Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this lesson, you'll have a chance to learn 10 idioms that
have to do with day and night. Okay? So let's get started.
Number one: "He's getting stronger day by day." Okay? So you see the idiom is written
in red, so the idiom is "day by day". So, what does that mean: "He's getting stronger
day by day"? It means as each day passes, he is getting stronger. So, "day by day" means
as each day passes. All right.
Number two: "Thanks! You really made my day." So the idiom there is "made my day". Okay?
So, what does it mean when you say to somebody: "Hey, you really made my day"? This is a very
positive thing to say to somebody. It means you really made me very happy today, because
you did something for me. Okay? So you can see the person is saying: "Thanks!" Thanks
for calling, or thanks for your present, or thanks for that very kind thing you did for
me, and as a result: "You really made my day." You made me very happy. Okay.
Number three: "Okay, let's call it a day." All right?
"Okay", or: "Okay, guys, let's call it a day."
Now, this is often used at work. Okay? So when you say: "Let's call it
a day", it means let's stop working for the day. Let's finish working for the day, or
let's finish our work day. All right? "Let's call it a day" means let's not do any more
work today. All right? Sometimes a slight variation on that is: "Let's call it a night."
That also means let's not do anything more tonight. Okay? But if you finish... If you
want to say to stop working and it's still daytime, then you will probably say:
"Let's call it a day." Okay?
Number four: "One of these days, I'll be rich!" Okay? Probably all of us say that. So,
"one of these days", it means sometime in the future, someday, one day-I hope-I'll be rich. Okay?
All right.
Number five: "John's a night owl." Okay? So, what does that mean? How can John be an owl?
Okay? What's a night owl? So, a night owl... Sometimes instead of "night owl", they also
say "night person". Okay, so basically, in life we have day people and night people.
And the day people like to get up early, and they like to do things in the day and they're
very efficient in the day; and the night people really love the night, and they function better
at night, and they enjoy the night, and they prefer the night. And that's what a night
person is, and that's what a night owl is.
A person like that who prefers the night is called a night owl. Okay?
So, are you a day person or a night person? Are you a night owl? Okay.
Number six: "The baby was crying all night long." So, if you've had a baby or you know
any babies, you probably understand this anyway, and it means that the baby was crying the
whole night; the entire night; all night long. It means through the whole night. Okay? Of
course it's a bit of an exaggeration, but you know, probably those parents were very
tired when they said that. Okay.
Number seven: "They're a fly by night operation." Okay? So now here, when they're talking about
"they", they're probably referring to a company. All right? And when you say they're a fly
by night operation, it is not a compliment; it is not something good. It is, in fact,
something very negative. It means that that company is a dishonest company, they are not
trustworthy. Okay? You can't trust them. Don't do business with them. They're here today,
they've gone tomorrow. Don't give them your money. Don't trust them. It's a fly by night
operation. Okay? That's what it means. Okay.
Number eight: "We enjoyed a night on the town." This is something positive. "A night on the
town" is when people go out to celebrate something, they go out eating and drinking, and dancing
maybe, listening to music. Having a lot of fun, going out at night. Okay? Have you had
a night on the town lately? Okay.
Number nine... Now we have expressions which have the words "day" and "night". The first
four, in case you noticed, the first four idioms had the word "day", the next four idioms
had the word "night", and the last two have both "day" and "night". Let's read them.
Number nine: "She looks after her mother day and night.",
"She looks after her mother day and night." It means
around the clock; all the time. Okay? In the day, and also in the
night. Day and night. It means around the clock. Okay?
And the last one: "My sister and I are as different as night and day." So the idiom
here is "as different as night and day", it means completely different. Just like the
night is very different from the day, this expression means that you're talking about
two people or two things which are as different as night and day, which are completely different.
Okay?
So, let's do a little review, see how well you remember them. What does it mean if I
say: "Let's call it a day"?
It means let's stop working. Okay? Good.
If you enjoy a night on the town, what did you do?
You went out celebrating, eating, drinking, dancing, having fun. Good.
Okay. If you're getting stronger day by day, it means
every day, one day after the other, as each day passes, you're getting stronger.
Day by day. Or you're getting better day by day.
Or sometimes if you meet a little child and you haven't seen him in a long time,
and you think he's become very big now, you say:
"Wow, you're just getting bigger day by day."
Okay? Usually people say these kind of cute things to children.
Okay, so if it's a... If somebody tells you: "That company is a fly by night operation",
do you think you should do business with them?
Nope, because it means that... "A fly by night operation" means that...
What? It's a company you cannot trust. They are dishonest.
All right. Now, if I say to you: "You made my day. Thanks so much." what does it mean?
It means you made me very happy today. Okay.
And if somebody looks after somebody else day and night...
Or let's say something else: "He studies day and night."
What does it mean, "He studies day and night"?
It means he studies around the clock; all the time. Okay? Good.
All right, if somebody's a night owl, what do they like? They like the night. They'd
prefer the night to the day, and they probably function better at night. All right? And if
somebody... If two people or two things are as different as night and day,
it means they are what?
Completely different. Good. What's left, here? Okay, so if you... So let's say
you say people... They were partying all night long. It means? "All night long" means what?
That it was... They were partying the entire night. The full night. And:
"One of these days", what does that mean?
"One of these days, I'll be rich. One of these days, I'll be famous."
It means? Sometime in the future. Okay?
So, there you go. Four ex-... Four idioms with "day", four idioms with "night", and
two with "day" and "night". If you'd like to do some more practice on this, please go
to our website: www.engvid.com. There you can do a quiz on this, and also watch over
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Bye for now, and good luck with your English.