Idioms and Expressions about LUCK - U.S. Culture - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

32,896 views ・ 2015-03-11

English with Jennifer


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For this lesson, I decided to put on a necklace with a special charm.
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It was given to me by a friend.
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Can you see it?
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It's a horseshoe.
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Horseshoes are considered lucky.
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Why? There are different explanations.
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People also have different ideas about how you should use a horseshoe to bring you good luck.
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If you hang a horseshoe in your home,
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should you put it with the ends pointing up,
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so that it holds good luck?
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Or should you put it with the ends pointing down,
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so that good luck spills out on you?
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As long as you believe that the horseshoe is lucky,
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that's what's most important.
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Here's another symbol of good luck.
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It's a shamrock.
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It has three leaves of green.
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This is a symbol you're going to see a lot
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around and on March 17
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because that's when we celebrate St. Patrick's Day.
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Of course, this holiday has religious origins,
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but today in the U.S. St. Patrick's Day is a celebration for everyone.
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If you have Irish roots,
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you can take pride in your heritage on March 17.
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But even if you don't have Irish blood, like me,
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you can join in the fun.
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Americans watch parades, join in the parades...
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We put on green for good luck.
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And we decorate our homes, our offices, our schools
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with symbols of St. Patrick's Day,
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like the shamrock.
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You might also see a four-leaf clover,
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which is a variation of this.
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It's hard to find a four-leaf clover,
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so something so rare is lucky.
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In honor of St. Patrick's Day and the shamrock,
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I though we'd talk about the word "luck" and how it's used.
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"Luck" is an uncountable noun.
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You can have good luck or bad luck.
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You can have lots of luck or no luck.
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You can't have "a good luck" or "a bad luck."
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Don't try to use the article "a" with this word.
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And don't try to make it plural with the ending -s.
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"Lucks" (noun) is not a word.
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So again, you can have lots of luck,
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(a) little luck, or no luck.
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"Luck" means by chance.
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To emphasize this idea,
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we often use adjectives:
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pure luck, sheer luck, dumb luck...
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They all mean the same thing.
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For example, maybe you met someone special.
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How did you meet?
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Pure luck.
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You were both in the same place at the same time.
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Here's another word.
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Beginner's luck.
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Let's say your learning something.
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You're trying something for the first time.
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Archery.
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You pull back an arrow,
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you shoot the arrow, and it hits the target.
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Dead in the center.
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Maybe it was beginner's luck.
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What's the adjective of this word?
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Luck > lucky.
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You can be lucky. You can feel lucky,
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and say, "I'm feeling lucky today!"
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It can be a lucky day.
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The adverb - "luckily."
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We use it like we do "fortunately."
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Luckily, the weather's wonderful today,
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so we can play outside.
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If lots of lucky things are happening to you,
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you're having a lucky streak -
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a sequence of lucky happenings.
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But a lucky streak can end.
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If you want to talk about a single lucky event,
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we can use "in luck."
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The opposite - "out of luck."
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Let's say we're going to a meeting or a presentation together.
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You need to take notes, but you forgot your pen.
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I could say,
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"Oh, you're in luck! I always carry extra pens. Here's one."
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Or - "Ah, sorry. You're out of luck. I don't have an extra pen with me today."
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To comment on being lucky, we can say things like:
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Oh, you're so lucky!
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Lucky you! ...Lucky me!
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What luck!
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And all of these expressions
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can also be said in a negative way.
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Like sarcastically.
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Lucky me!
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Oh, what luck!
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Do you know what I'm doing?
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I'm crossing my fingers.
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I can cross both.
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I can try to cross all of them.
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We cross our fingers for good luck.
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So if I want you to wish me good luck,
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wish me well...
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I can ask you to cross your fingers for me.
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Keep your fingers crossed.
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Or simply say, "Fingers crossed!"
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Also, you can simply say to someone, "Wish me luck!"
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When we're having bad luck, we like to complain about being so unlucky.
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We say things like:
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Oh, that's just my luck.
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I'm having the worst luck!
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No such luck.
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If you want to sympathize with someone who's not very lucky right now,
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you might say,
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"Tough luck. That's too bad."
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Be careful with "touch luck" because this expression could also be used in a mean way.
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Let's say a brother and sister are fighting over the remote control.
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One gets it first and says,
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"Tough luck. I got here first."
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So that person gets to choose which channel to watch.
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Here's a useful expression.
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"As luck would have it..."
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We use it to comment on good or bad events.
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- Events that happened by chance.
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We use it especially when we're telling a story.
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For example: Yesterday I was rushing to work,
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and I got to my bus stop.
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And I missed my bus by just a few seconds.
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And I couldn't believe it.
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But as luck would have it,
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a co-worker was driving by, so I waved.
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My co-worker stopped, and I got a ride to work.
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"As luck would have it."
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How do we wish others good luck?
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You don't necessarily have to use words.
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If you're close, you could give a kiss for good luck.
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You might give a little present for luck.
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If we are going to use words, we usually say,
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Good luck!
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Best of luck!
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If you're typing, you might choose to write a whole sentence and say:
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I wish you the best of luck.
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I wish you lots of luck.
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If someone is having a performance,
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there's a special idiom we like to use.
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It's very common, so maybe you know it already.
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Break a leg!
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Have you heard that one?
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Before someone goes on stage or has some kind of performance,
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you can wish them good luck by saying, "Break a leg!"
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Read the statement to yourself, and then I'll tell you the answer.
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That's all for now.
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Thanks for watching. Happy studies!
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And I hope you have a lucky day today!
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