Easy English Expression 0435 Go out on a limb…

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It is to go out on a limb. To be out on a limb. All right, let's look at these words. Out, O-U-T, on, O-N, a limb, L-I-M-B. To be out on a limb. What is a limb?

Well, in this case, a limb, we have to think of a tree. So let's think of a big tree with long branches and lots of leaves. Do you know Canada? Do you know the maple tree?

Very pretty tree. Think of one of those trees. And did you ever see a swing, like a tire swing in the tree? Yeah, so you got the tree that goes up and then you got the branches that go out.

And if you climb up the tree and you tie a rope to one of the branches and then bring the rope down and then tie the rope to a tire, an old tire, you can swing back and forth and back and forth. And it's lots of fun.

So where is that tire swing? It is hanging on a limb. So you've got the tree and then the branches that go out, those are limbs. So did you ever climb a tree?

When I was young, I climbed many, many, many trees. And at first, it's easy because the limbs fall. are very very thick they're very strong and the trunk of the tree the center part of the tree is very big so the center part of the tree is really big and the limbs are also very strong but the higher you go the limbs get thinner and also the more out

The more outward you go from the center of the tree, the limbs get weaker and smaller and skinnier, right? And this is the idea. If you go out on a limb, it's a much more dangerous position. It's a much more dangerous situation.

The farther out you go on a limb, the chances of you falling are very, very good. The chances of you hurting yourself are very good. And we use this expression to go out on a limb in daily English. When we put ourselves in a dangerous situation or situation,

When we give an opinion or a prediction about something we really don't know. Something that makes us very vulnerable. Let's check out a dialogue. What's your name?

Vladimir. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Are you Russian? Yes, yes. Yeah. Several years ago, I had the chance to meet the Russian president, Mr. Putin.

And I didn't know him. So I said, oh, what's your name? And he said, Vladimir. And I go, are you Russian? Duh. He said duh to me. Yes. So Vladimir Putin.

Yes. Okay. It's a silly joke. But that's the idea. When you guess something. Now, think about it. If somebody's name is Vladimir, is he always Russian?

No. No, he could be from Belarus. He could be from the Ukraine. He could be from many different countries. My name is Shane. Does that make me American?

I could be Irish. I could be British. I might be somebody else. I know a guy. His name is Hubert. And he's from China. Now, Hubert to me sounds very British, very American, but no, he's Chinese.

So we have to be careful when we hear somebody's name and just assume that they're American or that they're Russian or that they're whatever, Swedish. So we have to be careful and we say, I'm going to go out on a limb here. I'm going to say something I probably shouldn't say. I'm going to put myself in an embarrassing situation.

I'm going to guess that, Vladimir, that makes you a Russian guy. This is the idea. So we can use this expression in sports too. So for example, the World Cup.

Who do you think will win the next World Cup? Now the obvious answers would be maybe Germany, maybe Brazil. Those two teams are so good. But I'm going to go out on a limb and say Switzerland.

Yeah, I know you're laughing. I know you're laughing. But no, I really, I think Switzerland has a chance at winning the next World Cup. Oh, stop laughing.

So many of you guys are laughing. Come on. I think Switzerland has a chance. You think I'm being stupid? You think I'm being too risky? No. Maybe. You think I'm going to fall from the tree and embarrass myself?

Yeah, I might. I might do that. Who knows? To go out on a limb. So what I want you guys to do is go to Google and just type quotation marks out on a limb quotation and go to the news section or go to the blog section and

And see how people use this expression. The more examples you see, the easier it will be to understand the expression. It's a great expression, especially when assuming something, making a guess, or making a prediction. When you put yourself in a possibly dangerous or embarrassing situation, you can say, I'm going to go out on a limb.

And then make your guess. Okay? It's a great expression. What's your name? Vladimir. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Are you Russian? Yes, yes. What's your name?

Vladimir. I'm going to go out on a limb here. Are you Russian? Yes, yes. Thanks so much for listening. Make sure to check out our webpage, www.letsmasterenglish.com.

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