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Top 10 Most Common English Idioms for Sounding Like a Native
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Apr 9, 2025
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hi this is Jan at learn English with be
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Global and today we're going to learn 10
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Common English
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idioms the first idiom we will talk
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about is to hit the books I'll spell
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that out
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to
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hit the
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books
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so does it mean you're going to hit a
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bunch of books are does it mean you're
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angry or something no it just means
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you're going to study you probably have
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a big test tomorrow or a uh a tough
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class uh tomorrow and you'll say I need
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to go hit the the books I um I can't go
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to a movie with you tonight because I
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have to go hit the books okay it's very
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uh very common and a good phrase for
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someone like you that's a great
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student the second phrase that we're
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going to look at is to hit the sack
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that's also another another hitting
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thing right well what that really means
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is to go to
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sleep to
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hit
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the
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sack sack is just another
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word for
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bed okay I'm going to hit the sack I'm
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going to go to bed I am tired I have
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been working and I am tired I'm going to
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hit the sack and get some good
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sleep sometimes you'll hear parents say
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to their their kids time for you to hit
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the sack that just means it's time for
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you to go to bed so that is our second
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common English idiom so the first one
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was hit the books and the second one was
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hit the sack hit the books to study hit
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the sack to go to bed it's to twist
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someone's arm kind of like
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this you know to twist someone's
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arm
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now we're not actually twisting
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someone's arm to hurt them uh it it
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actually just means we're trying to
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persuade them to do something uh maybe
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we want them to take a class with us and
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we say oh it will be really great you
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will learn a lot all of our friends are
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there so we're persuading them uh and uh
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I might say okay okay I'll take the
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class you twisted my arm you Pur
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persuaded me you convinced me and so
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that's what this phrase means it's very
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very common because we like to
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persuade so to review the first idiom
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was to hit the
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books the second idiom was to hit get
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the sack go to sleep the third idiom was
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to twist someone's arm to persuade
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someone now let's talk about the fourth
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idiom and that is to be up in the
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air to be up in
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the
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air uh now does that mean you're
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floating all over you're you're not on
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the
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ground no it
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means plans are not solidified they're
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not firm for example if you're planning
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a trip and I ask
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you are are you still going on Thursday
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to
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California and you might say no plants
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are still up in the
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air we're not certain yet I don't know
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if my car will be fixed by then so it's
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uncertain it's not
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stable you can maybe imagine that as a a
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way of speech many things are uncertain
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so we say they're up in the air and they
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talk we're talking about plans not
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people you wouldn't say someone is up in
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the air you would say our
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plans are up in the air or a decision is
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up in the air it's still
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uncertain so that was our fourth idiom
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our first one to hit the books to
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study the second one to hit the sack to
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go to
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sleep the third one to twist someone's
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arm to convince
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them the fourth one to be up in the air
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to have plans or decisions be up in the
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air be
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undecided now what about our fifth one
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here it sounds a little bit violent as
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well it's to stab someone in the back so
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are we really stabbing them in the
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back no just
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stab
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someone
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in the
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back well the picture here is is someone
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can't see you and you stab them they're
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totally
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vulnerable uh and this
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means to betray someone who who trusts
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you so
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betray
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someone uh if you have two friends who
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work at the same company and one of the
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friends does not tell the other one that
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there is a job opening a
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promotion and they say oh uh I don't
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know anything about that but they really
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do and they actually took the job and
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they were
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friends well that person who took the
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job they stabbed that person in the back
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so to speak they betrayed them um they
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they should have told them if they were
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friends they would share
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information uh unfortunately this is a
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very common phrase that we we can use uh
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it means uh
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betrayal uh so to stab someone in the
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back that is
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another common English
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idiom so what is our sixth common
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English idiom today it's to lose your
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touch now to lose your touch
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doesn't mean oh I I can't feel anything
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in my fingers anymore I don't have any
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feeling that's not what it means it
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means that you can no longer do
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something that used to be easy for
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you for example maybe you used to be
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able to play the piano very well it was
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easy you sat down you played it and then
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maybe you didn't play it for a little
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while maybe not but one day you sit down
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you play it and it's not as good it's
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harder it's not as simple and you say to
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yourself I think I'm losing my touch I'm
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think I'm losing my ability with this
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skill someone else who hears you might
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say I think you're losing your touch and
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touch it just
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means your your special skill you're
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losing your special skill so that is the
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sixth common English idiom we'll talk
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about
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today now you know we need your review
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so going back to the first one hit the
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books right that means to study
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hard number two to hit the sack you hit
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the sack you go to sleep right hit the
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bed the third one is to twist someone's
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arm not you're not physically twisting
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their arm it's a verbal thing you're
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convincing them persuading them to do
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something they would not ordinarily want
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to
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do the fourth one is to have something
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be up in the air right uh a plan that's
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not certain that's up in the air the
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fifth one to stab someone in the back to
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betray a close
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friend um it's very graphic but it it
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describes
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betrayal okay and then the sixth one to
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lose your touch to not be able to do
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something that used to be easy for
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you uh the fifth or the seventh one
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is to sit tight
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to
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sit
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tight now that sounds really strange
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it's kind of like H how do you sit tight
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we have this image of sitting like this
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and it's a little like that uh it really
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just means to wait and don't take action
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wait and
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don't
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take
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action maybe you want to
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uh find out your uh your test
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score uh but your teacher said says well
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they're not ready yet you're going to
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just need to sit
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tight and you you will know your teacher
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means you're going to just have to wait
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and not take any action you just need to
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be still so sit tight seems a little
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strange but it's very common in English
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conversation we have to sit tight a lot
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don't we
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so this is our eth common English idiom
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and what is it it's to be on the
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ball now to be on the ball does that
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mean you're you're standing on the ball
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well no it means that you are someone
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who is prepared always prepared
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or someone who is able to act quickly
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and correctly in a certain situation in
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any situation or you're very quick to
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understand certain things so this is a
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very positive idiom as an example you
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are on the ball you're working hard to
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learn your English and you're on the
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ball you can also think for example
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you're planning a trip the the trip is a
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year away but you have it all planned
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out you are on the ball so that's our
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eighth
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idiom now our ninth common English idiom
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is to ring a
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bell like a a bell like an alarm that
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you might hear on your phone or a bell
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you might hear at
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school uh what this means is that
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somebody has mentioned something to you
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that's familiar it sounds familiar uh
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perhaps you've heard it before uh in
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other words when someone says something
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to you that you believe you've heard in
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the
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past alarm Bells start playing start
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ringing and you try to remember how or
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why that place sounds so familiar
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so for example if I say uh you've heard
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of my friend Mike Jones right and you
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say
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h i I don't know but that name it rings
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a bell uh right it it uh reminds you of
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something and so you start figuring out
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how do I know Mike Jones or maybe I
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don't so that is also a very common
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English idiom to ring a
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bell so here we are at our 10th common
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English idiom which is to be under the
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weather now can you literally be under
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the weather uh I suppose you could we
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Under the Sun or clouds or rain so if I
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say I feel under the weather do I need
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to have an
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umbrella well
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no it means you're feeling a little sick
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if you say I feel under the weather I
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feel a little sick uh nothing serious uh
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but maybe extreme
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tiredness from something some activity
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or maybe you have a bad headache uh
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because you're fighting off the flu
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so another example of that might be say
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you're with your friends at church and
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one of your friends says Hey where's
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Chris uh he's always here every week and
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you say oh yeah uh he told me he's
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feeling under the weather he'll be back
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next week so you're feeling he's feeling
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a little sick but nothing serious just a
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temporary
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just a temporary
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situation so that is our
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10th common English idiom to be under
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the weather congratulations for making
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it through so thanks for watching if you
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like this video please like subscribe
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and leave a comment below
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[Music]
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