Welcome to Visual Vocabulary, new kind of video series from EnglishAnyone.com that helps
you learn useful English expressions the same way native speakers do so you can master them
quickly, AND start using them confidently in your conversations today!
Animation is the perfect medium for this new series because it helps us show you exactly
what expressions mean, and where they come from.
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Today’s expression is “Don’t rain on my parade.”
This is a very common idiom used when you’re in a happy or positive mood, but someone gives
you unfortunate news that makes you feel bad, sad or frustrated, usually because it negatively
affects your plans.
A parade is a fun and exciting event where people of all ages gather to watch a stream
of things like people or vehicles traveling down local streets.
Parades typically happen in good weather, and can be for things like important holidays,
sports victories and school celebrations.
The worst thing that can happen during a parade is rain, so when someone tells you not to
rain on their parade, they’re saying that they don’t want you to say anything that
might change their mood or plans.
Of course, in these situations, you can say something you might find in a textbook like
“Pleas don’t say anything that might make me feel sad, angry or disappointed.”
But you’ll sound much more native and natural if you just say “Don’t rain on my parade.”
Don’t rain on my parade.
“Don’t rain on my parade” can be used in both professional and casual situations:
A: We were able to get chairs for the party, but they don’t have any legs!
B: Don’t rain on my parade!
A: I hate to rain on your parade, but the elevator is being fixed right now.
So, you’ll have to walk up to the 90th floor.
B: Why does this always happen when I come into work?!
A: If you tell her that she can’t have her wedding at her favorite church on her birthday,
you’ll really rain on her parade.
B: Well, it is available, but only in the middle of the night.
A: Not to rain on your parade, but it looks like the merger of the two companies won’t
happen this year.
B: But we’ve been working on that deal for nearly a year!
A: Do you want to know what happens at the end???
B: No!
Don’t rain on my parade by spoiling the plot of the movie!
A: I’ve never had a visit from the boss in my office before.
Am I getting fired?
B: I’m definitely not here to rain on your parade.
You’re actually getting a promotion!
Well, that’s the end of this lesson.
But since I don’t want to rain on your parade, you can continue learning with our free English
fluency test by clicking on the link in this video!
This quick, free test will reveal what’s really stopping you from speaking English
fluently, so you can finally become a successful, confident English speaker 2, 3 or even 10
times faster!
Click on the link in this video to take your free test now, and get personalized advice
that will help you see immediate improvement in your spoken English.
Thanks so much to the team at actionpictures.net for helping us make this video, and we’ll
see you in the next one!