Here you will learn 7 English idioms about change. To stick to your guns meaning. To reinvent the wheel meaning and more.
To complete your vocabulary on the topic of change, check out my post on Collocations with Change and other verbs you can use instead of CHANGE.
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English Idioms about Change
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Hi there. This is Harry. And welcome back to my English learning podcast Speak Better English with Harry where I try to help you to understand and use English in a better way.
So what do I have for you in this particular podcast episode? We’re going to talk a little bit about change. Specifically, we’re going to look at the English idioms about change. I’ll give you an idiom, its definition and a good example of how to use it in English.
Intermediate to Advanced English Marathon
INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
English Idioms about Change
to break the mould
Meaning: to change the way we do things, to destroy, to completely change things
Mould /məʊld/ – is something that you make to create a piece of pottery or a piece of sculpture that you pour in your clay, whatever it is to create this shape.
Examples:
Neil broke the mould by being the first in his family to become a doctor.
In 1989 Tetley broke the mould with the introduction of the round tea bag.
There’s an expression in English.
🔴 They broke the mould when they made him.
This is quite an interesting expression because what it means is that you are very different from everybody else. So if people believe you are a little bit perhaps strange or unusual or you do things in a strange or unusual way on that nobody does it any different, then we are often said to have broken the mould.
to change your tune
Meaning: to change your opinion quite radically
Example:
They quickly changed their tune when they realised that I was the managing director. They apologised and promised to send a revised message as soon as possible.
She was quite rude to Jack at first, but then she changed her tune when someone mentioned how wealthy he was.
Reinvent the Wheel Idiom Meaning
to reinvent the wheel
Meaning: to do something that has been already done by other people; to invent something that already exists; usually used in the negative
Example:
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, why don’t we just use this application?
There is no point in reinventing the wheel or duplicating those services already established in the community.
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English Idioms about Change
to stick to your guns
Meaning: to keep with your decision on something and under no circumstances you are going to change your mind
Example:
The Prime Minister has reassured his pro-Brexit colleagues that he’ll stick to his guns.
I tried to persuade Mary to have some ice cream but she stuck to her guns.
And then the next idiom is
to have a change of heart
Meaning: to do something differently than we did before
Example:
I had a change of heart. I realised that the office is not such a fun place without my work colleagues and decided to work from home.
English Idioms about Change
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to turn over a new leaf
Meaning: to begin something different, to start something new
Example:
Sam has finally decided to turn over a new leaf and he’s looking for a new job.
a leopard cannot change its spots
Meaning: you’re the sort of person that will never change; no matter what happens, no matter what you say, what you do, you’re always going to be the same sort of person
Example:
Be careful with Peter. Remember, a leopard never changes its spots. He might be nice today, but I guarantee he will go back to his old ways in a few days.
So there are English idioms about change:
Thanks for listening to this podcast episode. As always, if you wish to contact me well, you can do so.
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Take care of yourselves and, as always, join me again soon.
More information
For more information on English grammar rules, English collocations and English idioms, check out the links below:
Asking someone to do something
