Some English phrases and expressions for summer
Summer is here! Well, almost. At least, in Barcelona it feels about as good as it gets in England in the middle of summer. English weather is not good, we all know that. That’s why so many of us come here to the perfect climate of Spain. And you might think: Why do the English always talk about the weather? Well, it’s a good conversation starter, ice breaker and a way to mark the passing of the seasons.
So, here are some English phrases, idioms, and expressions that we use to talk about the weather when it’s HOT.
It’s boiling!
It is not literally 100 degrees when we say this, otherwise we would be unable to speak. We are exaggerating. Extreme adjectives are used to make it more fun to say it’s very hot.
It’s scorching!
It’s roasting, mate!
F’in sweltering, man!
The sun is out
Spanish speakers might translate this with quitar or something and misunderstand the meaning. The sun is not out, as in away, but out as in he has come out to see us and say hello. In fact, he has even got a hat on.
The sun has got his hat on, hip-hip-hip hooray.
The sun has got his hat on and he’s coming out today.
For some reason we like to personify the sun and the moon and make it sound like he decided to come out and that it is not all just subject to the weather systems that we are slowly worsening with our dependence on fossil fuels and beef.
Humidity
Humidity is interesting, because in English humidity is associated to heat and not to cold, and most of the time in England it is not all that humid even when it is very hot. But we have some expressions to use:
It’s muggy
It’s sticky
It’s close /kləʊs/
Stifling heat, clammy, stifling
There are lots of different ways to express the oppressive heat of high humidity conditions.
Idioms
Heat wave – This is an especially hot period of days or weeks when the heat is unusually high for the average temperatures. Always carry water with you!
Sunbathe (v) – Soak up some rays/catch some rays – Means to lie on the beach, or in a park, and let the sun slowly damage our skin. This is known to cause skin cancer, but there are some health benefits to taking sun if you are using sun-screen.
Sweating like a pig – Pigs don’t actually sweat that much, they have quite dry skin, so I am not sure why we say this. However, it means you are sweating a lot because you are hot.
Hot as hell – It’s supposed to be very hot in hell, some say it’s an inferno.
Now go outside, if the sun has got his hat on, and catch some rays. Enjoy your summer!
Written by James R. McCance for Aston School
