Practise your clear speech with these English idioms
It is important to speak English with a good, clear accent so people understand what you are saying and you blend in. While you are using your new, clear accent in English, you can practice using the following idioms to impress your friends- besides which it’s also fun to use idioms! Let’s start with the title:-
‘to wow someone’
When you wow someone, you do something to amaze them or gain their admiration. For example, ‘I wowed my friends when I won first prize in the robotics competition.’ ‘He wowed the audience when he made the woman disappear!’
‘stay tuned’
This is originally from ‘tuning in’ to radio or television – meaning to turn it on and stay on that frequency.
When used as an idiom, it means to continue to pay attention to something, or to keep watching for further developments.
For example, ‘Stay tuned for our next exciting product.’ ‘Stay tuned to see who the next guest is on our show.’
‘give something a boost’
To give something a boost is to increase it, or to assist in further development or progress.
For example, ‘He went to the gym everyday at 7 a.m. to boost his muscles and to boost his love life!’
‘on the go’
To be on the go means to be in motion / moving around from place to place, or busy and active doing lots of things.
For example, ‘My new ipod is great for listening to lectures and music while I’m on the go!’ “You’re always on the go. Don’t you ever stop and rest?’
‘half a mind’ (make sure you don’t pronounce the /l/ sound in half- the /l/ sound is silent)
If you have half a mind to do something, you haven’t decided to do it, but you are thinking seriously about doing it.
For example, ‘I have half a mind to tell her what I really think of her bad behaviour.’
‘I am in half a mind to buy that pink sofa with purple spots for the lounge room, even though I know it doesn’t match the other furniture.’
‘pass the buck’
If you pass the buck, you avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible.
For example, ‘When the deal didn’t work out, they passed the buck onto the head of their department.’
‘Don’t try and pass the buck! You were the one who wanted to buy that old, cheap car that doesn’t work properly.’
‘scratch the surface’
When you scratch the surface of something, you have a superficial knowledge or understanding of it.
For example, ‘He felt he had only just scratched the surface after his first year at law school.’
‘I have read 10 articles on quantum physics already, and feel I have only just started to scratch the surface!’
If you want more idioms to impress your friends with, have a look Here
Enjoy,
Best wishes,
Esther
