Today I'm at the cafe I've decided to escape the school for a while. it's not
students - they're fantastic it's rather the red tape is not my cup of tea and
yes I like mixing my metaphors anyway I've got my coffee that's a no-brainer and my
croissant which in French they call a "croissant". You've probably guessed that this video is all
about English expressions I hope you like it
anyway I've got a note go now. Where am I going?
I've got to see a man about a dog. See you later
hello and welcome to LetThemTalk the channel that goes deeper into everything
about the English language and today I've got ten expressions for you and
these are my personal favourites or at least ones that I use all the time. All
of them are useful and are suitable in a number of situations and where I know
the history of the expression I'll explain that too. So let's get started
and the first expression is "to have a whale of a time" yes "a whale of a time"
you know a whale? the big fish in the ocean except it's not fish it's a mammal
anyway all this means is to have a great time. To enjoy oneself very much so for
example "my holiday in Vietnam was amazing I had a whale of a time" or "the party
was great we had a whale of a time" why "a whale of a time" I'm not sure I think
it's something to do with whalers in the 19th century enjoying themselves too much
Anyway I like to use it because it makes me think of whales splashing and jumping
around in the ocean enjoying themselves rather than being killed by a whaling
harpoon which is much less funny anyway
Also connected to having a good time is the next expression "to paint the town
red" which means to go out and have an extravagant and crazy time let's look at
an example "hey John what you want to do this evening?"
"Well I thought I might stay in and defrost the freezer maybe watch the documentary on
Channel 8 about mountain goat"" " No I don't do that I want to do something
crazy I want to go out I want to party I wanna dance or to stay up all night I
want to paint the town red". "okay please yourself"
and the next expression is
"wakey-wakey smell the coffee" and you can use this expression to someone who doesn't
realize what's happening especially when it's obvious to everyone else of
course coffee makes you wake up and fast and helps you see what's happening so
let's look at some examples. "the light's green the light's green
wakey-wakey smell the coffee"
"this thing they call the Internet do you think that one day it
will be important in people's lives". " it already is wakey-wakey smell the coffee"
And the next expression is "mumbo-jumbo" and it simply means nonsense
for example "it's a full moon tonight and you're a Sagittarius you shouldn't go
out". ""What is this astrology mumbo-jumbo?"
"OK this is my legal contract 'the party in the first part shall be known in this
contract as a party in the first part the party in the second part shall be
known in this contract as the party in the second part' what does it mean? this
is just mumbo jumbo" and I did some research and apparently it comes from
the Mandingan language and it's been in the English language for about 200 years
And the next expression is "it's a no-brainer" that's right "it's a
no-brainer" and this means that the answer to the
question is so obvious that it doesn't require any thought that is that you
hardly need to use your brain okay. So for example "the train takes eight hours
and cost 400 euros and the plane takes one hour and costs 75 euros which one
shall we take?". "It's a no-brainer we'll take the plane".
"I've just been offered a new job double the salary and I get to travel around the world will I
take it? yeah it's a no-brainer?
And the next expression is "The world is my
oyster "or the world is your oyster or somebody's oyster anyway an oyster is a
sea creature you know which is inside a rocky shell and some people open it up
and put a lemon juice and eat it but not my thing anyway
what this means is that you have endless possibilities you can do whatever you
want so for example "You're young you're beautiful you're qualified go out
there the world is your oyster you can do anything" and the expression comes
from Shakespeare actually the Merry Wives of Windsor and by the way if you
know London you know that if you travel on public transport in London you need
an Oyster card and I think that it might be related to this expression because
with the oyster card you can go wherever you want and do whatever you want or it
may be because it just looks a bit like an oyster
And the next
expression is "it's better than a kick in the teeth" that's right "it's better than
a kick in the teeth" and all this means is it's better than nothing so for
example "if I had one more number right I would have won ten million pounds in the
lottery instead I've just won one hundred pounds
well it's better than a kick in the teeth".
"This year I have to work
most of the summer I won't have a long summer holiday I've only got one week oh
well! Better than a the kick in the teeth "
The next expression is "I've got to see a man about a dog"
and you use expression when you have to leave a place and you don't
want to tell people where you are going either it's a secret or it's just not
very interesting to explain. So for example "it's only 9:00 p.m. where are you
going?" "Well I've got see man about a dog"
"you're two hours late where have you been?"
"Yeah I had to see a man about dog"
The next expression is "To go dolally" which just means to go crazy so
for example "You're giving up your job to become a monk have you gone dolally?"
"What you want to swim across the Atlantic Ocean
have you gone dolally?" Anyway the expression comes from when the British
were in India and the soldiers who went crazy were sent to a sanatorium in the
town of Deolali
And the next expression is "red tape" look at all these forms I have to fill in all
these rules and regulations that seem unnecessary and that's exactly what red
tape means unnecessary administration and believe me there is a lot of that in
France all these forms that you have to fill in that we don't really need is it
the same in your country? Anyway the expression comes from Charles V
of Spain at the beginning of the sixteenth century where they started
tying important court documents with red tape
That's it and if you have any
favourite expressions in English or in your own language then let us know in
the comments and thank your watching stay mellow don't go doolally and I'll
see you in the next video