Open Doors English: The Julie Rudd Coulombe Language Program

💡Thursday Idiom: IN THE SAME BOAT💡

Welcome back language lovers! This week we are talking about a very *empathetic* idiom: to be IN THE SAME BOAT. What does that mean? Well, let's talk about it!

If you are IN THE SAME BOAT as someone else, it means you're in the same difficult or uncomfortable situation. It's generally a negative thing, so you share the same problem. If we're both experiencing the same trouble, the same discomfort, you might say that we're IN THE SAME BOAT. Let's look at some examples:

Tammy was having a difficult summer. "It hasn't rained in weeks!" She said. "All my plants are dying!" Her friend Sam gave her a hug. "I know," Sam said. "My garden looks terrible too. We're all IN THE SAME BOAT here. This drought is bad for everyone."

OR

Herman was sick and tired of waiting. He had been standing in this line for over an hour and it hadn't moved an inch. Oh well, he thought, looking around at the other people in line, at least we're all IN THE SAME BOAT HERE. Everyone in this line is suffering together.

Can you think of an example sentence of your own using IN THE SAME BOAT? Is there an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡Thursday Idiom: OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD💡

Hello again, my language-loving friends! This week we have kind of a strange idiom for you: OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. This is usually something we say when someone asks us a question that we are not prepared to answer. It means I will tell you something, I will do my best to remember, but I don't have the exact answer here with me right now. If I give you an answer OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, it means I can go check later, but this is my best guess right now. Let's look at some examples:

'Vanessa was starting to sweat. The meeting was almost over, and her boss suddenly had some questions for her. "How much did we spend on paper last year?" he asked. She knew the exact answer was on her desk somewhere, but she didn't have it with her and everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to say something. "Well, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD I think it's around a thousand dollars. But I can check later and get an exact number for you," she said.'

OR

'The other day, my friend Samantha asked me how many people live in Ithaca. "Honestly, I'm not sure," I said. "OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I think it's only about 30,000 people if you don't include university students. But I could be wrong! I'll check Wikipedia for you next time I'm at my computer."'

Can you write an example sentence of your own? Do you have an idiom in your native language with a similar meaning? Post them in the comments below!

💡THURSDAY IDIOM: PULL someone's LEG💡

HellOoOoOoOooooo language lovers! We have a silly idiom for you today: to PULL someone's LEG. What does it mean? Let's talk about it! So this one is not literal at all. PULLING someone's LEG just means you are joking with them! Specifically, you are telling a joke that is tricking them. It's something we say when someone takes a joke seriously and we need them to understand it was just a joke, it's not real. You're just PULLING their LEG. Let's look at some examples:

"Layla's boss called her into his office last week and said, 'You're fired!' When she started to cry he jumped up and said, "Wait, wait, please don't cry! I was just PULLING your LEG! It was a joke!" Layla dried her eyes with a tissue and went home. What a terrible joke, she thought. That night she started looking for a new job."

OR

"My friend Cynthia was super nervous about giving a presentation at school. I sat in the audience and watched -- she did a fantastic job. When she was finished, she came over and asked me how I thought it went. 'Oh, great,' I said, 'except you had a piece of food stuck in your teeth the whole time.' 'WHAT!?' Cynthia said. I laughed. "Relax, relax, I'm just PULLING your LEG. It went great, you did a wonderful job."

Can you write an example of your own using PULL someone's LEG? Can you think of a similar idiom in your own language? Post them in the comments below!

migrants