Let’s learn some fun sayings…
As you know, Valentine’s Day is a day for love. It is celebrated on February 14th. The day is named after St Valentine, but which one is still disputed. There were two men named Valentine, who are both credited with acts of love. In fact celebrating Valentine’s Day as a day of love goes all the way back to the Middle Ages. But, this is an English podcast and not a history podcast so let’s take a look at some idioms and phrasal verbs you can associate with Valentine’s Day.
Our first idiom is, “To Wear your heart on your sleeve”
To wear your heart on your sleeve means to freely show your emotions. For example, Joan wears her heart on her sleeve when it comes to her favorite football team, she really loves the Green Bay Packers.
Or, Bill wears his heart on his sleeve when it comes to his wife, you can see how much he loves her.
Next up is, “An old flame”
An old flame is the name given to a former love. You can be young and have an old flame. You can have an old flame from days gone by. How about this sentence to help you out:
Peggy saw her old flame at the restaurant, she hadn’t seen him since college.
Or, “ When Bill saw his old flame at the high school reunion, he felt a strange sensation in his heart.”
Let’s try this next one.
Do you know what it means to be “head over heels” for someone?
If you are head over heels for someone you are totally in love with them. You are smitten. Think about walking down the street and you see your love and you can’t take your eyes off of them. Then as you are walking you trip and somersault and go head over heels for them.. How is that for a visual?
Perhaps you have found a match made in heaven. Maybe you are half of a match made in heaven. A match made in heaven is the idiom used for two people who are meant for each other, they are the perfect couple. They are a match made in heaven.
Now onto the phrasal verbs. Our first phrasal verb is to go out with someone.
If you are “going out with” someone, you are dating them.
You are in a relationship with them. Are you going out with someone? Do you want to go out with someone? You do! Then go ask them out!
Ask someone out is another way to say ask someone to go on a date. For example, Bill is going to ask Joan out, when she comes to work. Bill is going to ask Joan to go out on a date. Way to go Bill!
Have you ever “fallen for” someone?
Fallen for someone? What does that mean? It sounds painful! No, no my friend it is not painful. You don’t actually fall to the ground. No, if you fall for someone then you are attracted to them and or you have fallen in love with them.
And if after all of those phrasal verbs, and things go well, perhaps you will “settle down.”
Settle down, what exactly does that mean? Great question. To settle down means to get married and live a quieter life with someone.
Well, there you have it some idioms and phrasal verbs that can be loosely tied to Valentine’s Day.
Let’s review:
- Head over heels – is to be
- To wear your heart on your sleeve means to freely show your emotions
- A match made in heaven– two people that are perfect for each other
- An Old Flame – a former love
- To go out with someone – is to date them; to be in a relationship with them
- Ask someone out – to ask someone to go on a date
- To fall for someone – to be attracted to someone or to have fallen in love with them
- To settle down – to get married and live a quieter life with someone.
There you have it my friends four idioms and four phrasal verbs you can use for Valentine’s Day or for affairs of the heart. Either one works. I hope you enjoyed this Valentine’s Day lesson. But as always my friends I must wrap it up with a quick verse:
Do you wear your heart
On your sleeve
Especially when you see
an old flame?
Were you head over heels
For that person?
Back in the day?
Or maybe you’d
Rather not say
Perhaps you were a
Match made in heaven
Maybe you didn’t go out
With them as long
As you’d have liked
Did you enjoy making out
With them?
Maybe you thought you’d
Settle down
But life has a funny
Way
Of having you fall for
Someone else
With a new day
Don’t worry, old flames
Are never forgotten
You just hope…
Your memories aren’t rotten!
What? Come on English! Yep there you have it, a verse about love that contains all that we learned!
