Hello everyone!
Welcome to Idiom 100, where we learn 100 commonly used idioms by native English speakers.
All of the explanations are in English, but don't worry.
Hang in there, study hard, listen carefully and soon you'll be using these idioms in your daily conversations.
Is everyone ready? Let's begin.
Hello everyone!
Today's idiom is: save your breath.
Save your breath.
Alright, so we know what your breath is, from breathing out and in.
So, your breath is here, right?
And when you speak, you also let out a breath when you speak, okay?
So, let's imagine in our heads, you're giving a big speech, okay, and you're talking and your breath is all over here,
but no one is listening, so your words and your breath, you can save them.
Yeah, save your breath.
You don't need to be speaking when no one is listening.
Save your breath.
Okay, so let's listen to two examples as we try to imagine what this might mean.
I’m sorry I was late. I can give you my excuse!
Save your breath. This is the 5th time you've been late and I don’t need to hear any more of your excuses.
Okay, so the student was late for the 5th time and he wanted to give his excuse, yeah.
'My train was late,' or 'I got hung up somewhere,'
and then she said, 'No, no, no. Save your breath. Yeah, don't tell me. I don't care.'
Alright, let's listen to another example.
Did you hear about the forest fire?
Save your breath. It’s been on the news all morning and I know the story inside and out.
Okay, so one person wanted to give news about the forest fire, but the other person heard the story on TV all morning.
So, they said, 'No, no, no. Save your breath. Don't tell me, I already know.'
Alright, so 'save your breath' means something is not worth telling and you want to say, 'No, it's okay. Don't tell me, I know,'
or 'I heard before,' or 'I can guess.'
Okay, so for example, you come home and you had made a fresh pie from scratch, a homemade pie
and you're very excited to serve the pie to your family.
And you come home and the pie is half-eaten, half gone.
Oh!
And your child comes out, 'Um, Mom, I'm-I'm sorry...' and you say, 'Save your breath. I know you ate the pie. Yeah, I know.'
So, no one told her, but she could guess from the situation.
Okay, so in a situation you can guess or you already heard the news, you can say, 'Save your breath.'
Okay, sometimes it's negative or kind of neutral, but not positive.
So if it's very happy, exciting news, we wouldn't say, 'Save your breath,' because someone is very excited to say some good news.
So, usually we let them say it.
Yeah, and they are very happy.
But if it's negative or not so interesting, well we can say, 'Ah, save your breath. It's okay. I know.'
Alright, so that's all for today. I'll see you next time!