ENGLISH MASTERCLASS | MORE THAN 21 ENGLISH IDIOMS THAT WILL IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH FLUENCY

Learning English
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Let's jump right in idiom number one.
The very first idiom you must know is beat around the bush,
beat around the bush. Excellent.
One more time after me beat around the bush.
Great job. Now you're probably wondering, what does this mean?
Let me explain it.
So the definition of this idiom is to avoid addressing and
issue or speaking directly about it.
You don't necessarily want to really address what's going on.
You don't want to deal with the issue. You want to avoid it.
For example, let's say a mother,
maybe your mother or a father walks into their child's room and their child's
room is absolutely a disaster.
Clothes everywhere, toys everywhere, food on the floor.
It looks horrible. So the mother walks in, Johnny, Johnny, listen,
didn't I tell you to clean your room, Johnny?
Why isn't your room clean? Johnny says, mommy,
you know you look amazing today. I just love that dress.
You're wearing mommy. And you know, when I was at school today, mommy,
my teacher Johnny stopped beating around the bush and tell me why your room is
not clean. You caught it. Yes.
Johnny was trying to avoid the question,
avoid the issue in English. We say beat around the bush.
Now this idiom can be used in professional environments and also in very normal
environments, comfortable environments with your friends. All right.
Beat around the bush. Now check out these examples and instances. Here we go.
Sentence number one, John,
not Johnny always beats around the bush instead of giving a direct answer.
Tell us what you want to stay. Stop beating around the bush.
Next we have example sentence number two.
Instead of telling the truth,
she beat around the bush and tried to change the subject.
You're catching on, right? Beat around the bush,
not trying to say what's really the issue.
And what about example sentence number three?
The politician is known for beating around the bush during interviews.
Well, I, um, I,
I just want to say that, you know,
not addressing the issue. Once again,
the politician is known for beating around the bush during interviews.
You got it. Excellent.
Remember this is the first of seven powerful idioms.
I guarantee you,
you can start using this today to sound more like a native English speaker.
The second English idiom you must know is this one right here.
Lost for words,
lost for words. Here we go.
Unable to find the right words to express oneself.
I'm lost for words. I just don't know what to say.
This happened to me when I went to South Korea,
I was in South Korea and I went hiking.
My favorite mountain is the rock mountain, right?
So that's on for those that speak Korean.
And I went to the top of the mountain with some friends and I was at a loss for
words. I could not put into words what I was seeing.
That's how beautiful it was.
I was unable to find the right words to express myself.
Lost for words. You got it. Excellent. All right.
Check out this example sentence. The first example sentence,
I was so surprised by the news that I was lost for words.
I couldn't, I couldn't find the right words to say.
I was so surprised I was lost for words.
You got it right. It's a very simple idiom to understand, isn't it?
Because many times you as an English learner have those situations,
even in your own language where you just can't find the right words to express
what you'd like to say. Either you're surprised or shocked.
I'm lost for words. You got it. Excellent. All right.
Sentence number two,
when she handed me the award,
I was lost for words and couldn't give a proper acceptance speech.
This happened to my best friend, uh, the church that she works for.
They surprised her at the end of last year and they gave her a monetary award.
They gave her some money and she was at a loss for words.
She didn't know what to say.
She was so overwhelmed with good feelings and joy and appreciation.
So again, when she handed me the award,
I was lost for words and couldn't give a proper acceptance speech.
Sentence number three, using this idiom,
he was lost for words when his girlfriend announced that she was leaving.
What do you mean? What happened? I thought we were good.
He was lost for words when his girlfriend announced that she was leaving.
You got it. Excellent. All right. The second idiom lost for words.
Again, an important idiom for you. Here we go. Idiom number three,
get the ball rolling. I love this idiom.
I like to get the ball rolling and I use this quite often. Again,
get the ball rolling after me. Get the ball rolling.
Good job. All right. What does this mean?
It literally just means to initiate or start something,
right? Think about this. At the beginning of every lesson,
what do I say? What's the phrase I use all the time?
Let's come on now. You got it.
Let's jump right in. Let's get the ball rolling.
Let's start the lesson. You caught it,
right? Again, similar meaning.
It just means to initiate or start something, get the ball rolling.
So let's check out the examples and then says, here we go.
Sentence number one,
let's get the ball rolling on this project by scheduling a kickoff meeting.
Hey, let's get it started by scheduling a kickoff meeting.
Sentence number two,
we need to get the ball rolling on organizing the event before it's too late.
And finally, sentence number three,
she took charge and got the ball rolling on the new initiative.
She got it started. She initiated it.
Makes sense. I love it. Now again,
these idioms are powerful because native English speakers,
we use them on a regular basis. So now for you,
when you start using these idioms today,
you will start sounding more like a native English speaker.
Your English will immediately improve. Wow. You know that idiom? Hey,
let's get the ball rolling. Come on guys. We need to practice our English.
Let's get the ball rolling. Yes.
Some of my students will use that in their next practice session. All right,
here we go. So number three, get the ball rolling.
Let's move on to number four. Idiom number four,
break the ice,
break the ice. Good.
Break the ice. Now what does this mean? Break the ice.
It literally just means to overcome initial tension or awkwardness in a social
situation. It's not really that comfortable.
You're not really sure how to make everyone comfortable in this situation.
You want to break the ice, the rigidness, right? The stiffness.
When you're cold, you usually get stiff, right?
You want to break the ice,
make everyone relaxed and comfortable. Makes sense. All right,
here we go. The first example sentence,
he told a joke to break the ice and make everyone feel comfortable.
More comfortable. You got it. Excellent. All right.
Sentence number two,
the team played a game to break the ice at the start of the team building
session.
They wanted to play a game to make everyone relaxed to break the ice.
And finally, sentence number three,
I usually ask about their hobbies to break the ice with new people I meet.
I'm asking them a question to make them relax. Makes sense. Excellent.
So again, number four is break the ice. Now, before we get to number five,
I want to remind you everything you're learning. It's important to practice.
So after you watch this video,
don't forget to download the English with Tiffany app.
You can download the app totally for free,
but there's a practice lesson that goes along with this lesson.
It's important for you to practice what you learn. So download the app.
The link is in the description,
or you can go to your app store and just look for English with Tiffany.
All right, so let's move on to idiom.
Number five, idiom number five,
speak one's mind.
Good again, speak one's mind.
Excellent. Now this idiom,
another powerful idiom just means to express one's thoughts or opinions
honestly and openly. Hey, this is how I feel.
I'm going to express my thoughts and my feelings and opinions clearly speak
one's mind. What is your thought? What are your ideas?
I'm going to speak my mind. This is how I feel. Again,
to express one's thoughts or opinions honestly and openly.
All right. So check out this example sentence. First one,
he never hesitates to speak his mind even if it means disagreeing with others.
Large group of people together,
this large group of people and they all have one idea,
but then Brandon raises his hand and says, I'm sorry, I don't agree with this.
I think dot, dot, dot.
Brandon decided to speak his mind even though he was disagreeing with the group.
Makes sense. All right, here we go.
Sentence number two,
she was encouraged to speak her mind during the brainstorming session.
She was encouraged to give her thoughts, to give her ideas,
her opinions during the brainstorming session. And finally,
sentence number three,
he regrets not speaking his mind and standing up for his beliefs.
You got it. Again, idiom number five,
speak one's mind. All right, here we go.
Idiom number six.
The sixth powerful idiom is get the message across again.
Get the message across. Good.
Last time after me, get the message across.
Great job.
Now this literally just means to successfully convey or communicate a message or
idea. Once again,
to successfully convey or communicate a message or idea.
I want to make sure you're understanding what I am telling you.
I want to make sure the message is getting across.
The message is going from me to you and you caught it.
You understand it clearly. Get the message across. Got it.
Excellent. All right, here we go. First example,
sentence the teacher use various methods or excuse me,
the teacher uses various methods to get the message across to all students.
Various methods. I used to do this in South Korea. I would tell a story.
I would draw a picture. I would sing a song. Why?
I wanted to make sure to get the message across.
I wanted to make sure to successfully convey or communicate the message.
You got it. Excellent. Here we go. Sentence number two,
it's important to choose the right words to get your message across
effectively. And finally, sentence number three,
he tried different explanations to get the message across,
but she still didn't understand. You got it. Again,
get the message across. All right, here we go.
Number seven,
the seventh powerful idiom is beat someone to the punch.
You're probably like, Tim, wait a minute.
What beat someone to the punch? What does this mean?
Let me explain. Beat someone to the punch. After me first for pronunciation,
beat someone to the punch. Excellent.
Now this just means to do or say something before someone else can to do or say
something before someone else can. For example,
let's imagine that a husband decides to buy his wife a Mercedes Benz for their
50th wedding anniversary. He's excited. He has the keys.
He's about to surprise her.
But then their granddaughter who's also excited runs in ahead of him,
jumps on her grandmother's lap and says, grandma,
granddad bought you a Mercedes.
The granddad's hand drops and says, well, I guess she beat me to the punch.
You got it. Yes. Again,
it just means to do or say something before someone else can.
All right, here we go. Check out the first example sentence.
He beat me to the punch and announced the news before I had a chance to.
Next sentence number two,
the competitor released a similar product to beat them to the punch.
And finally, sentence number three,
she always has quick ideas and beats the team to the punch.
You got it. Excellent. So again,
idiom number seven, beat someone to the punch.
English idiom number one,
blood, sweat, and tears.
I know you're probably looking at me crazy right now, but just follow along.
Here we go again after me, blood, sweat,
and tears. Excellent. Now this idiom,
it literally just means dedication and hard work.
Again, dedication and hard work.
You my friend have been dedicated to your English journey.
You my friend have put in the hard work to get to this point.
The very fact that you are able to understand what I'm saying,
I'm speaking in English.
I'm not using any other language and yet you are still able to understand why
because you have been dedicated. You've put in the hard work.
You have gotten to this point because of your blood, sweat,
and tears. Oh yeah. You understand it now, right? Okay.
Check out these example sentences. Here we go.
The first example sentence,
it took blood, sweat, and tears for him to build his business from scratch.
Sentence number two,
the athletes put in blood, sweat, and tears to win the championship.
They worked hard. They were dedicated and that's how they won the championship.
And sentence number three, she knew success would not come easy,
so she was ready to give her blood, sweat, and tears.
You got it. Excellent.
Remember this just means dedication and hard work in English.
The first idiom, blood, sweat, and tears.
Now don't forget to make sure you access the English with Tiffany app after this
lesson to practice in the app how to use these idioms in real life.
All right. There are tests and quizzes and practice lessons,
so you don't want to miss it. English with Tiffany app. All right,
so let's go to idiom number two,
nose to the grindstone.
Go ahead. Good. Again, after me,
nose to the grindstone. Excellent.
All right. This just means working diligently and consistently.
You see this common theme between the first idiom and the second idiom, right?
Again, working diligently and consistently.
Once again, my friend, your goal is to speak English fluently.
And again, we, you and me, we are working together, right?
You and I are working together to help you achieve that English goal this year,
working diligently and consistently.
We have our noses to the grindstone. Oh yeah, you got it. I saw,
I saw the look in your eye. You got it. Here we go. Sentence number one,
he keeps his nose to the grindstone and never misses a deadline.
Yes. Good. Sentence number two,
success requires keeping your nose to the grindstone and being focused in order
for you, my friend, real quick as an English learner,
in order for you to experience success as you're on this English journey,
you have to keep your nose to the grindstone, be diligent,
be focused. You can do it. And now sentence number three,
if you want to achieve your goals,
you must put your nose to the grindstone. Listen,
this is why I said the idioms you are learning today in this lesson,
you will be able to use starting now.
They are applicable and they're literally idioms that will help you on your
English journey. All right. So again, number two,
nose to the grindstone idiom.
Number three, work one's fingers to the bone.
Again, after me, work one's fingers to the bone.
Good job. All right. It just means again,
the common theme we've had with our idioms.
It just means work extremely hard and tirelessly.
I want you to think about your mother or maybe you are a mother, right?
Think about how a mother works tirelessly to make sure her children are fed
well, to make sure children are happy and clean and living a good life.
Think about a father working hard as well to make sure his children are happy
and taken care of.
Parents work tirelessly to make sure their children are taken care of.
Parents work their fingers to the bone in order to protect and care for their
children. Yes. Now it's making sense. Excellent. All right.
Here are some example sentences. Sentence number one,
the construction workers had to work their fingers to the bone to complete the
project. Sentence number two,
she worked her fingers to the bone to save enough money for her dream vacation.
And sentence number three,
the students worked their fingers to the bone to prepare for the challenging
exam. You got it. Excellent. Again,
in English this idiom, very useful.
It is work one's finger to the bone.
Idiom number four. Idiom number four is put in the hours.
Excellent. Again, put in the hours.
Great job. Now this just means spend a significant amount of time and effort.
Put in the hours. For example,
you know I'm passionate about helping you achieve your English goals this year.
So actually I'll be very honest right now at the time I'm recording this lesson,
it is six 48 in the morning.
I've been up working on these lessons since five 30 this morning.
I was up before that. I literally started, I,
I literally started working on the lessons at five 30 this morning.
Why I want to put in the hours to help you achieve your English goals.
What does this mean? Again,
spend a significant amount of time and effort.
You're probably wondering tip, why are you working so hard to do this for me?
Listen, I love helping. I love when my students,
those that have joined my Academy say tip,
my life has changed when I see the confidence on their faces.
When they're speaking in English, man,
it makes me want to get up earlier simply to help more English learners finally
experience that confidence. Finally speak English fluently,
finally overcome the challenges they've been experiencing for years.
Maybe you've been experiencing challenges for years as well.
That is why I put in the hours.
So I want you also put in the hours. You don't have to get up this early.
I'm an early bird, so it's okay.
But put in the hours to achieve your English goal. Here we go.
Sentence number one, to become an expert in your field,
you need to put in the hours.
Sentence number two, if you want to succeed in this competition,
you have to put in the hours of practice and sentence number three,
he put in the hours studying for the exam and aced it.
Makes sense. Excellent. Once again,
put in the hours idiom number five that you need to start using right now.
Dig deep. Good again.
Dig deep. Excellent.
Now remember these five idioms I'm teaching you,
they have a common theme, working hard, putting in the work,
being diligent.
Dig deep means put in extra effort and find the strength to keep going.
Put in extra effort and find the strength to keep going during story time.
Don't go anywhere.
I'm going to tell you a story about when I had to dig deep,
put in the extra effort to keep going.
Now check out these examples sentences for this idiom. Sentence number one,
the team had to dig deep to come up with a solution to the complex problem.
Next sentence. Number two,
she had to dig deep to find the motivation to finish writing her novel.
Dig deep, put in the extra effort to keep going.
And sentence number three, despite the setbacks,
they dug deep and managed to achieve their goals.
Makes sense. Yes. Again, dig deep.
The very first English idiom is tie the knot.
Good again. Tie the knot.
Excellent. Now this idiom literally just means to get married.
Yes, you heard me right. To get married.
Now I'm going to give you three example sentences,
but before we do that,
I want to make sure you're able to apply this idiom to your life.
So we have tie the knot being our first idiom.
So what I want you to do right now is think of three individuals,
three couples, excuse me, that have tied the knot.
Three couples that got married. For example,
I can think of my parents tied the knot many years ago.
Think of another couple, you know, of that tied the knot.
I have some friends who tied the knot and also my sister and brother-in-law tied
the knot. As you're learning English idioms, it's important.
As soon as you understand the meaning,
it's important for you to apply it to your real life.
When you do this, you won't forget the idioms. So again,
tie the knot. You have three couples you already said out loud, right?
I hope you're also able to write them down. I'm writing them down.
So I want you to also write them down so you'll remember them. All right?
So here's the first example sentence using this idiom.
They decided to tie the knot after dating for five years.
In other words,
they decided to get married after dating for five years.
Makes sense, right? Excellent. All right, here's sentence number two.
We're tying the knot next month in a small ceremony.
We're getting married next month in a small ceremony.
You got it. Good job. All right. And sentence number three,
after tying the knot,
they moved to a new city to start their lives together.
You got it. Excellent. So idiom number one,
you can start using it right now. Remember we already did.
Idiom number one, tie the knot. Excellent.
All right, now let's move on to idiom number two about relationships.
After me, bury the hatchet.
Good. Again, bury the hatchet.
Excellent. Now what does this mean?
Bury the hatchet just means to make peace or end a quarrel or argument.
Again, to make peace or end a quarrel or argument.
Let's say you have an issue with one of your friends, right?
Maybe even somebody that you work with.
There's a quarrel between the two of you. You've been arguing for a while.
When you bury the hatchet, you stop quarreling.
You stop arguing. You come back together being friends. So again,
just like we did for the first idiom,
the second idiom we have is bury the hatchet.
So I want you to think about one specific person either in your past or someone
you need to bury the hatchet with. All right. Again,
remember focusing on the fact that it's someone you had a quarrel with,
but the quarrel comes to an end.
Who do you need to bury the hatchet with or who have you already buried the
hatchet with? I can think about a friend who I had to bury the hatchet with.
So I'll just write maybe, um, a fake initial, right?
I had to bury the hatchet with a friend, right? We were arguing.
We were not necessarily as close as we used to be,
but after we buried the hatchet, we went back to being close friends.
Again, bury the hatchet. Makes sense. Excellent. All right.
Check out these examples and instances and remember,
make sure you wrote down your person's name. All right, here we go.
They decided to bury the hatchet and remain friends.
They decided to stop arguing.
They decided to kind of let things go and to be friends again.
Next sentence number two,
it's time for you to bury the hatchet and work together.
Makes sense. Good. All right. And sentence number three,
after a long feud, they finally buried the hatchet.
They finally stopped arguing. They finally came back together.
Makes sense. Excellent. So again,
idiom number two is bury the hatchet. All right.
Idiom number three, another good idiom.
We have on the rocks. Good.
Again, on the rocks.
Excellent. Now again,
remember we're talking about idioms related to relationships on the
rocks. Just means in a state of difficulty or discord.
A little bit rocky. You haven't gotten over the argument.
You're still in the midst of it. You're not necessarily strong.
You're not necessarily safe, right?
On the rocks in a state of difficulty or discord.
So we have our third idiom on the rocks.
So what I want you to do is think about someone either,
you know, personally, or maybe even a TV show. This is better.
Think about a TV show you've watched and in the TV show,
there was someone in the movie, not the movie, excuse me, in the storyline.
You can pick a movie if you want a movie or a TV show where a part of the
storyline involved two characters being in a dispute and their relationship
was on the rocks. They weren't doing well.
Think about that character,
the main character and that main character's partner write their names below
the idiom on the rocks.
Think about two characters who had a relationship that it was really on the
rocks. One of my favorite movies is the sound of music and the two main
characters, the maid,
the woman that was taking care of the children and the man that owned the
house, the father of the children, their relationship was on the rocks, right?
So I'm going to put the sound of music and I know I'm referring to the main
characters, the main characters. I'll put C A R the main characters.
Again,
think of a movie or a show where the characters were going through a little bit
of a difficulty. Their relationship was on the rocks. Makes sense.
Excellent. All right, check out these example sentences. Here we go.
Sentence number one,
their marriage is on the rocks after the recent disagreements.
Their marriage is on the rocks. Next sentence.
Number two,
the project is on the rocks due to a lack of funding.
Notice this is not about an individual in the definition.
It says in a state of difficulty or discord.
So this is used to speak about relationships,
but you can also use it to speak about projects and sentence number three,
their friendship has been on the rocks since the argument.
Their friendship has been unstable in a state of difficulty since the argument.
You got it. Excellent. All right. So again, number three,
we have on the rocks. Idiom number four.
Idiom number four is C I to I C I to I good.
Now this idiom just refers to agreeing or concurring,
agreeing, being on the same page. Another good one.
Thinking the same way when you agree with someone you see I to I.
So I want you to think about now we have idiom number four C I to I.
I want you to think about two of your friends,
two of your friends who you normally see I to I with.
Normally you agree on things. So I'm going to say my friend Wilma,
my best friend Wilma.
We have the same viewpoint when it comes to religious things, right?
Wilma is one of my friends. We see I to I.
And let's say when it comes to business, I have another friend.
We speak about business all the time. My friend Lawrence,
he has his own business. So again,
think of two friends you see I to I with on certain topics or subjects and write
their names down. Why? Again, when you do this,
it will make it easier for you to remember the idiom later on, right?
See I to I. Here's the first example sentence.
They see I to I on most political issues.
They agree. Next sentence number two,
it's important for business partners to see I to I.
And finally, sentence number three,
we rarely see I to I when it comes to decorating.
We rarely agree when it comes to decorating.
You got it. Excellent. All right. So again,
number four, see I to I.
Now we're going to do idiom number four, number five, but I want to remind you,
don't forget to download the English with Tiffany app because after each lesson
you can practice what you're learning inside of my app.
These idioms seeing if you remember the meanings and how to use them properly.
All right, go to English with Tiffany, the English with Tiffany app. All right,
let's go to idiom number five,
a match made in heaven.
Good again, a match made in heaven.
Excellent. Now again, we're talking about idioms related to relationships,
right?
So this refers to a perfectly suitable combination,
a perfectly matched combination.
We say a match made in heaven.
So I want you now again, our fifth idiom,
a match made in heaven.
I want you to think about your friends and think about the couples,
you know, amongst your friends,
which couple pick one couple is a match made in heaven.
They just really match each other. Well, my sister has some friends, Philip,
I'll put P H Philip. Let's see.
Let's do this because of space, Philip and M Philip and M.
These two, Philip and Mendisa are a match made in heaven.
They've been together for a long time. A match made in heaven.
Think about a couple, you know, that are really,
these individuals are really perfectly matched,
perfectly suitable to each other. All right,
here's the first example sentence using this idiom.
Their partnership is a match made in heaven.
Next sit is number two.
Peanut butter and jelly is a match made in heaven.
Peanut butter goes very well with jelly.
And finally sentence number three,
they're a match made in heaven because they have so much in common.
Again,
they're a match made in heaven because they have so much in common.
You got it. Excellent.
Today I want to teach you five English idioms about life.
As an English learner,
you must master English idioms in order to speak English fluently.
Now this lesson is going to help you understand five important ones,
but I have a free PDF that I want you to download right after this lesson that
includes 17 of the most popular English idioms.
These idioms will help you sound more like a native English speaker.
So hit the link in the description to get your free PDF. Now,
are you ready to jump right in? Well then I'm teacher Tiffany.
Let's jump right in. Here's the very first English idiom.
I want to teach you today. The idiom is cut to the chase.
Good. Again, after me, cut to the chase.
Excellent.
Now this idiom literally just means to get to the point without wasting time on
unnecessary details. Again,
to get to the point without wasting time on unnecessary details.
Think about this lesson. I started off right at the beginning,
letting you know, Hey, I'm going to teach you five English idioms,
but I also want to give you 17 more that are very important, very popular.
Here's the PDF. And then we went right into the lesson.
I wanted to cut to the chase. You got it.
Yes. Getting to the main point.
Here is the first example sentence using this idiom.
Let's cut to the chase. What's your final offer for the contract?
We're going back and forth. You're telling me many different things. Listen,
let's get to the main point. Let's cut to the chase.
What is your final offer for the contract? You got it.
Yes. I remember it. This is not even in my notes.
I remember when I purchased my car,
I walked into the dealership and the young lady was very nice.
And I let her know, I said, listen, I just want to cut to the chase.
What's the price? Tell me all the details.
I don't like to haggle back and forth. I wanted to cut to the chase.
And she was great. She cut to the chase and I bought a car. All right,
here is sentence number two.
In our meetings, the CEO always cuts to the chase to save time.
He or she is not about wasting time. No,
let's cut to the chase. And finally,
sentence number three, as you're realizing how important this idiom is,
I appreciate how you cut to the chase in your presentation,
highlighting only the key points.
You didn't give information that wasn't important.
You only gave the key points.
I like and appreciate how you cut to the chase in your presentation,
highlighting only the key points. You got it. Excellent. All right.
So again, the first idiom is cut to the chase.
Here is idiom number two.
Idiom number two is throw someone under the bus.
Again, throw someone under the bus.
Now you're probably looking at me right now. Like Tiff,
why are we tossing people under vehicles? Let me explain.
To throw someone under the bus literally just refers to betraying or blaming
someone, especially to save yourself. Listen, I didn't do it.
She did it. Nope, nope. It was her or nope. I didn't do it. He did it.
You're throwing them under the bus again,
betraying or blaming someone usually to save yourself.
I didn't do it. That was them. That was over there. That was them.
Throwing someone under the bus. You got it. I kind of like that. All right,
here we go. Here is sentence number one.
Don't throw your colleagues,
your coworkers under the bus just to make yourself look better.
This is something, even though it's an example sentence,
I want you to live by this principle. Don't throw your colleagues,
your coworkers under the bus just to make yourself look better.
Treat people the way you want to be treated. Okay. All right, here we go.
Sentence number two.
She felt betrayed when her manager threw her under the bus during the project
review. Her manager didn't protect her. Her manager didn't save her.
Instead, her manager threw her under the bus,
betrayed her or blamed her. You got it.
And sentence number three,
it's unprofessional to throw your team under the bus when things go wrong.
Once again,
it's unprofessional to throw your team under the bus when things go wrong.
This is a very important point. Take responsibility.
Don't just blame other people. All right. So again,
idiom number two, throw someone under the bus.
Now, idiom number three,
idiom number three bite off more than you can chew.
Good. Once again, after me,
bite off more than you can chew.
Excellent.
Now to bite off more than you can chew just refers to taking on more
responsibility or work than you can actually handle. Hey,
I'm able to handle this amount, but I took on this amount a lot more than I can
handle. Bite off more than you can chew.
The easiest way to remember this idiom. I want you to think about a child,
a child who loves ice cream.
This child gets a bowl of ice cream and while they could eat it slowly,
instead they start to eat it very quickly,
putting more in their mouth than they can handle.
And all of a sudden their mouth starts to get bigger and things start to pour
out of their mouth. And the mother says, listen,
you know that you can't handle all of that. Take it one bite at a time.
In this sense, biting off more than you can chew.
The literal situation.
We can use it again when you're taking on more responsibility or work than you
can handle. You got it. Excellent. All right.
Here is sentence number one.
Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew with this new project.
Listen, it's a lot. It's a big one. Don't bite off more than you can chew.
Sentence number two.
I think I've bitten off more than I can chew by agreeing to three deadlines this
week. I think that's going to be a bit much.
I think I've bitten off more than I can chew by agreeing to three deadlines this
week. And sentence number three,
the new employee bit off more than he could chew and is now struggling to keep
up. You got it. Excellent. All right.
So once again, number three,
idiom number three bite off more than you can chew.
Now, idiom number four,
idiom number four,
put all your eggs in one basket.
Again, put all your eggs in one basket.
Good.
Now this idiom, put all your eggs in one basket,
just refers to investing all of your resources or efforts into a single course
of action. Hey,
I'm going to do everything I can to make this right here work.
I'm not going to worry about this or that.
I'm putting all of my eggs in one basket.
All of my efforts are going towards this one thing. In English,
we say, put all your eggs in one basket.
Check out this first example sentence.
It's risky to put all your eggs in one basket by relying on a single supplier.
What if that business goes out of business? What if that business fails?
Then your business will also fail.
It's very risky to put all your eggs in one basket by relying on a single
supplier. Got it. Excellent. All right, here we go.
Sentence number two, instead of putting all your eggs in one basket,
you should diversify your skillset to stay competitive.
Hey, don't just learn one skill,
learn multiple skills to diversify your skillset and make yourself more
marketable. Sentence number three,
the company put all its eggs in one basket with this product launch and it paid
off. Sometimes it pays off to put all your eggs in one basket.
Once again,
the company put all its eggs in one basket with this product launch and it paid
off. You got it. Excellent. All right. So again,
number four is put all your eggs in one basket.
Number five, idiom number five. Another good one.
Back to square one. Good.
Again, back to square one.
Excellent.
Now this just means to return to the starting point after a failed attempt.
All right, you're going back to where you started after you failed. Like, Hey,
I failed, but I'm going to start again. Back to square one.
Here's an example sentence.
The client rejected our proposal, so we're back to square one.
He rejected our proposal. Now we have to go all the way back to the beginning.
We're back to square one. Sentence number two,
after the software crash,
we had to go back to square one and rebuild the entire database.
Sentence number three.
If this marketing strategy doesn't work,
we'll be back to square one. If it doesn't work,
we have to go right back to the starting point. You got it. Excellent.
So once again, back to square one. Now remember I said at the beginning,
don't forget to download your free copy of 17 of the most popular English idioms.
This PDF is going to expand the lesson we just had and help you really
understand English idioms.
I hope you enjoyed today's lesson and I'll talk to you in the next one.
