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Welcome to the English we speak.

I'm Jaying.

And hello, I'm Neil.

Jaying, are you feeling okay today?

Yes, I'm fine, thanks.

Why are you asking?

Well, when we spoke yesterday, you said you were as sick as a parrot?

I wasn't ill.

When someone says they are as sick as a parrot, they mean they're very disappointed about something.

I was saying how disappointed I was with the outcome of the football match. My team lost. Oh I see. But why were you watching the football

match with a sick parrot? I didn't know you had one. I haven't got one Neil, but I

was very disappointed. I'm sure, but I was very disappointed.

I'm sure, but I didn't know parents liked football as well.

Oh, Neil, listen to these examples and it would become clear. I was as sick as a parrot when I saw someone had scratched my new car.

He was as sick as a parrot when he saw how much litter had been left in the park.

When I heard my colleague got a promotion over me, I was sick as a parrot. This is the English we speak from BBC Learning English and we're hearing about the phrase

as sick as a parrot, which we can use when we're very disappointed about something.

So Neil, have you got it now?

There are no parrots!

It's just a saying.

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