Hello, welcome to Easy English.
So a few weeks back, we made a video about idioms,
which you can watch up here.
Now, one of the idioms I mentioned,
was called ''the ball is in your court'',
which is a reference to tennis.
And it got me thinking;
I wonder how many idioms there are
referencing the world of sport.
So I thought I could give you a top 10 list
of the most useful sporting idioms.
Before we get started,
please don't forget to give us a thumbs up and subscribe below.
Here we go.
Number one.
Hello and welcome to the start of a brand new season.
We're here at Easy English FC
as they unveil their new £400 million signing; Mr. Mitch.
Mr. Mitch comes out and waves to the audience
after tending to his hair.
The crowd are going wild.
Mr. Mitch approaches the centre circle ready for kick-off.
He kisses the ball in a weird way.
And here we go.
Hands on hips.
Oh, he slips and oh, disaster!
He's broken his leg.
To ''kick off'' is an idiom used to describe something starting,
as in; let's kick this party off.
It can also be used in a negative sense
to describe a violent situation erupting,
for example; suddenly, a huge fight kicked off.
Number two.
Hello welcome, you're joining us live
for the 200 metre freestyle swimming race.
We're seeing the racers now,
entering the final 100 metres.
There's the U.S., there's Germany, there's Australia.
But where's Team GB?
Oh, there's Team GB now, led by Mr. Mitch,
who looks clearly out of his depth.
The idiom ''out of your depth''
refers to someone who does not have the adequate skills,
knowledge or experience to deal with a particular situation.
Number three.
Hello and welcome back to Easy English FC.
The game, still at nil-nil.
Let's cut to Mr. Mitch, who's watching on from the sidelines
as Easy English FC look for a goal.
He looks in pain.
One pass, two pass,
crossed, headed,
goal!
Easy English FC have taken the lead
without their £400 million man.
To ''watch from the sidelines''
means to be witnessing something,
but not actively involved.
So think of the substitutes on the substitutes bench
in a game of football.
Number four.
Hello and welcome to the Ice Dance.
You're joining us now as Team GB, led by Mr. Mitch,
is just getting his boots ready.
He's doing the old cross-stitch style,
followed by a nice hard pull.
And here he is skating,
one leg up, arms out like an aeroplane,
looking very, very casual.
And into a quite fast spin.
Spin, spin, spin.
Very, very graceful.
What's that noise?
I hear cracking.
He's spinning too fast!
Oh, he's skating on thin ice.
Mr. Mitch, look out!
Oh, he's gone under.
To be ''on thin ice'' or ''skating on thin ice''
is an idiom which reflects the precariousness
or risk of a situation.
For example; skating on thin ice.
Number five.
Hello and welcome to the Welterweight World Championship.
Mr. Mitch approaches the ring representing Team England
up against the mighty, mighty U.S. team.
Here he is looking very, very confident.
Let's go, Round one.
Team U.S. just smashin' his face in I think.
Punch, punch, punch, punch.
Hook, hook, jab, punch.
Mr. Mitch taking an almighty beating.
He's on the ropes!
He's ready to go!
Unless they're Muhammad Ali,
when you see a boxer up against the ropes,
it usually means they're on the verge of defeat.
So the idiomatic phrase ''on the ropes''
means you're in a state of collapse or almost ready to give up.
Number six.
Welcome back to round two.
Team England versus Team U.S..
Still getting punched in the face from what I can see.
Team U.S. is absolutely smashing him.
Oh and 'ere comes one.
Oh!
It's right below the belt.
That's got to hurt.
The idiom ''below the belt''
means to do or say something underhanded,
cruel or unfair to someone.
Much like in boxing;
punching someone below their belt...
if you know where I'm going.
Number seven.
Hello, welcome back to the end of round two.
An absolute demolition job by the U.S..
Team England is in the corner, Mr. Mitch.
He wants to carry on, but they've thrown in the towel!
It's all over!
When a boxer's trainer ''throws in the (white) towel'',
it means that the trainer believes
the boxer is no longer able to carry on.
A little bit like in a battle, waving a white flag.
It means basically, to give up,
after fighting under a difficult situation.
Number eight.
Hello, welcome to the running.
This time we've got Team England versus Team Australia.
Both racers are on the track.
Ready, steady...
Oh!
Team England have run off.
Mr. Mitch has jumped the gun!
To ''jump the gun'' is generally a negative idiomatic phrase.
Which means, to start something before you were supposed to.
Much like starting a race before the start of pistol.
Number nine.
Hello, you're joining us at the end of the race,
where...
who's coming?
Oh, it's Team Australia.
They've won even though Mr. Mitch had a head start.
Can't believe it.
He looks puffed out.
Get him a beer.
To get or to be given ''a head start''
generally means you're given an unfair advantage
early on over everybody else.
Number ten.
Hello, welcome back to the swimming.
Let's catch up to see where Mr. Mitch is.
Oh, he's really been thrown in at the deep end.
To be ''in at the deep end''
or to be ''thrown in at the deep end''
refers to starting something difficult,
perhaps a new job without any preparation whatsoever.
Thanks for watching this week's video.
Let us know in the comments below,
any sporting idioms that you know
that we might have missed out on.
And if you enjoyed this video,
then give it a thumbs up and subscribe to Easy English
and we'll see you next week, bye.
Let's cut to our roaming reporter.
How's Team GB doing?
Hello Jeff.
Yes, I can confirm that Team GB...
is still drowning.
Back to you, Jeff.