Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Noun Phrase 110. The noun phrase today is
child's play. Okay. Let's take a look at the note here. This noun phrase basically
means that something is very easy to do. Yeah. We have a lot of ways in English to
say something is easy to do. Of course you can say something is a piece of cake.
Something is a breeze. Something is easy as ABC or we have many ways to say that.
But anyway, let's continue we do have a kind of a second use of it as well. We
can also use child's play to mean that something is insignificant. Meaning not
of much importance, especially when compared to something else. So this,
this ... so it's insignificant in comparison to this. It is child's play in comparison
to this other thing. Okay. Let's continue. This noun phrase goes all the way back
to the 1300s and was originally child's game. Okay. Not child's play. So you can...
you can see where the idea comes from. It means you know, it's something is so easy
that it's almost like children playing. So if even children can do it almost
like it's a game to them that it must be very easy. That's , that's where the idea of
the noun phrase comes from. But let's continue here. The merchants are so ... This
noun phrase apparently appeared in Chaucer's ' The Merchant Tale. " Here is the
original quote. So it's in Old English but I'll try to you know, tell you what
it would mean. It's pretty easy to figure out. It is no child's play.
Of course here they spelled it C-H-I-L-D-E-S. before. There's no child's play to take
Now this is supposed to be wife here. At this time they spelled it W Y F. Of
course, today we spell it W- I-F-E. With-outen. With-outen is like without. It really
means advisement So the word in English today is
advisement spelling is slightly different , but you know without being
advised or being given advice. So even back then they're saying you know ,
marrying is a serious thing you had better be careful who you marry. I's no child's
play to take a wife. Meaning it's, it's not it's not so easy. It's kind of
difficult. You had better be ... you better get some advice from somebody before
you do it, especially you know, before 1300s probably a lot of marriages were
still arranged marriages too. So you never know, it may not have always been
somebody who fell in love at that time. Anyway, let's continue. We have three
examples here to cover this. So example number one. Don't worry , you will have no
problem at all. It is just child's play. Yeah. That's very typical of the way you
might hear it used. It's just so easy. Number two. In comparison to the last
time I had to do this. So here you are making a comparison that it was much harder
before. It was child's play. So this time is rather insignificant. It's not of
importance now. So again it was easy. Last time I went through hell. Meaning well I
don't know you had a lot of problems. It wasn't easy. This time was relatively
few problems. So yes, basically in comparison it's child's play this time
in comparison to the last time. So it's more insignificant this time in
comparison to the time before. All right and number three here. I thought the
questions were going to be difficult, but they turned out to be child's play. So
they turned out to be very simple. Okay. Anyway, I hope you got it. I hope it was clear.
Thank you for your time. Bye-bye.