Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 543

Improve your fluency with phrases that real English speakers actually use. In this episode, you’ll learn 10 advanced English phrases that native speakers use in everyday conversation. These are natural, spoken expressions that will help you speak English more confidently and understand real English better.

I’ll teach you how each phrase works in real situations, so you can start using them correctly and naturally. Whether you're preparing for IELTS, TOEFL or CAE or simply want to improve your speaking skills, this lesson will help you take your English to the next level. If you often understand English but find it hard to sound fluent, these phrases are for you.

Transcript

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Hi there, this is Harry, and welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry, where we try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language. Everything from practicing for those proficiency exams to pronunciation, phrasal verbs, whatever it takes, we're here to help you. And in today's Advanced English Lesson, we're looking at advanced idioms. So idioms about transport. And these will help you to improve your vocabulary at the same time as get you and help you to be a little bit more fluent. Okay, number one, to fall off the back of a lorry or a truck. Well, we use this expression when somebody offers us a really, really good deal on something that's usually quite expensive. And when we ask them, where did you get it from? They say, don't ask, it fell off the back of a lorry. It really means that it was stolen. Or if not stolen, he got it somewhere that perhaps he shouldn't have got it from. So he's offering you a really good deal on a mobile phone, brand new. It's yours for 300 Euro. Anybody asks you, it fell off the back of a lorry or fell off the back of a truck. Number two, to throw someone under the bus. Well, we don't mean this literally, of course, but when we say that, ah, he was thrown under the bus, it means that he's going to take responsibility for something, perhaps that wasn't his fault. In government, the government are in trouble with the country, the voters, because something has happened. So the Prime Minister or the head of the government is really worried. So what he does, he blames one of his ministers. The minister is forced to resign. But everybody in the public knows that really it wasn't the minister's fault, but the prime minister is throwing him under the bus. Okay, so somebody has to get thrown under the bus when there's a mistake. Usually the weakest person gets thrown under the bus. Oh, I really feel sorry for him. That manager, that team, the directors just threw him under the bus. It's not his fault the team weren't scoring goals after all. They paid huge money for those players and they're useless. Okay, so he got thrown under the bus. And for those of you and your friends or family who want one-to-one lessons, well, you know what to do. Just get in touch, www.englishlessonviaskype.com and you can apply for a free trial lesson and we'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. As easy as falling off a bike. Now, I use a slightly different expression. I use as easy as falling off a log. So if you ever try to stand on a log, like a wooden log, in water, it rolls around and it's impossible to stand on it. So as easy as falling off a log. But we can also use it as easy as falling off a bike. Because if you've never ridden a bike before, then it's almost impossible to keep straight because you wobble to the left, you wobble to the right, and then vom, you fall over. Of course, if you've been cycling for years and years, throw your leg over the saddle, push your foot onto the pedal and off you go, no problem. But if you watch little children who are getting on a bike for the first time, the weight, the balance isn't quite right, so they fall off quite easily and mum or dad have to pick them up. So it's as easy as falling off a bike. It's simple. Any idi can operate the internet these days. It's as easy as falling off a bike. It's as easy as falling off a log. I mean, it's really, really simple to do. Just follow the instructions. So it's really, really foolproof. Yeah. Okay. So it's as easy as falling off a log or as easy as falling off a bike. How do you drive an automatic car? I've never driven an automatic car. Oh, it's as simple. It's as easy as falling off a bike. All you have to do is put your foot on the accelerator. Okay, there's no gear stick to use. You just press the accelerator and the car will go and it will change the gears automatically. That's why it's called automatic. It's the simplest car to drive. Okay, as easy as falling off a bike. That ship has sailed. Well, we use this expression to mean there's no point talking about that now. We're too late. It's happened. It's done. It's gone. I remember a couple of years ago now actually talking to one of my sons and he had been doing a course in social studies. And I asked him, well, are you not going to follow that up and perhaps change your career and go into social studies? And I said, ah, no, that ship has sailed, meaning, ah, I should have done it a couple of years ago, but it's too late now. So when we say that ship has sailed, it means we've missed it, literally. Like if you get to the dock too late and the ship is gone, what are you going to do? You have to wait for the next one. So somebody might be trying to get promotion in his job, but his boss tells him, look, the only way you're really going to get promoted is if you've got more qualifications. Would you not consider going back to college and getting some extra qualifications or doing an MBA? And you say, ah, look, I really can't. I don't have the time. I've got the kids. I've got other issues. Really, that ship has sailed. I don't think it's for me. Okay, so if that's the way it is, then perhaps I need to go and work for another company. That ship has sailed. Okay, so our next idiom is to jump on the bandwagon. Jump on the bandwagon. So we can use this positively or negatively. Usually it means when something becomes fashionable that wasn't fashionable before, everybody joins in. So for example, it could be to do with diets. Everybody is becoming a vegetarian or vegan. So they're all jumping on that particular bandwagon. Five, ten years ago, hardly any of your friends or people you know were vegetarian or vegans. Now it seems that everybody is talking about being a vegetarian or being a vegan. So they're all jumping on that particular bandwagon. It wasn't popular, but it is now popular. Or perhaps governments, a few governments eight to nine months ago started to give some of their citizens some relief by giving some free money. Now every government is doing it. They've all jumped on the bandwagon to make themselves look good. And of course it's very beneficial, but they could do more. So to jump on the bandwagon means something that wasn't so popular is more popular and everybody joins in. It could be to do with criticism as well. So to jump on that particular bandwagon. The next is to rock the boat or don't rock the boat. You know, if you are on a rowing boat on a river or a lake, you'll know what happens if you stand up. You're likely to fall in. So rocking the boat means to make things a little bit unsteady. So we want to keep things very even and balanced. Don't rock the boat. Okay, so somebody might use this expression from a business point of view, say, oh, we're getting on really, really well. The manager is very happy with what we're doing. Why don't we ask him if we can get some more benefits or some extra time off? And somebody says, oh, don't rock the boat. I mean, everything is fine at the moment. If we start asking for more things, they'll put more work on us and we'll have bigger targets and it will really be impossible. So leave things as they are. Don't rock the boat. Okay. Or if you have a problem at school and you eventually get it sorted out with the teacher, you tell your son or daughter. Now, just keep everything nice and easy. Do what the teacher says. Do your homework. Don't rock the boat. Don't make things difficult. You've only got a few months left at school. So then you'll be gone and you'll be gone to university. So don't rock the boat. So anytime you rock the boat, you cause something to be unbalanced and it's likely to cause problems or indeed you're literally likely to fall into the water. So please don't rock the boat. A backseat driver, well, we all hate backseat drivers. Backseat drivers are those people who tell you, turn left, turn right, don't do this, watch out for the bus, watch out for the car. Oh, there's kids on the street. That's a backseat driver. So we don't like people telling us what to do when we think that we're in control. I hate backseat drivers, somebody trying to tell you what to do. And it's the same in other parts of our life. So if you're playing a game of tennis and somebody is on the sideline saying, do this, do that, no, don't do this, don't do that. Backseat drivers, people think they know better trying to tell you what to do. So our usual reaction is, shh, I'm driving or shh, I'm playing. It's my decision. Please don't interfere. I don't like backseat drivers. Next, so in the same boat is our next idiom. So when we're in the same boat, we all have the same problem. In the current climate, the cost of food in the supermarket has gone up 20% in the last six months. It's the same for everybody. We're all in the same boat. We're all paying higher prices. We're all having to look for more income. We're all having to look for ways to cut down on the use of energy. We're all in the same boat. So when we're in the same boat, we're in exactly the same situation. To go off the rails. Well, the rails normally refers to the railway tracks. So when you see trains, they go up and they go down. They don't go left or right because they're on a particular track. When somebody goes off the rails, it means they go away from the norm. So somebody starts behaving a bit differently. So it could be school kids at school, students at university, workers in the office, whatever it might mean. If they start doing things a little bit differently and negatively, we say, oh, he's really gone off the rails. So he started by missing a few lectures in university, then he didn't appear for a few weeks, then he missed his exams, he has to re-sit them, then he got into trouble with the dean. He's really gone off the rails, meaning he really has gone backwards and there's lots of problems. So I don't know what's going on in his particular life. Or somebody in the office, they used to be really punctual. They would be there ahead of everybody else. They used to work late. But recently they seem to have gone off the rails. They come in late, 9.30, quarter to 10. They look a little bit like they've slept out in the park. They leave early or they're always phoning in sick. Something has gone badly wrong with that guy. He's really gone off the rails. Okay, so to go off the rails means to lose your direction, lose your sense of direction, lose your purpose, but you just start doing things a little more negatively and things become a little bit more difficult, whether it's in your personal life or your business life to go off the rails. And then finally, on your bike. Okay, so it's a statement that we use to tell somebody really to go away and not to be annoying us. Okay, so if somebody comes into the boss and says, oh, look, I really need a salary increase. I've been working really hard and cost of living. And so boss says, leave it with me. I'll have a look and see what I can do. And then the next week he's in again. And the next week he's in again. He's look, I'll check it out. I said I will check it out. Now, on your bike, meaning go away and leave me alone. Don't annoy me. I promised I would look after it. I will, but I'll come back to you in my time. So on your bike. Okay. Or perhaps there's a particular problem in the street. There's been an accident or there's some problem. The police are there and a crowd start to gather around looking to see what's happened. And the policeman is getting a little bit angry, a little bit annoyed with the cry. He said, look, you guys there, it's nothing to do with you. I just need to talk to these people here. There's been a bit of an accident, but for the rest of you, on your bike, meaning go away, leave the scene, leave us to look after the problem. Okay, so on your bike means just go away and don't annoy us. Right, so there are the 10 particular idioms related to transport. Okay, so let me give them to you again. You know the drill by now. You've got to go through them, make sure you understand them, see can you introduce them into your language. They're a little bit tricky because they are advanced expressions, but try to use them as best as possible. So here we go. Fall off the back of a lorry or fall off the back of a truck, something that has been stolen or somebody got it in by means we, well, well, they're not straightforward. To throw someone under the bus means to blame somebody for something and not to take the blame yourself. As easy as falling off a bike or as easy as falling off a log means something is really simple to do. You shouldn't have any difficulty. That ship has sailed. We've missed that opportunity. That ship has sailed. To jump on the bandwagon, when something becomes popular that wasn't popular before, then everybody jumps on that bandwagon. Rock the boat. Look, just leave things the way they are. If you rock the boat, we're all going to be in difficulty. So don't disturb it. Don't rock the boat. A backseat driver. We all hate backseat drivers telling us what to do. Turn left, turn right, do this, do that. A backseat driver. In the same boat. Well, we're in the same boat because we've all got the same problems. Yeah, we're in the same boat. To go off the rails, to lose control, lose direction, lose purpose in life, to go off the rails. And then finally, on your bike, an exclamation, on your bike, go away, leave me alone on your bike. Okay, so very Irish, that particular one. Okay, so there are 10 idioms, all advanced transport idioms. As I said, practice them. And if you have any problems, come back and it'll certainly help you and give you some more examples if you need them. Well, this is Harry. Thanks for watching. Thanks for listening. Join me again soon.