Irons in the fire
| Jen: | Hello, I'm Jennifer. Welcome to The English We Speak. Joining me in the studio today is Helen. Hi Helen! |
| Helen: | Hi Jen! I wasn't expecting to see you in the office today; I thought you were on leave? |
| Jen: | No, that's next week. I'm taking two weeks off work and I can't wait! |
| Helen: | Are you going on holiday? |
| Jen: | I haven't planned anything just yet, but I do have a few irons in the fire that will keep me busy across the fortnight. |
| Helen: | Irons in the fire? What do you mean? When did you become an ironmonger? |
| Jen: | No, Helen, I'm not an ironmonger ... |
| Helen: | ... because that could be great! I saw a lovely wrought-iron bed in a shop in London, but it was too expensive ... Perhaps with your new iron-making skills you can make me one, instead! |
| Jen: | I definitely don't have any iron-making skills! |
| Helen: | But you said you had a few irons in the fire ... Oh! I suppose you mean that you've got a lot of ironing to do; you do wear a lot of different clothes so I suppose it would take a long time to iron them all ... |
| Jen: | No, that's not what I meant! |
| Helen: | So what did you mean when you said you have 'a few irons in the fire'? |
| Jen: | This is another English phrase which you shouldn't take too literally. If you have a few irons in the fire, it means that you have a few different projects or potential ideas going on at the same time. |
| Helen: | I see. So you have a few irons in the fire because you have different options for your fortnight off? |
| Jen: | That's right—I can't wait. |
| Helen: | So tell me, Jen, what are your irons in the fire—what are you planning? |
| Jen: | Well, I have a friend in Paris who I haven't seen for ages, so I could go there ... I'd like to pop up to Scotland to visit my sister and her children for a few days ... There's also a cheap deal to Turkey that I've seen and I already have some yoga classes booked in! |
| Helen: | Wow, that's a lot! |
| Jen: | There was one thing you were right about, though ... |
| Helen: | What's that? |
| Jen: | I do have a huge pile of ironing to do! Join us again for another edition of The English We Speak from bbclearningenglish.com. Bye for now! |
| Helen: | Bye! |