English Idioms Blue

In this english video lesson, The Teacher introduces you to three idiomatic phrases connected with the colour blue.

1. A bolt from the blue: unexpected and shocking surprise or event (e.g.: “She had been working in the company for twenty years, so when she quit, it must have felt like a bolt from the blue”)

2. Once in a blue moon: infrequently, not often, once in a while

3. Until you are blue in the face: highly exasperated, very infuriated

Script of the video:

Hello, I’m a very interesting and intelligent man.
And today, the colour blue and I are getting together to teach you some English idioms.
I bet you’ve never been taught by the colour blue before.
Ah, such a beautiful warm day.
Urgh!
I didn’t expect this terrible weather.
In fact, it’s come as a bolt. argh… from the blue!
In English if something comes as a complete surprise, we can say it’s a bolt from the blue. Ahhhhh!
A bolt from the blue.

And now… an astronomy lesson.
The universe is big.
And things happen very slowly.
Ah, the moon. A new moon is created… not very often. In fact, it happens once in a blue moon.
In English, if things happen extremely rarely, we can say they happen ‘once in a blue moon’.
Once in a blue moon.
Like my students. They almost NEVER do their homework. In fact, they do it once in a blue
moon. But they don’t really listen to me.
I say to them ‘Do your homework.’ I do, ‘Do your homework’. That’s what I tell them. ‘Do
your homework.’ That’s what I say. ‘Do your homework.’
That’s right. I say it until I’m blue in the face.
In English, if we say something until we are blue in the face, we waste time and effort
because we won’t get any results.
Until you are blue in the face.
Oh please do your homework.