In this mini episode, you will learn the interesting idiom “like nobody’s business.”
Episode 413 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the interesting idiom “like nobody’s business.” Send your questions about English and your comments and suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hello, everyone. This is Leonardo, from Venezuela. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 413 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you an interesting expression that is maybe a little bit strange. The expression is “like nobody’s business.” Like nobody’s business. That’s l-i-k-e, n-o-b-o-d-y-apostrophe-s, b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s. Like nobody’s business.
What do you think “like nobody’s business” means? I don’t think there’s any way anybody could guess the meaning of this expression.
That’s why I think this is a strange expression. It’s an idiom with a meaning that you really cannot guess or predict.
“Like nobody’s business” means “very well” or “very much” or “in an impressive way.”
Let me give you some examples of sentences that use this strange expression.
“He can dance like nobody’s business.” He can dance like nobody’s business. That means he can dance very well. He can dance in an impressive way. The way he dances is wonderful or exceptional. He can dance like nobody’s business.
Or you could say, “She is so good at gardening. She grows roses like nobody’s business.” She grows roses like nobody’s business. That means she’s very good at growing roses. The way she grows roses is very impressive. She does it very well.
We can use this expression even when we are not talking about something that a person does. And so we can say things like this: “Look outside. It is snowing like nobody’s business.” It is snowing like nobody’s business. That means it is snowing a lot. It is snowing in an impressive way, or to an impressive degree, or to an impressive extent. It is snowing a lot, or it is snowing hard.
You can hear this casual expression used when someone wants to say that something is happening very much or very intensely or in an impressive or remarkable way.
And that is “like nobody’s business,” an interesting expression that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 413 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have any questions about English, or if you have comments for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Leonardo recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!