Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hi.

  • Welcome to www.engvid.com.

  • I'm Adam.

  • In today's video, we're going to look at idioms from the world of food.

  • So, all of these idioms have some sort of food in them.

  • And just to review: What is an idiom?

  • An idiom is an expression or a collection of words, the words of which don't necessarily

  • mean the same as the expression as a whole.

  • Okay?

  • So, for example, we're going to talk about beans, but this idiom has nothing to do with

  • beans.

  • So I'm going to give you 10 idioms.

  • Here are five, and we're going to look at another five in a few minutes.

  • Okay?

  • Let's start with: "Spill the beans".

  • "To spill" means to drop, like, for example if you have a bag of beans and you tilt it,

  • some of them will spill out.

  • Okay?

  • Or you have a glass, and you spill some water.

  • So, what does: "Spill the beans" means?

  • Mean?

  • It means to tell a secret.

  • Okay?

  • To reveal a secret.

  • So, some of you might know the idiom: "To let the cat out of the bag" - same idea.

  • "To spill the beans" - to let out a secret.

  • It could also mean to just basically reveal some details.

  • So, I went out on a date last night, and then I come to work and all my co-workers-all my

  • guy friends-they want to know what happened, so they say: "Come on.

  • Spill the beans.

  • How was last night?

  • What did you do?

  • What...?" etc., all these things.

  • So, they want details.

  • They want the secret and they want me to tell them.

  • So, let out the secrets or the details.

  • Now, if you're talking about "bread and butter".

  • Now, everybody knows bread, you spread some butter on it - very delicious; you eat that.

  • But as an idiom, what does it mean when we say: "Something is my bread and butter"?

  • So, if I say: "Well, that's my bread and butter" means that's my major source.

  • Right?

  • So, if I'm a car dealer and I'm in a particular neighbourhood, the people who live in that

  • neighbourhood are my bread and butter; they're the ones who come and give me the most business.

  • So, it could be the major source of income or the major source of support.

  • So, some politicians, they target specifically white working-class people, or they target

  • immigrants, or they target any particular demographic group because that group is their

  • bread and butter; it is their major source of their support, and in some cases, their

  • income.

  • Okay?

  • "The big cheese".

  • So, not: "What is the big cheese?" but: "Who is the big cheese?"

  • The big cheese is the boss.

  • Okay?

  • So, there's a new decision, a new policy that's going to come into effect in the company,

  • and I'm looking, and I'm going: "Whose idea was this?

  • Was this?"

  • And my co-worker says: "Oh, that's the big cheese.

  • He wanted it, so it's got to be done."

  • I say: "Well, that's stupid."

  • Well, still.

  • The big cheese wanted it - that's how it's going to be.

  • So, the boss knows.

  • Sometimes you might hear: "the head cheese", same idea.

  • "The head cheese" means the boss or whoever's in charge at the place.

  • Now: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

  • So, imagine a tree and it has apples, when the apple drops, it drops very close to the

  • tree; not very far away from it.

  • Right?

  • Essentially, what this means is when we talk about a son and a father...

  • A son and his father.

  • So, if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, we mean the son is very similar to his

  • father.

  • It could be in looks, but usually it's more about behaviour.

  • And for some reason, we use it more about son and father than daughter and mother.

  • So, when we...

  • When somebody says: "Oh, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" means that the son

  • is doing the same things as his dad.

  • Now, usually we talk about this in...

  • Usually in negative things.

  • So, when somebody does something bad and we say: "He's just like his dad"...

  • We say: "Oh, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

  • He did bad things, his son is doing bad things; they're very similar in that way.

  • If you want to remember: An apple is the fruit of a tree; a child is technically the fruit

  • of a couple of people.

  • Right?

  • Now, what does it mean "to bring home the bacon"?

  • "Bacon", little strips of pork, you fry them and put them on your sandwich or whatever.

  • "Bring home the bacon", it doesn't mean bring home pork.

  • It means bring home money or earn a living.

  • Earn a living, make a living; salary.

  • So, if you're bringing home the bacon, you're bringing the money to take care of the family,

  • of the house, etc.

  • So, there's five; let's look at five more.

  • Okay, so now we have five more, and again, we're starting with butter.

  • Now, if you think about butter, what is it?

  • It's basically a rich, creamy milk.

  • Right?

  • It's tasty, it has a little bit of fat in it, a very rich flavour.

  • So, when we "butter somebody up", what are we doing?

  • Are we putting butter all over them?

  • Because that's not really good; that's kind of gross, actually.

  • But we are doing the opposite - we are flattering.

  • To flatter someone.

  • To say: "Oh, you know, you look very pretty today."

  • Or: "You're so smart, and you're so handsome, and you're so...

  • You're so good at what you do."

  • When you're doing this, you're buttering somebody up.

  • You're making them greasy so it's easier to slip something out of them.

  • You want something from them, so you make them feel really good, you say really nice

  • things about them, and then whatever favour you want just kind of slides off them much

  • more smoothly.

  • So, "to butter someone up" - to flatter, to praise.

  • Okay?

  • Make them really feel really good, and then they're more willing to give you what you

  • want.

  • Okay.

  • "To have your cake and eat it too".

  • Now, sometimes you want two things that conflict.

  • You want the one side, but you don't want the other side.

  • Sometimes you get to have your cake, means you get the one thing and you get to avoid

  • or get the second thing as well.

  • Right?

  • So, you have your cake and you get to eat it...

  • Oh, I made a mistake here; sorry.

  • "Have your cake and eat it too"; not "it, it".

  • So, I'm trying to think.

  • So, taxes.

  • Let's say you win the lottery.

  • Like, in the US, if you win a lottery, you have to pay almost half of it, depending how

  • big it is, back to the government in taxes.

  • So you get your cake, but then half of it is gone to the government.

  • But in some countries, you get to have your cake and eat it too.

  • You win your million dollars, and you keep the whole million and you don't pay any taxes.

  • So, you don't have the side and the conflicting; you get to have both of the good of whatever

  • the issue is.

  • And it could be in any different context where you get both things that you want, even though

  • if they conflict with each other.

  • Okay?

  • "Don't cry over spilled milk" or "over spilt milk".

  • Now, notice here I have "ed" ending or "t" ending.

  • This is sometimes North American or British thing.

  • British might spell it with a "t" more; Americans/Canadians will spell it with an "ed" more.

  • Meaning is the same, and we're talking about the past.

  • So: "Don't cry over spilled milk."

  • So, if you're eating a bowl of cereal, and your dog comes and knocks the table, and a

  • little bit of the milk comes out on the table - so, are you going to be upset?

  • No.

  • There's no point.

  • It's already done, it can't be undone, there's no point being upset about something you can't

  • change.

  • Another way to say this is just: "Let it go."

  • Okay?

  • Don't be angry or don't be upset about things that have already happened and that you can't

  • change.

  • Just move on, and hopefully it doesn't happen again; learn a lesson, maybe prevent it in

  • the future or avoid it in the future.

  • Now, if something is "not somebody's cup of tea"...

  • So: "It's not my cup of tea" means it's not to my taste.

  • And we're talking about taste.

  • Right?

  • Now, "taste", not like flavour.

  • I know you're thinking "tea" and "flavour", but "taste" means preference; what you like,

  • what you don't like.

  • So, somebody says: "Oh, I want to introduce you to this person."

  • And you say: "Oh, yeah.

  • I know him.

  • He's not really my cup of tea."

  • He's not my type; he's not the type of person that I choose to date or go out with.

  • Right?

  • So: "not my cup of tea" - not my preference; not to my taste.

  • And to "take something with a grain of salt".

  • So, if you look at salt very closely, very tiny, tiny little grains - that's what we

  • call each little piece of salt.

  • If you "take something with a grain of salt" means you don't accept it at face value.

  • "You don't accept it at face value" means you don't accept it as it is.

  • You always have a little bit of suspicion.

  • So, if somebody says: "Oh, this is true", you know what?

  • Maybe I don't believe you 100%.

  • I'm going to take everything you say with a grain of salt.

  • So, I...

  • I'll believe you 90%, but that 10% I'll go check and make sure that you're correct.

  • Right?

  • So, everything that you read in the newspapers or watch on, like, CNN or Fox TV or whatever

  • - take it all with a grain of salt; it's not 100% the truth.

  • Okay?

  • So, anytime you're suspicious of somebody, and you're not sure he always...

  • He or she always tells the truth - just take everything they say with a grain of salt;

  • go do your own research, find out your own facts, and then you'll be sure of the information

  • that you need.

  • Okay?

  • So, I hope these were pretty helpful.

  • All of these have some sort of food in them.

  • Good to know, because we talk about food all the time.

  • If you have any questions about these, please go to www.engvid.com in the forum; you can

  • ask me questions there.

  • There's also a quiz you can take to check your understanding of these idioms.

  • I hope you like this video, and press "Like" on YouTube, and subscribe to my channel.

  • And come back again soon, and we'll do this again.

  • See you then.

  • Bye.

Hi.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it