Episode 75
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Follow the text while you listen, then repeat useful sentences aloud.
Hi everyone! I am Georgiana, founder of SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help you to speak English fluently.
Do you want to sound more like an English native speaker?
Well, this is the perfect lesson for you. Today I'll teach you ten idioms that will make you sound more like a native speaker.
And with a Point of view story, you will improve your grammar, and at the same time, you'll practice the expressions in context.
Okay. Let's start!
1) GET OUT OF HAND: to become difficult to control.
When you lose control of things, they get out of hand.
Examples:
"There was an argument that got out of hand, and the police came."
"Your aggressive nature has gotten a bit out of hand."
"The demonstration is getting out of hand."
"It was only a joke but sadly got a little out of hand."
2) GET YOUR HEAD AROUND IT: to understand something.
Examples:
"I just can't get my head around the fact that she just broke up with me."
"I just can't get my head around the fact that I'm not getting promoted this year."
"Have you got your head around your new situation?"
3) POUND THE PAVEMENT: to walk the streets looking for a job.
Examples:
"You'll be pounding the pavement for months before you find another job."
"I'll need to pound the pavement to get a new job."
"Last y, ear, I spent three months pounding the pavement after I lost my job."
4) PULL A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT: to do something unexpected that may have seemed impossible.
Examples:
"Unless someone can pull a rabbit out the hat, I just don't see how we can fix the problem."
"I'm not sure how she does it, but Claire always pulls a rabbit out her hat and surprises me.
"It looks like I'll have to pull a few rabbits from the hat."
5) LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED: is an idiom that means to do everything possible to find something or to solve a problem.
Examples:
"We'll leave no stone unturned until we prove he is innocent."
"Thomas said he would leave no stone unturned in the search for peace."
"The police will leave no stone unturned in their search for the criminals."
6) GET IT OUT OF YOUR SYSTEM: It's when you have a strong urge to do something that you've wanted to do for a long time so that it stops being a burden.
Examples:
"I had to get it out of my system, so I finally told him I was moving to another country."
"After crying all night long, she finally got him out of her system."
"Last week I got a new car. I've wanted that for a long time. I'm glad that I finally got that out of my system. "
7)STEP UP YOUR GAME: Improve in some way, usually so that you can perform as well as others.
Examples:
"If you want to win the competition, you'll have to step up your game."
"Tom really needs to step up his game if he wants to stay at this firm."
"I really need to step up my game if I'm going to apply for this new job."
8) PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER: to calm down and behave normally.
Examples:
"Just pull yourself together. It's not worth crying about it."
"I hope he pulls himself together, soon or he'll lose the job."
"Right now, I have no choice but to pull myself together."
9) HANG IN THERE: wait and be patient.
Examples:
"I know you'd like to call her, but it's not the right thing to do right now. Just hang in there, and she'll call you."
"I know it can be really heavy, but you'll have to hang in there for another week.
"Hang in there, Jimmy. I promise you it will soon be all right."
10) BLEW ME AWAY: when something blows you away, you're extremely impressed by it.
Examples:
"It blew me away when I found out my brother was getting married."
"No matter how many times I've watched this movie, it still blows me away. The story is so convincing!"
"The way she danced tonight just blew me away. "
Let's listen to the new expressions once again:
Get Out Of Hand
Get Your Head Around It
Pound The Pavement
Pull A Rabbit Out Of A Hat
Leave No Stone Unturned
Get It Out Of Your System
Step Up Your Game
Pull Yourself Together
Hang In There
Blew Me Away
And don't worry about it. You probably won't remember the meaning right away. If that's the case, I recommend that you listen to the lesson several times until you're familiar with the new idioms.
And in the second part of this episode, you will practice the new expressions with a story.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
GRAMMAR MADE EASY
POV Story: Grammar in Context
Read the same story in two different points of view and notice how the grammar changes naturally.
| 01 |
First version First Person · Past Tense |
Hi, everyone! My name's Steve, and I'm a magician.
Some years ago, I wasn't a very good magician. Although I could make anything disappear, like watches, wallets, etc., I didn't know how to make them reappear again. I was ashamed and couldn't get my head around the fact that I was a complete failure.
Truth be told, I knew perfectly well that I had to step up my game if I really wanted to become successful.
There was something that I wanted to get out of my system, though. Every day I had the same idea in my head; I wanted to finish an online magic course I had started some years ago.
One day during one of my performances, things got out of hand when I made someone's Rolex disappear. The owner started a big fight when he realized he couldn't get his watch back. As a result, my boss finally got fed up with me and fired me.
After the initial shock, I pulled myself together and started pounding the pavement.
Three months went by, and I still couldn't find a job. Some days I felt hopeless and tried to cheer myself up by saying, "Hang in there!"
In my interview number 884, I pessimistically explained the same as in the previous interviews: that I was a magician who could make things disappear but not reappear.
To my great surprise, this time, I was immediately hired.
It turned out that my new employer was the head of the city's garbage department.
The man had a big problem. He urgently needed to make tons of garbage disappear. He swore he would leave no stone unturned until he came up with a solution. Then one day, he had a brilliant idea. He hired a magician for the task. We could say that he pulled a rabbit out of his hat this time.
And I didn't disappoint my new employer. I blew him away with my skills, and I became the best employee in the garbage department ever!
Since then, I've had a meaningful and happy life. I often reminded myself not to finish the online magic course. I didn't want to make anything reappear, especially with this new job.
| 02 |
Second version Third Person · Past Tense |
There was a guy named Steve. He was a magician though sadly, he wasn't a very good one. Although he could make anything disappear, like watches, wallets, etc., he didn't know how to make them reappear again. He was ashamed and couldn't get his head around the fact that he was a complete failure.
Truth be told, he knew perfectly well that he had to step up his game if he really wanted to become successful.
There was something that he wanted to get out of his system, though. Every day he had the same idea in his head; he wanted to finish an online magic course he had started some years ago.
One day during one of his performances, things got out of hand when he made someone's Rolex disappear. The owner started a big fight when he realized he couldn't get his watch back. As a result, Steve's boss finally got fed up with him and fired Steve.
After the initial shock, Steve pulled himself together and started pounding the pavement.
Three months went by, and he still couldn't find a job. Some days he felt hopeless and tried to cheer himself up by saying, "Hang in there!"
In his interview number 884, he pessimistically explained the same as in the previous interviews: that he was a magician who could make things disappear but not reappear.
To his great surprise, this time, he was immediately hired.
It turned out that his new employer was the head of the city's garbage department.
The man had a big problem. He urgently needed to make tons of garbage disappear. He swore he would leave no stone unturned until he came up with a solution. Then one day, he had a brilliant idea. He hired a magician for the task. We could say that he pulled a rabbit out of his hat this time.
Steve didn't disappoint his new employer. He blew him away with his skills, and he became the best employee of the garbage department ever!
Since then, Steve has had a meaningful and happy life. He often reminded himself not to finish the online magic course. He didn't want to make anything reappear, especially with this new job.
Thanks for listening, and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Review
Vocabulary
Review the most useful words and expressions before listening again.
Get out of hand
To become difficult or impossible to control.
Get your head around it
To understand or accept something difficult.
Pound the pavement
To walk around looking for work.
Pull a rabbit out of a hat
To achieve something surprising that seemed almost impossible.
Leave no stone unturned
To do everything possible to find something or solve a problem.
Get it out of your system
To finally do or express something so that the urge or feeling goes away.
Step up your game
To improve your performance or effort.
Pull yourself together
To calm down and regain control of your emotions.
Want more speaking practice? Continue with a complete audio course.
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