Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 564

In this podcast episode, we explore common English idioms connected to music and everyday situations. You will learn how native speakers use these expressions naturally in conversations, stories, and informal speech. Each one is explained in simple English with clear context so you can understand the meaning, the tone, and when it is appropriate to use it.

This lesson is ideal for intermediate and advanced English learners who want to expand vocabulary, sound more fluent, and prepare for exams like IELTS, TOEFL, or Cambridge English. By the end, you will feel more confident recognising and using music-related idioms in both professional and casual conversations.

Transcript

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Hi there, this is Harry. Welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry, where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language, to help you with your conversational skills, your business English skills, interview skills, whatever your goals are, we're here to help. 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'd be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. So we're going to talk to you a bit about idioms today and these are about idioms connected with music. Okay, so I'm going to go through them and I'll give you some examples. So the first one, to blow your own trumpet. So when we use the to blow your own trumpet, it means that you are telling people how good you are, how good you can do something, because other people apparently are not. Yeah, so if you're waiting for somebody to say, oh, Harry, he's great at that. Oh, he says he did such a good job at this. Oh, you should really use Harry. So if you're waiting for somebody to blow your trumpet, but they don't, so you have to do it yourself. So we often say, oh, look, I did a really good job on that presentation last week. Oh, you should have tasted that paella I cooked two weeks ago. Oh, look, you should have really seen the decoration I've done in my room. It looks really exquisite. And somebody says, wow, you're blowing your own trumpet. And you say, well, if I don't blow my own trumpet, nobody else is going to do it. So I have to get out there and do a little bit of boasting myself about how good I did things because, yeah, I'm very proud of it. So if you're proud of it and nobody else is going to blow your own, your trumpet, then you have to get up there, get out there and blow your own trumpet. Okay? Next idiom is for a song, for a song. And when we use this, it's usually to do with price. Okay. And to write a song is usually very easy and certainly cheap. And lots of people who have written songs in the past didn't know how valuable they might be. So when something goes for a song, and that's how we use it, it means it goes very cheaply. Okay, so you come home from town and you've got a new digital camera and you're shown it to your friends and they say, oh, that looks really good. Yes, I didn't know you were into photography. Ah, yeah, I've been looking around for something for a while. And they say, well, it looks expensive. No, I got it for a song. I went into this secondhand shop and I just saw it there. The price was really, really reasonable. And I checked it out on the internet. And, you know, if I bought it new, it would have cost four times the price. So yeah, I got it for a song. Yeah. Meaning I got it very cheaply. Yeah. Okay. So you'll see an advertisement. Going for a song, meaning it's cheap. This is your chance to go and buy that car of your dreams, your first car perhaps, or as I used in my example, the digital camera, whatever it happens to be, something that you probably would expect to pay more for, but it's really, really cheap for some reason, perhaps the end of a line or the end of a particular model, and it's going for a song. Next, ring a bell. Often when we have a doorbell on our apartment or our home, we have an unusual sound, like a musical sound, so that when the doorbell rings, it's not just, it's or whatever, it plays some tune so that wherever you happen to be in the apartment or the house, you will hear it and recognize it that there's somebody looking for you, there's somebody at your door. They are ringing the bell. Okay, but when we use that idiom, ring a bell, we're usually asking somebody, does it remind them of something? Okay, so you're talking to them about a new client that has decided now to come to your company and use your services. And one of your colleagues says, oh, what's that name again? Well, that rings a bell. I think I dealt with those people three years ago. So when something rings a bell, it reminds you of something. Yeah, the name might ring a bell. Somebody's face might ring a bell, might remind you that we've met somewhere before. Yeah, yeah, that face rings a bell, yeah, or the name rings a bell. So something is giving you a hint or something is giving you a suggestion that you have met that person or you have dealt with those people sometime in the past. Yeah, it certainly rings a bell. So the customer who's complaining and your colleague is telling you, do you know about this? They explain the situation, they bought a product, they took it home, it didn't work, they brought it back, we give them a replacement, it didn't work. And it's, oh, yeah, that certainly rings a bell. That's one of those problems that's been going on and on. You know, talk about Murphy's Law. Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. So yes, that certainly rings a bell with me. Okay, the next one will be a good one to describe, like a broken record. Okay, now, if you're as old as I am, or maybe a little bit younger, and you used to collect perhaps records, music records in the past, they were made of vinyl, okay, and they broke very, very easily. So if you tap them on the end of the table, they would crack and they would break and of course there would be no use. And sometimes you'd often get a scratch across the record from the needle of your record player. And then if the needle, when you're trying to play it, got stuck, the same tune would play time and time again. So the record wouldn't move on. So you'd have the same words repeat, repeat, repeat. So we'd use that expression like a broken record. So when something goes on and on, we say, oh, it's like a broken record. So one of the kids is complaining about something, some tie broke or they didn't get something that you had promised. So they ask for it today at breakfast time. They ask for it again at lunchtime. They ask for it twice in the afternoon. Oh, you're like a broken record. Would you stop? Please, you're going on and on. I heard you the first time. I heard you the second time. And I definitely heard you the third and fourth time. So why is there such a need to go on and on like a broken record? So it means repeat, repeat, repeat. So we can talk about a friend and they say things several times. Oh yeah, that's one of his annoying habits, Pete. He always repeats things. He goes on and on. He's like a broken record, just repeat, repeat, repeat. Okay, so like a broken record, something repeated time and time over and over again. The next one refers to fiddles and a fiddle is the same as a violin or a violin is the same as a fiddle. It depends on where you play. If you play in an orchestra, it's usually referred to as a violin, but if you play in some traditional music quartet, then it's often referred to as a fiddle, but they're really the same. So the expression is to play second fiddle. And if you play second fiddle, it usually means that you're not the most important, that the most important is first fiddle. And second fiddle, as it says, is in second place or the second in line. So not as important as being the first fiddle. So to play second fiddle for some people can be difficult. Yeah? Okay, so in a football team, perhaps they sign the star striker and it costs the team 25, 35, 45 million, whatever price they pay these days. And the guy is really, really good. But you've been playing on that team for five or six years and you've been the sort of star of the team, but not now. Unfortunately, they've signed the star striker. They've paid a lot of money. And of course, he's going to go straight into the team. In fact, he's going to take your jersey. So not only are you not going to have your place, you're not going to have your favorite number nine on your back. So you're going to have to wear another number. And guess what? You have to play second fiddle. Okay, next expression refers to a particular type of music, jazz. And we have this expression, and all that jazz. Okay, now, I actually, I know I'm not a real music fan, but I do like occasionally to listen to some jazz. When we use the expression, and all that jazz, it means, and all the other things associated with it. So we use the word jazz to include a mix of everything, because really, that's what jazz is. It's a lot of different sounds and a lot of different instruments. So when we say, and all that jazz, we just don't have time to document or say everything. So we just use it as a sort of a collective. Okay. So somebody is talking about, let's say, a new job. They have been offered and they're talking about the interview. And I had the interview. I had the questions and I had to have a second interview. Now they want me to go and do one of these assessments and appraisals and even some psychometric tests and all that jazz. You know, the usual things that you have to do nowadays to get a job. Okay, so we use all that jazz to include everything that's included, incorporated in the whole job interview process. Okay. Or it could be anything to do with getting yourself ready for the new term at college. Yeah, so I'm going to college in August. I have to get books and I have to go and register. And of course, I'm going to have to get the living accommodation sorted out. And then when I get the living accommodation, I'm going to have to get, you know, all those, the kitchen equipment, all that jazz, everything that you need associated with moving house. I'll get it done, but it's just a bit of a pain. And all that jazz means everything else that you haven't documented, you haven't itemized, but it's all included in that expression and all that jazz. Next idiom is the reference to the ear or the first reference we have to ear. So to play it by ear. So when we play something by ear, it means we're going to wait and see what happens. So we're not making any firm decision yet. We have some ideas of what we want to do, but we won't firm up on it until something happens and then we'll play it by ear. Okay, so you decide to go out with your friends and you're just telling your partner or your husband or wife that you probably won't be home at the usual time. And then they might ask you, well, what about dinner? I'd wait and see because I think they'll probably want to have a beer and then they'll probably want to have something to eat or we might go to somebody's home. So I'll tell you what, I'll play it by ear and then when I know exactly what's going to happen, I'll send you a text. So let's wait and see what happens, what works out. And then if it does, then fine, we can have dinner together. If it doesn't, then yeah, I'll catch up with you later when I get home. So to play it by ear means just to wait, see what happens, see what unfolds, and then you'll make your decision then. So you're not committed in any way. We'll play it by ear. Okay, and the next idiom, fine tuning. So for those of you who have ever owned or own currently a piano, or in fact, you might own a violin or some other musical instruments, from time to time, they need to be adjusted or almost like a car. They need to be serviced. And we talk about tuning, tuning the violin to make sure you can hit the right chords, tuning the piano so you get the right sound on the keys. Okay, so you have to get a professional piano tuner. He comes in, he tunes your piano and you're okay then for the next three months or six months or whatever period of time it will last. Okay, so tuning is to adjust the sound, okay? So when we use the idiom fine tuning, it usually refers to some adjustment that we have to make to something, okay? So the easiest thing would be some document you're writing. It could be your thesis, it could be a presentation, it could be a business plan, whatever it might be. You write the first draft, you do some correction, you write the second draft, you do some further correction, and then you say to your friend, but look, it's almost finished. I just need to do a little bit of fine tuning, and then it will be perfect. Okay, or it'll be as good as I can get it, and then I'll hand it in. I've still got plenty of time. I've got a week or whatever number of days before I have to make the submission. Okay, so fine tuning is that little bit of extra, the final touches that you have to make to something to make it as perfect as possible. And you can use that fine tuning almost with anything. I've used the example of a written document, thesis, or something else. If you're writing a novel, a book, then it could be to get it checked grammatically, or it could be literally the fine tuning of if you're tinkering around with the engine of your car, if you're that sort of person, or if you like to tinker around with motorbike engines, well, it could be the same. So a little bit of fine tuning just to get it as perfect as you can get it. Even doing some decoration, yeah. So are you finished doing the decorating on the house? Ah, just a few little extras. I have to do a little bit of fine tuning here and there, a couple of new paintings or a couple of little things to hang from the walls that'll just finish it off really nicely. So a little bit of fine tuning, yeah, another few days and I'll be ready to show it to you. Okay, a little bit of fine tuning. Now, the second reference to ears, music to someone's ears, okay? Music to someone's ears. Well, when we listen and we hear something that we really enjoy, well, then we can say, ah, yes, that's music to my ears because it's the type of music you like, whether it's jazz, whether it's some orchestral music, classic music, rock and roll, whatever it might be. It will be music to someone's ears. It's a type of music that they like. But when we use it just in general as an idiom, music to someone's ears, it means that they hear something that they were really waiting to hear. Yeah. Okay. So it could be, oh, we finally got that contract signed with that client we've been chasing for months and months. And it's really, really good contract now. In fact, he's actually signed the contract, not for one year, he's actually signed it for two years. Ah, music to my ears. We won't have to renew that contract for a while. Okay. Oh, finally, somebody's put an offer in to buy that house and they're asking, not the full asking price, but they've offered just under the asking price. But I think it's a really good deal and I think we should take it. Oh, music to my ears. I finally get rid of that property. I've been trying to sell it for ages. So music to someone's ears is something you hear, some information somebody gives you that really cheers you up, makes you happy, makes you feel good. So you can say, yeah, that's music to my ears. It's good news at last, not just bad news. Music to my ears. And then finally, to face the music. Okay, well, when we have to face the music, it's time to face up to some responsibility, something that we've done, something that we didn't do, something we promised to do, something that we forgot to do, whatever the problem is. When we say you have to face the music, well, guess what? It's time to face up to whatever actions or inactions. Okay, so the boss is really angry. He wants to know what happened, why that account wasn't closed. And you say to your colleague, oh, I'll go and see the boss now. I think it's time to face the music. He's going to shout and scream, but better to get it done now. It's Friday rather than waiting till Monday and ruining another week. Okay, so it's time to face the music. Or if you have spent a little longer in the pub with your friends than you intended and you say, I better go home and face the music as my wife's not going to be so happy. I promised I'd be home early and it's a little later than I'd promised. So she's going to be a little bit annoyed. So time, go home and face the music. Okay. So lots of people have to face the music. Governments have to face the music because of strange decisions they made. So when it comes to the next election, the next vote, the electorate, the people who are voting will make the decision. So if they didn't like what the government did, guess what? They'll vote them out. Whatever happens, the government have to face the music. They have to take responsibility for what they did. They have to listen to the people. They have to listen to the voice of the people. And if they've made mistakes, well, yeah, well, then they will be punished. They will be out of office and somebody else will be in instead of them. So time to face the music. Okay, well, that's all of the idioms related to music. So let me go through them again. Okay, so here they are. To blow your own trumpet for a song, ring a bell, like a broken record, to play second fiddle, all that jazz, to play it by ear, fine tuning, music to someone's ear, and then finally to face the music. Okay, so say all idioms connected with music that we can use them in various ways, either through our business, our work, our personal life, whatever it might be. I'm always very happy to hear from you. So many of you write to me now and if there's something you want me to include in a future lesson, well, send me the information and I'll do my best to include it because I get lots of the ideas from you guys because they're really your problems, the problems that you are facing on a day-to-day basis. And all I'm doing is trying to give you some examples as to how to work your way through them. Okay, well, thanks for listening and join me again soon.