Talking about People: 8 Essential Idioms

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson,

we will look at eight different idioms that

all talk about people. All right? Now, you might hear these kind of idioms being used

anywhere. They could be used in the office,

they could be used outside in social situations,

and people might refer to other people in

these ways. Now, remember, what is an idiom?

An idiom is when we have a set of words or a

group of words that means something different

when taken together than when taken separately.

Okay? So, these are some kind of people idioms

or personality idioms. All right? So, you may have heard some of these before. Maybe

yes, maybe no. Let's find out. Okay? Let's go.

So, the first one. A man of his word or - that

was the original expression. Today, of course,

we also say a woman of her word. So, if someone

says to you, "You know what? I really like

John. He's a man of his word." What do you

think that means? Of his word. Okay? It means

someone that you can trust. Someone who keeps

their promises. When they say "word", it means

if I give you my word, it's like if I say I'm

going to do something, then yes, I actually

do it. And when that happens, then I keep my word. So, when you say that someone is

a woman of her word, that means if she tells

you that she's going to do something, then

yes, she does it. You can trust her. Okay? Or the same about the man. So, a person of

their word is a person who does what they say they're going to do, and it's someone

that you can trust and count on, depend on. Okay? That's the first one.

All right. Here's the next one. A chip off the old block. If you say - usually, it's

something like this. "He's just like his dad.

He's a chip off the old block." So, usually

it will be in that kind of context, and even

if you had never heard this expression before,

you can probably figure it out. So, if I said

something like that, and I said "He's just

like his dad. He's a chip off the old block",

it actually means that someone that you're

talking about is like - usually a child or an adult child - is like the parents. Okay?

It's like one of the parents, let's say. So,

we say "a chip off the old block". Don't worry

about the imagery, the words, but what it

is, it's like as if there is a wooden block,

and this is a little piece of that whole block.

So, what they're trying to say is that this

child or this adult child has a lot of things in

common with the parent. For example, it could be

in terms of appearance. It could be in terms of

character. It could be in terms of talents. Maybe

the father is a great - loves to tell jokes and

tells fantastic jokes, and the son is exactly

like that. Or the mother is very talented at

art, and the daughter is also a very good artist.

So, it could be different things when they're

referring to when they say that someone is a

chip off the old block, but that's what it means,

okay? A child could be a young child or an adult

child who resembles one of the parents, okay?

That's that. Alright, let's go to the third one.

"He's a jack of all trades." What is that? A

jack of all trades. So, "trades" here means like

different kinds of work. So, when you say that someone is a jack of all trades,

you're trying to say that that person has many different kinds of talents. They don't

just specialize in one thing. They can actually

do many things. So, maybe you have a person named

Bob in your finance department, but Bob is also

very helpful when you're - when you have computer

problems, or when the photocopier breaks down,

Bob is the guy who knows how to fix that. So,

he can do, let's say, lots of different things,

and it doesn't have to be only in the office.

It could be anywhere. A person who has many

different kinds of jobs, perhaps, because they

don't specialize, they're sort of generalists, or

they have various talents that may or may not be

the same. Okay? So, a person like that is a jack of all trades. Got it? Good.

Alright. Let's go to the next one. "A diamond

in the rough." Okay? A diamond is a shiny stone

that many people like to have on their rings or

on their necklaces, and it's shiny. But when we

refer to a person as a diamond in the rough,

rough is the opposite of smooth. Okay? So,

what we're trying to say here is that this is a person who has a lot of potential,

a lot of talent, okay? A lot of ability, and

could probably be something really special,

and could rise high, maybe in their career, but

right now, they're not in that position. They're

still a little bit lower position. Either their talent has not been recognized yet,

their value has not been recognized yet, or they

still - they have the talent, but they still need

some other qualities in order to really shine,

in order to be noticed with all - for their real,

true abilities. Okay? So, a person like that who has a lot of potential and talent,

but has not reached that level where people

recognize it yet, is called a diamond in the

rough. Okay? So, repeat them after me, because

there are many ways to learn these expressions.

First of all, you need to understand the meaning.

Second, you need to know what is the whole

expression, right? And you need to pronounce

it correctly if you're going to use it,

because there's two ways to work with idioms.

The first stage is always understand the meaning,

make sure if people are using it around you that you know what they're saying,

and the second, when you're really confident,

use it yourself. Okay? But make sure with idioms

always that you really understand the meaning,

and that there isn't any negative meaning or

connotation to anything that you're saying if

that's not your intention. Okay? So, let's just

repeat the first four. Ready? A man of his word.

A woman of her word. A chip off the old block.

Yep, just say it aloud, get comfortable with it. A jack of all trades.

And a diamond in the rough. I know this word is spelled like this,

but it's actually pronounced just like r-u-f-f,

rough. Okay? A diamond in the rough. Alright,

good. Now, let's go on. There are four more really interesting ones.

If you say that someone is a big fish in a

small pond. This is a really interesting one,

it's a cute one. People do use it quite often.

But what does it mean? First of all, fish,

you probably know, right, what a fish is. But

what's a pond? First, you must know what a pond

is. A pond is a small area of water. Okay? So,

if, but a small area. It's not like a lake,

which is bigger, and it's certainly not like a

river or an ocean or anything like that, okay?

It's a small area of water. So, if we say that someone is a big fish in a small pond,

it means that this person is important or influential, but in a limited area, with a

limited amount - number of people. Okay? Or in

a limited area. So, let's look at an example.

Suppose there is someone, and she's very good at

acting. She's a great actor, okay? And everybody

in the town thinks that - has known all along

that this woman has a lot of talent for acting.

So, but she lives in a small town, let's say. And everybody in the town loves her,

thinks she's fantastic. But right now, it's still in this smaller, more limited context

of what's expressed here as a small pond. So,

right now, she's a big fish, somebody well-known

and known in a small or limited situation. Let's

suppose now that she decides to go to the big

city. Then what happens? There are many more

people. This is not a small pond anymore, right?

So then, what happens is that she becomes, for

a little while, or at least in the beginning,

and sometimes, unfortunately, always, she becomes a small fish in a big pond.

Now, what happened? Now, in the big city, there

are many talented actors, and she's only one of

them. Whereas in the small town, she was like the

main one. Here, she's one of many. So, she became

now a small fish in a big pond, alright? But the

goal of anyone who has ambition is to become what?

Actually, to become a big fish in a big

pond. So, that's when you become well-known,

but even in the big cities or on the big stage,

and so on. And we're not just talking about cities,

we're talking about any kind of situation or

market, alright? So, those are actually three

expressions, but this is one that you hear often, a big fish in a small pond.

So, it's kind of a compliment, but it's also

saying, yes, the person is - they have influence,

they are important, but only in this limited way,

not like all over the world or something like

that. Okay? Got it? Good. Alright. The next one,

a man of the people or a woman of the people.

Have you ever heard that? Have you heard it to do

with leaders and politicians? Because very often,

this expression is used to describe someone who

is a politician or a leader in some way. So,

a man of the people or a woman of the people is

a person who's very connected to the ordinary,

everyday person, the ordinary man, okay? And

relates to them, and they relate, they understand

him or her. And so, they like him or her because

they know that he or she represents them and

understands their needs and their desires, okay?

So, a man or woman of the people is a leader or

a politician who is connected to the needs of

people who are, like, ordinary, everyday people,

alright? Not just the very rich, but everyday

people. Got it? Good. Alright. Here's one,

this is kind of now getting more in the negative side, a pain in the neck,

alright? It's not good to have a pain anywhere

in your body, certainly not in your neck,

but it doesn't actually mean a pain in the neck.

It actually just means that someone is really

annoying and irritating, and you don't like

them very much, okay? Because they're annoying,

they irritate you, their behavior, things that they do, things that they say,

kind of they turn you off, and you feel very

bothered by this kind of person. And you might

refer to this person in this way, I don't like

to use negative terms, but you might hear other

people using these terms. And sometimes they don't

just say a pain in the neck, they say a pain in

another part of your body which is somewhere

else, okay? So, keep that in mind. And this is a

negative, definitely a negative expression, okay?

And here we have the last one. This is a cute one,

a wolf in sheep's clothing. So, what is a

wolf? A wolf is an animal from the dog family,

it's a wild animal, okay? And a sheep is a quiet,

sweet farm animal, okay, with a lot of fur,

alright? I'm not very good at making animal

sounds, otherwise I would have made it for you.

I tried, I tried to learn it, I couldn't do it,

okay? Alright. So, a wolf, if you say that a

person is a wolf in sheep's clothing, that means

this person is pretending to be a nice, good,

sweet person, but actually they're not. They're

dangerous, they're maybe evil and you can't

really trust them, but they are pretending to be

very sweet and nice. So, that kind of person is

called a wolf in sheep's clothing, alright? So, there you have the last four. So, let's

say them again first. Repeat after me. A big fish in a small pond.

Next, a man of the people. Or, a woman of the people. Next, a pain in the neck.

And, be careful, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Okay? So, this is the first time that we're looking at them. You may have heard some of

them before, maybe you know them already. I've

included one or two in the past in some of my

older, older videos, okay? But, in any case, let's

see now, in a minute, whether you can remember

the full expression. Alright? Let's do that next.

Okay, I'm going to try, alright? Just for you.

Ready? Baa. Baa. This is the sound that I'm

trying to make of a sheep, alright? I practiced

a little bit. Sorry, I'm not really good at that,

but that's the sound that a sheep makes, okay?

Kind of. Alright. So, now, what have we done here?

I've erased some words, right, in each of these

idioms. And, let's see if you remember them. We

talked about it, but it doesn't mean automatically

that you know that 100%. So, let's review and

see what you do remember, or what you did know

to begin with. So, here, a man of his something,

or a woman of her something. Someone who keeps

their promise, does what they say they're going to do. That is a person of his or her

word. Remember that? Okay? A man of his word,

a woman of her word. Okay? Good. This is a very

good thing. If someone says that about someone,

it's a huge compliment, okay? It says a lot

about their honesty, their integrity, who they are, their reliability, okay?

Next, a something off the old block. Do you

remember that one? A little piece, a - what is it?

A chip. A chip off the old block. Alright? Somebody, a child or an adult child who is

very similar to a parent. Alright. Next, a

jack off blank trades. I almost said it. Okay.

A jack off something trades. What should it be? Someone who can do all kinds of things,

many different kinds of things, has many different talents, is a jack off

all trades. Okay? Good. Number four, kind

of. There are no numbers, but the fourth one.

Something in the rough. Do you remember that?

Rings are made of that, pendants are made of that.

A diamond, right? A diamond in the rough. And what's a diamond in a rough? Who is a

diamond in the rough? Do you remember? A person

who has a lot of potential to become very important

and effective later in their life, but not yet.

Okay. Next, a big something in a small pond.

I'm sure you remember this one because we talked about it a lot. What is it? A big

fish. Okay? Very good. A big fish in a small

pond. Alright? Someone who has a lot of influence

and importance, but in a limited or small area.

Good. A man of the something or a woman of the

something. A politician or leader who's very

connected to the average person or the everyday

person is a man of the or a woman of the people.

Okay. Excellent. And somebody who bothers you a

lot, it's very annoying, it's very irritating, it's

sometimes referred to as a something in the neck.

What is that? A pain. Okay? And the last one, a blank in sheep's clothing.

Okay? It's a wild animal, starts with W. It's

a wolf, right? A wolf in sheep's clothing,

someone who pretends to be very kind or trustworthy, but is actually dangerous

and possibly evil. Okay? So, these were some

personality or people idioms, and I hope that

you've understood them. That's the first step, as

I said. First, make sure you understand if people

are using them around you, either at work or in

social situations. The next step is if you know

them and you know them really well, try to use

them. So, to practice that, first, what you could

probably do, and I suggest you do, is think. Think

about people that you know, okay, in your life.

Who is - and write an example. Like, you know

somebody named John, and you know that John is

a man of his word, so write that sentence for

yourself because it will connect the idiom with

somebody that you know personally, and then it's

much easier for your brain to remember the meaning

and match the meaning. So, you could say - or

you could say, "My father is a man of his word.

My mother is a woman of her word." Or whatever,

okay? And the same with each of these. You could

probably think of an example of someone that you

know that is like that, so write those sentences

for yourself. They will help you tremendously

to remember these personality and people idioms,

okay? That's the second step. The next step is to make sure you really understand them,

please go to our website at www.engvid.com, and

there, you can do a quiz on these idioms. And

while you're there, I have also written, actually

some time ago, a resource, an entire resource

with over 50 idioms related to people that are

used for people in business or also in general.

So, while you're at engVid, after you do the test, you can check out the resource,

and you could also print it out if you wish for

reference and to learn many more. All right?

Thanks very much for watching, and all the best with your English. Bye for now.