Welcome to American English Idioms: Lesson 13. In this lesson you have 3 American English idioms to read, listen to, translate, and pronounce in English. Please focus and do your best so that you can learn and improve your knowledge of American English idioms. Don’t forget to use the comments section below to share your thoughts and what you’ve learned today.
Directions 1: Watch the video 2 or more times, and pay close attention to the audio and text.
Directions 2: Read the following text in English, then translate it using the translator on this page into your language if needed. When you finish, feel free to write a comment in the comments section below and let us know how you feel about what you’ve learned, as well as what you’ve learned.
BESIDE THE POINT
Beside the point is an idiom meaning to be irrelevant, so it’s not relevant to the current discussion. The phrase can also mean that someone has gone off topic or that they are distracted by unimportant matters.
Beside the point is a phrase that means irrelevant or unhelpful to the discussion at hand. An example of this would be if someone is trying to figure out what to eat for lunch and they ask their co-worker, who has no knowledge of what is on the menu, for his opinion. The response, “that’s beside the point,” implies that it doesn’t matter if you want pizza or salad because both are available and therefore not relevant.
The term “beside the point” literally means not pertaining to a specific topic. In academic jargon, this would mean that something is irrelevant to the subject being discussed. The term can also be used in discussion about an argument or idea. If someone feels that something is not of relevance to what they are discussing then they will say “that’s beside the point.
BET (ONE’S) BOOTS
Betting one’s boots can be defined as to be sure, or to ensure. It is used colloquially in the sense of confirming one’s conviction in order to complete their actions. The phrase can be found in Chaucer’s work “The Canterbury Tales”, written around 1400 where he says “And for noght that thou hast lost thy horse, Bet me thy boots, that thou shalt have another.
The phrase “bet one’s boots” is an informal phrase that means to be sure. This may come in handy in different situations, such as when asking for something in the store and the clerk asks if one would like to buy it or when chatting with friends about their plans for the evening.
This phrase is composed of two words, “bet” and “boots.” The word “bet” is short for the word “wager,” which usually refers to money or other material items. In this case, it could refer to either one, but it does not matter because there is no context in the given sentence. When one wagers something on an event, they are betting something on its happening.
BET (ONE’S) BOTTOM DOLLAR
BET (ONE’S) BOTTOM DOLLAR is a phrase that means to be sure. It comes from the idea of betting your last dollar, or in this case, betting everything you have. BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR implies assurance because this type of bet has no downside.
One would “bet one’s bottom dollar” on something when they are so sure about it, that if they put their money on it, they will be able to assure the outcome.
A person’s bottom dollar refers to the last of their money. When someone is willing to bet their bottom dollar they are essentially betting everything they have in hand.
BET (ONE’S) BOTTOM DOLLAR is a phrase that means to be sure. This phrase suggests that one would bet everything they own, their last dollar, on something. The idea behind this phrase is that if someone bets their bottom dollar on something, then they are placing their full faith in that thing and will do whatever it takes to make it happen.
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