Top 5 Happy Expressions & Idioms | British English Vocabulary (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

464,895 views ・ 2017-03-21

English with Lucy


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(electronic music)
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- Hello everyone and welcome back to English With Lucy.
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I am in a really good mood today.
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So I decided to make a video about expressions,
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English expressions related to happiness.
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Now if you're wondering why I'm so happy,
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honestly there's no single reason.
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It's just life is really fun right now.
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The channel's going well, I think we're just about to hit
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300,000 subscribers which is amazing.
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I'm moving house soon.
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The sun is coming out, the days are gonna
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start getting longer.
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Just really happy.
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So those are the reasons I'm happy.
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When you finish watching this video, please do
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comment below and tell me something that's made you
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happy recently, and if you want to use one of these
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expressions, you are more than welcome.
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Now a lot of you have been asking,
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"Where is your 250,000 subscriber Q&A video with your dad?"
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(sighs) That was a mouthful.
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And the answer is, my dad is an extremely busy man,
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I didn't realise how busy he was.
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And so it's been hard to pin him down,
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it's been hard to get him and make him stay in one place.
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So hopefully this week I'll be able to film it with him.
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So it should be uploaded quite soon.
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I'm still using all of the questions that you asked
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on the original Instagram post.
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So look forward to that.
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Quickly before we get started, this video is going to help
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your speaking and your listening.
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It's gonna help your speaking because I'm going to
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teach you new phrases or new expressions to use,
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and it will improve your listening because you'll be able
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to understand what natives mean when they use
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these expressions, but if you want to take your listening
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to the next level, don't forget to sign up to
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Audible.com, I can offer you a free audio book
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and a free 30 day trial.
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All you have to do is click on the link in the
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description box and I've just found out that
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you can listen to Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry.
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And if you don't know who Stephen Fry is, I'll see if I can
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get a picture here.
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Stephen Fry, he's a comedian and he speaks with
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a received pronunciation, so that could be
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a really good one to download if you want to practise
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your received pronunciation.
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Right, let's get started with the video.
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The first expression relating to happiness is
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to be over the moon.
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And to be over the moon means to be really, really happy,
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believe it or not.
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So, I can say that last Thursday, I passed my driving test
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and I was over the moon because I had to try
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three times, yes, that was my third test.
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Yeah, I was completely over the moon because driving
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is not something that has come naturally to me,
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and it really bothered me for a long time that
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I couldn't drive, but now I can, so I'm over the moon.
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The next expression related to happiness is
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to have a whale of a time.
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And to have a whale of a time, well, you guess what
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this one means.
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Let me use this one in an example and see if you can guess
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what it means.
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Just a clue, it has nothing to do with whales.
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So I went to a ball on Saturday, and a ball is like
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a posh party, you normally have dinner, then you can dance.
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I went to a ball on Saturday with a group of friends
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and I had a whale of a time.
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Okay, so to have a whale of a time means to have
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a fantastic time.
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Nothing to do with whales.
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Now the next one, number three is actually
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a slang expression, but I think it's really important
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that you guys know this one.
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We definitely use it a lot in England.
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It is to be buzzing.
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Now, if you say, "I'm buzzing," it means I'm really
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exhilarated, really enthusiastic, really happy,
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really excited about something.
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So it means I've got positive emotions in my body,
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and it is a good feeling, okay.
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So I could say, "I've just booked my tickets for (foreign),"
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which I seem to mention all the time, but I am buzzing.
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I cannot wait to go.
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So that is a perfect situation, a perfect example of
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the word buzzing, because I literally am buzzing.
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(buzzes)
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Coffee must have did that.
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Okay, number four-- (blows lips)
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Okay, number four is to be happy as Larry.
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Who is Larry?
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It doesn't matter, cuz it's not relevant.
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I don't know who Larry is.
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I'm sure one of you will Google the etymology of
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happy as Larry and find out, but to be happy as Larry
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mean to be really, really happy.
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So I might ask, you know, "Does John like his new job?"
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And you could reply saying, "Yes, he is happy as Larry.
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"He is as happy as Larry," meaning he is as happy as can be.
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The final expression related to happiness
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is to be on top of the world.
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To be on top of the world and to be
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on top of the world means, you guessed it guys,
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it means to be really, really happy.
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To be just elated, so delighted, so happy.
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Yeah, so I would say when I found out that I graduated
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from university with a first-class degree,
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I was on top of the world.
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I was really, really amazed, happy, just buzzing.
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Right, guys, that is it for today's lesson.
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I hope it brought a little bit of happiness into your life,
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and as I said before, I would love to hear about
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something that made you happy recently,
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maybe using one of the expressions that we discussed today.
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Put it in the comments, I really am keen to hear about that.
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And don't forget to sign up for your free trial
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of Audible.com, the link is in the description,
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and you can connect with me on all of my social media.
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I have my Facebook page and my Instagram.
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I will see you soon for another lesson.
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Muah.
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(electronic music)
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