Common English Idioms to Describe People Naturally [582]

🚨Improve your English with structured online lessons. Book a free trial and get clear feedback on your level, pronunciation and speaking. Book here ➡️  https://www.englishlessonviaskype.com/trial

In this episode, you’ll learn a range of common idioms that are used to talk about people in everyday situations. These expressions will help you understand what others mean more easily and give you more options when you speak.

The focus is on meaning, context, and natural usage, so you can recognise these expressions when you hear them and use them with confidence.

After listening, you will be able to:

• understand idioms used to describe people
 • follow conversations more easily
 • express opinions about others more naturally
 • avoid sounding too basic or repetitive

If you want to sound more natural and better understand how people are described in real English, this episode will help.

If you often hesitate, make mistakes, or feel unsure when speaking English, book a trial lesson. We assess your level, correct you clearly, and give you a focused plan so you know exactly what to improve. 

Book a free trial here: https://www.englishlessonviaskype.com/trial

If you prefer to study on your own, explore our online courses. They give you structured lessons to build stronger grammar, clearer pronunciation, and more confident speaking step by step

Discover all courses and guides: https://englishlessonviaskype.com/confidence

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. And for those of you and your to one lessons, well, you know 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 what have we got in our Well, in our lesson today, the and idioms that we will use, person or people. Okay, so advanced English and describe a person. I've got actually eighteen of these, so I'm going to go through them slowly and I'll give you examples when you can use them. Number one, the scum of the Oh, it's a bad one. This the scum of the earth. So we use this expression or nasty about somebody. We really don't like them. They're not a very pleasant They are evil. They are mean. So we describe them as the scum of the earth, and the scum is the dirt on the soil, the dirt on the ground, the scum of the earth. Or he's the scum of the earth. He's a really bad apple in that Every bit of trouble they've had He's the scum of the earth. In a similar way, the next one, the idiom, is a nasty piece of work. And when we describe somebody as somebody you want to meet on a Yeah, it's somebody who is likely to attack you and ask questions later. So somebody who acts, the tough Maybe he's a member of a gang. Carries a weapon. But whatever he does, he's a And you need to stay away from A nasty piece of work. A loose cannon. Well, when somebody is a loose cannon, he's likely to go off in any direction. That's literally what it means. So when somebody says something, he's going to say or who he's So he could actually insult He could give away the trade He's just got a big mouth and is You need to be very careful giving David that information because he's like a loose cannon. He's liable to tell anybody know where it will go. So be really, really careful with the information you give him. He's like a loose cannon. Big cheese. Well, when somebody is described as a big cheese, it means he or she is a really important person. Either in that business in the school or wherever he might be, regarded as really important. Oh, yeah. You can't meet him. You have no chance of getting to He's a real big cheese these You know, he drives a big fancy He's got a big, important job. No chance of meeting him. He's a real big cheese. Next. Still on the topic of food, we can describe somebody as a tough cookie. Okay, well, a cookie is nice to chew, but if they are overdone or burnt or you'll hurt your teeth. So somebody who's a tough cookie break or not. So someone who's easy to Oh, you'll have great difficulty getting that budget past the boss. He's a real tough cookie when it So you want to have your information really well prepared. And when you have your budget, and the figures because he's a somebody really difficult. Shrinking violet. We often use this in the He or she is no shrinking A shrinking violet is something plant and it disappears. Okay, but when we say that it means they're not going to They're going to stand up for They're going to be argumentative, and it's not going to be easy to push them around. So again, we might say, well, You know, when you say something really strong about it because She'll demand answers and she'll So you're not going to get She's no shrinking violet. We can also describe people as their life and soul of the party. So when somebody is the life and soul of the party, they're the person, the first person you hear when you walk in the door, you're the the person you hear laughing. They will be surrounded by a crowd of people entertaining everybody. Making sure people are having Joining in the games. Having the fun. Starting to sing song. Ah, so you know what he's like. He's a really. He's a laugh a minute. He's the life and soul of any He's the first person you'll when you issue your invitations. The life and soul of the party. A real busy body. A real busy body. Well, somebody who is a busy body is somebody who's always got their nose into everybody else's business. They want to know what's They want to know what people They want to know what people They want to know what car live, all of this. They're a real busy body. Oh, be careful with the She's a real busy body. Yeah. Always into everybody else's So just be really, really She'll find out anyway. But don't offer anything. Otherwise, she'll never leave She's a real busybody. Number nine, God's gift to the Well, when people think they are God's gift to the world, they have a high opinion of themselves. They feel they're the best at They feel you should be honored They feel that you should be honored to be even sitting beside them. Ah, him. He thinks he's a God's gift to Ah. I think if he fell into the river, he'd come up with fish in his pocket. Yeah, he's. He thinks he's God's gift to the A crybaby. Well, this is the word we used was always moaning and groaning. And if he fell down in the Hey, if you kicked him in the Oh, if you took something from whatever it was, he'd be a real crybaby. And some people just never and they're always moaning and A real crybaby. That's number ten. Now, number eleven is a fuddy So somebody who is a fuddy duddy ways, a little bit old fashioned Certainly in their attitude to life, they're very, very conservative and unlikely to do anything adventurous. We don't want to ask him. He's a real fuddy duddy. Does everything by the rule I mean, he wouldn't. I don't know, he wouldn't even throw a bit of paper on the ground. Let's try it with somebody else to agree to it. And it's just literally he's no He's a fuddy duddy stuck in his Okay. And then number twelve, somebody who's described as a, a good egg. Well, a good egg is somebody ah, trustworthy, he's honest. He's just an all round good egg. It's a very British English Oh, he's a good egg. He was always good at school. He'd never tell tales on He was a swot, studied hard but all round just a good egg and nobody had a bad word to say about him. Set in your ways? Well, we earlier on referred to a fuddy duddy, and this is something similar. When somebody is set in their of a rut. They don't like to change. They wear the same type of They go on the same sort of They drive the same sort of car. They they're just happy to go in They won't look to change. They won't look to move Ah, there's no point. You know, he's Robert. He's just very set in his ways. He's been like that for years. I think I'm surprised you He just never, never changes every time you suggest something. Ah. We'll see, we'll see. So very set in his way. No. No sense of adventure. No free spirit set in his ways. A smart arse. Well, this is a real Irish Him haha. That's smart arse. So a smart arse is somebody who's got a clever remark about everything. He might actually be quite with the answer. First of all, he's always the guy coming up with a smart response. Might be a little sarcastic. Yeah, ironic. But you know, underneath it all, But he's a real smart arse, so, He likes to let the boss know I bet he was the same at school. A real smart arse. Everybody liked to see him fall Somebody has a screw loose. This is number fifteen in my To have a screw loose. Well, when somebody has a screw loose, loose, it means he's a little bit mad, a little bit crazy. Don't worry about him. He says some really strange I mean, everybody has a little a real screw loose. So if you give him any suggestion about doing something wild, he'll just lose it completely. I mean, you have to be really, So I think he really needs to go I mean, he's a nice guy, but, you know, give him a couple of beers and he goes absolutely crazy. He's got a real screw loose or something is a little bit difficult. And psychologically I'm not so say in English, one slice short Yeah. So he, he might not be the full So he's he's got a screw loose, a little bit unreliable, psychologically unstable, just a little bit mad to have a short fuse. So this is number sixteen to A fuse is a wire that they used up the bank vault or blowing up light the fuse, and then they'd it would explode. When somebody has a short fuse, really quickly and you want to So when somebody has a short really quick bad temper and they minute and then 30s later, boom. Yeah, they're shouting the something goes wrong. So we would describe him as Be very, very careful when you I would stand back because you could be in the way of a big blast. So to have a short fuse. Number seventeen is somebody to This is an old expression. Most people, I think, know what So somebody has their head in It means that they can't quite also means they are daydreaming Oh, come on, you know the way he And Martin, he's always goes around with his head in the clouds. He never sees anything. He's always thinking about his gaming or he's thinking about something else. I'm not so sure. He never has his mind on the He never has his mind on the So it's not really relevant to involve him because he's continually got his head in the clouds, never has any ideas to contribute. So he'll come along. We'll just tell him what we're He won't mind, but don't involve him in decision making because you won't get any decision out of him. He's constantly got his head in the clouds, so it's up there somewhere, not able to see anything, doesn't think about anybody. And then finally a know it all. When somebody is a know it all They think they know everything. They think they know it all. If you have a problem with the to fix it. You've got a problem with the He'll tell you how to fix it. Problem with your car. He'll tell you how to do it. Ask him to show you. No chance. But he's a know it all. He knows everything. He knows about politics. He knows who to get to do this. He knows what's happening in the Oh, so, so annoying. Sometimes he's right. But, you know, sometimes I think Yeah. So. And know it all. Somebody who thinks they know Okay, so there we have eighteen of a person. You might not know them all. Some of them are worth You should try and practice some You know the drill by now. Practice a few every day until See how you can apply them. Indeed, there are so many of You'd probably be probably be your list of friends and appoint descriptions to many of your But don't tell them. Don't tell them the bad ones Okay, so practice. If you need any more help, come www.englishlessonviaskype.com I'd be very, very happy to help you. Okay. Thanks for listening. This is Harry saying goodbye and