30 English Expressions Native Speakers Use Every Day [439]

🚨 If you use English at work, these phrases matter.  These are the only English phrases I allow my private students to use at work, and the ones I tell them to stop using.  👉 Download the PDF (€9): https://www.englishlessonviaskype.com/workphrases-podcast

In this episode, you’ll learn 30 common English expressions that native speakers use in everyday conversations.

I explain each phrase clearly and show how it is used in real situations, so you can understand when to use it and when not to. These are practical expressions you can start using straight away, not textbook English.

This episode will help you:

• sound more natural when you speak English
• build useful, real-life vocabulary
• feel more confident in both everyday and work conversations

This episode is ideal for intermediate and upper-intermediate learners who want to speak more clearly, sound more natural.

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Transcript

Speaker: 0:09

Hi there. This is Harry. Welcome back to Advanced English to help you to get a better language, to help you with your business English skills, goals are, we're here to help. Okay, so let's get on with this particular lesson, this advanced English lesson looking at expressions. And we headed up how to speak So if you can use some of these this particular lesson, then in thereabouts, you're going to on a day to day basis. Okay. Number one, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, this is very, very common, very well used. It's used by people to introduce conclusion in something they are So, for example, I know it's but at the end of the day, we Now it could be the teacher I know this has been a tough all of us, but at the end of the pass those all important exams the teacher can use it in that Means, in summary or in conclusion, at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that family comes first and these are the important things that matter. So at the end of the day, no what arguments we have, family Okay. So at the end of the day so well This one as a matter of fact. Now we use this when we want to have done what they're just they're just about to remind us. Yeah. So if your mother or father or somebody, your boss is going to ask you, did you send that package? Did you do that homework? Did you call your granny? As a matter of fact, I've just Yeah. As a matter of fact, I sent the You should see it in your inbox. As a matter of fact, I've just client, and I'm going to meet Okay. So, as a matter of fact, it's a great way to tell somebody an important piece of information that they are just about to remind you about or they're going to annoy you about again, okay. So some examples, as a matter of that task, so no need to remind As a matter of fact, I won't be able to attend the meeting tomorrow. After all, I've got to go and Okay, so just different ways in expression as a matter of fact. But what you're doing is you're need to remind you, there's no whatever they're going to ask, Already been achieved. Number three, by and large. By and large. So what does that mean by and It's usually used to indicate a an overall view of something. By and large, people are pretty They don't abuse the Are you get one or two people basis, but by and large, or around the same time. By and large or by and large. I tend to agree with you. So ninety percent of the time I maybe ten percent when I don't. So by and large eye. People tend to agree that they difficulties, but occasionally By and large, the new policy that the company introduced has been well accepted and well regarded by the employees, by and large. So it leaves room for some people disagreeing, but not many. By and large, we tend to get a March and April in this part of So in general, a general Now, there could be exceptions, by and large. Another expression, number four. In the grand scheme of things, everything into consideration, the grand scheme of things. So it's used to indicate the You know, we're not just focusing on the minute I of the detail. We're looking at the bigger the bigger picture. So in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter whether we miss our deadline by fifteen minutes or a day, it's not going to change dramatically. It's good to meet the deadlines. But, you know, in the grand most important thing. Okay, so in the grand scheme of a minor setback. It's not going to cause huge So don't worry. In the grand scheme of things, a there to keep the staff happy. It's not such a bad idea. We're not going to go bust as a result in the grand scheme of things. So it literally means there are There are more important things So in the grand scheme of of time, in the nick of time. Now, this means that you do deadline or just before So it's it's it's just at the Yes. It's any few minutes later and So in the nick of time, for example, we arrived in the airport in the nick of time, just as our flight was being called. So perhaps we left a little bit You know, we had the foot to the floor when we were driving along the motorway, but we finally got to the airport and the nick of time, just as the flight was being called a few minutes later, it would have been too late. We wouldn't have been able to The paramedics arrived in the nick of time and were able to resuscitate the person who had collapsed on the street, so the paramedics arrived in the nick of time ten or fifteen minutes later. Perhaps the poor unfortunate man they arrived in the nick of person, help them to regain everything is well. So in the nick of time, just at A few minutes later, as I said In the nick of time, I took my In the nick of time. I was stuck in a phone call. A few minutes later. It would have been burnt to a eating the sole of your shoe in Okay, moving on now. Number six to jump through H o o PS these rings jump through hoops, and we use this to indicate that there's a difficult task or something really challenging that we have to do. Perhaps you go to the boss and increase, or you want the bonus boss, he makes you jump through My God, the hours I work in this He makes you jump through hoops. You have to do something really get a salary increase. I had to jump through hoops to completed, so I could get these jump through hoops. It was a really challenging The candidate had to jump He had to do three interviews practical exam as well. I mean, a really, really in the end. But to get the job, he had to Number seven this is a boxing reference to throw in the towel if you ever watch a boxing match. And if one boxer is getting corner, as they call it, his towel into the ring, which means and he has surrendered or given So to throw in the towel is used to indicate to give up or to admit defeat. So if you're trying to work out. Crossword puzzle and you can't you just are. I'm going to throw in the towel. I really can't work this out or difficult mathematical equation Trying to work out and you just I'm never going to get this. I'm just going to throw in the I'll tell the teacher. They'll give me the answer So to throw in the towel is to So some examples. After trying for months, I admitted that I just couldn't We were losing badly and we and we got beaten ten nil. Okay, so the the game ended early, but we were really getting hammered. We threw in the towel or we appeared to throw in the towel because it looked as if we weren't interested. So to throw in the towel means And somebody might say to you, in the towel? It's not so important, is it? Yeah. If you lose, you lose. What's the point? Number eight, to have a lot on to have a lot on one's plate. Very formal English to have a But when we have a lot on our more than enough to do. In fact, probably too much. Okay, so if somebody asks you to extra work, you might say, well, work at the moment. I've too much work on my plate. Meaning my desk is completely full of my inbox is full, or there's a list of projects to do. As long as your arm. Okay, I'd love to go out with I have a lot on my plate. I'm going away for the weekend and I really need to get this work completed. So when somebody is really For example, I'm sorry I can't projects right now. I've got enough on my plate. So again, just admitting that, back another time. Or perhaps just give me a few workload, then I might be able But at the moment I've got a lot on my plate, so I can't go out because I've gone away for the weekend. I've got a lot on my plate. I've got to do the ironing, you've got to do things so Number nine, let's play it by Okay. Let's play it by ear. And what this means is let's not Now. We don't have to rush in and Let's wait and see what happens. Something might happen, which Okay, so let's play it by ear. So this expression really means Let's not make a decision now Let's be flexible and make plans do change, and if things do be better or worse. But if we do something that we got a real problem. So let's play it by ear. Let's be a little bit flexible, see what happens, and then we can adjust or amend our agenda or schedules to suit that particular situation. So let me give you an example. We haven't decided where to go So let's play it by ear and see So perhaps you're you're out for a walk with your partner and you're going to go for something to eat, but you haven't made any reservations. You're not quite sure. Do you want Italian? Do you want Moroccan? Whatever type of food that you So let's see where the road We go down this street or that We'll see a restaurant. Let's try there. So let's play it by ear. So you haven't made a decision. So you're just going to wait and sure what time I'll be able to play it by ear. If I finish on time, I'll give and go for a drink. So you're not making any final commitment or any firm commitment. But if you finish your work yeah, I'll give you a call and If not, we can do that tomorrow. So let's play it by ear. Number ten. It's not rocket science. I use this expression a lot. It's not rocket science. And really what it means is it's Okay, so you don't have to be It's not rocket science. So the expression is often used to convey that something is not so complicated. It's not so difficult. So why should we make it sound It's not rocket science. Cooking an omelet is not rocket You break a few eggs. You mix them up in the pan, you You throw in some chopped tomatoes or sprinkle some cheese. Voila, you have an omelet. So it's not rocket science. You just careful you don't burn don't burn the pan. But it's not rocket science. Don't worry about figuring out It's easy. There's a a prompt on every It's not rocket science. Okay, so before you do anything, it will ask you, do you want to do this? Do you want to raise it? Do you want to continue. So it's step by step. So it's not rocket science. Just read the instructions click Click there and everything will So it's not rocket science meaning yeah, a monkey could do it. So you shouldn't look on it as being so complicated or too difficult. Okay. And we're on to number eleven. So five to go out of fifteen. Five to go. Number eleven under the weather. So my wife is a little bit under Now you might have heard her in So apologies for that if you So under the weather when unwell okay, I'm a little bit Perhaps it's the time of the year and somebody has got some allergies. Perhaps they've picked up a flu bug, but they're just not feeling one hundred percent and they're a little bit under the weather. I won't be able to come to work I'm a little bit under the weather, so not anything specific. You can't put your finger on it. You can't even tell the. Or perhaps you don't even want or what it is, but just that weather so you won't be able to She's been feeling under the few days in bed will do her the Yeah, so she's under the weather or feeling a little bit under the weather. So somebody's not so healthy, Number twelve to jump the gun. To jump the gun. When we jump the gun, we act or prematurely before we should Okay. So we, you know, in a literally a starter's pistol to start the the old Olympics, the guy would gun, the starter's pistol, and But if somebody got ahead of them back and the person would because they jumped the gun. They went off a little bit So if you're talking in a business meeting and some people are getting a little bit ahead of themselves in terms of the plans, you might just pull them up on it and say, look, I think we're jumping the gun a little bit here by making plans before we actually decide or actually sure what this schedule will look like. So let's not jump the gun. Let's not start planning this before we've looked at it properly. There's no point going into all trouble unless we know exactly So let's not jump the gun. Let's not go off too early. So let's not jump the gun and assume that we've got the job, okay? And let's wait until we hear So if you've gone for a job interview and you're all excited, oh, it's a great company. I really want to work for them. The people look great and are Well, okay, let's not jump the You haven't got the job yet. Wait until you hear from the Wait to see you. You're going to be called for the second or the third interview. So just take things a little bit So not to jump the gun. So it could be you know some They have a sense that they jump to conclusions to wait and bide their time. So let's not jump the gun. Number thirteen is to bite the Bite the bullet? Well, what does that mean? Well, when you bite the bullet, you have to accept and face a difficulty or face a decision that's going to be difficult, particularly something unpleasant. And you have to face it bravely. Okay? So bite the bullet. So perhaps you've got a And you've been taking some Panadol or aspirin with the hope that the toothache would disappear. But finally you have to bite the to go to the dentist even though And there's every possibility that the tooth will have to come out. Okay, so you have to literally So you have to slow the pain, accept that there's going to be some pain and make a visit to that dentist. So a couple of examples I know you're nervous about the presentation, but you just have to bite the bullet and get it done. We all get nervous before we good, some of us bad. But guess what? It's part and parcel of life. So you just have to face the You have to do it. So you're going to have to bite You're going to have to do it at You're going to have to get up because guess what? Nobody else is going to do it. And when you do the first one, the next one will be a piece of cake. So bite the bullet, accept that you have to do it and get on with it. I really don't want to have the you know, I'm just going to have tell him that I'm leaving. Okay, so perhaps you just fed up You're really not getting any But the only way to deal with it is go and tell the boss that you're leaving. Yeah, he's not going to like it. So I don't want to have that conversation, but I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and tell them and let's see what happens. Okay, so when we have to face a something unpleasant and we have bite the bullet. Number fourteen to get the ball So two to go. Number fourteen to get the ball And to get the ball rolling literally means just to get something started. To start something. So at a meeting somebody could say okay who wants to get the ball rolling? Meaning who's going to kick off We we need some questions or we Who's going to get the the ball So it could be a one of those as we talked about brainstorming sessions okay. So there's a brainstorming Who wants to get the ball Who's got the first idea. So you come up with the first Let's get the ball rolling. On planning the party. Let's start by setting the date So we're going to have a party. Okay. So let's agree on a date. Which Saturday is going to be. Then somebody take invitations by text. So let's get the ball rolling. The sooner we get started, the Or if there's a group of you in project, there's a deadline for have to get your heads together. So you might say, okay, we need to get the ball rolling on this project. We're running out of time and the deadline is fast approaching. So you know exactly what has to be done the date, the time, and you just have to come up with your ideas. So let's get the ball rolling or we really need to get the ball rolling on this particular project. Okay. And then number fifteen to hit nail on the head okay. So you know, if you're trying to do some DIY work and you have a hammer and a small nail, it looks easy. But if you're not careful, or your finger. Believe me, that's very, very So to hit the nail on the head is to get something exactly right. Okay, so perhaps there's a reason why the customer has canceled his contract and everybody is throwing in their ideas. Well, maybe it's this. Maybe it's that. And you suggest. Well, I actually think it's because we didn't respond to him quick enough and somebody says, yeah, you've hit the nail on the head. This guy is really very precise. He expects something to happen And we didn't respond in time. And unfortunately he's probably So you hit the nail on the head. You get right to the point. It's exact and it's correct. You hit the nail on the head. I've been really stressed out lately, so perhaps your wife or your partner or somebody is not really one hundred percent They've been feeling a little bit strange. Perhaps they're not eating. Not sleeping so well. So you suggest that they take a They go away. They. They get a change of Yeah. You've hit the nail on the head. I've really been feeling What I need is a complete break. So you're going to have a So hit the nail on the head. My friend knew exactly what was He hit the nail on the head when he said it was a problem with the gasket or the spark plugs or the accumulator, something in the car. But he he knows better than I head and within five minutes the So to hit the nail on the head with your diagnosis as to nail on the head. Okay, so there we have fifteen particular expressions and phrases that you can use in business English, you can use in conversational English. You can use them to make yourself sound more like a native speaker. Go through them one by one. Make sure first of all, that you Look at the examples that I've Listen to them again. See how I use them. If you feel you need more, as I I'll give you some more if You don't have to remember and try and practice some of them. And as always, as I said, come suggestions, or if you have some that you would like me to please let me know and I'm very It means I don't have to think Okay, so this is Harry thanking As always, remember to come back