Hi everyone, this is Gayathri from India and you are listening to Everybody ESL.
English, practice their English, or just learn more English.
My name is Ben, and I have a mini -episode for you today where I am going to teach you about one English topic.
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Ok, let's get on with this mini episode.
In this episode, I am going to teach you a very common and useful phrase.
The phrase is one of a kind.
One of a kind. That's spelled O -N -E -O -F -A -K -I -N -D.
One of a kind. What does one of a kind mean?
What does it mean if we describe something as one of a kind?
Before I can explain this phrase, I need to talk a little bit about the word kind.
Kind has several different meanings.
In this phrase, one of a kind, kind means category, or type.
This is the meaning of kind that we are using when we say things like, poodles are a kind kind of dog, or comedies are a kind of movie, or airplanes are a kind of vehicle.
It means a type of something or a category of things.
This is the meaning of kind that we can see in the phrase, one of a kind.
One -of -a -kind means very, very special.
When we describe something as being one -of -a -kind, we are saying that the thing is the only thing in its category.
It is the only thing in its kind.
Nothing else is really like it.
It's the only thing in its type of thing.
Even when you know the meaning of kind that we see in this phrase, it can still be a little difficult to see how this phrase means this.
Just think about it like this...
One of a kind means very very special, because something is the only thing in its category.
It is so different from everything else.
nothing else is in the same category.
Nothing else is like it at all.
We sometimes describe people as being one of a kind.
You might say, my friend is one of a kind.
He has lived the most interesting life!
And what you mean when you say that is he is so interesting, or his life has been so interesting, that no one else is similar to him at all.
He is the only person in his category.
He is his own kind of person.
You could also describe something like a TV show as being one of a kind.
If you say a TV show is one of a kind, you mean nothing else is like it.
It is the only TV show in its category.
Nothing else belongs in the same category.
It's so different. It is so special.
Really we can describe almost anything as one -of -a -kind when we want to say that it is so different, so special.
It is the only thing in its category.
Nothing else is like it.
By the way, there is a word that means the same as one -of -a -kind.
And that word is unique.
U -N -I -Q -U -E. Unique.
You can use unique to mean the same thing.
And that is one -of -a -kind.
A very useful and and interesting phrase that I think you should know.
And this is the end of episode 411 of Everybody ESL.
Remember if you have questions about English or if you have comments for me or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes, the same way Gayatri recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode, send an email to everybodyesl at gmail .com.
I'll be back soon with a new episode, and until then keep going, keep practicing and keep learning.
I'll see you soon. Goodbye!
