20 ENGLISH IDIOMS TO SOUND LIKE A NATIVE ENGLISH SPEAKER
hello everyone and welcome back to
english with lucy
today i’m going to show you 20 idioms
that you can use to sound like a native
english speaker this video is really
going to help you improve your
vocabulary but if you want to improve
your listening and pronunciation skills
even further then i highly recommend the
special method of combining reading
books with listening to the audiobook
version on audible it sounds weird
reading and listening at the same time
but it’s such an effective method 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 for books and audio
books down below in the description box
and as you read that book listen to the
audiobook version at the same time
reading alone will not help with your
pronunciation or your listening for that
matter english is not a strictly
phonetic language the way a word is
spelt or written in english might not
give you any indication as to how that
word is pronounced that’s why
pronunciation in english is so hard for
my students
but if you listen to a word as you read
it your brain will start making
connections and the next time you see
that word you’ll know exactly how it’s
pronounced how it’s supposed to sound
and the next time you hear that word
you’ll know how it’s spelt how it’s
written it’s such an effective method
and the best part is you can get one
free audio book that’s a 30 day free
trial on audible all you have to do is
click on the link in the description box
and sign up give it a try because it
really really works
right let’s get started with the lesson
idiom number one is a drop in the ocean
a drop in the ocean
i think there’s a song called a drop in
the ocean i used to really like that
when i was at school a drop in the ocean
means a very small or insignificant part
of something big or whole
for example the government’s pledge to
increase health funding by a hundred
million is a drop in the ocean compared
to the billions that need to be spent
number two is a lovely one i think
they’re all lovely actually because i
chose them myself for you
number two is action speak louder than
words
actions speak louder than words this
means that it’s better to actually do
something
rather than just talk about it
for example
stop apologizing to me and prove to me
that i can trust you actions speak
louder than words
that’s a good one to use in your next
fight with someone who has lost your
trust
number three is to add fuel to the fire
to add fuel to the fire
this simply means to make a problem
worse to exacerbate a problem
we learned exacerbate in another class
didn’t we recently comment down below if
you remember which it was for example
don’t tell her about the delays you’ll
just be adding fuel to the fire
number four is the ball is in your court
the ball is in your court
this means that it’s your turn to make
the next step or decision for example
i’ve done all i can do the ball is in
your court now
number five is to bend over backwards to
bend over backwards
this means to do whatever it takes to
help someone
for example
our company is bending over backwards to
satisfy our customers
sometimes it can mean that you’ve helped
too much you’ve put in too much effort
oh i’ve been bending over backwards
trying to solve his problems and he
hasn’t given me the time of day to give
someone the time of day is to give
someone the proper attention
number six to bite off more than you can
chew
to bite off more than you can chew
this means to take on a task that is too
big
for example i think i’ve bitten off more
than i can chew with this project
this is something i said all the way
through my university degree i was
working i had a youtube channel i was
doing projects i had taken on extra work
i bit off more than i could chew and i
suffered the consequences but it was
worth it i’m okay now
actually homework here have you ever
bitten off more than you could chew
let me know about the situation in the
comments section down below
maybe you were studying and working at
the same time maybe you were trying to
maintain a long-distance relationship
whilst
doing an internship i don’t know let me
know
oh number seven is a good one this is
one my mom uses a lot it’s by the skin
of one’s teeth by the skin of your teeth
this means to only just succeed
something by a very narrow margin by the
enamel on your teeth but we say skin we
don’t normally say skin of teeth but for
this particular saying we do an example
i think i might have passed that exam by
the skin of my teeth
only just
number eight
is derived from a fable i think or a
childhood story it’s to cry wolf to cry
wolf this means to call for help when
you don’t need it
and i think the story is i wonder if you
have this in your own country and
culture
um a boy
kept pretending that there was a wolf so
that people would come and in the end
when a wolf did actually come he called
for help and no one came because they
always thought that he was crying for
help when he didn’t actually need it an
example my new flatmate is always crying
wolf
number nine is to cut somebody some
slack
to cut somebody some slack
this means to give someone a break to
stop judging them so hard
for example you need to cut the interns
some slack they are still learning
number 10 is to cut to the chase to cut
to the chase
this means to leave out all of the
unnecessary details and just get to the
point
an example to cut to the chase i’m not
comfortable working alongside john
anymore
number 11 to get one’s head around
something to get your head around
something this means to come to
understand something to work to
understand something for example i’m
going to spend tonight trying to get my
head around this new legislation
number 12 is to hear on the grapevine to
hear on the grapevine this means to hear
a rumor or an unconfirmed story for
example i heard on the grapevine that
our receptionist will be leaving us soon
number 13 a personal favorite it takes
two to tango it takes two to tango
you’ve got to be comfortable with the
tough sound to say that it takes two to
tango
this means that actions or
communications need more than one person
for example
don’t just blame him for the affair it
takes two to
two parties were involved in that
bad behavior
number fourteen is to miss the boat to
miss the boat
this means to miss the opportunity to do
something
for example
i think you’ve missed the boat on that
application they’ve already started
interviewing candidates
number 15 is a lovely one it is a piece
of cake a piece of cake
this means really easy
that pop quiz was a piece of cake
number 16 is pull yourself together pull
yourself together
this means calm down and act normally
it’s normally said when somebody is
stressing out
for example i think you need to pull
yourself together and stop stressing
about the presentation
number 17 is to sit or to be on the
fence to sit on the fence to be on the
fence
this means to stay neutral and to not
take sides
for example i’m sitting on the fence on
this one i don’t want to offend anyone
number 18 is to step up one’s game to
step up your game
this means to start performing better
for example if you really want to get
this promotion you’ll need to step up
your game
number 19 is to sell someone out to sell
someone out
this means to snitch on someone or to
let their secret out
for example i asked you to keep that
information to yourself i can’t believe
you sold me out like that
and number 20 is
your guess is as good as mine
your guess is as good as mine
this means
i don’t know or i have no idea
for example we just don’t have enough
data your guess is as good as mine
right those were our 20 idioms that you
can use to sound like a native speaker
i’ve got some more homework for you this
is the official homework the other
homework was just
spur of the moment
homework
spur of the moment means on impulse or
without advance planning
the real homework is to write in the
comments section five sentences
using five of your favorite idioms that
we have talked about today if you’d like
to add some sentences with additional
idioms that you have heard native
speakers say then feel free to do so and
we can all learn from each other don’t
forget to check out audible the link to
claim your free audio book is in the
description box and don’t forget to
connect with me on all of my social
media i’ve got my facebook my instagram
and my twitter and i shall see you soon
for another lesson
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