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I'm not Maria.
You're Maria.
I'm Maria.
Hello.
And my name is Rory.
And we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
The podcast that aims to help you improve your speaking skills, as well as your listening skills, along the way.
But today we're talking about idioms.
What are they?
Why it's important to learn a few of them.
We'll discuss idioms in ielts, speaking and writing, and actually shouldn't you use any idioms in writing?
By the way, you should listen till the very end of this episode, where we'll go over some old-fashioned idioms that you should never use and some idioms that you can use both in the exam and in your everyday life.
I have a present for you.
So if you listen to us until the end of this recording session, then I will send it to you.
I want a present.
You're in my presence.
That's your present.
Alright.
Okay, Rory, so what are idioms?
Could you give us a dictionary definition?
So an idiom is a phrase or expression, the meaning of which is greater than the sum of its parts.
So that's a very technical description.
What I should say to make it a little bit easier to understand is most words and phrases in English can be understood directly by listening to or looking at the word.
It's fairly obvious what they mean.
But with an idiom you have the individual words but you cannot actually deduce or understand what the meaning is just by looking at that.
The expression is much greater than the individual words.
Yeah, so it's a metaphor.
For example, oh, mathematics.
It's not rocket science.
Okay, the words are rocket science, but I don't mean to say rocket science.
What I mean is it's not difficult.
We're like, oh, come on, it's not brain surgery, just do it.
No, I'm not talking about brain surgery.
I'm using it in a metaphorical way, saying it's a piece of cake.
Oh, there's another one, a piece of cake.
No, there are no cakes, there are no pieces, it's just easy.
Mm-hmm.
So that's what they are.
However, why do they cause people so much pain and frustration?
Pain in the neck.
Why?
You've done more research on this than I have.
Why are they a pain?
Well, it's a bit like the other difficult areas of English, like remembering third person S, for present simple, for example.
You have to remember the form and the meaning, and then you have to get all of the individual parts of the phrase in order correctly at the same time as well.
So that's like a lot of effort for your brain, and it's really important that you get it right.
Otherwise, if one part of this is slightly off, then the meaning is...
It's not entirely lost, but it sounds really weird for people.
Yeah, it's very strange.
If you misuse an idiom.
You talk to people, you say something weird and they just look at you as if you had three heads.
Like, what?
Yeah.
What?
Cognition problem, dear listener.
Wow.
That just means it's difficult to understand.
Mentally.
Sorry.
In your head.
Okay, but should we use them?
Why use them at all?
If they cause so many problems, why should we use them?
Well, the first thing is, if we talk about it from just a general English perspective, idioms in English are extremely common.
So it's important to understand what they are and how they are used in order to be able to use them effectively.
But from an IELTS perspective as well, it is actually one of the speaking criteria using idiomatic elements of speech.
Right.
Idiomatic elements of speech.
Thank you, Robert.
And dear listener, I'm going to read out a Official IELTS criteria for speaking.
So there is one criterion which is called lexical resource.
And at band 7, band meaning score.
At band 7 they say, uses some less common and idiomatic vocabulary.
They don't say idioms, they say idiomatic vocabulary.
If you want to bend it, they say uses less common and idiomatic vocabulary skillfully.
And at band 9, they say uses idiomatic language naturally.
So, we don't have this word idiom.
Why?
But we do have idiomatic language.
Why is it idiomatic language specifically?
Well, I think that idiomatic language means a range of things.
Idiomatic language means idiomatic phrases, expressions, phrasal verbs.
Exactly.
Idiomatic collocations, different creative phrases, less common words.
We call them like idiomatic language.
So that's important to point out, even though we're doing this whole episode on idioms.
If you don't use any idioms when you're speaking in your speaking exam, that's not necessarily a reason to panic.
Because you might use phrasal verbs, which are also idiomatic.
Yes, idiomatic language.
So, we want you to get away from these idioms, idioms.
Use idiomatic language.
And so, these idioms are formal or informal?
Well, generally they're informal and they're used mostly in speech, although they do crop up in writing novels, for example, or informal articles.
So it's good to be aware of them.
Yeah, and Rory, a lot of questions are about... Can I use idioms in IELTS writing?
Yes, so... No!
The short answer is no, but the longer answer is no.
No, no, no, no, just no.
It's very easy.
Do I use idioms in IELTS writing?
No.
Idiomatic language, on the other hand.
Hmm.
Yeah.
So, can use phrasal verbs.
Specific, well, what topic, specific phrasal verbs.
For example... Narrow down.
Exactly.
Single out.
Mm-hmm.
But those are phrasal verbs.
More formal phrasal verbs.
Yes, but idioms like the fly in the ointment, every claret has a silver lining in this case.
So, no, not for writing.
No, no, no.
Can you imagine in an IELTS essay you write...
I think it's not rocket science.
Oh, no, please don't do it.
Because IELTS writing tends to be more formal.
So an IELTS essay is more formal or like neutral.
So no idioms.
Are there any specific IELTS like idiomatic language which can help us to get a higher score?
Not really.
Because, well, there's no word list for IELTS.
Because if there was, then it wouldn't be an authentic test of English and it would be a completely pointless test.
So there is no specific list of idioms that you should use for IELTS.
However... Go on.
As I have mentioned before, if you want to know which idioms are expected for a particular score, you can go to the English Vocabulary profile, which is a website that allows you to select the level of English And then you can look for idioms and then it tells you what's expected at that level.
So it's not exactly cheating because it's not exactly connected to IELTS, but it is designed by Cambridge University, which is connected to IELTS.
So that's a little bit of a way to find out what might be expected.
Okay.
What's the website again?
The English Vocabulary Profile.
I should check it out.
You should.
I've mentioned it on numerous occasions now.
If you don't know what this is, then what are you doing with your life?
Oh, I've just managed to remember your full name, Rory.
That's not an idiom.
Well, actually, it could be, but we're not talking about that right now.
So, for example, Rory, I'm going to say a simple phrase and you're going to give me a phrasal verb.
This is completely unscripted, by the way.
Yes, it's not scripted.
So if I want to say, for example, I'd like to start snowboarding.
I'd like to take up snowboarding.
Yay!
I just taught this to one of my PET students the other day.
So instead of saying, like, I want to start doing new things, you can say, I want to take up.
I should say.
By the way, PET student is an idiom for your favorite student, but it also is the name of an exam that I'm preparing the student for, in this case.
Yeah.
So I want to try out snowboarding.
I want to take up snowboarding.
What's next?
What about like, I'm very tired.
I'm worn.
Oh, okay, I'm worn out.
Yay!
You see.
So instead of saying oh, I was very tired that day, I'm very tired, you say I was worn out.
To wear clothes, right?
So I was worn out.
That's your phrasal verb.
And if I can't wait till summer arrives, I'm like...
Waiting.
Looking forward to summer.
Yeah.
So, listen.
This is idiomatic language, right?
So, phrasal verbs.
But it's important.
I mean, we could talk about all of the different kinds of idioms, but we should say which parts of the exam that they would be most important for.
We already dismissed writing because it's informal.
But and we need to write mostly formally or in a neutral tone unless it's a letter to a friend.
Yes, yeah.
But then you don't really include these.
It's not really a feature of a letter to a friend.
So just generally no for writing.
No.
However, listening, reading and speaking, either you will see, hear or be expected to use idioms.
In listening, really?
Can you come across any idioms in listening?
Can you come across idiomatic language in listening?
Yeah.
If it's like academic IELTS, you're expected to listen to parts of lectures, for example.
So they might not come up, they might not crop up then.
That's an idiom.
But if it's general IELTS, then yes.
So in listening, listening is the same in IELTS academic, IELTS general, right?
So yeah, and a lecture, pretty much they don't use idiomatic.
But in IELTS reading, it's, yeah, as you said, like, it's more general for IELTS general.
So you might see some idiomatic language in the first text.
Yes.
But generally in speaking, I'd say.
So when we think about idioms, we think IELTS speaking.
Speaking is natural.
It's informal.
You can use phrasal verbs.
You can use contracted forms.
You don't say like...
My name is.
My name's.
I will not do it.
I won't do it.
I am going to tell you.
No, I'm going to tell you, right?
So you use contracted forms.
Exactly.
Of course, once you've identified which idioms you want to use, then you actually need to learn and practice them too.
How do I learn them?
Well, we should talk about that, shouldn't we?
So the first case is finding them.
Oh, yeah.
Now...
Let's say you're studying for general English.
This can happen in a variety of ways, but we're focusing on IELTS right now.
So you need to find them.
You can do that using the English vocabulary profile, or there are various resources for you to be able to.
I'm going to write it down.
Vocabulary profile.
English vocabulary profile.
And you can find it like okay, you could use the English vocabulary profile, but there are idiomatic dictionaries online as well.
But how do I know that this idiom is really being used?
How do I know that it's natural?
Native speakers say this, or it's not?
Some like old-fashioned old stuff.
Well, we kind of touched on this.
Oh, it's another phrasal verb with idiomatic meaning.
First of all, you could use more outdated ones, and that's fine.
So it's not what you're saying, it's how you say it.
For example, idioms aren't stressed.
We talked about this before.
So if you're picking an idiom or a selection of them, and practice saying them, but don't stress them when you say them.
That's the most important thing.
Yeah, look at the examiner.
Uh-huh, did you hear that?
I just used the name down, okay?
I just said, in a nutshell.
In a nutshell!
Yeah, we don't stress them.
Yeah, don't stress your idioms.
Of course, preparation for IELTS should actually help you prepare and improve your English more generally.
That is one side effect, I suppose, of the test.
So, picking up-to-date idioms.
There's not really a list of ones that have gone out of fashion.
No, I think it's the most difficult thing to choose the idioms which are being used now and which are natural.
So, yeah, you can go to this vocabulary profile.
Also, for example, if a topic is staying up late and it's a current IELTS topic, you should read articles online on staying up late.
For example, in Google you can write down staying up late drawbacks or how to stay up late, what to do when you are staying up late and read some blogs, read some articles from different magazines.
You know like real stuff, like a live language right.
And from these articles you can see some idioms, some phrasal verbs that are being used about this staying up late topic.
For example, how can I paraphrase I stayed up late yesterday?
I pulled an all-nighter.
Well, but can I say I burnt the midnight oil?
Oh my God, sorry.
Exactly, exactly.
This is, oh my God, no.
But it's not, it's not, it's not.
Right, but this is an idiom which is on, like everywhere online, to burn the midnight oil, to stay up late.
But do people say that, Rory?
They do.
It's just not very common.
It's not very common.
You see, it's not natural.
It's not very common.
It's a bit old-fashioned.
However, the thing to remember is languages are alive.
People contribute to them.
So there's not like one person who decides that's a stupid thing to say like.
So you know while it, while it can be kind of funny um, to hear this is not like.
Using old things isn't necessarily a bad thing.
They exist for a reason, but not in the exam, right?
Why not in the exam?
None of the assessment criteria uses up-to-date idiomatic languages.
Oh, yeah, that's true.
So you can say, like, Just make sure that you don't stress it, that's all.
And look at the exam, uh-huh.
There are people that say that, though.
Right.
But if you want a more natural idiomatic language what's used more commonly, they say to pull an all-nighter.
To pull an all-nighter, meaning I stay up late.
And this phrase comes up in articles.
So if you read articles about staying up late, you can come across this word.
To pull an all-nighter.
Oh, I pulled an all-nighter.
Pulling all-nighters.
So yeah, this one is more common.
Yes.
Now, that being said, it's all really well and good for us to sit here with like C2 level of English and be like oh yeah, you know, no one decides these things.
However...
I did a little bit of research and I found some websites that use idioms that are in what we could say current usage.
And because people are listening to us in the voice chat.
I have just posted all of them in the discussion on the Success with IELTS Telegram page.
So there's four of them, and I went through them.
It's not just like the top four search results that I looked at on Google.
I actually did look at them individually and I found ones that are almost 100 used commonly.
So in this way, that should be quite helpful for people and you'll be like i say.
You'll be able to find them in the success with ielts telegram um, and it's our latest post, success with ielts, where it says we're going live.
I just posted them in the comments there.
So our Telegram channel.
Yes, but that's not the only gift I have.
But we'll get to the end of this first, and then I'll do the other thing.
So check out these websites, check out Vocabulary Profiler and read articles on these particular topics to fish out.
Fish out.
But the other thing about the websites I posted is that they have practice exercises, which is the most important, because we also had to talk about practicing them.
Practicing.
So do the practice exercises.
Regardless, once you've picked your idioms, you can't just like say OK, these are the idioms and these are the ones I'm going to use, because your brain isn't like a computer.
Information isn't organized this way.
You actually have to practice it in order to be able to remember it.
So find the practice exercises for your particular idiom that you like and then you can well, once you've completed it online, you just practice saying it in as natural a way as possible.
Or if you have an English class, then you can do it there and your teacher will help you, but maybe you don't know how it should sound.
So in this case, most online idiomatic or dictionaries with idioms in them, or idiomatic dictionaries have sound options and you can listen to it there and practice repeating it.
So those are the two key elements of practice.
Actually practice using it in a sentence and then practice saying it especially for speaking.
Yeah.
And when you watch series on Netflix, surely you can notice this idiom being used naturally by your favorite people on Netflix.
And so notice these moments and you can repeat after them exactly.
The other things that we should talk about are well, we talked about learning and practicing idioms more generally, but we should pick out some specific ones, and we did ask people to send in idioms to talk about.
And I pulled up a list of them here.
So one of the ones that came in is beyond a shadow of a doubt, which is just another way of saying that I'm 100 sure about something.
So the first thing to say is, is this one that's currently used?
Yes, people say this all the time and they use it to express certainty in what they believe.
So in this case, our podcast is successful beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Yeah, or I ask you Rory, what do you think in 10 years will we be a massive success, a smashing success.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Oh, yes.
What about its reigning cats and dogs?
Yeah, so it's raining cats and dogs is not so commonly used.
No, don't use it, no.
Well, you've got to tell people what to say.
Well, yeah, true.
However, it's going to sound a little bit strange for the examiner.
So what else to say in terms of the weather?
It's pouring down.
It's pouring rain.
It's pissing down.
You can say that if you like.
I'm not using that word.
So the key thing is if you're interested in understanding whether that's a suitable thing to say for general use, then not really.
People don't use this anymore.
It's kind of a cliche.
If you want to use it in your exam, why not?
But it's really...
It's like a really unusual expression.
Yeah, careful.
So, it's raining cats and dogs.
No, it's pouring down or it's raining heavily.
Another one that I really liked was a fly in the ointment.
Or you can Now the expressions we talked about previously beyond the shadow of a doubt and reigning cats and dogs.
Those are fixed expressions.
They don't change.
They're just like one big expression.
Yeah.
But you could say like the fly in the ointment or the only fly in the ointment, for example.
Now, regardless of how you say it, the idea is the same.
It just means that it's a small problem that spoils your enjoyment of some bigger thing.
So, for example, we could talk about well, if we think about life plans, for example, we have the podcast and we've both got other jobs aside from this and everything is going really well.
The only fly in the ointment is that there's a global pandemic.
Pandemic, and we have to deal with that alongside all of these things, which are quite successful.
Yeah, and we can't say the fly in ointment.
The fly in ointments.
No, we can't change.
Or in an ointment.
It's got to be the ointment.
Software.
A fly in the ointment.
And you remember it as a chunk without any changes.
Sorry.
So if you're an English language teacher, this is a semi-fixed expression, because you can alter some parts, but you can't change all of them.
And we can use this one in IELTS speaking.
Yeah, it's okay.
It's informal, but we can use it.
And if you're going to insist on using older idioms, then in Maria's case, you might be walking on thin ice, which was another one that one of our readers listeners, suggested.
And...
Well, first of all, to explain what it is walking on thin ice is to be in a very dangerous position.
Maybe you're going to get in trouble, potentially.
Maybe you're talking about something controversial and inviting people to be angry at you.
Yeah, exactly.
Oh Rory, you're working on thin ice.
However, you could say this.
People say it all the time.
And it's a natural idiom, so it's good for IELTS and good for general English too.
And you could also incorporate it into your answers more generally.
You could say, to start off your answer, like oh, maybe I'm walking on thin ice by saying this, but And then express your opinion.
Wow, that's nice.
It's quite good for part three.
And so you incorporate an idiom with maybe modal form, modal expression, and also it's like a phrase at the beginning of the, at the beginning of the statement, and if you say it with a comma afterwards, then it's pronunciation too.
So good, do this, And that will be the silver lining in the cloud of idioms.
Every cloud having a silver lining is another idiom that people wanted us to talk about.
Yeah, so the idiom goes like, every cloud has a silver lining.
Isn't it a bit too old-fashioned?
It's a bit too long.
But what people do is they talk about the silver lining.
Oh, just half of the idiom.
Yes.
So you could say like, let's just say you're talking about a negative situation, or you have to talk about it for part two, where you have to describe a situation that went wrong and how, if there are any positive parts to it, you can say well, the silver lining is blah blah, blah.
And then that would be fine.
So you don't have to say, well, every cloud has a silver lining.
You don't say the whole thing.
Oh, that's interesting.
But again, it doesn't work with all the idioms.
No.
You can't just say, oh, ointment.
The examiner will be like, and what ointments?
Yeah.
So idioms can be a double-edged sword, which is another expression that people want us to talk about.
So to explain, a double-edged sword is used to describe a situation or a thing which has both favorable and unfavorable consequences.
So for example...
Freedom of speech can be a double-edged sword, because people can say whatever they like.
But on the downside, people can say whatever they like, and that includes horrible things as well.
Yeah.
So, and the idiom is it's a double-edged.
Yes.
Not a double-edged sword.
Yeah, you see?
So, this is how we should remember the idiom, how it is.
So, a double-edged sword.
Sword is this thing that... kill lots of people with.
Yes.
You can't kill people with idioms, though.
But you could kill your... Use idioms to death.
You could kill your IELTS score.
Oh, yes, definitely.
If you overuse idioms again, the examiner will look at you as if you had three eyes and like come on darling.
You've learned them, now you are showing them off.
No, stop it.
Another idiom is down the rabbit hole.
Is it an idiom?
Well, yeah, it is like idiomatic language.
It's a metaphor and we can call it an idiom.
When I was doing my research for idioms, I went down a rabbit hole trying to find proper practice exercises.
There are so many practice exercises that are just totally outdated and you needed to fix that.
Yeah, you guys, you have to be very careful with the internet and the resources that you are using, because there is lots and lots of old-fashioned stuff.
However, there can be old-fashioned stuff that is really useful and that is going to connect to the present that I'm going to give people.
However, is there anything else that we need to discuss before we move on?
Oh, yeah, we're discussing idioms, right?
Yes, that has been what the last 40 minutes has been about.
No, let's talk about these old-fashioned idioms.
One of the questions was like, what old-fashioned idioms Russians still learn?
I don't know.
No?
You should know, Rory.
You should have all the answers.
Come on.
You're teaching Russian people.
I am teaching Russian people, but they're also individual people and I can't think of anything that comes up.
Yeah, it depends on the person, right?
It does, and how awful their teacher is.
Yeah.
But yeah, well, actually, no, sorry, that was really judgmental.
They're teachers, probably not awful.
Probably they're teachers influenced by the Russian state education system, which means, if you're preparing your students for Oge and Yege for non-Russian listeners, these are Russian state exams.
And they have a word list of expressions that you're expected to use, which is... understandable but really silly um but there's not really anything i'd say like most russian speakers learn some cliches and then use them all together for example as far as i remember if i'm not mistaking um it's on the tip of my tongue i think i suppose this Oh god.
Speaking from my heart.
Yeah.
I hear that a lot.
Like, sarcastically.
No one's actually ever said it to me honestly.
In my humble opinion, in my view, is that... I hate it when people say, in my humble opinion.
You see, it's very... But that's not a Russian thing.
That's just a thing that's stupid to say.
Oh, okay.
Some learners learn certain cliches and they want to show it off.
Or they learn idioms and they want to say it, to show it off.
Oh, I'm so cool.
I've learned this idiom.
I'm going to say it.
I'm going to use 15 idioms in my speaking example.
Well, why not?
Well, not for the speaking exam.
No, 15.
No.
Right, dear listener, in your speaking exam, which like, how long?
Like from 11 to 14 minutes.
Two idioms.
That would be enough.
One idiom.
Just phrasal verbs.
Collocations.
Yeah, phrasal verbs and collocations are more likely to impress people.
Yeah, but not idioms.
You stuff your essay with idioms?
No.
Just no.
Well, even C2 level speakers don't say that.
Don't say what?
They don't have a lot of idioms in their speech.
Yeah, but they drop these idioms once in a while.
Yeah, but not as part of an effort to like just lace everything they say.
Yeah, and then like, oh, I've used this like, I killed two birds with one stone.
And I look at you like, huh?
Let me just kill two birds with one stone.
You're like, okay.
Yeah, so if you do two things at the same time, you kill two birds with one stone.
In Russian, we kill hares, like bunnies, but in English, they kill birds with one stone.
So, for example... More difficult to kill two birds with one stone.
Oh, well.
Okay.
As if I have some experience in this.
So, when it comes to idioms, don't worry about them being up to date for your exam.
Worry about using them naturally.
But in general English, perhaps it's best to try and learn things which are more up to date.
However, there are some things that are more old fashioned that might be useful.
And this brings me on to my present for people.
So while I suggested some websites with more current ones, I'm also posting a link to a download.
English Idioms in Use, And if Vanya is feeling really lucky, he'll also post it when we post the episode as well.
Feeling not lucky, feeling generous, I should say.
Our listener can take idioms from that book.
They can, yeah.
You can take idioms from anywhere for your exam.
Just don't use all of them at once and don't use them in normal everyday discussions.
Don't change them.
Yes.
Okay, maybe we can just give a couple of examples of idioms and idiomatic language.
So we've just given you, I'd like to try out snowboarding.
I want to take up yoga.
I'm worn out, meaning I'm tired.
My favorite one, which is you don't want to wind up doing something.
So if you wind up doing something, it means that the end result of whatever it is that you've done is usually negative.
Yeah, if you keep doing what you're doing, you're going to wind up an alcoholic.
You can also wind people up by... Oh, stop winding me up.
Exactly.
By annoying them.
But I would never do that.
I'm a very easy person to get along with.
Why are you both looking at me like that?
Robert has just said that and just looked at Vanya.
Ooh.
Well, Vanya didn't make eye contact, but he did smile, which we know what that means.
Yeah.
It means I'm great to work with.
Who wouldn't want to work with me?
You are great, sunshine.
Thank you.
I noticed that you didn't make eye contact when you said that as well, so i like this one.
Like kill two birds with one stone.
Okay, that's just a nice one.
Or, for example, like cycling to work kills two birds with one stone.
It saves money and gives you some exercise.
Yay, Yeah.
Also like it's not rocket science.
Do you say that?
Um... No?
No, I have said it.
Have you heard other people say that?
Yeah, you have.
Yeah.
So, like, it's not difficult, it's easy, it's not rocket science, it's not brain surgery...
It's a piece of cake.
It's easy.
Coming up with the format for this episode wasn't rocket science, because Vanya did it all for me and I didn't have to do anything.
Yeah, and we've given you one like to stay up late, to pull an all-nighter.
Nighter like a night, all-nighter.
You pull an all-nighter.
Pull is like you kind of like pull.
You pull an all-nighter and then you wind up tired the next day.
Or you wind up feeling tired the next day.
So you see, this language is alive.
It's natural, it's idiomatic, it's good for band 8 and 9.
But what will also be good for band 8 and band 9 scores is recording the rest of the episodes that we have to do.
Yeah, we have a couple of episodes to record.
So I think that brings us quite nicely to the end of this particular episode.
Let's wrap it up.
Yes, thank you.
There's an idiom.
Good.
I was like, what's the good idiom to wind up this episode with?
To wind it up.
To wind it up, to wrap it up with, yeah.
Yeah, I think we should collect all the idioms and idiomatic language and make a post on our Telegram Instagram.
And when you say we, you mean Vanya?
We give content, Vanya posts.
We create content, Vanya posts.
Exactly.
Good.
Ivan is smiling.
He's happy.
He's quite glad to do it.
He's so happy to do all the extra work that we've just come up with for him.
We just came up with extra work.
Anyway, thank you very much for listening.
Thank you so much.
