1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,519 I'm not trying to let the cat out of the bag, but I have 2 00:00:04,599 --> 00:00:10,039 to tell you I am dog tired. Now I'm gonna guess that you're going 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:15,080 to want to know why, but keep in mind curiosity killed the cat. 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:25,280 Yep, today is all about cats and dogs. Let's discuss. Welcome to 5 00:00:25,359 --> 00:00:30,440 another Happy English podcast, coming to you from New York City, and here's 6 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:35,399 your English teacher, Michael. All right, thank you John, and thanks 7 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:41,880 everyone. It's Michael here from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 8 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:49,479 And this is Happy English Podcast Episode seven fifteen, Cats and Dogs. 9 00:00:50,399 --> 00:00:56,079 For today's English lesson, let's have a look at idioms that deal with cats 10 00:00:56,119 --> 00:01:02,200 and dogs. Being a dog person myself, I'm not exactly sure why we 11 00:01:02,399 --> 00:01:07,319 always put cats first when we talk about cats and dogs, but hey, 12 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:14,480 that's English. I really love helping you learn idioms because they do tend to 13 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:22,760 make your English conversation and writing more colorful and more natural sounding. Next, 14 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,959 listen to a conversation between two friends at a coffee shop. See if you 15 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,280 can catch all of the cat and dog idioms. Hey, Jenny, how's 16 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:34,079 it going? Hey Karen, Well, to be honest, I'm dog tired. 17 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:37,760 They've had me working overtime every day this week. Oh that stinks. 18 00:01:38,159 --> 00:01:41,200 You've got such a stressful job. You look like a cat on a hot 19 00:01:41,239 --> 00:01:45,120 tin roof. You can say that again. And ever since the company announced 20 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,760 the merger, everyone has been on edge. Who knows what's going to happen 21 00:01:48,799 --> 00:01:52,879 next. You know, everyone's competing. Yeah, I get that, especially 22 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:56,280 the way the economy is going these days. It's a dog eat dog world 23 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,519 out there. I've been working like a dog too. I can't wait for 24 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,079 the weekend. Speaking of which, I'm so glad nobody let the cat out 25 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:06,079 of the bag about our surprise party for Tom. It's going to be a 26 00:02:06,079 --> 00:02:08,560 great party, and I'm sure he's going to be so surprised. And you 27 00:02:08,599 --> 00:02:13,240 know, he's been acting so curious about his birthday too. You know what 28 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,479 they say, curiosity killed the cat too, funny. Let's hope him and 29 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,360 Sarah keep things chill. You know how they fight like cats and dogs sometimes. 30 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:23,479 Yeah, we don't want any drama, for sure. They've been together 31 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,319 for a dog's age, but they still argue like crazy. I guess they 32 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:31,560 just don't know how to let sleeping dogs lie totally. And now let's take 33 00:02:31,599 --> 00:02:38,639 a look at these cat and dog idioms. When you are dog tired, 34 00:02:38,159 --> 00:02:45,599 you are both physically and mentally exhausted from doing something. Here are some examples. 35 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:50,639 After a long day at work, I'm dog tired. I think I'll 36 00:02:50,719 --> 00:02:54,879 just go home and veg on the sofa. I was so dog tired last 37 00:02:55,000 --> 00:03:00,199 night that I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The 38 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:05,159 kids were dog tired after their soccer game and fell asleep on the way home. 39 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,840 Can you imagine how a cat would feel if it were walking on a 40 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:15,120 hot roof in the summertime? Now, what if that roof were made of 41 00:03:15,319 --> 00:03:23,759 metal like tin, Probably the cat would be very anxious or nervous. Well, 42 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,639 when you feel like a cat on a hot tin roof, you are 43 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:35,240 feeling extremely agitated or nervous. Keep in mind this is a little bit of 44 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,879 an old fashioned sounding idiom. You might not hear it in conversations these days, 45 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:45,439 but there's probably a good chance that you're going to hear this idiom in 46 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:52,000 old movies or in music. Here are some examples. I can't sit still. 47 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,879 I'm so worried about the presentation tomorrow. I feel like a cat on 48 00:03:55,919 --> 00:04:00,400 a hot tin roof. Kenny is like a cat on a hot tin roof 49 00:04:00,439 --> 00:04:06,280 about his performance review. With the boss waiting for the client's answer about the 50 00:04:06,360 --> 00:04:13,240 contract is making me feel like a cat on a hot tin roof. Next, 51 00:04:13,479 --> 00:04:17,519 when a dog gets together with another dog, they could be quite competitive 52 00:04:17,639 --> 00:04:23,879 or even aggressive toward each other, especially if there is food around. With 53 00:04:23,959 --> 00:04:29,600 that image in mind, we have the phrase dog eat dog or a dog 54 00:04:29,639 --> 00:04:35,160 eat dog world, which means a very competitive situation. For example, the 55 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:41,959 business world, especially in finance, tends to be quite dog eat dog. 56 00:04:42,439 --> 00:04:46,959 It's usually rather dog eat dog in the world of politics. At the college 57 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:53,360 graduation speech, the head of the law department reminded the graduates that it's a 58 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,360 dog eat dog world out there, so they have to be willing to do 59 00:04:57,399 --> 00:05:03,079 whatever it takes to get ahead. Next, we have to let sleeping dogs 60 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:10,319 lie, which means to not disturb a situation or not to bring attention to 61 00:05:10,439 --> 00:05:15,199 something bad that happened. Here are some examples. Don't remind the boss about 62 00:05:15,199 --> 00:05:20,439 the trouble you had with that client last month. Just let sleeping dogs lie 63 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:27,279 and don't bring it up. Let's try to let sleeping dogs lie and move 64 00:05:27,319 --> 00:05:31,600 on from the incident. I wouldn't ask jen about her ex boyfriend. If 65 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:38,920 I were you, just let sleeping dogs lie. It's pretty well known that 66 00:05:39,079 --> 00:05:45,120 cats and dogs generally don't get along with each other. With this in mind, 67 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:50,959 when people argue or fight constantly, we can say that they fight like 68 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:56,800 cats and dogs. Here are some examples. I don't know how they work 69 00:05:56,879 --> 00:06:01,160 together. They always seem to fight like cats and dogs. The boss and 70 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:06,319 his assistant are often fighting like cats and dogs. When we were younger, 71 00:06:06,639 --> 00:06:13,199 my sister and I always fought like cats and dogs. The last one is 72 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:18,120 a dog's age. One year for a dog is like six or seven years 73 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:24,600 for a human, so a dog's age is a very long time. We 74 00:06:24,759 --> 00:06:30,879 usually use a dog's age when we talk about something we haven't done in a 75 00:06:30,959 --> 00:06:36,800 long time. For example, I haven't seen my old college roommate in a 76 00:06:36,879 --> 00:06:43,879 dog's age. I haven't eaten at that restaurant in a dog's age. It 77 00:06:43,959 --> 00:06:49,680 feels like it's been a dog's age since I last went on vacation. Keep 78 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:55,920 in mind, the best way to remember this and any other word or phrase 79 00:06:55,959 --> 00:07:00,720 in English is to take that word or phrase, write it in a sentence 80 00:07:00,800 --> 00:07:05,000 that's true for you or true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. 81 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:11,480 By the way, can you imagine getting the chance to practice this kind 82 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:16,879 of English with me directly. You can get more practice using your English when 83 00:07:16,879 --> 00:07:24,639 you join my podcast Learner's study group. There you can make new international friends. 84 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:30,839 Join us for live group coaching every week where we practice these podcast lessons 85 00:07:30,879 --> 00:07:36,240 together. Plus you get access to the PDF, transcript and audio download for 86 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:42,920 every Happy English podcast in the past and in the future. And on top 87 00:07:42,959 --> 00:07:47,920 of that, each episode has exercises where you can practice this English point with 88 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:54,160 speaking and writing checked by me. To learn more or to see some of 89 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:59,920 the example sentences from this lesson, just visit Myhappy English dot com and choose 90 00:08:00,079 --> 00:08:05,319 podcast lesson seven point fifteen. Remember, learning another language is not easy, 91 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:11,600 but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you on your journey. 92 00:08:11,959 --> 00:08:16,600 This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please visit Myhappy English dot 93 00:08:16,639 --> 00:08:22,680 com show your support for Happy English by leaving us a review. Get English, 94 00:08:22,879 --> 00:08:37,120 Get Happy, Happy English.