There are a lot of English expressions suggesting that somebody or something is "crazy." But please remember: while it may be perfectly polite to use such expressions regarding objects or situations, it can be rude and aggressive using them to describe people. A dictionary even warns: "The reference of the adjective "crazy" (and words derived from it) to mentally or psychologically ill people is strongly discriminatory." It also might get somebody very angry with you, so it's a better policy to be polite!

... a thin, pale, watery cup of tea that nobody in their right mind would want to drink.

Captions 15-16, Simon Jones: On Tea

 Play Caption

If somebody is described as "not being in their right mind," it suggests that they are not thinking clearly.

I can't imagine my life without the ocean. I would go absolutely nuts!

Caption 19, Naish Kiteboarding TV: Kai Riding Jaws

 Play Caption

'Cause they'll drive you good and nuts.

Caption 7, Ask Jimmy Carter: Interview with Robin Williams

 Play Caption

The phrase "to go nuts" means the same as "to go crazy." If something "is driving somebody nuts," it means that something is making them crazy. There is also an old-fashioned expression "to be nutty as a fruitcake," which also suggests "crazy."

Some say to survive it you need to be as mad as a hatter.

Caption 5, Filmtrailer: Alice in Wonderland

 Play Caption

The 19th century English children's book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll had a character called the Mad Hatter, hence the phrase "mad as a hatter." In the old days, hatmakers were exposed to mercury, which would eventually damage their health and their minds. Note that in British English, "mad" means "crazy," whereas in US English, "mad" usually means "angry."

And I'm always off my trolley, so I never say sorry.

Caption 19, Robbie Williams: Party Like A Russian

 Play Caption

The expression that somebody is "off their trolley" is a particularly British expression meaning "crazy"—or as they would say, "mad." The equivalent American English expression is to say somebody is "off their rocker." The source of the latter phrase is uncertain, but it may refer to elderly people falling out of their rocking chairs due to senile dementia. Not very nice, is it?

Some further idioms and expressions that mean "crazy" include:

—to go (or be) bananas
—to be a basket case
—to not be playing with a full deck of cards
—to have the lights on, but nobody is home
—to lose one's marbles
—to have a screw loose
—to take leave of one's senses
—to have toys in the attic

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the above videos in their entirety to see the contexts in which the expressions were used.

Let's talk today about the noun "foot" (and its plural "feet") as the word is used in different idioms and expressions. It's interesting that many English expressions may have the same or similar expressions in your native language. But the ones that don't may take a bit of getting used to, since direct translations often don't make any sense at all!

The mud at the foot of the cone makes a perfect cement.

Caption 7, America's National Parks: Yellowstone

 Play Caption

Closer to the foot of the bed ...

Caption 13, The Cure: Lullaby

 Play Caption

The English expression "the foot of" means "the base" or "the bottom" of something. It's most commonly used for the foot of a mountain or (as above) the foot of a bed. The latter is easy to remember since the foot of the bed is where your feet go when you lie down!

Let's hope the snow's gone come kick-off time, otherwise all the teams will get cold feet.

Caption 29, World Cup 2018: A Tour of Cities and Venues

 Play Caption

The caption above is ironically meant, in that of course, playing in the snow would make a soccer player's feet cold. But the meaning of "to get cold feet" is "to be afraid," so it also means that soccer players are afraid of playing in the snow!

But I think it's in my best interest and in the interest of the bear community to put the best foot forward.

Captions 72-74, Habitat: The Bear

 Play Caption

In US English (as above), the phrase "to put one's best foot forward" means "to behave very well so as to make a good first impression." However, in British English, it means "to do something with as much effort and determination as possible." The two meanings are not necessarily compatible.

What was that like having one foot in the door?

Caption 53, Movie Trailers: Funny People

 Play Caption

To "have one foot in the door" is a figurative way of saying "to gain entry" or "to get an opportunity." People often use the expression when they are close to achieving a goal, such as getting a new job.

So Columbus never actually set foot in North America.

Caption 18, Slow News with Sigrid: October commemorations in the U.S.

 Play Caption

To "set foot" somewhere means "to have been" somewhere. Many US Americans grew up learning that Christopher Columbus "discovered America," which in most people's minds means the part of North America that constitutes the United States. The phrase has fallen into disrepute, however, since the land Columbus "discovered" was already occupied by  native peoples. Columbus was not even the first European to land in the Americas, as the Norse were already there centuries earlier. And as the comment above shows, none of the parts of the Americas where Columbus "set foot" were in North America.

And I can't sweep you off of your feet.

Caption 2, Ed Sheeran: Thinking Out Loud

 Play Caption

The usual phrase is "to sweep someone off their feet," but perhaps Mr. Sheeran needed an extra syllable in his song! It means "to cause somebody to fall in love with you."

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the above videos in their entirety to see the contexts in which the expressions were used. Just for fun, you can take a look at this extensive list of other foot expressions!

English, like many languages, uses a lot of idioms referring to animals. Let's continue from Part I and take a look today at some more English animal expressions.

We're dying like flies down here!

Caption 16, Stephen King: The Stand

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

The more common phrase is "dropping like flies," and probably comes from people having seen many dead flies on window sills, which gave the impression that they die in large numbers. The phrase usually means that many people have gotten sick or are dying.

We'd get together and horse around a little bit and sing.

Caption 5, Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock

 Play Caption

The phrase "to horse around" probably comes from seeing horses play, and means "to fool around." Another common related phrase with a similar meaning is "to indulge in horseplay."

Everything is fast paced in a rat race.

Caption 10, Core Kiteboarding: The Core Diaries

 Play Caption

The term "rat race" probably comes from seeing rats run a long way to try to get a small piece of food. Wikipedia describes "rat race" as "an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit." In American English, "getting out of the rat race" means to quit a stressful job and pursue a less hectic means of employment.

I wouldn't say it was a wild goose chase...

Caption 41, Karate Kids, USA: The Little Dragons

 Play Caption

A "wild goose chase" is a fool's errand, or an attempt to pursue something that is hopeless. It probably comes from wild geese being difficult to catch.

The King James Bible is the book that taught us that "a leopard can't change its spots," that "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,"  that "a wolf in sheep's clothing" is harder to spot than you would imagine, and how annoying it is to have "a fly in your ointment."

Captions 18-21, The History of English: The King James Bible

 Play Caption

This caption addresses four common animal sayings. "A leopard can't change its spots" means that it's impossible or very difficult for a person to change their character. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" means that you shouldn't risk what you have if you might lose it seeking additional gain. It can also mean you should be satisfied with what you have. "A wolf in sheep's clothing" suggests somebody who is pretending to be a friend, but is in fact an enemy. Lastly, "the fly in the ointment" means that something unexpected has caused something to go wrong. It's also a warning that something may seem too good to be true.

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and study the captions in the videos above to get a better idea of the contexts in which they have been used. You can also go to this site and see some other English phrases that use animals.

English, like many languages, uses a lot of idioms referring to animals. You may have heard the English expression "as hungry as a horse" (very hungry) or "monkey see, monkey do" (when somebody copies somebody else). What these expressions have in common in all languages is that they refer to some quality that is associated with a specific animal in that culture: Horses eat a lot of food and monkeys can be mimics—always compared to humans, of course. Let's take a look today at some English animal expressions.

All of the sudden, one of the orcas made a beeline in this direction.

Caption 2, National Geographic: WILD Killer Whale vs. Great White Shark

 Play Caption

banner PLACEHOLDER

Similar to the English expression "as the crow flies"—meaning the fastest way between two points is a straight line—the phrase "to make a beeline" means "to go quickly" or "to go directly." Speaking of bees:

Leave me the birds and the bees.

Caption 21, Counting Crows with Vanessa Carlton: Big Yellow Taxi

 Play Caption

The phrase "to know about the birds and the bees" means "to have received education about sex," but it is often used as a general metaphor for sex. And now we're on to birds:

I killed two birds with one stone!

Caption 36, English: Common Phrases

 Play Caption

This expression fortunately has nothing to do with actually killing any poor birds, but means "to get two (or more) things done at once." There's also another somewhat similar idiom, "better a bird in the hand than two in the bush." This means it is better to actually have something real than risk losing it by trying to get something better. Speaking of birds again:

Well if he wants to play chicken, this rooster ain't backing down.

Caption 15, How I Met Your Mother: The Perfect Cocktail

 Play Caption

The phrase "to play chicken" means to play a dangerous game to see who is bravest. A famous movie used this as part of its plot: In the film Rebel without a Cause, the actors James Dean and Corey Allen "play chicken" by racing cars towards the edge of a cliff to see who will dare to stay in the car the longest before jumping out. Spoiler alert: it doesn't end well!

At that moment, the witch realized that there was something fishy, and started yelling at her.

Captions 45-46, Fairy Tales: Rapunzel

 Play Caption

The usual expression is "something fishy is going on," and it means that something about a person or a situation is suspicious or not as it appears. It probably comes from the fact that even though a fish at the market may look fine, it smells bad if it is no longer fresh.

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and study the captions in the videos above to get a better idea of the contexts in which they have been used. You can also go to this site and see some other English phrases that use animals.

Tante volte vi sarà capitato di voler esprimere sensazioni e sentimenti improvvisi in inglese, e se non volete limitarvi ad un semplice Wow!, le vostre esclamazioni di gioia, di rabbia, di sdegno o di meraviglia, oltre ad essere affidate al tono della voce e ad altri mezzi espressivi come gesti e mimica facciale, dovranno essere riprodotte con le interiezioni ed esclamazioni più appropriate.

Nella maggior parte dei casi, le interiezioni ed esclamazioni sono delle parole seguite da un punto esclamativo e possono essere collocate sia all'inizio sia alla fine di una frase. Le interiezioni possono essere parole che riportano suoni e hanno la semplice funzione di esclamazione, ad esempio Ugh! (bleah!), oppure possono comprendere altre parti del discorso che vengono usate come esclamazioni, come ad esempio Great! (ottimo!).

Questi tipi di espressioni le troviamo per lo più nel linguaggio parlato, specie in quello giovanile. Se siete appassionati di fumetti o di serie TV americane, di queste esclamazioni ne avrete lette e sentite in abbondanza, ma forse non sapete ancora che anche tra i video di Yabla Inglese ci sono centinaia di esempi, da quelli più comuni a quelli che davvero in pochi usano.

Esclamazioni di felicità

Quando nel giorno di Pasqua Nonno Pig organizza una caccia alle uova per Peppa Pig e i suoi amici, Peppa trova il suo uovo e non riesce a trattenere la sua gioia, perciò esclama:

Hurray! An egg for me!

Urrà! Un uovo per me!

Caption 21, Peppa Pig - Easter Week

 Play Caption

Qui, invece, si parla dei Queen e del film biografico "Bohemian Rhapsody" che ha entusiasmato tutti i fan della band:

Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers.

Evviva, amanti dei film [cinefili].

Caption 6, Bohemian Rhapsody - Six Facts about the True Story

 Play Caption

Neanche Blippi riesce a trattenere la sua felicità ogni volta che prova a fare un esperimento!

Yay!

Alé!

That was so much fun, gathering all these items with you.

È stato così divertente raccogliere questi oggetti con voi.

Captions 39-40, Blippi - Cool Science Experiment for Kids

 Play Caption

Esclamazioni di rabbia 

Quando un gruppo di studenti fa di tutto per evitare un compito un classe, ma l'insegnante è più scaltra di loro e non si fa fregare, e allora che i ragazzi esclameranno:

Darn it, let's just take it!

Maledizione, facciamolo e basta!

Caption 71, Lele Pons - How to Avoid Taking a Test

 Play Caption

Altre esclamazioni in inglese che useremmo per dire "cavolo", "diavolo", "dannazione" sono heck, hell, dammit/damn!:

Damn, I wish I could help him.

Dannazione, vorrei poterlo aiutare.

Caption 31, Toonces the Driving Cat - Driver's Test

 Play Caption

Esclamazioni di stupore 

Un'espressione utilizzata quando veniamo a conoscenza di un'informazione sorprendente o di una vera e propria big news che non ci saremmo mai aspettati è No way! (ma dai!, impossibile!, non ci credo!):

And my great, great nan used to do the tightrope.

E la mia bis, bisnonna era solita fare la corda tesa [equilibrista].

-No way! 

-Ma dai!

Captions 13-14, Karate with Anne-Marie - Episode 5: Olly Murs

 Play Caption

Oltre ad esprimere stupore e sorpresa, No way è utilizzato anche come espressione per negare enfaticamente qualcosa:

Can I borrow your car? -No way!

Mi presti la tua macchina? -Neanche per idea/sogno!

Un'altra espressione molto comune in inglese usata per esprimere stupore è No kidding!:

Anna is getting married. -No kidding!

Anna sta per sposarsi. -Sul serio?/stai scherzando?

Un sinonimo di No kidding! è Seriously? ed entrambe le eslamazioni possono avere una sfumatura ironica.

Un'interiezione che in italiano equivale a "Ma non mi dire!" e a "Ma davvero?" è duh!. Anche questa interiezione è usata in modo ironico come risposta ad una cosa che in realtà è ovvia ed è una risposta che non daremmo mai al nostro capo o a un professore, ad esempio. 

It's so cold! -Duh... we are in Antartica!

Fa davvero freddo! -Ma non mi dire... siamo in Antartide!

Quelle che seguono sono due interiezioni davvero molto usate nel linguaggio di tutti i giorni:

Oh, man! That's unbelievable!

Mamma mia!/Accidenti! È incredibile!

Wow! I can't believe it! I got the job!

Caspita! Non posso crederci! Ho ottenuto il lavoro!

Caption 37, Business English - Starting on a New Job

 Play Caption

Un'esclamazione poco usata ma che gli appassionati di una delle serie TV americane più apprezzate in Italia avrebbero potuto sentire è quella pronunciata da Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory durante le riprese del suo programma "Fun with flags":

Crikey! What flag do we have today?

Caspita! Che bandiera abbiamo oggi?

Caption 1, Dr. Sheldon Cooper - Fun with Flags

 Play Caption

Altre interiezioni 

Oltre al sopracitato Ugh!, un'altra interiezione utilizzata per esprimere disgusto è Yikes!:

Yikes! I'm not getting in the water with that thing!

Bleah! Io non entro in acqua con quel coso!

Caption 10, Green TV - Evolution of the Whale

 Play Caption

Le interiezione Ouch! e Ow! sono usate per esprimere un dolore improvviso e quindi corrispondono al nostro "ahi!".

L'interiezione Aw! indica che qualcosa è adorabile, bello, carino e la pronuncia ricorda molto il nostro "oh!", ma Aw! può essere usato anche per esprimere delusione. 

Le interiezioni Jeez e Gosh possono essere usate sia per esprimere sorpresa, come in Oh my Gosh! (oh mio Dio!, accipicchia!), o per esprimere sconcerto e disperazione: Oh jeez! (mannaggia!, accidenti!). Tuttavia, anche l'espressione Oh my God! è parecchio usata nel linguaggio comune. Vi suggeriamo questo video in cui quest'espressione compare diverse volte Adele at the BBC - When Adele wasn't Adele... but was Jenny!

Ed infine, concludiamo con una delle interiezioni più frequenti nei video di Yabla Inglese, che può essere tradotta in svariati modi, a seconda del contesto:

Whoa! Check out that one.

Aspetta! Guarda quella.

Her body is a perfect "X" [Roman numeral for the number ten].

Il suo corpo è una perfetta "X" [numero dieci in romano].

Caption 12, How I Met Your Mother - Desperation Day

 Play Caption

Whoa, yeah! This is amazing.

Wow, sì! Questo è meraviglioso.

Caption 64, Lele Pons - How to Avoid Taking a Test

 Play Caption

L'interiezione whoa! deriva dal comando che il cavaliere trasmette ad un cavallo per farlo fermare. Oltre ai due significati sopracitati, whoa è comunemente usato al posto di Hey! per attirare l'attenzione di qualcuno.

Di interiezioni ed esclamazioni inglesi ce ne sono a centianai e, alas (ahinoi), non possiamo riportarle tutte qui! Ma speriamo che questa lezione vi sia servita ad imparare qualcosa di nuovo o che comunque sia per voi uno spunto per approfondire questo argomento.