{"id":49298,"date":"2021-05-04T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/?post_type=podcasts&#038;p=49298"},"modified":"2024-03-26T22:39:51","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T22:39:51","slug":"water-idioms","status":"publish","type":"podcasts","link":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/podcasts\/water-idioms\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Idioms"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Did you know that there are more than 25,000 idiomatic phrases in English? <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress-914443-3928799.cloudwaysapps.com\/tag\/idioms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Idioms<\/a> are used in everyday language to add fluency and description to a sentence. They can be difficult for English learners to understand because the meaning of the idiom often has nothing to do with the individual words within the idiom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance,&nbsp;when we describe something as being \u201c<strong>like water off a duck\u2019s back<\/strong>\u201d, we are not talking about a wet bird, we mean to say that something, such as criticism, has no affect on a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are five more idioms with <strong>water\u00a0<\/strong>to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/words-at-play\/usage-whet-your-appetite-and-wet-your-whistle#:~:text=Whet%20your%20appetite%20is%20a%20phrase%20meaning%20to,made%20physically%20wet%2C%20making%20whet%20the%20correct%20term.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">whet your appetite.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:36px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"buzzsprout-player-8413021\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/www.buzzsprout.com\/1762794\/8413021-water-idioms.js?container_id=buzzsprout-player-8413021&#038;player=small\" type=\"text\/javascript\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:36px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"arIndex_0\"><strong>1.&nbsp;In deep \/ hot water<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When someone is<strong> in deep water<\/strong>, they are trying to deal with a difficult situation. To be <strong>in hot water<\/strong>&nbsp;is similar, but there is more emphasis on any&nbsp;negative consequences if that difficult situation isn&#8217;t resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Sarah was <strong>in deep water<\/strong> when she took on the new project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>We will be&nbsp;<strong>in hot water<\/strong> if we don&#8217;t meet the deadline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"arIndex_0\"><strong>2.&nbsp;Take to something like a duck to water<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn how to do something very quickly and naturally, without much effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Amy has <strong>taken to&nbsp;<\/strong>computer programming<strong>&nbsp;like a duck to water<\/strong>. She&#8217;s a natural!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I thought I would find it hard to learn a new language, but as soon as I found the right teacher, I&nbsp;<strong>took to <\/strong>it <strong>like a duck to water<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"arIndex_0\"><strong>3.&nbsp;Keep your head above water<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This idiom usually refers to money and describes having just enough to survive or stay in business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>After the recession in 2008, the company barely <strong>kept its head above water<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ten years ago, we struggled to <strong>keep our head above water<\/strong>. Nowadays, our company is going from strength to strength.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-test-the-water-s\"><strong>4. Test the water(s)&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to find out a little bit about something before you get too deeply involved, we say you are&nbsp;<strong>testing the water(s)<\/strong>. Another variation of this idiom is to&nbsp;<strong>dip your toe in the water<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>A good salesperson asks their customers some questions to&nbsp;<strong>test the water<\/strong> before trying to sell something to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Greg took an internship at a&nbsp;newspaper to <strong>dip his toe in the water<\/strong> and see if he would like to work in the&nbsp;industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-water-under-the-bridge\"><strong>5.&nbsp;Water under the bridge<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The&nbsp;idiom <strong>water under the bridge<\/strong>&nbsp;describes&nbsp;something that&nbsp;happened a long time ago. It&#8217;s irrelevant now, or simply forgotten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>There&#8217;s no point in worrying about the past. It&#8217;s all&nbsp;<strong>water under the bridge<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mary and Tom used to hate each other, but that&#8217;s all&nbsp;<strong>water under the bridge&nbsp;<\/strong>now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Exercise<\/strong>: Now it&#8217;s your turn. Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with the correct form of the idioms from above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li>I am not very good at ice skating, but my nephew&nbsp;____________________ when I took him to the ice rink for the first time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Last Christmas, two of my friends had a big argument. But that&#8217;s all&nbsp;____________________ now.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sally was&nbsp;____________________ when her boss quit suddenly and she had to take over the project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>I&#8217;m going to visit Italy for a week to&nbsp;____________________. If I like it, I will move there next&nbsp;year.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Post your answers in the comments section below or email us at <a href=\"mailto:hello@intrepidenglish.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intrepid English<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.thrivecart.com\/trial-lesson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Book a trial lesson<\/a> today and talk about your learning goals with an experienced and friendly Intrepid English teacher. Say goodbye to boring English lessons! If you&#8217;re not sure what you want to learn, let your teacher choose from the range of English courses&nbsp;that have been designed&nbsp;to help our students to achieve their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:37px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">This blog was written by Intrepid English Teacher and Founder, Lorraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you have any questions, or you would like to request a topic for a future blog, leave a comment below, or email us at <a href=\"mailto:lorraine@intrepidenglish.co.uk\">Intrepid English<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0fThese water idioms feature in our free ebook, <a href=\"https:\/\/view.flodesk.com\/pages\/62b396e55b2d08a9b95d9b12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Essential English Idioms<\/a>. Download your \u2728free\u2728 copy <a href=\"https:\/\/view.flodesk.com\/pages\/62b396e55b2d08a9b95d9b12\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a> to practise these, plus twenty more fun and functional English idioms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u27a1\ufe0f Are you an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/membership-plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intrepid English Member<\/a>? Study our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/members.intrepidenglish.co.uk\/courses\/idioms\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Essential English Idioms course<\/a>&nbsp;in the Intrepid English Academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Did you know that there are more than 25,000 idiomatic phrases in English? Idioms are used in everyday language to add fluency and description to a sentence. They can be difficult for English learners to understand because the meaning of the idiom often has nothing to do with the individual words within the idiom. For [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[35,18],"blocksy_meta":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcasts\/49298"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcasts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcasts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcasts\/49298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50035,"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcasts\/49298\/revisions\/50035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intrepidenglish.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}