English Topics - Weirdest English Idioms

Just because you hear a native English speaker say something, doesn't mean they actually understand it! In this lesson, Alisha and Michael take a look at some idioms used on a daily basis that, on closer inspection, are pretty weird!

[markbernier]

the phrase "got it from the horses mouth" refers to checking something for yourself. When selling a horse the vendor would of course tell you how wonderful the animal was. The smart buyer would check the animals mouth to judge the age (from the condition of the teeth) and how well treated it had been (from the condition of the gums and corners of the mouth) and thus got his information from the horse's mouth.

[kevinhq]

steal someone's thunder:
In the 17th century the writer John Dennis built a machine which made sounds like thunder for one of his plays, but the idea was copied by someone else and used in another play.
I think it is the origin :)

[katybug]

Hit the sack comes from early mattresses which were basically sacks filled with hay!

[inglesh]

This was fun! Great video! Let me know if you're ever in Brazil!

[satini]

back in the day, way way back when early settlers built their homes with straw shingles on their roofs cats and dogs, mainly cats use to find shelter in there. When it would rain, the cats and dogs would come falling out of the straw roofs and into their homes, mostly into their beds and that's where the canopy bed was invented, to catch the cats and dogs and any other animal big enough to find shelter in there, like mice and so forth. Thus the saying; "its raining cats and dogs. it literally happened back then, so back then it wasn't an idiom, now it's an idiom. I guess depending on what part of the world you're in. hahaha some people have straw for shingles or leaves in other parts of the world. Bring home the bacon, Dead ringer, graveyard shift... a lot of things that literally happened back then has become the idioms of today.

[TheVerkor]

Steal someone´s thunder comes from the 17th century when one playwright was unsuccessful and his theater has to be closed and only things which survive was a special sheet which makes a sound of thunder in one of the plays. When the theater was open again the first play there was Macbeth and they used the trick with a thunder in this play which wasn´t his. So they steal his thunder.

[shoti_galdava]

Alisha you are so pretty! And the way how you explaining all this topics, or idioms, whatever... its very fun and enjoyable! Thanks ^

[samuelangelov]

There's a an explanation about raining cats And dogs.
I long time ago When people built their houses out of wood And straw, living with cats And dogs inside.
Usually cats lived on the ceiling And dogs on the floor.
When it rain the straw ceilings weighed heavily And fell.
Dogs chased cats And a cacophony ensued.
So people say it's raining cats N dogs

[sabrinakelly]

It's cats and dogs because sometimes they fight so if the rain poors hard it's ranning cats and dogs beacusse sometimes they fight like if you agree

[thefusion]

I have one also check this out alisha 😁😁 😁😁 😁😁 😁 ...its in Indian hindi language but i converted into english
"Dug up the mountain only found a little mouse "

[rubinwong]

raining cats and dogs: it's because, There are many homeless cats and dogs on the street after a heavy rain. so... It looks like raining cats and dogs.

[baharioktafian]

"what do you do to your eggs?"
I don't know why but I love that

[MuhammadEgypt]

You guys are awesome. I enjoy your video together.

[MuhammadEgypt]

Cut the cheese! LOL
Also, who let one rip? :D

[jomaszka]

I would say that my first association with 'thunder' was with Zeus and his glory... problably I'm wrong but still :-)

[faithlinsmeyer]

It's raining cats and dogs refers to England in the 1800's when they had straw and mud roofs. Mice would live in the roofs which would draw in cats and dogs. The animals would end up dying in the roofs and when it rained heavily the dead animals would fall out of The hay.

[wennesmota]

I love the way you teach English. This topic was very fun. I laughed a lot. Good job! Thanks! Hugs from Brazil!

[ahmatissa]

I saw on BBC for learning English that someone's stole my thunder came from a guy who invented a machine that produced a sound like the sound of the thunder, and the invention got stolen, therefor, he went out to the public crying '' someone's stole my thunder " .... that's it 🤔

[abstractrkr]

Can still someones thunder be still someones attention?

[bianodias]

I don't know how much of that is true, I am not a native, but the collocation "make the bad" would refer to the old hay beds that people had to "make", put the hay together everytime they wanted to sleep on it.