Name: 10 daily idioms that I actually use!! (With pronunciation tips!!) | British English
Uploaded: 2024-11-28T12:40:29.000Z
Duration: 12 min 56 s
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The imperative

Adverbs of frequency

Today I'm going to be teaching you 10 idioms that I actually use in my daily life and the reason I say actually use is because there are a lot of idioms that are not in use anymore and I really didn't see the point in teaching you it's raining cats and dogs when I've actually never used that before and neither have my friends or family so that will not be on the list.

Well it's an expression used in speaking and they are really lovely but please don't feel the pressure to use them all the time.

They're really just like the icing on the cake to use another idiom meaning the finishing touches to your spoken language sort of like sprinkling glitter on your language, giving it some sparkle, a bit of colour, a bit of fun but really they're not something we use all day long and actually to make this list today I read through a lot of my WhatsApp messages that I sent to friends and family and work and I was also really aware of my speaking in the last two weeks and so every single one of these idioms is an idiom that I've used in the last two weeks so hopefully you can start using them in your spoken English language.

Number one is to be in the same boat as someone.

Now this means to be in the same situation as someone else so to be in a relatable situation.

My best friend and I, Rosie, we're in the same boat at the moment.

We both really want to live in the countryside but we are tied to London in various ways so we often talk about this subject when we meet up because we're in the same boat.

Now a pronunciation tip, make sure you pronounce the T on the end of boat.

The T sound is quite a prominent sound in the British accent so make sure you say we're in the same boat.

Number two is to nip something in the bud.

I love the sound of that idiom but this means to do something to stop something getting worse or escalating or becoming an established problem.

And when she feels a migraine coming she has to, to nip it in the bud, she has to lie down in a dark room and this helps to avoid a big migraine coming on.

And for me, when I feel a cold coming on I make this lovely drink of lemon, honey, ginger, I'm sure you know it and it seems to help.

A pronunciation tip for this is make sure you pronounce nip really fast because if you spend too long on that word it will sound like neep and we don't want that, we want nip.

Number three is to have a lot on your plate.

Now this means to have a lot of things to do, really important tasks so you're really busy.

I'm trying to launch a YouTube channel plus teaching a lot of English classes all day plus trying to find time for my creative hobbies like playing the piano.

It's actually quite difficult and I have a lot on my plate.

Now tell me in the comments below, do you have a lot on your plate?

Are you trying to launch a business while trying to work a nine to five?

Pronunciation tip for this, make sure you pronounce the T on the end of lot because it will allow you to blend that word into the next one.

Number four is to hit the nail on the head.

This means to say something that is absolutely perfectly correct.

It could be wise, it could be really considered, but it's absolutely spot on we can say, meaning correct.

An example is the other day my dad was talking to me and he said to me, in order to make big changes in your life or to change your life, you need to leave the comfort zone.

And I was like, dad, you've hit the nail on the head there.

And it made me think about comfort zones.

Do you believe that the comfort zone is the enemy and we need to leave it if we want to make any big changes?

A pronunciation tip for that one, make sure you pronounce the L on the end of nail because it will help you blend into the next word, which is on.

So to hit the nail on, to hit the nail on the head, to hit the nail on the head.

Number five is it's on the tip of my tongue.

Now this is a really frustrating feeling to have.

This is when you are absolutely certain and sure that you know something, but it's not quite coming out of your mouth.

And you know that probably later on, you'll remember when you don't need to know the information.

So the other day I was really trying to remember the name of the holiday cottage of where we used to go in Cornwall, one of my favorite places ever.

Um, and I couldn't remember the name and it was on the tip of my tongue.

And then later on in the evening, I finally remembered and I was so relieved and happy.

So frustrating feeling pronunciation tip is make sure you stress the word tip because we really need this expression to have urgency and a bit of energy because it's frustrating, right?

Number six is one of my favorite, probably my favorite of this entire list is to be over the moon, to be over the moon.

And this means to be extremely happy, delighted.

My friend told me last week, um, after spending a lot of time, uh, trying for a baby using IVF, she's finally pregnant.

I was jumping all over the place, just completely happy for her.

So really, really lovely idiom to express real genuine happiness.

Now a pronunciation tip for that is to really pronounce moon to make that idiom shine.

You really have to pronounce that word really well.

Number seven, that rings a bell, that rings a bell.

So this is when you feel like, you know, something, it sounds familiar.

You've heard it before in the past, but you can't remember the specifics, the details, anything really exact about it.

So the other day, my friend asked me, do you remember Sophie Smith?

We went to university with her and I was like, Hmm, her name rings a bell, but no, I can't, I can't remember her name in any, in any other way.

So what I mean is it rings a bell, a bell is ringing in my mind.

I've heard that name before, but I couldn't place her.

And yeah, it turns, it turns out that she was actually in one of my lectures at university, but you know, I just couldn't remember.

A pronunciation tip for that one is to use the magic sound.

If you remember from my previous video, the magic sound is what I call the schwa.

Instead of saying a, say a, and this will allow you to go into the next word really, really well.

So it should sound like rings a bell, rings a bell.

It should sound like one word, rings a bell.

Number eight is time will tell, time will tell.

A lovely idiom and just sounds so beautiful.

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10 daily idioms that I actually use!! (With pronunciation tips!!) | British English

absolutely

pronunciation

struggle

accent