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Complete English transcript
Julia, I need to tell you something about our event poster.
The printer did not get the time wrong.
I did.
Thank you for coming clean, Martin.
Now we can fix it.
Coming clean?
I have not washed anything.
Today, clean means honest.
Welcome to Your English Toolbox.
I am Julia.
And I am Martin.
This is lesson twelve of our free Idiom Toolbox course: four idioms about truth.
You can find the complete lesson at yourenglishtoolbox.com.
Open Idioms and choose lesson twelve.
Its direct link is also in this episode description.
Our first expression is come clean.
To come clean means to admit the truth about something you have hidden.
You might have made a mistake or kept a secret.
The useful pattern is come clean about something.
I came clean about the wrong time on the poster.
I admitted that it was my mistake.
Another example: She finally came clean about losing the keys.
It is often informal, and it usually suggests there was something to admit.
It is more specific than simply speaking honestly.
Now, when I first blamed the printer, you believed me immediately.
I took your explanation at face value.
That is our second idiom: take something at face value.
It means to accept something as it appears, without looking for a hidden meaning or checking further.
For example: Do not take every online promise at face value.
A very attractive offer may leave out important details.
So it does not simply mean understanding words literally.
It is about accepting the surface explanation.
Exactly.
Our third idiom is get your facts straight.
It means to check that your information is correct.
Before we order new posters, let us get our facts straight.
Does the event start at six or seven?
Six.
I have checked the booking confirmation.
You can also say: I need to get my facts straight before I explain what happened.
That sounds useful.
But saying Get your facts straight directly to someone can sound quite sharp.
Yes.
‘Let us check the details’ is often softer.
The meaning and the tone both matter.
And our fourth idiom?
Pull the wool over someone's eyes.
It means to deceive someone, so they do not see the truth.
The picture is of something covering their eyes.
Was I trying to pull the wool over your eyes when I blamed the printer?
You were, but luckily you came clean.
Another example: The seller tried to pull the wool over our eyes about the damaged phone.
This idiom suggests deliberate deception, not an innocent misunderstanding.
Time for a quick challenge.
You admit a mistake you had hidden.
Which expression fits?
Come clean.
You check the details before making a claim.
Get your facts straight.
You accept an explanation without questioning it.
Take it at face value.
And someone deliberately hides the truth from you?
They are pulling the wool over your eyes.
Four tools for talking about honesty, trust and information.
Your turn: say one sentence about a time you needed to get your facts straight.
Continue with the examples and practice in lesson twelve.
And Martin, shall we correct that poster?
Yes.
Correct information, this time.
See you next time.
