Use 25 English Similes To Sound Like a Native – Learn British English

Hello lovely students and welcome back to english with lucy today i am as keen as mustard as keen as mustard and if you don't understand that watch the video because i will explain it today we are going to be talking about some very british phrases and in particular we're going to be .

Talking about similes a simile is simply a comparison between two things we use the words like or as to make these comparisons it can be used similarly to an adjective or an adverb it's a really really interesting language concept and native speakers use them all the time and they're almost like idioms it's really .

Hard to understand what they mean native speakers will use similes like as fresh as a daisy or as bold as a coot without even knowing that they're using similes and people who are learning english find them quite hard to understand but don't worry in today's lesson i'm going to teach you 25 of the most common british .

Similes and it's going to be fun a lot of them are lots of fun as always there is a free pdf that goes with today's video it covers everything we're going to learn today all 25 similes and their examples and explanations and some exercise questions so you can test your understanding and put what you've learned into practice if .

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Get 30 off your marathon course in your first month just click on the link in the description box to claim your discount and your free trial before i start showing you all of these similes let's take a quick look at how they work look at this sentence my dog is slow maybe it's an old dog maybe it .

Just likes to walk slowly my dog is slow this sentence is just a little bit bland and boring it lacks spice a simile is the perfect ingredient to make this sentence a little bit tastier a little bit more interesting how about my dog is as slow as a snail my dog is as slow as a snail you'll often find this format with similes as adverb or adjective .

As an object or something as slow as a snail as big as a house similes are amazing for improving your writing and for making your conversations more interesting let's take a look at 25 similes that you can use now that are really common in british english firstly we're going to talk about similes related to the topic .

Of food i've got four the first one is as cool as a cucumber as cool as a cucumber and if someone is as cool as a cucumber then they are very calm and relaxed she never reacts to stressful situations she's always as cool as a cucumber the second one we have is as flat as a pancake as flat as a pancake you know .

Pancakes they're like crepes very very flat foods it's used to describe something that is completely and totally flat i built a beautiful sandcastle but a wave came and now it's as flat as a pancake it's really flat number three is as cold as ice as cold as ice do you recognize it from that song you're as cold as ice .

It is used to describe someone who is very disinterested very cold with you bob can be as cold as ice sometimes it seems that he never smiles and number four one of my favorites is as keen as mustard as keen as mustard and if you are keen then you are enthusiastic if you're as keen as mustard you're very enthusiastic and .

Excited like me in this video i'm as keen as mustard i'm ready to teach you similes an example our new receptionist is as keen as mustard i saw her watering all of the plastic office plants the other day that is sort of a true story i was once having a haircut and they had this new .

Apprentice and for about a week she was watering all of the plastic fake plants she thought she was being helpful she was so enthusiastic and sweet you could say she was as sweet as honey which means very sweet as well let's move on to animals i've got quite a few similes relating to animals number five is as blind as a bat as blind as a .

Bat we use this very frequently to talk about poor eyesight it's used to describe someone or something that has poor vision and obviously you've got to be sensitive with this one we usually use it to talk about older animals be careful when you play with my old dog she's as blind as a bat meaning she doesn't see very well .

Number six another one that could be offensive so be careful as bold as a coot as bold as a coot this means that you have no hair you're very bald and a coot is a type of bird that i imagine has very little hair as well birds don't have hair very few feathers on its head .

An example i used to have a fantastic mop of hair but now i'm as bold as a coot a mop is that collection of rags on a stick that we use to clean a floor but sometimes we will describe a lot of hair as a mop of hair number seven is buzzing like a mosquito buzzing like a mosquito this is used to describe someone who is talking a lot .

And might be quite annoying you know what mosquitoes are like an example did you speak with maria at the party she was buzzing like a mosquito i couldn't get two words in and if you say i can't get two words in or i couldn't get two words in it means you were not able to speak because someone else was speaking over you they were interrupting .

You i tried to talk to my boss but i couldn't get two words in he wouldn't stop talking number eight i warn you this one is so cute it is as happy as a dog with two tails as happy as a dog with two tails if one tail is this much happiness can you imagine two .

Naturally this is used to describe someone who is very very happy when she won the lottery she was as happy as a dog with two tails and number nine our last animal simile is as wise as an owl as wise as an owl i don't know if it's the same way you come from but owls in the uk and in america have the reputation of being .

Very wise and intelligent so if someone is as wise as an owl it means they are very intellectual they've got good judgment they're very intelligent an example my grandad always gave the greatest advice he truly was as wise as an owl next topic we are moving on to objects this is a more general one there are .

Lots here so pay attention number 10 is to fit like a glove to fit like a glove this is used to describe something that fits someone really well if you put on a dress or a coat and it just feels like it's made for you it fits like a glove it fits beautifully an example wow these shoes are the best .

I've ever worn they fit like a glove i actually have a joke for you that is technically quite rude but i'm sure i can tell it in a way that you'll understand and i wonder if you'll find it funny did you hear about the man who had five aubergine emojis did you hear about the man who had five .

Aubergine emojis his underwear fit him like a glove get it if you don't get it comment in the comment section and i'm sure someone will explain it for you number 11 is as fit as a fiddle as fit as a fiddle you'll often find that these similes these really common similes roll off the .

Tongue and roll off the lips really beautifully as fit as a fiddle and this means really fit or healthy someone who is in great health my grandmother may be in her 80s but she's as fit as a fiddle she's really in great health my lovely grandma is in great health and she does use this term a lot it's quite .

A traditional term i ask her how she is she says oh i'm as fit as a fiddle lucy number 12 i love this one it is as dead as a door nail as dead as a door nail and this means dead completely dead lifeless i tried to save the mouse from the cat but it was as dead as a door nail it was .

Completely dead we can also use this to describe plants my rose bush is as dead as a door nail for example number 13 this one is incredibly common it is as clean as a whistle as clean as a whistle it's used to describe something that is very clean it can be used to describe clean objects as in they're not dirty .

Or very clear sounds i heard that as clean as a whistle if a sound is clear you might hear people say it's clean very clean sound as clear as a whistle as clean as a whistle an example i had the oven cleaned yesterday and now it's as clean as a whistle did you notice i say i had the oven cleaned that implies that i hired someone to clean it for me .

Just like when i go to the hairdressers i don't say i cut my hair i say i have my hair cut i hire someone to cut my hair for me to do a service for me number 14 is as clear as crystal as clear as crystal and this is used when something is very clear very easy to understand you will often hear people saying crystal clear .

That was crystal clear or sometimes you'll hear people say was that clear and the other person can respond saying crystal was that clear crystal i really like that that's a really really nice response an example her intentions were as clear as crystal but still he missed all the warning signs .

It was very obvious very easy to understand what she intended to do but still he didn't cotton on to cotton on that's a slang phrase to become aware of something number 15 we have the complete opposite as clear as mud as clear as mud i love this phrase it's really funny if something is as clear as mud it's not .

Very clear at all it's very difficult to understand we often use it when people give bad instructions we love sarcastic humor in the uk it's a big part of the way we interact so as clear as mud is a perfect phrase for us can you explain what we're meant to be doing her instructions were as clear as mud not very clear at all i don't .

Understand number 16 is as pale as a ghost as pale as a ghost you can also say as white as a ghost that would work or as white as a sheet this is used to describe the appearance of fear if someone looks very very scared or if they look unwell you know when you go pale when you feel sick or .

Generally ill an example the turbulence on the aeroplane caused sandra to turn as pale as a ghost number 17 is to sleep like a log to sleep like a log and this means to sleep very well obviously a log is on the floor it doesn't move it remains in the same position just like you when you .

Have a great night's sleep when you're staying at someone's house and they ask you how did you sleep you can say like a log like a log i remember i tried to um translate that into spanish and i said i slept like a fallen tree and no one understood me an example it doesn't matter where he is .

He'll sleep like a log no matter what and the last one number 18 possibly my favorite it's another sarcastic one it is as useful as a chocolate teapot as useful as a chocolate teapot and can you think how useful a chocolate teapot would be not very useful so we use this to describe someone or something that is useless an example i love my window .

Cleaner but he's about as useful as a chocolate teapot he's broken three of my windows now we're moving on to four that can be used to describe people the next one number 19 is as sharp as a knife or as sharp as a razor both are fine you'll be understood but as sharp as a knife is more british .

This is used to describe someone that is very quick and intelligent you can't fool them they're as sharp as a knife it can also be used to describe something that is very sharp to the touch watch out the broken glass on the floor is as sharp as a knife as sharp as a razor or you can't fool him he's as sharp as a .

Knife so we're talking about being sharp as in intelligence and sharp as in something that is prone to cut you the next one number 20 is one i used a lot in my teenage years it was as fresh as a daisy and this is when you wake up and you feel alive enthusiastic and good you've woken up full of energy and .

Enthusiasm and we often use this when we don't expect that someone will wake up full of energy especially if they've had a heavy night the night before if they've drunk a lot of alcohol normally i went to a party last night but i've woken up as fresh as a daisy we can also use it in a sarcastic way how are you fresh as a .

Daisy i imagine when someone has obviously woken up not feeling full of energy and enthusiasm an example he is so annoying he got so drunk last night and he's woken up as fresh as a daisy number 21 i love this one it's hilarious i don't know where it comes from it's as happy as larry who is larry i don't know .

I'll have to research that if you're as happy as larry god bless him don't know who he is it means you're very very happy an example i saw him at the pub after he passed his driving test and he was as happy as larry he was over the moon elated number 22 is as hard as nails as hard as .

Nails it can also be as tough as nails this is used to describe someone who is very tough or very strong or somebody who is a bit fearless you wouldn't want to fight them i wouldn't get on the wrong side of him he's as hard as nails he will fight you and finally i wouldn't be british if i didn't end this lesson by talking about .

The weather i have three similes related to the weather the first weather simile is number 23 as white as snow as white as snow and this means very pale very white it's a positive term so when you're as pale as a ghost or as white as a sheet it's not so positive it's implying that something's wrong but white as snow .

We're using white in a good sense you might have heard in the snow white disney film they say her hair was as black as ebony and her skin as white as snow it's more commonly used to describe beautiful white animals like a nice fluffy white dog oh she's as white as snow so we're going to call her snowy lots of um white animals in the uk are .

Called snowy number 24 is as quick as lightning or as fast as lightning and this is used to describe something that is really quick really fast the taxi driver was as quick as lightning we gave him a hefty tip and the last one number 25 is as right as rain as right as rain and this is .

Used to describe someone who is in good health very similar to as fit as a fiddle and it's also a more traditional one you look terrible yesterday but now you're as right as rain right that is it for today's lesson you have learnt 25 more than 25 very british similes i hope you enjoy .

Using them don't forget to download the free pdf i've got some exercise questions for you to complete the link for that is in the description box don't forget to check out lingoda the link to get your free trial and your 30 discount is in the description box as well don't forget to connect with me on all of my social media i've got my facebook .

I've got my instagram my personal one lucy my english page english with lucy i've also got my website englishwithlucy.co.uk and on there i have got an awesome interactive pronunciation tool so you can click on the phonemes and hear me say those phonemes and say words that contain those phonemes it's awesome .

Finally you can check out my personal channel lucy bella where we vlog our lives here in the english countryside and all of the vlogs are fully subtitled so you can use them for vocabulary practice and to improve your listening skills i will see you soon for another lesson bye .

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