If You Know These Idioms, Your English is Excellent!

Your English is advanced, but you still don't sound like a native speaker. What's missing? One easy way to recognize a native speaker is by how many idioms and expressions they're using. For example, a non-native speaker might say, Let's start the project. But a native speaker might say, Let's get the ball rolling. Or a non-native speaker might say, He knows all the details about that job. But a native speaker might say, He knows all the ins and outs of the job. And ins and outs is an example of an idiom that native speakers use all the time. In this video, I will give you a fill-in-the-blank quiz to test your knowledge of some common idioms. Many of these idioms are used in a professional setting, but you will also hear them in everyday conversations. Do you know them? And do you use them? The more of these idioms you know and use, the closer you are to having native fluency. And don't worry if you don't know all of them, if you're not quite there yet. I will explain what each idiom means, and I will give you sample sentences so that you can start using them. And then you will hear some native speakers use them as well. Keep track of your score and let me know at the end how many of them you got right. Okay, let's get started. Let's look at the first idiom. Which idiom means to get to the point without wasting time? To talk about an important part of the subject and not waste time with things that are not so important. The idiom is to cut to the what? What's the word? To cut to the chase. This idiom has an interesting origin. It comes from the early days of Hollywood movies. In some movies, there are a lot of dialogues, and maybe they're often boring to the audiences. The most exciting part of the movie is the chase scene, like a car chase or two people chasing each other. And the director would tell the film editors to literally cut to the chase, to delete the boring parts of the movie, and to jump straight to the chase scene to keep the audience interested and excited. He told them to cut to the chase. And we can say, let's cut to the chase and discuss the main issue. Or you can say to someone, just cut to the chase and tell me what happened. I don't want to hear all the little details. Just cut to the chase. I didn't want to hear the long story, so I asked him to cut to the chase. Let's listen to how some native speakers used it. I'm going to cut to the chase and show you exactly what you need. So let's cut to the chase and get straight to it. So unfortunately, to cut to the chase, we haven't seen the dark matter yet. Let's look at the next idiom. Which idiom means to do more than what is expected in order to help someone? To put in more time or more effort than is required. The idiom is to go the extra what? Do you know the answer? The extra mile. To go the extra mile. For example, we can say, she always goes the extra mile to ensure client satisfaction. She got a promotion because she constantly goes the extra mile on every project. Let's listen to some native speakers using it. You know, one who has passion, one who's dependable, one who's willing to work hard and go the extra mile. Have higher perseverance and to go the extra mile to help the company succeed. I do think they actually go the extra mile to assist us. Do you know this idiom? It means to dominate a particular market. To blank the market. What do we say? What is the verb? To corner. To corner the market. You can say, they've cornered the market on electric car batteries. She's trying to corner the market on handmade jewelry in her city. Let's look at the next one. Which phrasal verb means to resolve problems or disagreements? To fix problems or to clear up misunderstandings. To blank out. What is the verb? To iron out. We can say, let's sit down and iron out the details of the contract. Let's try to iron out our differences. Let's listen to some native speakers. DPLA tech team is working to iron out any remaining problems in the next couple of months. The specifics of the mission are yet to be ironed out. Get it all nailed out and ironed out before you start your Facebook live video. Which English expression means to force yourself to do something unpleasant or difficult that you've been putting off? You don't want to do it, but you have to do it. To bite the what? To bite the bullet. We can say, I finally decided to bite the bullet and ask my boss for a raise. I didn't want to ask him. I felt uncomfortable, but I decided to bite the bullet. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to bite the bullet. You need to bite the bullet and tell him the truth. Let's listen to some native speakers. It would have been extremely hard for me, but I was willing to do it. I was going to bite the bullet. I had to just bite the bullet and just let it go. And I wish they would have the courage to simply bite the bullet and tell us the truth. And finally, I decided to do it, to bite the bullet. Which English idiom means to be in control of a situation or to have the power to make decisions, to be in the blank seat? What is the correct answer? Driver's seat. To be in the driver's seat. We can say, with this new promotion, I'm finally in the driver's seat. We can say, they have a 20 point lead and it looks like they're in the driver's seat. Let's listen to some native speakers. With that, I hope that you'll be left feeling more in the driver's seat of your food choices. This is fun. I'm in the driver's seat right now. So China is very much in the driver's seat, determining our global environmental future. Let's go on to the next one. Which English idiom means to join others in doing something that is currently popular or fashionable? To jump on the what? Do you know the idiom? To jump on the bandwagon. A bandwagon is an old fashioned wagon that used to carry musicians down the street. It was loud and a lot of people looked at it and it looked like a lot of fun and they jumped on the bandwagon. And sometimes the politicians used to jump on the bandwagon. So now we have this expression. For example, we can say, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon of social media marketing. Or you can say, I'm not going to jump on the bandwagon just because everyone else is doing it. Let's listen to some native speakers using it. The success of one film or genre inspires others to jump on the bandwagon. That is dangerous when reporters just repeat what others are saying and jump on the bandwagon. Then it's easy for everybody to jump on the bandwagon and sell the same thing that you are. Let's go on to the next idiom. Which English idiom means I'm undecided or I'm unsure about something? To be unable to decide because you're not sure which choice is better. You can say, I'm on the what? The answer is fence. I'm on the fence. You can say, I'm still on the fence about which job offer to accept. Or you can say, are you still on the fence about it? You need to make up your mind. Let's listen to some native speakers using it. At first, I was kind of on the fence about it. If you're on the fence about being a physician, go out and have experiences that show you what it's like. And then suddenly you're on the fence about who to vote for. We don't have a lot of time to sit on the fence. Let's go on to the next idiom. Which English idiom means to stop something, to cancel something, especially a project? To pull the what? To pull the plug. This is pulling the plug. We can use to pull the plug this way. The company decided to pull the plug on the unprofitable project. We had to pull the plug on our camping trip because there was a storm. If sales don't improve, we might have to pull the plug on the new product. Let's listen to some native speakers using it. And they pulled the plug on our financing. Boeing pulled the plug on the aircraft's production in 2004. And then they pulled the plug on the company and fired everybody. Which English idiom means to consider all possible options or all the methods to achieving something? To explore all what? Avenues. To explore all avenues. We can say, we need to explore all avenues before making a final decision. The team is exploring all avenues to find the best solution. Let's go on to the next one. Which English idiom means all day and all night, continuously? To do something without stopping. Around the what? I think you might know this one. Around the clock. We can say, the team worked around the clock to meet the deadline. We provide customer service around the clock. Let's go on to the next one. Which expression means to take responsibility and to do what is needed in a difficult situation? To take action or to accept a challenge. The expression is to step up to the what? To step up to the plate. And we're not talking about this kind of plate. We're talking about this plate. This is a baseball plate. So, this expression comes from the sport of baseball. The batter stands at the plate to hit the ball. It's called a home plate. So, standing at the plate means the player is facing the pitcher alone. And he is now responsible for helping the team score. He's stepping up to the plate. We can say, we need a volunteer. I hope someone steps up to the plate. I can't believe that nobody is stepping up to the plate. When the manager got sick, John stepped up to the plate and led the meeting. Let's listen to how some other people used it. So many heroes bravely stepped up to the plate in 2020. And when your country needed you, you stepped up to the plate and stood in the storm. They stepped up to the plate when I needed them the most. Let's go on to the next idiom. Which English idiom means to try something out before committing? To try something on a small scale first to see if it will succeed. It's a low-risk way to try something. You're cautious and you don't want to fully commit yet. The expression is, to test the what? The waters. To test the waters. He's testing the waters with his toe to see if the water is too cold before he jumps in. We can say, we're going to test the waters with a free trial before we pay for the app. He decided to test the waters before making a big investment. The company released a small sample to test the waters before launching it worldwide. Let's listen to how some native speakers used it. And then I would test the waters with a potential client. I think online classes are just a great way to test the waters. Sometimes they will test the waters by giving you a little information to see how you respond. Let's look at the next idiom. Do you know this idiom? It means a very difficult struggle that requires a lot of effort and hard work over a long period of time. Something battle. What is the adjective? Uphill battle. It's an uphill battle. You can say, starting a new business without any money is always an uphill battle. It's going to be an uphill battle to try to convince him to do it. It's not going to be easy. Do you know this English idiom? It means to keep talking about the same point longer than necessary. To go on and on about something rather than making a point quickly. The expression is to blank the point. Do you know what it is? To belabor the point. Belabor. We can say, I don't want to belabor the point, but you need to finish this by Friday. I don't want to keep talking about it, but it's really important for me to let you know. He kept belaboring the point until everyone was tired of hearing it. Let's listen to some native speakers. Don't worry, I won't belabor the point. I don't want to belabor the point, but I do want to take just a minute to tell you. There's no reason to belabor the point and ask that third question explicitly. Do you know this English idiom? It means to stop doing something to prevent further loss or more damage. You need to blank your losses. What's the answer? To cut your losses. You can say, after months of losing money, they decided to cut their losses and sell the business. Or you can say, it's better to cut your losses now than to continue losing money. Let's look at the next idiom. Which idiom means to delay something until a later time because something else is more important? To set it aside because it has a lower priority. To put something on the back what? On the back burner. This is a burner. The stove has front burners and back burners. And when you put something on the back burner, it's not as important. It's not the biggest priority. You can say, let's put the project on the back burner for now. Or you can say, this issue has been on the back burner for too long. We need to do something about it. How did you do? How many mistakes did you make? If you only made one or two mistakes, congratulations. That means your English is very advanced. And if you're actually using these expressions in daily conversation, then you really sound like a native speaker. And if many of these were new for you, I suggest that you watch the video again and you take notes and then practice saying these expressions by making your own sentences. That's the best way to really internalize them so that you're ready to use them spontaneously when you're speaking English. To take your English to the final level of fluency, make sure that you check out my online courses. There are self-study courses that will teach you a lot of advanced vocabulary and expressions and the American accent. And we also offer one-on-one American accent training. Go to AccurateEnglish.com to learn about all the different courses that we offer. And to get personalized weekly feedback on your accent and to master the American accent in 90 days, join the Accurate English Pro community. You will get regular feedback on your pronunciation and on your accent from an expert so that you know exactly what you need to practice. Join the Accurate English Pro community. There's a link in the description of this video. Thanks for watching and keep practicing.