Today we’re talking about something that confuses many English learners:
Why do some people use metres, while others say yards?
Why are there pounds and stones in some countries, and kilograms and grams in others?
Let’s explore the difference between the imperial and metric systems — and learn some idioms that come from these old measurements.
This week’s episode is sponsored by italki.com. Follow the link below, sign up for free and book your first class.
Use the promotional code “INGLES12” when you pay for your first lesson and you’ll get a €5 discount on your first class of at least €10.
https://go.italki.com/inglespodcast12
We’ve divided the vocabulary in groups according to the type of measurement; Length/Distance, Weight/Mass, Volume, Temperature, and Speed
Length / Distance
1 inch = 2.54 cm (plural “inches” – extra syllable)
Foot (ft) = 30.48 cm (plural “feet”)
Yard (yd) = 0.91 m
Mile (mi) = 1.6 km
Weight / Mass
1 pound = 0.45 kg
Ounce (oz) = 28.35 g
Stone = 6.35 kg – Body weight (UK only)
Volume
1 pint (UK) = 568 ml; 1 pint (US) = 473 ml
Gallon = 3.78 L (US) – 4.55 L (UK) – the UK gallon is about 20% larger
Temperature
0°C = 32°F
Fahrenheit (°F) = Celsius or Centigrade (°C)
X degrees below zero
boiling point – 100°C (212°F)
Speed
1 mile = 1.6 km (miles or kilometres per hour)
Who Uses What?
United States → Imperial system (inches, pounds, miles, Fahrenheit).
United Kingdom → A mix (miles, pints, stones and metres, kilograms, Celsius). The UK officially uses the metric system but still uses some imperial units in daily life — for example, miles for road signs, pints for beer, and stones for body weight.
Canada → Mostly metric, but people still say pounds and feet sometimes.
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland (-officially) → Metric.
The rest of the world → Metric.
Some idioms
Go the extra mile: Make more effort than expected.
A miss is as good as a mile: Failing even by a small margin is no better than failing badly – it’s still failure.
To run a mile (from something): To avoid something or someone completely.
Craig runs a mile when he sees a spider.
A mile away: Very obvious.
“You could see that lie coming a mile away.”
A country mile: A fairly long distance, based on the idea that travelling a mile in the countryside on a rural route takes longer than in the town
Every inch: Completely; in every way.
“Reza’s every inch a professional.”
Within an inch of (something): Very close to something (usually danger or a major event).
“He came within an inch of losing his job.”
Give an inch and they’ll take a mile: If you give someone a little freedom, they’ll take much more.
The whole nine yards (AmE): Everything possible; the full effort or treatment.
A penny for your thoughts: Used when you want to know what someone is thinking
BUT…
Not one red cent: Used to stress that one refuses to pay any money at all for something
In for a penny, in for a pound: Expresses willingness to intensify or increase your support/enthusiasm for something if necessary.
Forget about that wee glass of whisky I asked you for – give me the whole bottle. In for a penny, in for a pound!”
Pound for pound: “When fairly compared” or “considering all factors equally.”
Many a mickle makes a muckle: A lot of units of a small quantity of something adds up to large total in the end. (From old Scots English vocabulary.)
…and now it’s your turn to practise your English.
Send us a voice message. https://www.speakpipe.com/inglespodcast
Send us an email with a comment or question to [email protected] or [email protected]
If you’re a Spanish speaker and you want to improve your English with free and paid resources, visit the mansioningles website at mansioningles.com and for paid products you can browse the online store at https://store.mansioningles.net/
Thank you to our Patreon supporters. Join our Patreon program and you get instant access to the transcriptions of this podcast and live Zoom chats so that you can practice speaking. https://www.patreon.com/inglespodcast
Welcome to our new Patreon supporters who have joined us this month:
Á. Reina
Romeu da Costa
Yolanda
Vanessa Martínez
In next week’s episode: Nursery rhymes for pronunciation practice
If you enjoyed this podcast, please tell your friends.
The music in this podcast is by Pitx. The track is called ‘See You Later’