Posts tagged expression

Expression: Shrug it off

shrugIn this episode, Robin and Jessie discuss the expression to shrug something off. Check out the picture here to see an example of someone shrugging. In certain situations a person may want to shrug it off, or have to roll with the punches, and afterwards pick up the pieces. Listen to hear how all these expressions are used differently.


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Jessie: So, I know that another example that I would have at work is sometimes, if my boss says something about my work, maybe gives me some criticism, says something I could be doing better, sometimes that kind of hurts my feelings but I know that it’s just work, it’s just my job. So I try to just shrug it off, and, you know, not get upset about it, not care, just shrug it off.
Robin: Forget about it. It’s not a big deal.
Jessie: So, are there any other expressions that we can use to talk about dealing with problems?
Robin: Absolutely. Another expression that we use to deal with problems is to roll with the punches.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Illustration: Asami Takemoto

Slang: Dude!

Dude! This word is very popular nowadays, especially with young people. You can often hear this word in movies and television shows, or with your Native English speaker friends. It has been around for awhile but young people are using the word dude, more and more. So…dude, what does it mean?
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Maura: You want to use dude with your friends in a casual environment like a party or something like that.
Harp: Yeah, so dude is an old word.
Maura: Yeah, and it has had a lot of different meanings that generally refer to a man.
Harp: Yeah exactly. And dude became popular in the 60s and the 70s in surfer culture and then it made its way into mainstream.
Maura: Yeah, so dude was really first used in a popular way by surfers, I guess maybe in California, somewhere where they surf in the USA.
Harp: Exactly, but we’ll talk about dude in the surfer culture in the Lipservice.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Video: Dude – Bud Light

Pet Peeves

petpeevesEveryone has personal pet peeves that bother you. Someone’s pet peeves are usually cultural. Pet peeves are usually small, day-to-day things. Are you curious about what pet peeves are now? Listen to this episode to find out what they are. All of the Culips members share their personal pet peeves too!

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Robin: What are some common pet peeves?
Maura: Well, a friend of mine really hates when people chew and eat with their mouth open.
Robin: OK.
Maura: …when they are eating but their mouth is open and you can hear what is going on in there and maybe they are talking at the same time.
Robin: That’s definitely one of my pet peeves too.
Maura: Yeah, so some pet peeves are really common and they bother or annoy a lot of people but pet peeves are kind of individual, like some thing that is my pet peeve that really bothers me, maybe is something that doesn’t bother you Robin, right?
Robin: Absolutely, it all depends on the person.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Rennett Stowe

Expression: Corny

corny Sometimes movies are corny, or music is corny. It is a fun adjective that can describe just about anything. A synonym for corny is cheesy, and it has nothing to do with cheese! Check out this episode to hear our corny examples.


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Harp: Corny.
Jessie: I like it.
Harp: I like it as well.
Jessie: So, does that mean having to do with corn?
Harp: Um, no, not at all.
Jessie: What does it mean?
Harp: Something that is corny is something that is cliché, unoriginal; it’s oldfashioned.
Jessie: OK, so corny is an adjective describing something that’s not very sophisticated, maybe kind of sentimental.
Harp: Yeah, exactly.
Jessie: Not original.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: flydime

Expression: To be caught red-handed

red-handedWhen people commit crimes sometimes they get caught! That person may be caught in the act of doing it, and if you are caught in the act then we can say that you were caught red-handed. Another similar expression that is almost never used in a serious way is to be caught with your hand in the cookie jar. We give you lots of examples of being caught doing something and how to use the expressions here.

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Jessie: So the phrase being caught red-handed is actually an old phrase and was probably first used in Scotland. And it was actually pretty serious because it was about murdering somebody.

Maura: Right, yeah.

Jessie: If you murder somebody you might get blood on your hands. Your hands would be red and if somebody saw you, they would know that you were the murderer.

Maura: Right, if you have the blood on your hands of the person who was killed, then probably you killed that person.

Jessie: Right, but today we can use this in a more light-hearted way too.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: Chief Trent

Expression: Wing it

wingitAt Culips, we plan our episodes in advance, we don’t just wing it. You can be specific and say that people can wing presentations or speeches, or you can simply say “wing it.” When you are not prepared, but you have to do something, you should try winging it.

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Maura: Let’s give a dialogue example, OK. Hey Harp, how was work today?
Harp: It was good. I had a presentation to give.
Maura: Oh really?
Harp: Yeah, I didn’t have any time to prepare for it so I had to wing it.
Maura: How did it go?
Harp: It went really well. I was on the spot, I improvised and people really enjoyed it.
Maura: Yeah, some people don’t need to prepare in advance.
Harp: I usually do but this time I winged it and it worked.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: D’Arcy Norman

To bite off more than you can chew

biteoffIf you bite off more than you can chew things might be difficult for you. This expression might sound like it is talking about eating but – don’t be fooled – it is not. Another expression with a similar meaning is to get in over your head. You can use both of these expressions when you agree to do something and then find that it is too difficult.

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Jessie: Well, to bite off more than you can chew is to commit to doing something that you can’t actually do. It’s too much for you to actually do.
Maura: Right! So you get involved in something, but it’s more difficult than you realized and maybe too difficult for you.
Jessie: Right! Or maybe you take more responsibility than you can actually handle.
Maura: Right! So, if you imagine that you bite a piece of food and it’s a very, very big piece, it will be difficult to chew the food.
Jessie: Right! So, when we’re talking about this as an idiom, you can imagine that you’re agreeing to do something, but then you can’t actually do it. Just like you’re biting the food, but you can’t actually chew it.
Maura: Right, because it’s too much or too difficult.
Jessie: Exactly! So, for instance, if I agreed to arm wrestle Arnold Schwarzenegger, I would be biting off more than I can chew.
Maura: I think you would definitely be biting off more than you can chew because Arnold Schwarzenegger is pretty strong.
Jessie: Yeah, he’s probably a lot stronger than me.
Maura: And a lot stronger than me, too.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: Dave 77459

Expression: To put your foot in your mouth

putFootSometimes we embarrass ourselves by saying something stupid. You can say, I embarrassed myself by saying something stupid or you can say I put my foot in my mouth. In this episode we look at that expression and also to make a fool of myself. Both of these expressions are used for embarrassing behaviour. Listen to this episode to hear our examples of situations most people consider embarrassing.

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Maura: Today’s expression is to put your foot in your mouth. It’s a long one.
Harp: Yeah, I like this one as well. So, this is to put your foot in your mouth.
Maura: Right. So the meaning of this expression is to embarrass yourself by something you that you say.
Harp: And this can also make others uncomfortable or embarrassed too.
Maura: Right! So you say something stupid or strange and it creates an uncomfortable situation.
Harp: Yeah. If you imagine trying to actually put your foot in your mouth, it would be embarrassing, and make you look stupid.
Maura: Yeah, I think for most people it would be a very difficult thing to do, to put your foot in your mouth.
Harp: Exactly!
Maura: So, the result is really the same. In both cases, whether you say something stupid or you try to put your foot in your mouth, you are embarrassed and you look stupid.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo: Jo Jakeman

Expression: Mum’s the word

mumIf you want to tell someone to keep something a secret or promise to keep a secret for someone else you can use this expression: mum’s the word. At first it seems like a strange expression…mum is the word? Weird. But you will see it is not so complicated when we explain the possible origin of this expression and the meaning of mum.

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Jessie: The reason we say mum’s the word when we say don’t tell anyone my secret is because if you close your mouth and you’re keeping a secret, imagine how you would sound if you were trying to talk while you’re closing your mouth,
Maura: Mmmm mum mmm.
Jessie: Right. If your lips are closed you can’t make any words, all you can make is a kind of mmmum sound.
Maura: Right ,exactly. So you can’t tell the secret because your mouth is closed.
Jessie: And they think that the first time that was ever used was in a Shakespeare play.
Maura: Oh really?
Jessie: Yeah they said, “Seal up your lips and give no words but mum.”

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Photo credit: Jehane

Expression: There are plenty of fish in the sea

fishMany different languages around the world have this expression. Do you have this expression in your language? Listen to this episode about There are plenty of fish in the sea and see if you recognize a similar expression in your native language. Hint: This expression is often used when talking about relationships that didn’t work out.

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Jessie: So the expression There are plenty of fish in the sea means that there are other options available. So, just like if you were going fishing and you caught a fish but at the last minute he got away, someone might say, “Well, don’t worry. There are plenty of fish in the sea.” So that means you can easily catch another fish.
Harp: Exactly. So now, you can use this expression in different ways, but the most common one is used in reference to relationships.
Jessie: Right, so a boyfriend or a girlfriend. So it’s almost like saying that you are catching a boyfriend like you are catching a fish. So if you break up with your boyfriend, it’s like the fish got away.

Podcast/ Lipservice: Culips ESL Podcast, Illust: wynlok