Episode 108 Heart Idioms You Can Use To Sound Like A Native Speaker

On today's episode we're learning lots of phrases and idioms using the word 'heart'.  Many of these idioms are very common and some can be used as phrases alone or to describe people. I hope you find them useful.   See you next week. Today's Vocabulary 'Don't take it to heart' - If someone says this to you they mean 'don't take it too seriously' or 'don't let it upset you.' If someone 'takes something too much to heart', then they take it to seriously or they are too emotional about it. Hold it close to your heart - If you hold something or someone close to your heart then you feel they are very important to you and you want to remember them. Open hearted - An open hearted person is someone who is kind and nice to everyone and always trying to do the best for people. 'I believe you whole-heartedly', 'I whole-heartedly agree with you.' - to be whole-hearted about something means you agree completely. You have no misgivings. 'My heart was in my mouth!' - we use this when we are afraid for someone or feeling very nervous for someone. For example if a friend has to give a speech and you are very worried about how they will do or if you see someone go on a rollercoaster that you think is very scary. 'She has a heart of gold' - If someone is described as having a 'heart of gold' then we think they are a very good person. She's a sweetheart - While 'sweetheart' used directly with a person is an endearment, saying someone is 'a sweetheart' is a complement, similar to 'heart of gold' and 'open hearted' we're saying they are a lovely person. Heart of a lion - We think lions are brave, so if we describe someone as having 'the heart of a lion' then we are saying they are a very brave, courageous person. Cold heart - This is not a complement. If someone is described as 'having a cold heart', being 'cold' or being 'cold hearted' then it means they are not kind. Really we mean they have no empathy or emotions. 'Have a heart!' - This can be used as a phrase by itself. In this way it means 'be empathetic' or at least sympathetic! 'Care about them' or perhaps 'be patient with them'. The heart wants what the heart wants - this idiom is used to describe love relationships that others might find difficult to agree with or approve, for whatever reason. When we say this we are saying 'it doesn't matter what you think, that is how they feel'. Bonus Idiom! to wear your heart on your sleeve - if someone is described as wearing their heart on their sleeve then it means their emotions are very clear and easy to read. It also means that you are likely to get hurt easily because you give your heart too soon or to untrustworthy people. Additional Vocabulary dwell - if we dwell on something then we spend too much time thinking about it I always put my foot in my mouth - idiom - when you say something embarrassing or especially when you say something about someone else (who is there) that you shouldn't have said. The movie I referenced in the podcast was the Wizard of Oz. In this movie Dorothy finds three characters, a lion, a tin man and a scarecrow and sets off with them down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to find solutions for them all. Dorothy wants to go home, the tin man wants a heart, the lion wants courage and the scarecrow wants a brain. This movie with Judy Garland is very famous and is a pop culture icon in America and the west generally. There are now additional stories related to this one, such as the Broadway musical Wicked. There are many catchphrases and idioms that have come about because of this story, such as 'I don't think we're in Kansas anymore', which can be used when we realise we're somewhere very different with a different culture. 'There's no place like home' - which means 'I'm glad to be home'. And 'Put 'em up!' Often used for fun when someone is pretending they will fight you.