8 Easy English Expressions with “on the...”

205,229 views ・ 2021-07-23

Learn English with Rebecca


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Were you on the ball at work today? Is your computer on the fritz? Are you
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being on the level with me? What if somebody asked you those questions?
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Would you know what to say? Well, after this lesson, I hope you will, because
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I'm going to explain to you eight idioms — eight, yes, eight idioms, okay? — that
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have something in common; they all start with "on the" something. Okay? So, let's
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see what they are and what they mean. All right? Here we go.
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Number one: "on the air". What does it mean to be "on the air"? It means to be
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on TV or on radio; you're being broadcast. Okay? So, "What show is on
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the air?" means: What show is going on right now on TV or on the radio? Good.
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The next one, number two: "on the mend". "To mend" means to get better. So, "on
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the"... If you're "on the mend", it means you were ill, or maybe you broke
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something, a part of your body, and now you're getting better. So, you're "on
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the mend". You may have been unwell, and you're getting better — you're "on the
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mend". All right. Number three: "on the fritz". Okay. That sounds a little
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strange, doesn't it? It is strange. When you say that something's "on the fritz",
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basically it means that something's broken; it's not working. All right? So,
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what does that refer to? Not people, but things. For example, your computer, or
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your cellphone, or something else. All right? If they're not working, you can
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say... you can use this expression: "It's on the fritz." Okay? Then number
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four: "on the sly". Okay? "Sly" means something hidden, something secretive,
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something deceptive. So, if you're... if somebody is doing something "on the
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sly", it means they're doing it secretly — okay? — without other people knowing.
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All right.
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Let's review those before we learn any more. Always review. Okay? Always keep
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going back because, of course, if you're not sure what they are — the more you
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review, the easier you'll remember. So, what does it mean to be "on the mend"?
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It means to be recovering after an illness or something like that. If you
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do something "on the sly", that means somebody is doing it deceptively,
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secretly, without other people knowing. Right? If someone's "on the air", what
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does it mean? It means they're on TV or on radio; they're being broadcast. And
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if something's "on the fritz", it means it's not working. Okay. All right, let's
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go on.
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Ready? Number five: "on the fence". Okay. A "fence" is like, you know, those
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slats that divide one house from another house; there's a fence in the middle — a
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white fence very often. And if you're sitting "on the fence", it means you're
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undecided; you're unsure what to do. Okay? None of these... These are idioms.
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Right? None of them are to be taken literally; you're not actually sitting
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on the fence, but it means that you are undecided; you're unsure what to do. All
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right? Next: "on the ball". Okay. You want to be "on the ball" because when
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you're "on the ball", it means you're alert, you're competent, you're doing
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something really well. Somebody's presentation went very well — you say:
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"Wow, he was really on the ball today." That means he was doing something very
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well. Got it? All right. Next one: "on the warpath". Okay. You really probably
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don't want to meet anybody who's "on the warpath". "Warpath" has the word "war"
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in it, which means a lot of aggression. Right? So, if somebody's "on the
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warpath", it means they're very angry. They are not happy; they're very angry.
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Okay? They want to fight. And the last one: "on the level". If you're "on the
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level", you are a person who is very... or you're being very honest and
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straightforward. Okay? You're being very honest; you're not hiding anything.
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Unlike this person who's doing something "on the sly", this person is "on the
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level" — is very honest, and what he's... or she is saying is actually how
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it is. Okay? All right.
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So, let's review the last four. Somebody's "on the fence" — they are
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unsure. Right? Good. If you're "on the ball", you really did something very
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well. If someone's "on the warpath", they're ready for a fight. And if
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somebody is "on the level", they're being really honest. Okay. Now, let's
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see if you can recognize these and use them in sentences. Are you ready to do
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some practice? So, what I'm going to do now is I'm going to read you some
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sentences which do not contain the idiom, and I want you to tell me which
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idiom we can use in that sentence. Okay?
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Let's start with the first one. "My cousin hurt her knee, but luckily, she's
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getting better." So, what could we say? Luckily, she's... Do you know? She's
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getting better means she's "on the mend". Good. Okay? Let's try another
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one. "Your speech was fantastic. You were really great today." You were
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really great. You were really... Good — "on the ball". Right. The next one: "Why
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are you so angry?" Why are you...? Good — "on the warpath". Okay? Very nice.
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"The president is on TV right now." The president is... "on the air". Good work.
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All right. "She was honest with me about her problems." She was... "on the level"
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— very nice. "Who are you voting for? Are you still undecided?" Are you
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still...? "on the fence". Good. "on the fence" means undecided. Okay. "He's been
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taking money from the cash register secretly for months." He's been taking
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money... What is it, dishonestly? "on the sly" — good. You're getting them,
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see? And the last one: "Oh, no, my cellphone isn't working." My cellphone
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is... There's only one left. My cell phone is "on the fritz". Okay? So, how
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can you remember these? By practicing. Right?
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You've done the first step; you've watched the video. Now use them. Use
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them in some examples of your own. Is there anything in your house which is on
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the fritz right now? Anything that you know? Anybody that you know who is doing
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something on the sly? Write a sentence about it; say it out loud. Okay? When
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you start using it, you make those idioms yours. All right? And the first
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step, of course, with idioms is make sure you understand them, and then you
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can take that extra step and start to use them when you're sure what they
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mean. All right? So, if you want to do some more practice, go to our website:
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www.engvid.com. There, you can do another quiz to really make sure you've
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mastered them. Plus, you can check out lots and lots of other videos that we
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have about English — more than 1,000. Okay? All right. Also, don't forget to
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subscribe to my YouTube channel so you can keep getting lots of lessons that
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will help you improve your English much faster. All the best with your English.
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Bye for now.
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