Name: English Tutor Nick P Noun Phrase (110) Child's Play
Uploaded: 2019-08-11T16:02:58.000Z
Duration: 4 min 10 s
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Hi this is Tutor Nick P and this is Noun Phrase 110. The noun phrase today is

child's play. Okay. Let's take a look at the note here. This noun phrase basically

To-infinitive

means that something is very easy to do.  Yeah. We have a lot of ways in English to

say something is easy to do. Of course you can  say something is a piece of cake.

Something is a breeze. Something is easy as ABC or we have many ways to say that.

But anyway,  let's continue we do have a kind of a second use of it as well. We

can also use child's play to mean that something is insignificant. Meaning not

of much importance,  especially when compared to something else. So this,

this ... so it's insignificant in comparison to this. It is child's play in comparison

to this other thing. Okay. Let's continue.  This noun phrase goes all the way back

to the 1300s and was originally child's game. Okay. Not child's play. So you can...

you can see where the idea comes from. It  means you know,  it's something is so easy

that it's almost like children playing.  So if even children can do it almost

like it's a game to them that it must be very easy. That's , that's where the idea of

the noun phrase comes from. But let's continue here. The merchants are so ... This

noun phrase apparently appeared in Chaucer's ' The Merchant Tale. " Here is the

original quote. So it's in Old English but I'll try to you know,  tell you what

it would mean. It's pretty easy to figure out. It is no child's play.

Of course here they spelled it C-H-I-L-D-E-S.  before. There's no child's play to take

Now this is supposed to be wife here. At this time they spelled it W Y F. Of

course,  today we spell it W- I-F-E. With-outen. With-outen is like   without. It really

means advisement So  the word in English today is

advisement spelling is slightly different , but you know without being

advised or being given advice. So even back then they're saying you know ,

marrying is a serious thing you had better be careful who you marry. I's no child's

play to take a wife. Meaning it's,  it's not it's not so easy. It's kind of

difficult. You had  better be ... you better get some advice from somebody before

you do it,  especially you know,  before 1300s probably a lot of marriages  were

still arranged marriages too. So you never know,  it may not have always been

somebody who fell in love at that time.  Anyway, let's continue. We have three

examples here to cover this. So example number one. Don't worry , you will have no

problem at all. It is just child's play.  Yeah. That's very typical of  the way you

might hear it used. It's just so easy.  Number two. In comparison to the last

time I had to do this. So here you are making a comparison that it was much harder

before. It was child's play. So this time is rather insignificant. It's not of

importance now. So again it was easy. Last time I went through hell. Meaning well I

don't know you had a lot of problems.  It wasn't easy. This time was relatively

few problems. So yes,  basically in comparison it's child's play this time

in comparison to the last time. So it's more insignificant this time in

comparison to the time before. All right and number three here.  I thought the

questions were going to be difficult,  but they turned out to be child's play. So

they turned out to be very simple. Okay.  Anyway,  I hope you got it. I hope  it was clear.