25 Common English Body Idioms | Learn English Idioms

if someone accuses you of burying your head in the  sand or if they ask to pick your brain would you   know what they're talking about keep your chin  up do you need to get something off your chest   all of these expressions are so common in  day-to-day english in fact they're idiomatic   expressions all relating to parts of the body  in today's lesson i'm going to give you 25 of   the most common body idioms these are really great  idiomatic expressions to help you express yourself   more clearly concisely and really to broaden your  language and have a bit more fun with english   so from our heads to our toes in today's lesson  we are going to look at 25 idiomatic expressions   from hands arms elbows and yes  even feet let's get started now before i start with idiom number one  don't forget do click that subscribe button   and of course the notifications bell so you  know when we have uploaded new lessons you   can of course follow us on instagram and  facebook for more mini language lessons   with me and sabra let's get started so number one  if someone says do you mind if i pick your brain   for a minute about this do you mind if i pick  your brain for a minute about this or do you   mind if i pick your brain you can just keep it  that simple they don't literally want to pick   your brain they are not a zombie but they simply  want to get your opinion to ask your opinion about   a project an idea or anything that's going on  in their lives really really not very good at   english so do you mind if i just pick your brain  about this grammar question yeah sure go for it   i'm all ears wait i'm getting to that one in  just a second number two off the top of my head   i think there's a supermarket that sells that  product around the corner but i'm not sure   so basically when you say that something is off  the top of your head it means you're giving an   answer to a question to a query but you haven't  done any research or thought about it in too much   detail so for example if you were to ask me which  online dictionary do i prefer probably off the top   of my head i'd suggest the cambridge dictionary  that's actually one that i've used quite a few   times so when you give an answer without much  research or thought but essentially you're   trying to help someone to give them an answer that  they need immediately now if you have your head or   berry berry not burry bury your head in the sand  then essentially you are trying to avoid something   you want to avoid thinking or dealing with a  particularly unpleasant situation or problem it's   no good burying your head in the sand if we do not  sort out the problems with this project then we   are going to get fired you've got to face the  facts here it really looks like he's cheating   on you why are you burying your head in the sand  so an expression that we use to say that basically   you need to face the truth you need to avoid you  need to stop avoiding the truth manage it deal   with it don't bury your head in the sand number  four if something is eye-catching eye-catching   then it catches your eye it's attractive it gets  your attention sabra was wearing a particularly   eye-catching dress the other day i thought she  looked lovely it's attention grabbing now if you   stick your neck out if you did it literally you'd  look like this so a bit ridiculous but obviously   with idioms we don't need to be literal if you  stick your neck out for someone then you're taking   a risk you're taking a risk for them in fact so  you could say i really stuck my neck out for you   getting you that job interview you need to make  sure that you work hard and do well in the company   so you're taking a risk if someone that you  recommend to your company that you work for   gets a job interview gets the job but then doesn't  work very well it could potentially reflect badly   on you you could also stick your neck out just  by commenting in a meeting saying something that   could potentially be seen as controversial  or conflicting with your manager's opinion   you really stuck your neck out there when you  offered your opinion but i think the manager   responded quite well so to take a risk to risk  incurring criticism or anger by speaking boldly   or indeed by helping somebody else by recommending  someone in the example that i gave you earlier now   earlier on i did say i'm all ears i'm all ears now  clearly i am not all ears i only have two you can   actually see them today how i've tied my hair up  but when you say you're all ears you're saying to   someone i'm listening i'm here i'm ready to listen  i want to hear everything you have to say so this   is a great idiomatic expression when you're  really showing enthusiasm and willingness to   listen you're giving someone your full attention  look don't worry how long it's going to take i   am all ears explain the problem to me and let's  see if we can find a solution now number seven   referring to your tongue okay if something is on  the tip here of your tongue or who can't pause   think if something is on the tip of your tongue  it's actually referring to your memory to your   ability to remember a person's name for example oh  who was that girl i met last night really lovely   wearing the yellow dress oh her name is on the  tip of my tongue sally sarah sandra sandra so when   something is on the tip of your tongue it is just  almost within your grasp for you to remember it   it's there but you can't quite remember it you're  trying to think to remember better you are almost   able to remember you just might need a few more  seconds okay we've gone from tongue to teeth ah   this one a little bit unpleasant but that kind of  is the point of this idiomatic expression if you   describe a situation something you have to do as  like pulling teeth okay pulling them out like a   dentist okay that's a horrible thought for most of  us but if you say oh teaching that class today was   like pulling teeth it means it was particularly  unpleasant and not very enjoyable it was difficult   getting my students to do their homework on time  is like pulling teeth it is so difficult to do   now teeth again okay but this time not teeth but  tooth if you have a sweet tooth not sweet teeth a   sweet tooth then you're referring to somebody who  like me likes a lot of sugary chocolatey things   i like sugar okay i have a sweet tooth  some people prefer savory say more pastries   but others that like desserts cake ice cream  chocolate have a sweet tooth i bought her a   box of chocolates for a birthday and she'd finish  them by the next day that girl has such a sweet   tooth i can't believe it moving down chin okay  has anyone ever said to you keep your chin up   now think about this a lot of these expressions  to do with the body parts kind of make sense   something is eye-catching it catches your eye if  you have a sweet tooth okay you don't taste the   flavours in your teeth but you get the idea so if  someone says to you chin up they are telling you   to be more positive think about how you actually  physically stand when you're sad or depressed or   not feeling very positive okay so  chin up means come on be stronger   be positive things will be okay it's a great  idiomatic expression to try and motivate   and support someone i know you didn't pass your  driving test this time but chin up just a couple   more lessons and you'll probably pass next time  number 11 to give someone the cold shoulder   now this essentially means that you're cold  you're ignoring them perhaps they've been rude   to you they've upset you and you're giving them  the cold shoulder because you want to basically   ignore them i had a massive argument with sabra  the other week so i'm giving her the cold shoulder   that'll teach her not true we never argue much  when you have problems where do you feel that   you normally store them this is kind of a  little bit of a psychological lesson today   when you have problems when you're worried when  you're stressed where do you feel that pressure   often on your heart on your chest so when we  say to get something off your chest this area   we're saying to unburden yourself to relieve your  problems basically to talk to somebody and share   how you feel so your chest doesn't feel so heavy  weighed down with problems or indeed frustrations   i was so stressed at work that even my boss  noticed and asked if there was anything i had to   get off my chest now if you say there wasn't even  any elbow room these are your elbows okay elbows   but if there's no elbow room it means it's  very very crowded i went to a bar last night   and there was no room to move there was no elbow  room it was crowded number 14 to put your finger   on something if you say i can't quite put my  finger on it i can't quite put my finger on it   it means you can't discover the exact reason why a  particular situation is the way it is or perhaps a   feeling that you have the reason why you have that  feeling for example i really don't trust that new   guy at work i don't know why i can't put my finger  on it when there's something wrong but you just   don't know how to explain it or the reason why  you feel like that something very strange about   that guy but really i can't put my finger on it  i wonder what it is number 15 to keep someone at   arm's length okay yeah arms length essentially  you're keeping somebody at a healthy distance i   really don't trust that girl at work but i'm just  going to keep her at arm's length until i get to   know her a little bit better essentially you don't  particularly trust someone or you want to avoid   being connected with them so you keep a distance  not quite the same as cold shoulder where you   ignore them completely but just keep someone at  a healthy distance to keep them at arm's length   number 16 quite a simple one but one that we  use so often if something costs an arm and a leg   it is very very expensive of course if you had to  pay with your arm and your leg you would see that   as being quite a great significant cost to you so  as an example i bought a beautiful dress the other   day for the party but my goodness did it cost an  arm and a leg i will not be telling my husband   number 17 another one with arm we often refer to  the police as being the long arm of the law it's   a bit weird isn't it yeah it's a weird expression  but if you do hear it then at least you understand   what they're talking about tony was caught by the  police for breaking covert rules during lockdown   he could not escape the long arm of the law number  18 if you're willing to give your right arm your   right arm for something now usually people are  right-handed so we actually rely i'm right-handed   on our right arm more than our left okay  so for example if i broke my right arm i   would find it very difficult to write neatly  or even type very easily with my left hand   so if we say i would give my right arm to go  on holiday right now we're saying that we are   desperate for something we would make any kind of  sacrifice to get that thing or achieve that thing   i would give my right arm for a burger right now  now number 19 moving on to hands in fact handy if   something is handy essentially it's useful that  simple if you say that's handy there's a bus stop   just down the end of my road it's so handy to get  around the town or you can describe a person as   being handy meaning they're very useful they can  do lots of little odd jobs and different things   so handy means useful it's a great expression and  one that we commonly use then number 20 of course   we can offer to give someone a hand just a hand  not two and not literally of course but when you   offer to give someone a hand you are offering  to help them oh my goodness what did you buy at   the supermarket come on let me give you a hand  with those bags let me help you now number 21   if someone is an old hand an old hand at something  then they are extensively experienced in that area   sally's been working in that bakery for  years she's an old hand at making cakes   meaning she's got a lot of experience leila and  sabra have been teaching english for over 10 years   they are definitely old hands at teaching  grammar now number 22 if someone says come   on i'm just pulling your leg they're not  literally pulling your leg they are joking   they are mocking they are kidding they aren't  being serious perhaps you're trying to persuade   someone that something is true when really  it's not come on really is that your new car   you're pulling my leg are you serious you're  getting married really you're not just pulling   my leg now number 23 if you have itchy feet  no you're not going to be scratching your feet   and i'm not even going to try and bend my leg  up this way to show you my feet you simply are   eager to travel you want to to go somewhere  to do something i can't wait to go on holiday   i have got such itchy feet at the moment i really  need to get away now 24 if you are trying to find   your feet to find your feet it means that you  want to become more confident or familiar in   a particularly new situation for example when you  start a new job it does take a couple of weeks to   find your feet to understand your position  in the company and the work you need to do   or becoming a new parent it takes quite a while to  find your feet and understand how to deal with a   crying pooping hungry baby now number 25 probably  one of my most favorite expressions to put your   foot in it or to put your foot in your mouth if  you say i put my foot in my mouth again it's more   british english but american is more likely to  be i put my foot in it didn't i it's referring   to your mouth essentially it means you've  said something that you shouldn't have you've   said something by accident that upsets or perhaps  embarrasses somebody i really put my foot in it i   didn't realize she was getting a divorce i didn't  mean to ask about her husband i can't believe i   asked if she was pregnant when she's just put on  a few pounds i really put my foot in it didn't i   so there we have it 25 super common  idiomatic expressions all connected   with two parts of the body there was quite  a few body parts that we covered there from   head to feet but there are many many more how  many more do you know how many of these were new   to you do comment below either add a new body  idiom for everybody else to learn or indeed   try using one two or even three of these ones  that i have just shared remember personalizing   the language is going to help you remember these  idiomatic expressions so they're not just on the   tip of your tongue that's not where you want them  you want them here thanks so much for watching   i look forward to seeing you very soon with  yes more idioms if that's what you want   comment below and let me know what kind of  idiomatic expressions would you like to learn next

Channel: Love English with Leila & Sabrah

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Keywords: Love English with Leila & Sabrah, Love English with Leila & Sabrah YouTube, YouTube Love English with Leila & Sabrah, learn English, love English, English, English with Leila, English with Sabrah, British English, body idioms, english idioms, british idioms, english expressions, body expressions, idiomatic expressions

Id: Oc8f_3JbF_s

Length: 16min 0sec (960 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 06 2021