7 English Idioms Using HEAD and TONGUE (Everyday English)

- My favorite mug.

(lively music)

In a conversation lesson that Kate

and I made recently, Kate said this.

- That's a great question. - I've never--

- I don't know off the top of my head.

- That's a great question. - I've never--

- I don't know off the top of my head.

- Did you catch that?

She said off the top of my head.

Now, many of you asked me what this means.

What does it mean when you say off the top of my head?

Well in this lesson I'm going to answer that

and also give you six other idioms that use

the word head and also the word tongue.

Number one.

Going back to the example I gave you.

I asked Kate the question,

when does winter officially start?

Now she didn't know the answer to this.

And to be honest, I didn't know the answer then either.

But after some research we learned

that it was on the 21st of December.

But in that moment, Kate said,

I don't know off the top of my head.

I don't know off the top of my head.

And when we use off the top of my head,

we are answering in that moment from memory

and without doing any research.

So she is saying I don't know without thinking about it,

without actually looking into it.

And maybe I need to do some research to know the answer.

Or maybe I need to think about it

before I answer to give the correct response.

Here is another example.

How many countries have you been to?

How many countries have you been to?

I don't know.

Off the top of my head, about 12.

So this answer was given without going through

and adding up all the countries

that this person had been to.

Here's another example.

How much do you think I would get for this camera?

I don't know.

Off the top of my head, about $1000.

So you're not giving a precise answer.

You're giving your best answer in that moment.

Number two.

For this next one, imagine that you have an English

test next week and you have to study hard for this test.

Then a friend asks you if you want

to go out with him that evening.

If you want to go to a restaurant

or go bowling or whatever the activity is.

You could say I'm sorry, I can't.

I need to get my head down for this test.

To get your head down means to study hard

or to work hard so that you can complete a task.

For example, I have been getting my

head down recently and making lots of videos.

And next week I'm going to get my head down again

and keep going with these videos.

Number three.

Continuing the same example of having a test next week,

the past perfect continuous is on this test.

So you need to know it.

If you are studying this tense

and you are looking at lots of examples,

you're watching videos,

you're trying to learn as much as you can

about it but you still can't understand it,

you can say I can't get my head

around the past perfect continuous.

And this just means that you can't

understand it no matter how much you try.

To get your head around something

means to finally understand something.

Here is another example.

I just can't get my head around why someone would do that.

This means I can't understand why somebody would do that.

Now we can't use this idiom for things like speaking skills.

It doesn't make sense to say I can't

get my head around speaking in English.

Because it's all about understanding something.

And with that in mind, answer this question.

Is there an area of English that

you can't get your head around?

Leave your answers below.

Number four.

For this one, our heads are going to fall off.

But not in a bad way.

Because there are times when you find something so funny

and you laugh so hard that you laugh your head off.

(laughing)

This is when you can't control yourself

because you are laughing so hard.

To laugh your head off.

Here's an example.

Remember when I fell over during the wedding?

You were laughing your head off.

Number five.

Let's move onto the tongue now.

And this one is a great one to use.

A lot of people use this in everyday English.

Now answer this question.

Who starred in Mission Impossible?

I imagine a lot of you answered that correctly.

But sometimes when you should know the answer but you can't

quite remember the name, it can be frustrating.

And this is when you can say ah,

his name is on the tip of my tongue.

His name is on the tip of my tongue.

You know the answer but you just can't

remember the name in that moment.

But you know it's going to come to you soon.

You're going to remember the name soon.

It's on the tip of your tongue.

And this one is very specific to the

situation I've just explained,

but it is a great one to use.

Number six.

Now the next one is great for any type of situation

where you stop yourself from saying something.

Imagine that you are at a party

and people are talking about politics.

And you want to add to this discussion.

You want to say something.

But you stop yourself from saying it

because it's maybe offensive or it might start an argument.

So what you do is you bite your tongue.

Here's an example.

I hated what they were saying but I bit my tongue.

I hated what they were saying but I bit my tongue.

Again, it might not be appropriate in that

situation to say what you want to say.

It's best to bite your tongue when the whole family

is together and talking about politics.

Number seven.

A lot of learners get in touch with me

and tell me that they know English grammar,

that they have learned phrases,

that they have practiced a lot.

But when it comes to actually

having conversations with people,

they feel like they just go blank,

that they can't say what they want to say.

If you ever hesitate or if you feel like

you can't say what you want to say in that moment,

then you are tongue-tied.

To be tongue-tied.

It happens to everyone.

I especially get tongue-tied when I'm meeting somebody new.

And sometimes they ask me a very simple question,

but for whatever reason I just

can't answer in the way I want to answer.

I don't say things in the correct way.

I get tongue-tied.

People especially get tongue-tied

during presentations and during interviews.

Any time when they feel under pressure

to say the right things.

Have you ever got tongue-tied before?

If so, leave me a comment telling

me when this happened to you.

And especially leave an example of you

speaking in English and getting tongue-tied.

Okay, so those are seven idioms

using the words head and tongue.

I hope you have enjoyed this lesson.

If you have, please like and share it.

Also check out the description

because I am going to leave a list

of all the phrases that we have used in this lesson.

And then don't go anywhere just yet.

Watch one of these videos and continue learning with me.

Okay, thanks again for watching

and I'll speak to you soon.

Buh-bye.

(lively music)