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FGC Goal #1: American Slang Phrase #6 – IT WAS A LONG SHOT!

by accentrobby on May 2, 2013

Current Goal: Learn 50 American Phrases in 25 Days!

Hello everyone who aspires to acquire some American phraseology and improve their American pronunciation at the same time!

Today’s my 3^rd day in my 25 day mission to learn 50 new American English phrases, and there’s only one thing I can say – so far, so good! 😀

I’m reading my English fiction and as I go along, I cherry-pick the best slang expressions with the prospect of including them into my list of 50 American slang expressions.

In case you’re wondering HOW exactly I’m choosing those phrases – here’s a short list of criteria those phrases have to match to be considered valid candidates:

I don’t have the phrase in my active vocabulary (I don’t use it in my daily conversations and self-practice sessions);
It’s not used so much in other parts of the world as in the US (nowadays you’ll hardly find a phrase that’s not used outside the States AT ALL!);
The phrase will come in handy in my personal, social and work related activities!

Today’s phrase – IT WAS A LONG SHOT – is definitely going to be useful to me, and I can’t actually wait to use it in a real conversation with my work colleague. I’m pretty sure such a situation will arise at some point in the near future for the simple reason that I discuss a wide variety of subjects with my colleague on a daily basis!

Now, watch the video above, and you may also want to do some spoken English self-practice in order to cement the phrase – IT WAS A LONG SHOT – into your active vocab.

Chat soon,

Robby 😉

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Torko

Hey Robby, would like to tell me, how to choose phrases, idioms, expression, when i am reading? I have a problem,i am not sure, how to choose them, i mean, i can’t recognized them in a book.
- accentrobby
  
  I’d suggest you not to choose them at a conscious level if it presents you big difficulties – I mean, you’re going to ruin your reading experience by being way too focused on finding expressions and phrases in the book content!
  
  Just forget about it for a while, clear your head, and then go about it this way:
  
  1) Every time you read something YOU HAVEN’T READ BEFORE, make a MENTAL note of it (you may also want to jot it down). It can be a new word (only make sure you write it with other words it goes with) or a whole sentence, doesn’t matter.
  
  2) If you come across THE SAME THING again and again, it’s a pretty clear indication that it’s worth memorizing it because it repeats quite often.
  
  Now, please bear in mind – your main guideline in choosing those phrases is to go for something you HAVEN’T COME ACROSS BEFORE, is all!!! You don’t have to try to define whether it’s an idiom, a collocation or what not!
  
  Robby