Today one of my students asked me about the expression "full of beans." He had been listening to a program on the radio given by a British speaker and he wanted to be sure that the meaning was "energetic or in high spirits." Now remember that I'm American and the expression
"full of beans" has a completely different meaning. For us it means "talking nonsense." Here are some examples:
She is full of beans tonight and doesn’t want to stop talking. (UK)
Don't pay any attention to Bill. He's full of beans. (USA)
Imagine for a minute that a Spanish speaker, who learned British English, has a meeting with some Americans and the Spanish speaker says. "John is full of beans today." This could be a very embarrassing situation for everybody.
Remember that British English and American English do have differences and to be careful when using idioms and expressions.
"full of beans" has a completely different meaning. For us it means "talking nonsense." Here are some examples:
She is full of beans tonight and doesn’t want to stop talking. (UK)
Don't pay any attention to Bill. He's full of beans. (USA)
Imagine for a minute that a Spanish speaker, who learned British English, has a meeting with some Americans and the Spanish speaker says. "John is full of beans today." This could be a very embarrassing situation for everybody.
Remember that British English and American English do have differences and to be careful when using idioms and expressions.
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