Hi there. Welcome to today's English lesson. Today, we are learning 20 inspiring phrases to
use when times are tough or when someone you care about needs some inspiration.
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The sky's the limit. The sky's the limit means
anything is possible. You can go as high as
the sky with a project or goal. Metaphorically speaking, of course,
there is actually no top limit to this. You can just keep on going. The sky is endless.
And I'm really nervous about putting myself on YouTube.
I just don't know if people will like my video...
Don't worry, just try it out. And you never know what will happen. The sky's the limit.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
This means that there is always something good that can be found in a bad situation.
For example, you lose a job that you love. That's really bad news. But
it does give you more time and space to work on some other projects that you've been putting off.
That's the silver lining.
What a lovely day! What a... Oh, no.
Just look at that awful cloud. This is terrible. Worst thing ever!
But wait, what's that?
A silver lining, it's not much, but it's something to smile about. I guess.
Next up we have - there's light at the end of the tunnel.
This means that you can see the end of a situation or project
after a long time or a difficult time trying to complete it.
You know that it will finally end because you can see the light.
When is this gonna end?
Hang on... What’s that!? It’s light! Light! The end is in sight guys. The end is in sight.
When life gives you lemons - make lemonade.
This means that you should try to make the best out of any situation. Even when something happens
in your life that you don't want. You can find a way to make something good from it.
Oh, Holy Macaroni! What am I going to do with all these lemons?
Ah there! Lemonade.
The world is your oyster. Huh?
The world is your oyster. That's a bit of a funny one. The world isn't
an oyster. This is one of the phrases in English that we can thank Mr. William Shakespeare for.
It first appeared in his play the “Merry Wives of Windsor”. The world is your oyster means you can
do anything. You can go to space! You can become president!
Or you can sit in your living room and read a book.
The world is your oyster.
Now we use this next phrase when we want someone to make a special effort.
It's - go the extra mile.
Oh, I'm so tired. And I'm just out of ideas. I just want to stop here.
Come on Anna. Your students love you.
And they are used to high quality lessons with you. So go the extra mile.
You're right. I'll go the extra mile for my students.
Thanks. Next up.
When one door closes another one opens.
This means that even though one opportunity has finished
or is no longer available to you, there will be another opportunity.
Anna, can you help? Oh, this door
is stuck. I thought I'd be able to open it but I can't up.
Don't worry. That door may be closed but another one has just opened over there.
Break a leg - is a great expression to use when you want to wish someone luck,
especially if you're involved in acting or the theatre, in acting circles saying
good luck is believed to bring bad luck. So, people started saying ‘break a leg’
which didn't actually mean break it. Just bend it at the knee like you would do
at the end of a show when the crowd cheers for you.
Thank you. Thank you.
Ahhh my show is starting in 10 minutes, so I better prepare myself.
Oh, yes, Anna, break a leg.
Come on. Keep going. Bit by bit, you can make it. YAAAY!
Did you see what I was doing? I was going slow and steady.
Slow and steady wins the race.
This means that you get to your goal by taking small,
consistent steps, I worked a little bit every day to grow my business.
Our next phrase is off to a flying start. And means to advance quickly.
When you start something. For example, if you write a book,
and in the first week after publishing, you sell a million copies, you could say that your writing
career is off to a flying start. Wow!
Anna, what are you doing? Oh, I'm about to get off to a flying start.
What? Yeah,
I took up amateur circus performance. And my teacher says I'm doing great! WEEEEEEE!
The early bird catches the worm means that being first makes success easier.
Right? So glad I'm up at dawn. Time to catch some worms.
I'm going to be putting in my winter holiday request today.
Really? That’s a bit early. I want to be the first to ask
for time off. So, the boss can't say ‘no’. The early bird catches the worm after all.
Fortune favours the brave means that when you have the
courage to try something new or something difficult, you will achieve your objectives.
Oh, I'm not sure I can do this. I've never walked a tightrope without a net underneath me before.
It's okay. I believe in you. Fortune favours the brave. So, get out there and just do it.
To do something with bells on means that you do it very enthusiastically.
You can also say be there with bells on.
I'll be there with bells on!
Anna, don't forget about my party Friday night. It's going to be epic.
Oh, don't you worry. I'll be there with bells on. I wouldn't miss it for the world.
To eat, sleep and breathe something means that you do that thing
or think about that thing all the time. You can use this when you're really
inspired by something. Oh, my little cousin eats,
sleeps and breathes dinosaurs. She knows all about them. She's obsessed.
Oh, here you go!
To sow the seeds for success. This means that you put the
work in now so that you can get the benefits or reap the rewards later.
It was really tough starting out on my degree, but I worked hard. And now
I've sown the seeds for success in my career.
When someone is feeling low or not optimistic, you might say to them, chin up.
It's a way of saying it'll be okay. Cheer up, stay positive, literally put your chin
up and face the world rather than being down. Chin up!
I often feel a bit down when the sky is grey and it's been raining a lot.
Chin up, Hannah, the weather will start to get better soon.
Get your finger out, or pull your finger out is what you might say to a friend or colleague
who's procrastinating. They have something to do, but they're just not starting it.
So, you might say, “Come on, pull your finger out!” to encourage them to start.
It is usually used when someone's trying to start something after inactivity. Now this is not
as inspirational as the other phrases. But it certainly is effective. Just
make sure that you say with a smile, so that you don't seem rude.
To be on cloud nine is when you're incredibly happy.
Imagine you get the results you want in your IELTS test
or your favourite team comes top of the league. You'll be on cloud nine all the way up there.
Where is Anna? Hey Nicky!
Oh! I'm out here. I'm on cloud nine.
To shoot for the stars is similar to our first phrase in this video.
Can you remember what it was? It was the sky's the limit?
If you got that right you have a great memory with shoot for the stars there's a similar meaning
that your goal can be as high as you want it to be.
It can even be as high as the stars. You will still try to reach your highest goal.
Hey, you've got to hang in there. You may recognize this one from my video,
“Learn English Idioms for Working Hard”. If you haven't seen it yet,
maybe you can check it out after this video. I'll put a link in the description below.
But basically, we say this phrase when someone is finding something difficult,
and we want to inspire them to continue.
Oh, I’m finding these exercises really tough!
How much longer? Just hang in there only another
two minutes 30 seconds to go. What? How long?
Now, pause the video, download your lesson notes. If you haven't already and try
the quiz to test your knowledge. Then go and check out the working hard idioms video.
I'll see you there.