6 Minute Vocabulary - Binomials

This is a download from BBC Learning English to find out more , visit our website , six minutes from BBC Learning English dot com . Hello and welcome to Six Minute Vocabulary with me , Finn and me , . And today's show is all about by nominals or as some call them , binomial . Yes , those short and sweet phrases English speakers love to use in everyday English . We'll look at what Bino meals are , what they mean and how to use them . They'll be a cheap and cheerful quiz , and we'll leave you with a quick and dirty tip for learning vocabulary . So to start off , let's listen to Charlie and his mum talking about football practice . Here's a question to think about while you listen . What's a good treatment for aches and pains ? What's good for aches and pains ? Let's find out . Hello , love . How was practice today ? Horrible . I hate football . Oh , dear . Why's that ? I'm sick and tired of being in . Go look at these bruises . I'm black and blue . Oh , let's have a look . Oh yes . , why don't you jump in the bath . Warm waters . Very good for aches and pains . So that's Charlie and his mum . We asked you what's good for aches and pains . And Charlie's mum says the answer is a warm bath . That's right . And the phrase aches and pains is our first binomial . Now , by no means are short English phrases made up of two words that go together . And the two words are often joined with and like aches and pains , aches and pains , which means general pains in the body that usually aren't serious . OK , now it's important to remember that binomial are always fixed . You can't change anything about them . You can't say pains and aches and you can't say aches and hurts and you can't say hurts and pains . So , Alice , do you suffer from aches and pains sometimes when when you're around . Anyway , poor Charlie said he was black and blue . He's talking about the bruises on his body he got from playing football black and blue . Must have been a tough game . Yes . No wonder Charlie said he's sick and tired of football , sick and tired . It means really fed up and bored with something . And remember , we can't say tired and sick . We can't say sick and bored either . What are you sick and tired of at the moment ? Well , I'm sick and tired of commuting , travelling to work . Oh , it took me about an hour this morning . However , it's a really long time . It is . And another binomial bit by bit . This time the word in the middle is by instead of and listening to BBC learning English . And we're talking about Bino meals , and if you were listening carefully at the beginning of the show , you might have noticed that we used a couple of binomial right at the start . Short and sweet was one of them . It means simple , quick and useful , short and sweet or quick and dirty . That's another binomial with a similar meaning . Quick and dirty means simple , short and basic . And another similar one is cheap and cheerful . So three binomial there you can use to describe something as quick , simple and basic . Now let's hear today's expressions again . Aches and pains . It describes body pains that aren't serious , sick and tired , fed up , bored and angry bit by bit to describe slow change and to say something is simple , short and basic . We had three by no means short and sweet , quick and dirty , cheap and cheerful . Thank you , Alice . And now it's quiz time . So no one choose the correct answer . I'm learning French , it's difficult , but I'm getting better a bit by bit , by bit by little or C bit and bit . And the answer is a bit by bit . Now , number two , Sarah fell over and hit her eye yesterday . Today , it's a blue and black . B , black and blue . , black and white . And the answer is B , black and blue . Ouch . And finally , number three , at only one minute long , the presentation was a sweet and short be cheerful and cheap or C , quick and dirty . And the answer is C , quick and dirty . And that brings us almost to the end of the program . But before we go , here's a cheap and cheerful tip for remembering vocabulary . Play games , making and playing a simple card game where you match up the beginning and ends of by nominals will really help you to remember them . That's right . And there's more about this at BBC Learning English dot com . Join us again for more six minute vocabulary by .