3 Common English Idioms that You Need to Know (Everyday English with Subtitles!)

- Hello, this is Jack from tofluency.com,

and in this English lesson I'm going to share three idioms

that I used last weekend.

The key when using idioms in English

is to know how to use them and when to use them.

And I'm gonna share a method at the end

that will help you with this, so keep watching.

To help me explain the first one,

know that on Friday my son's school had this festival,

and I was in charge of one of the bouncy houses,

or in British English we say bouncy castles.

And at first things were okay.

There weren't many kids there.

I was in control of the situation.

But as it got busier, things got out of hand.

Kids were trying to get on the bouncy house without paying.

There were too many kids there.

And it was just all a little bit crazy.

So if something gets out of hand,

it means that you lose control of the situation.

It's unmanageable.

And that's happened.

Things got out of hand.

Another example is this: the class got out of hand.

The class got out of hand.

So you can think about a situation

where a teacher is teaching a lesson,

but the kids don't listen.

They're shouting.

They're screaming.

They are throwing things.

And the class got out of hand.

So again, it just means that the teacher lost control

of that situation.

I love this second one,

but this is used only in very specific situations.

Now, I played soccer, or football, on Sunday.

And I was talking to one of my teammates

about another player.

I was talking about how well

this other player had been playing recently,

and then he just appears.

He comes over to talk to us.

And I say, "Speak of the devil."

Speak of the devil.

So that's how we use it, in that specific situation

when somebody appears when you are talking about them.

Speak of the devil.

You've probably heard this final one used a few times,

and I've actually used it in other lessons too.

But I said this on Sunday morning,

because I woke up and I went downstairs with my children,

but I wasn't feeling too great.

I had a bit of a headache, I didn't have a lot of energy,

and I said to my wife,

"I'm feeling a little under the weather."

I'm feeling a little under the weather.

And this means that I was feeling a little bit sick.

To feel under the weather means

that you feel a little bit sick.

You can also say things like, "I feel run down."

I feel run down.

Which means that you don't have energy.

And you're not completely sick,

but you might get sick in the near future

and your body is doing things to stop you from getting sick,

but that takes a lot of energy.

So to feel run down means

that maybe you've been working too hard,

maybe you've been partying too hard,

and your body doesn't have energy.

You don't feel energetic, and you feel a little bit sick.

Those three idioms, again, are get out of hand,

speak of the devil, and feel under the weather.

Again, the key with idioms

is using them at the right time.

Too many learners try to force them.

They try to use them in different situations

because they feel like they are advanced English.

But in many case you can use non-idiomatic language

and make your point in a better way.

But if you do feel like the idiom matches the situation,

then use it.

It's a great way to express yourself in English.

If you want to learn some more idioms,

then click over here.

I've made a playlist for you.

And if you want to learn more words

and phrases related to sickness,

things like under the weather, feeling run down, et cetera,

then click over here.

There's a playlist there too.

If you've enjoyed this, please like and share.

Thank you so much for watching.