24 ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS To ADVANCE Your VOCABULARY!

look before we jump the gun here let's just put a pen on it and we talk about this tomorrow until then keep it under your head while you just saw was me using a couple of idms here jump the gun put a pen on it and keep it under your hat today I'm going to give you 24 phrases like that expressions like that that will help you increase your vocabulary in English and better understand native speakers when you watch stuff and when you talk to them in real life hey guys how's it going Chiago here and welcome again to another episode of the podcast I created this podcast in case you're new here to help intermediate and Advance Learners of English communicate with more confidence more accuracy more clarity and more awareness if this sounds like something you want for yourself and your English subscribe to the channel here on YouTube and follow the show on Apple podcast and Spotify so you don't miss a single new episode before we get started here don't forget to check out my new pronoun iation course available on pre-sale with this course you're going to be better able to understand fast spoken English when native speakers talk in real life and in media because you're going to learn all the main connected speech patterns that they use in those situations and also with this course you're going to improve your pronunciation by learning the main sounds of the English language so you can speak with more clarity more flow and more fluency the course is now available on pre-sale at a very special discounted price if you want to learn more about the course the link to the page is here in the description of the video also has a pinned comment on YouTube down below and if you are listening on Spotify or apple podcasts check out the show notes for the link it's there all right so let's start by defining idms what are idms in English idms are phrases or Expressions that should not be understood or translated literally okay it's a phrase that usually carries a figurative meaning okay the cool thing about idioms is that they are usually closely related or closely linked to the culture of a country of a nation and every language has that guys you know as you know I'm Brazilian I speak Portuguese as my native language in Brazilian Portuguese we have a lot of idioms a lot of Expressions that come from soccer for example because as a coach as a country Brazilians Love Soccer not all of them but most of them love soccer soccer is our national sport so obviously we have in our language a lot of Expressions that come from the sport soccer okay just to give you some examples here for fun the Brazilians out there they're going to like this and even if you're not Brazilian you can listen to a little bit of Portuguese okay for example if you think that something's really cool you can say Shala oh yeah show Shala means this is really cool that's a Brazilian Portuguese expression or idiom and obviously the English language is also full of idioms okay what's interesting about that is that depending on the country you are talking about the idioms might change so some Expressions that are very popular in the United States for example might not be so popular in England and vice versa because remember these expressions are closely linked to the culture of a Nation just to give you one example here Americans usually love baseball the sport baseball there are some items in English in American English that come from baseball for example to hit a home run to hit a home run a home run is a move in baseball where I believe the player hits the ball so hard that it's impossible to catch that's a home run but figuratively speaking if you tell someone man great job with that presentation you really hit a home run you see you are praising the person because the person did something extremely well the person hit a home run with his or her presentation now why should you learn expressions like that why should you learn more idioms let me give you some reasons first of all it's going to help you better understand native speakers when you watch movies TV series listen to music when you travel Etc because native speakers tend to use a lot of idioms when they communicate also it's going to make your vocabulary in English much more robust it's going to give you more options more flavor to communicate with and also when it comes to understanding what you hear if you use adms yourself when you speak is also going to help you express yourself a little bit more naturally and like a native would the goal I think is not for us to speak like a native speaker but if you are talking to an American for example and if you are able during the conversation to remember a very common American expression or idiom and you can use it it's nice because you know it helps you relate with the other person as well oh yeah that's cool you using an expression that we use all the time and you see it creates that Bond okay so it also helps you better connect with native speakers if you look at it this way finally knowing more idioms I think is also a Hallmark or a sign of how much of the language you master or you have mastered it shows that you have a very good domain of the English language because not only are you able to understand and use regular words but you're also able to understand and use idiomatic expressions idioms that usually only natives or locals of that language use so now that I have given you this brief explanation on EDS and why they are important I have here a list of 24 idiomatic expressions in English for you to improve your vocabulary with keep in mind that these Expressions come from American English which is the kind of English that I base my English on okay but let's get started I'm going to give you the expression the meaning and the example all right here it is keep it under your hat keep it under your hat this means to keep a secret and not tell anyone remember at the beginning of the video today I said hey before we jump the gun let's put a pen on it and we talk about this tomorrow until then just keep it under your head in other words keep this a secret don't share that with anyone okay another example Julie told me she's getting married next year but keep it under your head she doesn't want anyone to know it yet in other words keep it a secret the next expression obviously is jump the gun I also use that one in the introduction today when you jump the gun you do something too early before you're ready or before the conditions are right okay in other words you act impulsively for example you should have waited needed for me before telling everybody about our plans you jump the gun okay so going back to my example in the in the introduction today I said hey before we jump the gun in other words before we act too impulsively or at the wrong time let's put a pen on it so that's why the introduction I said look before we jump the gun in other words before we act too hastily or too impulsively or before the right time here let's put a pen on it it's another expression to put a pen on something means let's table this discussion for now let's not talk about this for now let's take a break from this and we talk about this later maybe tomorrow so let's put a pin on it and until now or until then until tomorrow let's say keep it under your head don't share this with anyone okay moving on here we have Barry the hatchet a hatchet is a small axe okay you have the big axe okay that you use to cut trees and you also have the the small short ax that's called a hatchet okay if you watch The Walking dad think about Rick you know Rick gmes throughout this series he uses a hatchet as one of his main weapons okay but what does it mean to bury the hatchet it means to stop arguing about something and make peace or be friends again for example it's been 5 years since they stopped being friends but now I think they're ready to bury the hatchet in other words I think they are ready to be friends again okay guys something really cool that I also recommend you do maybe after this video here you can also Google the origin of these Expressions if you go to Google you can write there what is the origin of the expression bury the hatchet you're going to find some really cool information there like you know when that expression started to be used in the English language why what is the rationale behind this it's really interesting okay I imagine that you can even use AI for that nowadays too go to chat GPT later or gamini and ask for the origin or of all these Expressions here it's a fun way for you to learn more about these Expressions not just the meaning as I'm sharing here but also why they have this expression in the first place and uh what's the rationale behind it so do that next expression I don't have a clue this is a very common one I'm sure you know that one I don't have a clue it means to be ignorant or oblivious about something this is a great word guys oblivious when you are oblivious you have no idea of what's going on you are oblivious obious okay children many times because they're small they are oblivious to what's going on in the world of adults they are oblivious they have no clue okay so you use that when you want to talk about a person who has no idea of what is happening or doesn't know how to do something for example do you know how to turn this off I don't have a clue I have no idea okay next the apple of my eye the apple of my eye it means to be loved very much by someone especially by an older member of your family like your grandma or Grandpa for example my granddaughter Melissa is amazing she's the apple of my eye I love her dearly okay moving on here we have to be all ears all ears okay to be because you have to conjugate the verb to be here so you can say I am all years she's all years we are all years okay when you say that to someone for example like hey okay tell me I'm all ears it means that you are listening carefully to what a person has to say for example tell me what happened I'm all ears all right great short phrase you can use with a friend imagine your friend wants to share something with you and you as a good friend you can say okay sure tell me what happened I'm all ears okay moving on we have walk all over you or to walk all over someone if a person walks all over you this person treats you without any respect okay look at this example if you don't impose boundaries or limits people will walk all over you in other words people will mistreat you will disrespect you okay they will walk all over you guys one of the things I love about adoms is that sometimes they can be very visual okay sometimes if you picture the the image if you picture the visual here that might already give you a clue or indication of what the figurative meaning is imagine you are laying down on the ground and there are people walking all over you you see you are in this position of inferiority and other people are like on top of you you know so that mental picture also helps us make sense of this expression it means to let people treat you without respect they walk all over you another one no sweat you know when you exercise when you work out intensely usually You Sweat Right when it's really hot you sweat as well but if you say no sweat it means that you are able to do something very easily okay for example are you sure you can fix the car sure no sweat like for me fixing the car no sweat like it's so easy for me to do that that I don't even break a sweat I don't even make any almost no effort I make almost no effort to fix it because it's so easy to me so you're going say yeah sure no sweat I can do that easily okay another one in a giy in a jiffy in a jiffy it means to go someplace or do something very quickly okay uh just hang on I'll be back in the Jiffy in other words I'll be back soon okay let's say I have to go to the grocery store but I'll be back in a JY I'll be back soon okay in dire trads I'm not talking about the band okay the band is awesome I love the band Dire Straits but this is also an expression in Dire Straits when you are in dire trits you are in a serious or difficult situation especially because you don't have enough money okay so it's about experiencing financial problems financial difficulties okay for example if we don't make any more sales the company will be in dire traits the company will be in trouble financially okay another one put your foot down put your foot down okay when you put your foot down you refuse to do something or allow something to happen often in a forceful way okay again picture the image picture you're putting your foot down like with strength like boom you know you see you are imposing yourself standing up to yourself right for example if John put his foot down more often and said no people would respect him more or in other words people wouldn't walk all over him all the time if he put his foot down more often got it moving on a long phas this is not long phas like size it means the expression on your face when you are very sad or disappointed you know when you are sad disappointed usually you have a long face okay here's an example hey I don't like to see you with a long face come on cheer up everything's going to be be okay or imagine a family member arrives home and the person looks sad you can say hey what happened why the long face in other words why do you look so sad okay moving on stay put stay put if you tell that to someone it means that you want the person to remain in one place and not move okay for example this line is really long you stay put and I will talk to the manager to check what is going on so you stay put stay right here don't move okay stay in this place in this position stay put I'll be right back okay shitfaced shitfaced altogether shitfaced when you are shitfaced you are extremely drunk you are very very drunk okay for example I was so shitfaced that I forgot to lock the door okay another one that'll be the day very common expression that will we contract to that'll that'll be the day that'll that'll that'll be the day this means that you think it is very unlikely almost impossible for something to happen it's usually spoken with a sarcastic tone for example imagine uh your friend tells you stuff like man I really believe that very soon because of Technology we're gonna have flying cars all the cars will be flying and imagine you don't believe in that at all you think that it's almost impossible that that's going to happen you can say flying cars H that'll be the day you see with that sarcastic tone flying cars that'll be the day got it like I don't believe in this at all moving on very nice one here when push comes to shove when push comes to shove it's a common expression you see that a lot in movies and series as well guys when push comes to shove it means when a situation becomes very difficult and you need to take action okay it's like when you are pinned against the wall in a way you are put against the wall and you are in a tough spot and you got to take action this is when push comes to shove okay for example you may think you have many friends but when push comes to shove you learn who your real friends are in other words when the situation when things get really tough and difficult then you know who is your true friend who will stand by you and I'll leave you okay another one here drop the subject drop the subject it means to stop talking about a subject especially when it's upsetting for other people for example when I asked her about Diana she got really mad so I dropped the subject and talked about my day in other words I stopped talking about Diana and talked about my day okay so usually maybe if you start talking about something that is kind of sensitive to someone it's going to make the person feel uncomfortable you might want to drop the subject and just talk about something else okay another one to bust your hump or connecting here bust your bust your hump when you bust your hump you try very hard to do something you work very hard at something you you you try hard to accomplish that you bust your hump okay for example I busted my hump writing that report but my boss hated it oh oh beautiful thing to happen right when the bus your hump working on something and then your boss just comes and say oh no this is not good enough that's not the way it's done lots of fun isn't it another expression Couch Potato Couch Potato a person who is a couch potato is a person who spends a lot of time sitting not using much mental or physical energy like watching television for example we can use this expression to refer to a sedentary person a person who is not very active physically that's a couch potato for example after I lost my job I was a complete Couch Potato I didn't even want to walk to the store next to my house moving on here kick the bucket or to kick the bucket when you kick the bucket you die okay when a person kicks the bucket the person dies it's an formal way to say the person dies so for example when I finally kick the bucket I want my children to remember me as a great father you see when I finally die I want my children to remember me as a great father okay so to kick the bucket okay just a funny comment here guys this expression is uh interesting because in my native language in Brazilian Portuguese we have this expression too we sayi in Portuguese shut is kick boui is bucket Shi but for us Shi or kick the bucket means to go crazy you know like man today I'm gonna party hard I'm going to SHI I'm going to kick the bucket I'm GNA eat a lot drink a lot and stay all night out that's the meaning that we have for this expression in Portuguese but in English to kick the bucket means to die right so this is also very interesting for you to know okay because the Expressions that people have in their native languages again they are very related to the culture okay so one expression in a country might have one meaning and the other expression in another country might have another meaning this is fascinating to to learn about okay moving on here we have when something catches you off guard or to catch you off guard when something catches you off guard something is done or said and you are not ready for it okay you are not prepared for that and you can't manage it well it catches you off guard you're are not prepared for it like you know when you think that everything is going well at work and then one day your boss calls you in for a meeting and says hey man you're fired that catches many people off guard it's like what serious you know so here's another example here my boss caught me off guard when he asked about last month's sales because I wasn't prepared to share that information I hadn't done the report got it it catches you off guard another one to bite your hat off or to bite my hat off or bite someone's hat off okay when you bite someone's hat off you talk to someone in a very angry rude manner without usually apparent reason the person just starts lashing at you you know and uh talking to you in a very rude way but for no apparent reason you haven't done anything to upset the person so in that case the person is biting her hat off for example example hey I just wanted to know how your day was you don't have to bite my head off you see moving on food for thought I've already explained this expression here on the podcast before Food For Thought or to give food for thought when someone gives you food for thought they expect you to think carefully or reflect about what they told you or what they shared with you for example let me give you some food for thought in other words let me give you some something to reflect on how can you expect people to know what you want if you never voice your concerns you see this is some food for thought think about that reflect on this and the last one that I have for you today guys is call it a day call it a day becomes call it a day when you call it a day you stop working or doing an activity because you're you're very tired if you're doing something at night you can also say call it a night okay so for example after spending six hours working on the project we decided to call it a day and go home you see we decided to end the Working Day and go home and rest and maybe pick it up the next day okay or imagine you were at a party at night with your friends but then you know it's already 3:00 in the morning and you are very tired you can look at your friends and say guys what do you say we call it a night I really need to sleep in other words let's end the party let's end the night yeah and let's go home and rest got it so Guys these were just some examples of idioms especially in American English okay remember that these Expressions vary from country to Country again some Expressions that are very commonly used in the US say might not be so commonly used in Australia in New Zealand in England in Canada and so on okay they are very linked to a nation's culture okay and also remember that all these Expressions we went over today in this episode come from American English okay you might not see some of these in British English okay and finally remember that the more adms you learn and know the more natural you will will sound if you use them when you speak and also the better you will be able to understand English when you watch native Media or in real life and now I have a special gift for you guys I have put together a free ebook with 50 expressions in this book you're going to have these idioms here that I listed for you today with the examples and definitions and also about 24 or 25 phrasal verbs again with definitions and examples it's a free ebook for you to have as your companion as your guide in your studies you can download it for free just click the link in the description here of the video also in the show notes on Spotify or apple podcast and download this gift that I have for you this free ebook you're going to love it all right guys thank you so much for watching this video today don't forget to check out my pronunciation course on pre-sale also subscribe to the channel if you are new here and you're not a subscriber and if you are on Apple or Spotify leave me a festar review over there I'm Chago I'm signing off and I'll be talking to you in the upcoming video bye-bye

Channel: English with Thiago

Views: 9,991

Keywords: english, english learning, speak english, how to speak english, english fluency, how to learn english, advanced english, intermediate english, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, connected speech, esl, listening, writing, reading, english expressions, english idioms, idioms in english

Id: Pw4CESOsWSA

Length: 28min 6sec (1686 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 24 2024