Confused by modern idioms

6 Minute English

语言学习

2022-07-28

6 分钟
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  • Rob: I'm Rob.

  • Sam: And I'm Sam.

  • Can you wait a second, Rob?

  • I have to spend a penny.

  • Rob: What!

  • You're going shopping now, are you?

  • We're just about to start the programme!

  • Sam: No, no, I have to... you know, 'spend a penny'.

  • Haven't you heard that expression before?

  • Spend a penny means 'go to the toilet'.

  • It's an old idiom from the days

  • when it cost a penny to unlock the door of a public toilet.

  • Rob: OK, I see.

  • Well, you're showing your age there, Sam –

  • most young people today wouldn't know what that phrase meant,

  • and there aren't many public toilets left nowadays anyway.

  • Sam: Language changes fast, and new words

  • and phrases are being created all the time.

  • In this programme, we'll be learning some modern idioms –

  • new expressions that have been introduced to English