Hello and welcome to another Fantastic Phrase brought to you by Ethan’s English Cafe.com! Today we are going to look at four idioms involving our heads in some way. The four we will look at are “Heads up”, to “Use your head”, to have a “Good head on your shoulders” and lastly to be “Head and shoulders above” others.

I just wanted to give you a heads up, the fantastic phrase has already started! To give someone a heads up means to let them know something important that is about to happen or already has happened. If you have to give a presentation at the meeting but you didn’t know the CEO was going to be there, your co-worker might say “Just wanted to give you a heads up, the CEO will be at the meeting!” If your co-worker didn’t give you a heads up, you can say “Hey! Can you give me a heads up next time the CEO will be at the meeting?”

If you get a heads up from your boss, it’s important that you use your head about what to do next. To use your head means to think carefully before acting. If your brother tries to jump a big ramp on his bike, but fails. You can say “that ramp is way too big! Why don’t you use your head next time before doing something stupid?”

Using your head is important but only if you have a good head on your shoulders. To have a good head on your shoulders means you are smart and able to think things through. Often when looking for who to hire or promote a boss will look for someone with a good head on their shoulders which would mean a smart person who knows what to do.

If you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, I’m sure your boss will think you are head and shoulders above everyone else. To be head and shoulders above everyone else means you are much better than all other candidates for the situation. If I pick you for a task and you ask me why, I might say “I picked you because with your skills and experience you are head and shoulders above the rest!”

So if someone gives you a heads up that your boss is angry, you should use your head next time you talk to him and hopefully he remembers that you’ve got a good head on your shoulders which makes you head and shoulders above the rest of your coworkers.

Hope you have enjoyed today’s fanstastic phrase and have learned a couple new words and ideas about these idioms. This has been Ethan Strauss reading for Ethan’s English Cafe.com, The first step on your road to fluency. See you next time!