Its a steal!

Hello, this is The English We Speak, with me Feifei… … and me Neil. Hello!

Neil, what a nice mobile phone you have with you! Wow! Very flashy! Gold colour!

It’s brilliant! The battery lasts a long time. It’s got loads of memory - it has plenty of room for apps, pictures, videos… And the camera is great too!

It must have cost a fortune!

Not at all, it was a steal!

Neil! Oh, you shouldn’t have done that! You’re such a nice guy. Why would you do something like that? You could have taken out a loan to buy it or something, but… What do you mean?

They are here! They’ve come for you!

No that was just a sound effect. I’m just having a joke with you. I’m not going to be arrested! In English, when you say something is ‘a steal’ you mean it’s a bargain - so cheap that it’s almost as if you haven’t paid anything for it.

Oh, you’re so naughty!

Sorry Feifei, it was just a joke. Let’s hear examples of how this expression is used.

I got this designer shirt in the sales. At £100 cheaper than the original price. it’s a steal!

This is the latest model, sir. You won’t find this new computer cheaper in any other shop in the high street. It’s a steal!

See?

Yes. ‘It’s a steal’ means it’s a bargain.

So, as I was saying, my phone was so cheap. My phone! Where is it?! I had it right here where has it gone?!

Yeah - where is it? It was right there.

Yes! Now I really do need to call the police.

No, you don’t. Your phone is here! I hid it when you got distracted.

Nice one Feifei - revenge for my phone joke at the beginning. And for the listeners - don’t steal anything. ‘It’s a steal’ is just an expression.

Bye!

The English we speak From the BBC.