Idioms learn 9 idiomatic expressions from real spoken English
(Rachel)
Today we’re starting a new series.
We’re going to teach you about idioms to be
heard in real life this week.
I got the idea from this series from our podcast
which we did together and we actually cancelled.
Oh this is my husband David by the way for
anyone who doesn’t know this is David.
(David)
Hi everybody.
and we were doing a podcast together last
year uh that was pretty popular.
People liked it and they liked hearing David’s
voice and David’s perspective.
And since we didn’t have time to keep the
podcast going I thought okay let’s start a
video series.. with David.
So this is gonna be a little more conversational
and I’ve been wanting to do a series like
this for a while where we talked about idioms
and phrasal verbs that we’re hearing in real
life in conversation.
Uh because throughout the week, there’s so
many different interesting idioms that come
up and so I wanted to be able to share them
with you.
So, to start, the Superbowl was just a couple
of weeks ago, now David and I live in Philadelphia
and David grew up not so far from Philly.
(David)
Right.
(Rachel)
And so David has been an Eagles fan for a
long time.
(David)
(laughing) A very long time.
(Rachel)
A very long time
And uhm did that include some lean years when
there weren’t many wins?
(David)
Right, there’s been a lot of lean years
(Rachel)
Yeah
(David)
Mmmhmm
(Rachel)
So this was a uh, very big deal of course.
(David)
First ever.
(Rachel)
First ever Superbowl win for Philadelphia.
So, they beat the Patriots.
Uhm it’s a great story.
It was a great game.
If you didn’t see it, we have a tape of it
so just come on over and we’ll watch it together.
(Rachel/David)
(Laughing)
(Rachel)
Uhm But when we were watching the game, one
of the commentators..
So a commentator is someone who is paid by
the TV station to comment on what’s happening,
(David)
Mmmhum
(Rachel)
Analyze it.
One of the commentators said this idiom: Nick’s
Foles' confidence is through the roof.
So what is that mean to be through the roof?
Really high.
You could also say ‘sky high’.
That would be another idiom you could use.
So if your confidence is through the roof.
You’re feeling great about yourself, about
your abilities.
(David)
Right and in this instance it meant that he
was playing incredibly well.
He was so confident that he was not even thinking
about what he was doing.
He was just making all the plays that he needed
to make and he was incredible.
(Rachel)
He was so accurate.
I mean he just threw the ball and bam, it
was there.
Now, part of what’s crazy about Nick Foles
is that he was, he is not the main quarterback
for the Eagles.
He’s the 2nd string.
Uhm, you could call him a backup.
He’s the backup quarterback.
So what does it mean to be a backup?
It means you are not what’s gonna be planned
on.
So they have a quarterback thats better.
(David)
Mmmhum
(Rachel)
Carson Wentz.
He got hurt but he’s better, he’s their starter
is what they call that.
(David)
Mmmhum
(Rachel)
But when he gets injured, and you can’t go
what you are planning on, you can’t go on
your best player then you have to go with
your backup.
What else could you have a backup for?
Maybe if you’re having a party and you are
not sure if you have enough food, maybe you
buy some frozen pizzas to have as a backup
in case you run out.
(David)
Yeah.
Or people would say when they are applying
to college they would say: This is my 1st
choice but this is my backup school.
(Rachel)
Right and easier one to get into, you think
your chances of getting in are higher, it’s
your backup.
So Nick Foles, the backup, wins the Superbowl,
his confidence is through the roof, it was
amazing.
We better stop now or this whole video will
be about the Superbowl.
(David)
I would be okay with that.
(Rachel)
You would be.
I know.
Actually, one other thing I wanted to say
about the idiom ‘through the roof.’ is it
means really high level but it can also mean
angry, mad, pissed off would be another way
to say it.
Like you could say: My boss was through the
roof or went, went through the roof.
I think either one
(David)
either one okay, Mmmhum
(Rachel)
My boss went through the roof when I lost
a major client.
Or my parents went through the roof or hit
the roof or you could say
(David)
Yeah I think hit the roof is interchangeable.
(Rachel)
When my grades went down..
I was thinking of another way to use this
idiom ‘through the roof’ meaning really high
and I was thinking about ‘there’s some new
construction on our block and how they’re
pricing those houses so high, they’re expensive.
And I was thinking you know housing, the housing
market in our neighborhood is through the
roof.
(David)
It is.
(Rachel)
And then that’s funny because I’m talking
about a house and houses have rooves.
(David)
We’ll it’s even better than that.
All these new houses have roof decks.
There is something literally
(David/Rachel)
through the roof.
(Rachel)
On top of the roof you get a great view of
the city.
(Laugh)
So that’s the idiom “Through the roof.”
Okay another Eagles related idiom that we
heard this week.
Uh, there was a parade in Philly like Thursday
right?
(David)
Yeah
(Rachel)
4 days after the Superbowl Inn where people
like lined the streets and the players came
through on these big buses and it was a big
deal.
Everyone got to see the players.
And we didn’t go but we were watching a little
bit of the parade coverage on TV.
(David)
Mmmhum
(Rachel)
And one of the commentators made this comment
that they were ‘packed to the gills.’
(David)
Right
(Rachel)
Great idiom
(David)
Yeah.
Right.
And you looked it up then right?
I had no idea what that
(Rachel)
Yeah
(David)
he was referring to.
Obviously I could use it accurately but that’s
one of those ones I did not understand what
it meant.
(Rachel)
Yeah
(David)
I thought that it meant that a fish had eaten
so much that it was full the whole way up
to its gills.
(Rachel)
Yeah well that’s how we can use it now.
We can if you eat a ton, it doesn’t have to
mean like in an area with lots of people that’s
very crowded.
It could also mean that if you eat a lot and
you’re really full then you could say ‘I’m
stuffed to the gills.’
(David)
Yeah
(Rachel)
But an area can be stuffed to the gills or
packed to the gills if it’s really really
dense with people and or, or something else
you could say ‘our neighborhood is packed
to the gills with restaurants.’
It wouldn’t have to be people.
Uhm, but I have to show the photo that you
sent me that night.
So this wasn’t the parade but the night that
the Eagles won the Superbowl, David went out
onto the streets.
You know everyone just kind of wanted to be
around other fans and he sent me a photo from
an intersection near our house.
I couldn’t believe how packed to the gills
that intersection was.
(David)
That’s true
(Rachel)
It was like shoulder to shoulder people.
So most people, most Americans don’t know
the origins of all of these various idioms
we use, we didn’t know the origins of this
idiom I looked it up and it refers to how
you might prepare a fish, if you were gonna
bake it you might stuff other stuff in there
in the caserole.
Onions or tomatoes or whatever.
So that’s where the phrase ‘stuff to the gills’
comes from.
It comes from packing different things into
the dish when you’re preparing fish.
So related, speaking of fish, there’s, it’s,
it’s such a smooth segue, isn’t it?
Uh earlier this week, we were having, we’re
making dinner and actually we were making
fish and uhm but that aside we were gonna
make a salad.
And so we’re making out of Kale and David
said you know I said ‘How can I help? and
he said ‘Why don’t you fish the Kale out of
the refrigerator.’
(David)
Right.
I knew there were a bunch of stuff in that
drawer where the Kale was and so I was gonna
take a little bit of effort to reach around
the other things and actually get to the Kale
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
So if you have to fish around for something
or if you have to fish something out then
this means it is not that easy to get to.
Like uhm, maybe the scissors are at the back
of the junk drawer.
You have to fish them out.
I’m tired of having to fish things out.
This drawer is too messy.
Uhm, or fishing Kale out a very stuffed to
the gills fridge.
(David)
Yeah
(Rachel)
Yes.
They’re all interrelated.
(David)
Another one that came up was if you, like
when we ran the wires for our TV behind the
wall?
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
Ah we have a TV that hangs on the wall and
we don’t wan’t the wires to be visible coming
down the wall to the outlet so we had our
friend come and fish the wires behind the
dry wall down to the electrical socket so
again it’s hard to see uh it’s difficult to
get at
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
And those another use to that I thought of
(Rachel)
Mmmhum.
Fishing.
And then of course there’s actual fishing
where you’re cathing fish.
(David)
Yeah
(Rachel)
Which we ate for dinner with our Kale salad
after I fished the Kale out of the refrigerator.
Okay David before we wrap up this video before
we end it, I wanna come back to the subject
of Nick Foles.
The Eagles backup quarterback.
What happens when you’re the backup, the 2nd
string and you win a Superbowl?
You know what happens the next season when
the starter, the one whose supposedly better
than you is now healthy? is this poor guy
gonna have to just sit on the bench the whole
season?
(David)
First of all you use the phrase ‘2nd string?’
where does that come from?
(Rachel)
I do not know the origins of that.
(David)
Is that if you break a string on an instrument?
(Rachel)
I don’t think so.
(David)
We have to look that one up.
(Rachel)
But it might be related to like..
You have would have a 1st violin and a 2nd
violin and an orchestra
(David)
okay
(Rachel)
Maybe it’s related to that
(David)
Alright.
But Nick Foles as a 2nd string quarterback
so this has been a hotly debated in Philadelphia
since the Superbowl and uh
(Rachel)
Hotly debated.
That means something that people are really
talking about, discussing both sides
(David)
And the people feel passionate about their
stance.
(Rachel)
okay
(David)
So, he was incredible in the playoffs and
he won the Superbowl first ever for the city.
So, his value now in terms of trading him
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
is high.
There’s a feeling that we could get a good
player in return if we traded him.
But, there’s also the other side which says
Carson Wentz whose the franchise quarterback
the
(Rachel)
the starter
(David)
the starter
(Rachel)
The main one.
The one who’s better.
(David)
He’s young, he’s clearly the future as soon
as he’s healthy the team is his to run.
So, the other side says woah wait a minute,
what if he gets hurt again?
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
then you know that you have a stellar backup
in place
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
The rest of the team is gonna be very good
next year.
So people are saying you know you have to
keep him as an insurance policy
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
in case Wentz gets hurt again.
(Rachel)
Well let me ask about that.
Is he that good? or this is sort of a fluke?
A fluke is something out of the norm.
It can be more positive than the norm or can
be less positive than the norm.
But I mean the reason why he was 2nd string
is because he wasn’t that great, right?
So was it a fluke that he did so well during
the playoffs?
(David)
It’s hard but to tell and again that’s highly
debated because his first year with the Eagles
in his last stint year
(Rachel)
Mmmhum.
Oh you mean he played here then he played
somewhere else then he came back?
(David)
Yeah
(Rachel)
okay
(David)
in his first stint year, he had an incredible
season.
(Rachel)
okay.
So why did he get, why did he get traded then?
(David)
Uhm there was a coaching change and he was
not nearly as good the following year.
(Rachel)
okay
(David)
Wait, was there a coaching change before he
left?
I’m not sure.
But, people said that one season that he had
was a fluke.
(Rachel)
okay.
The good season was a fluke they’re saying
he’s not actually a great player
(David)
But, then he played a couple of the greatest
playoff games ever in the history of the game
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
So maybe he’s not fluke as much as what I
would say is that he’s someone who can get
hot.
(Rachel)
Okay so would you say he’s inconsistent.
Unreliable
(David)
that is a difficult phrase to use for him
(David/Rachel)
Laughing
(David)
People would say he’s hot or cold and when
he’s hot he’s incredible
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
When he’s cold, he looks pedestrian.
(Rachel)
This is how you feel about JJ Redick about
the 76ers.
(David)
(laughing) It’s true.
(Rachel)
But that’s a whole different, a whole different
story
(David)
That’s another episode
(Rachel)
Okay, anyway we maybe getting deep into sports
talk here though.
I will say I got an email from a guy named
Mustakim who we met at the Million subscriber
party.
He lives outside of Philly and he said you
know I’m watching the Superbowl and I don’t
really get American football.
Will you make a video about it?
So next fall during, you know, the relaunch
of the football season it’s over now.
But I think next fall maybe we should do a
video series on football vocabulary, idioms
and some of the rules so if people ever want
to watch, they feel like they get it a little
more.
What do you think of that idea?
If you like it, let me know in the comments
below.
(David)
I also think it’s just a reality that there
are a lot of metaphors that and idioms that
have crept into everyday
(Rachel)
Mmmhum
(David)
talk that are sports related
(Rachel)
so many
(David)
it’s hard for a non-native speaker to understand
where, where those are coming from.
(Rachel)
Yeah, I actually have a video on Golf idioms.
Idioms relating to par.
I made a video once on baseball idioms there
are so many.
I never published it because the audio got
messed up.
But there’s definitely, there are lot of videos
to be made about sports idioms including football
(David)
Mmmhum
(Rachel)
So hopefully we’ll get to that.
Uhm okay guys, Thanks for joining us here.
If you like this kind of video please let
us know in the comments below.
It’s the goal that we’ll be teaching you idioms
that we’re hearing that are in use that will
hopefully have an impact for you and understanding
what americans mean when they use these idioms.
So David thanks for joining me here
(David)
Thanks for having me.
(Rachel)
for helping me make this video and I think
that’s pretty much it.
Hopefully you’ll see more videos like this
in the future.
That’s it guys and thanks so much for using
Rachel’s English.