly, along the same lines, we also have number four,

which is to kick the bucket, to kick the bucket.

Now this is a verb and it means to die, to die,

to kick the bucket to die.

I dunno why I'm saying die in such a die,

I just can't help it, die.

Let's move on.

Now the origins of this phrase are quite interesting.

It's because when people died by hanging,

they would stand on a bucket and then kick the bucket away.

And that's where to kick the bucket comes from.

An example unfortunately,

our favourite neighbour kicked the bucket three years ago,

but we still feel her presence in the neighbourhood.

And that's true, my absolute favourite neighbour

died at the ripe age of 93, I think,

but every time I go home to visit my parents,

I always expect to see her.

And then I realise she's not there, we miss her a lot,

but she had a fantastic life.

Number five is everything but the kitchen sink,

everything but the kitchen sink.

Now, if you've never heard this idiom before,

I would love to know what you think it might mean

in the comment section and then let's see if you're right.

So pause now and write that.

Okay, I'm starting it means everything imaginable.

This phrase became popular in World War II,

when newspapers would report

that everything but the kitchen sink

was thrown at the enemy.

Everything imaginable.

An example, Will packs lightly for travel,

but I throw everything

but the kitchen sink into my suitcase, says plural.

I'm one of those.

Number six, oh, I love this one.

It's so expressive, it's hilarious.

It is, the lights are on, but no one's home.

I think I mentioned this one in my seven polite ways

to call someone stupid video,

where I went through the seven ways

in which I had been an idiot throughout my life.

If you would like to see

some serious serious self deprecation,

then do watch that video.

This is used to say that somebody is stupid,

even though they may appear normal.

What's a lovely phrase.

An example, Jennifer has a degree in interior design,

but the lights are on and no one's home.

Number seven is donkey's years, donkey's years.

This is used to describe an action

that has continued on for a very long time.

And supposedly this originates from rhyming slang,

donkey's years used to mean years,

but now they've just joined together

to become donkey's years.

An example, Will has lived in the countryside

for donkey's years,

he just wouldn't survive in the city.

He's lived in the countryside for years.

Number eight is to do a runner, to do a runner.

And this means to leave a place hastily, quickly,

in order to avoid an unpleasant situation

or to avoid paying.

An example, they ordered the caviar and the lobster,

but when the bill arrived, they did a runner.

They left hastily to avoid paying.

Number nine, nothing to write home about,

nothing to write home about.

If something or someone is nothing to write home about,

it means they are not very exciting or not very special.

An example, I met a boy at the ice rink,

but he's nothing to write home about.

He's not that special,

I'm not that excited about him.

Or the meal was nice,

but it was nothing to write home about,

it was nothing extraordinary.

Number 10, this is one of my mother's favourite phrases,

she has a lot,

it is keep your eyes peeled, keep your eyes peeled.

And this means keep your eyes open or be vigilant,

keep on the watch.

And it's not because she's worried about my security,

she actually uses this phrase.

If she's looking to buy something and we're in a shop,

she says, keep your eyes peeled for green scarves,

or keep your eyes peeled for any calendars

with chickens on them.

It's a very good phrase, I recommend you use it.

Keep your eyes peeled.

Number 11 is to pick someone's brain,

to pick someone's brain.

And this is very weird sounding isn't it?

To pick at somebody's brain to look for information,

but that basically is what it means in a way.

It means to obtain information by questioning somebody

who is well informed on a subject.

So it's something you hear in business a lot,

and it's a really annoying question.

Can I pick your brain for a minute?

It basically means can I ask you

loads and loads of questions about something

that you know lots about and offer you nothing in return.

An example, Colin,

can I pick your brain about that new project?

And undoubtedly Colin would rolling his eyes inside.

Yes, you can pick my brain.

Number 12 is to put feelers out

or sometimes we say put the feelers out.

And this means to make informal suggestions,

so as to test a concept before any final decisions are made.

So it's basically to test an idea

by asking people's opinions before they commit to something.

An example, can I suggest that we put the feelers out

to see if the employees

actually want a Zoom Christmas party this year?

I honestly cannot imagine anything worse

than a Christmas party on Zoom.

I'm sorry if you've just organised one,

but that sounds like hell.

Oh number 13, this is a great one,

but they're all great because I chose them.

It is the best thing since sliced bread.

This means that something is the best

and most useful innovation or invention of recent times.

It means that something is a good invention.

Now you might be asking why sliced bread?

Well, I asked myself that question and I did the research.

When sliced bread was first brought to market in 1928,

it was a massive deal.

There were huge marketing campaigns about sliced bread,

it was marketed as the greatest step forward

in baking innovation since bread was wrapped.

An example, when flip phones came out,

I thought that they were the best thing since sliced.

I miss hanging up so sassily.

Number 14 is take a chill pill, take a chill pill.

And this is a slightly patronising way to tell somebody

to calm down or to relax.

It never fails to enrage me

when someone tells me to take a chill pill.

To be honest, it enrages me

when someone tells me to calm down.

If someone is angry,

telling them to calm down often makes it worse.

An example at the picnic,

I told Mary to take a chill pill

'cause she was freaking out about a wasp.

And number 15 is I'll show myself out,

I'll show myself out.

And this is used when you have disgraced yourself,

it means I'll leave, you don't have to show me the door,

I will leave by choice.

Nowadays it is almost always used after telling a bad joke.

You tell the joke, the reaction is awful and you just say,

I'll show myself out, bye bye thank you everyone.

I've got a joke let's try it.

What's the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?

Snowballs, snowballs.

I'll show myself out.

Right, that is it for today's lesson,

those were our 15 funny idioms.

Extra homework is to let me know of any ridiculous,

hilarious idioms that you have in your language,

that don't translate well to English.

I would love to know the random quirks of your language.

Please put them in the comment section down below.

Today I'm going to talk to you about seven idioms

that you can use to politely tell somebody

that they are an idiot.

So in simple terms, idioms for describing stupidity.

"We Brits" like to beat around the bush

to avoid talking about something

unpleasant or uncomfortable.

Many of us live in constant of offending people.

However, that does not mean that we won't throw in

and under the table insult,

disguised as a seemingly harmless idiomatic phrase

when we think that you are being a total buffoon.

So today I'm going to teach you seven ways

to tell someone that they are a total idiot

without seeming too offensive, right?

Let's get on with this stupid lesson.

Number one, he's not the sharpest tool in the shed.

If somebody is not the sharpest tool in the shed,

they're a little bit stupid,

they're not the cleverest person.

It could have been said about me actually,

when I was invited

on a YouTube trip to Berlin the other day,

we were in a lovely porch hotel and I noticed

that my hair dryer wasn't working.

So I called up room service and I said,

please, can I have a new hair dryer?

They immediately came up and gave me a new one,

I plugged the new one in,

and that one wasn't working either,

so I called up room service said, look,

dunno what's wrong with your hair drier is here,

but it's not working,

and I am really really soaking wet.

So they brought up a third one,

and at that point they realised

that I hadn't put the key card in the door.

So none of the electricity was working

including the lights at night time.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Number two, she's one sandwich short of a picnic.

This means that somebody is not quite of full intelligence.

It could have been used to describe me actually,

when I invited a plumber over to fit in a dishwasher.

He texted me beforehand to ask for some photos

and he asked me if there was a trap under my sink.

So I opened the sink and I look inside and to my amazement,

there is a mouse trap with a lovely bright logo

saying the words, the big cheese on it.

And I remember thinking to myself, how did he know that?

But anyway, I thought, whatever,

took a picture, sent it to the plumber

and he just came back with like a million laughing faces,

and he said, no Lucy,

the trap that I'm asking about

is a type of pipe, a water pipe.

Can I have a picture of that please?

So yes, I can sometimes be one sandwich short of a picnic.

Also I think in America they might say

one French fry short of a happy meal

or one fry short of a happy meal,

that's a McDonald's reference.

If they're any Americans watching this,

please comment down below and confirm that to me.

Number three means almost

exactly the same as the previous one,

it is to not be the full ticket.

If somebody isn't the full ticket,

it means they're not clinically sane.

So be careful when using it,

make sure that you don't offend anyone.

It could have been used to describe me actually,

I think my mother thought that I wasn't the full ticket

on one holiday at my grandparents holiday home in Portugal,

I walked through the mosquito nets on the door

no less than three times,

and they had to put up special stickers for me,

which remained there to this day.

So there are special stickers for Lucy

because she's not clever enough

to just use a mosquito net properly.

So yes, not the full ticket.

Number four, there's not much between the ears.

And if you say that there's not much between the ears,

it means that somebody hasn't got much of a brain.

This could have been said about me actually,

when I was forced to go to a week long violin camp.

(violin music)

Violin camp, on day two I couldn't go on any longer,

I had to leave.

So I devised a plan.

I would gently maim or injure myself, but how would I do it?

Ah, the bathroom door was particularly aggressive,

swinging both ways at a 180 degree angle.

I planned to gently catch my finger in that door,

exaggerate the pain,

so I was no longer able to play my violin

and therefore be sent at home.

As I got my finger ready near the door,

somebody else needed the loo and they came through

and they injured my finger so badly

that I had to go to hospital,

and to this day I have a messed up fingernail,

but like break, it's just not right.

So yes, not much in between the ears.

Number five, the light is on, but nobody's home.

This means they look normal, but really they're very stupid.

This could have been said about me actually

when age nine and showing off

in front of a group of younger children,

jumped off the top of a wooden castle in a playground,

got the back of my jumper,

stuck on one of the spikes and was left there dangling

until one of those annoying little children

ran to call my dad.

Oh, it was so embarrassing and so stupid.

The lights are on, but nobody's home.

Number six, it's a saying

someone's village is missing their idiot.

And this one comes from the term, the village idiot,

which is used to describe someone

known locally for their stupidity.

Could have been used to describe me actually,

two days after passing my driving test,

I went into a nearby city to buy my beloved

new shiny orange mini Cooper,

and when I drove out of the dealership

for the very first time, after just 100 metres,

I stalled at a roundabout, put the gear stick into reverse

and shut back at full force into the car behind me,

obliterating his licence plate.

It was dreadful, the police came,

I had to be escorted away,

but luckily my mother was two cars behind me because,

oh my God, if she'd have been in that car behind me,

there would've been trouble.

So yes, on that day,

the village was missing their idiot, the idiot being me.

Number seven, the last idiom to describe stupidity

is as thick as a plank and if you are as thick as a plank,

you're really stupid.

This could have been used to describe me actually,

when on the school bus aged about 12 to 13,

I found a mobile phone and I opened the mobile phone

and I found some very inappropriate images

of the owner of the phone, images and videos shall we say,

it was a man, I'd never seen anything like that before.

So I did what any schoolgirl would do,

and I took the videos and I sent them

directly from the phone to my best friend Felicity.

It was a hilarious joke.

I went into school and I acted like

I knew nothing to Felicity, she was really scared.

Brilliant I thought, my cheeky prank has worked.

She then told me that she'd gone

to the headmistress of the school and the school

had called the police and they were on their way in

to interview everyone.

I knew what I had to do.

I ran in my little tar and kilt to the headmistress

and said, no, it was me.

I then had to spend the rest of the day with the police

explaining what I'd done, why I'd done it,

and having them explain to me why it was so awful,

all the while I was begging them not to tell my parents

and in the end they didn't, which I really appreciated,

and I actually told my parents about it

on my 21st birthday dinner that yeah,

I thought it was gonna be hilarious,

but the police just

didn't have any sort of sense of humour, right?

That's it for today's lesson,

I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you learned something.

Please if you now doubt my intelligence,

you can unsubscribe, you really are welcome to,

I would too, and I invite you to comment below

with any embarrassing situations that have happened to you

or any other idioms that you know of,

that means stupid in English.

You could also let me know about idioms in your own language

and translate them into English,

'cause some of them are so funny.

I mean a sandwich short of a picnic,

that particularly tickles.

Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy.

I am in a really good mood today,

so I decided to make a video about expressions,

English expressions related to happiness.

Now, if you're wondering why I'm so happy,

honestly, there's no single reason,

it's just, life is really fun right now.

The channel's going well,

I think we're just about to hit 300,000 subscribers,

which is amazing.

I'm moving house soon, the sun is coming out,

the days are gonna start getting longer, just really happy.

So those are the reasons I'm happy.

When you've finished watching this video,

please do comment below and tell me something

that's made you happy recently.

And if you want to use one of these expressions,

you are more than welcome.

Right, let's get started with the video.

The first expression relating to happiness

is to be over the moon and to be over the moon

means to be really really happy believe it or not.

So I can say that last Thursday,

I passed my driving test and I was over the moon

because I had to try three times.

Yes, that was my third test.

Yeah I was completely over the moon because

driving is not something that has come naturally to me,

and it really bothered me for a long time

that I couldn't drive but now I can,

so I'm over the moon.

The next expression related to happiness is

to have a whale of a time and to have a whale of a time,

well you guess what this one means.

Let me use this one in an example

and see if you can guess what it means.

Just a clue, it has nothing to do with whales.

So I went to a ball on Saturday and a ball is a push party,

you normally have dinner and then you can dance.

I went to a ball on Saturday with a group of friends

and I had a whale of a time.

Okay, so to have a whale of a time

means to have a fantastic time,

nothing to do with whales.

Now the next one number three

is actually a slang expression.

But I think it's really important

that you guys know this one,

we definitely use it a lot in England.

It is to be buzzing.

Now, if you say, oh, I'm buzzing,

it means I'm really exhilarated, really enthusiastic,

really happy, really excited about something.

So it means I've got positive emotions in my body

and it is a good feeling, okay.

So I could say I've just booked my tickets

for (speaks foreign), which I seem to mention all the time,

but I am buzzing, I cannot wait to go.

So that is a perfect situation,

a perfect example of the word buzzing,

because I literally am buzzing.

Can't believe I just did that.

Okay number four.

Okay, number four is to be happy as Larry.

Who is Larry?

It doesn't matter 'cause it's not relevant.

I don't know who Larry is.

I'm sure one of you will Google

the etymology of happy as Larry and find out,

but to be happy as Larry means to be really really happy.

So I might ask, you know, does John like his new job?

And you could reply saying, yes, he is happy as Larry.

He is as happy as Larry, meaning he is as happy as can be.

The final expression relating to happiness

is to be on top of the world, to be on top of the world.

And to be on top of the world means you guessed it guys,

it means to be really really happy,

to be just elated, so delighted, so happy.

Yeah, so I would say when I found out

that I graduated from university with a first class degree,

I was on top of the world,

I was really really amazed, happy and just buzzing.

Right guys that is it for today's lesson,

I hope it brought a little bit of happiness into your life.

And as I said before,

I would love to hear about something

that made you happy recently,

maybe using one of the expressions that we discussed today,

put it in the comments, I really am keen to hear about that.

Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today, I am bringing you loads of idioms

related to sickness, illness and health.

So it's really going to help you

improve your English vocabulary

and it's going to help you sound more like a native.

The first idiom is actually one used to say,

you don't feel unwell, you feel very good,

it is to feel as fit as a fiddle.

And a fiddle is another word for a violin.

So if you feel as fit as a fiddle, you feel great.

I right now feel as fit as a fiddle.

Another one is to be a picture of health.

If you are a picture of health,

you are a great example of good health.

You could say my friend was struggling with an illness,

but now she is a picture of health,

she is really really healthy.

Now the next one is negative and this is

to have a splitting headache.

And to have a splitting headache

is to have a really really bad headache.

Can you imagine it, to split your head?

Very painful.

Anyone who has suffered with a migraine

will understand that.

I've only had one in my life,

but it was a very very bad couple of days.

The next is one you have probably heard before,

because when I ask for examples of idioms from my students,

they always say this one or it's raining cats and dogs,

which is an idiom we don't use very frequently,

but the one I want to talk about

is to be, look or feel under the weather.

I normally use it with look, I might say,

oh, you look a bit under the weather,

and then the person could reply,

yes, I am feeling a bit under the weather.

And this means to look, feel, or be unwell.

It's quite a nice way of saying it

because you don't want to say to someone, you look dreadful.

You want to say, you look a little bit under the weather.

Are you unwell?

Are you feeling okay?

The next one is another negative one,

it is to take a turn for the worse.

If you take a turn for the worse,

it means you are iller or sicker than you were before.

So I could say I had a cold,

but then I took a turn for the worse

and I had to go to hospital.

So I was quite ill,

but then I got really ill and I had to go to hospital.

You can use it in a positive way,

you can say to take a turn for the better,

but it's not as common.

The next one is to be black and blue.

I wonder if you can guess what this one might be,

black and blue.

If you are black and blue,

it means that you have quite a few bruises.

So the marks you get after you've been hit.

So if you are very bruised,

then you could say that you are black and blue.

This relates to the one because the next one

is to take a tumble.

If you have taken a tumble, it means you have fallen over.

So if you fall over and you get bruises, you can say,

oh, I've taken a tumble and I'm black and blue.

See if your English teacher understands you

when you say that.

The next one is to go under the knife.

This means to have an operation,

but it also can refer to cosmetic surgery.

So if somebody says she's been under the knife,

it means she's had cosmetic surgery.

But if I said I had a really sore leg,

but I went under the knife, it means I had a sore leg,

but now I've had an operation.

Now the next one is to be on one's last legs.

And this means that somebody is very close to exhaustion,

to being very very tired and collapsing or even death.

So if somebody says, I think they're on their last legs,

it means I don't think they're going to live very long,

which is obviously very very very sad.

But in Britain, especially,

we like to use a lot of idiomatic phrases

around very serious situations.

So instead of to die, we say to pop one's clogs,

you've popped your clogs.

It's just a way of dealing with something quite serious.

So if someone's on their last legs,

we're not trying to be funny, we're not joking,

we're just, that's how we deal

with a really difficult, sad situation.

Another one that's quite similar

is to be hanging by a thread.

It means you are very close,

it means you're very close

to either the situation becoming very serious

or even to death.

The last one is actually my favourite health related idiom,

because it's so funny, I find it really funny.

It is to feel like or to look like death warmed up.

Again this is an idiom I would love to know

if you have an example of this in your own language,

if somebody looks just dreadful, so ill, so unwell, pale,

grey, big bags under their eyes, you could tell them,

they look like death warmed up.

It's just such a funny phrase.

You cannot smile when somebody says that to you,

unless you're feeling like death warmed up of course.

So, yeah see if you can use that

in conversation with a native,

because I think they will really find that quite funny.

Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today we are going to discuss body idioms

and there are a lot of them.

Today we are going to talk about

25 of the most commonly used idioms

relating to the human body.

I haven't done an idioms video in so long

and I've had quite a lot of requests for them,

so I think this is a really really

good topic to come back with.

As always, I have created a free PDF

that goes with this lesson.

It contains everything we'll speak about today plus a quiz.

If you'd like to download that free PDF,

just click on the link in the description box,

you enter your name and your email address,

you sign up to my mailing list

and then the PDF will arrive automatically in your inbox,

and then every week after that,

you automatically receive my lesson PDFs

along with my news updates and offers.

Right we're going to go through these in alphabetical order.

Number one is all ears, all ears,

and I hope you can see and appreciate my toast,

my butter toast earrings today.

I just thought they went quite well.

If you are all ears,

then it means you are fully listening.

Let me finish hanging out the washing

and then I'll be all ears, I'll be fully listening to you.

It's a nice way of saying I can't concentrate right now

because I'm busy but in a second, I'll be fully listening,

I'll be all ears.

Number two, you might know this one,

this is normally one of the first idioms that people learn

apart from its raining cats and dogs, which we never say,

it is break a leg, break a leg.

And this means good luck.

It's most commonly used for actors or musicians

that are going to perform on stage.

An example, I forgot you were on stage tonight! Break a leg.

Number three, moving on to teeth.

This one is by the skin of one's teeth.

And this means only just or barely the skin

or the enamel on your teeth is so thin,

you only just did something.

This example is true.

I passed my driving test by the skin of my teeth,

I really did one more mistake and I wouldn't have passed.

This is interesting actually, fun fact.

I turned up to my driving test four times,

but I only failed twice because one time I turned up

and I hadn't click to confirm when booking in my test.

So I was a little nervous waiting there,

turns out I didn't have a test that day,

had to wait another month.

Number four, moving down to feet,

cold feet, to have cold feet.

If you get cold feet or you have cold feet,

it means you suddenly feel nervous about something,

something usually important that you plan to do,

and it's often used before weddings.

If somebody suddenly thinks,

ah, is this actually what I want?

It means they're getting cold feet,

they're suddenly doubting

whether they want to do something or not,

they're getting nervous.

An example I hope he doesn't get cold feet

before the wedding.

Number five, moving on to arms,

but still involving the legs, to cost an arm and a leg.

If something costs an arm and a leg,

then it is very expensive.

An example, I bet that coat cost her an arm and a leg,

I bet that coat was so expensive.

Number six, eyes or heart, to cry your eyes out

or to cry your heart out.

I would say in British English to cry your eyes out

is more commonly used.

I wonder in American English,

if any speakers of American English are watching,

please let me know in the comment section.

This means to cry a lot.

She was crying her eyes out, she was crying so much.

An example, she cried her eyes out when she lost her cat.

Number seven, moving on to chest,

to get something off your chest.

This means to tell someone what's been on your mind

or to tell someone one of your problems,

it's a heavy load on your chest and you get it off.

An example, I need to get it off my chest

and tell my boss that I'm unhappy.

Number eight, hands, to give a hand or to lend a hand.

This means to help,

and I would say lend is possibly

more common in British English, can you gimme a hand?

Can you lend me a hand?

Gimme or lend me, lend me?

Can you lend me a hand?

An example, if you need any help with moving,

I can lend you a hand.

Number nine, head, to have one's head in the clouds.

This means to be unaware

or unrealistic about something, to be naive.

An example, he has his head in the clouds

if he thinks he's getting a pay rise in this economy.

Number 10, head and feet here, we have head over heels,

head over heels,

to fall head over heels in love with somebody,

head over heels means deeply or completely in love.

An example, she is head over heels with her new puppy,

she's completely in love with her new puppy.

Number 11, head again, in over one's head,

to be in over one's head.

This means that you're taking on a task

that you can't handle.

An example, I am completely in over my head

in my new teaching position.

Number 12 is eyes, to keep an eye on,

to keep an eye on something or someone.

This means to watch or monitor,

normally in a protective way to keep something safe.

An example, can you keep an eye on my bike

whilst I nip into the post office?

To nip somewhere is to go somewhere very briefly.

To nip into, to go into very briefly.

I'm just going to nip to the shops,

I'm just going to very quickly go to the shops.

Number 13, chin, to keep one's chin up,

to keep one's chin up.

This means to try to be cheerful

or to try to avoid being sad.

An example, keep your chin up!

Exam season will be over soon.

Number 14 is to learn or to know off by heart.

You don't always have to include the off,

that's quite common in British English, to learn by heart,

to know off by heart.

This means to memorise.

An example, I know the Harry Potter books off by heart,

all seven of them.

Number 15, we're onto hair,

this is to let one's hair down, to let one's hair down,

which means to relax or to have fun.

Let your hair down, relax, have fun, enjoy yourself.

This is usually said to somebody

who's a little more serious.

An example, she needs to let her hair down,

she is always so stressed.

Number 16 lips, my lips are sealed,

my lips are sealed and this means

your secret is safe with me.

An example, my lips are sealed,

I have no idea how much your dress cost.

Number 17 blood, I dunno where to point,

all over my body hopefully, it is makes my blood boil.

If something makes your blood boil,

it makes you really really angry.

An example, the way that they have underpaid you

and mistreated you over all these years makes my blood boil.

Number 18, the body as a whole, over my dead body,

over my dead body.

This is something that's said

when you want to say, you cannot do that until I am dead,

and then I can't stop you.

An example, over my dead body,

I will never let you drive my car.

You have to wait until I die before you can drive my car.

Number 19 back, a pat on the back, a pat on the back.

And this means a thank you or recognition.

An example, I think I deserve a pat on the back

after all of my hard work today.

You will often see people doing a little,

meaning oh pat on the back, I've done really well,

well done me.

Number 20 back to those wonderful ears again,

to play something by ear.

This means to do something without a plan.

An example, I don't know

if the weather will be dry enough for a picnic.

Let's play it by ear, let's not have a plan.

We'll just decide if it's nice weather later on today,

we'll have the picnic, if not,

and then we'll have the picnic inside

and living in Britain with very unpredictable weather,

I have had many picnic inside before.

Number 21, back to legs,

it is to pull one's leg, to pull someone's leg.

This means to joke or to tease someone.

For example, are you pulling my leg?

Are you really moving away?

Don't pull my leg.

Is she putting my leg?

Number 22, thumb, the rule of thumb or a rule of thumb.

This means a general basic rule that's not always true,

but it's generally true.

An example, as a rule of thumb,

a cup of coffee generally contains

80 milligrammes of caffeine.

Number 23 eyes, to see eye to eye, to see eye to eye.

This means to agree on something.

So if you say we don't see eye to eye, we don't agree.

For example, her parents

didn't see eye to eye on her education.

Number 24, back to teeth, we have sweet tooth,

a sweet tooth, and this means a love of sweet things.

Can you tell me if that's the same in your language?

If English isn't your first language,

I'll be very interested.

Do you have a sweet tooth

direct translation or something different?

My grandma has the biggest sweet tooth on earth.

And here is your example,

my grandma once requested a birthday meal

consisting of just puddings.

She has such a sweet tooth!

And number 25 back to hands,

it is to wash one's hands of something,

to wash your hands of something.

And this means to stop dealing with an issue or a problem.

I'm going to wash my hands of it,

I'm not gonna deal with it anymore, not my problem.

An example, I'm going to wash my hands of him,

he causes too many problems.

Right that is it for today's lesson, I hope you enjoyed it,

I hope you learned something.

Don't forget to complete the quiz.

Remember you click on the link in the description box

to claim that PDF.

You just sign up for my mailing list

and it goes straight to you.

For homework I would like you to include

five of these idioms,

pick your five favourite and use them in the comment section,

and I will try to see as many as I possibly can

and give you some feedback.

Welcome back to English With Lucy.

Spring has almost sprung in England.

We've had some very very sunny days,

we've had a couple of rainy days

that I've been enjoying lots of dog walks

and lots of runs in the countryside

as you might have seen on my Instagram.

I have been feeling so excited about spring,

I cannot wait to see leaves on the trees, grass everywhere,

flowers everywhere and in the spirit of spring,

I've decided to make a flower idioms video for you.

A lesson, all about floral expressions

that we use in British English and in American English.

This lesson is going to be really good

for building your vocabulary,

that will help with your reading,

it help you with your writing,

it will also help with your speaking and your listening

because you'll be able to understand what natives mean

when they say these idioms.

Right, idiom number one is to come up or out

smelling of roses, to come up smelling of roses

or to come out smelling of roses.

If somebody comes up smelling of roses,

it means they emerge from a situation

with their reputation undamaged.

So it's to have people believe that you are good and honest

after a situation that could have made you

look bad and dishonest.

For example, the scandal could have ruined her reputation,

but she came up smelling of roses.

Number two, to go to seed, to go to seed.

This is slightly negative, be careful who you say this to.

If somebody goes to seed,

it means their quality or appearance has declined.

A flower is really really beautiful,

and then it goes to seed and it doesn't look so good.

It might mean that they look older or worse than they did.

For example, after having children,

he started to go to seed.

He didn't look so good anymore.

That's a really nasty phrase.

Let's move on to something more positive.

Okay number three, as fresh as a daisy, as fresh as a daisy,

much nicer than the previous one.

If you are as fresh as a daisy,

it means you are healthy and full of energy.

For example, I thought I'd have a hangover,

but I've woken up as fresh as a daisy, said no one ever.

Number four, a late bloomer, a late bloomer.

A late bloomer is somebody who develops later on in life,

either physically or mentally.

So it could mean that they hit puberty at a later age,

or it could mean that they got a job settled down,

got married, had children

at a much later age than is considered normal.

For example, Colonel Sanders,

the founder of KFC was a late bloomer.

He founded KFC at 65 and then he became a multimillionaire.

Congratulations late bloomer.

Number five, no bed of roses, no bed of roses.

If something is no bed of roses, it means it's difficult,

it's not easy.

For example, gaining a UK citizenship is no better roses,

it's very very difficult.

We also have number six, pushing up the daisies,

pushing up the daisies.

This is a slightly morbid one.

If you are up the daisies, it means you are dead.

You are underground

and you are helping the daisies to bloom.

For example, my late uncle Malcolm

is pushing up the daisies, it's very sad.

Number seven, we have oops a daisy! Oops a daisy!

And this isn't really an idiom, it's more of an exclamation.

It's an expression used to indicate surprise.

It's like silly me!

Oh no! Oops a daisy!

We can just shorten it down to oops!

It is quite frequently used with children.

So for example, when Will says to me,

"Lucy, you left the front door on locked again".

I might say, "Oops a daisy! Silly me! Oops!

The next one is a shrinking violet, a shrinking violet.

A shrinking violet is somebody who is very very very shy.

Somebody who doesn't like to express

their views and their opinions.

For example, I am no shrinking violet

when it comes to expressing my opinions,

that's a lie, sometimes I am,

sometimes I'm not, depends who I'm with,

don't ask me about Brexit.

And the next one, this is a really good one,

I use this a lot, to nip something in the bud,

to nip something in the bud.

This means to stop something at an early stage.

For example, if you see yourself developing a bad habit,

try and nip it in the bud,

before it becomes ingrained in your brain.

I try to do this, but I'm not always success.

And the last one, the final floral idiom

is to smell the roses, to smell the roses.

This means to appreciate what is often ignored.

We sometimes say to stop and smell the roses

or to wake up and smell the roses,

and in general it means to take time of your busy schedule,

to stop and appreciate what is often ignored,

like nature and the beauty of life.

So I might say every morning,

I like to stop and smell the roses

and take my dog on a walk.

There are no roses on the walk,

but I just like to take a moment

and enjoy the beauty that is around me.

Right, that's it for today's lesson, I hope you enjoyed it,

and I hope you learned something.

Hello everyone,

and welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today I've got a spring in my step.

It feels like spring is finally arriving.

So today I have got five spring related idioms for you.

Now their first idiom is no spring chicken.

And if you describe somebody as no spring chicken,

it means that they are no longer young.

It comes from when farmers could charge

much higher prices for chickens born in the spring

because they were fresher

and they hadn't had to live through all the winter months.

So it's not a particularly nice thing to say about somebody,

if somebody described me as no spring chicken,

I would be a little bit offended.

Now the next one is

the grass is always greener on the other side.

And I actually included this in a video that I made

about Proverbs, because it's quite good one to live by,

but it's an expression that we say all the time,

the grass is always greener, the grass is greener.

The full version of this is the grass is always greener

on the other side of the fence,

and it means your neighbor's grass

always looks greener than your grass.

So you always tend to envy what other people have

and you don't actually appreciate

how good what you have really is.

So from your perspective,

it might look like they have a perfect life,

but once you change to their side of the fence,

they might think that you have a perfect life.

Now the next spring idiom is lovely.

This one is a ray of sunshine

and this is a really lovely way of describing somebody

who is like the sun.

They make things grow,

they make you feel happy, they're warm.

It's just a really nice way of describing a warm,

friendly, happy, positive person.

So I would say that my mom is a ray of sunshine,

she always makes me feel better

and people just enjoy being around her.

Now number four is spring fever

and spring fever is that feeling of restlessness

just before summer,

when the weather is starting to get nicer,

flowers are coming out,

you want to go outside and be active

and you get a bit energetic.

It doesn't just have to be used in spring though,

it can be used to describe

the feeling that you have in spring.

I definitely get spring fever.

Although I have met a few people

that seem to get spring fatigue

when they suddenly get really tired just before summer,

but the idiom is spring fever.

The final idiom, a really lovely one again,

is to be full of the joys of spring.

Spring is supposedly one of the most joyful months,

there are lambs flowers,

you know, it's a very quick and drastic shift

from very cold, harsh weather

to suddenly everything's sunny and green.

So if somebody is a very happy and enthusiastic person,

you can describe them as being full of the joys of spring.

So if somebody is constantly happy, enthusiastic, positive,

smiling, laughing, then they are full of the joys of spring.

Welcome back to English With Lucy.

Today I'm going to show you 20 idioms

that you can use to sound like a native English speaker.

Idiom number one is a drop in the ocean,

a drop in the ocean.

I think that's a song called a drop in the ocean,

I used to really like that when I was at school.

A drop in the ocean means a very small

or insignificant part of something big or whole.

For example, the government's pledge

to increase health funding by 100 million

is a drop in the ocean compared

to the billions that need to be spent.

Number two is a lovely one,

I think that all lovely actually,

because I chose them myself for you,

number two is actions speak louder than words,

actions speak louder than words.

This means that it's better to actually do something

rather than just talk about it.

For example, stop apologising to me

and prove to me that I can trust you,

actions speak louder than words.

That's a good one to use in your next fight

with someone who has lost your trust.

Number three is to add fuel to the fire,

to add fuel to the fire.

This simply means to make a problem worse,

to exacerbate a problem.

We learned exacerbate in another class,

didn't we recently, comment down below

if you remember which it was.

For example, don't tell her about the delays,

you'll just be adding fuel to the fire.

Number four is the ball is in your court,

the ball is in your court.

This means that it's your turn

to make the next step or decision.

For example, I've done all I can do,

the ball is in your court now.

Number five is to bend over backwards,

to bend over backwards.

This means to do whatever it takes to help someone.

For example, our company is bending over backwards

to satisfy our customers.

Sometimes it can mean that you've helped too much,

you've put in too much effort.

Oh, I've been bending over backwards

trying to solve his problems

and he hasn't given me the time of day.

To give someone the time of day

is to give someone proper attention.

Number six, to bite off more than you can chew,

to bite off more than you can chew.

This means to take on a task that is too big.

For example, I think I've bitten off

more than I can chew with this project.

This is something I said

all the way through my university degree,

I was working, I had a YouTube channel,

I was doing projects, I had taken on extra work,

I bit off more than I could chew

and I suffered the consequences,

but it was worth it, I'm okay now.

Actually homework here,

have you ever bitten off more than you could chew?

Let me know about the situation

in the comment section down below.

Maybe you were studying and working at the same time,

maybe you were trying

to maintain a long distance relationship

whilst doing an internship, I don't know, let me know.

Oh, number seven is a good one,

this is one my mom uses a lot,

it's by the skin of one's teeth, by the skin of your teeth.

This means to only just succeed something

by a very narrow margin, by the enamel on your teeth,

but we say skin,

we don't normally say skin of teeth,

but for this particular saying we do.

An example, I think I might have passed that exam

by the skin of my teeth, only just.

Number eight is derived from a fable I think,

or a childhood story, it's to cry wolf, to cry wolf.

This means to call for help when you don't need it.

And I think the story is,

I wonder if you have this in your own country and culture,

a boy kept pretending that there was a wolf

so that people would come,

and in the end when a Wolf did actually come,

he called for help and no one came

'cause they always thought that he was crying for help

when he didn't actually need it.

An example, my new flatmate is always crying wolf.

Number nine is to cut somebody some slack,

to cut somebody some slack.

This means to give someone a break,

to stop judging them so hard.

For example, you need to cut the interns some slack,

they are still learning.

Number 10 is to cut to the chase, to cut to the chase.

This means to leave out all of the unnecessary details

and just get to the point.

An example, to cut to the chase,

I'm not comfortable working alongside John anymore.

Number 11, to get one's head around something,

to get your head around something.

This means to come to understand something,

to work to understand something.

For example, I'm going to spend tonight

trying to get my head around this new legislation.

Number 12 is to hear on the grapevine,

to hear on the grapevine.

This means to hear a rumour or an unconfirmed story.

For example, I heard on the grapevine

that our receptionist will be leaving us soon.

Number 13, a personal favourite,

it takes two to tango, it takes two to tango.

You've got to be comfortable with the take sound

to say that, it takes two to tango.

This means that actions or communications

need more than one person.

For example, don't just blame him for the affair,

it takes two to tango.

Two parties were involved in that bad behaviour.

Number 14 is to miss the boat, to miss the boat.

This means to miss the opportunity to do something.

For example, I think you've missed the boat

on that application,

they've already started interviewing candidates.

Number 15 is a lovely one, it is a piece of cake,

a piece of cake.

This means really easy.

That pop quiz was a piece of cake.

Number 16 is pull yourself together, pull yourself together.

This means calm down and act normally.

It's normally said when somebody is stressing out.

For example, I think you need to pull yourself together

and stop stressing about the presentation.

Number 17 is to sit or to be on the fence,

to sit on the fence, to be on the fence.

This means to stay neutral and to not take sides.

For example, I'm sitting on the fence on this one,

I don't want to offend anyone.

Number 18 is to step up one's game, to step up your game.

This means to start performing better.

For example, if you really want to get this promotion,

you'll need to step up your game.

Number 19 is to sell someone out, to sell someone out.

This means to snitch on someone or to let their secret out.

For example, I asked you

to keep that information to your yourself.

I can't believe you sold me out like that.

And number 20 is your guess is as good as mine,

your guess is as good as mine.

This means I don't know or I have no idea.

For example, we just don't have enough data.

Your guess is as good as mine.

Right, those were are 20 idioms that you can use

to sound like a native speaker.

I've got some more homework for you,

this is the official homework,

the other homework was just spur of the moment home homework

spur of the moment means on impulse

or without advanced planning.

The real homework is to write in the comment section

five sentences using five of your favourite idioms

that we have talked about today.

If you'd like to add some sentences with additional idioms

that you have heard native speaker say.

And feel free to do so and we can all learn from each other.

Right, that is it for today's lesson,

don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media.

I've got my Facebook, I've got my Instagram,

my personal one, Lucy, my English page, English With Lucy.

I've also got my website englishwithlucy.co.uk,

and on there I have got

an awesome interactive pronunciation tools.

So you can click on the phonemes and hear me

say those phonemes and say words

that contain those phonemes, it's awesome.

Finally, you can check out my personal channel,

Lucy Bella, where we vlog our lives here

in the English countryside and all of the vlogs

are fully subtitled,

so you can use them for vocabulary practise

and to improve your listening skills.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

Bye.

(kissing)

(bright music)