Short English Idioms Native Speakers Use in Everyday Conversation [586]

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In this episode, you’ll learn short two-word expressions that native speakers use to describe situations, people, moods, and everyday experiences. These phrases may look simple, but their real meaning is often not obvious from the individual words.

This lesson will help you understand expressions like these when you hear them in conversations, films, podcasts, and workplace discussions. You’ll also learn how to use them correctly, so your English sounds less translated and more natural.

After listening, you’ll be able to:

• understand common short idioms more easily
 • use natural expressions in the right context
 • avoid translating word for word
 • make your spoken English sound more fluent and confident

If you want to understand real English better and add more natural phrases to your speaking, this episode will help.

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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. 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. Okay, so what are we going to Well, in particular, we're going idioms with two words. So two word idioms or English way you wish to look at it. I've got eleven of them. So I'm going to give them to you And then I'm going to give you a So let's start first one fuddy And I'll stress in terms of the important for duddy, topsy That's number three mumbo jumbo. Wishy washy. Wishy washy. Next one hotshot. Now little tricky there because it's two words joined together. Hot shot, hot shot. Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh to Humdrum. Another one word, but two words. Push pushed together. Hum. Drum. Humdrum. Pitter patter. Pitter patter. Tip top, tip top. And finally, a Wheeler dealer. Wheeler dealer. So let me go back and give you So fuddy duddy. When somebody is a fuddy duddy, they're a little bit old fashioned. They're a little bit They don't like to change. They're not going to do anything And generally they're a little Okay. So if you're described as fuddy Okay. So just be careful when somebody calls you that, you're probably about to go out and change your attire, change the clothes that you wear. So all my aunt, she's a real You know, when she arrives, skirt and her woolen hat and picks up the tea with the old lady at a tea party. So she's a real fuddy duddy. Somebody a little bit old Well, when things are topsy all over the place. Yeah. Okay. So when you come into the office weeks and there are papers piled and envelopes there and oh, And you say, oh, everything's I'm just back from a holiday. And look at all this work that I Or indeed, if you're redecorating the home and you've moved the bed out of the room, you've moved the clothes out of the wardrobes, you've put boxes here and your friend comes round to have a chat with you and say, oh, come on in, but don't mind the place. It's real topsy turvy. Everything in a mess because we're in the middle of redecorating. So if you don't mind sitting on have a cup of coffee or have a Topsy turvy mumbo jumbo. Well, we use mumbo jumbo when somebody is talking something we completely miss. We don't understand any of it. So they might be talking real jargon about science, for example, or science fiction or something. We have no clue what they're what's all that mumbo jumbo. You know what? What is he saying? Why can't you speak normal Why can't you speak simple Try and explain it to me in I don't understand any of it. So it's real mumbo jumbo. Could be the way politicians Or it could be the way high some new project that they're completely over your head. Well, it's all mumbo jumbo to I have no idea what it means Well, when something is wishy washy, it's usually an answer to something. So when somebody asks you to well, yeah, like it might be be that, but I don't know. So and you say, look, that's not That's wishy washy. I need the facts. What are the facts? Well, actually, I don't know I'm just guessing. Well, look, that's no good to It's you can't give wishy washy So if you're trying to help your for an exam. You want them to be specific. You want to say, okay, when you sure what you're saying. Make sure it's very, very clear that the teacher can understand you and you give some really good examples. But don't give something that's score any points. You'll only get a mark for So something wishy washy, something that's not It's really a non-entity of a Wishy washy hotshot. As I said, this is the two words were pushed together as one word. Oh, he's a real hotshot. Or he thinks he's a hotshot. He's he thinks he's the best. He thinks he's better than You know, he came here with a He came into the sales He's beating the targets every Ah, he's a real high flier. He's a real hotshot. Or indeed, he thinks he's a But really, nobody likes him So, hotshot, somebody really, But they have to be very careful because in doing that, they might stand on a few toes along the way. And people don't like that. They feel them a little bit So a hot shot next. Whoosh, whoosh. Well, when we say whoosh, whoosh, it's it should be a secret. Yeah. Can you tell me anything about Oh, don't don't talk about it Nobody is supposed to know that It's hush hush. I think they're going to make Okay. So everything is hush hush. Oh, I hear Mary and John are Oh, no, don't don't say They haven't told their parents There's a little hush hush. I think they're going to break What do you mean, break the Well, you know, it's going to be And your only daughter. So they'll have to spend a lot Splash out on the the big day. So at the moment it's a little So say nothing until you hear, talk about it. So at the moment it's hush hush. So hush hush means closely They don't want anybody to know Okay, so it could be the government planning some really important strategy to get the economy moving, but nobody is allowed to mention anything until the big day when they have a big press gathering and there's an announcement by the Prime Minister. But at the moment it's hush It's really, really secret. Okay, dilly dally or to dilly When we dilly dally, we delay, or we procrastinate or we drag our feet. These are different expressions to dilly dally. It's a very, very old fashioned There's a song, an old song that time in the UK, which is don't So when you dilly dally, it feet or you takes you a long I often remember when I was mother, and of course you'd be of all, you didn't want to go. And it's a long way and you'd And she said, come on, why are We'll never get home if you you a biscuit. Boom! I was off like a shot back home Okay, so dilly dally, drag your Dilly dally means to be delayed something being very, very slow. So whatever you do, don't dilly Humdrum. The humdrum of life. Again, this is one word made up Push them together. Humdrum. So humdrum is a little bit like Something a little bit boring. Something every day. Ah, you know yourself. The normal humdrum of life. So what has you down? Why are you a little bit Ah, you know, nothing really exciting happens these days, you know? I get up in the morning, I have come home, I have dinner, I the sport, whatever I do. Yeah. So yeah, so that's just life. Oh, well that's it. That's the normal humdrum of That's what we all do. Yeah. But wouldn't you like to be doing something a little bit more exciting? Wouldn't you like a little bit Yeah, but you're not a risk I know, but just occasionally I would like to get out of this humdrum, this boring, banal existence. All words that mean a little bit humdrum pitter patter. Well, when your daughter or son come home to you and say, I've got some great news, you're going to be grandparents, you're going to be a grandmother and grandfather. And you say, we're shortly going little feet or the pitter patter Okay, so pitter patter is when baby arriving in the family or It'd be great to hear the pitter baby first starts to walk and The pitter patter of tiny feet. Of course, you could be talking because they have a little they're puppies and kittens. But in most cases, we're talking about the expectant mother announcing the news to her mother that she's going to be a grandmother, and then everybody will be so delighted to hear the sound, the pitter patter of tiny feet. Okay, tip top, everything is tip top, meaning everything is in perfect condition. Okay, so oh, tip top, that means Oh, your mother is coming to I want everything to be tip top. You better get out there and And while you're at it, cut the harm to redecorate her room. She'd be here in a couple of Just a lick of paint here and But I really want things to be So she's got no room for You know what she's like. She's thinking, mm, that looks a Oh, that could do with a lick of So let's get the place spick and Let's get it really looking We want it in tip top condition. Or if somebody's been in they come home and you go round are you feeling? I'm tip top today, meaning I'm feeling feeling on top of the world. I really am good that stay in It got me in the right way. I've lost a bit of weight. I've got over that little problem so everything is looking up. I'm really tip top in tip top Okay, tip top and then finally a Well, wheels are the wheels on a And usually when we refer to a It's somebody usually selling second hand cars because they have sometimes a bit of a reputation. So my apologies to anybody out there who sells second hand cars, but often they have a reputation that they are really trying to get a really good deal. And the person buying the car So Wheeler dealer, somebody Buy one, sell one, buy one, sell Always on the move. Okay. Oh, look at this car. It's the best you could buy. You won't have any problems if want to hurry up because there's You know, the patter that the salesman has to try and encourage you to buy that particular car. So a real Wheeler dealer doesn't have to relate specifically to people who sell or buy and sell cars. So anybody in this sales business, anybody who's got the patter, anybody who's got the ability to coerce or persuade people to buy what they're selling, these are what we call Wheeler dealer. Oh, be careful with him. He's a real Wheeler dealer. Yeah, he'll be buying from you. He'll be selling to the next Selling to you. Buying from the next person. Okay? He's a real Wheeler dealer. Very quick and very good at what Okay, well, those are all of those, uh, English idioms with two words. Okay, there's a couple of them just with one word, but they're actually two words pushed together. So let me give them to you one careful with the pronunciation. D d d a real fuddy duddy, topsy Everything upside down mumbo I can't understand a word. Wishy washy. Mhm. Not really a very strong answer, He's a hotshot. He's gonna go far. Hush hush. Very secretive. Hush, hush to dilly dally. To drag your feet. To be late. Humdrum, just the ordinary, humdrum, everyday, banal way of life. Humdrum. Pitter patter, pitter patter of TipTop. Everything in tip top condition. Perfect. And then finally, a Wheeler A real Wheeler dealer. Person who likes to do deals, right to the very end. A Wheeler dealer. Okay, so as I said, those are the English idioms with two words. As always, if you want to join me in the future, you can and www.englishlessonviaskype.com. If you want to write to me, you And I'm always happy to hear suggestions that you want me to As always, thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Join me again soon.