We Speak, I'm Feifei...

Rob: ... and hello, I'm Rob.

Feifei: Errr, what is that smell?

Rob: Smell? I can't smell anything.

Feifei: There is definitely a terrible smell,

like mouldy cheese. What's in that bag, Rob?

Rob: Oh, this bag! You're right, it is

cheese. Beautiful, delicious Stilton cheese

in fact. Would you like some?

Feifei: No! So why have you got a bag of

mouldy cheese?

Rob: Well, I stopped at the cheese shop

on the way to the office and saw this

cheese was half price - and you probably

know, I have a good nose for a bargain.

Feifei: I don't think so, Rob - judging by

this cheese, you have a bad nose - it

smells awful!

Rob: No, Feifei. When you have a nose - or

even a good nose - for something, it's not

about your sense of smell. It describes

someone who is naturally good at finding

and recognising something - in my case,

finding a bargain!

Feifei: I'm not so sure about that, Rob!

Well, I have a good nose for finding

examples - so here they are...

Examples: We need to sell more

newspapers, so we need to find a

reporter with a good nose for a story.

I have a good nose for learning languages

and was fluent in Spanish in just a year!

My mum's got a nose for bargains and

booked us all flights to Italy for just fifty

pounds each.

Feifei: This is The English We Speak from

BBC Learning English and we're finding

out about the phrase 'to have a good nose

(for something)'. Rob claims to have one,

but I'm not so sure. So how much did

you pay for this cheese, Rob?

Rob: Only 20 pounds - it was half price!

Feifei: That's because it's old - look, it's

going green! Sorry, Rob - this cannot stay

in the studio. It stinks - out it goes.

Rob: That's not very nice.

Feifei: Hold on, I can still smell something

bad. It's your socks! Look, you haven't got

your shoes on. Urghhh!

Rob: Wow, Feifei, you really have got a

good nose - a good nose for bad smells!

Feifei: Your bad smells, Rob!

Rob: Time to go. Bye.

Feifei: Bye.