PRACTICAL ENGLISH

  "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." Meaning It is used to say that a person who is old or is used to doing things in a certain way cannot learn or does not want to learn a new way. ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ means that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to change the way a person does something when they have been doing it the same way for many years. In other words, you can’t change someone’s long-established ways, especially as people grow older. The expression can relate to a person’s habits, traits or mindset.  Example Sentences There's no way to teach your grandpa to read his news on the phone. You can't teach an old dog new tricks! My secretary has been using that old manual typewriter for more than twenty years and I cannot get to change to a word processor; it seems you can't teach an old dog new tricks. My mom is 75 years old now and I’ve been trying to teach her how to surf the Internet for ages but she just doesn’t seem to...

  "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" Meaning “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” is an old saying that means you shouldn’t get your hopes up or make plans based only on assumptions because that can lead to disappointment. It's usually used in negative statements. Don’t be too confident that all your plans for the future will work out as you hope they will. If you have a bunch of chicken eggs and want them to hatch into chickens, you might be tempted to assume that all your eggs will hatch into healthy chickens. You might be tempted to count each egg as one chicken. But don’t forget that some of the eggs might not hatch, and so you might not get some of the chickens you expect. Synonym: Don't make assumptions Example Dialogs A: My boss will definitely give me a rise. B: Maybe he won't. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

  "You're barking up the wrong tree." Meaning We use the expression “barking up the wrong tree” as a metaphor to describe when someone is trying to achieve something but they're doing it in the wrong way (or they are trying to get something but they will not be successful). To be wrong about the reason for something. To make the wrong choice;  To ask the wrong person; To follow the wrong course. Doing something that will not get you the result you want;  Example Sentences I have been trying to solve this math problem for 30 minutes, but I think I’ve been barking up the wrong tree. I tried to get information from the receptionist about the director but she was just a temporary employee, so I think I was barking up the wrong tree. My roommate has been flattering her professor to try to become a teaching assistant but s he's barking up the wrong tree since the department chair makes those decisions. My brother keeps bugging my sister for money but he's barking...

  "In case you missed it." Meaning  You use the phrase "in case you missed it" to alert someone to something that they might  haven't seen or heard about. The word " miss " here means to fail to notice, see, hear, or understand. The phrase "In case you missed it" , has a new abbreviation:  ICYMI . It's what people say – or type, rather – when they want to point you in the direction of something interesting or enlightening that's available for your perusal online – in case you missed it. Example Sentences In case you missed it, these are the five biggest fashion trends for summer. I will say that again in case you missed it. In case you missed it, we actually have a whole other episode on this topic called How to Keep Coming Up With Ideas for Content. In case you missed it, Crash Course Mythology, which I am hosting, got started last week. So if you want to check out the first episode of that, we'll put a link in the descripti...

  "It occurred to me that..." Meaning If an idea or a thought occurs to you , it suddenly comes into your mind. The word ' occurred ' informs someone that something has come to mind or has been found. You are letting someone know that you suddenly have thought or remembered about something. Synonym: come to mind, cross someone's mind Example Sentences It occurred to me that I forgot something at the grocery store. It never even occurred to us that he hadn't been invited. One day, he noticed he could see the TV just a little bit more clearly than he had before. And suddenly it occurred to him , maybe the damage done to his eyesight wasn't permanent. Does it ever occur to you that I might want to be on my own sometimes? Didn’t it occur to you to phone the police? It never occurred to her that her parents might be worried. One day, it occurred to me that we enjoy a lot of the same things. It occurred to her that eating healthy makes her feel better. It...

  "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Meaning To put all your eggs in one basket means to depend for your success on a single person or plan of action. “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is an idiom that means “don’t risk everything by committing to one plan or idea”. If someone puts all their eggs in one basket , they put all their effort or resources into doing one thing that, if it fails, they have no alternatives left. Keywords: diversify, alternative, options Example Sentences Investors should diversify their investments instead of putting all their eggs in one basket. I'm applying for several jobs because I don't really want to put all my eggs in one basket. Don't put your eggs in one basket; study hard at school and always keep an alternative job in mind. He was depending heavily on the success of his venture, but when it failed, he was ruined. He realized that he should not have put all his eggs in one basket. It would be better if you ap...

  "If you will" Meaning If you will, meaning if you will allow me to use this phrase , is a hedge phrase, and it could usually be removed.  You can say " If you will " when politely inviting a listener or reader to do something or when using an unusual or fanciful term. Used to say that a particular expression is one way of saying something, especially to suggest that some people may not choose to say it that way. It basically means that you are asking for the person to accept your use of a term, a word, an image, etc. Similar Expression : If you like, so to speak, as you might say Note:  Used to suggest that some people may not think this is a good way to say something.  Will here means want , desire , wish and the idiom if you will means "If you want" . It's like saying "if you want to call it that"....

  "It's not rocket science." Meaning Used to say that you don't think that something is very difficult to do or to understand. “It’s not rocket science” is a common English idiom that’s used to emphasize how simple something is, especially compared to rocket science. Saying it’s not rocket science is another way to say this should be simple to understand. Similar phrases: It's not brain surgery, a piece of cake, a walk in the park, It's not complicated Origin This expression is a euphemism for This is an easy thing to understand . The idea behind the expression is that rocket science is a very complicated field, and one must be very smart in order to understand it. This expression became popular in the 1980s. However, a similar expression, it’s not brain surgery , predates it by about 20 years. Both the field of rocket science and brain surgery are notorious for being complicated. Note A person often says this when someone else is struggling to understand s...

  "Stop beating around the bush." Meaning The phrase ‘ Beating around the bush ’ means to avoid answering a question; to waste time or to delay or avoid talking about something difficult or unpleasant;  To spend a long time getting to the main point of what you are saying, especially because it is embarrassing. If you tell someone not to beat around the bush , you mean that you want them to tell you something immediately and quickly, rather than in a complicated, indirect way. Note It’s common for this phrase to have ‘stop’ in front of it. This is basically a way of saying ‘ get directly to the point.’ Synonym: To change from one subject or discussion to another Origin It is believed that this expression comes from hunting. According to Idiomation, in medieval times hunters would hire men to assist them during a hunt. The job of these hired helpers was to flush out any animals that were hiding in the bushes. How did they accomplish this? By beating the bushes with somethi...

  "It's the least I can do." Meaning Something you should do A polite answer to someone who thanks you (and you feel or wish you could do more) A common answer to being thanked for doing something is "It's the least I could do," which is basically synonymous with "It was nothing". You use expressions like 'that's the least that I can do' to mean that you are very willing to do it, or to acknowledge someone's thanks. Example Dialogs A: "Thanks for taking me to the bus stop."  B: "You're welcome. It's the least I could do now that I have a car." A: "Thank you so much for the cookies!"  B: "It's the least we can do to repay you for looking after our pets while we were away." A:   "Thanks for cleaning up."  B:   " It's the least I can do , seeing as I'm staying here rent-free." Example Sentences If your mother cooks a special dinner the least you can d...

  "From now on" Meaning We use this expression to say that something will begin now and continue into the future - perhaps forever. If you do something "from now on", you do it from now and keep doing it until some unknown time in the future. Origin  This phrase does not have any special story for how it originated. It came to be used regularly as a part of the English language. The only misconception is that some people thinks it means “immediately” but it means more of “ starting from now ”. Example Sentences From now on you can wear casual clothes to work every Friday. I was lucky to escape from the accident with just a few minor injuries, so from now on I'm going to be much more careful when I drive. Our task has been easy so far, but it will be difficult from now on. I made up my mind to quit smoking from now on. From now on, every student must switch off their phones before coming to my class.  Mary told us that from now on, she wouldn’t be eating any me...

  Meaning and Use The idiom ‘tip of the iceberg’ basically means the small part of a much larger situation or problem that remains hidden. When only a part of something that can be easily observed, but not the rest of it, we say that the part is just the tip of the iceberg.  This idiom comes from the fact that only the tip of an iceberg can be seen and the rest of the iceberg, which is much larger, is underneath the water and cannot be seen. So when you use it for a situation, you mean that there is more to it than what can be seen or experienced. Note:  There are times you can notice or see a very small part of a situation, a concept, or a problem, it is not entirely visible. But, that small portion enables you to imagine or anticipate how big or serious the issue could be. You can use the idiom "It's just the tip of the iceberg." to describe this situation. Example Sentences The news is shocking, but we may find out that the stories we've heard so far are just the...

  "A drop in the bucket" Meaning a very small amount compared to the amount needed something small and unimportant, esp. when compared with something else Notes:  A bucket could hold tens of thousands of drops of liquid so a drop (one drop) would be a very small or insignificant (unimportant) amount of the entire bucket of liquid. Synonym: The British and Australian equivalent is "a drop in the ocean". Example Sentences We were paid about $50,000, but that was a drop in the bucket compared to what some other companies got. For years businesses have dumped toxic waste into the ocean thinking it was just a drop in the bucket but that behavior has destroyed many ecosystems. I cleaned for eight hours today but that's just a drop in the bucket of the work I need to do to get this house cleaned and organized. I know twenty dollars is just a drop in the bucket , but if everyone gave that much it'd make a big difference. What we were paid for our work was a drop ...

  "It takes two to tango." Meaning You say "It takes two to tango" when you want to emphasize that both people involved in a difficult situation must accept the blame, or that an activity needs two people who are willing to take part for it to happen Certain actions or activities cannot be performed alone – they  need two people to participate. Both people involved in a situation are equally responsible for it. Actions or communication need more than one person. Origin The phrase refers to the South American dance tango, which requires two partners to perform. It originated in a 1952 song Takes Two to Tango by Al Hoffman and Dick Manning and gained popularity subsequently as an expression. Example Sentences She may want to argue, but it takes two to tango and I won't stoop to her level. Divorce is never the fault of one partner; it takes two to tango. We will never reach an agreement unless we sit down for a discussion. It takes two to tango.  If you want to ...

  "Better safe than sorry." Meaning Used to say that it is better to be careful, even if this takes time, effort etc, than take a risk that may have a bad result. It’s better to protect yourself beforehand than cry when something bad happens. You should be careful and try to avoid any risk before a bad thing happens. If you say ' it's better to be safe than sorry ', you are advising someone to take action in order to avoid possible unpleasant consequences later, even if this seems unnecessary. Keywords: Avoiding risk; safety first Example:  Dale was about to go on a bike ride with his friend, but he did not want to wear a helmet because he thought it made him look silly. “It’s better safe than sorry,” his friend said in hopes that it would persuade him to wear it. Soon after, Dale conceded and put the helmet on. Example Sentences It's probably not necessary to check the figures again, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Don't be afraid to have this...

  "You have to pay the price." Meaning To experience the bad result of something you have done. The phrase ‘ Pay the price ’ means to suffer the consequences of someone’s actions. Synonym: suffer the consequences Example Sentences If you abuse your body now, you'll pay the price when you're older. Jack drank so much last night! Now he’s paying the price for it. He broke the law, so he has to pay the price. When you carry excess weight, eventually your joints pay the price. If we don't take a serious action to save the environment, the future generation will pay the price. It is an unforgivable offense, and he deserves to pay the price for it. Eventually, Lily begins to pay the price of her indiscreet behavior. The world is full of conflict and dictatorship, hardship and poverty and it is the innocent victims who pay the price. After some hesitation, he turned himself in to the police for the crime he committed and said he was willing to pay the price for wh...

  "Too good to be true." Meaning Used to say that something cannot be as good as it seems to be or so good in a way that is difficult to believe. If you say that something seems too good to be true , you are suspicious of it because it seems better than you had expected, and you think there may be something wrong with it that you have not noticed. Example Sentences The price of the car is too good to be true. There must be something wrong with it. The celebrations were remarkably peaceful. Indeed, it seemed almost too good to be true. Her new job sounds too good to be true. I'm not surprised the offer wasn't genuine, it sounded too good to be true. If somebody offers you something that sounds too good to be true , it probably is. Beware of salespeople who promise offers that seem too good to be true. Their relationship had always seemed too good to be true. The news that he won $5 million lottery prize was too good to be true. Don't believe everything you see...