Word expressions for walls

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word is used in a non-literal way. For example, if someone is very annoying, you can say, “You drive me up the wall!” This doesn’t mean that you are literally driving on a wall, but it expresses your feelings using other words. In this lesson, I will teach you some useful English idioms and metaphors, all of them containing the word wall. We will go over expressions like wall to wall, fly on the wall, to have your back to the wall, to see the writing on the wall, walls have ears, and more. Metaphors and idioms are an important part of English, and this lesson will help you understand and use some very common expressions in your everyday conversations.

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0:00:00 hello I’m Jill at Ingvild and today’s
0:00:04 lesson is about metaphors and idioms
0:00:08 using the word wall so you might think
0:00:11 wall that’s a strange word are there so
0:00:16 many idioms and metaphors using that
0:00:19 well in fact there are so and they’re
0:00:23 all quite interesting I think they’re
0:00:26 quite useful too so let’s have a look at
0:00:29 some examples so a wall you know what a
0:00:34 wall is it might be bricks sometimes it
0:00:37 refers to a brick wall or sometimes just
0:00:40 wall the walls of a house the walls of a
0:00:44 building okay so something quite
0:00:48 straightforward and literal not
0:00:51 metaphorical so much but actually
0:00:55 literally true is some places have
0:00:58 wall-to-wall carpets which means they
0:01:02 have carpet on the whole of the floor
0:01:05 right up to the walls to the edge okay
0:01:09 so that’s usually quite luxurious nice
0:01:13 to have they’ve got wall-to-wall carpet
0:01:16 in every room in their house so it
0:01:20 sounds nice okay but wall-to-wall I
0:01:24 think can also mean in a metaphorical
0:01:26 way something sort of completely
0:01:32 something that’s been done completely a
0:01:35 totally something like that so they
0:01:41 really did a wall-to-wall job on that
0:01:44 project meaning they they did everything
0:01:48 they could they didn’t leave anything
0:01:50 out okay so okay that’s wall-to-wall a
0:01:57 fly-on-the-wall doesn’t sound very nice
0:02:00 anything to do with insects it’s not
0:02:03 very nice really unless you really like
0:02:06 insects but you can have a documentary
0:02:11 film
0:02:13 which is a fly-on-the-wall documentary
0:02:16 which is what happens when a group of
0:02:20 filmmakers usually go into somebody’s
0:02:23 house or into somebody’s office or
0:02:26 somewhere and they may be there several
0:02:30 days or weeks even filming the people
0:02:34 just doing their ordinary day-to-day
0:02:36 activities and so the people being
0:02:39 filmed
0:02:40 eventually they forget they’re being
0:02:43 filmed they get so used to having
0:02:45 cameras there they’re not thinking much
0:02:47 about it and they’re just getting on
0:02:50 with their normal lives so that’s called
0:02:54 a fly-on-the-wall documentary because
0:02:57 you see real people living there real
0:03:00 ordinary lives people also say sometimes
0:03:05 oh I’d love to be a fly on the wall in
0:03:09 their house so you mean you know you’d
0:03:14 like to see what goes on in in that
0:03:17 person’s house you’d love to be a fly on
0:03:19 the wall when maybe two people meet and
0:03:23 you’d love to see how they react to each
0:03:26 other oh I’d love to be a fly on the
0:03:29 wall when those two people meet or in in
0:03:33 that person’s house I’d love to know
0:03:35 what goes on I’d love to be a fly on the
0:03:38 wall so the idea is the fly on the wall
0:03:41 nobody takes any notice of it but that
0:03:44 the fly sees everything okay so that’s
0:03:48 the idea with that one quite a practical
0:03:53 one here if you’re looking for a bank
0:03:55 and you want to get some cash maybe it’s
0:03:59 after the banks have closed so you need
0:04:03 the hole in the wall which is the place
0:04:07 where you can get some cash on the
0:04:10 street there’s a little screen and some
0:04:13 numbers and you type in your security
0:04:18 number and you can get some cash out of
0:04:20 your account assuming you have some cash
0:04:24 in your account
0:04:26 which hopefully you do so you go to the
0:04:29 hole in the wall to get some cash before
0:04:31 you go shopping or before you go to a
0:04:34 restaurant or a cafe something like that
0:04:37 so that’s the cash machine on the street
0:04:41 okay now this one we start to get the
0:04:46 brick wall coming in here if you come up
0:04:49 against a brick wall
0:04:51 this is metaphorical you’re trying to
0:04:55 achieve something you’re trying to do
0:04:57 something but something stops you so
0:05:00 you’re going towards it and then here’s
0:05:02 a brick wall and you can’t go any
0:05:05 further
0:05:06 something is stopping you and this is
0:05:09 metaphorical it may be that a person is
0:05:12 trying to stop you they’re blocking you
0:05:15 from doing something so that’s to come
0:05:18 up against a brick wall or maybe you’re
0:05:21 just working on a project and you can’t
0:05:25 get any further you can’t get some more
0:05:27 information that you need to carry on
0:05:30 with the project so you don’t know where
0:05:33 to go from there so you’ve come up
0:05:35 against a brick wall okay and if you’re
0:05:41 in that situation you might say this
0:05:44 project it’s driving me up the wall
0:05:48 meaning you’re almost climbing the wall
0:05:51 in frustration because you can’t get
0:05:55 anywhere or something is driving you mad
0:05:57 making you crazy because it’s things are
0:06:02 not working out properly so it’s driving
0:06:05 me up the wall okay if someone says
0:06:11 we’ve got our backs to the wall
0:06:14 it’s like this you’re up against a wall
0:06:17 here you can’t go back any further if
0:06:21 you’re in a situation maybe with running
0:06:24 a company and things are not going well
0:06:27 and you’re trying to make a success of
0:06:31 it but you’ve got to the point where you
0:06:34 can’t do much more and you’re right up
0:06:37 against the wall we’ve got our back
0:06:40 to the wall and you can’t go forward
0:06:44 you can’t go back you’re you’re stuck
0:06:48 you can’t progress you so you don’t know
0:06:52 what’s going to happen from there so
0:06:54 we’ve got our backs to the wall so okay
0:07:00 next one if something is described as a
0:07:04 bit off the wall or a little off the
0:07:07 wall if someone makes a suggestion that
0:07:10 sounds a bit eccentric a bit strange
0:07:14 unexpected you say oh well that idea
0:07:18 it’s it’s a bit off the wall isn’t it
0:07:22 meaning it’s a bit unusual we’re not
0:07:27 really used to that sort of idea or
0:07:30 doing that kind of thing if you have a
0:07:33 new idea for selling a product and it’s
0:07:37 not the usual way of doing it someone
0:07:41 might say well it’s a bit off the wall
0:07:43 isn’t it but okay we could try see if it
0:07:47 works maybe we need something that’s off
0:07:50 the wall to create more interest to
0:07:56 appeal to people’s imaginations and so
0:07:59 on okay
0:08:01 right so to see the writing on the wall
0:08:08 this is when you you realise that things
0:08:16 are not good it comes from a very old
0:08:20 story from from the Bible the Old
0:08:23 Testament with a king called Belle
0:08:27 Chasse I don’t know if you know the
0:08:31 story but Belshazzar is the king of
0:08:36 Babylon and it’s a very rich city but
0:08:44 things are going to go badly wrong he’s
0:08:47 going to be punished for being I suppose
0:08:50 — arrogant or something
0:08:53 so they see they’re having a big feast
0:08:58 Belshazzar’s feast you can see paintings
0:09:01 of this and there’s also a big musical
0:09:04 work called Belshazzar’s feast by a
0:09:07 composer called William Walton an
0:09:09 English composer which is a very
0:09:12 exciting piece of music actually and
0:09:17 Belshazzar’s feast they’re all having a
0:09:19 lovely feast and a wonderful time and
0:09:22 they’re not thinking of anything going
0:09:24 wrong but suddenly a hand appears just a
0:09:28 hand
0:09:29 no body with it just a hand appears and
0:09:32 writes on the wall and it’s a kind of
0:09:37 warning that you’ve you know you’re
0:09:41 happy nice luxurious self-indulgent life
0:09:46 is about to finish this is a warning to
0:09:50 tell you and that’s the writing on the
0:09:54 wall so it’s now used as a metaphorical
0:09:57 saying if you see the writing on the
0:10:01 wall it’s a kind of old there’s trouble
0:10:05 now this is the end of the nice time
0:10:08 you’ve been having it might be with a
0:10:11 company that’s been doing well but then
0:10:14 things start to go downhill and people
0:10:19 realize that this company is going to
0:10:21 fail and now we’ve looked at the figures
0:10:25 and we’ve seen the writing on the wall
0:10:29 we’re going to have to go bankrupt or
0:10:32 whatever and close the company make
0:10:35 everybody redundant and so on so that’s
0:10:39 to see the writing on the wall to
0:10:41 realize you can’t continue ok walls have
0:10:48 ears is some it’s a saying that was
0:10:53 quite popular during the Second World
0:10:55 War in the 1940s there were posters
0:10:59 warning people don’t talk about the work
0:11:03 you’re doing especially if it’s
0:11:06 connected with the war
0:11:07 because walls have ears somebody could
0:11:11 overhear what you’re saying and that’s
0:11:14 that person could be a spy and they
0:11:17 could then tell the enemy what you’ve
0:11:19 been doing so walls have ears so even
0:11:23 now if people are chatting someone might
0:11:27 say oh be careful what you say you don’t
0:11:30 know who’s listening walls have ears so
0:11:33 if you’re on the train or the bus with
0:11:36 other people around you have to be
0:11:39 careful what you say if you’re talking
0:11:41 about confidential things it’s well it’s
0:11:43 best not to okay
0:11:46 right and then three sayings which are
0:11:52 all quite similar where it begins it’s
0:11:55 like it’s like banging my head against a
0:12:01 brick wall so if you’re trying to do
0:12:04 something or tell somebody something or
0:12:08 persuade somebody but you’re getting
0:12:11 nowhere you say well it’s like banging
0:12:15 my head against a brick wall it’s just
0:12:18 pointless it’s not achieving anything
0:12:21 and it’s causing you a lot of pain at
0:12:24 the same time so that’s that one and
0:12:29 very similar it’s like talking to a
0:12:33 brick wall
0:12:34 I mean if you talk to a wall that’s a
0:12:38 waste of time and energy as well because
0:12:42 the wall isn’t going to it’s not a wall
0:12:45 with ears it’s a different kind of wall
0:12:47 so it’s not going to listen or respond
0:12:51 or anything it will it’s a pointless
0:12:53 waste of energy talking to a brick wall
0:12:57 but it’s usually when you’re talking to
0:12:59 a person who might as well be a brick
0:13:03 wall because they’re not either not
0:13:05 listening or they’re not interested
0:13:07 they’re not going to do anything in
0:13:10 response so you might as well not bother
0:13:15 and finally which is a bit similar again
0:13:20 it’s like nailing jello to the wall if
0:13:25 you think of jelly which is you know if
0:13:30 you have a piece of maybe raspberry
0:13:34 flavored or strawberry flavored jelly a
0:13:37 sort of transparent sweet stuff if if
0:13:48 you tried to mail that to the wall it
0:13:52 would just disintegrate and fall on the
0:13:55 floor you can’t actually nail I don’t
0:13:59 think you can mail jelly to the wall
0:14:02 it’s again it’s a pointless exercise
0:14:06 it’s a waste of time so all of these
0:14:11 three have a similar idea in them okay
0:14:16 so I hope those are interesting for you
0:14:21 and hopefully that taught you some new
0:14:24 vocabulary as well as the idioms will
0:14:28 now go on to a second board and some
0:14:34 sentences with gaps in for you to fill
0:14:37 in the the correct metaphor to go with
0:14:40 at that sentence okay so here we have
0:14:44 some sentences with gaps at the end for
0:14:49 you to fill in the right metaphor or
0:14:53 idiom based on the the ones I gave you
0:14:57 previously so first one the bank manager
0:15:04 never listens to me it’s what would you
0:15:10 put there so the bank manager never
0:15:14 listens to me
0:15:15 it’s like talking so if he’s listening
0:15:22 you’re talking it’s like talking to a
0:15:28 brick wall okay right
0:15:33 next one I wonder what goes on in that
0:15:38 house I’d love to be what would you love
0:15:44 to be if you’d love to know what’s going
0:15:47 on in that house I’d love to be
0:15:52 something on the wall what was it a fly
0:15:57 on the wall okay right next one be
0:16:04 careful what you say because walls have
0:16:11 ears okay so be careful what you say
0:16:18 because walls have ears somebody’s
0:16:24 listening right good next one so that’s
0:16:30 an unusual suggestion but perhaps we
0:16:35 need to try something that’s a little so
0:16:40 this means a little out of the ordinary
0:16:42 a little bit unusual
0:16:44 so with wall in it something that’s a
0:16:49 little off the wall a little off the
0:16:54 wall okay next one I need some cash
0:17:01 before we go shopping where is the
0:17:06 nearest something in the wall to get
0:17:13 some money from the bank I need some
0:17:16 cash before we go shopping where is the
0:17:19 nearest hole in the wall hole in the
0:17:25 wall okay it’s not not a circular hole
0:17:29 it’s usually a sort of rectangular hole
0:17:32 isn’t it but it’s still called the hole
0:17:35 in the wall okay next one their new
0:17:41 office is very luxurious
0:17:45 that means it’s very nice luxury they’ve
0:17:48 spent a lot of money on it their new
0:17:51 office is very luxurious everywhere you
0:17:54 look they have mmm
0:18:00 carpet so what kind of carpet so
0:18:09 wall-to-wall carpet everywhere you look
0:18:15 they have wall-to-wall carpet very nice
0:18:19 okay next one it’s so difficult to make
0:18:26 any progress on this project everything
0:18:31 we try is like what is it like something
0:18:43 something to the wall everything we try
0:18:47 is like nailing jelly to the wall
0:18:56 okay good and finally you’re trying to
0:19:03 do your accounts I can’t get these
0:19:07 accounts to add up correctly it’s really
0:19:18 it’s really something something up the
0:19:23 wall it’s really driving me up the wall
0:19:30 okay so I hope you got all of those and
0:19:35 I hope you’ve enjoyed learning some
0:19:39 typical idioms using the word wall there
0:19:43 are lots of them and you’ll be able to
0:19:45 use them in your use of English and so
0:19:50 if you’d like to go to the website
0:19:51 Ingvild com there’s a quiz
0:19:55 and please subscribe to my channel if
0:19:57 you haven’t already and see you again
0:20:00 soon
0:20:01 bye for now