Once in a lifetime opportunity, and I must say, my very first idioms lesson. You people
have asked me and requested, "Ronnie, please do idioms. Ronnie, please do idioms." And
Ronnie goes, "Ronnie doesn't like idioms because I don't really use idioms." I don't think
they're very useful. But then today, an idiom popped in my head, and it had to do with seafood.
Now, I don't remember what the idiom was because it was the morning and I was walking to school
innocently. But I started to think about seafood and fish. I got a little sick because I hate
seafood. I don't really like fish either, but I thought, "Wow. You know what? I'm going
to teach you because you want to learn about idioms." So here you go. Ronnie's very first
-- hopefully not the last -- lesson about idioms. These ones are with seafood and fish.
The first one. You can say, "He or she is a shrimp." Now, do you know what a "shrimp"
is? I will draw you a picture I'm not very good at drawing pictures, but I'm going to
try. So a "shrimp" is a little sea creature that has a lot of legs and a tail. Yeah. It
looks like that. So the meaning of "he's a shrimp" or "she's a shrimp" means the person
is very short -- not necessarily thin, but quite short. So you can say the person "is
a shrimp". You probably want to eat that person now, don't you? I don't. So "he's a shrimp"
means a very short person.
We have another expression that I really like. I don't understand why we use it, but we do.
"The world is your oyster." "Oyster" is another type of seafood. It's a shellfish. Now, the
problem with me and drawing shellfish is they're all going to look the same. But an oyster
is quite a large shellfish. The outside of the oyster is black, and inside, it can be
either an orangey-pink color, or it can be white. And the thing that's very special about
an oyster is they make precious pearls. So maybe you have a pearl necklace. The pearl
was made in an oyster. So the expression "the world is your oyster" means you can do anything
you want to do. Isn't that cool? "The world is your oyster." Whatever you want to do,
you can do it. There are no limits. If you want to do something, go and do it, and get
a pearl necklace.
Another expression is "a fine kettle of fish". This I don't think is too difficult to understand,
but "fine" means "very good", and a "kettle of fish" is a big pot full of fish. A long
time ago, we were very dependent on nature for our food. So having a big kettle or a
big pot of fish was a really, really good thing because that means that you would have
a lot of food to live on. Now, we have processed food and we can make genetic food, so we don't
rely on nature as much as we used to. So "a fine kettle of fish" means you're going to
eat for a while. But we mean this to be a really, really good situation. So it's a good
situation.
The next one, "pool shark". "Pool shark", funnily enough -- "pool" -- maybe you're thinking
of a swimming pool. No, no, no. "Pool" is a game. Another word for it is "eight-ball".
Okay? A different kind of pool game is billiards. So eight-ball and pool are the same, and billiards
is different. But a "pool shark" is someone -- usually a man -- who is very, very good
at the game of eight-ball or the game of pool. Just in case you don't know, "eight-ball"
is a game -- you have 16 balls here. And the object is to use a cue and to hit the balls
into the pockets. So if you are a "pool shark", it means you are very good at this game.
This is not a good thing, "fish outta water". Now, "outta" is how we would normally say
"out of". But in native speaking, we don't say "out of"; we say "outta". "Fish outta
water." So if you think about this -- if you're a fish, where do you live? The ocean or a
fish tank if you're not a lucky fish. If you're a "fish out of water", what's going to happen?
First of all, you're going to feel very uncomfortable, probably a little dry, and then guess what?
You're going to die. So people use the expression to say, "I feel like" or "I felt like a fish
out of water." It basically means that you feel very uncomfortable. It doesn't mean you're
going to die. It just means you feel very uncomfortable. Good.
The next one. This has been shortened over the years. We used to say, "Something smells
fishy". Ew. Fish stinks. But we've shortened it to, "Something's fishy." If something's
fishy, it means something's a little strange or a little weird, but we don't know exactly
why. We're not sure, but something may be weird. So "something's fishy" means something
is weird or strange. Something's not right.
"Fresh off the boat" -- this sounds nice. It sounds like some really fresh seafood.
Well guess what? It isn't seafood at all. "Fresh off the boat" or "FOTB" -- apparently
is a term that is used -- is actually referring to people who have immigrated to, let's say,
Canada, or immigrated to a different city -- sorry, a different country. They've traveled
by ship or by boat, and they don't really understand the language or the cultures or
the customs of their new country. So a lot of people would say, "Oh, she's fresh off
the boat." It means she doesn't understand the culture of what's around her. So "fresh
off the boat." I think it's kind of a negative term, but apparently, it's used a lot. But
it just means that you're a new immigrant and you don't really know that much about
the culture. But you'll learn.
Funnily enough, we have another kind of shellfish, and this is a clam. Now, this is my picture
of a clam, and I'm sorry. I can't draw a clam or an oyster. But a clam is usually smaller
than an oyster, and it's used a lot in a soup called "clam chowder". It's very common in
the east coast of America and in Canada. "Clams" is an old word to mean "money". So if you've
watched probably 1970 or 1980 gangster movies, they would say, like, "How many clams for
that bottle of whiskey?" In a very old sense, it means "money".
The next one, "clammy", is an adjective. "Clammy" is kind of a strange word, but it means that
you feel cold and wet or damp. So you could say, "I feel clammy." It's kind of like you're
in the ocean, and then you get out of the ocean, and you forgot your towel. So it has
a bad connotation of not a good feeling. You feel kind of wet and kind of cold. So "clammy"
means a wet and a cold feeling, not a good feeling.
The next phrase, "clammed up". As an example, "He clammed up during his speech." What do
you think that means? He turned into a clam? Uh-uh. If someone "clams up", it means their
mouth becomes a clam, I guess. It means that he stopped talking. Maybe he couldn't talk.
Maybe he forgot what he was going to say. So the idiom "clammed up" means that somebody
stopped talking. I don't understand this either. But it's an idiom. This is why idioms are
so strange and Ronnie doesn't teach them.
"Happy as a clam." It means that these clams are really, really happy. So I guess we should
do one of these. And it means that you feel happy like a happy clam. Crazy English.
What would a lesson be with Ronnie without some dirty sex in it? Oh, yeah. Don't worry.
We are not free of the seafood and the fish innuendos without a little bit of slang sex.
Now, maybe you've had sex with someone, and he or she didn't really do something. Maybe
they just kind of lied there -- or just laid there, and they didn't participate in the
sexual encounter. You can say, "She or he was like a dead fish." Now, this doesn't mean
the smell, I hope. But a "dead fish" would maybe move around a little bit and then not
move. So you can imagine how exciting this person would be if you were going to have
sex with someone. So you can -- it's usually used for women. I don't know why. But "she
was like a dead fish". This means she did not participate in the action. Okay? Dead
fish -- bad meaning. Boring. So if someone calls you a "dead fish", it's not good -- very
boring.
One of my favorites, "trouser trout". "Trouser" is a very old and very British word for "pants".
A "trouser trout" or a "flounder" -- a flounder and a trout are a kind of fish. I will draw
a picture of a fish. Yay. But surprise, surprise. A "trouser trout" or a "flounder" actually
is not a fish at all. It is a man's penis. "Trouser trout" or "flounder".
And not to forget the ladies, the lady bits. We have something called a "fish taco". That's
disgusting, isn't it? Fish. Gross. I hate fish. So a "fish taco", if you can imagine,
is actually the vagina of the lady. The lady's vagina. So representing the male sexual organs,
we have the "trouser trouts" or the "flounder". And for all the ladies out there, your "fish
taco" is a slang word for your vagina.
Are you hungry? Would you like some seafood? The next time you go to a restaurant and they
have flounder on the menu, I dare you to order it. Bye-bye. This is all for idioms with Ronnie.