Hey there! This is TOP episode 333. Learn English Through Stories: Things We Say in Anger
You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. My name’s Ola, and this is Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
In today’s episode, we’re discussing the things we say in anger. The kind of phrases that just slip out when emotions take over. The kind of language you don’t learn from textbooks… but you hear all the time in real life.
But listen. I know you learn a lot here, but… It’s one thing to understand these expressions when you hear them. But it’s a completely different story to actually use them when you speak.
Because speaking doesn’t happen in perfect, calm conditions. It happens in everyday situations which are messy and unpredictable, often when you’re stressed, when you’re tired, when you don’t have time to think. And that’s exactly the gap I see in so many people. That’s why I created Voice Loop.
It’s a five-week speaking programme where you work with English every single day. You send voice messages, you get personal feedback from me. You stop waiting for the “right moment.” You stop overthinking and start speaking. The progress is visible, you see it and feel you every single day.
If you’ve been feeling that it’s time to finally move from understanding English to living it, this is your moment. Join us at teacherola.com/grupy.
Alright! Let’s get into today’s episode.
Today we’re going to do something you’ve heard here before. If you listened to episode 329: Learn English Through Stories: The Spring Ride to Tyniec, you’ll know the format.
And today, I’ve got another story for you, but this time, we’re doing it a little differently.
First, I’ll give you 10 phrasal verbs, and then 10 useful fixed phrases, and I’ll explain all of them. Afterwards, you’ll listen to a short story in which I use every single one of these expressions.
So you’ll hear them in action, you’ll hear them in context and hopefully, that will help you remember them more easily. Actually… I know it will. I’m sure it will. So, let’s get started. Focus and listen carefully. Let’s go.
Number one. Blow up – suddenly become very angry.
He blew up over nothing.
Number two. Snap at someone – speak to someone in an irritated, sharp way.
She snapped at me for no reason.
Number three. Bring something up – mention a topic (often sensitive).
Why did you bring that up now?
Number four. Fall out (with someone) – stop being friendly after an argument.
I fell out with my sister last week.
Number five. Make up – become friends again after a conflict.
We argued, but we made up later.
Number six. Back down – stop arguing or admit you were wrong.
He refused to back down.
Number seven. Lash out (at someone) – attack someone verbally (or physically) out of anger.
He lashed out at everyone in the room.
Number eight. Bottle something up – keep emotions inside instead of expressing them.
Don’t bottle it up.
Number nine. Storm off – leave angrily and suddenly.
She stormed off without a word.
Number ten. Talk over someone – interrupt and speak while someone else is talking.
Stop talking over me.
Let’s now look at some fixed phrases, I’ve prepared 210 of them, here we go:
One. Have a row – have an argument (very British, very natural).
We had a row this morning.
Two. Get on someone’s nerves – annoy someone.
He’s really getting on my nerves.
Three. Be on edge – be tense or easily irritated.
I’ve been on edge all day.
Four. Say something you don’t mean – speak in anger without meaning it.
I said things I didn’t mean.
Five. Take something the wrong way – misunderstand negatively.
Don’t take it the wrong way.
Six. Clear the air – talk honestly to remove tension.
We need to clear the air.
Seven. Give someone the silent treatment – ignore someone on purpose.
She’s giving me the silent treatment.
Eight. Cross the line – go too far (say/do something unacceptable).
That really crossed the line.
Nine. Hold a grudge – stay angry for a long time.
He holds a grudge for years.
Ten. Walk on eggshells – act very carefully to avoid conflict.
I feel like I’m walking on eggshells around her.
Now please listen to the story and try to catch all 10 phrasal verbs and all 10 fixed phrases.
It started over something stupid, as it usually does.
Anna had been on edge all morning. The kitchen was a mess, the coffee machine wasn’t working, and her son Kuba had been getting on her nerves since breakfast.
“Can you at least try to clean up after yourself?” she said, trying to sound calm.
“I said I would,” Kuba muttered, not even looking up from his phone.
That’s when she snapped at him. “You always say that. You never actually do it.”
He rolled his eyes, and that was enough. She just… blew up.
“Unbelievable. You’re twenty years old and still acting like a child!”
Kuba stood up so suddenly the chair scraped loudly across the floor. “Why do you always have to bring this up? Every single time!”
“Because nothing changes!”
They started talking over each other, voices getting louder, sharper. Words came out faster than either of them could think.
“Maybe I’d help more if you didn’t control everything!”
“Oh, don’t turn this around on me!”
That’s when he lashed out. “You’ve been impossible to live with lately.”
There was a pause. A bad one.
He’d crossed the line, and they both knew it.
Anna felt it immediately, that sting behind the eyes. “Fine,” she said quietly. “If that’s how you feel.”
Kuba grabbed his jacket and stormed off, slamming the door behind him.
They didn’t speak for two days.
The flat was too quiet. No music, no random conversations, no stupid jokes. Just tension. The kind that makes you walk on eggshells even when you’re alone.
Anna tried to keep busy, but she could feel everything she hadn’t said, everything she’d bottled up, sitting heavy in her chest.
Kuba, on the other hand, kept replaying the argument in his head. He knew he’d said things he didn’t mean. Still, he wasn’t ready to back down.
By Tuesday evening, the silence felt worse than the argument.
So he walked into the kitchen.
“Can we… talk?” he said.
Anna looked up, cautious. “Are you going to shout again?”
“No.” He hesitated. “I think we should just clear the air.”
She sighed. “Good. Because I don’t want us to fall out over something like this.”
There was a long pause.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it.”
“I know,” she replied softly. “And I shouldn’t have jumped on you like that.”
Another pause, but this one felt different. Lighter.
“Truce?” he asked.
“Truce.”
And just like that, they started to make up. Because that’s how it usually works.
You fight, you say things you don’t mean… and if you’re lucky, you find your way back.
Let’s now practice. Listen to some of the sentences again but this time, repeat after me. Say it out loud!
Anna had been on edge all morning.
Kuba had been getting on her nerves since breakfast.
That’s when she snapped at him.
Why do you always have to bring this up?
They started talking over each other.
He’d crossed the line, and they both knew it.
Kuba grabbed his jacket and stormed off
He wasn’t ready to back down.
I think we should just clear the air.
I don’t want us to fall out over something like this.
Alright, before you go, let me leave you with this.
If you’re listening to this and thinking, “Yeah, I understand all of it… but I still don’t use it when I speak” — that’s completely normal. A lot of people are in exactly the same place.
The good news is, you don’t have to stay there.
If you feel like it’s time to start actually using your English, not just understanding it, come and join me in Voice Loop. That’s where we turn passive knowledge into real speaking. You send voice messages, I give you feedback, and step by step, speaking starts to feel more natural and more automatic.
You can join us at teacherola.com/grupy.
And if you want to come back to today’s episode and really make these expressions stick, I’ve prepared a worksheet for you. Just go to teacherola.com/333, download it, and practise everything in context so it becomes part of your active English.
Alright, thanks for listening and I’ll see you in the next episode.
Thank you so much for listening. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud. I love you, I believe in you, I know you are ready to speak English. I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now.