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! Nice to see you again.
Today's idiom is: get something off my chest.
Get something off my chest.
Alright, so let's imagine a picture to help us understand this idiom.
So, you're laying down and you have a 5kg weight on your chest, right?
And it's sitting on your chest and it's very heavy and uncomfortable and really bothering you.
Yeah, and you really don't like it and you want to get it off your chest and then you feel much better, right?
So, when the 5kg is on your chest, it's so heavy, I feel bad and get if off your chest, I feel relief, I feel much better.
Alright, so let's imagine this as we listen to some examples.
Sorry, there is something I really need to get off my chest.
What is it?
Can you give me back my dictionary I lent you 2 years ago?
Alright, so in this case, he wanted to tell his friend he wants his dictionary back,
but it kind of was an awkward and difficult thing to say, but he really wanted to say it
and then he said it and he feels much better. Yeah, he got it off his chest.
Alright, so let's listen to the second example.
There is something I've been meaning to get off my chest! My name is Patti, not Patsy.
Oh, sorry, I must have heard wrong the first time!
Alright, so in this case, she really wanted to say her name is Patti, not Patsy, yeah.
So, something was bothering her.
They were calling her the wrong name.
So, she told them, 'My name is Patti,' and she got it off her chest and then she feels much better.
Alright, so 'to get something off your chest' means to say something that's been bothering you.
Alright, so to get it off your chest, you're going to say it and then feel much better, right?
So, next time that you want to tell someone something, maybe it's a little difficult to say, but you need to say it...
So, if you just say it directly, maybe it's too aggressive or too forward,
but if you start with, 'I need to get something off my chest...'
then it kind of prepares the person for maybe something they don't want to hear, okay?
And then it's not so direct, alright?
Or if you're holding a secret or something you really need to tell, yeah, you can say 'get off my chest'.
Yeah, so next time you really need to say something, maybe it's not a good thing,
you can tell the person, 'I need to get this off my chest. Can I tell you something?'
Alright, and I'll see you next time.