Name: Englisch Redewendung 59/100: Don't hold your breath.
Uploaded: 2015-01-29T13:56:17.000Z
Duration: 3 min 39 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Welcome to Idiom 100, where we learn 100   commonly used idioms by native English speakers.

All of the explanations are in English, so it might be challenging for you,

but just try to imagine the meanings in your head and study hard and soon you'll be able to use these idioms in your conversations.

Today's idiom is: don't hold your breath.

Okay, does everyone know 'hold your breath' means...

So, let's imagine you go to the ocean and you really want to see a dolphin in the natural situation, in the ocean.

So, you go out to sea and you hold your breath and go underwater and you're waiting for the dolphin

and holding your breath, but no dolphin and still waiting and holding your breath.

Yeah, when you hold your breath, it's for a very short time, okay?

Let's think about what this might mean and listen to some examples.

I bought lottery tickets this year. I have a good feeling I’m going to win the 50 million yen jackpot!

Don’t hold your breath. Do you even know the chances of you winning?

Alright, so the first person said, 'Ah, I think I can win the lottery,'

and the second person said, 'Don't hold your breath. Yeah, your chances are very low.'

Okay, so let's listen to the second example.

I heard the surcharges for planes have gone down!

Yeah, but don’t hold your breath. You never know when it's gonna go up again!

So, this means don't expect anything, yeah.

Don't think you're going to get something quickly or at all.

'Don't hold your breath' means you don't have a good chance.

Okay, so for example with the lottery, yeah, you probably won't win it, don't hold your breath.

Yeah, if you hold your breath until you win the lottery, you're going to die, so don't hold your breath, yeah, don't expect it.

Alright, so next time you're in a situation when someone has an expectation that you think is not so good...

Yeah, they think, let's see, 'Ah, I think my   husband is going to cook dinner tonight, finally.'

Yeah, maybe my best friend says, 'Don't hold your breath. He doesn't cook.'

Alright, so let's try using 'don't hold your breath' in a situation next time you have a chance and I'll see you again next time.