Farmacia - Lessico - Trascrizione
Hello everybody! Welcome to the EnglishBlog. In this podcast, you’ll be learning some unusual English idioms that use parts of the body.
Before starting, let me first explain that you’ll be listening to some English idioms, you’ll then hear a short explanation of these phrases, followed by an example of how they are used.
So let’s start!
Woman: A pain in the neck
Man: The neck is the part of the body that joins your head to your shoulders. “A pain,” is an unpleasant feeling you have when a part of your body has been hurt.
However, a “pain in the neck” is an idiom that means somebody or something makes you angry or annoyed.
For example:
Woman: Just look at the traffic, it’s impossible to find a parking space.
Man: You’re telling me, I waste an hour sometimes, just driving round, looking for a place to park.
Woman: It’s such a pain in the neck, they really need to build more car parks.
Woman: To touch a sore spot
Man: Sore is an adjective to describe a painful part of the body, especially when touched. But, the idiom to “touch a sore spot” means to talk about a subject that is likely to make somebody upset or angry when mentioned.
Now listen to this example:
Woman: I saw Sue earlier, has she got her promotion yet?
Man: No, don’t mention it to her, you’ll be touching a sore spot.
Woman: OK, I was only asking.
Woman: To sweeten the pill
Man: “Sweeten,” is a verb that means to make something sweet by adding sugar. “A pill” is a noun that means a small round piece of medicine, like an aspirin.
However, “to sweeten the pill,” is an idiom, that means to try and make it easier for somebody to receive bad news or an unpleasant situation.
Listen to this short conversation:
Woman: Do you love me?
Man: Of course my dear.
Woman: For better or for worse....?
Man: Yes, why? What’s happened? You’re sweetening the pill for something, I know you.
Woman: Well it wasn’t my fault, but you know the new car you bought me.
Man: Don’t tell me you’ve had another crash? Let me see it….
Woman: A bitter pill to swallow.
Man: This is similar to another idiom “hard to swallow.”
“To swallow” is a verb that means to make food, drink etc. go down in your throat to your stomach. However, this idiom means that it “is a difficult or unpleasant situation to accept, believe or digest.
Listen to this:
Woman: Can you believe that Sara has left John, and has already moved in with Tom?
Man: I know, I can’t believe it. I saw John yesterday, he looked really depressed and angry, he said it was a bitter pill to swallow, as things had moved so fast.
Woman: Poor guy, he had no idea what was going on.
Woman: If you wish you can hear this lesson again. In the meantime we hope we have helped you to be more confident with your English. Watch out for the next topic. Thank you for using the EnglishBlog
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