Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to my advanced English lessons with Harry.
And today we're going to look at idioms. And idioms connected with the summer. So remember,
what we're trying to do is to help you to get a better understanding of the
English language. We look at vocabulary, we look at pronunciation, phrasal verbs, expressions,
everything that will help you to communicate better both in your
normal conversational English and also in your business English.
So today, as I said, we're going to look in the lesson at idioms and we're looking at summer
idioms. I've got 10 of them, I've got to give them to you, one, one after the other and go
through them, and try and give you an explanation at the end of this if you don't understand them,
well, just come back to me, I'll give you the address at the end of this particular lesson.
Okay, so as I said, 10 Summer idioms. So those of you who are just getting into summer or have
been through the summer, whatever you do, if you like the summer, are these idioms are just
for you. Number one, the calm before the storm, the calm before the storm. An Indian Summer, dog
days of summer, full of hot air, under the sun, place in the sun.
One swallow doesn't make a summer. A cold day in July. To be in hot water. And then finally,
to make hay while the sun shines. Okay, so let me go through these one after the other.
Now, some of these idioms, they have literal meanings, but they all have specific references to
another story. And I'll give you the example of what that means when we when we come to it. Okay,
and quite a few of them I don't think we're... had discovered by anybody who lived in Ireland,
because some of the references are to really nice times and summer,
and sometimes in Ireland, the weather isn't
so kind. But anyway, we'll look at those another time. So let's go, one after another.
The first one, the calm before the storm. Well, often in the summertime,
we get a buildup of heat and a buildup of humidity. And you often get really
strong thunderstorms, particularly in months like July and August. So
the calm before the storm is a period of quiet weather before the clouds buildup,
the thunder rolls and the lightning strikes. Okay, so the calm before the sal... the storm.
But when we use it in a metaphorical way, the calm before the storm could be
a time of quiet reflection in the office when nothing's much is happening. But you know,
at the end of the month, there's going to be some issue because the accounts have to be done,
or the clients get very busy or the orders start coming in, ready for the next month. So you can
turn around to your colleagues and say, You better enjoy the next few days. It's the calm before the
storm because when the boss comes back, he's going to want action. Okay, so calm before the s torm.
Number two, an Indian summer. When we enjoy an Indian summer, it's that period of two
or three weeks that extends the summer into perhaps September or even into early October.
It happens quite a lot. And it's really nice when the days are warm. Perhaps they're not as long
as the previous months of the summer but they're warm and dry. So you get that nice Indian summer.
So an Indian Summer could also be the last few years before you retire. I'm going to enjoy
the Indian summer of my working life. A couple of years when I really don't have to do too much,
just have to wait around until I get my pension. Indian summer.
So Indian summer, the late period in your life or the... the extended period of weeks
during the long summer from August into September, as I said even stretching into October.
And then dog days of summer. Now, this is a particular American idiom is not one
that I've used so often but the dog days of summer it actually comes from Greek
and Roman mythology. You know, when they... they used to see lots of activity in the sky
and you get really, really hot days in July and August and often quite stormy. So they...
these really hot times they refer to them as the dog days. They're really tough, hard, sultry days.
You know when there's hardly some air in the atmosphere. It's hard to breathe, and you're
hoping and waiting that a storm will come and clear the atmosphere. So the dog days of summer.
Full of hot air. When somebody is full of hot air, they usually talk a lot,
but have very little purpose. They don't have any
great meaning, they don't make any sense. And they don't really contribute in any way.
Don't mind him. He's full of hot air. He says this than that. But you know,
he really has no power, he really has no control, he really has no influence on
anybody. He's just full of our hot air, he likes to listen to his own voice.
And we take it literally hot air balloons, they go up and they go up. When you fill
the balloon with hot air, they turn on that gas and
the hot air rises inside the balloon and the balloon goes up. So when somebody is
full of hot air that like one of those hot air balloons, they will rise and keep going as long
as somebody adds some little bit of energy, but as soon as soon as you prick, so they just disappear.
Okay, so to be full of hot air, somebody that really says a lot,
but there's no great meaning to it, there's no great value to it.
Under the sun. When we hear, when we're using about under the sun, we can use an expression that
they have everything, everything under the sun that you could possibly want. So
if you're looking for a choice of getaway holidays, you're looking for
that getaway weekend or a long holiday, and you're not quite sure where to go.
So your partner tells you, Well, just look it up on the internet. I mean, they have
everything under the sun, everything you could possibly look for. We can have
quiet holidays, we can have relaxing holidays, we could have activity holidays, we could have
holidays that are mixed between some relaxation and some activity, we can have one of those
getaway holidays, we can have an eco holiday. So whatever you're looking for,
you'll find it on the internet, they have everything under the sun.
Or if you're looking to try and buy a new pair of shoes or sneakers or something like that,
you go to one of these open air markets, Oh, look, you'll find everything under the sun
that you could possibly need. It stretches for miles and miles. It's all open air market stalls,
there's absolutely everything. And you know, the prices are really, really great. So yeah,
you'll get everything under the sun that you could possibly want. So that means
everything and anything, everything and anything.
So remember, if you enjoy this particular lesson, then
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Okay, a place in the sun. Well, wouldn't we all like a place in the sun, there used to
be a programme on TV called place in the sun. And what they used to do was
find you a place that you're looking for, for your budget. So if you're living in the
UK and you fancy the getaway holiday home in the south of Italy, they would go off and they find
three or four or five properties show... show you the ones they liked. And then fly you out there
to have a look to see what with it... whether you're interested in buying them. So a place
in the sun can literally mean that getaway that holiday home in the destination of your dreams.
Okay, but we can use it a little bit metaphorically. Ah, yes, a place in the
sun what we've always dreamed off. Yeah. So it's more of a dream rather than a reality.
It's something you can sit back and think about and those long, long summer evenings. Wouldn't
it be great to have a place in the sun? Yeah, wouldn't it great to retire next year
and buy that place in the sun. So even if you're only halfway through your working life, you still
have this belief that you're like, perhaps to retire early, and find and set up for that
place in the sun somewhere where the sun shines 9-10 months of the year, a place in the sun.
One swallow doesn't make a summer Well, at the beginning of the summer, we often see
swallows. These are the birds that fly around with the little forked tails, they never land,
there's something to do with... with the way they fly and the way their wings are made.
But they constantly swoop and dive and they eat all of these little insects. And they usually
make the nests under the eaves of the house, and you'll see them, you know,
at the beginning of the... the summer so they're very interesting to watch how they make the nest
and then make it from more than that just clings to the underside of your the eve of your house. So
if you see one swallow is the sign that summer is coming but it doesn't mean that it's actually
there because it could be the the end of spring so you might have to wait a little bit of time.
So we use this expression when somebody has said okay, I think everything is great. Now
I think we've got everything sorted. And you say, Well, hold on a minute.
One swallow doesn't make a summer, we better test this first of all. We'll make sure it
works. Because if it doesn't work, we'd have to go back and start all over again.
So when we use it, literally, it means if we see a swallow,
perhaps it's a sign that summer is coming. And when we use it metaphorically,
one swallow doesn't mean a summer means we have to just be a little bit cautious.
Don't jump the gun, don't assume everything's okay until you've tested and check things.
So, you know, you get one good order, it doesn't mean that 20 orders are going to follow. If you
get one good order, yeah, you can be happy, you can be content that perhaps there's a sign that
business is going to be it's going to improve, but it doesn't mean it's going to jump dramatically.
So don't count your chickens as what we mean. So one, swallow doesn't automatically mean
summer is coming. Okay, so one swallow doesn't make a summer.
A cold day in July. Well, whoever thought of this idiom never lived in it,
because there are plenty of cold days in July. But what it really means is one cold
or cold in July means that it'll be something very rare and something very, very unlikely.
So somebody could say, it'll be a cold day in July, before I let you run this business. Yeah,
okay. So a father might say to his son, that he doesn't really trust his son to run the
business. And he would say, it'll be a cold day in July, before I let you run this business.
It will be a cold day in July, before I leave you my love. Okay, so some man telling his wife
that he loves her forever, and that there's no chance that he would ever leave her.
So when we use the expression, cold in July, it's meaning that something is
very, very unlikely to happen. And as I said, unlike you live in unless you live in Ireland.
To be in hot water, well, when you're in hot water, you have to be careful because you
burn your feet, okay. And so when you're in hot water, it means you're in trouble.
You're in difficulty. So if you make a mistake, you're likely to be in hot water with your boss.
If you make a mistake at school, and you don't hand in your work and time,
you're going to be in hot water with the headmaster.
If you're late home and you promised your parents that you'll be home before midnight, it's now
two in the morning. Guess what you're going to be in hot water with your parents when they
wake up in the morning. Or, as usual, they're probably awake anyway, when you get home. And
what time do you call this? Where have you been? Okay, so you're really in hot water.
And if you borrow your father's car, and you scratch it or damage it, well, actually,
you're really going to be in hot water. So it's like standing in boiling water without any shoes,
or socks, you're gonna burn your feet to be in hot water.
And then finally, to make hay while the sun shines. Well, of course, all farmers
love this. So at the end of August, when the sun is shining, and the hay is yellow in the fields,
they want to rush out with the combine harvesters and harvest as much as possible while the sun is
shining. Because if the wind comes and the rain comes, well, it's going to flatten the hay. And
they're not going to get as much yield per acre, per hectare as they should get. So
when this skies are blue, the clouds are high, the sun is warm, then yeah, get those combine
harvesters out and make hay while the sun shines. So that's the literal meaning of it.
And the metaphorical meaning means to take advantage
of something while you have the opportunity.
Okay, so your boss goes away for three weeks, every July. Okay, so absolutely certain
certainty when it comes to the first of July, he's gone. And he won't be returning until the 20th of
the 22nd. So you make hay while the sun shines, you don't work as late as often you do your work,
but you you get home at a reasonable time, you spend some time with the family, okay. So you make
hay while the sun shines, so you take advantage of something that won't always be there, okay.
Or perhaps during the summer, the roads are really, really quiet. And there's lots
of parking spaces. So you take the car to work, you're able to park it near the office, there's
no penalty of five for parking there. But you don't have that opportunity
for the other 11 months of the year, because the spaces are usually occupied
by early arrival success. So you take the opportunity, and you take the the ticket
advantage of the free spaces and you park your car in these spaces for the month of July. So you
make hay while the sun shines, so to take advantage of something while it's there.
All right, good. Excellent. So there are examples of these particular summer idioms. They're all
related to heat or warmth, but they all have a metaphorical meaning and a literal meaning.
So just run down through them once more. The calm before the storm. So something is quiet
before something erupts. An Indian summer. Something that happens late like a nice
period in your life before you retire. Dog days of summer. The really hot, sultry days of the summer.
Full of hot air when somebody just talks and talks but they really have
no substance to them. Under the sun, you can get anything you want under the sun, just name it,
you'll be able to get it in that market. Place in the sun, the place to get away from it all.
One swallow doesn't make a summer. So don't jump to conclusions just because something
has happened. It doesn't mean everything all the problems are solved. So just be careful.
A cold day in July, something that's unlikely to happen, a cold day in July.
To be in hot water to be in some difficulty with somebody but something you've done
or something you forgot to do. And then finally to make hay while the sun shines
to take advantage of a situation while it's there because it won't be there forever.
Okay, so I'm glad you joined me. I hope you've enjoyed those. Try to practice them,
the idioms connected with summer. Some of them a little bit advanced but
try and see can you use one or two or even three of those. And if you have any problems with them,
come back to me on www.englishlessonviaskype.com. Very, very happy to help you. I'm always glad
that you listen. I was glad when you join me, Harry signing off. See you very soon.