Hi, everyone.
This is Christine, and I know I'm one
of your favorite trainers, and I'm happy to
be here to teach you today's lesson, which
is smart expressions to speak English naturally.
Yes, yes.
We all know you're working on your
vocabulary, you're working on your grammar.
But what is even more exciting, and it's going to
make a big difference to you, is having smart expressions
added to your daily conversations, because it's going to make
you feel confident and also make you look smarter.
Okay, so this is something we
all need to improve our communication.
So are you all set for today's lesson?
Let's dive right into it.
Our first one for today is in a jiffy.
In a jiffy?
What is in a jiffy?
Okay, so it means to
do something rapidly, quickly, okay?
So just means getting to the point
and doing something really, really fast.
Let's have a quick look at an example.
Can you see this guy running?
He's in a jiffy.
Okay, so this is an example that
says, I'll be there in a jiffy.
Just give me a minute to grab my keys. Okay?
It means I'm going to be there quickly.
I'm going to be there really soon.
Just give me a jiffy.
I'll just be there very soon.
Okay, so you're getting the gist of it.
Okay, the next one is, the food was ready in a jiffy.
I was impressed by the speed of the kitchen staff.
So you know what?
This weekend, I actually went to this amazing restaurant,
and we were just having our juices and cocktails
and mocktails, and then I ordered for a particular
dish, and within no time, which is replaced by
inner jiffy, the food was brought to the table.
And you know what?
I was so impressed, apart from being really hungry,
and I was like, wow, that was really quick.
So the food came in a jiffy, and I
was so impressed that I even tipped them.
So now you know what in a jiffy is.
So let me challenge you.
Why don't you give a thumbs up in a
jiffy while I move on to the next one?
Cut to the chase.
I know it sounds like a really, really cool expression.
What does this mean?
I know it sounds very mission impossible right now.
This means, get to the point, okay?
Don't waste my time and get to the important matter.
Now, of course, we know that when somebody just
goes on and on and on about something, we
want them to get to the point, which is
when we tell them, cut to the chase. Okay?
So remember, it is not an action
movie that we're referring to here, okay?
The example we have is can we cut to the chase?
I don't have all day to listen to your story, okay?
I know it sounds a little rude, okay?
But sometimes we have to just be upfront,
and we have to be honest about what
we want somebody to come back to, okay?
So we want them to just cut to the
chase because we don't have all day, right? Right. Okay.
The next one, the meeting was going on for hours.
I was so relieved when the
CEO finally cut to the chase.
We all know what that's like, when somebody can
just go on and on and on and on. Okay?
And this was being relieved when the
CEO finally got to the point.
All right, our next one in the know.
Anybody knows what in the know is.
This means to have inside information, to have
a better understanding, to have exclusive information.
Okay?
So you will understand this better with this example.
If you want to know about the latest gossip, ask RIA.
She's in the know.
It means RIA knows about everything that's happening.
It could be in college.
It could be in an office.
So she knows who's having an affair with whom.
She knows who's got the higher marks.
She knows who's the pet of the teacher.
She knows who's getting more salary than somebody else.
She's in the know.
And I'm sure you know somebody who's in
the know with all things around you. Okay?
Let me know if you do.
The next example, the political analyst was
in the know about the upcoming election.
He had access to confidential polls.
This particular analyst seemed to
know everything about everybody.
So basically, he was in the know.
All right, moving on to our next one, under the radar.
No, no, it doesn't mean that you're actually
under a radar, not in the physical sense,
but it does mean to avoid attracting attention,
to become unnoticed, to maintain a low profile. Okay?
So we all know what each of these mean, right?
So we don't want to attract too much attention, okay?
We don't want to be noticed too much,
and we just want to keep it low.
Now, we'll understand this better with this example.
The company's new smartphone is under the radar.
They haven't released any information
to the public yet.
Now, this sounds familiar, especially when we think
of you got it right, the iPhone, right?
Everybody is waiting for the next one to come,
the latest one to come, and we have no
clue about their latest features because they want to
just keep it low profile, right?
So this is what it is.
So they have kept it under the radar.
This one.
This example, the new song is under the radar, but it
has great music and is likely to become successful soon.
So basically, right now, it's unnoticed, okay?
But very soon it's going to pick up and
it's going to be successful very, very soon.
All right?
Our next expression is bend over backwards.
That's not what I meant. Okay?
So like I said, it's not a literal expression.
It's not the physical aspect of it.
What this actually means is to make a
great effort to go the extra mile.
Again, extra mile doesn't mean physically going the
extra mile, but it just means great effort. Okay?
It also means to work very, very hard. Okay?
So, like this particular sentence, my sister bent over
backwards to clear the entrance test and got into
her dream university, which means she worked so hard,
and she worked day and night.
She studied, studied, studied just so that
she could get into her dream university.
Okay, so she bent over backwards.
So don't think it's a yoga class here, all right? Okay.
The next one.
The teacher bent over backwards
to help the struggling student.
She spent extra time with them after class.
So here, the teacher really took the effort.
She really took the time to ensure
that her students would do well, and
that's why she gave them extra classes.
Okay, the next expression ahead of the curve.
No, no, no.
We're not talking about traffic.
We're not talking about being on the road.
What we are talking about, though, is to
be ahead of the trend, to be innovative.
Innovative means to be creative, right?
Innovative means to be creative,
to have a competitive advantage.
That means you are better
than what already is existing. All right?
So we'll help you understand this better.
The athlete was ahead of the curve.
He trained differently from others
and developed new techniques.
Okay, so basically, he knows everybody's in
the competition, everybody's working as hard.
But he was ahead of the
curve because he trained differently.
He did something different.
He used different tools.
He used an extra additional help,
and he was probably using visualization.
Apple is always ahead of the curve
with its innovative and cutting edge technology.
Can anyone tell me what this is? Come on. Come on.
Come on.
I want to see you all actually tell me what this is.
For those of you who know, this actually, for those of
you who also don't know, this is a Mac studio.
This is one of the coolest things
that Apple has come out with.
And I have to say, I have one of
these in the office, and it is awesome the
kind of editing we get to do with it.
I mean, the features are incredible.
So, as you can see, Apple is always ahead of the curve.
Okay, our next one is out of the ordinary.
This is very simple, and I'm sure you
understand that this means not the typical, okay?
It also means unexpected and unconventional.
It's not the usual that you
usually see all over the place.
So, like this one, the new restaurant's
menu was out of the ordinary.
It had unique and creative dishes.
We all know, right, when we go to a restaurant,
we're so used to seeing the regular menu, the regular
dishes, and we're just like, what do we order?
The same thing?
But here, when the menu is out of the ordinary,
it actually is exciting to see something different, and it's
refreshing to see the way sometimes they come up with
these creative, unique ideas of seeing a menu.
In fact, that itself is fascinating
and it's so much fun.
Okay, the next sentence.
The film was out of the ordinary.
It had an unconventional storyline and
was unlike any other movie.
Okay, let me quickly bring to
your notice this film searching.
Have any of you all seen it?
It is so unique.
What makes this different?
Because this entire film was captured on
screen, just with a computer, right?
It wasn't taken by a camera.
So if you watch this, you'll
know exactly what I'm talking about.
Read up on it, watch it and tell me what you think.
Because it was definitely out
of the ordinary, this one.
Now, to keep up with, very simple, and I'm sure
you already know what this means, which is to level
up with someone, to maintain pace and to match up
the level, which is almost the same.
To level up with and to match the level. Okay?
So she has to keep up with the latest
technology to be successful in her job, right?
We all have to keep up with whatever
field we're in to make sure that we
are up to date with everything, right? Okay.
Now, the next one, he has to keep up
with his fitness routine to stay in shape.
I love this picture.
It's so cute and so funny.
But we know that we all have to
keep up with our fitness routine as well.
Okay, the next one is in the take off.
No, we're not talking about milkshake.
What we are talking about, though,
is in the middle off.
So in the thick off means in the
middle of a difficult and complicated situation to
be surrounded by multiple challenging situations. Okay?
You'll get a better understanding with this.
The soldiers were in the thick of it during the battle.
They were under heavy fire.
They were in a really difficult situation, right?
They were in it so they
know what they were going through.
Now, that's not an easy situation to think
of, but we can understand this better.
The next one, the founders were in the thick
of it when they couldn't close the investor round.
So that means they were going
through a lot of challenges. And you know what?
Because of that, they couldn't
close the investor round. Okay?
Now, our last expression for today is all in all.
This means to consider all the facts,
to conclude and express a final opinion. Okay?
It is very, very simple.
So, all in all, the movie was average.
It had some good moments, but
also some really weak points.
We know what that's like, right?
Not all films have everything happening.
So in this so we are almost giving a
conclusion here that this is what I think.
It was good and it was that.
Okay, let's look at just one more
example, especially for all of you.
All in all, I know this lesson was
great, and I learned some awesome English expressions.
So this is what I would like you to use, okay?
So we know that English expressions really come into
play when you use them in your daily conversation
for your natural and fluent English, okay?
It's going to be fun.
You have to use it.
Remember that and practice it, okay?
It's going to be super duper fun.
So ensure that you're always practicing it
like I said in the beginning, not
just grammar, not just vocabulary.
You need to use expressions, phrases to
sound more exciting, to sound more cool,
and to feel more confident as well.
So I hope you had a fantastic lesson today with
me, and I'm so excited to bring this to you.
And I'm looking forward to more lessons to
share with you all in the future.
Take care and keep learning.