oh look at me I'm really going up in the world today I'm climbing the ladder of
success I'm heading to the top you might describe me as a social climber
let's just hope I don't slide back down to the bottom again
or even worse fall head-first hi everybody and welcome to another full
English lesson I'm really enjoying the view from up here can you see me waving
to you I hope so Here I am once more talking to you from
the birthplace of the English language which is of course England so without
any more dawdling or dilly dallying let's get on with today's Full English
lesson which will start around about...
...now!
If there's one thing I've learned about English it's that quite often the
simplest words have the most meanings for example you have the words hot and cold
in its most common sense the word hot describes something that is of high
temperature it is holding a high degree of heat it might be dangerous to touch
or drink don't go near the stove it's hot can you open a window it's hot in here.
The word hot can be used in other ways too something that is popular or
fashionable can be described as hot something that is in high demand might
be described as the hottest thing around cycling has become the latest hot health
routine this toy is going to be the hottest item in the shops this Christmas
something that might generate a lot of interest can be described as hot we have
some new hot properties to show you as an idiom something might be too hot to
handle this means that the thing in question should be avoided or at least
handled with care we can't discuss that topic here it's too hot to handle for us
in a stressful situation where you are under a lot of pressure we might say
that the heat is on the heat is on for the sales force to reach their targets
you can feel the heat which means to be involved in a risky or high-stakes
situation an attractive person might be hot there were some hot models at this
year's Fashion Show heat can be used as a verb to describe the action of
introducing heat to something you must heat the soup before serving it
As a slang word the word heat can mean the police as part of a phrase we can use
heat to do something in the heat of the moment means to act in a spontaneous or
unprepared way normally in reaction to something you do something in the heat
of the moment a stolen item that is being passed around can be described as hot
I wouldn't buy any jewellery from him it's all hot a person who often loses
their temper can be described as a hot-head the word cold can also be used
in many ways an unwelcoming response might be described as cold to be
underwhelmed by something can often create a cold response his performance
was greeted with cold silence the feeling of being repulsed or offended by
something can be described as cold you feel upset and put off by what you saw
or heard his humour throughout the evening left me feeling cold you can
give someone a cold stare you look at them with disapproval and disdain as an
expression you might give someone the cold shoulder - shun someone or to
choose to ignore a person directly is to give the cold shoulder he tried to
approach me after dinner but I gave in the cold shoulder
to make something cold you need to cool it the word cool can be used to describe
a period in which you can change your mind about something a cooling-off
period is often allowed so as to give time for a person to consider what they
have done the holiday booking allows you a cooling-off period of 14 days this
means that you have two weeks in which to change your mind
you might go off the idea you cool off the word cool can be used to describe
something that creates excitement or is seen as impressive something is cool
that's a cool bike you've got there for younger people this particular
expression might appear old-fashioned and not cool
during a criminal investigation an inquiry that has no new leads might be
described as having gone cold an unsolved crime that occurred many years
ago can be described as a cold case a cold thing can also be described as
chilled as an idiom you can chill out or just chill to relax and unwind is to
chill I think I'll just stay in tonight and chill in front of the television
general negativity from a person can be described as chilly my new ideas for the
next meeting were met with a chilly response the phrase come in from the
cold means to return to a place or group that had previously rejected you you are
welcomed back and forgiving you have come in from the cold
what does it mean if you kick the can down the road? what does this phrase mean?
if a person is in a situation where they avoid making difficult decisions or
changes they might be described as kicking the can down the road.
That person is avoiding the important issues and tends to shy away from making crucial decisions.
To kick the can down the road means that you are taking no
direct action over an important issue it's easier just to carry on kicking the
can down the road than to change your ways the phrase originated in American
English however these days it is being used more and more in British English as well
the phrase derives from the action of
moving forward lazily whilst doing something at the same time just like you
would if you were kicking a can down the road the government will continue to
kick the can down the road until the next election to go on regardless
without making any changes or to continually ignore a bad situation
without changing course is to kick the can down the road you avoid the problems
whilst pretending everything is all right
it's time to take a look at another buzzword a buzzword is a word or phrase
that is popular during a certain period or is often used generally today's buzzword is...
'Privacy'
The word privacy is a mass noun that means a state in which
one is not observed or disturbed by other people the state of being free
from public attention is privacy as a general social rule a person's privacy
must always be respected despite this there are instances where someone has
their privacy interrupted this is often described as intrusion a celebrity or
someone in a prominent position of power might have their privacy invaded someone
in the public eye will often be held up for closer scrutiny this often leads to
not only their public life being analysed but also their private one as
well this intrusion can be described as a breach of privacy a basic social rule
has been broken it would be fair to say that the right to privacy is something
that is generally expected in life newspaper articles TV reporters or
photographers with very long lenses are often accused of invading a person's
private space their right to privacy has been breached.
can you see what I'm doing here I'm trying to find something to watch on
television sometimes it is hard to find something good to watch I often spend
many hours trying to find a decent show to watch
I often flick through the channels in the desperate attempt to find something
that catches my eye you flick through the channels you flip through the
channels you scan up and down the channels many years ago we used to have
to get up and go over to the TV to change the channel these days we can use
the remote control this item can cause a lot of annoyance and frustration as it
often gets mislaid has anyone seen the TV remote it was here on the sofa
earlier but now it's gone the TV remote is used to control all the functions of
the television set including the sound level and picture controls the sound
level is called the volume you can turn up the volume to increase the sound
level and turn down the volume if the sound level is too high or too loud in
this case the word volume simply means amount or quantity the level is the
volume which controls the amount of sound coming from the TV a person who
likes flicking through the TV channels can be described as a channel hopper if
a person watches TV all the time there we might describe them as a telly addict
telly is another word for a television set a television can also be called the
gogglebox the word goggle refers to a person's eyes staring at the flickering
picture and box refers to the shape of the TV although these days many TV sets
are actually flat and take up very little space television sets come in
many different screen sizes from just a few inches to fit on a small desk
right up to the ones that resemble something you might find in a cinema.
Well as you can see time has beaten us again we are out of time our time is up
see you again soon for another full English lesson and don't forget to hit
that subscribe button and activate the notification bell so you won't miss
another one of my video lessons be they live or recorded this is Misterduncan
in the birthplace of English saying thanks for joining me today stay happy drink
plenty of water enjoy English and of course...
ta ta for now. 8-)