Hi, this is Neetun here from Bangladesh.
You are listening to Everybody ESL.
Welcome to episode 442 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 very strange idiom.
The idiom is out in the open.
Out in the open.
That's O-U-T-I-N-T-H-E-O-P-E-N.
Out in the open.
The first strange thing you might notice about this idiom is those two prepositions at the beginning out in the open.
Out, in.
This idiom starts with two prepositions that are opposites of each other.
Out, in.
That is a little bit strange, but that is something you will see sometimes in English prepositional phrases.
You will sometimes see prepositional phrases with more than one, sometimes with more than two prepositions.
And yes, it might seem a little bit strange that these two prepositions seem like opposites.
I don't think they really are in this expression, but that is what they look like.
The other strange thing you might notice is the way the word open is used, out in the open.
In this idiom, open is used as a noun, the open, out in the open.
Usually, we use open as a verb or an adjective.
So we usually use open.
When we say things like I will open the door there, we're using it as a verb.
Or we can say things like, I called the restaurant, but they were not open.
In that case, open is used as an adjective.
In this idiom, the open is used as a noun.
What does this idiom mean?
Out in the open means in a place that is not covered or and closed in a place that is open.
If you do something out in the open, you are doing it in a place or in a way that other people can see you.
It is not secret.
You are not hidden.
You are doing something that other people can see.
You are doing something in public.
You are doing something in a place that is open.
We can see inside.
We can see what is happening in there.
You might see this expression used when people are talking about someone committing a crime.
Imagine that someone commits a crime, but they don't even really try to hide.
When they are committing this crime, they are doing it out in the open.
They are committing this crime in a place or in a way that other people can see them doing it.
They're doing it out in the open.
You might also hear it in situations like this.
Imagine that you are watching a documentary about animals and Maybe the narrator says something about some animal that does not like to spend time out in the open.
It doesn't like to spend time out in the open because that might feel too dangerous.
Other animals or predators could see it if it is out in the open.
It probably feels more safe if it is in a place where it can hide, in a place where Other animals cannot easily see it.
One last thing I should say about out in the open is that we don't really need both of those prepositions.
I think you will often hear this idiom as out in the open, but you can also say in the open.
I don't think you need out and in.
I think it sounds very natural to say out in the open, but I do think sometimes you will hear in the open.
And that is out in the open, an interesting and common idiom that I think you should know.
This is the end of episode 442 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, Nithun 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 and until then keep going, keep practicing and keep learning.
I'll see you soon.
Goodbye.