- (chuckles) He's singing.

♪ Which direction we are going ♪

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] English is a language that has a lot of idioms

or casual expressions that have a specific meaning.

- There I was just getting ready

to pour my heart out to you.

- [Narrator] Today, at FluentU, we are learning 10

commonly used idioms that will help you

sound more like a native speaker.

Ready?

Let's get started.

- I'm ready, let's do it right now, right here.

- [Narrator] The first phrase we will learn is

pick your brain.

Even though this sounds kind of gross, it's not.

To pick someone's brain just means to see what they think

or know about a particular subject.

For example, "Hey, can I pick your brain

about this new project?

I'd love to ask you some questions about it."

- Do you know how many people, every single day

contact me, email me, private message, DM me

and they say they wanna pick my brain?

- [Narrator] Second, let's learn, move it or lose it.

Move it or lose it just means

move, but with more of a hurry.

This is something you might say if you need to get through

a crowded space or to warn someone of danger.

For example, if you're carrying a pot of hot water

but it usually isn't meant as an actual threat.

For example, "Hey everyone, I'm coming through!

Move it or lose it."

- I do have a ride though.

- Move it or lose it, Airbag.

- [Narrator] Next, to say, I'm up to my eyeballs

in something, means you have a lot of it.

Usually, whatever you're up to your eyeballs in

is something you don't want, typically tasks or work.

For example, "I'm up to my eyeballs

with my new project this week."

- I'm in debt up to my eyeballs.

- [Narrator] If you're a happy camper

everything in life is going great for you.

This doesn't mean you're actually camping.

You can also say someone is not a happy camper

to say that they are frustrated or cranky.

For example, "I'm not too hard to please

just give me a nice, hot cup of coffee

and I'll be a happy camper."

- Putting up with it for weeks

and excuse my strong language, but I am not a happy camper.

(audience laughs)

- [Narrator] If you want to learn more idioms to help you

sound like a native speaker, you should try FluentU.

FluentU takes real world videos

like movie trailers, music videos, news, and inspiring talks

and turns them into personalized language lessons.

When you learn with the same entertaining videos

English speakers watch, you naturally learn

funny idiomatic phrases.

In fact, with FluentU's video dictionary

you can look up almost any word that you want

to know more about.

You can even listen to audio clips of example sentences.

You'll have access to endless videos and audio

with interactive subtitles.

Plus great educational features like flashcards and quizzes.

Sounds awesome, right?

Give FluentU a try on desktop or with FluentU's app

for your iOS or Android device.

Click on the link in the description

for a free trial of FluentU.

Woodwork, refers to the wooden parts of a building or room.

For example, a window frame made of wood

could be called woodwork.

When you say that something came out of the woodwork

it means, it appeared quickly.

This phrase comes from how sometimes small insects

like termites, live in the wooden parts of a house.

Then they can quickly appear when you're not expecting it

or come out of the woodwork.

Here's an example.

"Now, all of a sudden you see these new muffin bakeries

coming out of the woodwork."

- Hi Marie, I'm starting to make a name for myself

and my friends and strangers are coming out of the woodwork

asking if they can pick my brain or bounce ideas off me

or grab a coffee to ask me about my business

and share their ideas.

- [Narrator] To burn the candle at both ends

sounds silly and dangerous.

And that's part of the point.

To burn the candle at both ends, means going to bed late

getting up early or working too hard

which will eventually affect a person negatively.

For example, "He's been burning the candle at both ends

working in the daytime and going to school at night.

I don't know how much longer he can go on like this."

- When you burn the candle at both ends

you pay the price for it.

- [Narrator] By the way, if you want to remember

these phrases for later, click on the link

in the description for a free PDF of the expressions here

with explanations and examples.

It even includes some phrases that I don't discuss

in this video.

The phrase, like pulling teeth, sounds awful.

And that's the point.

If something is like pulling teeth

it's very difficult and very unpleasant.

For example, "I've tried to talk to him

about finding a new job, but it's like pulling teeth."

- I've been helping Blaine put together

his Warbler song lists, but it's just like pulling teeth

to get this guy off Broadway.

- [Narrator] To say, bend over backwards

means to put all your effort into something

even if it's extremely difficult.

This expression is often used to say that someone

puts a lot of energy into pleasing someone else.

For example, "You always bend over backwards to help her

but would she do the same for you?"

- We're there for each other, I'd do anything for Doug

man, he'd bend over backwards for me.

- [Narrator] To be swamped, is another expression

often used in the workplace.

Literally, a swamp is a marshy area

that you can get stuck in.

So when someone is swamped

it means they have so much work to do

that hey don't have time for anything else.

Or that they can't move.

For example, "I've been totally swamped

since the company hired my new boss."

- And I've got my country's 500th anniversary to plan

my wedding to arrange, I'm swamped.

- [Narrator] Last, if you say something

is the best thing since sliced bread

you're saying it's really great.

For example, "This new app on my phone

does everything for me.

It's the best thing since sliced bread."

- Little Caesar's delivery, best thing since sli-

- Sliced bread, I know.

- [Narrator] So, what saying are you gonna use first?

Remember, if you liked this video and want to see more

click, subscribe, and hit the notification button

so you never miss more great FluentU videos.

Thanks for watching and see you next time.

♪ Offshore ♪

- Get me off this crate.

- Now why don't they show stuff like that on TV?

- I don't know.