20 Advanced English Vocabulary Words and Phrasal Verbs

Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

Are you ready to expand your vocabulary?

Let's do it.

Vanessa: Last week I shared a special conversation video with you where my husband Dan and I

played a board game called Codenames.

Throughout this game, you learn some new vocabulary, but we didn't really explain the vocabulary

as we were playing the game.

We were just playing the game naturally.

So today I'd like to take 20 of those vocabulary words and explain them in detail, give you

some examples and help you to integrate them into your own conversations.

As I was creating this lesson for you, I realized that most of these expressions we used in

the Codenames board game video were phrasal verbs.

I guess phrasal verbs are commonly used, of course in daily conversation, but especially

in games.

So I hope that this will help to expand your phrasal verb vocabulary and help you feel

comfortable.

Vanessa: All right, let's get started with the first expression, number one, to pick

up.

There are a lot of different meanings for this phrasal verb, to pick up.

In fact, there are several meanings for all of the expressions that we're going to talk

about today, but I'd like to focus on specifically how it was used in the conversation.

This means to learn something naturally without studying.

This could be in a good way or it could be in a bad way.

So let me give you some sample sentences.

In the conversation lesson I said, "You'll pick it up."

That means that you'll learn naturally without studying.

Dan was trying to explain some of the rules of the board game and I said, "Ah, you'll

pick it up."

That means you'll learn the rules as we're playing without studying them.

This is in a positive way.

You want to be able to pick up new ideas in English, new expressions.

When you're listening to my videos or when you're listening to the radio, you'll probably

pick up new expressions.

You didn't study them.

You just simply learned them naturally.

Vanessa: This is positive, but we could also use this in a more negative way.

My five year old daughter picked up some bad habits when she visited our neighbor's house.

That means that maybe our neighbors were using some bad words or they were fighting with

each other.

Well, these are bad habits, so she picked up the bad habits when she visited the neighbor's

house.

This is a negative thing.

You don't want to naturally learn bad behavior, but you know, it happens.

So what we're going to do with each of these expressions is you're about to see a clip

from the original conversation where we used the expressions.

You're going to see Dan and I having that board game conversation, and I hope that it

will help you to just see how they're used in the original context.

All right, let's watch the clip.

Dan: Give each other a one word hint to guess the right word or the word we're trying to

think of.

Vanessa: Yeah, you'll pick it up.

Dan: Give each other a one word hint to guess the right word or the word we're trying to

think of.

Vanessa: Yeah, you'll pick it up.

Vanessa: Number two, to be a stretch.

You might know that stretching is the kind of exercise that you do before you go running.

You need to stretch your muscles.

This expression though, it's a little bit different, but it has a similar idea.

This means that it's far from reality.

We used this expression a lot in the conversation lesson.

We were specifically talking about connecting words together and sometimes the words didn't

exactly connect so easily, so we said some words are a stretch.

This means that they might not connect so easily.

If you've already watched that lesson, then you know what I'm talking about, but it's

still interesting and useful to use.

Vanessa: We can also say, I know that it's a stretch, but could you walk my dog for the

next two weeks while I'm gone?

This is kind of a lot to ask of somebody.

Two weeks walking your dog, that's a lot of extra work.

You're also assuming that your friend is available, that your friend has time, that your friend

wants to do it, so you're adding the expression, I know that it's a stretch, but could you

help me with this big task?

So you're already letting them know, I know it's a big deal.

I know that this is a lot to ask you and you're adding that expression, I know that it's a

stretch.

Vanessa: Or if you have a business meeting and your boss says, "Okay, I need all of the

reports finished by three o'clock."

Well, if there's a lot to do, you might say, "Well, it's going to be a stretch to finish

the reports by three o'clock."

It's going to be kind of far from reality.

It's going to be pretty difficult.

It's not impossible, but it's a little difficult.

It's going to be a stretch to finish the reports by three o'clock.

All right, let's see the original clips that you can see how to use, to be a stretch.

Vanessa: There are three cards here on the table that relate to that word.

Some of them might be closely related, some of them might be a stretch.

Vanessa: There are three cards here on the table that relate to that word.

Some of them might be closely related, some of them might be a stretch.

Vanessa: The next expression is, to mark off.

This is another phrasal verb and it means you're noting something as completed.

It's the same as to check off something, you are marking it off.

So let's take a look at some sample sentences.

In the conversation I said, "I'm going to mark it off."

That means that I had a list of words and I'm simply going to check that word or cross

it off.

As you can see, there are a lot of phrasal verbs that have a similar meaning ... to mark

off something, to check off something, to cross off something.

This means that I'm just noting this word is finished, this word is completed.

Vanessa: You can also say, "I feel satisfied when I mark off items from my to do list."

If you're the kind of person who likes to make lists in the morning of every day, you

say, "Today, these are the three things I want to accomplish."

Well at the end of the day, hopefully you will be able to mark off, I did this, I did

this, I did this.

You'll be able to mark them off and you'll feel satisfied because you accomplished what

you wanted to accomplish.

All right, let's watch the clips so you can see how to use this.

Vanessa: So that means that this word is finished.

All right, I'm going to mark it off on my paper.

Vanessa: So that means that this word is finished.

All right, I'm going to mark it off on my paper.

Vanessa: The next expression is, to give away.

There are a couple of different ways to use this expression, but in the conversation we

were talking about revealing a surprise.

So I said, "I can't give it away."

When you are the person who is giving a clue to someone else in this game, you can't give

away what the answer is.

You need to keep it a secret.

You can't reveal the secret.

I can't give it away, I need to keep it a secret.

Or you might say, it was amazing that none of my students gave away the Christmas surprise.

Vanessa: So many years ago when Dan and I were teaching English to elementary school

kids in Korea, for Christmas I wanted to give him a special Christmas present.

I went to all of his students and each student said something special to him.

A lot of them said, "Oh, you're so kind, teacher.

Oh, you're so funny.

I love your class."

Just a little comment like this, and I filmed all of them.

There were probably 50, 60, 70 students.

Usually kids aren't good at keeping secrets, but do you know what?

I couldn't believe that none of the students gave it away.

So when I actually gave him that video as a Christmas present, he had no idea.

I was pretty shocked because I thought that for sure one of the students will say, "Teacher

Daniel, we filmed a video for you."

But no, everyone kept their mouth shut.

No one gave it away.

So this is a great way to use this expression, to give away something.

Another phrasal verb.

All right, let's watch the video so you can see how to use this and its original context.

Dan: Well, cheese comes in a wheel.

You call it a cheese wheel.

You call it a cheese wheel.

Vanessa: Don't make me make a facial expression, I can't give it away.

Dan: Wheel.

Dan: Well, cheese comes in a wheel.

You call it a cheese wheel.

You call it a cheese wheel.

Vanessa: Don't make me make a facial expression, I can't give it away.

Dan: Wheel.

Vanessa: The next expression, another phrasal verb, is to clash with something.

This means that it doesn't go with or it goes against something.

In the conversation I said, "It's not going to clash with the other words."

I wanted to make sure that my word, my hint, or my clue, it went well with the other words.

So I used the expression, to clash with.

It didn't clash with the other words.

Vanessa: Let's take a look at another example.

The green striped shirt and the yellow polka dotted pants clashed with each other.

So this means they don't look good together.

If you wore those two things together, it would look a little bit strange.

So we can say in this situation, they don't go well together.

They clash with each other.

All right, let's take a look at how this is used in the original conversation.

Vanessa: Another hint.

Dan: Another hint.

Vanessa: I have another hint ready.

Dan: Okay.

Vanessa: Let me make sure that it's not going to clash with any of the other words.

Vanessa: Another hint.

Dan: Another hint.

Vanessa: I have another hint ready.

Dan: Okay.

Vanessa: Let me make sure that it's not going to clash with any of the other words.

Vanessa: The next expression, the next phrasal verb, is to start out with.

This is used when you're starting a series of events.

So other things are going to happen after that first event.

I said, "I'm going to start out with gear."

Gear was the word that I chose, so I pointed to that word.

This means I'm going to choose other words after the word gear, but that's just the first

one.

So that's why I use this phrasal verb, start out with.

Vanessa: Let's look at another example.

When you make bread, you need to start out with all of the ingredients.

This is a simple thing.

Of course, you need to start out with a good recipe, and of course you need to start out

with all of the ingredients.

Ideally put all of the ingredients on your table, and then you can start the process

of making bread.

So this is the first thing in a series of events.

Start out with all of the ingredients and then you are at least on the right path.

All right, let's watch the original clip.

Dan: So I'm going to start out with gear.

Vanessa: Good work.

Dan: That's easy.

Vanessa: All right, we got gear.

Dan: So I'm going to start out with gear.

Vanessa: Good work.

Dan: That's easy.

Vanessa: All right, we got gear.

Vanessa: The next expression is a little slang and it is, to be lame.

Lame usually refers to someone who can't walk and it's not a very kind expression, but in

this situation it just means something that's not cool.

This is very casual.

So in the conversation, Dan said, "It's lame of me to do this."

He just simply meant it's not cool of me to do this.

In the board game, you're trying to think of a clue for multiple words, but he only

made a clue for one word.

This is kind of easy, kind of simple.

It's not very amazing.

So he said, "It's lame to do this."

It's not so cool to do this.

Vanessa: Well, let's take a look at another way that we commonly use this.

If your friend is telling you about her date that she had last night, she might say, "My

boyfriend said he was going to come at 6:00 PM, but he didn't come until 7."

You can reply, "Wow, that's lame."

That means that's not cool.

This is not acceptable.

Especially if he didn't call you in advance.

He didn't have a good excuse.

You could just say, "Wow, that's lame."

So when someone tells you something that you think is not cool, you can just simply say,

"Oh, that's lame."

I'm sure you're going to hear this all the time in movies and TV shows, so now you know

what it means.

All right, let's watch the original clip.

Dan: I have a hint ready.

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: I'm going to try to make it easy.

It's kind of lame of me to do this, but ... Dan: I have a hint ready.

Vanessa: Okay.

Dan: I'm going to try to make it easy.

It's kind of lame of me to do this, but ... Vanessa: The next expression, the next phrasal

verb, is to go with something.

You might think that this means you are leaving the house with someone, to go with someone,

but no, in this situation it just means to choose, to choose something.

So in the conversation with Dan, the original conversation, I said, "I'm going to go with

rice."

Go with rice, and rice is just the option that I chose.

We often use this in restaurant situations when you're ordering.

So you could say, "I'm going to go with the daily special and a glass of wine."

This just means I would like to order those two things.

If you'd like to check out some more expressions and common questions that are used at restaurants,

especially if you're going to order food in the US, make sure you check out this video

I made up here because you can learn all about restaurant situations.

Vanessa: Before we look at the clip.

Let's look at another example.

When you're talking about your vacation, you might say, "We decided to go with the city

tour instead of the museum tour."

This means we decided to choose the city tour instead of the museum tour.

It's just another way to say to choose something.

All right, let's watch the original clip.

Dan: She didn't get the last one.

Vanessa: Yeah.

I'm going to go with ... there's both rice and kitchen on the table, but I feel like

rice is a lot more specific.

Dan: She didn't get the last one.

Vanessa: Yeah.

I'm going to go with ... there's both rice and kitchen on the table, but I feel like

rice is a lot more specific.

Vanessa: The next expression and, you guessed it, phrasal verb, is to use up.

This means to use something completely.

There's nothing left.

In the original conversation I said, "We only used up two guesses."

That means that we have a limited amount of guesses and two of those are completely used

or are completely used up.

Let's take a look at another example.

If you use up the milk, please throw away the container.

Don't put it back in the fridge.

If you use it up, throw it away or recycle it, but don't put it back in the fridge.

If this is a common issue in your house, then you'll probably think about this phrasal verb

a lot.

If you use up the toilet paper, please take the roll out of the stand and put in a new

one.

If you use something up, it's polite to replace it.

All right, let's look at the original clips so you can see how this was used.

Vanessa: Okay, so we only used two wrong guesses.

So we have five more.

Vanessa: Okay, so we only used up two wrong guesses.

So we have five more.

Vanessa: The next expression and phrasal verb is, to jump out at.

This means it's just easy to see something.

So in the conversation we said, "Nothing is jumping out at me."

We were looking at the different words and no specific word was easily visible.

Maybe you are trying to connect different things and there wasn't one that was an obvious

answer.

Well, nothing's jumping out at me.

If your teacher asks you, well, look at the page and try to find the answer to this question.

After 10 minutes, maybe you don't have the answer.

You could say, "Nothing jumped out at me.

I have no idea what the answer is."

And then she might say, "Oh, you're looking at the wrong chapter.

Look at this chapter."

So it means something on the page is almost jumping out at you, so it's easily visible.

Vanessa: Or you could say Dan's red hair jumps out at you.

So he's easy to find.

Whenever I go to a place where there's a lot of people and I'm looking for Dan, I always

look for his hair because it jumps out at me.

It's unusual.

It's usually big and curly and red, so it's easy for me to see.

It jumps out at me.

All right.

Let's take a look at the original clip from the conversation.

Vanessa: Nature's such a broad word, but I chose it.

Dan: Oh, all right.

Well, nothing's seriously jumping out at me except for butterfly.

Vanessa: Nature is such a broad word, but I chose it.

Dan: Oh, all right.

Well, nothing's seriously jumping out at me except for butterfly.

Vanessa: The next expression is not a phrasal verb.

It is, Hail Mary.

This means a final desperate attempt to do something.

It might seem like this has some Catholic origins because we're talking about Mary,

the mother of Jesus, and there are some Catholic beginnings to this expression.

But the main reason that we use this expression is because of American football, where we

throw the ball.

We don't kick the ball, you throw the ball.

In this situation it's when you're about to lose the game, you have no other options.

So one of the players throws the ball almost blindly at the other end of the field hoping

someone please catch it because we only have 10 seconds left in the game, we're going to

lose.

That's called a Hail Mary pass.

I never thought that I'd be explaining sports or American football on this channel, but

it's really related to this expression.

Vanessa: So we often integrate this into just other situations in life.

Dan said, "You get a Hail Mary guess."

That means at the end of the game, you're about to lose, you don't know what you're

going to do.

Well in the rules of the game, you get one final desperate attempt.

This is one final guess and if you get it, you could win.

If you don't, you're definitely going to lose.

So it's kind of a desperate attempt, a Hail Mary guess.

Vanessa: Let's take a look at another example.

After she broke up with him, he sent her flowers and chocolate and a love note as a Hail Mary

attempt to win her back.

So in this situation, she has already broken up with him.

Their relationship is finished, but he wants one final desperate attempt.

Please don't break up with me.

So he sends her all these nice things as a Hail Mary attempt.

We use this as an adjective to describe something, a Hail Mary guess or a Hail Mary attempt to

win her back.

All right, let's take a look at the original clip so that you can see how this was used.

Dan: I think in the rules you get a Hail Mary guess at the end.

Vanessa: Oh yeah?

Dan: Yeah.

There's one Hail Mary guess at the end.

Dan: I think in the rules you get a Hail Mary guess at the end.

Vanessa: Oh yeah?

Dan: Yeah.

There's one Hail Mary guess at the end.

Vanessa: The next expression is, a toss up.

Note that this is a noun we need, a, in front of this expression.

It kind of looks like a phrasal verb, right?

Toss can be a verb.

Up can be a preposition.

But in this situation it's a noun, a toss up.

It means an outcome can't be predicted between two options.

You have no idea if this one's going to win or if this one's going to win or which one's

going to be better.

It is unpredictable which one is going to be chosen.

All right, let's look at some examples.

Vanessa: In the original conversation we said, "It's a toss up between earth and fog."

I think my original clue was nature and Dan was trying to guess which word is related

to nature, earth or fog.

And he said, "It's a toss up."

Both words are equally related to nature, earth and fog.

I don't know.

It's a toss up.

Let's look at another example.

Both teams are playing so well.

It's a toss up who will win.

We don't know who will win, because both teams are playing so well.

So make sure you use this as a noun.

It's a toss up.

When you hear this as a verb, it's generally a physical action.

He tossed up the ball into the air.

Okay.

But this is as a noun.

It's a toss up who will win.

I don't know.

All right.

Let's look at the original conversation clip.

Dan: Earth.

Earth is a little more nature.

Vanessa: Yeah, that's a little hard.

Dan: I mean, it was a toss up.

Vanessa: Yeah.

I feel like if it were butterfly and earth, I probably would have said a different word.

Dan: Because We say mother earth.

Dan: Earth.

Earth is a little more nature.

Vanessa: Yeah, that's a little hard.

Dan: I mean, it was a toss up.

Vanessa: Yeah.

I feel like if the word butterfly and earth, I probably would have said a different word.

Dan: Because we say mother earth.

Vanessa: The next expression is, early on.

This expression is almost exactly the same thing as just the word early.

In the conversation we said, "It's early on in the game."

This means it's almost the beginning of the game.

It's early on in the game.

In this sentence, you can also say, "It's early in the game."

Using on is not a requirement in this sentence.

It's just another way to say this expression.

It's early in the game or it's early on in the game, but let's look at another sentence

where you need to say early on and you can't say early.

Vanessa: I knew early on that this lesson would help my vocabulary grow.

In the situation we're talking about, at the beginning when you first clicked on this video,

you realized quickly, you realized early on this video is going to help my vocabulary

grow.

I'm going to watch it.

Even though it's a little bit long, I'm going to watch it.

So you realized or you knew early on in the video, or we don't have to say that, just

I realized early on that this vocabulary video would help me improve.

We can't say in this situation, "I realized early that this video would help me."

I realized early, it feels a little bit strange.

So this expression is important to listen for when you're watching movies, TV shows,

listening to podcasts, listening to music.

When you hear people use early on, just make a little note of that situation, because you

can use it in that situation as well.

All right, let's watch the original clip.

Dan: There's too many ... I'm going to pass.

Vanessa: Oh, okay.

All right.

Dan: I'm scared.

Last time made me nervous.

Vanessa: All right, so you're going to have one ...

Dan: It's early on.

Yeah, I don't know.

To me ... Vanessa: One waiting?

Dan: There's too many ... I'm going to pass.

Vanessa: Oh, okay.

All right.

Dan: I'm scared.

Last time made me nervous.

Vanessa: All right, so you're going to have one ...

Dan: It's early on.

Yeah, I don't know.

To me ... Vanessa: One waiting?

Vanessa: The next expression is, to go on.

This is another phrasal verb and it simply means to happen, but there is another layer

to this phrasal verb.

It's usually when something dramatic is happening or you kind of expect that maybe something

dramatic is happening.

So let's take a look at some examples.

I said, "They have fist fights going on."

Fist fights means you are punching someone.

This is pretty dramatic, right?

It's not just a conversation, it's something dramatic.

So I was talking about gangsters or the mafia or these different violent groups have fist

fights going on.

Vanessa: Or we could say, "Go outside and find out what's going on."

In this situation, you don't know anything about this context except because I chose

to use the phrasal verb, to go on, you can assume that maybe there's a lot of loud noise.

Maybe there was a big crash.

Maybe there's a lot of people outside and that's unusual.

Something that you suspect to be dramatic is happening.

Go outside and find out what's going on.

Hopefully it's going to be a safe situation, but you never know.

Just find out what is this unusual dramatic thing that's happening.

All right, let's take a look at the original clips that you can see how it was used.

Vanessa: What else punches?

Gangsters may be punched.

They got some fist fights going on.

Vanessa: What else punches?

Gangsters may be punched.

They got some fist fights going on.

Vanessa: The next expression is a fun idiom and it's, by the seat of your pants.

Let me tell you a little bit about the origins of this expression.

So it means that you're doing something without a plan.

But why in the world is it by the seat of your pants?

So generally this expression is used in its full form, to fly by the seat of your pants.

This refers back to a time at the beginning of aviation when pilots didn't really have

a lot of technology to help them fly correctly.

They often had to just use their own intuition.

Maybe they had to look out the window, maybe they had to just kind of follow their heart.

So they were doing something without a plan.

They didn't have maybe a control tower, telling them where to go.

This is the early stages of aviation.

So they said that pilots had to fly by the seat of their pants.

They didn't have a plan, they just had to go for it and hope that it was okay.

Vanessa: So we've kind of brought this expression into modern times to simply mean that I don't

have a plan.

I'm doing it by the seat of my pants.

So let's look at some examples.

Dan said, "Frogs live by the seat of their pants."

So it was kind of a weird way to use this, but it's kind of true, right?

Frogs don't have a plan.

They just live however they want to live.

They just go on each day, each moment without a plan.

So they live by the seat of their pants.

He could've also said, "Frogs just kind of fly by the seat of their pants."

That would mean the same thing.

It doesn't mean they're flying in the sky.

It just means that they go through life without a plan.

Vanessa: Let's look at another example.

"I totally forgot about my presentation, so I just flew ...", which is the past tense,

"I just flew by the seat of my pants."

When you got in front of the class, you realized, I have nothing prepared.

I totally forgot about this.

Well, you know what you have to do?

You have to fly by the seat of your pants.

You just have to go for it and hope that it turns out well.

So you could say, "I flew by the seat of my pants."

Kind of funny expression, right?

But when you hear it now you'll know, it means this person was not prepared, didn't have

a plan.

It's a lovely one to integrate into your own conversations.

All right, let's watch the original clip.

Dan: Frogs.

I'd say they kind of just live by the seat of their pants.

They're not really making routines.

Dan: Frogs.

I'd say they kind of just live by the seat of their pants.

They're not really making routines.

Vanessa: The next expression is, to be hit or miss.

You can imagine a target.

If you hit the target, great, you have succeeded.

But if you miss the target, you failed.

So here we're talking about just unpredictable results, to be hit or miss.

You don't know if you're going to hit it.

You don't know if you're going to miss it.

But we don't really use this with a target per se.

We use it in other situations.

So let's look at some examples.

Dan said, "Our knowledge is very hit or miss."

In the game that we were playing, we really needed to know each other and to guess each

other's minds.

Sometimes we knew immediately.

Great, that was hit.

But sometimes, as you'll see if you haven't watched that video, it was completely miss.

So we were not on the same page.

We just didn't understand what each other were thinking.

So we could say our knowledge was hit or miss.

Vanessa: Let's look at another example.

The singer's new songs are really hit or miss.

Some are amazing and some are just okay.

So if you get a new album from someone who you enjoy, a musician who you enjoy and you

listen to one song, "Oh this is so great, I love this!"

And then the next song ... not so great.

And they listen to another one, "Oh this is great!"

And another one, not so great.

Well, this could be a great time to use this expression.

The new songs are hit or miss.

Some of them are great, some of them are not.

All right, let's watch the original clip so that you can see how to use this.

Dan: How well do we know each other's brain?

It's very hit or miss.

Dan: How well do we know each other's brain?

It's very hit or miss.

Vanessa: The next expression is another wonderful idiom and it's, on the back burner.

On your oven, on the stove top, at least in the US, there's generally four burners.

Two are in the front and two are in the back.

The ones in the front you probably use more often and the ones in the back you don't use

as often.

They're a little further away, so this expression uses that idea.

It means that something is postponed or it's just a low priority.

It's on the back burner.

In the conversation with Dan, I said, "I'll keep it on the back burner."

That means that I'll kind of postpone this.

It's not my top priority right now, but I'll still remember it.

I'm not going to completely forget that I have it on this figurative stove top, but

it's just not my top priority right now.

Vanessa: We can often use this in negative situations, especially related to people.

So you might say, "He always chooses to watch soccer, so his girlfriend feels like she is

on the back burner."

This means soccer is his priority, and spending time with her is not a priority.

It's a low priority.

This might not be true in his mind, but she feels like she is on the back burner.

So if you personally feel like you have been pushed to the back burner, this means that

you are not someone's priority.

It's a negative feeling, right?

You want to be a priority, especially to the people you care about.

So you might use this in a conversation with someone to say, I feel like I've been on the

back burner recently.

We really need to spend more quality time together.

Vanessa: Or you could just use this for an idea.

Let's put that idea on the back burner and let's focus on this other project first.

In that situation, it's not negative.

It just means it's not our top priority.

Let's postpone it and then we'll get to it later.

All right, let's see how this was used in the original conversation clip

Dan: And I think we're doing fine.

I'm still going to pass for now.

Vanessa: You're going to pass.

Okay, so you still got that sitting on the back burner?

Dan: Yeah, it's on the back burner.

Vanessa: All right, I'll ... Dan: If I can remember.

Dan: And I think we're doing fine.

I'm still going to pass for now.

Vanessa: You're going to pass.

Okay, so you still got that sitting on the back burner?

Dan: Yeah, it's on the back burner.

Vanessa: All right, I'll ... Dan: If I can remember.

Vanessa: The next expression is, to be clear cut.

This means it is completely free from doubt.

If you cut something with scissors, well it's not very easy to put that back together.

There is an obvious line on one side of something, on the other is another.

It is free from doubt which side is on which side.

So let's take a look at some examples.

In the conversation, I said, "That's a pretty clear cut no."

That means that there's no doubt the answer is no.

It's a clear cut no.

There's not any hesitation.

I'm not thinking maybe it's true, maybe it's not.

Nope, it is a clear cut no.

Vanessa: Let's look at another example.

This is true for my life.

From an early age, it was clear cut that I wouldn't become an engineer.

My dad's an engineer, but from an early age I wasn't showing signs that I was really gifted

or interested in math and science, the things that you really need to know a lot about if

you're going to be an engineer.

So from an early age, or we could say early on, it was obvious that I wasn't going to

be an engineer or it was clear cut that I wouldn't be an engineer.

All right, let's take a look at the original conversation.

Dan: Probably didn't wear a bikini, just saying.

I don't think so.

Vanessa: I think you know enough about him to say that's a pretty clear cut no.

Dan: Probably didn't wear a bikini, just saying.

I don't think so.

Vanessa: I think you know enough about him to say that's a pretty clear cut no.

Vanessa: The next expression and phrasal verb is, to throw off.

This means to confuse someone or something.

We could say, "That word is throwing me off."

In the conversation in the board game, we used this to talk about this word specifically

is confusing me.

It threw me off or it is throwing me off.

We can imagine here that you are, let's say walking or trying to balance on a railroad

track.

Well you're going in one direction, but if you get thrown off then you're not on the

same path and it's kind of the same idea as being figuratively lost or confused.

That word is throwing me off.

I was on a path and then I saw that word and now I'm not so certain.

The answer is not clear cut anymore.

I felt thrown off.

It's a little bit difficult to explain how this was used in the conversation if you haven't

seen the conversation yet.

So let's look at another example.

Vanessa: The robber threw off the police by putting on a disguise.

Maybe he put on some long hair and some different clothes.

Well in this situation he's confusing the police by putting on a disguise.

He is throwing off the police.

So the police are on a path.

They are going to find the robber, they're going to find the criminal and then all of

a sudden they look around and there's no more clues.

Where did he go?

He just vanished.

Well, we can say the robber threw off the police.

That means because of his actions, because he put on a disguise, they're not on the right

path anymore.

They don't know where they're going.

They're confused.

He threw them off.

This is a wonderful phrasal verb that you can use in a lot of situations.

All right, let's take a look at the original clip.

Dan: Yeah.

Bases.

Bases.

Something about that word is just throwing me off.

Dan: Yeah.

Bases.

Bases.

Something about that word is just throwing me off.

Vanessa: The next and final expression is a wonderful idiom, to go over your head.

This doesn't mean that an airplane is flying over your head.

This just means that you don't understand some kind of complex idea.

It just went over your head.

Let's take a look at some examples.

All the hints are going over my head.

That means that in the board game, Dan was trying to give me hints.

I was trying to give him hints and we just weren't understanding them.

They were going over our head.

We often use this gesture that you see me making with a hand, that went over my head.

You're kind of showing visually what this expression actually is.

Something is going over your head.

It just means that you don't understand it.

Vanessa: Let's take a look at another example.

Because I studied this lesson, these 20 expressions won't go over my head anymore.

That means if you hear these expressions in a podcast, in a song, in a movie, you're going

to understand them.

They're not going to go over your head.

Maybe before this lesson, if you heard one of these expressions, if you heard clear cut

or to be on the back burner, you would have just kind of mentally skipped it and tried

to understand the general context.

But now these expressions won't go over your head because you're going to understand them.

Wonderful.

Great work.

All right, let's watch the original clips so you can see how this was used.

Dan: All the hints are going right over my head.

Lancelot.

Whose that?

Legs.

Where?

What was the other one?

Vanessa: Faces.

Dan: Faces!

Vanessa: That did not go over your head.

Dan: All the hints are going right over my head.

Lancelot.

Who's that?

Legs.

Where?

What was the other one?

Vanessa: Faces.

Dan: Faces!

Vanessa: That did not go over your head.

Vanessa: Great work using all of these expressions.

I hope that they won't go over your head.

I hope that you'll be able to add them into your vocabulary.

Congratulations for your hard work.

Now I have a question for you.

I want to know when something is used up in your house, do you get rid of it or do you

just leave it there?

Do you know anyone who just leaves it there?

Like the toilet paper roll or the milk jug?

What do you do when you use up something in your house?

Thank you so much for learning English with me and I'll see you again next Friday for

a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

Bye.

Vanessa: The next step is to download my free ebook, Five Steps to Becoming a Confident

English Speaker.

You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.

Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more free lessons.

Thanks so much.

Bye.