Natural Idioms About Friendship and Trust [522]

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In this episode, you’ll learn common English idioms used to describe friendship, loyalty, and trust. I explain what each expression means and when it is appropriate to use it. This will help you understand these idioms when you hear them and use them correctly in everyday conversations.

If you're preparing for IELTS, TOEFL, or CAE, mastering these expressions will also improve your listening comprehension. Native speakers use them without thinking, so understanding them will make real English conversations easier to follow. By the end of this epsiode, you’ll be able to use these idioms naturally and recognise them when you hear them.

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Transcript

0:09

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'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. So in this particular lesson, we're going to look at some idioms. We're going to look at idioms about friendships. So I'll go through them, explain them and give you an example when you can use them. And as always, you will try and practice these idioms later. And if you have any difficulty, you come back to me and I'll give you some more examples. To get on like a house on fire, this always causes a little bit of amusement because if the house is on fire, it doesn't sound like it's particularly attractive and it's very dangerous, but it means something happens very quickly. So often when there's a fire in the house, when it starts, the house burns very quickly because there's a lot of inflammable material in the house, wood, carpets, whatever it might be. So the house, when it gets on fire, goes very, very quickly. So when people talk about their friendship or their relationship on that point of view, it means they struck up a friendship really, really quickly. Ah, yeah, I just met him a couple of weeks ago and it seems as if I'd known him all my life. We got on like a house on fire. In a few minutes, we were laughing. It's not often I get somebody who laughs at my jokes and he was laughing at them all. So we got on like a house on fire. So in fact, we're going to try and get together in a couple of weeks with our partners and see that they get the same sort of vibe as we got. So yeah, to get on like a house on fire means to get on very early in the relationship, very quickly, and it looks really, really good, really, really promising to get on like a house on fire. Now, if we want something completely different, then we can be like chalk and cheese. There's no similarity between chalk and cheese. Okay, so, but people who are different often get along very well. Ah, those guys, they've been friends for years, but they're like chalk and cheese. I mean, look, the size is different. He likes sport, he doesn't. He's got a really good job. He's just got an average sort of job. But you know, these guys, none of that matters. They get on really, really well. They're like chalk and cheese. You would never put the two of them together. So when two people don't necessarily fit by the way they look or by their interests, you never know how they connect on an intellectual basis or just that simple friendship. They're like chalk and cheese, but they get along so well. Now, if we're talking about negative issues, as we can in connection with relationships, particularly friendships, sometimes we don't quite see eye to eye. Now, eye to eye means to be at the same level. And if you don't see eye to eye, you see things differently. Perhaps you don't like the way he or she treated somebody. Perhaps you don't like the way he or she spoke to somebody. Perhaps you just don't like the way he or she advised you or told you about something. So you don't quite see eye to eye. You try not to let it get in the way of your friendship, but sometimes it can. If it's a serious matter, well, it could challenge and test the strength of that relationship or that friendship, because we don't quite see eye to eye. We don't quite see eye to eye on politics. That's okay, we have differences of opinion. We don't quite see eye to eye on money matters. Well, okay, somebody has more interest in money than others do, but, you know, it shouldn't affect your friendship. So we don't quite see or we don't see eye to eye on many small things, but on the big things, yeah, we're on the same wavelength, we're on the same page, we understand each other. So our friendship is rock solid. It's on solid ground. To be on the same wavelength, well, this is quite an old-fashioned expression. You know, to be on the same wavelength means really to be to understand each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, I know where you're going with this. We're on the same wavelength. I think and I feel exactly the same. Yeah, okay. This is what we should do. This is how we should approach it. Yeah, yeah, I get you, I get you. We're on the same page, people often say. We're on the same wavelength means we know and we think or we are thinking the same way, same way, to be on the same wavelength. Two, hit it off. Well, when two people hit it off, it means they get on very, very quickly in that relationship. Yeah, we hit it off the first time we met. We were talking about football. We were talking about our families. We were talking about the same type of books. Yeah, we really hit it off. I like the guy. I think we could enjoy each other's company. We hit it off. Or if you meet some new business contact and they seem to be very nice and open to the conversation, you can see, yeah, yeah, that's really good. We have really hit it off. I think we can do good business together. In fact, he's a really nice guy. He's the sort of guy you'd like to have as a friend to hit it off. So when we use the expression of the idiom, we go back a long way. It means that our friendship goes back over many, many years, decades, whatever. We have a friend that we met when we first went to school and we might not see them so regularly, but we can pick up the mobile phone, we can send a text or we can send and get in touch with them because we go back a long way. So you could be going to some reception and when you walk in the room, somebody comes over and greets you and says, oh, Harry here, let me introduce you to Paul. I said, Paul, oh, we go back a long way. We haven't seen each other for years. So your friend is surprised that you know Paul. But we can say, yeah, we know each other really, really long time. In fact, we went to school together. So we go back a long way. So when you go back a long way with somebody, you have a connection. There's something about that type of friendship means you can pick it up whenever you like. That's as if you just had met them yesterday. So to go back a long way. To have your ups and downs. Well, when things have ups and downs, like friendships or marriages, relationships, it means most of the time good, but sometimes bad. Little arguments. Ah, we've got a good friendship. We've known each other a long time. But of course, like all friendships, we've had our ups and downs. But you know, we always know when to apologize, how to apologize, when to accept that apology, because that's what friendship is about. You can't be perfect all of the time. So we, yes, we do. We have our ups and downs. I don't always like what he says. He doesn't always like what I say. I don't like always how he reacts and he doesn't always like the way I react. But you know what? We're good together. We're good friendship. We understand each other. Yeah, we have our ups and downs. To know somebody inside out. Well, how well do we know people? Usually when we've been living with somebody for a long time, whether it's a brother or a sister, or when we get into that situation where we're into relationships, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, yeah, we have to know that person inside out. We know their likes and their dislikes. We know whether they like surprises or they don't like surprises. We know how to break news to them and how not. So when to support them, when to leave them alone. So we know that person inside out means everything about them, every way they move. Sometimes we use the expression, we know what makes them tick like a clock. Tick tock, tick tock. Yeah, we know what makes them tick. We know them inside out. A fair weather friend. These are the friends you don't really want. A fair weather friend is a friend who's only with you and only calls himself a friend when the weather is good. That's the literal meaning. So when you've no problems in your life and you have no difficulties and you're not asking for advice or you're not looking for advice or you're not seeking help, well then you'll have plenty of fair weather friends. The difficulty will be when you have a personal problem, a serious problem, and you're hoping that your friend is there to give you that shoulder to lean on, the shoulder to cry on, the helping hand, the bit of good advice. When you're looking for that, unfortunately, fair weather friends are few and far between. You can't find them anywhere. Okay, so we could all do without fair weather friends and look for that really serious, long-term friendship, the person that will be with you through thick and thin. Okay, so fair weather friends, those that are only there during the good times. And when the bad times come, the difficulties, they're nowhere to be seen. Through thick and thin, well, this is always a great test for a friendship. We've been through thick and thin together. Thick and thin. Thick means good times. Thin means bad times. I was there when he needed me. She was there when I needed her. I was there when they needed me. So those are the tests of friendship. Not the fair weather friends that only turn up when the weather is good, but the guys that are there when you really need them through thick and thin. You lost your job, your friends were there to support you. The thin side. My wife had a baby and we had a great celebration. Your friends were there to enjoy and join in the celebrations, the thick time. So through thick and thin, good and bad. Yeah? Okay. So we all need friends and we all would love to have friendships like that through thick and thin. And then finally, when you have someone's back, it means you're going to protect them, you're going to support them, you're going to be there when they need you. Don't worry, I've got your back on this. So really, really good saying and lovely words to hear when you've got a difficult time or a problem. You talk to your friend and no matter what, they're not judgmental. That's the really important thing. And they're going to tell you at the end of all of this, okay, doesn't matter. You need some help. I'm there for you. I've got your back. Okay, I've got your back on this because you would do the same for me. And that's really what friends like to hear. I've got your back. You would do the same for me. Don't need to thank me. I'm there. When do you need me? When do you need to be collected? What do you need to be done? You have someone's back. Okay, so really good idioms. They're advanced English, advanced English idioms connected with friendship. So practice them. Try to understand exactly what they mean. You won't remember them all, but try to remember one or two or some of them that might really mean something to you. They might be quite poignant or relative to particular issues with your friendships at the moment. So it might make it easier to recollect them, easier to remember. Okay, let me go through them one more time. To go back a long way, know somebody for a very long time. To have your ups and downs. Things don't always work out perfectly. To hit it off means to get on quickly. To know somebody inside out, everything. Know how they tick, what makes them tick. To be on the same wavelength, or sometimes we say to be on the same page. To be like chalk and cheese. We're very different, but you know what? That's part of the beauty of the friendship. We're like chalk and cheese. To get on like a house on fire very quickly, really hit it off immediately we met each other. Something about him that I liked and something about me that he liked to get on like a house on fire. Occasionally a negative not to see eye to eye with somebody. So we don't agree about everything. Maybe they're only smaller things, but we don't see eye to eye on everything. To be with you, to be there through thick and thin, good times, bad times, bad times, good times through thick and thin. And then finally, to have someone's back, really to support them in their hour of need and when they really need you, not just that fair weather friend. 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 try lesson and we'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. Okay, so idioms connected with friendships, try them, see, do you understand them? Come back to me if you don't, www.englishlessonviaskype.com, you know the drill by now. I'm really, really happy to help you. And thanks for listening and join me again soon.