Idioms» to kick oneself

Hi! Lori here, welcoming you to another episode of 2-minute English from BetterAtEnglish. com. This episode is in response to a question from Seref, a teacher of English in Turkey, who sent in a question about the sentence I feel like kicking myself. Seref is curious about the level of formality of this idiom and wonders if there are any synonyms.

Idiom

According to my trusty Oxford Dictionary of Idioms, if you kick yourself you feel “annoyed with yourself because you did something foolish or missed an opportunity.” You can also see the definition of to kick oneself in the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms.

Lori is kicking herself for not buying Google stock back in 2004

Michael bought Google stock when it was at 300 dollars a share, but he still kicks himself every day for not doing it sooner.

Formality

The phrase to kick oneself is neutral, informal and conversational. So it's perfectly OK to use it in all but the most formal situations.

Synonyms

The core meaning of the idiom to kick oneself is the idea of regret: regret for something you did or for an opportunity that you missed. So Seref, if you need a synonym that would suit formal situations, you can use the verb regret.

to (deeply) regret (v +ing) something

In general, many people consider idiomatic expressions and phrasal verbs to be less formal than lexical verbs. So in formal situations of a grave or somber nature, you should definitely go with regret, or you may end up kicking yourself.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of 2-minute English, and special thanks to Seref for the question. By the way, if I've been horribly mispronouncing your name I will totally kick myself! You can find some additional links and the full transcript of this show on the website, www. betteratenglish. com. And remember, your continued donations make this show possible, and we really appreciate them. Bye for now!

EnglishPod» Live from Washington

 M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to another great lesson here with EnglishPod! My name is Marco.

E: And I'm Erica.

M: And today we're bringing you an upper intermediate lesson.

E: A special lesson about the new president.

M: Right, it's been a hot topic in the US.

E: Uhu.

M: The new president-elect, president Obama.

E: Yes.

M: So, today we're bringing you something that you might see at his inaugural address.

E: That's true. So, Marco, can you explain this word – inaugural address?

M: The inaugural address is the first speech the president gives at the ceremony when he is officially president.

E: Okay, alright, so…

M: Right.

E: So, it's his first presidential speech.

M: Exactly.

E: Uhu.

M: Great, so, let's take a look at some other words that we're gonna find in the dialogue today in “vocabulary preview”.

Voice: Vocabulary preview.

M: Alright, on vocabulary preview today we have two words. The first one is swear in.

E: Swear in.

M: Swear in.

E: Swear in. We'll see this word in its past tense in the dialogue, right?

M: Right.

E: Sworn in.

M: Sworn in.

E: So, it means…

M: So, to swear someone in is to officially give that person a very important position…

E: Right.

M: Usually in government.

E: Yeah-yeah.

M: And our second word is oath.

E: Oath.

M: Oath.

E: O-A-T-H, oath.

M: And oath goes hand in hand with swear in, right?

E: That's right. When you swear someone in, they make an oath - a promise, right?

M: A promise.

E: An official promise to carry out the duties of that job.

M: Right, so, they promise that they will do their job. Okay, great, so now let's listen to our dialog for a first time. Where are we?

E: Well, we're actually watching a news reporter on TV. She's in Washington and she's gonna tell us all about what's happening.

M: Great, so, let's listen.

DIALOGUE, FIRST TIME

M: Okay, some technical problems at the inaugural address.

E: Yeah, I certainly hope this doesn't happen.

M: No… well, if it does, you heard it first at EnglishPod.

E: Predictors of the future here.

M: Hehe. Okay, let's take a look at “language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

M: On language takeaway today we're bringing you four words.

E: The first word is deliver.

M: Deliver.

E: Deliver.

M: Like deliver a pizza.

E: No.

M: Hehe.

E: Let's listen. We've got three examples that will show the meaning of this word.

Voice: Example one.

A: Who's going to deliver the welcome speech?

Voice: Example two.

B: I've been asked to deliver a presentation on the findings of our research project.

Voice: Example three.

C: Dr. Rosen is delivering a lecture on macroeconomics.

M: Okay, so, deliver a speech.

E: Say a speech.

M: To say a speech.

E: Yeah.

M: So, you wouldn't say “say a speech”, you would say “deliver a speech”.

E: Exactly.

M: Okay. Okay, our second word for language takeaway – the who's who.

E: The who's who.

M: The who's who.

E: So, this is a funny expression, hey?

M: It's kind of weird.

E: The who's who is the important people in a particular field, right?

M: Right, so, for example, there was a party last night and the who's who of the film industry was there.

E: Wow, so, all the important stars and…

M: And directors…

E: Yeah.

M: And all that stuff.

E: Okay. You could also say “the funeral was like a who's who of the political world”.

M: Okay, so, all the important political figures were at this funeral.

E: Exactly. Let's move to our third word.

M: Dignitaries.

E: Dignitaries.
 M: Dignitaries.

E: Dignitaries.

M: Okay, we have some great examples, so you can understand what this word means. So, let's listen.

Voice: Example one.

A: Several important dignitaries were presented at the opening ceremony, including the President of Brazil, the King of Spain and the Pope.

Voice: Example two.

B: There're going to be a lot of foreign dignitaries at the dinner.

E: So, basically, we can understand that dignitaries are really important people, right?

M: Right, important political or religious figures.

E: I see.

M: Alright, now our last word for language takeaway – palpable.

E: Palpable.

M: Palpable.

E: Palpable. When something is palpable, it's so strong you can feel it.

M: Okay, so, it's a very strong feeling. You can almost touch it.

E: Yeah, like the excitement was palpable or the fear was palpable.

M: Okay.

E: Uhu.

M: Interesting word palpable. Let's listen to our dialogue again and now let's try and listen to all these words we just talked about.

DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME

M: Okay, so, if you noticed in our dialogue we have some really interesting phrases there.

E: Yes.

M: So, I think it's time for us to take a look at “fluency builder”.

Voice: Fluency builder.

M: On fluency builder today we're gonna be looking at three phrases that are very interesting, because we can change them a little bit…

E: Uhu.

M: And form different patterns.

E: Yeah. So, the first phrase we have is in a word.

M: In a word.

E: In a word.

M: In a word.

E: We use this expression when we want to describe something in one word.

M: Right.

E: Pretty simple, hey?

M: It's really simple.

E: Let's look at the pattern. We've got examples of how you could use this phrase.

Voice: Example one.

A: In a word the situation is serious.

Voice: Example two.

B: What's it like there?

C: In a word, it's amazing.

M: Okay, so, in a word this podcast is…

E: Awesome.

M: Amazing.

E: Aha.

M: Okay. Okay, let's look at our second phrase today – go down in history.

E: Go down in history.

M: Go down in history.

E: So, this is a really common phrase. I'm sure you guys have heard it.

M: Yeah, basically, something that is really important that everyone will remember for a very long time.

E: Let's look at this pattern with a few examples.

Voice: Example one.

A: This is going to go down in history as the worst disaster the world has ever seen.

Voice: Example two.

B: He'll go down in history as the best president we've ever had.

Voice: Example three.

C: This day will go down in history.

M: Okay, so, as you can see the pattern is we're using a superlative.

E: That's right. The most. The best.

M: The biggest.

E: The worst.

M: The worst, right.

E: Aha. And our final phrase in putting it together is… [NOTE: in “fluency builder”, in fact]

M: My fellow Americans.

E: My fellow Americans.

M: My fellow Americans.

E: So, obviously, you can change this one up a little bit, hey?

M: Right, you can say “my fellow coworkers”.

E: Aha, my fellow citizens.

M: My fellow family members.

E: Yes. Hehe.

M: Hehe. So, basically, fellow just means like… dear.

E: Yeah.

M: In some way.

E: Some… sim… well, similar.

M: Similar.

E: Yeah.

M: So, we looked at some great vocabulary and phrases and now let's talk a little bit about these American traditions, when electing a new president.

E: Yes.

M: Today in the studio we have JP, who joining us.

JP: Hi everyone!

E: Hey JP!

M: And he's gonna be talking to us about these, uh, traditions.

E: Oh, I am, okay.
 M: Hehe, yeah.

JP: What are we gonna talk about?

M: Twenty one gun salute. What's that all about?

JP: The twenty one gun salute is the military salute, where they say “and now we will have the twenty one gun salute”. So, twenty one soldiers with the riffles, they go hu-hu-hu… puh. And they all shoot them off at the same time… and I don't know why.

M: Hehe.

E: I think it's a sing of respect, hey?

M: Kind of…

JP: Yeah.

E: Yeah.

M: Weird respect, though. Shooting guns.

JP: Well, I think in Europe they would do a cannon or something.

E: Oh.

M: Oh, that's right.

E: Twenty one cannon salute?

JP: No, well, just cannon.

E: Hehe.

M: Hehe.

JP: Maybe, well, just one cannon.

E: Maybe our European listeners know the answer to this.

JP: Maybe, Hehe.

M: Yeah. Okay, and what about this song “Hail to the Chief”? Do you know anything about that?

JP: I do not know anything about.

E: Hehe.

M: Hehe.

JP: Except that it's a march and…

E: Aha.

JP: I think it's Soussa. I think John Phillip Soussa wrote it. And whenever the president walks into a room, they play that song.

E: Really?

JP: Yes…

M: Ah.

JP: And I've played it once for President Bush, the first one. I was a drummer and…

E: You did?

JP: And my marching band had to play that song for him.

E: Oh my god…

M: Wow.

E: JP like famous.

JP: Yeah. This was back in like 1986 or something. Was that even an election year? 88? I don't know.

E: Yeah.

M: Well, you did play for the president, so, you know…

E: That's pretty cool.

M: Yeah-yeah.

E: Uhu. So, JP, do you have any other sort of traditional things that happen when the president becomes the president.

JP: Well, um, I can tell you that Jimmy Carter…

E: Aha.

JP: You know, when… when he was elected president, this motorcade was going down Pennsylvania Avenue and he stopped the car and got out.

E: Really?

M: To do what?

JP: To… Yeah. To walk, he wanted to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, he wanted to walk down ah… um, you know, down the street. Down…

E: To like… to be with the people.

JP: Yeah, I think so. And I think it made the… I think it made the Secret Service insane.

E: Aha.

M: Maybe… maybe the car smelled bad or something.

JP: Hehe. Maybe so. I think, that is my memory of that. I might be confusing with the West Wing, but I'm not…

E: Hehe.

M: Hehe.

JP: Ah, I'm not sure.

M: Too much TV.

JP: Yeah, maybe. Wh… when the president walks, it's a big deal, you know.

E: So, JP, do you do anything special, uh, for the inauguration ceremony?

M: You know…

JP: I was take the day off to watch.

E: You do.

JP: I love watching… I love, you know, the, uh, I love the… the swearing-in ceremony…

E: Aha.

JP: The??? the… the… the speech…

M: Alright, everyone, we're out of time. I hope you enjoyed this, uh, political lesson.

E: And I hope you have a happy inauguration day.

JP: Happy Inauguration everyone!

E: Yeah.

M: Okay.

JP: [voice]

M: Hehe. Alright, great. We're definitely gonna take the day off to watch it with JP and, uh, hopefully you guys can too.

E: Well, thanks for listening everyone and until next time… Good bye!

M: Bye!

Englishpod» New Year's Resolution » A2 Elementary

 M: Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod! Happy New Year! My name is Marco.

E: And I'm Erica.

M: Happy New Year!

E: Happy New Year, Marco!

M: It's December thirty-first and we are on New Year's Eve.

E: That's right and since it's New Year's Eve, we're talking about New Year's resolutions.

M: Right, in many places it's very common to make a promise for the New Year.

E: Yeah.

M: Something that you will change.

E: A promise to yourself.

M: To yourself.

E: To change something.

M: And that's what our dialogue is about today, so, why don't we take a look at our “vocabulary preview” for this lesson?

Voice: Vocabulary preview.

M: Okay, on vocabulary preview today we only have one word.

E: Eating habits.

M: Eating habits.

E: Eating habits.

M: So, what are eating habits?

E: The regular way you eat.

M: Right.

E: So, if you eat healthy or if you eat lots of unhealthy food.

M: Or even maybe what time you eat, right? If you eat everyday at certain time.

E: Yeah.

M: Eating habits.

E: Okay.

M: So, we're ready to listen to our dialogue today and it's gonna be a little bit fast, but don't worry about it.

E: We'll come back and explain all of the key vocabulary after.

DIALOGUE, FIRST TIME

E: So, Marco, do you think this guy will be successful in changing his eating habits?

M: Hehe. Well, I guess he'll never change, but this gives us a great opportunity to look at some great vocabulary in this lesson in “language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

M: Our first word on language takeaway is junk.

E: Junk.

M: Junk.

E: Junk.

M: So, junk comes from junk food.

E: Exactly.

M: Unhealthy food.

E: Yeah, fries, chips.

M: Hamburgers.

E: Yeah.

M: All that junk.

E: All that junk.

M: Hehe. Okay, our second word for language takeaway – transform.

E: Transform.

M: Transform.

E: Meaning…

M: To change.

E: Yep.

M: Change.

E: Uhu, so, this guy is going to transform his eating habits.

M: He's going to change his eating habits.

E: Yeah, our third word is…

M: Stuffed.

E: Stuffed.

M: Stuffed.

E: I'm stuffed.

M: So, we have some great examples on how we can use staffed and you'll get the meaning from it.

Voice: Example one.

A: Come on! Have one more piece of cake.

B: Oh, I can't. I'm stuffed.

Voice: Example two.

C: Oh, I ate way too much! I'm stuffed!

M: Okay, I'm stuffed.

E: The feeling you get if you eat too much food.

M: Right, I'm full.

E: Yeah.

M: Alright, so, these are some great words that you can use talking about food…

E: And eating habits.

M: And eating habits. Ah, and now we can listen to our dialogue a second time and this time like always it's gonna be slow.

DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (slow)

E: There's a lot of great language in this dialogue, isn't there?

M: Yeah, a lot of great language that we can take a look at with our “fluency builder”.

Voice: Fluency builder.

E: The first phrase we have for you is…

M: Stick to it.

E: Stick to it.

M: Stick to it.

E: Yes, we've got some examples of how this phrase is used, so, let's listen.

Voice: Example one.

A: Quitting smoking is so hard.

B: Stick to it! It's good for you!

Voice: Example two.

C: I can't solve this math problem!

D: Stick to it! I'm sure you'll get it!

M: So, stick to it, right?

E: Basically means keep doing it.

M: Right. Even though English learning can be hard…

E: You should stick to it.

M: Stick to it.

E: Yeah.

M: Exactly. Okay, let's look at our second phrase for fluency builder – I mean it.

E: Mean it.

M: Mean it.Well, this is a great way of saying…
 E: I'm serious.

M: I'm serious.

E: Yeah.

M: I mean it.

E: I'm not joking.

M: I'm not joking.

E: Uhu.

M: Right.

E: Yeah. And our final phrase in fluency builder…

M: Cut out.

E: Cut out.

M: Cut out.

E: Again, we've got some examples of this phrase as native speakers use it, let's listen.

Voice: Example one.

A: You have to cut out the salt from your diet. No more chips, no more French fries, no more popcorn.

Voice: Example two.

B: It's time for me to focus on my work. I'm going to cut out everything else from my life!

M: Okay, so, cut out means…

E: To remove.

M: Completely remove.

E: Take it away.

M: Take it away.

E: Yeah.

M: Okay, some great language, some great phrases in our dialogue today. So, why don't we listen to it a third time? And we'll come back in a little bit.

DIALOGUE, THIRD TIME

M: Okay, so, New Year's resolutions are really common and popular thing in North America.

E: It's tradition to make a promise to yourself on New Year's and stick to it throughout the whole year.

M: Right, but the funny thing is that very few people actually stick to their New Year's resolution.

E: That's true.

M: The most common ones are I'm gonna quit smoking.

E: Yeah.

M: That never happens.

E: No.

M: I'm gonna go on a diet.

E: Like this guy.

M: Hehe. I'm gonna quit drinking.

E: Aha.

M: That almost never happens either. On New Year's Eve you're still drinking.

E: I mean it's… it's a bad time, oh, come on!

M: Hehe. And another really common one is I'm going to join a gym.

E: That's why gym membership sales are so high in January.

M: Right, everyone joins a gym in January, but by…

E: Come February…

M: Yeah, and very few people in a gym.

E: Yeah, so, Marco, do you have a New Year's rev… resolution for this year?

M: Yes, I have a New Year's resolution and I resolve to continue bringing everyone some great lessons.

E: Oh, that's… that's so good.

M: And I think I can stick to that one.

E: Yes, well, I… I do hope that you do stick to that one, Marco.

M: We will, we will, but today we're out of time. So, please go to our website and leave all your questions and comments…

E: At englishpod. com.

M: And, uh, we'll see you there, but until then it's…

E: Good bye!

M: Bye!