20 Stunningly Beautiful English Idioms English Vocabulary Lesson
hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy
today i’m going to talk to you about 20
of the most beautiful idioms in the
english language i’ve chosen these
idioms because i like their meaning i
think they sound nice i think they refer
to beautiful things and let’s just face
it some of them are really fun to say so
this video is perfect for improving your
vocabulary but if you want to improve
your pronunciation and your listening
even further then i highly recommend the
special method of combining reading
books with listening to the audiobook
version on audible it might sound a bit
weird but trust me it works let me
explain take a book that you have
already read in english or a book that
you would like to read in english i’ve
got lots of recommendations down in the
description box and read this book
whilst listening to the audiobook
version reading alone will not help your
pronunciation because english isn’t a
strictly phonetic language how a word is
spelt or written might not give you any
indication as to how it’s pronounced if
you listen to a word as you read it your
brain will start to make connections and
the next time you read that word you’ll
know how it’s pronounced and the next
time you hear that word you’ll know how
it’s spelt how it’s written it is such
an effective method and the best part is
you can get a free audio book that’s a
30-day free trial on audible just click
on the link in the description box and
sign up and then you can download one of
my recommendations give it a try it
really works right let’s get started
with our 20 beautiful english idioms
number one is it takes two to tango it
takes two to tango i love the way that
this one sounds
when you say it takes two to tango it
means that both parties or people
involved in a situation or argument are
equally responsible for it for example
we need to come to a compromise here it
does take two to tango after all
take two to tango take two to tango it’s
hard to say
number two is my absolute favorite idiom
i have mentioned this in quite a few
videos before but it’s worth a spot here
it is every cloud has a silver lining
this means that every difficult or sad
situation has a comforting or more
hopeful aspect even though this may not
be immediately apparent it comes from
the sun shining behind a cloud the cloud
is obviously a negative thing for some
people
i don’t mind clouds because i’m very
very white
but the sun shining behind the cloud
creates a silver lining and the sun’s
going to come out later and be hopeful
and comforting for you it’s a nice way
of expressing seeing the positive side
of something or seeing something
positive that will come later on as a
result of something negative for example
i was so upset that i failed that first
interview but now i have my absolute
dream job every cloud has a silver
lining
number three is to burn the midnight oil
to burn the midnight oil this means to
work or study late into the night for
example i’ve been burning the midnight
oil trying to finish a very important
course that’s a hint if you
if you didn’t quite get that
number four is kind of similar but it’s
got a slightly different meaning it’s to
burn the candle at both ends
to burn the candle at both ends
this means to work or to do something
from very early in the morning to very
late at night thus getting very little
rest you’re using all your free time in
the morning that you would usually use
to rest and you’re also using all your
free time in the evening that you would
also use to rest so you’re getting very
little rest
an example i was worried about will this
summer because he was burning the candle
at both ends he’s a farmer it was
harvest he was getting up early and
coming back very very late i was worried
number five is a lovely one it is water
under the bridge
water under the bridge
this refers to problems or disagreements
that someone or a group of people had a
long time ago
but now they don’t care about it anymore
because time has passed and these things
can’t be changed they’ve moved on
for example yes we had our disagreements
but that’s water under the bridge now it
doesn’t matter we’ve moved on
number six is to wear your heart on your
sleeve to wear your heart on your sleeve
if you wear your heart on your sleeve it
means that you openly share emotions and
feelings rather than keeping them hidden
inside for example i wear my heart on my
sleeve i am not afraid to tell someone
if i like them number seven is a funny
one i love this one it is lovely weather
for ducks
lovely weather for ducks you’re probably
thinking what the hell
let me explain it’s a humorous phrase
for
very wet rainy weather of which we have
a lot in the uk
and ireland
i might ask someone how’s the weather
looking and they might reply oh well
it’s gonna be lovely weather for ducks
the ducks are gonna love all this rain
number eight is to burn your bridges to
burn your bridges this is the act of
unpleasantly
and permanently ending a relationship
with another person or an organization
like a company that you worked for it’s
always a good idea to not burn your
bridges there have been many times where
i have wanted to burn bridges but i
haven’t and
quite a few of those times actually
there’s been a benefit
afterwards as a result of my not burning
my bridges
for example i’m so glad i didn’t burn my
bridges with my old boss because she’s
just offered me an amazing new job in
her new company
number nine this is lovely variety is
the spice of life variety is the spice
of life this is a phrase that says that
new and exciting experiences make life
more interesting for example i never
like to visit the same restaurant twice
because variety is the spice of life
that is not true for me i find a
favorite and then i
go there until
it shuts down basically
very upsetting when that happens number
10 is to londoneer to lend an ear
this simply means to listen to somebody
with sympathy an example
take my mobile number i’m always here to
lend an ear if you need one number 11 is
a change of heart
a change of heart
this means a move to a different opinion
or attitude for example
the troll had a change of heart and
decided to dedicate their life to
supporting anti-bullying campaigns that
would be a nice thing wouldn’t it number
12 is to touch someone’s heart to touch
someone’s heart
this means to make someone feel a
particular emotion
or strong feelings for example the
handmade birthday card from the little
girl down the road really touched my
heart
it made me feel very
touched
number 13 is to take one’s breath away
to take one’s breath away if you say
that something has taken your breath
away you’re emphasizing the fact that
it’s really beautiful or amazing
or breathtaking an example the way he
played that piano took my breath away
number 14 is one that i really like i
love all the weather-related idioms it’s
the calm before the storm the calm
before the storm this is a period of
unusual peace silence and tranquility
that seems to come before more difficult
or chaotic times
for example
every morning before i open my laptop i
sit down at my desk with a coffee and
enjoy the calm before the storm before
the busyness of my daily life begins
number 15 is to spread one’s wings to
spread one’s wings this means to become
more independent and confident and to
try new things
it refers to birds leaving the nest they
fly for the first time and spread their
wings an example
moving it to a new country at a young
age really gave me the chance to spread
my wings i became more independent and
more confident number 16 is so sweet
it is those three little words
those three little words and yes those
three little words is the idiom it is
the phrase we’re looking at saying those
three little words is an indirect way of
referring to the words i love you those
three short little words an example in
use i might say to my friend with her
new boyfriend
has he said those three little words to
you yet implying has he said i love you
yet
it’s a nice way of asking a question
without being too direct about i love
you which can be a big deal
number 17 is actually more of a proverb
than an idiom but i thought it would be
nice to include it because i really like
it it is what comes around goes around
you might remember the justin timberlake
song
i’m not going to sing it cause i will
get demonetized this means that if you
treat someone badly or do something
negative it’s likely that the same thing
will come back to haunt you that they
might treat you badly or you might just
be treated badly in general for example
she picked on me in middle school and
now her boss bullies her
what goes around comes around
number 18 is hook line and sinker hook
line and sinker i love this one it’s a
nautical one
relating to navigation and the sea and
sailors and maritime this means
believing something completely something
that’s usually not true for example you
got me hook line and sinker when you
told me you were going to be on the x
factor the x factor is a popular talent
show a singing talent show in the uk i’m
sure you have it in your country
perhaps number 19 is to have a soft spot
for someone to have a soft spot for
someone this means to have a great deal
of affection for someone or it can be
something for example i have a huge soft
spot for ginger cats i have a lot of
affection for ginger cats
it’s nice because obviously i’m speaking
about cats it’s not strictly romantic
it can be if someone says to
their crush or love interest i have a
huge soft spot for you then yes it
probably means romantic affection um but
it doesn’t have to be and i really like
that i feel like i’m being extra british
today like awkward and weird anyway and
the last one is to only have eyes for
someone to only have eyes for someone
for example oh no i didn’t say the
definition
this means to only be attracted to or
interested in one person which is lovely
monogamy
for example i only have eyes for william
he is the only person that i’m
interested in and attracted to obviously
because i i’m gonna marry him
right that’s it for our 20 beautiful
idioms i hope you agree with me that
they are lovely
fun to say they’ve got beautiful
meanings
and they’re just
just nice aren’t they
um please do share any other beautiful
idioms or idioms that you consider to be
really really nice fun to say satisfying
or really meaningful down below in the
comments section don’t forget to check
out audible you can get your free
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lifestyle which is lucy bella earle
again link down below i will see you
soon for another lesson
then i highly recommend this
[Music]
this is a phrase that says the new annex
for example i never like to visit the
same restaurant restaurant
i really like the weather related idioms
i do have a whole video on whether
related idioms i believe and if not then
i should make one definitely unless i’ve
covered them all in this video anyway
that doesn’t matter number one is number
one
number 17
is more of a proverb than an indium an
indium
[Music]
[Music]
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