イギリス英会話ブログ

This time we have some more idioms and expressions.

First of all, have a look at these questions and statements. Then choose a suitable reply from the list below.

• What’s all that noise?
• Boxing is all right for men, but not for women.
• Do you want a lift?
• So, how long have you been learning English?
• Can you get there by seven?
• How do you get on with your in-laws?
• He’s great, isn’t he, that new teacher?

1. - That’s a pretty conservative view, isn’t it?
2. - Do you think so? I’m not that keen on him.
3. - It’s the neighbour from hell again.
4. - Only if you’re going my way.
5. - Pretty well, I suppose, all things considered.
6. - No, not really. The thing is, I’m supposed to be meeting Jim at 6.30.
7. - I suppose I’ve always been into it, really.
8. - You must be joking! He’s a pain in the neck.

Next, we’ll take each conversation in turn and talk about the meaning.

1. ‘pretty conservative view’ - ‘pretty’ means ‘quite’ or ‘fairly’; ‘conservative’ is often used to talk about people who don’t take risks, who always ‘play it safe’ - as well as the normal meaning of ‘holding conventional views about things’. ‘View’ here means ‘opinion’.
2. ‘be keen on’ - means to like or be enthusiastic about someone or something.
3. ‘What’s all that noise?’ - the ‘all’ emphasizes that there is a lot of noise. ‘Neighbour from hell’ means a really terrible neighbour. You can change this expression quite freely - for example, ‘the boss from hell’.
4. ‘Do you want a lift?’ - means ‘Do you want me to take you (in my car)?’. ‘Only if you’re going my way.’ means that if you are already heading in a similar direction as me I will take a lift in your car, otherwise I will not. There is a feeling here which reminds me of the expressions ‘Don’t go out of your way.’ or ‘Please don’t put yourself out’. These are polite expressions which we use to communicate to people who want to help us, that there is no need to do anything unusual in order to help.
5. ‘How do you get on with…’ means ‘do you have a good relationship with…’. ‘I suppose’ is often used to express reluctance. For example, “Do you like natto?” - “I suppose so.’; this feels like ‘It’s alright’ or ‘It’s OK’. Its not a very enthusiastic response, so try not to use it too much. In this idiom, ‘I suppose’ feels like ‘I guess so’ or ‘I think so, though I have some reservations’ or ‘I think so, but maybe not 100%’. ‘All things considered’ means ‘on balance’ or ‘at the end of the day’. The feeling with this whole expression is that ‘considering they are my in-laws, and people often do not get on with their in-laws (for various reasons), I guess I can say that we get on OK’.
6. ‘The thing is’ - means ‘the problem is’.
7. ‘I’ve always been into it’ - means ‘I’ve always liked it’, ‘I’ve always been interested in it’. If your nephew spends all his time playing computer games, you might say, ‘He’s really into that computer, isn’t he?’. If you’re really interested in British music, you might say, ‘I’ve been into British rock music since the early ’90s.’
8. ‘What’s ___ like?’ means ‘What kind of person/thing/place is he/it?’. ‘A pain in the neck’ can be used to talk about someone or something that is a nuisance, or a bother, or something that gives you trouble. Sometimes, this expression is shortened to ‘it’s a pain.’ or ‘He’s a pain’. In very casual speech, people say ‘arse’ instead of ‘neck’, but this sounds quite rude, so be careful. ‘It’s a pain in the arse’. By the way, ‘arse’ means ‘bottom’, ‘rear end’. The Americans spell it ‘ass’.

OK. That’s it for this post. Check back soon for more idioms and expressions.