Speaker 1: I hope you don't mind if I bend your ear
a little bit today. This past week, I've been up
to my ears in new ideas for English lessons, and
today's podcast is going to be something that I hope
won't go in one ear and out the other. Let's
get going.
Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from
New York City. And here's your English teacher, Michael all Rye.
Speaker 1: Thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here from
Happy English and I help people speak English better. This
is Happy English Podcast, Episode seven forty nine. Ear idioms, Yeah,
ear idioms. Today we're gonna look at six idioms that
have to do with how you listen to something. Before
we dive in, let's listen to a conversation between two
college roommates. Be sure to listen for the ear idioms
in their conversation.
Speaker 3: Hey, Taylor, it's so good to see you. You know,
I've been up to my ears in studying lately. It's
like I never get a break. I need better time
management skills. Yeah.
Speaker 4: Same here. I had to bend my roommate's ear for
advice on how to manage everything. They're always so organized.
Speaker 3: Oh I hear you. I still feel a bit wet
behind the ears when it comes to balancing everything. I'm
just learning as I go.
Speaker 4: Me too, you know, the other day I overheard a
couple of classmates talking about our paper. My ears were
burning because they were mentioning my ideas. I was so curious.
Speaker 3: I hope what they were saying was positive. Sometimes I
feel like my suggestions fall on deaf ears in our
study group. It's frustrating when nobody listens.
Speaker 4: Yeah, sometimes when I'm working with my study partner, it
seems like my ideas go in one ear and out
the other.
Speaker 3: I guess all we can do is hang in there.
Speaker 1: Anyway.
Speaker 3: Thanks a lot for listening, and now.
Speaker 1: Let's check out these ear idioms. First up, when you
are up to your ears in something you have so
much to do that you feel overwhelmed. Here are some examples.
I am up to my ears in paperwork right now,
so I can't meet you for lunch today. Now that
school's started, the kids are up to their ears and homework.
The first weekend I moved into my new apartment, I
was up to my ears in cleaning. The next one
is wet behind the ears. Someone who is wet behind
the ears is inexperienced or new, it's something. Here are
some examples. Casey said she still feels a bit wet
behind the ears when it comes to balancing everything. I'm
still wet behind the ears when it comes to managing
a team, but I'm learning quickly. Do you feel like
you're wet behind the ears when it comes to your English?
Hang in there, It's gonna keep getting better for you. Next,
when you bend someone's ear, you talk to them for
a long time about something. For example, Taylor said she
had to bend her roommate's ear for advice on how
to manage everything. Thanks for letting me bend your ear today.
I really needed to vent about my boss. You know.
I got a lot of good advice about going to
Peru from Carlos. I'm glad he let me bend his
ear about my trip. And here's something that I want
to bend your ears about. It's the All Ears English podcast.
All Ears English. That's the place where my friends Lindsey,
Michelle and Aubrey focus on connection, not perfection, with real
and natural English conversations. The All Ears English podcast has
four point two million all time listeners and two hundred
million all time downloads. They have even been ranked number
one in US education language courses in Apple, and they've
got five new episodes a week. This week's topics include
the difference between we made it and we did It
and six new language trends that native speakers are using today.
Sounds awesome right. All you need to do is open
your search bar right now, type in all ears English
and hit follow. They'll have you using and speaking better
English in no time. I got a feeling that Lindsey's
ears were burning there. When your ears are burning, it
means you are aware that people are talking about you,
but you don't know exactly what they're saying. For example,
Taylor said that his ears were burning because it seemed
like his classmates were talking about his ideas. I could
tell my ears were burning when everyone started looking at
me during the meeting. Tom said his ears were burning
when we mentioned his new project at lunch. Next, when
something you say falls on deaf ears, it gets ignored
or not paid attention to. For example, Casey said she
feels like sometimes her suggestions fall on deaf ears in
her study group. Whenever I complain to my neighbor about
his loud music it just falls on deaf ears. Despite
asking several times, the request for a budget increase fell
on deaf years. In a similar way, we say that
something goes in one ear and out the other. Think
about that image for a moment. If you talk to
someone and what you say goes in one ear and
out the other, then what you said didn't spend much
time in their head. In other words, they ignored you
or didn't pay attention to what you said. For example,
in the conversation, Taylor said that sometimes when he's working
with his study partner, his ideas go in one ear
and out the other. Whenever Jane talks to her teenagers,
it seems that her advice goes in one ear and
out the other. I told Mark about the changes to
the schedule, but it went in one ear and out
the other. He seemed so distracted today, keep in mind
the best way to remember this and any other word
or phrase in English is to take that word or phrase,
write it in a sentence that's true for you or
true in your world, and then memorize your sentences. Hey,
did you know that you can get the chance to
practice this kind of English with me directly? You can
get more practice using your English when you join my
podcast Learner's study Group. There you can make new friends,
join us for live group lessons every week where we
practice these podcast lessons together. Plus you get access to
the PDF, transcript and audio download for every Happy English
podcast in the past and in the future. And on
top of that, each episode has exercises where you can
practice this English point with speaking and writing checked by me.
To learn more, just visit my Happy English and choose
podcast lesson seven nine. Remember, learning another language is not easy,
but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you
on your journey.
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Happy English.