10 beautiful flower idioms | British English Vocabulary Lesson (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

(upbeat music)

Hello everyone

and 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,

but 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,

it will help with your reading,

it will 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.

I know loads of you are desperately looking

for ways to improve your speaking,

pronunciation and listening,

and there's one thing that I'd like to mention.

I know a lot of you are using it already,

but I really, really, really recommend Audible.

Audible is Amazon's provider of audiobooks.

My advice to you is search for a book

read in a British accent,

or your English accent of choice.

If you're at a slightly lower level,

go for something aimed at teenagers or children.

If you're at a higher level,

maybe go for non-fiction or sci-fi.

Listening to an audiobook

and reading the actual book at the same time

is such a great way of improving

your listening and your pronunciation,

because you can see how the words are written

and hear how they are pronounced.

You can claim a free audiobook

by clicking on the link in the description box.

That's a 30-day free trial

and I've got some recommendations

like Harry Potter and Sherlock Holmes,

all read with a British accent,

in the description box as well.

Right, let's get on with the lesson.

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. (laughs)

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 multi-millionaire.

(claps) 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 bed of 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 pushing up the daisies,

it means you're dead.

You're underground

and you're 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 (gasps) silly me!

(gasps) Oh no!

(gasps) 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 unlocked again,"

I might say oops a daisy, silly me!

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 successful.

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

out 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 learnt something.

Don't forget to check out Audible,

the link is in the description box,

you can claim your free audiobook

and your 30-day free trial,

and I've got loads of recommendations

down there as well.

And 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 shall see you soon for another lesson.

(kissing noise)

Today, I've got a lesson for you on

(jumbled noises)

Today, I have got a very...

A very.

I've been feeling so ready for spring,

I cannot wait for all of the leaves to

(blows raspberry)

I've been feeling so excited by blah.

I've got such a headache.

Maybe it's hay fever, you know?

Could be.

This isn't really an idiom,

it's more of a...

For example...

And the last one, the last final blah.

(laughing)

(upbeat music)