- Today we're talking about travel idioms.
That's coming up.
Today's lesson's particularly useful and fun
because it involves traveling,
and if you like traveling, I think you're going
to really enjoy these idioms.
Now a lot of these idioms have to do with traveling.
They're related to traveling,
or things that are connected to traveling,
but you can use them in everyday situations,
which makes it even better.
In today's lesson I'm going to give you some new idioms.
I will explain to you what they mean
and how they're used, and I'll give you an example sentence.
So stick around, and let's learn something new.
Our first idiom is bad news travels fast.
And sadly, this is not a great idiom
because it has kind of a bad connotation.
We are talking about bad news,
and it really means what it sounds like,
that bad news circulates quickly.
- I guess bad news travels fast.
- Bad news travels fast with us demons.
We all like a good laugh.
- So when something bad happens,
a lot of people hear about it very, very quickly,
and that is when we use this idiom, bad news travels fast.
When Pam failed art school,
everyone knew about it the next day.
I guess bad news travels fast.
Our next idiom is mile a minute, or a mile a minute.
You could hear it both ways.
This idiom means that something is happening
at a very rapid pace, or just very, very quickly.
I hear this idiom a lot with talking or thinking,
so when we're talking about somebody doing
something a mile a minute, it has to do usually like,
oh your mind is going a mile a minute,
or she's talking or he's talking a mile a minute.
- My mind was racing a mile a minute.
- These are very, very common situations
where you will find that idiom.
When I found out I got accepted into UCLA,
my mind was going a mile a minute.
The next idiom is off the beaten track,
and this refers to a little-known location
or a place that not a lot of people know about.
It's off the beaten track.
The beaten track refers to a pathway
that people have made by walking on it consistently,
so if something is off the beaten track,
it means that it is away.
It's not something that a lot of people know about,
or it's not a place that a lot of people go to.
My favorite restaurant is a tiny Indian place
down the street.
It's really off the beaten track.
Our next travel idiom is hit the road,
and this one just means to set out on a journey,
so basically to begin your journey
or your trip, to hit the road.
It's 10:00 a.m., we're all packed, let's hit the road.
The next travel idiom is jump on the bandwagon.
And if you've never heard this idiom before,
you might be a little confused.
What could this mean?
Jump, bandwagon?
What is going on?
And it means to join an activity that has become popular.
So it's like you're also joining with everyone else.
- No I'm not.
I'm hopping on the bandwagon.
- You could jump on the bandwagon
when you're you know joining a new fashion trend,
or maybe if you're buying the newest phone,
or shoes, or whatever it is, you can always say
you're jumping on the bandwagon.
After the keto diet became popular,
many jumped on the bandwagon.
I personally don't like the keto diet
because you don't get to eat sweets.
What kind of life is that?
The next idiom is in the same boat.
And don't worry if you don't like the sea
or being in a boat, this has nothing to do with that.
It means to be in the same circumstances
or situation as others.
And many times I feel like when we're talking
about being in the same boat, we're talking
about kind of like a, kind of a difficult situation.
So that's the context that it's usually used in.
So you're talking, oh I'm in the same boat as you.
It kinda has to do with a difficult circumstance.
I'm so tired, I only slept two hours last night.
I'm in the same boat.
I stayed up all night to study for the physics exam.
Our next idiom is to travel light.
And this actually has a similar meaning
to what it sounds like because when
you travel light, you travel without a lot of luggage.
It's light, it's not heavy.
Not the light that you get from the sun,
but the light when you lift something it's not heavy.
So you travel light, you travel without carrying a lot
of heavy stuff.
As much as I like to travel light,
I always end up with a suitcase that's too full.
The next idiom is missed the boat.
I know, another boat idiom, but again,
it has nothing to do with a boat,
or sea, or anything like that.
To miss the boat means to miss an opportunity.
And it also many times has the implication
of that maybe you might not get another one like this one.
- You're just a little bit worried
that you may have missed the boat.
- I call you miss because you seem
to have missed the boat completely on this one.
- So if you miss the boat on something,
or you miss the boat, it just means
you missed it, it's gone, your opportunity is bye-bye.
He missed the boat when he didn't apply for the job in time.
The next idiom is train of thought
and the train of thought refers
to the sequence of thoughts in your mind,
especially if it's something that's long or complicated.
- Sorry, I lost my train of thought.
Isn't he dreamy? (guitar thrums)
- [Man] You're talking to one of the three men
in the western hemisphere following that train of thought.
(audience laughs)
- Now many times when we talk about a train of thought,
we talk about it being interrupted.
And it has to do with losing your train of thought,
so when you lose it, it's usually
because you were interrupted by someone or something.
I completely lost my train of thought
when the doorbell rang.
The next idiom is right up my alley,
or right up your alley, or right up someone's alley.
And we use this idiom to describe something
that is exactly how we want it
or that is exactly the way we like it,
or that's something that we're passionate about.
So it's a good idiom, because if something is right
up your alley, it means that it aligns
with your interests and your passions
and something that you really, really enjoy.
So for me, anything that has to do
with like cats, or chocolate,
that would be right up my alley.
The cat cafe has Nutella cappuccinos and kittens.
That's right up my alley.
Okay, well now that you've heard the idioms,
it is time to practice them.
So I have some questions for you
that I want answered in the comments.
So tell me, what's something that's right up your alley?
Or, have you ever missed the boat on something?
Something big, I hope not.
Or do you have a favorite place that's off the beaten track?
I'd love to know.
Make sure that when you answer these questions,
answer in full sentences, and I'd love to read your answers.
As you know, idioms are an amazing way
to improve your English fluency,
and if you're serious about it,
check out our secret lesson.
The link is in the description.
And if you enjoyed this lesson,
please like it and share it with all of your friends.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
Bye.
Okay, I'm done.