This episode we’re doing things a bit differently – We’re looking at expressions with the word one. You’ll hear explanations for one-horse race, one-track mind¬, and one-two punch. If you’re curious about what all these expressions mean, then this is the episode for you. Do you have a one-track mind for learning English? Listen here to find out!
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Expressions included in the learning materials:
- To go to do
- To be all thumbs
- To make my day
- A one-horse race
- There’s no question about it
- To be head and shoulders above the rest
- No harm in it
- To be right around the corner
- No questions asked
- One-track mind
- Football this, football that
- To fall behind
- One-two punch
- To brace yourself
Sample transcript:
Andrew: And today’s theme is a little bit different from what we usually do and it revolves around the number one.
Harp: Yeah. We’re gonna give you a couple of expressions, idioms, that have the word one in them.
Andrew: Right. Usually we base our expressions around a certain theme to do with the meaning of the expressions, but today we’re gonna switch it and talk about expressions that all have the word one in them. So they have different meanings but they’re related because they all have the word one.
Harp: They’re super cool expressions, so we’re gonna tell you what the expression is, we’re gonna explain it, and we’re gonna give you examples like we normally do.
Andrew: That’s right. So our first expression is…
Harp: One-horse race.
Andrew: That’s right. One-horse race.
Harp: Yes. One-horse race.
Andrew: Yes. And what exactly is a one-horse race, Harp?
Harp: Well. a one-horse race is when there’s a competition and there are many people competing, but really there’s one person who is just so much better than everyone else that they seem pretty likely to win.
Andrew: Yeah. So a one-horse race is when there’s a competition and one competitor that’s just so much better than everyone else that you know that that person is going to win. There’s no question about it.
Harp: Yeah. It’s pretty much a sure bet that they’re gonna win.
Andrew: For sure. So if you’re a gambler it’s good to bet on the person that you know is gonna win in a one-horse race.
Harp: Yes. So it can be a competition of any type, it could be a spelling bee, it could be a pie eating competition, or it could be something like a singing competition like American Idol.
Andrew: Yeah. It could be any sort of competition where one competitor is just head and shoulders above everybody else in the completion. And you know that person is gonna win.
Harp: Yeah. So if you imagine a competition, and there’s just that one person who’s so much better, you kind of know that they’re gonna win, that’s a one-horse race.
Andrew: That’s right.
Harp: I wouldn’t like to compete in something where it’s a one-horse race and I’m not the person who’s the best.
Andrew: Right. But if you are the person that’s the best, but then a one-horse race is perfect. You know you’re gonna win. You don’t have to be stressed out.
Podcast/Learning Materials: Culips English Podcast