9 English Idioms with Explanations and Examples | Learn English Vocabulary Lesson

(electronic music)

- Hello, everyone!

And welcome back to English With Lucy.

I have been testing out

the new poll function on Instagram.

If you don't already follow me

it's @LearnEnglishWithLucy.

Somebody already took EnglishWithLucy

so I had to add learn, I'm sorry.

So yes, on my Instagram Stories

I've been asking you guys

what you want to see in my videos.

I'm going to be talking to you

about some really lovely expressions and idioms.

And I've decided that I'm going to talk about

expressions and idioms that relate to animals.

Because in a lot of our daily conversation,

we mention animals

but we don't always intend to talk about animals.

So let's talk about that today.

Quickly, before we get started,

I'd just like to thank the sponsor of today's video,

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Right, let's get started with the lesson.

Now the first one,

what am I talking about

if I talk about the birds and the bees?

So I might say something like,

"I learned about the birds and the bees

"from my friends at school."

Or "My mom refused to teach me

"about the birds and the bees."

What could it possibly mean?

It means sex education or sometimes just sex.

If I ask you, "Where did you learn

"about the birds and the bees?"

I'm asking you, "Where did you learn

"about how babies are made?", for example.

It's an important one to know

to avoid any awkward situations.

I don't want somebody to ask you

about the birds and the bees

and for you to start talking about honey and parrots.

(laughing)

The next one is to have ants in one's pants.

I wonder if this one translates into your language.

Comment below if this one is the same in your language.

But if you have ants in your pants,

it means that you are full of nervous energy,

you can't stop moving,

you're maybe a little bit hyperactive.

So sometimes in the morning

I really want to go on my run

and I have ants in my pants.

I can't stop moving until I go on my run

and burn all my energy.

Now the next one is a phrasal verb

and it is to chicken out.

To chicken out.

I'm going to use it in a sentence for you.

I was going to jump off the cliff but I chickened out.

It's inseparable.

You can't separate it.

It means, to decide not to do something

because you are scared.

It's to avoid doing something because you are scared.

So I was going to jump off the cliff

but then I felt afraid so I didn't.

I chickened out.

The next one, I've got another phrasal verb for you

and this is to clam up.

To clam up.

A clam is a shellfish, it's a type of seafood.

Delicious.

But to clam up has nothing to do with shellfish.

I could say, "I asked him where he was last night

"and he quickly clammed up."

If he clammed up it means

he shut his mouth, stopped talking.

And it means to stop talking quite suddenly and abruptly.

Now the next one,

I can't remember if I've mentioned this in a video before.

Maybe, but I think it's very relevant

and important for this video,

it is to hold one's horses.

So it could be said as an exclamation,

"Hold your horses!"

"Hold your horses!"

It means "Wait and be patient!

"Stop being impatient."

I remember my mom always used to say this to me,

especially when it was snowing.

I always wanted to get outside,

go in the snow and she used to say,

"Hold your horses.

"If you're going out on the snow,

"you need to wear a hat, you need to wear a scarf,

"we need to get your coat on."

And I was too excited, I had ants in my pants.

I had to hold my horses and I had to wait and be patient.

The next one is to be in the dog house.

To be in the dog house.

So I might say, "My dad came back

"very late from the pub last night

"and now he's in the dog house."

To be in the dog house means

that you are in trouble with another person.

So my dad is in trouble with my mom.

My mom is not happy with my dad

and she's put him, not literally, in the dog house.

Now the next one is such a useful one.

I use it all the time.

It is to kill two birds with one stone.

And you might be able to work out what it means actually.

And I'd love to know as well

if you have an alternative for this in your language.

Please, please, please comment below.

I love it when you talk about

idioms being the same in your language.

To kill two birds with one stone

is to get two things done,

to complete two tasks with just one effort.

If I pick up my friend from school

and I go shopping on the same trip,

I killed two birds with one stone

because I've done two things with just one trip.

Okay, what's my next one?

Straight from the horse's mouth.

If you hear something straight from the horse's mouth

it means that you are hearing it from the original source.

So if someone asks me, "Are you sure you're right

"about that piece of news?"

I'll say, "I heard it straight from the horse's mouth.

"They told me directly."

And the last one is to smell a rat.

"Hmm, I smell a rat here."

Now, I actually really like rats

and they're actually quite clean and shouldn't smell.

But if you smell a rat,

it means that you suspect trickery

or wrongdoing in a situation.

So if something is maybe too good to be true,

like for example I've just had a Nigerian prince

tell me that I've won 20 million dollars

and all I have to do is send him my bank details.

My mom might say to me, "Lucy, I smell a rat.

"I think there's trickery going on here."

Yeah, so to smell a rat is to suspect trickery

or malicious intent.

Right guys, that's it for today's lesson.

As I've said before,

if you have any of the translations for these idioms

in your own language,

please comment them below

and remember to mention which language you're talking about.

Also, if you'd like to contribute subtitle translations,

you can do that by following the link in the description box

and you can translate the subtitles for this video

into your own language,

so you can help people

who aren't at such a high level as you are.

Also, don't forget to check out Lingoda.

The link is also in the description box

and you can use the code that I mentioned before.

Don't forget to connect with me

on all of my social media.

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

and I've got my Twitter.

And I will see you soon for another lesson.

Mwah!

(electronic music)