10 British Idioms in 10 Minutes 

"Not my cup of tea", "piece of cake", "pardon my French", and "to save my life" are all commonly used in the U.S. as well. Fun video. Thanks.

In England you say "It rains cats and dogs" In Greece we say "It rains chairs legs" 😂😂

In Poland we say: "for a Russian year" - meaning really long

In German, if something is really cheap, especially if you'd expect it to be a lot more expensive, that is, you made a good bargain, you say you got it "for an apple and an egg" - "I got myself three of these sweaters. They were selling them for an apple and an egg!"

Hi, Tom! I love your videos, I always refer to them in my classes, as I'm a teacher. I'm Brazilian, and the "cheap as chips" idiom is "it goes for the price of bananas" down here! Cheers, keep up the great content.

Thanks a lot Tom , some other common and important idioms: 1. it costs an arm and a leg. very expensive stuff, opposite to cheap as chips. 2. I'd give my right arm to do something. I am ready to do everything and anything to achieve my goal. 3. As easy as pie. similar to piece of cake. 4. To have a finger in many pies. To do many tasks different and unrelated tasks at the same time. 5. The bee's knees. The best of something, or something made from the best materials. Like, Mercedes is the bee's knees of the German vehicles. 6. To have a bee in your bonnet. When we are worry or anxious about something. 7. A second bite of the cherry. When ask for a second chance to correct our failure in the first attempt. 8. To go bananas. To be crazy or hyperactive. 9. To make a dog's dinner of something. To make mess of something, like when kids throw their toys everywhere, we may say: you really made a dog's dinner of your toys. 10. There isn't enough room to swing a cat. There isn't enough space or the place is pretty small, like a flat. There isn't enough room to swing a cat in his flat. Tom: kindly revise them and if any error or mistake, please correct me. N.B.: for more lots of idioms, please visit ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-p0Ygbm2GuHk.html Kind regards,

"Something went pear-shaped" is really the most interesting idiom! I think I read somewhere that's existing the opposite too "Something went apple-shaped" for saying something has gone really good. Or I "Drunk like a fish" (in italian: drink like a sponge), or the sentence was "Cheap as chips" (in italian I really don't know if it's something...we use more expression for say that's expensive) ahah

There are many other translation in Italian but these are the first off the top of my head: Not my cup of tea -> Non è il mio forte (not the strongest part of me) Piece of cake -> Liscio come l'olio (easy, like the oil) Go pear-shaped -> a carte 48 (I don't know how to translated this..) Donkey's years -> Dai tempi di Noè (Noah's years) Cheap as chips -> E' regalato (it's a gift!) Pardon my French -> Scusa il francesismo (the same!) Do the runner -> Fare il vento, "do the wind" Itchy feet -> Prudono i piedi (the same!) ..to save your life -> Ho due mani sinistre (I have two left hands!)

Hi! Teacher! I wanna tell you the funny thing. In Thailand if you say “Itchy Feet” to Thai people, It’s mean you wanna fight them😂😂 now i can know this idiom in English way, thank you😀🙏🙏

There's a common expression in Russian which is similar to "cheap as chips" - "It's cheaper than mushrooms." In addition, there's another one for "It was a piece of cake." - "It was easier than a steamed turnip"

Today I learned one: "My brother and I are like chalk and cheese" meaning we're completely different from each other.

These are in common useage in Aus too; I had thought they were Australian colloquiallisms 😄. The reverse of 'Downunder' for us is really just 'Britain' (possibly because Queens- land is already taken 😎).

We say “dirt cheap” here in the US. “These shoes were dirt cheap”

,,Bun with butter" (bułka z masłem), means something like ,,peace of cake", in Polish 🇵🇱

In American English you would say “Let’s dash” to leave quickly to avoid something negative or troublesome. People often use the expression “dine and dash” when referring to leaving quickly from a restaurant without paying. Americans also say “That’s not my cup of tea” or alternately “Thats not [really] my thing.”

"Bob's your uncle" is my fav British idiom

This is great a lesson. Thank you so much

Thats not my beer - German for "thats not my responsibility"

In Italy we say "vale quattro soldi" as cheap as chips. It literally means "it's worth two bits" . "Soldi" is a money nobody uses, a kind of out of time term, a medieval memory. Thank for sharing your super-fresh lessons.

Your videos are really nice. You remind me a British teacher I have here in Ecuador just easy explanations to make English enjoyable. Greetings from Ecuador

I just love the way you used Harry Styles as examples

Such a great teacher Tom! Love All the idioms! I gonna try to remember all of them and try to find a situation to use them, it's quite difficult though.

Thanks! In Italy we say: is not my cup of tea - non è il mio genre (is not my kind) go pear-shaped - andare a rotoli for/in donkey's years - da una vita, da un secolo across the pond - oltreoceano cheap as chips - non costa niente (it doesn't cost anything) do a runner - telare, darsela a gambe :)

In Armenia, we say "Cheap as water". It's because you can drink water from public water fountains free of charge (so-called "pulpulak": small, usually one meter tall, stone memorials with running water), which are very common in Armenia. And "from Noah's times" instead of "for/in donkey's years".

Tom am Sarah from Somalia really like ur channel am learning English from u N now my English is getting better this video is so special and amazing 😉 Thank you very much u deserve to be called the best teacher 👨‍🏫 u N Papa English r my favorite anyway Thanks N keep it up ❤️❤️💕💕💕💝💝❤️💕💕💕💕✅

Hello I am from the US. I’ve watched several of your videos now and am still amazed that we do use a lot of the same words and phrases to mean the same thing. Such as “pardon my French” and “not my cup of tea” and “cant do that to save my life”. I was also interested to learn the other idioms you told us. Here in America I can’t think of a way to cheap as chips other than “cheap as sh!t”. However we do have one for something that’s really expensive: “that costs an arm and a leg” or something that’s really old can be said to be “as old as dirt”! Thanks for the fun lesson 😊

Your accent is incredibly amazing! You go from one accent to the other so easily that I Envy you. Thanks for the big help

I love idioms.I'm from Serbia. I can't reckon an idiom for cheapness in Serbian. Perhaps a relatively new one I heard the other day. It's "As cheap as the office furniture". However, there is one commonly used when we want to say something is too expensive. We say something like: "It's as expensive as ordering scrambled eggs from St. Peter's". Yeah, it's kinda funny...

very useful and thanks

What a precious lesson !!! Thank you.

thank you for this video. very useful

In Egypt we call cheap things “cheap as the soil” or “soil cheap” رخص التراب “Rokhs Al Torab” 😁 really nice scrolling through the comments to see what every country says. Different cultures are amazing indeed!

You are a good teacher, it's very easy to understand what you say,don't give up"

Many of these phrases are also spoken in Mid-America where I am from. I say "not my cup of tea", "That's a piece of cake!!", "Pardon my French", "I can't draw to save my life!", and "Sally lives down under (Australia). Want to know where Britain is on the map? "I live in Boston, but James lives across the Pond (Britain)!!" When a bride runs from her wedding, "she has cold feet". If you haven't seen or done something in a long time you say "I haven't seen him in ages!!"

Amazing lesson!

thank you for your lessons.

You're right, "Je suis désolé" means "I'm sorry" (yah, I'm French and I use your videos to prove my english teacher that the figures of speech I use are right, so THANK YOU)

Here in Brazil we say that something is cheap as bananas. Maybe because bananas are very cheap in Brazil but I think it is cheap in other countries too.

In the US we use a similar phrase: "have an itch to scratch" or "have to scratch an itch" which means you have a craving you need to satisfy, such as eat some candy or do something you really want to do.

late to the game, but there's one that I have always used. I'm sure where it came from but I like it. "What are you on about?" This, I have always believed, meant "What are you talking about?

0:35 - not my cup of tea 1:20 - a piece of cake 2:00 - to go pear-shaped 2:58 - for donkey's years 3:48 - across the pond / down under 4:53 - cheap as chips 5:40 - pardon my french 6:14 - to do a runner 7:05 - itchy feet 7:59 - can't do something to save your life

Drinking coffee is not my cup of tea. 🙂

Great video, Tom! Learned a coulple of new idioms, especially liked "Pardon my French" :)

thank you Tom for you efforts!!!!

In Italian for donkeys' years we say "ogni morte di papa" that is every time the Pope dies because it's just so rare I guess and usually they live a pretty long life

In Italy "a piece of cake" can be translated as "un gioco da ragazzi " (a game for young people)... when we use bad words we also say "scusate il francesismo" 😂😂😂. I have learned a lot of new idioms in this video. Thank you a lot 😊

Thank you very much for this information great lesson Keepgoing

Thanks a lot mate for your vídeos. I spent some time in London and you make me feel homesick.

Hello Tom, I have just watched your video, loved it. I ran into your channel by chance, it's splendid. Keep doing, man! I am from the Czech Republic, so speak Czech, a Slavonic language, we have a few very very similar idioms here though. We say, Walk through a rose orchard, Behind the big puddle, By antipodes. Guess what is what :)

I was been expecting more England-specific and colorful phrases. We have phrases such as: 1. He ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. (Not too smart) 2. Happier than a dog with two peckers. (REALLY HAPPY!) 3. Half a bubble off-center (a little crazy). 4) If it had hair around I bet you’d get it in there! (What you say to your co-worker trying to fit a part in another part). There’s more but they’re even raunchier.

Excellent !

He speaks so clearly

wonderful video!!!!! here in Brazil we imply that something is cheap by saying "banana price".

“I haven’t been to the gym in forever” “That jacket was dirt cheap”

Very good!!!! Thank you!!!!

My favourite English idiom "Every cloud has a silver lining". Thanks a lot for your lessons. I'm glad to find your channel. I've already subscribed.

I love your channel 🖤

I love idioms! The strangest one for me was when my mate from work said 'oh I need to spend a penny'. I thought he goes shopping few times a day and spends his money or something :D but nope, there's nothing you can buy in the loo:D

This help me much. Thanks tom

Thank you! Very cool!

In Russia we also say "pardon my French" when we use bad language))) we say "prostite mn'e moy frantsuskiy")))) and we also have an idiom that sounds like" do a runner " - we say " delat' nogi" (to do legs) it means to leave very quickly))) and we say as easy as an orange))) thanks for sharing, you videos are really useful for me as I am a teacher of English as a foreign language)))

Polish equivalent of Cheap as chips is Tani jak barszcz (Tany yak burshch). It is means Cheap as borsch ;) BTW: Thanks for another great video ;)

Very useful lessons, thank you.

The most I loved it was "to do a runner". It's so funny and really express the situation :D

We use similar idiom in Turkey. it's cheap as chips =it's cheaper than water

In Italian we also say "pardon my French": scusate il francesismo (or come dicono i francesi or similar)

Thanks, Tom. That's great!

Thanks TOM you are an amazing teacher

In Poland we say as cheap as beetroot soup...haha rather strange, isn't it? Very cool video thx!!!

Cheap as borscht (PL)

Thanks. It was very useful!

Thank you Tom :)

In polish 'a piece of cake' is 'bułka z masłem' in english it means something like a bread roll with butter. I know that it's strange but it's polish😀

“When pigs fly” or “when hell freezes over” not likely to happen, lmao!

i love you man!, perfect, this video that's i wanted

What a miracle you are! You strengthen my spirit.

Hello Tom! If somebody says, 'I couldn't sing to save my life', can that mean the person didn't manage to sing well on one occasion? Or is it only about your general ability?

In Egypt, if someone said that he/she is going to do something in a short period like one day, and we know that this person usually takes very long time to fulfill or accomplish his/her promise, we say "his day is as long as the government's day" because usually when we do any transaction at any governmental organisation, like issuing a passport, driving license, or any else transaction, process is lengthy and takes long time. Kind regards,

Thank you so much

I love your channel. Thank you so much for all your lessons. Waiting for them every week :) In Argentina, we've got an idiom which is similar to 'in donkey's years: we say 'in green year' (en año verde) which means in a very very long time. ;)

In Vietnam we say "rẻ như bèo" which means "cheap as water ferns" 😃

"As cheap as borscht"-in Polish;)

I love these videos to brush up my English. If something is really easy, Germans call it a »Kinderspiel« which means a childrens game. To do a runner would translate into »Die Beine in die Hand nehmen« which literally means to take your legs into your hands - sounds absurd because you can't really run without your legs or with your legs in your hands but that's what we say. Funny that the Italians and the Russians also have a similar phrase for »Pardon my French« - if we say something in plain German (»auf gut Deutsch«) or don't take a leaf in front of our mouth (»kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen«) you can be sure that a word might follow that we otherwise wouldn't make use of ;-) Languages are really funny - and each and every one in its own way.

I have just realized your channel. You are amazing in teaching.

Thanks a lot for such useful idioms! In Russian we say: "It's cheaper than mushrooms". It may be interesting for you)

The Poles say instead of Donkey’s years; I haven’t seen u for a russian year (we tend to call it: Ruski Rok)

"Jog on" has got to be my fav british idiom

Thanks a million, sir, for proving such sensational phrases!!

We haven't seen each other for internity (RU)

It could also be easy peasy! how was your exam! Oh, It was really easy peasy! means very easy! It is cheap as his or her life! :D from other words here in philippines hahaha

Thank you for such a creative and interesting lesson. You really are number one coach.To me, the best one was "Something went pear-shaped".

In Portuguese we have some similar idioms. "Não é minha praia" (it's not my beach) for "it's not my cup of tea". "A preço de banana" (at the price of a banana) for "cheap as chips". "Faz tempo pra burro" (it's been a time for donkey) for "donkey's yeara" - obs.: but "pra burro" (for donkey) serves for express any other big quantities as money, food, etc. "É sopa no mel" (it's soup in the honey) or "é mamão com açúcar" (it's papaya with sugar) for "a piece of cake".

"Bob is your uncle"

"To do a runner" in Spanish would be "hacer un simpa". "Simpa" comes from "sin pagar" = without paying. According to Spanish rules, before "p" and "b" we write "m" (no "n"), that's why the correct form is "simpa".

In Polish we say it' s cheap as beetroot soup. Love your lessons!

Great! The idioms are very interesting and useful. I am a new subscriber. I love British English.

Pardon my french,in my country calls cheap as shit.

We said “it’s cheap as water”

Oi, Tom! I'm absolutely chuffed. Brilliant as always.

Thank you, Tom 😊