30 Tough but Very Important Advanced English Phrases for Daily Use

[Music] hello everyone and welcome back to english with lucy today i am going to teach you 30 tough but important advanced phrases that you can use to expand your vocabulary these are phrases that you can use in daily conversation they are advanced they're at roughly c1 level but i think that you can use them in a natural and confident way to further help your understanding and your learning i have created a free pdf for you to download and it also includes a quiz so you can test your learning if you would like to download that free pdf and quiz all you've got to do is click on the link in the description box enter your name and your email address you sign up to my mailing list and i send the pdf and quiz directly to your inbox and then every week after that you will get the pdf for my weekly lessons automatically so let's begin i'm going to give you the phrase i'm going to show you how to pronounce it with a phonetic transcription i'll give you the meaning and i will give you an example of the phrase in use these are all phrases that you'll hear native speakers say on a regular basis but they're not necessarily things that you learn in a textbook you have to learn them in context which is why i'm providing you with examples number one a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of something is a small or tiny part or amount of something an example the plastic folders were a fraction of the price of the leather ones that's a much more advanced way of saying cheaper a fraction of the price number two is all things considered all things considered this means taking everything into account all things considered i think we've done a really good job number three has a similar meaning it's not exactly the same though it's all in all all in all it means overall or mostly all in all i think the response to the campaign was very positive number four is to be bound to to be bound to now you might notice that i'm saying to but in the phonetic transcription i've put and previously i said of all of these phrases would typically be used within a longer sentence so you would usually use the weak forms to be bound to something is to be certain to or to be destined to an example you're bound to hear back from them soon you're certain to hear back from them soon they will help you they're bound to help you it's a really common expression number five is to be down to to be down to this means to be as a result of for example the drop in profit was down to the bad weather over christmas the drop in profit was as a result of the bad weather down to the bad weather i wonder what that was down to i wonder what that was as a result of it's a really nice phrase number six is to drive somebody up the wall to drive someone up the wall and this is to annoy someone or to make them crazy my mum always used to say it to me you're driving me up the wall lucy you're annoying me so much you're driving me crazy an example people who throw their rubbish out of their car window drive me up the wall no word of a lie just today i went on a run outside the farm and someone had unloaded what looked like the entirety of the day's litter from mcdonald's it's always mcdonald's isn't it number seven a really nice one i say this a lot it's easier said than done that's easier said than done this simply means not very easy if something isn't very easy it's easier to say it than it is to do it an example i'd like to give our boss some constructive criticism but that's easier said than done meaning it's not very easy to criticize your boss number eight is for the most part for the most part this means usually or in most cases an example i find running for the most part very enjoyable usually in most cases apart from when i fall over which is what i did the other day i got completely muddy my phone landed in a puddle it wasn't a good day but for the most part i enjoy running number 10 and number 11 go together we have number 10 which is in high spirits in high spirits which means in a cheerful or energetic mood for example the winning team was in high spirits after the award ceremony then we have number 11 which is the opposite can you guess what it is it's in low spirits in low spirits and this means in a sad or fatigued despondent mood she was in low spirits due to her recent breakup this is a more advanced way of saying someone's in a bad or a good mood number 12 is just around the corner just around the corner that actually makes sense number 12 is just around the corner it's here now it it means coming very soon if something is just around the corner it's coming very soon an example i felt stressed when i realized my driving test is just around the corner number 13 is to make a point of doing something to make a point of doing something and this is to always do something or to take particular care to do something an example she always makes a point of treating everyone as equals she always takes particular care to make sure everyone is treated fairly number 14 is to make ends meet to make ends meet this means to earn enough money to live on to earn just enough money to live on an example we always struggle to make ends meet towards the end of the year we struggle to have enough money because christmas is expensive number 15 is to miss the point to miss the point this means to fail to understand the essential or important part of something i think you've completely missed the point there you haven't understood the important part of what i was saying you focused on something else number 16 is narrow-minded narrow-minded this means prejudiced or not willing to listen to the views of others an example her father-in-law is extremely narrow-minded and is unable to accept that it's no longer the 1900s number 17 is on hand on hand and this means present or available an example the counselor is always on hand to offer a shoulder to cry on eighteen is on the face of it on the face of it and this means apparently but without knowing all of the relevant facts an example on the face of it she seems to have settled in well i don't fully know but it seems that she has number 19 is on the verge of on the verge of this means very near to doing something or experiencing something and we nearly always use this with tears if someone's on the verge of tears then they are nearly crying number 20 this one is very popular people are liking this one at the moment it is part and parcel part and parcel it's a great one it's fun to say this means an essential or integral component for example stress is part and parcel of this profession it's an essential component it wouldn't be this profession if it wasn't for stress i'm not talking about being a youtuber i'm thinking of professions such as being a nurse or something like that number 21 is to pose a question to pose a question and this means to raise a question and it's commonly used in the phrase this poses the question this raises the question this brings up the query and topic an example this poses the question should we be following the regulations number 22 is remarkably complex no i'm not saying it is remarkably complex the is remarkably complex it just works with the number this means very complicated with lots of intricate details these words just go together beautifully it's remarkably complex i love the word remarkably an example the mosaic was remarkably complex and beautiful 23 is a roller coaster of emotions a roller coaster of emotion this means full of highs and lows happiness sadness fear shock everything an example i experience a rollercoaster of emotions whenever i visit the opera which is never i've never visited the opera i must do that post covid number 24 love this one i think you should use this at every opportunity it is short and sharp short and sharp this means quick and concise very brief an example let's keep this zoom meeting short and sharp quick and concise no one wants to be here so let's just make it quick and efficient number 25 is to sit on the fence to sit on the fence and this means to avoid making a decision or choice for example she likes to sit on the fence to avoid confrontation number 26 is to steal the show to steal the show this means to attract the most attention and praise for example the last interviewee totally stole the show they received the most attention the best attention they created the best impression number 27 is to take great pleasure in doing something and this means to really enjoy doing something sometimes at the expense of others you can also use the negative form i take no great pleasure in doing this if you want to express that you really don't get any enjoyment from doing something that might negatively affect others an example she took great pleasure in telling him he was fired so she enjoyed breaking his heart but you know maybe he did something bad maybe he deserved it who knows but she took pleasure in it number 28 is to walk on eggshells to walk on eggshells this means to be extremely cautious about one's words or actions if you walk on eggshells around somebody it means you're choosing your words you're desperately trying to not make them angry or to offend them an example the boss has a terrible temper so everyone walks on eggshells around him number 29 is without a care in the world without to care in the world and this means without any worries without worrying about anything an example i am always anxious and there's my husband without a care in the world he never worries about anything number 30 we made it it is worth your weight in gold or worth something's weight in gold if something or someone is worth their weight in gold it means that they are very valuable helpful or irreplaceable for example we can't lose our receptionist she's worth her weight in gold she's amazing she's so helpful and useful it is now time for you to complete the quiz so if you'd like to do that you've got to download the free pdf i've got everything we discussed today and the quiz questions and feel free to show off your results in the comments section down below just click on the link in the description box you enter your name and your email address you sign up to my mailing list i send the pdf directly to your inbox and then every week you will receive the pdf and quizzes as soon as they're available straight to your inbox so convenient if you are looking to improve your listening and you want to expand your vocabulary i'd just like to remind you that i also have my vlogging channel where i vlog my life here on an english farm in the countryside and every vlog is completely fully subtitled for your learning you can also connect with me on my social media i've got my instagram at lucy and my wonderful website which has got a fantastic pronunciation tool it is englishwithlucy.co.uk i will see you soon for another lesson i don't know why this requires extra lipstick it's because i mean business there's my tiny hair brush here we are i think i've made that look worse i think you've completely missed the point there you haven't understood the important thing this means an essential or integral is it integral or integral it must be integral i'm thinking of the spanish word for whole grain aren't i [Music] integral integral integral integral i've spent my whole life saying integral no integral let me search a different dictionary i always trust cambridge integral integral an example let's keep this if you are looking for further listening practice and you want to further expand your go go [Music] [Music] you

Channel: English with Lucy

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Length: 15min 6sec (906 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 07 2021