10 English Idioms with Meanings You CAN’T Guess

0:00 Hi, everybody.

0:01 Welcome to www.engvid.com.

0:02 I'm Adam.

0:03 In today's video, I want to teach you a few expressions,

0:07 and some of them are actually idioms

0:09 that people commonly use in everyday situations.

0:13 And.

0:13 as with most idioms and cultural expressions, if you...

0:18 if nobody explains to you what they mean, they're very difficult to guess at.

0:23 So, I'm going to tell you what these ten expressions

0:27 mean and in what context you can probably use them.

0:31 Most of these you will not use in writing;

0:34 they're pretty informal, but they're good to know for everyday situations.

0:38 So, we're going to start with: "to butter someone up".

0:41 "Butter" being a verb.

0:43 Actually, I should mention that here.

0:45 "To butter someone up".

0:47 If you're "buttering someone up", you're flattering them very much;

0:52 usually, because you want something from them.

0:55 So, you would "butter up your boss", you would "butter up your teacher",

0:58 you would "butter up a co-worker"; and then,

1:01 later, you will ask for some sort of favor.

1:03 So, if you think about a piece of bread,

1:05 and you put butter, you know, it's nice, and smooth, and soft.

1:09 You're making them feel comfortable, and tasty, and whatnot.

1:12 So, to flatter someone— to make them feel good about themselves.

1:17 Next: "to run around like a chicken with its head cut off".

1:21 It's a bit of a long expression.

1:23 People still use this very commonly.

1:25 It's a little bit old, but everybody still knows what it means

1:29 and it's very effective for the situation.

1:32 So, if you think about a chicken, if you take a chicken and cut its head off,

1:36 it will continue to run around on the ground, even though there's no head.

1:42 But the problem without having the head

1:44 is that it doesn't know where it's going.

1:46 So, it's just going, you know, back and forth, and all over the place.

1:49 So, we...

1:50 when we say this about a person, it's a person who's a little bit nervous,

1:54 and just running around being very busy,

1:57 but without any sort of organization or any control.

2:00 So, if somebody...

2:01 let's say I'm having a party...

2:04 my wife and I are having a party,

2:08 and we're getting near the time where people are supposed to arrive,

2:11 but not everything's finished.

2:13 And she's running around here and there,

2:15 and trying to do a little bit of everything.

2:17 But it's so disorganized that nothing's going...

2:19 nothing's happening.

2:20 So, I tell her: "Just calm down;

2:22 you're running around like a chicken with its head cut off." Calm down.

2:26 Focus.

2:26 Do one thing at a time.

2:28 As...

2:28 as you finish, go to the next thing; it will be much more effective.

2:33 "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off" gets you nowhere, right?

2:37 Just makes other people nervous, actually.

2:41 "The elephant in the room" or "There's an elephant in the room".

2:44 This is an interesting expression.

2:45 If you think about a room, like, in your house— if you put an elephant in there,

2:51 that elephant will be pretty obvious, I think; a little bit difficult to hide.

2:55 So, that's what we mean when we say this.

2:57 When we...

2:58 when there's a topic, or a question,

3:01 or a problem that is very obvious to everybody in the room—

3:05 everybody in the area— but nobody really wants to talk about it,

3:10 we say: "the elephant in the room".

3:13 So, somebody eventually will say: "I think we need to discuss the elephant

3:16 in the room." And everybody will understand exactly what that...

3:20 the topic of that discussion needs to be.

3:24 So, it's something that's very obvious,

3:26 but everybody wants to avoid speaking about it.

3:29 It's usually something obviously not very pleasant;

3:32 that's why nobody wants to speak about it.

3:34 But they also can't hide from it; it's very obvious to everybody.

3:39 "No point beating a dead horse".

3:42 Basically, there is no point in repeating something.

3:45 So, if somebody says, like...

3:47 somebody says to me, or my boss comes to me and says:

3:51 "You know, this report wasn't very good.

3:53 You didn't do what I asked you to do.

3:55 You need to do it again." And I say: "Yeah, okay.

3:58 I'll do that." He goes: "You know, because it's very important that this report

4:01 is done properly." And I say: "Yeah,

4:03 I got it." He goes: "Because if this report is not done properly,

4:06 we may lose the client." And I say: "Okay.

4:08 There's no point beating a dead horse." I understood you the first time;

4:12 you don't have to keep saying it, and saying it, and saying it.

4:15 Right?

4:15 So, a dead horse.

4:17 For example, when you say: "beat a dead horse",

4:20 you hit the horse, so it goes forward.

4:23 But if a horse is dead and you hit it, it's not going to go forward.

4:27 And if you hit it again, it's not going to go forward.

4:30 Once is enough.

4:31 You understand it's dead, and you stop.

4:34 Don't repeat, repeat, repeat.

4:35 Now, "neck of the woods".

4:37 Depending on who's saying it...

4:40 You could say: "Oh, I heard you're from my neck of the woods" or "What...

4:44 what's your neck of the woods?" So,

4:45 "neck of the woods", basically: Where are you from?

4:48 Usually it means your hometown or your origin.

4:51 So, if somebody is talking about "neck of the woods"...

4:55 like: "If you're in my neck of the woods"— if you're in my area— "come over".

5:00 "Oh, I heard that you're...

5:01 that I'm from your neck of the woods",

5:03 or: "My parents are from your parents' neck

5:05 of the woods." They're from the same place.

5:08 So, this basically means place or area.

5:13 "Everything but the kitchen sink".

5:15 The "kitchen sink" means the kitchen sink.

5:18 So, when somebody says this expression,

5:20 they mean too much, or everything that's imaginable.

5:24 So, let's say I'm going on vacation with my...

5:27 with my wife, my girlfriend, whatever.

5:30 And I pack a small bag.

5:31 We're just going for a week to a beach.

5:34 We're going to just sit on a beach every day.

5:36 I don't need very much; I need a bathing suit and I need some sunscreen.

5:39 My girlfriend, on the other hand, packed a huge,

5:43 huge suitcase, plus a carry-on, plus another purse, plus...

5:47 So, I say to her: "Like, you have everything but the kitchen sink in here."

5:50 Just pack smaller— means you've packed too much.

5:55 Everything she could imagine, she put in there.

5:57 Right?

5:58 It's just too much.

5:59 It's actually a very common expression, surprisingly.

6:02 "The best thing since sliced bread".

6:06 Now, there's machines now.

6:09 When you go to a supermarket and you buy a loaf of bread,

6:13 you can go to the person working there,

6:14 and they will put it in the machine and the machine slices it.

6:17 So, you have sliced bread; you don't have to cut it yourself.

6:21 So, this was a huge invention at its

6:24 time because it saved people a lot of trouble.

6:27 It's, again...

6:27 it's a little bit exaggerating; it's not really that big of an invention,

6:31 but we use this expression to say that something is really, really good.

6:35 Or we can use it to make fun of somebody

6:40 who thinks he or she is really, really good.

6:43 So, we can say: "Oh, that guy,

6:44 he thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread."

6:47 Or we can say that this machine: "Oh, wow.

6:50 This is...

6:51 this thing's the best thing since sliced bread." So,

6:53 it could be a very positive thing— it

6:55 really is an amazing thing— or in a negative way to a little bit make fun

7:01 of somebody that they think they're really that much.

7:04 And we sort of...

7:05 sort of try to bring them down to earth.

7:08 You'll sometimes find people replacing "sliced bread" with something else,

7:12 just to have a bit of a funny or humorous effect.

7:17 So, "the best thing since" something else;

7:20 I can't think of anything at the moment.

7:23 But it's usually going to be something funny.

7:26 "Wet behind the ears".

7:27 This is...

7:28 this expression we use to talk about someone who is inexperienced or naive.

7:33 Usually it's for younger people.

7:35 Like, a new employee comes to the office,

7:38 and some of the older staff members will say:

7:41 "Well, you're still wet behind the ears." Don't try to tell me how to do my job.

7:44 Right.?

7:45 So, a new young person comes in and tries to make some changes,

7:50 and the older ones will tell him he's inexperienced.

7:53 "He's wet behind the ears" like a baby, when it comes out of the...

7:56 out of its mother is "wet behind the ears".

7:59 That's what this new employee is.

8:01 So, anybody who's "wet behind the ears" needs to gain some experience.

8:06 Now, if you "rub someone the wrong way",

8:10 that means you irritate them or annoy them somehow.

8:14 So, some people just naturally "rub some people the wrong way".

8:18 Some people, just the way they speak, "will rub me the wrong way".

8:22 Just the way they chew their food will "rub me the wrong way".

8:26 There's nothing actually wrong with the person, but for some reason,

8:31 they annoy me; they make me feel a little bit uncomfortable.

8:35 So, they "rubbed me the wrong way" for whatever reason.

8:39 Some people actually actively try to "rub other people the wrong way".

8:44 They're a little bit rude or a little bit insulting,

8:47 but that's a little bit different as well.

8:50 And last one: "have a bone to pick with someone".

8:53 If you "have a bone to pick with someone",

8:55 you have an argument with them or you have a problem with them, and you...

9:00 you want to confront them.

9:03 So, if I...

9:05 my neighbor borrowed my lawnmower and forgot to bring it back,

9:09 and I couldn't cut my lawn.

9:10 So, now 'I have a bone to pick with him".

9:12 I want to argue with him and say: Why didn't he return my lawnmower?

9:16 Or with a co-worker who has a different opinion,

9:19 you might "have a bone to pick with your co-worker",

9:22 because you disagree and you want to have a little bit of a confrontation.

9:27 Okay?

9:27 Any situation where there's a confrontation, you can use this expression.

9:33 So, there you go, that's ten expressions.

9:36 And, again, when you're listening to movies, or TV shows,

9:39 or whatever— try to pay attention; you will actually hear these expressions.

9:43 Make sure you understand the context that they are used

9:47 in; it will be much easier to understand the meaning,

9:50 and remember them, and use them your...

9:53 yourselves.

9:53 Okay?

9:54 But if you have any questions about these, please go to www.engvid.com.

9:59 There's a comment section; you can ask me all the questions you have.

10:03 I'll be happy to help you with these.

10:05 There's also a quiz.

10:06 You can try to test your understanding of these expressions.

10:09 And that's it.

10:10 The most important thing is: Use them.

10:13 Try to use them as much as you can, and pay attention for them.

10:18 So, I hope you like this video.

10:19 Give me a like if you did.

10:21 Don't forget to subscribe to my channel and ring that little bell

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10:29 and come back soon and we'll...

10:31 we'll do this again and improve our English together.

10:34 See you then.

10:35 Bye-bye.