16 Confusing English Expressions And Phrases Explained!

What's up everyone! I'm andrea your 

RealLife English fluency coach,  

and in today's lesson we'll be learning all 

about English expressions that confuse everyone.  

So in today's lesson you'll have a lot  of fun learning these English expressions  

and it will help you to understand natives better  and you can even start using them yourself.

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okay so we're going to dive straight into the  lesson and start learning these expressions  

and the first one is chin wag so this is a really  funny one and basically this means to have a chat  

so instead of saying oh I was chatting to my  friend the other day some people might say oh  

we were having a good old chin wag and I guess  this comes from your chin is obviously this part  

of your face and as you are talking as you are  chatting more it does tend to move a lot and  

another way of saying that is wag so it's like  your chin is moving a lot when you're talking  

we would use wag to describe the way that a dog's  tail wags for example so when a dog wags its tail  

it's moving like this so if you think of it this  way it's not one of the most confusing ones but  

definitely if you're hearing it for the first  time it might sound a bit strange but natives do  

use this one a lot so you might hear them say oh  I was having a good old chin wag with this person  

the other day or how about we meet and have a good  old chin wag okay so the next expression is full  

of beans and no this doesn't mean that someone  ate lots of beans for their lunch or their dinner  

what it means is someone has a lot of energy  and they are very lively or excited so it can  

also mean that they have a lot of good spirits so  they're feeling really happy really energetic and  

full of life you will often hear natives use this  expression when referring to children as well so  

those moments where children have a lot of energy  and are running around you might say oh they're  

full of beans today and that just means that  they are very lively they have a lot of energy  

okay so the next one is the opposite it could  mean that you are in low spirits so you're not  

feeling very well you're feeling a little bit sick  or unwell and this expression is under the weather  

so again you're not specifically under the weather  but you could imagine if you're not feeling very  

well you might actually feel like there is a gray  dark cloud hanging over you with the rain dripping  

down and you know you're not feeling very well  you're feeling a bit cold a little bit miserable  

your spirits are low for that reason so we  would use this expression to describe when  

we are feeling this way so if you ask someone  how they are they might say to you I'm feeling  

a bit under the weather and this is what they  mean by that they're not feeling very well  

or they are in low spirits the next one is it's  right up your alley and when we say this we mean  

that it's something that would be of interest to  you something that you would really like you could  

like it because it's to your taste or to your  ability and so you might say oh I went to this  

restaurant the other day you'd love it it's right  up your alley now if you're looking for an English  

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up now we look forward to seeing you there okay  our next expression is one of my favorites it's  

absolutely hilarious and it is the bee's knees so  when you are referring to something that is the  

best thing ever there is nothing that can match it  you would describe it as the bee's knees so some  

of our biggest fans might describe our channel as  the bee's knees in learning English because they  

think that there is nothing better you might go to  a concert or you might go to a restaurant and you  

might say oh it's the bee's knees there is nothing  better than this restaurant or this concert  

so this one is really funny I'm not quite sure of  the origins but I have read some things to do with  

obviously you can't imagine bees having knees  but the equivalent this part of their body is  

where they actually produce the most honey or the  sweetest part of the honey so I guess that's kind  

of where it comes from but it is a really common  one that natives use a lot so you might hear it  

and you could even start using it yourself now the  next one is used a lot in both the united states  

and in the uk as well and it is boops your  uncle so no I don't have an uncle called bob but  

in English bob is a man's name so therefore that's  the reference to the uncle however we use this  

as a way to say and there it is or and there you  have it so the equivalent in french would be voila  

so when something is done when it's finished  when it's completed in england we would say  

bob's your uncle so for example someone might be  helping you fix something maybe you're fixing your  

bike and then you're really deep into trying to  fix it and then suddenly you have and you'd say  

and bob's your uncle and it means and there it is  it's done it's fixed and also just a note here in  

the uk you might even hear some people add an  extension to this one so they might even say  

um bob's your uncle fanny's your aunt okay so  the next expression is also quite interesting  

it is pardon my french so this one is interesting  because you wouldn't actually use it when you're  

speaking french you would use it when you have  suddenly said a swear word or a curse word  

so you might have said something offensive and  after you've said it you might say pardon my  

french or you might say it before as well just  to warn someone that you're going to curse or  

say something that's quite offensive now this  expression can be used in quite a humorous way  

it's not when someone has accidentally said  something offensive it's usually intentional  

so as a humorous way they might actually say  this after they have said the curse or swear word  

okay so the next one is the word cheeky now  I really love this word we do use it a lot  

maybe sometimes we actually overuse it especially  in the uk but normally you would describe someone  

as cheeky when they're being a little bit naughty  or a little bit mischievous so you probably heard  

people describe monkeys as cheeky because they are  really clever animals and they can be very cheeky  

in terms of if humans get too close to them in  the wild they'll probably come and grab something  

from you and run away so people would call them  cheeky monkeys you'd also hear people refer to  

children this way if they're being a little bit  naughty a little bit cute and mischievous you  

would say that they are being cheeky however in  the uk we do use this word a lot more to describe  

again something where maybe we're being a little  bit naughty for example maybe you're going to have  

a glass of wine at a time where it's not usually  appropriate or normal for people so you might  

say oh should we have a cheeky glass of wine but  sometimes doesn't he have to be alcohol sometimes  

people would say oh should we have a cheeky cup  of tea and there's nothing really cheeky about  

the tea it's totally fine and normal to have  it but it's just a way of expressing this so  

we like to use this word a lot in the uk and  you'll probably hear it in british tv series  

okay so the next one is really funny because when  you actually picture it you think what on earth  

is this where has this expression come from and it  is cat got your tongue and it's important to note  

it's not a statement it is a question so you would  ask someone what's the matter cat got your tongue  

so you might use this when someone is being fairly  quiet or they are not responding to a discussion  

or a question and you would say what's the matter  cat got your tongue so it's kind of implying  

to them well what's happened all of a sudden  you've gone quiet especially if you're having  

an argument or a discussion with someone  and then all of a sudden they've stopped  

it's kind of like what's the matter you do  you not have anything to say anymore and I  

don't know where this expression has come from but  natives use it a lot in these kinds of situations  

but I guess if you think about it is a little  bit logical because if you imagine a cat actually  

grabbing hold of your tongue you're not actually  going to be able to say anything or to speak  

if you're enjoying this lesson then I highly  recommend you check out this lesson that we made  

with more than 55 expressions that you can use  in conversation it will be really useful for you  

to check it out so you can click up here or down  in the description box below to watch that next  

and now we're going to take a look  at some more typically british  

expressions that can be confusing

okay so the first one is gobsmacked and I love  this word I think it's a really interesting word  

in the uk a slang way of saying mouth is gob  so I think that's where this one comes from  

imagine slapping your gob and maybe not being able  to talk what it actually means is that you are  

astonished by something so you are so surprised  that you cannot even speak so you might be  

experiencing something that makes you gobsmacked  that you cannot even speak in that moment you  

are just so surprised and so astounded by it it  might even be that someone has really shocked you  

or you've been given some really crazy news that  you cannot comprehend that you cannot understand  

and you might say I am absolutely gobsmacked  because you will be meaning that you do not know  

what to say you are so shocked okay so the next  one is used a lot in the uk and it is gutted now  

we would use this word to describe when we are  extremely disappointed with the situation and I  

guess it comes from that feeling in your gut when  you're really disappointed and upset by something  

so you have that feeling in your gut where  you're really really upset and it just sits there  

and you know it stays there for a really long  time and you feel so gutted so I guess that's  

where this expression comes from it's quite  an interesting one but it is one that we do  

use a lot now I love the next one because it comes  from cockney rhyming slang and if you haven't  

heard about it before cockney rhyming slang  originated in the east end of london and it became  

kind of a language a way of talking and it all  came from rhyming words so you might have heard  

apples and pears being used instead of stairs so  some people would say I'm just going to take the  

apples and pears or I'm just going to go up the  apples and pears and what they actually mean is  

stairs so it's very interesting if you would  like a lesson on this then please do comment  

down below and we can make that happen as well but  the word here or the expression here is actually  

cream crackered so this is interesting because  cream crackers are a type of food in the uk  

they're very popular we would have them with some  cheese or sliced tomato or butter on top but what  

it actually means is that you are knackered so  if you hear it there it rhymes cream crackered  

knackered and what knackered means and cream  crackered means is that you are exhausted it's  

another way of saying that you are so so tired  you are absolutely exhausted okay so the next  

one is it's pear-shaped or it's gone pear-shaped  now if something has gone pear-shaped it means  

that it has gone totally wrong so whatever  you set out to do has completely failed  

and I guess this comes from a pear shape being  quite different it's not as round as an apple kind  

of has the the thinner top and then kind of bulks  out at the bottom it gets larger at the bottom and  

I guess lots of pairs can be all different shapes  so I guess that's where this one comes from but if  

you hear the expression it's gone pear-shaped that  means that it's totally gone wrong or has failed  

now I really love the next one I think it's really  funny and it could confuse people a lot it might  

be a bit of a dangerous one and it is cost a bomb  so if something costs a bomb it means that it is  

super expensive now when speaking to ethan I  learned that they don't have this expression  

in the u.s but they would say it cost an arm and  a leg and we use this as well in the uk but we  

do also use cost a bomb and it's just a way of  describing something as really expensive so the  

next one that we use a lot in the uk is it's a  shambles so this sounds like a really nonsense  

word it sounds like gibberish like you don't  understand what it means but what it does mean  

is that something is totally unorganized and just  really bad so for example the other day I was  

watching football watching my team and it wasn't  going very well at all and I heard my husband say  

it's a shambles this team is a shambles so it  means that they were really disorganized and  

they were not playing very well but you can use  it for other things as well so you might describe  

an event that you've been to as a shambles you  might even describe a class that you've been to  

as a shambles and many many other things okay so  the last one that we're going to have a look at is  

bagsy so this one in the us would be shotgun so  you probably heard this in tv series and movies  

when people are walking to a car someone might  say shotgun and that means that they are going  

to ride in the front of the passenger seat okay so  we would use this as well in the uk but we would  

say bagzi and we don't only use it for this  purpose we also use it to bagsy other things  

another word also that means the same is dibs so  you might say i've got dibs on the pepperoni pizza  

for example so it means that you want to have that  first or if you are amongst friends you might say  

oh I bag z the lemon meringue pie if there's lots  of different desserts there and you have to choose  

one so if you bag see it it means that you have  preference so you're going to get to choose it  

first so it's a little bit similar to shotgun but  in the uk we use it for a lot more things and it's  

one that you will hear a lot in the uk as well so  I hope you enjoyed today's lesson and that these  

English expressions that you've learned today are  not so confusing anymore and don't forget to have  

a listen to our podcast if you haven't already  where you can hear some more confusing expressions  

and also on our instagram there are a few  exclusive ones there also and i'll see you guys