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  • Hi, Bob the Canadian here.

  • I was wondering if you wanted to see

  • some of the beautiful places that are close to my house

  • and if you wanted to learn

  • some cool English phrases at the same time.

  • This is The Comfort Maple.

  • It is one of the biggest maple trees in Canada,

  • and it's actually close to my house.

  • So it's kinda cool that I can take you here

  • to have a look at it.

  • We'll start here

  • and we'll go to a number of beautiful places

  • and I'll teach you some English phrases along the way.

  • (gentle music)

  • Well, hey, welcome to this English lesson

  • where I am going to help you learn

  • some new English words and phrases,

  • while we visit some beautiful places.

  • So stick around because we're gonna go to quite a few.

  • By the way, if you are new here,

  • you should click that red subscribe button.

  • And if this video helps you learn

  • just a little bit more English,

  • you should give me a thumbs up.

  • Did you notice I was hugging the tree?

  • I was giving the tree a big hug.

  • That is the very first word

  • that I'm going to teach you today,

  • the word treehugger.

  • So a treehugger is someone who loves trees,

  • but they also love the environment.

  • They are someone who would recycle all the time.

  • They are someone who would live as simply as possible

  • in order to protect the earth

  • and to protect the environment.

  • So, a treehugger might actually hug trees

  • but it's a term we use in English

  • to describe someone who just loves the planet.

  • The next phrase I wanted to teach you,

  • with the word tree in it, is the phrase

  • the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

  • This is a phrase that we use when we talk about children

  • who are a lot like their parents.

  • So my one son is a lot like me.

  • Someone could say to me,

  • "Wow, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

  • And what that means is that my son

  • has a lot of the same personality traits

  • and a lot of the same characteristics as I do.

  • And this last phrase with the word tree in it

  • is one of my favorites, and that's the phrase

  • money doesn't grow on trees.

  • This is something that parents

  • often say to their children

  • when they think their parents

  • should buy something that's really expensive,

  • because children don't always understand money.

  • So you say something like,

  • "What do you think, money grows on trees?"

  • Or you say, "Hey, we can't afford that.

  • "Money doesn't grow on trees."

  • Because if money grew on trees,

  • you could just go grab money from the tree.

  • That would make life a lot easier, wouldn't it?

  • (water swooshing)

  • So I'm at a place called Ball's Falls

  • and I wanted to teach you a few English phrases,

  • while I'm standing here in front of the falls.

  • The first phrase I wanted to teach you

  • is the English phrase cry me a river.

  • This is not a nice thing to say to someone,

  • but if you say to someone, "Cry me a river"

  • it means that they are telling you something

  • that they find kind of stressful

  • and you don't actually care that they're telling you.

  • So it's a really mean thing to say.

  • But maybe one of my children is constantly telling me

  • that they're not having fun

  • and they can't have fun unless they buy a new video game.

  • I could say, "Aw, cry me a river."

  • Basically what I'm saying is,

  • "I understand you're upset, but I really don't care."

  • It's not very nice, is it?

  • The other phrase I wanted to teach you here,

  • while we're by some water, has to do with fish.

  • And it's the English phrase

  • to feel like a fish out of water.

  • If you feel like a fish out of water,

  • it means you're not comfortable

  • in the situation that you are in.

  • If I went somewhere to learn how to ballroom dance,

  • I would feel like a fish out of water.

  • I don't mind dancing, but I have never in my life

  • gone and taken dance lessons.

  • So if I went to take dance lessons,

  • I would feel like a fish out of water.

  • (water swooshing)

  • The last phrase I wanted to teach you while we were here

  • is the English phrase dead in the water.

  • And this has to do with an idea

  • that isn't a good idea anymore.

  • So let's say at work, you came up with this incredible idea

  • and you told your boss

  • and your boss said, "It sounds great

  • "but there's not enough money to implement your idea."

  • We would then say that that idea is dead in the water.

  • Another beautiful place is, of course, the forest.

  • Let me get out of the way so you can see this one.

  • I came to this forest

  • to teach you a few English phrases, of course.

  • The first one being,

  • when someone can't see the forest for the trees.

  • If we say that someone can't see the forest for the trees,

  • it means that they can see all the little details

  • in a job they are doing,

  • but they have trouble seeing the big picture.

  • So, let's imagine someone is teaching, like me.

  • And instead of planning my whole day and my whole week,

  • I only plan one small part of the lesson.

  • You would say that I'm having trouble

  • seeing the forest for the trees,

  • especially if I spend way too much time

  • just planning that one part of my week.

  • It's always important to see the big picture.

  • If I went that way, I would be going into the woods.

  • And if I went that way, I would be going out of the woods,

  • which reminds me of the next English phrase

  • that I wanted to teach you

  • while we're out here in the woods or the forest,

  • and that's the phrase, we're not out of the woods yet.

  • When you are solving a problem

  • and you are working on it with someone else,

  • and if they say, "Yes, we're done"

  • but you're not quite done, you could say,

  • "Whoa, just a minute, we're not out of the woods yet."

  • And what that means

  • is that even though the problem is almost solved,

  • or whatever you're working on is almost done,

  • there are still some things that you have to finish.

  • So when a job is almost done,

  • especially when someone you're working with

  • thinks it's done but it's not,

  • you could say, "Whoa, we're not out of the woods yet."

  • So this next English phrase is a little weird.

  • It's actually a superstitious phrase.

  • It's something people say

  • after they talk about something

  • that they want in the future.

  • They will say, "Knock on wood."

  • And then they'll actually find something

  • that's wood and knock on it.

  • So, maybe, someone says, "Oh, I really hope everyone

  • "comes to my birthday party next week, knock on wood."

  • Basically what they're saying is,

  • because they've expressed their want or desire out loud,

  • they're a little bit superstitious,

  • so in order for it to come true, they say, "Knock on wood."

  • I don't say it very often,

  • but you will hear English speakers say this phrase.

  • So I noticed when I was driving here that my van needs gas,

  • so I hope there's a gas station in this neck of the woods.

  • This is an English phrase that we use

  • to talk about the neighborhood or area that we're in.

  • We'll say things like, "I hope there's a gas station

  • "in this neck of the woods."

  • Or if I saw someone, I could say,

  • "Do you know if there's a gas station

  • "in this neck of the woods?"

  • So basically, the English phrase, in this neck of the woods,

  • means in this area or in this neighborhood.

  • (birds chirping)

  • So this walking bridge is part of the Bruce Trail.

  • The Bruce Trail is a place near me where you can go hiking

  • and it reminded me of the English phrase, go take a hike.

  • If you tell someone to go take a hike,

  • it doesn't mean that they should go out

  • in the forest or woods and go for a brisk walk for exercise.

  • It means that you want them to leave.

  • It means that you want them to get lost.

  • So, if I am working on something

  • and someone is bothering me, I might just say,

  • "Hey, leave me alone, go take a hike."

  • And that just means that I want them to leave.

  • It's kind of informal and it's not very polite,

  • but you will hear it.

  • So I'm up here on this hill

  • and I wanted to teach you two English phrases

  • while I'm up here.

  • The first is a bird's eye view.

  • When you have a bird's eye view of something,

  • it means that you are somewhere really high

  • and you are looking down.

  • So we are looking down on this road

  • and we are looking down on a small town in the distance,

  • so we have a bird's eye view right now.

  • The second phrase I wanted to teach you

  • is the English phrase, as far as the eye can see.

  • There is fog as far as the eye can see right now,

  • and I wasn't expecting that today.

  • So when you use the English phrase,

  • as far as the eye can see,

  • it means that you are describing something

  • that you can see in the distance

  • and pretty much as far as you can see.

  • So sorry, I'll come back another day

  • when there's less fog and I'll show you the view

  • because sometimes you can actually see Toronto from here.

  • So I'm gonna have to teach you the rest

  • of the English phrases sitting here, hiding behind my van,

  • because I came out to the lake

  • and it's a little windier than I expected.

  • So, I'll teach you the English phrases while I sit here,

  • and then what I'll do is, I'll show you some pictures

  • of the lake while I'm talking.

  • The first English phrase I wanted to teach you

  • is the English phrase go jump in the lake.

  • When we tell someone to go jump in the lake,

  • it means we want them to get lost.

  • And you could say, "Take a hike.

  • "Go jump in the lake.

  • "Go fly a kite.

  • "Get lost."

  • All of these things mean

  • that you want the person to leave you alone.

  • So if I say, "Go jump in the lake"

  • which I would never say to you,

  • it means that I want you to stop bothering me

  • and to go somewhere else.

  • The second English phrase I wanted to teach you

  • out here by the lake is the phrase, that doesn't hold water.

  • If someone presents an idea to you

  • and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense,

  • you would say, "Your idea doesn't hold water."

  • or, "That doesn't hold water."

  • So when you say, "That doesn't hold water.",

  • you're telling someone that what they told you

  • isn't very logical and doesn't make a lot of sense to you.

  • The other phrase I wanted to teach you out here

  • is the English phrase, there's plenty of fish in the sea.

  • And even though this is a lake, it's not actually a sea,

  • it kind of applies because what this phrase is used for

  • is when someone breaks up with someone.

  • So let's say you have a boyfriend or girlfriend

  • and you break up and you're quite sad about it,

  • someone might say to you,

  • "Hey, it's not the end of the world.

  • "There's plenty of fish in the sea."

  • So this means there is a boy or girl out there

  • that you will probably meet some day,

  • even though you're sad because you just broke up

  • with your current boyfriend or girlfriend.

  • So, there's plenty of fish in the sea.

  • The last phrase I wanted to teach you out here by the lake

  • is the phrase, fishing for compliments.

  • If someone gets a new haircut,

  • maybe new glasses or a new shirt,

  • and they keep saying things to you like,

  • "What do you think of my new haircut?"

  • or "What do you think of my new glasses?"

  • or "What do you think of my new shirt?"

  • We would say that they are fishing for compliments.

  • So, because you're not giving them a compliment,

  • they are saying things about themselves,

  • that they would love it if you were to complement on.

  • So that is called fishing for compliments.

  • There's also the English phrase, don't rock the boat.

  • If you are someone who rocks the boat,

  • it means that you like to ask questions

  • and it means that you complain a lot.

  • If you are someone who has a job

  • where you are constantly questioning

  • how things are done, or constantly complaining,

  • you are someone who rocks the boat.

  • Well, hey, thanks for coming with me

  • to a few beautiful places.

  • Sorry that we had some bad weather, there, towards the end.

  • But, it was fun that you could come along

  • and I hope you were able

  • to learn a few more English phrases.

  • I'm Bob the Canadian.

  • If you're new here, don't forget

  • to click that red subscribe button

  • and give me a thumbs up if this video

  • helped you learn just a little but more English.

  • And, if you have the time,

  • why don't you stick around and watch another video.

  • (upbeat music)

Hi, Bob the Canadian here.

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