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- Hello everyone,

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and welcome back to "English with Lucy."

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Today, I have an idioms video for you.

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I'm sure that you will agree with me

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that English is sometimes
quite ridiculous.

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So today I have compiled
15 of the funniest idioms,

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along with examples, of course.

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These are idioms that you can
use in real-life situations,

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but they are also idioms
that have funny meanings,

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are just a bit strange,
or tickle me in some way.

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If something tickles
you, it makes you laugh.

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You can download the free
PDF worksheet for this class,

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it's got all of the idioms
plus extra examples.

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I always like my students
to have nice worksheets

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to keep with them.

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Just click on the link
in the description box,

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sign up to my mailing list,

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Right, let's get started
with the first idiom.

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The first idiom is a lovely
one, as are all of them, really.

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It is, a storm in a teacup,
a storm in a teacup.

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And interestingly, in American English,

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they say it in a slightly different way,

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they say a tempest in a teapot,
so it's still tea-related.

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Now this means lots of
unnecessary anger and worry,

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or drama about a matter
that is not important.

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Unnecessary drama.

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For example,

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"She's made an official
complaint to the CEO

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about the type of cheese
in the cheese sandwiches

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at the canteen."

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This seems to me to be
a storm in a teacup,

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a lot of unnecessary worry and anger

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about something that just
isn't that important.

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Number two, this is one that
I have mentioned before,

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many years ago, but it's so
important, and so widely used,

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that I feel comfortable saying it again.

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It is, Bob's your uncle, Bob's
your uncle, very important.

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This is a phrase that we say

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when we have reached the end
of a set of instructions,

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or when we've reached a result.

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It translates as, "And there
it is," or "There you have it."

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So an example would be,

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"To make a cup of mint tea,

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boil a kettle, add a
teabag, wait two minutes,

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and Bob's your uncle.

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There you have it."

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Now, number three is slightly morbid.

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It is, as dead as a doornail.

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And this means very, very dead.

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You couldn't be more dead
than a doornail, I guess.

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An example would be,

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"I tried to save the mouse
that my cat brought in,

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but it was as dead as a doornail."

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Similarly, along the same lines,

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we also have number four,

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which is, to kick the
bucket, to kick the bucket.

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Now this is a verb and it means to die.

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To die, to kick the bucket, to die.

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I don't know why I'm
saying die in such a, die,

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I just can't help it, die.

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Let's move on.

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Now the origins of this
phrase are quite interesting.

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It's because when people died by hanging,

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they would stand on a bucket
and then kick the bucket away,

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and that's where to kick
the bucket comes from.

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An example, "Unfortunately,

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our favourite neighbour kicked
the bucket three years ago

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but we still feel her presence
in the neighbourhood."

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And that's true,

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my absolute favourite neighbour died

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at the ripe age of 93, I think.

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But every time I go
home to visit my parents

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I always expect to see her,

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and then I realise she's not there.

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We miss her a lot but
she had a fantastic life.

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Number five is, everything
but the kitchen sink,

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everything but the kitchen sink.

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Now if you've never
heard this idiom before,

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I would love to know what
you think it might mean

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in the comments section,

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and then let's see if you're right.

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So pause now and write that.

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Okay, I'm starting, it
means everything imaginable.

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This phrase became popular in World War II

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when newspapers would report

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that everything but the kitchen sink

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was thrown at the enemy,
everything imaginable.

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An example, "Will packs
lightly for travel,

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but I throw everything
but the kitchen sink

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into my suitcase" -ses, plural.

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I'm one of those.

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Number six, oh, I love this one.

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It's so expressive, it's hilarious.

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It is, the lights are
on, but no one's home.

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I think I mentioned this one in my,

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"Seven Polite Ways to Call
Someone Stupid" video,

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where I went through the seven ways

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in which I had been an
idiot throughout my life.

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If you would like to see some serious,

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serious self-deprecation,
then do watch that video.

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This is used to say
that somebody is stupid,

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even though they may appear normal,

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what a lovely phrase.

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An example,

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"Jennifer has a degree in interior design,

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but the lights are on and no one's home."

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Number seven is, donkey's
years, donkey's years.

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This is used to describe an action

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that has continued on
for a very long time.

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And supposedly this
originates from rhyming slang,

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donkey's ears used to mean years

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but now they've just joined together

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to become donkey's years.

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An example, "Will has
lived in the countryside

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for donkey's years.

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He just wouldn't survive in the city,

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he's lived in the countryside for years."

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Number eight is, to do a
runner, to do a runner.

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And this means to leave
a place hastily, quickly,

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in order to avoid an unpleasant situation

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or to avoid paying.

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An example,

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"They ordered the caviar and the lobster,

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but when the bill arrived,
they did a runner.

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They left hastily to avoid paying."

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Number nine, nothing to write home about,

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nothing to write home about.

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If something or someone is
nothing to write home about,

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it means they are not very
exciting or not very special.

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An example,

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"I met a boy at the ice rink,

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but he's nothing to write home about.

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He's not that special, I'm
not that excited about him."

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Or, "The meal was nice,

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but it was nothing to write home about,

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it was nothing extraordinary."

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Number 10, this is one of my
mother's favourite phrases,

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she has a lot.

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It is, keep your eyes peeled,
keep your eyes peeled.

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And this means keep your
eyes open, or be vigilant,

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keep on the watch.

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And it's not because she's
worried about my security,

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she actually uses this
phrase if she's looking

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to buy something and we're in a shop.

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She says, "Keep your eyes
peeled for green scarves,"

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or, "Keep your eyes
peeled for any calendars

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with chickens on them."

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It's a very good phrase,
I recommend you use it.

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Keep your eyes peeled.

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Number 11 is, to pick someone's brain,

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to pick someone's brain,

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and this is very weird sounding, isn't it?

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To pick at somebody's brain,
to look for information,

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but that basically is
what it means, in a way.

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It means to obtain information
by questioning somebody

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who is well-informed on a subject.

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So it's something you
hear in business a lot,

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and it's a really annoying question.

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"Can I pick your brain for a minute?"

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It basically means,

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can I ask you loads and loads of questions

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about something that you know lots about

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and offer you nothing in return.

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An example,

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"Colin, can I pick your brain
about that new project?"

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And undoubtedly, Colin would
be rolling his eyes inside.

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"Yes, you can pick my brain."

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Number 12 is, to put feelers out,

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or sometimes we say put the feelers out.

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And this means to make
informal suggestions,

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so as to test a concept before
any final decisions are made.

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So it's basically to test an idea

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by asking people's opinions
before they commit to something.

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An example,

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"Can I suggest that we put the feelers out

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to see if the employees actually want

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a Zoom Christmas party this year?"

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I honestly cannot imagine
anything worse than

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a Christmas party on Zoom.

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I'm sorry if you've just organised one,

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but that sounds like hell.

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Oh, number 13, this is a great one,

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but they're all great 'cause I chose them.

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It is, the best thing since sliced bread.

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This means that something is the best

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and most useful innovation
or invention of recent times.

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It means that something
is a good invention.

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Now you might be asking,
"Why sliced bread?"

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Well, I asked myself that question

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and I did the research.

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When sliced bread was first
brought to market in 1928,

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it was a massive deal.

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There were huge marketing
campaigns about sliced bread.

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It was marketed as the
greatest step forward

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in baking innovation
since bread was wrapped.

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An example, "When flip phones came out,

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I thought that they were the
best thing since sliced bread.

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I miss hanging up so sassily."

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Number 14 is, take a chill
pill, take a chill pill.

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And this is a slightly patronising way

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to tell somebody to calm down or to relax.

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It never fails to enrage
me when someone tells me

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to take a chill pill.

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To be honest, it enrages
me when someone tells me

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to calm down.

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If someone is angry,

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telling them to calm down
often makes it worse.

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An example, "At the picnic,

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I told Mary to take a chill pill

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'cause she was freaking out about a wasp."

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And number 15 is, I'll show myself out,

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I'll show myself out.

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And this is used when you
have disgraced yourself.

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It means, "I'll leave, you
don't have to show me the door,

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I will leave by choice."

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Nowadays, it is almost always
used after telling a bad joke.

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You tell the joke, the reaction is awful,

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and you just say, "I'll show myself out.

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Bye-bye, thank you, everyone."

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I've got a joke, let's try it.

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What's the difference between
snowmen and snow women?

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Snowballs, snowballs.

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I'll show myself out.

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Right, that is it for today's lesson,

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those were our 15 funny idioms.

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Extra homework is to let
me know of any ridiculous,

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hilarious idioms that
you have in your language

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that don't translate well to English.

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I would love to know the
random quirks of your language.

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Please put them in the
comments section down below.

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Don't forget to check out
the Lingoda Team Challenge,

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the link to sign up is
in the description box.

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You can also get the free PDF worksheet

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that I have lovingly created for you.

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The link for that is also
in the description box.

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Don't forget to connect with
me on all of my social media.

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I've got my Facebook, my
Instagram, and my mailing list.

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I've also got my personal channel

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where I show our life on an English farm

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and all of the videos are subtitled

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so you can use them
for listening practise.

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I will see you soon for another lesson.

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Mwah.

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(upbeat music)