Episode 83 : Common English Idioms, 'Don't Miss the Boat' :)

Listen to this Episode of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Stitcher.

Ian: Hey everyone, you are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And today, we're going to talk about one of the parts of the English language that I get questions about all the time in class and it's, “Hey, what are the common phrases or sayings that people say in English?” And these typical phrases that have pretty strange meanings, on the surface, these are called idioms. And these idioms, like I said, are phrases or sayings that we use to describe something, but if you don't know what the phrase means it could come across as really strange. So, Paige and I are going to spend some time breaking down some of the most popular and common idioms that we use in English. So again, if you get lost, please go online and check out the transcript and vocab. guide, okay. So, Paige—idioms: I get asked about this all the time in my classes. “What are some common phrases that you gringos like to say to describe something?” There are many, many, many so let's discuss some of the most common ones we know. Can you think of one in particular that you like to use?

Paige:  Yeah, of course. I mean, there's obviously countless; I was just looking at a list and one that I haven't used in a while that I was like, “Oh, I'm gonna start throwing that into my vocab again” was “miss the boat.”

Ian: Mmmm. That's a good one.

Paige: So that one, I mean, it's very literal, right? You missed the boat, so (we) use it a lot when maybe there's an opportunity or something that came up that you didn't make it to, right? So, for instance, say that you were going to invest in Apple, and you didn’t, and then their stock went up really high and you're like, “Oh, I really missed the boat. I should have invested.” That would be an example,

Ian: It's a really good one. I like that.

Paige: What are some that you like to use?

Ian: Well, there's a lot of them that I like to use but I'm going to touch, specifically, on a few ones that are really strange to people who maybe are learning English as a second language. So, for example, one that I've said to students that always makes them laugh is, “It's raining cats and dogs.” They say, “Cats and dogs?? Why in the world would anyone put that in a phrase?” And I have to say, “I don't know.” But what “raining cats and dogs” means is that it's raining really hard, right? So, you look outside and it's pouring, pouring, pouring. You say, “Wow! Look, it's raining cats and dogs outside.” So, this is one that I never thought of as being strange until I started traveling, talking to other people. And in other cultures, they have similar idioms but maybe instead of cats and dogs they use some other kind of objects. So, it's funny to talk to people and compare those different sayings. But for us, it's cats and dogs.

Paige: That’s quite an image.

Ian: Yeah, right? Just imagine cats and dogs falling from the sky. It’s definitely, yeah, it's a very, very visual idiom. But yeah, that's a popular and good one to use. Another good one that I can think of, it's really strange for people, when you tell someone, “Break a leg.” Now, “break a leg”, it's meaning actually is the opposite of what you think. So, when I teach students that we say “break a leg” for telling someone “good luck” with something, they're really confused. They say, “Why would you ever tell someone to break a leg? That’s something terrible to happen, right?” And, you know, when they mentioned that, I thought myself, “Why is this a phrase?” So, I did some research and it turns out that it's most likely that for actors and theater performers, back in the day, they used to think it was bad luck to tell someone “good luck” before a performance. So, they decided, “What's the opposite of good luck? Let's say this and that way we won't be cursing ourselves.” So, they came up with, “Alright, let's say ‘break a leg’ so that, hopefully, the opposite will happen and this person will perform really well.” So that was a strange one that, even as a native I didn't really know the origin. I had to look it up and now I understand why we say “break a leg.”

Paige: Yeah, not literal.

Ian: Exactly, right?  

Paige: We don't want you to get hurt.

Ian: Yeah, that would be quite strange if it was not the opposite of its meaning. What's another one you can think of?

Paige:  Another one I like is, “don't beat around the bush.” So that one, visually, doesn't really make quite sense but, it basically just means if you're trying to tell me something, just say it, right? You don't have to, like, go into it, have all this explanation. “Don't beat around the bush” right? Just tell me what you're thinking, right? That one's really good. The other one I like: “Bite the bullet.” Which doesn't really make sense when you think about it, literally, but it basically it just means to get something over with, right? So, if you have, like, this deadline that you really have to do, you just say, “Okay, I'm going to just bite the bullet, I'm going to wake up at 6am and get it done.” Another one I actually said with my students, recently because of the protests, we were talking about the protests and the initiatives that President Pinera has passed. And my student was saying “Oh, like, he really hasn't done much. You know, it's all for show.” And an idiom that made me think of is “it's like putting lipstick on a pig.” So, the idea of that is that it looks great, but it's still a pig, right? So, with these policies, I was explaining to her that your opinion is that, “Oh he's trying to make a big show that he's done all these great things but really, it’s just a cover up.”

Ian: Yeah, exactly. That's a good one.

Paige: But when you think of it, it is also a funny image. It’s just like, a pig with lipstick, what?

Ian: I know, we talked about these ones that are very visual. And that's definitely one that's up there with, like, the cats and dogs. I can literally imagine putting lipstick on a pig and what that looks like, so. I love the visual side to these sayings. And just a quick reminder if you are interested in taking private classes with Dynamic English, go ahead and check out our website at dynamicenglish.cl. and there you can sign up for private classes in your apartment, in your house, in your office. You can even now take classes online. Sitting on your couch, you can log on and practice English. It's very easy. So, if you're interested, check us out, also, on social media through Facebook, or Instagram. Another one that I like a lot is saying, “comparing apples to oranges” and, kind of, like, how it seems in the phrase, apples and oranges are two different things, right? So, basically, the phrase is saying that you're comparing two completely different things. So, this is a good way when someone is trying to make a point about comparing two things, you can say to them, “That's like comparing apples to oranges. It's like we're talking about two completely different things here.” So, it's a good way to, kind of, separate the comparison of something, for example. Another good one that I really like is “under the weather.” It's really simple but it's used a lot. And basically, what this means is you’re feeling a little sick, you don't feel 100% health-wise. And so, I would say to you, “Paige, you know, I’m sorry my voice sounds a little bad on the microphone this morning. I'm feeling under the weather. I'm not feeling 100% healthy.” So, very commonly used idiomatic phrase. So, any other ones that you can think of?

Paige: So, these are both, kind of, similar, but one that I like is “speak of the devil.” So that's a common expression when you're talking about someone and they come into the room. I don't know where it originates from because it's not negative. Like, it would, I think, when you think “speak of the devil” it's, like, someone you hate comes into the room but it can be positive. It's just more that you're talking about this person and then they show up. And the other one, in the same boat, is that “your ears are on fire.” So, “your ears are on fire, ears are burning”, it means you're talking about someone again and either they, like, know that you're talking about them so they, like, call you or they show up. It's almost, like, ironic. Like, you're talking about them and then, all of a sudden, they're here. The expression is, kind of, like, almost they heard you, right? So, that's why they show up. But yeah, I don't know why it’s “speak of the devil” because it isn't negative.

Ian: It’s really, like, neutral. It's just a way of saying “Hey we, you know, we we're talking about you.”—whether it's good or bad. If it's bad, you're probably not going to tell the person “speaking of the devil”, though. So, yeah, I think that one, just depends. 

Paige: “We were just bashing you.”

Ian: “Yeah, look at that. Here's the person we're talking about.” Yeah, so, you know, that's one of those where sometimes you have to dig to find the origin. You've been saying it all your life and then you realize “I don't even know where that came from.” So, very funny, very interesting. Another one is, “We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.” So, that's another one that's, kind of, saying “this topic isn't that important right now. Let's talk about it at another time when it's more important.” So, it's like saying “Once we reach this problem, we'll discuss it. But right now, we have other things to take care of.”

Paige: So, me and Ian could probably talk about these all day. There's so many, they're all pretty strange but used very commonly. And as you're learning English, they probably don't make sense. So, you'll have to Google it as we have before this episode. Again, if you get lost, check out the transcript and audio guide. Thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll see you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases and Slang:

 1.     on the surface (idiom): looking and thinking about something superficially without looking at deeper meanings.

• On the surface, he seems like a quiet and boring guy. But at night, he becomes a rock star.

2.     to break down (phrasal verb): to explain something clearly and simply.

• I need to break down the information so that you can understand.  

3.     to come up (phrasal verb): something is mentioned or discussed in conversation.

• The accounting problem will come up in our weekly meeting.

4.      to invest (verb): put money into something expecting to achieve profit or develop it.

• My dad invested early in Uber and make a lot of money.

5.     to pour (verb): when a liquid, usually rain, falls heavily.

• The rain pours every time that I visit Puerto Montt.

6.     back in the day (phrase): in the past.

• Back in the day, I used to go to the beach every summer.

7.     to curse (verb): to cause bad luck or harm to someone.

• The man thought he was cursed because of his horrible luck.

8.     to go into it (phrasal verb): to deeply explain something.

• We don’t need to go into right now. We can discuss it tomorrow at the office.

9.     deadline (noun): the latest time or date in which something needs to be finished; limit.

• Our project deadline is this Friday so we can’t waste anymore time.  

10.  initiative (noun): action or strategy to fix or improve a situation.

• The group’s initiatives were not enough for them to secure the sale.

11.  cover up (noun): an attempt to prevent people from discovering the truth; to hide the truth.

• Everyone was angry when they found out that the information was just a cover up for the crimes that were committed.

12.  to show up (phrasal verb): to be present or arrive somewhere.

• I think John said he was going to show up today for the party.  

13.  ironic (adjective): happening in the opposite way as expected, usually funny or amusing.

• It’s ironic that the police station was robbed by criminals.

14.  to bash (verb): to criticize severely.

• She was fired for bashing her boss on social media.