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The Vocab Man - Fluent Vocabulary

72 Raining cats and dogs

Nov 21, 2021
The podcast discusses the idiom 'raining cats and dogs' and its lesser usage among native English speakers. They suggest the alternative expression 'bucketing down' for heavy rainfall. The hosts share their own experiences as English learners and reflect on self-confidence and taking small steps towards goals.
03:35

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • The idiom 'raining cats and dogs' is commonly taught to English learners, but native speakers rarely use it in daily conversation, preferring phrases like 'bucketing down' to describe heavy rain.
  • Overcoming common excuses for not learning English, such as lack of time or money, requires determination, setting deadlines, and taking small steps to gradually progress.

Deep dives

Common Idiom: Raining Cats and Dogs

The podcast discusses the idiom 'raining cats and dogs,' which means heavy rain. It is mentioned that while this idiom is commonly taught to English learners, native speakers rarely use it in daily conversation. Instead, native speakers often use phrases like 'bucketing down' to describe heavy rain. 'Raining cats and dogs' is mostly used as a joke and may evoke a smile, but it is considered somewhat old-fashioned. The speaker mentions finding an example of this idiom in a movie from 1999 called Magnolia, where it was used to describe raining frogs.

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