[Music]
hello everyone this is seema and today
i'm going to talk about something that i
love the most in this entire world
yes today i'm gonna talk about animals
well i'm not really gonna talk about
animals but i'm gonna
bring you some animal expressions which
will help you speak english
really well
now if you learn english by relating it
to something you love
you're going to learn english really
well
so who does not love animals right so
we're going to look at some really fun
animal expressions
so the first animal we're going to talk
about
is
the elephant
the biggest animal that we have right
now
and as you can see
we're going to talk about the first
expression which is elephant in
the room
now think about it if you are sitting in
your living room and watching tv
and there's an elephant
i mean you can't really imagine that
right because that's a huge thing in
your room right there so therefore when
we use this expression which is elephant
in the room we're really saying that
we're dealing with a big problem and a
problem that is ignored as it is
something that can cause a lot of
embarrassment and a lot of conflict
now a lot of times
you know we have a problem it's a big
issue but we're kind of awkward we don't
want to talk about it because it's it's
so big but
if we kind of talk about it there's
going to be embarrassment there's going
to be conflict there's going to be
fights so we rather just let the
elephant in the room
be the way it is we don't touch it
in a sentence you could say
the fact that she is unmarried at the
age of 40. now this is a big thing in
india if you're a girl and you're not
married at the age of 40
it's a huge deal it's an elephant in the
room um the fact that she is unmarried
at this age
is a real elephant in the room
when she comes to meet her parents so
there here's this girl she is unmarried
and she meets her parents maybe once in
a fortnight
and they're kind of wanting to talk
about her being married but they don't
do it because it's an elephant in the
room they'd rather not talk about it
because it might lead to conflicts or
embarrassment
okay the next expression is
about a pony now this is not a horse it
looks like a horse but it's really a
baby horse
or what we call a pony and the
expression is
a one trick pony now what is a trick a
trick is a certain talent or an ability
that you can really show to people okay
but if you only have one trick up your
sleeve you are a one-trick pony which
means that you are a person who is only
known for one ability
or you're only good at one thing you
only have one good quality now that's
not really a compliment okay because
you're supposed to be good at everything
so
if you are a one-trick pony what does it
mean you can say
she always wins the talent competition
with some dance performance she is such
a one-trick pony which means that you're
saying that she does not even deserve to
win because she only tries one thing
she's only good at one thing she's a
one-trick pony
okay our next expression relates to my
favorite animal which is the lion
and um what is the expression the
expression is
the lions share
now i'll tell you why this expression is
is called
this because a lion if you if you've
seen it hunting or if you've seen it
eating its meal
it kind of takes the major part of the
food it does not really leave the food
for the lioness or the cubs really it
takes the major part of the food and
therefore the lion's share is a major or
the biggest part of something
okay so in a sentence you could say
some people
don't do much work
but they get the lion's share of credit
at work
how i hate office politics now
all of you have probably seen some weird
sneaky guy in your office who kind of
does not do a lot but when it comes to
taking the credit he gets the lines
share how unfair i mean you did all the
work and he gets the lion's share but
well that happens right that's what
office politics is all about that's
called lion's share for you
okay our next expression relates to
a horse now this is a big horse but as
you can see there are many horses
and the expression is
to hold your horses
okay why do we hold our horses now
horses are animals that are used for
transportation
and if you've ever ridden a horse you
will know that you have to control
where the horse goes you have to control
the direction that it kind of goes at
and therefore this expression really
means that
you're telling someone in this
expression that they've got to stop
and
consider in a very careful way
their decision about something so you're
telling someone to be
careful okay because some people are
kind of hasty they want to kind of just
do something but you're telling them
that hey stop and consider
be careful about your decision okay so
in an expression you could say in a
sentence you could say hold your horses
you might find this phone for a better
price elsewhere
now maybe you are in a hurry to buy a
phone you've lost your phone or whatever
other reason you want to buy a phone
and
you go to the first shop and you're you
feel like oh i'm gonna buy this phone at
this price but then your friend maybe me
okay i'm a little wise i might i may say
hold your horses be careful consider
what you're gonna do very carefully
because you will get a better phone
probably at a better price somewhere
else okay so hold your horses at all
times
okay our next expression relates to
the pig it looks really cute to me but
what is it what is the expression the
expression is pig-headed okay so who is
a pig head
uh a pig-headed person is really a
person who is stupidly stubborn
a person who refuses to listen or change
their opinion well you know i used to be
pigheaded once but now i meet a lot of
people who are pig-headed i mean they
want to do what they want to do and they
don't want to listen to anybody else
okay they are so stubborn that they're
almost stupid okay so when you see a
person like that or if you know a person
like that and they do something very
silly because they are pig-headed you
can say
go ahead
be a pig head be as big-headed as you
want to be
but don't come to me
when you are in trouble it's a good
thing to say you know why because people
who are stupidly stubborn always fall in
trouble but then let them be as they
want to be they will always
kind of face the consequences of their
actions so
this is something you can use with
people who are pig-headed our next
expression is um related to this animal
it looks kind of cute uh this animal is
actually
a weasel okay
the expression is
weasel out of something now
this animal has a very peculiar
characteristic it is very sneaky you
won't really see it
out in the open it kind of hides in a
little in a little place it kind of goes
in and out of little holes
it's not very open it's not very out
there
for people to watch so when you are
weaseling out of something it basically
means that you are avoiding or you're
running away from doing something in a
very sneaky way it's a very sneaky
animal right so if you don't want to do
something you're going to find a very
sneaky way of running away from it okay
so let's see how we can use it in a
sentence
you could say my little brother
always weasels his way out of doing his
share of the chores okay so me and my
brother okay we're supposed to do
household chores maybe i've got to do
the laundry he's got to do the dishes
but my brother
he is a weasel what does he do he
weasels his way out of doing his chores
which means
he kind of finds a very
sneaky way of making sure that he does
not have to do it he runs away from his
responsibilities right so um this word
weasel this expression weasel out of
something can be replaced with anything
that they are running away from maybe
you weasel out of office work
so what are you running away from
whatever you're running away from is
what you are going to be weaseling out
of okay so that is what it means to
weasel out of something
our next expression well
the picture is really cute because
you're looking at a lot of dogs very
cute dogs but the expression is go to
the dogs now frankly i wouldn't mind
going to these dogs but what does the
expression really mean the expression
means that
something has become very bad so much so
that it deteriorates in a very shocking
way
now i'll tell you why this expression is
like this
dogs
mostly are are creatures that you kind
of leave leftovers for at least in the
street dogs okay not the pet ones we we
love them too much right so um if
something goes to the dogs it means that
you're kind of leaving the bad parts
for
a person or for a thing
and your it's become very bad in an
expression in a sentence you could say
our vote really counts
or else the country will go to the dogs
right because we believe that if we
don't vote we might elect the wrong
person and the country will
become really bad it will really
deteriorate and therefore we say please
vote or the country will go to the dogs
we won't have the best we will have the
leftovers
okay then our next expression
um kind of relates to this bird as you
can see this bird is kind of running
away from a person actually the person
is chasing after the bird so what bird
are we talking about we are talking
about a
goose
okay and the expression is called a wild
goose chase chase why because we are
running after the bird which is a wild
goose
so what does this expression mean
it means that you are going after
something that you will probably never
get
now let me tell you
if you try to or if you attempt to go
after a goose
you will never catch it yes you can bet
on that you will never catch it maybe
you will but mostly you will not because
it's very hard to go after a goose and
actually catch it so if you are one of
those people who goes after things that
you will never get you are just going
after a wild goose chase and you could
say in a sentence the police don't even
have the fingerprints
this investigation is really a wild
goose chase which means the police have
probably no evidence but they keep on
investigating they're just going after a
wild goose it's a wild goose chase
our next expression is
about a bird it looks like an eagle but
it's not
this is actually a hawk and as you can
see it's tearing very carefully very
intently at something so what is the
expression the expression is you watch
something
like a hulk okay so it basically means
you are watching something
very
carefully
now you know this bird i don't know if
you're aware it kind of preys on small
little animals maybe a tiny mouse or
little birds
and before it kind of swoops into
to take them in for the kill
it will watch it will watch its its
praise movements it will make sure that
it can really go in for the kill and it
really is very careful and intent at
watching its prey and if you are someone
like that like like a hawk you are
probably someone who watches things very
carefully but in an expression you could
say
being a mother
simply means that you are watching your
children like a hawk at all times okay
so this is actually a good thing really
because you are
watching your children like a hawk
it basically means that you are looking
you're watching over them very carefully
you want to make sure that
they are taken care of and you're really
intent at taking care of them okay the
next expression
relates to a fish as you can see the
fish is out of water
well it's not a very good thing right
because what happens if you are a fish
and you are out of water
you are probably going to die okay but
well this expression really means the
expression is like a fish out of water
and it means that you are very
uncomfortable
or
not very happy in a particular situation
or a particular environment okay now a
lot of people are not comfortable so in
a sentence you could say
when she has to speak in front of people
she feels like a fish out of water
now i have heard that most people in
fact 70 of people are
very scared of public speaking so if you
feel like that
now you have an expression to use you
can say
i don't know what i'm gonna say i feel
like a fish out of water which means you
are in a situation which makes you very
uncomfortable
the next expression refers to a fly we
don't like this image too much but
the expression is wouldn't hurt a fly
wouldn't is a contraction between the
words
would and not
okay
and um the expression really means that
you're talking about a person
who is very peaceful and someone who is
not violent okay so if someone's really
a really mild-mannered person here's
someone who would not even hurt a fly so
in a sentence you could say
i think the police have the wrong person
mrs smith
wouldn't hurt a fly which means this
person mrs smith is so peaceful so
non-violent it's really a surprise that
the police have her she would not harm
anyone
the next expression
refers to um
a very weird looking thing but what
we're looking at right now is a nest
this thing out here is a nest it's a
hornet's nest now a hornet is an insect
which can really sting okay so the
expression is
stirring up a hornet's nest okay
so what does that really mean it means
that you are causing a situation
which makes people very angry or upset
now you would be an absolute
foolish person to stir up a hornet's
nest so if you are someone who is
causing
problems with people you are stirring up
a hornet's nest so
in a sentence i could say the actors
comments about politics
really stirred up a hornet's nest which
means that this actor wanted to kind of
talk about politics and that didn't go
well with him because you know he kind
of made a lot of people very angry some
people got upset and he basically was
foolish enough to stir up a hornet's
nest okay well these are the expressions
on animals animal expressions that you
can use for your english
speaking maybe at work or even in daily
conversations now these expressions are
very easy to use and you must use them
every single day
so um in the comments i would suggest
that you
let us know which expressions you you
really liked and how you are going to
use them okay so keep practicing i'll be
back with some more lessons until then
take care