In this mini episode, you will learn the idiom “out in the open.”
Episode 442 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you the idiom “out in the open.” 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
“Hi! This is Nitun here, from Bangladesh. You are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 442 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 a very strange idiom. The idiom is “out in the open.” Out in the open.
That’s o-u-t, i-n, t-h-e, o-p-e-n. Out in the open.
The first strange thing you might notice about this idiom is those two prepositions at the beginning: out in the open. Out, in. This idiom starts with two prepositions that are opposites of each other: out. in.
That is a little bit strange, but that is something you will see sometimes in English prepositional phrases. You will sometimes see prepositional phrases with more than one—sometimes with more than two—prepositions. And yes, it might seem a little bit strange that these two prepositions seem like opposites. I don’t think they really are in this expression, but that is what they look like.
The other strange thing you might notice is the way the word open is used. Out in the open. In this idiom, open is used as a noun. The open. Out in the open. Usually, we use open as a verb or an adjective. So we usually use open when we say things like, “I will open the door.” There, we’re using it as a verb. Or we can say things like, “I called the restaurant, but they were not open.” In that case, open is used as an adjective. In this idiom, “the open” is used as a noun.
What does this idiom mean? “Out in the open” means in a place that is not covered or enclosed. In a place that is open. If you do something out in the open, you are doing it in a place or in a way that other people can see you. It is not secret. You are not hidden. You are doing something that other people can see. You are doing something in public. You are doing something in a place that is open. We can see inside. We can see what is happening in there.
You might see this expression used when people are talking about someone committing a crime. Imagine that someone commits a crime, but they don’t even really try to hide when they are committing this crime. They are doing it out in the open. They are committing this crime in a place or in a way that other people can see them doing it. They’re doing it out in the open.
You might also hear it in situations like this: Imagine that you are watching a documentary about animals. And maybe the narrator says something about some animal that does not like to spend time out in the open. It doesn’t like to spend time out in the open because that might feel too dangerous. Other animals or predators could see it if it is out in the open. It probably feels more safe if it is in a place where it can hide, in a place where other animals cannot easily see it.
One last thing I should say about “out in the open” is that we don’t really need both of those prepositions. I think you will often hear this idiom as “out in the open,” but you can also say “in the open.” I don’t think you need out and in. I think it sounds very natural to say “out in the open,” but I do think sometimes you will hear “in the open.”
And that is “out in the open,” an interesting and common idiom that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 442 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 Nitun 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!