15 Funny English Idioms make people laugh
- Hello everyone,
and welcome back to “English with Lucy.”
Today, I have an idioms video for you.
I’m sure that you will agree with me
that English is sometimes
quite ridiculous.
So today I have compiled
15 of the funniest idioms,
along with examples, of course.
These are idioms that you can
use in real-life situations,
but they are also idioms
that have funny meanings,
are just a bit strange,
or tickle me in some way.
If something tickles
you, it makes you laugh.
You can download the free
PDF worksheet for this class,
it’s got all of the idioms
plus extra examples.
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Right, let’s get started
with the first idiom.
The first idiom is a lovely
one, as are all of them, really.
It is, a storm in a teacup,
a storm in a teacup.
And interestingly, in American English,
they say it in a slightly different way,
they say a tempest in a teapot,
so it’s still tea-related.
Now this means lots of
unnecessary anger and worry,
or drama about a matter
that is not important.
Unnecessary drama.
For example,
“She’s made an official
complaint to the CEO
about the type of cheese
in the cheese sandwiches
at the canteen.”
This seems to me to be
a storm in a teacup,
a lot of unnecessary worry and anger
about something that just
isn’t that important.
Number two, this is one that
I have mentioned before,
many years ago, but it’s so
important, and so widely used,
that I feel comfortable saying it again.
It is, Bob’s your uncle, Bob’s
your uncle, very important.
This is a phrase that we say
when we have reached the end
of a set of instructions,
or when we’ve reached a result.
It translates as, “And there
it is,” or “There you have it.”
So an example would be,
“To make a cup of mint tea,
boil a kettle, add a
teabag, wait two minutes,
and Bob’s your uncle.
There you have it.”
Now, number three is slightly morbid.
It is, as dead as a doornail.
And this means very, very dead.
You couldn’t be more dead
than a doornail, I guess.
An example would be,
“I tried to save the mouse
that my cat brought in,
but it was as dead as a doornail.”
Similarly, along the same lines,
we also have number four,
which is, to kick the
bucket, to kick the bucket.
Now this is a verb and it means to die.
To die, to kick the bucket, to die.
I don’t know why I’m
saying die in such a, die,
I just can’t help it, die.
Let’s move on.
Now the origins of this
phrase are quite interesting.
It’s because when people died by hanging,
they would stand on a bucket
and then kick the bucket away,
and that’s where to kick
the bucket comes from.
An example, “Unfortunately,
our favourite neighbour kicked
the bucket three years ago
but we still feel her presence
in the neighbourhood.”
And that’s true,
my absolute favourite neighbour died
at the ripe age of 93, I think.
But every time I go
home to visit my parents
I always expect to see her,
and then I realise she’s not there.
We miss her a lot but
she had a fantastic life.
Number five is, everything
but the kitchen sink,
everything but the kitchen sink.
Now if you’ve never
heard this idiom before,
I would love to know what
you think it might mean
in the comments section,
and then let’s see if you’re right.
So pause now and write that.
Okay, I’m starting, it
means everything imaginable.
This phrase became popular in World War II
when newspapers would report
that everything but the kitchen sink
was thrown at the enemy,
everything imaginable.
An example, “Will packs
lightly for travel,
but I throw everything
but the kitchen sink
into my suitcase” -ses, plural.
I’m one of those.
Number six, oh, I love this one.
It’s so expressive, it’s hilarious.
It is, the lights are
on, but no one’s home.
I think I mentioned this one in my,
“Seven Polite Ways to Call
Someone Stupid” video,
where I went through the seven ways
in which I had been an
idiot throughout my life.
If you would like to see some serious,
serious self-deprecation,
then do watch that video.
This is used to say
that somebody is stupid,
even though they may appear normal,
what a lovely phrase.
An example,
“Jennifer has a degree in interior design,
but the lights are on and no one’s home.”
Number seven is, donkey’s
years, donkey’s years.
This is used to describe an action
that has continued on
for a very long time.
And supposedly this
originates from rhyming slang,
donkey’s ears used to mean years
but now they’ve just joined together
to become donkey’s years.
An example, “Will has
lived in the countryside
for donkey’s years.
He just wouldn’t survive in the city,
he’s lived in the countryside for years.”
Number eight is, to do a
runner, to do a runner.
And this means to leave
a place hastily, quickly,
in order to avoid an unpleasant situation
or to avoid paying.
An example,
“They ordered the caviar and the lobster,
but when the bill arrived,
they did a runner.
They left hastily to avoid paying.”
Number nine, nothing to write home about,
nothing to write home about.
If something or someone is
nothing to write home about,
it means they are not very
exciting or not very special.
An example,
“I met a boy at the ice rink,
but he’s nothing to write home about.
He’s not that special, I’m
not that excited about him.”
Or, “The meal was nice,
but it was nothing to write home about,
it was nothing extraordinary.”
Number 10, this is one of my
mother’s favourite phrases,
she has a lot.
It is, keep your eyes peeled,
keep your eyes peeled.
And this means keep your
eyes open, or be vigilant,
keep on the watch.
And it’s not because she’s
worried about my security,
she actually uses this
phrase if she’s looking
to buy something and we’re in a shop.
She says, “Keep your eyes
peeled for green scarves,”
or, “Keep your eyes
peeled for any calendars
with chickens on them.”
It’s a very good phrase,
I recommend you use it.
Keep your eyes peeled.
Number 11 is, to pick someone’s brain,
to pick someone’s brain,
and this is very weird sounding, isn’t it?
To pick at somebody’s brain,
to look for information,
but that basically is
what it means, in a way.
It means to obtain information
by questioning somebody
who is well-informed on a subject.
So it’s something you
hear in business a lot,
and it’s a really annoying question.
“Can I pick your brain for a minute?”
It basically means,
can I ask you loads and loads of questions
about something that you know lots about
and offer you nothing in return.
An example,
“Colin, can I pick your brain
about that new project?”
And undoubtedly, Colin would
be rolling his eyes inside.
“Yes, you can pick my brain.”
Number 12 is, to put feelers out,
or sometimes we say put the feelers out.
And this means to make
informal suggestions,
so as to test a concept before
any final decisions are made.
So it’s basically to test an idea
by asking people’s opinions
before they commit to something.
An example,
“Can I suggest that we put the feelers out
to see if the employees actually want
a Zoom Christmas party this year?”
I honestly cannot imagine
anything worse than
a Christmas party on Zoom.
I’m sorry if you’ve just organised one,
but that sounds like hell.
Oh, number 13, this is a great one,
but they’re all great ‘cause I chose them.
It is, the best thing since sliced bread.
This means that something is the best
and most useful innovation
or invention of recent times.
It means that something
is a good invention.
Now you might be asking,
“Why sliced bread?”
Well, I asked myself that question
and I did the research.
When sliced bread was first
brought to market in 1928,
it was a massive deal.
There were huge marketing
campaigns about sliced bread.
It was marketed as the
greatest step forward
in baking innovation
since bread was wrapped.
An example, “When flip phones came out,
I thought that they were the
best thing since sliced bread.
I miss hanging up so sassily.”
Number 14 is, take a chill
pill, take a chill pill.
And this is a slightly patronising way
to tell somebody to calm down or to relax.
It never fails to enrage
me when someone tells me
to take a chill pill.
To be honest, it enrages
me when someone tells me
to calm down.
If someone is angry,
telling them to calm down
often makes it worse.
An example, “At the picnic,
I told Mary to take a chill pill
‘cause she was freaking out about a wasp.”
And number 15 is, I’ll show myself out,
I’ll show myself out.
And this is used when you
have disgraced yourself.
It means, “I’ll leave, you
don’t have to show me the door,
I will leave by choice.”
Nowadays, it is almost always
used after telling a bad joke.
You tell the joke, the reaction is awful,
and you just say, “I’ll show myself out.
Bye-bye, thank you, everyone.”
I’ve got a joke, let’s try it.
What’s the difference between
snowmen and snow women?
Snowballs, snowballs.
I’ll show myself out.
Right, that is it for today’s lesson,
those were our 15 funny idioms.
Extra homework is to let
me know of any ridiculous,
hilarious idioms that
you have in your language
that don’t translate well to English.
I would love to know the
random quirks of your language.
Please put them in the
comments section down below.
Don’t forget to check out
the Lingoda Team Challenge,
the link to sign up is
in the description box.
You can also get the free PDF worksheet
that I have lovingly created for you.
The link for that is also
in the description box.
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and all of the videos are subtitled
so you can use them
for listening practise.
I will see you soon for another lesson.
Mwah.
(upbeat music)