Hello and welcome to the English Like a Native podcast. My name is Anna and you're listening to week 25, day 1 of Your English Five -a -Day.
The second season. This is the series that allows you to daily dunk into the English language, indulging your habit of listening English on a regular basis so that you can slowly but surely increase your vocabulary, improve your listening skills, and feel more like yourself when communicating in English.
Episodes are released every day of the working week from Monday to Friday, and all the vocabulary that we cover is recorded for you in a huge vocabulary vault.
That includes today's vocabulary and all the vocabulary from the entire series.
And you can access that for free by clicking on the link in the show notes.
But without further ado, let's kick off this week with today's snapshot.
Listen carefully. After years in a stressful job, she started a side hustle that felt like a breath of fresh air.
Though life isn't always sunshine and rainbows, her new work helped her keep the blues at bay.
When the time was right, she decided to bow out of her old job and focus completely on her side project.
OK, that sounds very familiar.
That's kind of what I did.
YouTube was my side hustle, then it became my main project, and then this podcast was a side hustle that became a major project in my life.
So, let's dive into this vocabulary, starting with the noun side hustle.
Side hustle, two words, side, S -I -D -E, hustle, H -U -S -T -L -E, but we don't pronounce that T, we just say hustle.
hustle. Side hustle.
A side hustle is a job or an activity that you do to earn extra money besides your main job.
For example, I have a friend who is an architect.
That's her main job.
But as a side hustle, she buys and sells vintage clothes through the internet.
That's her side side hustle, something she does in the evenings and at the weekends for a little extra cash, but also because she really enjoys it.
Side hustles tend to be things that we have a passion for.
Here's another example.
His side hustle as a tutor helps pay for his university fees.
Do you have a side hustle?
And if you don't, what would you do as a side hustle If you had to do a side hustle, what would it be?
Would you make things?
Would you sell things?
Would you do some sort of service for the local community, perhaps?
Next, we have the idiom breath of fresh air, breath of fresh air.
Four words, breath, breath, B -R -E -A -T -H, of, O -F, fresh, F -R -E -S -H, air, A -I -R.
A breath of fresh air is someone or something that's new and different, that's refreshing or pleasant.
For example, if you work in a school as a teacher and all the teachers are very old -fashioned, quite strict and grumpy, but then suddenly a young teacher comes in, a new teacher who's full of energy and smiles and has lots of new ideas, you could say, that new teacher is a breath of fresh air.
They're new, they're pleasant, they're different and it's quite refreshing compared to what we normally experience with the teaching staff here.
Here's another example.
The new manager was a breath of fresh air after the last one.
Next we have the idiom sunshine and rainbows.
Sunshine and rainbows.
sunshine, s -u -n -s -h -i -n -e and rainbows, r -a -i -n -b -o -w -s.
Sunshine and rainbows.
Sunshine and rainbows describes a situation that seems very happy and perfect but sometimes Sometimes unrealistically.
So we tend to use this to say something is not all sunshine and rainbows.
It's not as perfect as it seems. For example, when I worked on the cruise ships as a singer, people used to say, wow, what an incredible life you lead.
You get to visit lots of different countries.
You're living on a luxury ship and all your food is cooked for you.
You go on the stage every night and do the job that you love, performing to audiences every single day, and you're getting paid to do it.
Wow, that's amazing.
But then I would say, well, yes, it is amazing, but it's not all perfect.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows.
I'm away from my friends and family.
I have no phone signal, no internet signal, so I'm completely cut off from my life back home.
I can't just decide to visit when I like.
I have to spend all of the special holidays and birthdays here at sea.
If someone's sick, my friends, my family, I can't go and visit.
I live under the rules of my captain.
So it's not all sunshine and rainbows.
So here's another example sentence.
Life isn't always sunshine and rainbows.
Sometimes it's hard. Next we have the phrasal verb, bow out.
Bow out. Two words, bow, B -O -W, out, O -U -T.
Now, the word bow, the spelling is very similar to the noun bow.
A bow is something you might wear on your hair.
So don't be confused when you see it, especially as a phrasal verb, it's bow, like you've hurt yourself.
Ow, bow, bow out. To bow out is to leave or to stop doing something, often politely or officially.
So if I decide that I don't want to be the leader of the debate club at school anymore, I would officially say, I'm really sorry, I've got too much on, I'm going to step down.
That's another phrasal verb.
I'm going to step down, I'm going to bow bow out after this term.
So, I'm officially leaving this role.
Have you ever bowed out of anything?
So, here's another example.
He bowed out of the competition because of an injury.
So, it's to leave or stop doing something politely.
Finally, we have the idiom, keep the blues at bay.
To keep the blues at bay.
Five words. I had to think about that then.
Five words. Keep, K -E -E -P, the blues, B -L -U -E -S, at bay, B -A -Y.
why. To keep the blues at bay is an idiom that means prevent feeling sad or to prevent feeling depressed.
If I want to keep the blues at bay, then I do something that makes me happy or distracts me from whatever's upsetting me.
For example, in the winter, when it's dark and cold and raining when I can't get out very much, I try to plan lots of interesting activities to keep me busy and to have things to look forward to in order to keep the blues at bay, to stop me feeling depressed.
What do you do to keep the blues at bay?
Here's another example.
Talking to friends is a good way to keep the blues at bay.
Fantastic. That's our five, so let's do a quick recap.
We started with the noun side hustle, which is a job or an activity that you can do to earn extra money besides your main job.
A side hustle. We had the idiom a breath of fresh air, which is someone or something that's new, different and quite quite refreshing, very pleasant.
It's a breath of fresh air.
We had the idiom sunshine and rainbows that describes a situation that seems very happy and perfect, but it's sometimes unrealistic.
Sunshine and rainbows.
We had the phrasal verb bow out, which is to leave or stop doing something, something, often in a very official or polite way.
To bow out. And we had the idiom to keep the blues at bay, which is to prevent a feeling of sadness or depression.
Keep the blues at bay.
Let's now do this for pronunciation purposes.
Please repeat after me.
side hustle side hustle a breath of fresh air a breath of fresh air sunshine and rainbows sunshine and rainbows bows.
Bow out. Bow out. Keep the blues at bay.
Keep the blues at bay.
Fantastic. If I meet somebody who's very different to the people that I usually meet in this place, They're quite different and it's refreshing.
What idiom would I use to describe them?
A breath of fresh air.
Yes, this person is a breath of fresh air.
Imagining a situation that seems very happy and perfect in a way that's almost unrealistic.
What idiom would I use to describe that situation?
Sunshine and rainbows.
Oh, yes, it seems all sunshine and rainbows.
What noun would I use to talk about a job that I do to earn extra money besides my main job?
A side hustle. Yes, fantastic.
And if I decide to stop doing something and I stop doing it in a polite and official way, what phrasal verb would I use?
Bow out. Very good.
I'm going to bow out of that role.
Finally, if I want to prevent myself from feeling sad or depressed, what would I do?
What idiom should we use here?
Keep the blues at bay.
Fantastic. Okay, let's listen to our snapshot once again.
After years in a stressful job, she started a side hustle that felt like a breath of fresh air.
Though life isn't always sunshine and rainbows, her new work helped her keep the blues at bay.
When the time was right, she decided to bow out of her old job and focus completely on her side project.
OK, it's time to listen for our target vocabulary once again as we head into story time.
Sophie stared at her laptop screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard, but no words coming out.
Running her own online business had been her dream for years.
She loved the freedom, the constant buzz of new ideas and the endless possibilities.
But lately, something had changed.
The endless emails, the social media posts, the constant chasing of deadlines.
it was starting to drain her.
Her mental health was taking a hit and she knew she needed something different.
Her friend Anna had suggested it.
Why don't you start a side hustle that gets you away from the screen?
Something offline. It might be just the breath of fresh air you need.
At first, Sophie laughed.
A side hustle. She was already working seven days a week, but the idea stayed with her, growing quietly until she decided to give it a try.
Sophie remembered how much she loved working with her hands as a child, and that sparked an idea.
She contacted a local pottery studio that offered small workspace rentals and access to equipment.
Soon she was spending evenings shaping clay into bowls, mugs and plates.
Not just for fun, but to sell at the weekend market nearby.
This side hustle wasn't sunshine and rainbows.
The first few pieces were rough, misshapen.
or cracked during firing.
She had to learn the hard way, making mistakes and starting over.
But every time she finished a piece, she felt a quiet satisfaction that was missing from her online work.
Pottery became a breath of fresh air from the constant noise of emails and deadlines.
lines. The feel of the clay in her hands, the slow rhythm of shaping and painting helped Sophie keep the blues at bay.
When her online business felt overwhelming, she looked forward to her time at the studio, where she could focus on something real and calm.
After a few months, Sophie's small collection of pots was ready for the local weekend market.
Selling her creations face -to -face was new and exciting and customers loved the handmade quality.
The extra income was a bonus, but the real reward was how much better she felt.
Still, she knew she couldn't keep both both worlds running forever.
Her online business was her main job, but it was also the source of stress.
She thought about bowing out of some projects, cutting down her hours and focusing more on pottery and her mental health.
One evening, after a long day online, Sophie sat with a cup of tea and smiled.
This offline side hustle had given her more than she expected.
it brought balance and peace.
She wasn't giving up her business, it was too important for that, but she was learning to listen to herself, to step back when needed and to find joy in new things.
Sometimes a little change is all you need.
For Sophie, her offline side hustle was exactly that, a fresh start and a brighter future.
And that brings us to the end of today's episode.
I do hope you found it useful.
Remember, you can access all of the vocabulary from the Vocabulary Vault.
This database is available for you to access right now for free just by clicking on the link in the show notes.
Until tomorrow, take very good care and goodbye.
