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The English we speak.

From the BBC.

Hello I'm Rob and this is Lee.

Now the way Hello I'm Rob and this is Lee.

Hello. Now the weather is so great today.

We're outside on the sea, sailing in this beautiful boat.

So Lee, what do you think?

Wow, impressive.

Rob, I didn't know you had a sailing boat.

In fact, I didn't know you could sail a boat.

Oh, don't worry, Lee, I know what I'm doing. Oh, mind that rock!

Oh! Phew! It's okay, Lee, I'm in control. Just keep your hand on that rope.

We've got the wind in our sails, the sea is calm, we can just easily sail around the island and be at home in time for tea.

Oh right, I thought our excursion was going to be trouble free or plane sailing.

What? Plain sailing? We're not sailing any planes, Lee. No, Rob. Plain sailing is an expression

used to describe an activity that goes well or smoothly and it's easy and uncomplicated.

Well yes of course this sailing is going well and it is actually quite easy so you're

right this is plain sailing. But can we only use that phrase to describe

sailing boats? No. Although it was originally a sailing term, it can really refer to any activity. Listen to these examples.

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