1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: I was off work yesterday, so I decided to go 2 00:00:04,799 --> 00:00:08,080 off the grid and spend a quiet day at a 3 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:13,039 little park which is totally off the beaten path. Well, 4 00:00:13,679 --> 00:00:17,239 I was way off the mark because as soon as 5 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:21,960 I sat down, there were tons of mosquitoes flying around. 6 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:27,000 Let's discuss. 7 00:00:27,719 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 2: Welcome to another Happy English podcast, coming to you from 8 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:35,280 New York City, and here's your English teacher, Michael. 9 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,679 Speaker 1: Alrighty, thank you John, and thanks everyone. It's Michael here 10 00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:44,719 from Happy English and I help people speak English better. 11 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:51,960 This is Happy English Podcast Episode seven thirty eight. Be off. 12 00:00:53,119 --> 00:00:57,320 In this podcast English Lesson, I'm gonna show you eight 13 00:00:57,479 --> 00:01:02,600 phrases that use b off. So first to see these 14 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:07,239 in context, let's check out this short story about a 15 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:12,920 woman named Jessica. Jessica was thrilled to be off from 16 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:17,480 work on Friday. She had been working NonStop for weeks, 17 00:01:17,799 --> 00:01:20,760 so when her boss told her to take a day off, 18 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,319 she didn't hesitate. As she sat with a cup of 19 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:29,400 Joe at her favorite coffee shop, she thought about how 20 00:01:29,439 --> 00:01:33,599 she was off to a flying start with her new project. 21 00:01:34,239 --> 00:01:38,760 Her team had worked hard, and everything was finally coming together. 22 00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:43,799 Just as she was taking a sip of coffee. Jessica's 23 00:01:43,799 --> 00:01:49,680 phone rang. It was her coworker Tom. Hey Tom, what's up? 24 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 3: Hey, Jess? I think we might have messed up the 25 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:54,799 numbers in the report. The boss isn't happy. 26 00:01:54,959 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: Are you sure? I hope you're off base on this one. 27 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 3: Unfortunately I'm not off the mark this time. But don't worry. 28 00:02:01,239 --> 00:02:03,799 The boss said you're off the hook. He knows you've 29 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:05,920 been working extra hard, so he's not blaming you. 30 00:02:06,519 --> 00:02:10,479 Speaker 1: Jessica thanked Tom and hung up the phone. She knew 31 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,439 she was lucky to be off the hook this time, 32 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:16,879 but it reminded her of how important it was to 33 00:02:17,159 --> 00:02:22,319 double check everything. After the call, Jessica decided to enjoy 34 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:25,599 the rest of her day off. She turned off the 35 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,199 phone so she could be off the grid and headed 36 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,560 to a quiet park to relax. Once she was off 37 00:02:34,719 --> 00:02:39,280 the beaten path, she spent the afternoon reading and soaking 38 00:02:39,319 --> 00:02:44,080 in the peace and quiet, far away from work. Stress. 39 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,199 And now. Let's have a look at the key vocabulary 40 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:53,560 from this lesson. The first one is to be off 41 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:59,560 from work or school. We also say that someone is off. 42 00:03:00,400 --> 00:03:04,759 When someone is off from work or off from school, 43 00:03:05,199 --> 00:03:09,439 it means they have a break or are not required 44 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,439 to go to work or school that day. For example, 45 00:03:14,439 --> 00:03:20,120 on Fridays, Emily is off from work, so she usually 46 00:03:20,159 --> 00:03:24,120 spends the day with her family because he was sick. 47 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:30,039 Mark was off from school last week. Rachel is off today, 48 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:34,560 so she's planning to relax at home. Next, we have 49 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:39,000 to be off to a flying start. When someone is 50 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,639 off to a flying start, it means they have made 51 00:03:42,719 --> 00:03:48,599 a very successful or positive beginning of doing something. Here 52 00:03:48,599 --> 00:03:52,000 are some examples. I heard from Kevin that he's off 53 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:55,240 to a flying start with his new job. He's even 54 00:03:55,360 --> 00:04:00,280 managed to impress his new boss thanks to her hard work. 55 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:06,080 Olivia's project is off to a flying start. Jason was 56 00:04:06,199 --> 00:04:09,360 off to a flying start in the marathon, leaving the 57 00:04:09,479 --> 00:04:15,319 race early on. The next phrase is to be off base. 58 00:04:16,120 --> 00:04:20,120 When someone is off base, it means that they are 59 00:04:20,319 --> 00:04:25,439 wrong or mistaken about something. We often use this phrase 60 00:04:25,519 --> 00:04:32,480 when someone misunderstands a situation or has incorrect information. Let's 61 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,920 look at a few examples. I told Ted that he 62 00:04:36,079 --> 00:04:40,279 was completely off base because he thought the meeting was tomorrow, 63 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:44,879 but in fact it's next Monday. Sarah's guess about the 64 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:49,639 surprise birthday party was way off base. I'm not sure 65 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,240 what Jimmy was thinking, but his idea about moving the 66 00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:57,160 website to a new hosting company was totally off base 67 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,199 from what the boss wanted. Next is to be off 68 00:05:02,439 --> 00:05:06,199 the hook. When you go fishing and you catch a fish, 69 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,680 it's on the hook, which is good for you, but 70 00:05:10,199 --> 00:05:13,839 the fish is in trouble. If you take the fish 71 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,680 off the hook and throw it back to the sea, 72 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:22,319 then it's going to be free from trouble. Well with 73 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:26,959 this image, when someone is off the hook, it means 74 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,560 they are no longer responsible or no longer in trouble 75 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:37,120 for something. For example, Lisa was relieved when her boss 76 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,040 said she was off the hook for the mistake. All 77 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:44,399 Tony needed to do was to explain the situation to 78 00:05:44,519 --> 00:05:48,560 his wife, and he was off the hook. The boss 79 00:05:48,639 --> 00:05:52,439 has security video of Larry walking out of the office 80 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:55,720 with some equipment, so there's no way he's gonna be 81 00:05:55,920 --> 00:06:00,879 off the hook for that. We use the grid or 82 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:06,399 the power grid to talk about public utilities like electricity. 83 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:11,800 Most people live on the grid, which means connected to 84 00:06:11,959 --> 00:06:17,040 public utilities. On the other hand, some people these days 85 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,399 prefer to live off the grid, like that guy Nate 86 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,680 on TikTok Off the grid means living in a remote 87 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:33,519 area without using public utilities like electricity or the internet. 88 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,360 In the story above, off the grid is also used 89 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,920 to mean being disconnected from the Internet. You can be 90 00:06:45,279 --> 00:06:49,560 off the grid or go off the grid. Here are 91 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:54,879 some examples. Sam enjoys being off the grid during his 92 00:06:55,079 --> 00:07:01,360 camping trips to relax without distractions. Melissa decided to go 93 00:07:01,439 --> 00:07:04,839 off the grid in a cabin in the mountains all 94 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,759 last weekend. Josh was off the grid, so he didn't 95 00:07:08,759 --> 00:07:13,879 see any messages or social media. The last thing that 96 00:07:13,959 --> 00:07:18,959 you can be off for today is off the beaten path. 97 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:23,000 A place that is off the beaten path is a 98 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:28,199 place which is not commonly visited or not well known. 99 00:07:28,959 --> 00:07:34,199 For example, when traveling, Lisa loves to be off the 100 00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:40,680 beaten path and explore small hidden villages. While walking around Brooklyn, 101 00:07:41,279 --> 00:07:45,040 John found a great little restaurant that was off the 102 00:07:45,079 --> 00:07:51,160 beaten path. Megan is always going off the beaten path 103 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:56,959 instead of visiting tourist spots. Keep in mind the best 104 00:07:56,959 --> 00:07:59,839 way to remember this and any other word or fra 105 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,879 in English is to take that word or phrase write 106 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,199 it in a sentence that's true for you or true 107 00:08:07,199 --> 00:08:11,920 in your world and then memorize your sentences. By the way, 108 00:08:12,759 --> 00:08:15,519 can you imagine getting the chance to practice this kind 109 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,720 of English with me directly. You can get more practice 110 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:24,240 using your English when you join my podcast Learner's study Group. 111 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,959 There you can make new friends, join us for live 112 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,879 group lessons every week where we practice these podcast lessons together. 113 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:38,759 Plus you get access to the pdf, transcript and audio 114 00:08:38,799 --> 00:08:42,960 download for every Happy English podcast in the past and 115 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:47,159 in the future. And on top of that, each episode 116 00:08:47,200 --> 00:08:51,159 has exercises where you can practice this English point with 117 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:56,120 speaking and writing checked by me. To learn more, just 118 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,919 visit Myhappy English dot com and choose podcast lessons seven 119 00:09:00,919 --> 00:09:05,679 point thirty eight. Remember, learning another language is not easy, 120 00:09:05,919 --> 00:09:08,840 but it's not impossible, and I'm here to help you 121 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:11,240 on your journey. 122 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 2: This podcast is brought to you by Happy English. Please 123 00:09:14,759 --> 00:09:19,320 visit Myhappy English dot com show your support for Happy 124 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:20,120 English by. 125 00:09:20,039 --> 00:09:20,879 Speaker 3: Leaving us a review. 126 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:36,519 Speaker 2: Get English, Get Happy, Happy English.