How to Use Common English Idioms | A fish out of water

22,662 views ・ 2016-11-28

Speak English With Tiffani


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Hey everyone welcome to Speak English
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with Tiffani. I am teacher Tiffani and
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Today I want to talk to you guys about
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an English idiom.
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What is the idiom you may ask? Well the
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idiom is, "A fish out of water".
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Yeah that's right, "A fish out of water".
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Now this idiom sounds a little strange
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right?
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Why would a fish be outside of the
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water? Don't fish live in the water?
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Well of course we all know that fish
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live in the water. In fact, according to a
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study done a few years ago, there are
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thirty-one thousand three hundred
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different species of fish.
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Yeah, that's a big number. And scientists
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are still discovering more all the time.
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However, the one thing that is true of
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all these species of fish is that they
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live in the water.
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Goldfish live in the water. Mandarin fish
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which are known to be the most beautiful
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fish, live in the water. Even whale sharks
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the biggest fish live in the water. So
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what does this idiom mean? "A fish out of
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water"?
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The answer is simple. If a fish is taken
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out of the water, it will become very
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uncomfortable and it won't know what to
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do.
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This is the meaning of this idiom. A
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person or thing is completely clueless
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or directionless when put into
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unfamiliar surroundings or an
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unfamiliar situation. For example, first
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let's meet Michael. After living in South
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Korea for most of his life Michael was
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like a fish out of water in America.
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This means that Michael was very
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uncomfortable when he went to America. He
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was familiar with Korea but unfamiliar
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with America.
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Next let's meet Sally. This is Sally.
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She's pretty nice.
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But Sally felt like a fish out of water
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when she went to college last year.
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This means that Sally was very
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uncomfortable when she went to college
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last year because she was not familiar
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with her surroundings.
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Finally let's meet Brandon. Say hi to
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Brandon. He is really good at playing
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basketball.
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But he's like a fish out of water when
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he tries to play volleyball.
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This means that Brandon is unfamiliar
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with volleyball and not good at it.
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Alright guys thanks so much for stopping
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by and having a chat with me about the
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English idiom "A fish out of water".
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I hope it helped you. I will talk to you
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guys again later.
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i hope this video helped to give you
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more confidence in your English ability.
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If you would like to learn over 125
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expressions, vocabulary words, and idioms,
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have access to over 200 definitions and
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on top of all that have the ability to
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review over 400 English example
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sentences, then this gift is for you.
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Click the link below and get your free
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This has been Speak English with Teacher
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Tiffani. Have an amazing day. Have a
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wonderful day. And until next time
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remember to speak English!
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Remember to subscribe.
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