This is Elena from Russia, and you're listening to Everybody ESL.
Welcome to episode 433 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their 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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Okay, let's get on with this mini-episode.
In this episode, I am going to teach you a common idiom.
We can call this idiom, been around the block.
Been around the block.
That's B-E-E-N-A-R-O-U-N-D-T-H-E-B-L-O-C-K.
Been around the block.
You will hear this in sentences like, he has been around the block, or I have been around the block.
She has been around the block.
What does this mean?
Why would we say that someone has been around the block?
First of all, let's look at around the block.
What does that mean?
What does around the block mean?
To understand this phrase, let's think of a city or a town or a neighborhood.
Imagine all of the streets in that city, town, or neighborhood.
Imagine the streets crossing other streets and forming a network of streets or a grid of streets.
Now, imagine that you start on a corner.
You start at a place where two streets meet.
You walk until you reach the next street, until you reach another corner.
And then you turn right, let's say.
And you keep going until you reach another street.
Then you turn right again.
And you keep walking until you reach another street.
Turn right again and keep going until you reach the next corner.
Now you are back at the place where you started and you have walked around the block.
So that's what around the block means.
You have walked around this square or rectangle of intersecting streets.
You have walked around the block.
Now we can look at this idiom and talk about what it means to say that someone has been around the block.
When we say that someone has been around the block, we are saying somebody has some experience.
We are saying that a person is not new to something.
A person has knowledge and experience of life.
They have seen lots of interesting things and experienced lots of things already.
I guess it comes from the idea that they have made this little journey.
They have made this little trip around the block.
They've seen a part of the city or the town.
What it really means is that somebody has experience.
Somebody has already learned something important about the world.
Or someone has already learned important things about how the world works.
If I say I have been around the block, that is another way of saying I understand how the world works.
You don't need to explain all of this to me.
You don't need to explain this situation to me.
I already know all of these important things about the world.
I know how the world works.
Or I know how people are.
I have already had many experiences and seen many things.
I already understand.
I have been around the block.
And that is been around the block, a common and useful idiom that I think you should know.
This is the end of episode 433 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, Elena recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode.
Send an email to everybodyesl at gmailcom.
I'll be back soon with a new episode.
Until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning.
I'll see you soon.
Goodbye.
