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| Mythbusters Image from Discovery Channel |
Some of you might remember that I have actually recommended Mythbusters in Website & TV: Tudou & Mythbusters and TV: Mythbusters as the science program to watch if you want to improve your English vocabulary, and so I created a YouTube playlist in TV: Mythbusters on Youtube and collected a number of short video clips for your learning.
Recently, I have revisited this fantastic TV program focusing on the idiom myths. Sometimes we use idioms the way it is and never really try to prove or disprove their correctness. For example, when poop shits the fan, does it make the situation worse? Do your feet actually get colder when you get scared?
The Mythbusters team explore idioms such as cold feet, shit / poop hits the fan,
hit the ground running, you can't polish turd / poop,
As well as similes such as know sth like the back of your hand,
like shooting fish in the barrel, clear as day, like a bull in a china shop.
All of these idioms are worth learning from the vocabulary section below and all the videos I put up is worth watching. Confirmed or Busted? Be surprised!!!
Love science!!!
Vocabulary:
(get) cold feet -- to suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned to do, especially something important such as getting married
(the) shit / poop hits the fan -- (also the shit flies) offensive When the shit hits the fan or when the shit flies, a situation suddenly causes a lot of trouble for someone
hit the ground running -- to immediately work hard and successfully at a new activity
you can't polish turd / poop -- despite your best efforts, there are some things you just can't fix/improve.
end with a bang -- from the final stanza of the poem The Hollow Men, This is the way the world ends - Not with a bang but a whimper
go down like a lead balloon -- humorous If something that you say or show to people goes down like a lead balloon, they do not like it at all
know sth like the back of your hand -- informal to have very good and detailed knowledge of something
like shooting fish in the barrel -- describing an effortless or simple action, with guaranteed success.
clear as day -- very easy to understand; certain
like a bull in a china shop -- If someone is like a bull in a china shop, they are very careless in the way that they move or behave
Resources:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/know+like+the+back+of+hand
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Like+Shooting+Fish+in+A+Barrel
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hit+the+ground+running
http://mythbustersresults.com/cold-feet
http://mythbustersresults.com/end-with-a-bang
http://mythbustersresults.com/episode96
Mythbusters - Shooting Fish in A Barrel @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOz1vinNXZg
Mythbusters Polishing a Turd @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiJ9fy1qSFI
Mini Myth Medley Aftershow | MythBusters @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysU2IpV7rz0
Над селом херня летала серебристого металла... @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTGFj7gT0OU
Mythbusters: Are elephants afraid of mice? @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpTSA_25wGE
Mythbusters @ Discovery Channel
http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters
Website & TV: Tudou & Mythbusters @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/04/website-tv-tudou-mythbusters.html
TV: Mythbusters on Youtube
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/03/tv-mythbusters-on-youtube.html
TV: Mythbusters @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/03/tv-mythbusters.html
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/get-cold-feet?q=cold+feet#get-cold-feet__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/the-shit-hits-the-fan?q=%28the%29+shit+hits+the+fan#the-shit-hits-the-fan__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hit-the-ground-running?q=hit+the+running+ground#hit-the-ground-running__1
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=you%20can't%20polish%20a%20turd
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=can't%20polish%20a%20turd
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollow_Men
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/go-down-like-a-lead-balloon?q=go+down+like+a+lead+balloon#go-down-like-a-lead-balloon__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/like-a-bull-in-a-china-shop?q=a+bull+in+a+china+shop#like-a-bull-in-a-china-shop__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/know-sth-like-the-back-of-your-hand?q=know+sth+like+the+back+of+your+hand#know-sth-like-the-back-of-your-hand__1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_fish_in_a_barrel
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/as-clear-as-day?q=clear+as+day#as-clear-as-day__1
