What’s up? Hoje, no podcast, eu falo sobre mais duas expressões super comuns do inglês do dia-a-dia. Não perca!
Transcrição
What’s up? You’re listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast. Download the Inglês Online app at the Google Play Store or the Apple Store – search for “inglês online Ana”. Thank you for telling everyone you know about this podcast and, enjoy!
Ok, so here’s our first idiomatic expression of today, and it’s an interesting one. I don’t really know if we have the equivalent in Brazil… it’s likely that we do, but I can’t think of anything right now.
So picture this: you know that your friend Beth is not a huge fan of horror movies, ok. It’s not her thing. However, there’s a new horror movie out and everyone’s talking about it. It’s supposed to be a blockbuster and it’s being promoted on every TV show.
Alright, so Beth for some reason goes and watches the movie on a Saturday night with her friends. And the next day you bump into Beth while standing in line at the baker’s, let’s say. So of course you say “Hey Beth, how’s it going? How did you like the new movie?”
And Beth proceeds to tell you that she hated it. She absolutely disliked it and she’s giving you a list of reasons: the story is bad, the actors not talented enough, the editing was bad and the list goes on.
Now, if you didn’t know Beth well enough you’d have skipped the movie altogether based on her review. You’ve known her for a while, though. You know Beth can be very opinionated and you’re also aware that she’s not an admirer of the horror genre. Because of that, you know better than to rely solely on her opinion. You know you should take her opinion with a grain of salt.
That means you’re listening to her but you’re also keeping in mind that she may not be able to make a fair assessment of the film because well, she’s biased! She doesn’t like the genre. You don’t even understand why she went and saw the movie. So you take what she said with a grain of salt: you keep in mind that she may not be seeing this objectively but you still take in consideration what she said.
I guess taking opinions with a grain of salt is something we all do sometimes – that’s pretty common. So here’s our second term of today: it’s more of a saying, really. Curiosity killed the cat – that’s it! The word killed is a bit strong, obviously… Basically you can say that to someone when they ask you a question you don’t want to answer.
You’re implying they’re being a bit nosy, even. Let’s say you’re telling your friend about a new guy you’ve met and you’ve been out with this person a couple of times… Your friend is asking all kinds of details though, such as “Do you see yourself with this person in five years?” It’s like an interview.
So you just say “Curiosity killed the cat… I’ll let you know more as I make a decision”. “Curiosity killed the cat” is a pretty good-natured, playful way to tell someone you’re not going to answer their question. Obviously they’re not going to be killed for being curious – it doesn’t even mean that something bad is going to happen to them for being curious, so the saying is not always used with the original meaning.
But it’s a playful way to avoid a question. It’s nicer than “Mind your own business” or “You’re so nosy”. Have you ever said something to that effect to a very curious friend or family member? I know I have. Let me know and see you soon.
Key expressions
take something with a grain of salt
curiosity killed the cat
Vocabulary
rely solely on something = levar em conta ou se apoiar somente em algo
to skip = pular, passar, dispensar ou ignorar algo
biased = tendencioso/a, parcial em favor de alguém ou algo
saying = ditado popular
playful = brincalhão / brincalhona
Mind your own business = Cuide da sua vida, isso não é da sua conta
Ana criou um blog de dicas de inglês em 2006, e depois de muito pesquisar o que faz alguém ganhar fluência numa segunda língua, criou seu primeiro curso de inglês em 2009.
Hi Ana. You are always amazing me with your podcasts. You always find the best way to talk about different expressions and I always find much more than interesting terms within them. Thank you so much!
