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Introduction

Sometimes it's best to bide your time. This is a phrase about waiting patiently for an opportunity.

Transcript

Feifei
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei, and I'm here with Phil.

Phil
Hello. How are you, Feifei? Did you buy that new car that you wanted?

Feifei
No, actually, I didn't. I went to look, but there wasn't anything at the right price that I liked. But that doesn't matter - it's not an emergency, I can bide my time until the right deal comes along.

Phil
That sounds like smart thinking! And that's the phrase we're looking at in this episode - 'bide someone's time' - and when we're speaking it can be 'bide my time', 'bide your time', 'bide his or her time', 'bide our time' or 'bide their time'. It means to wait for an opportunity. What can you say about it?

Feifei
'Bide' is a very old-fashioned word that means wait. We don't really use it on its own anymore. But it survives in this expression 'to bide someone's time'. It means to wait patiently and quietly for an opportunity.

Phil
You talked about biding your time for the right deal to come along - you don't need a new car right now, you're happy to wait. And we can use it anywhere where opportunities come up. Maybe at work, you're not totally happy with your job, but rather than look for a new one, you're happy to bide your time until there's an opportunity for a promotion.

Feifei
Yes, so you're waiting patiently for the right job to come up. Let's listen to some examples of people using 'bide someone's time'.

Examples

My sister auditions for this dance company every year and she still hasn't got in, but she's biding her time, practising her skills, and hopefully she'll get in soon.

I really want to go to the beach with my friend, but it keeps raining every weekend. We've just got to bide our time and wait for a sunny day.

I've just learnt the secret to fishing. You've just got to bide your time until a big one comes along.

Feifei
You're listening to The English We Speak, and we're talking about the phrase 'Bide someone's time'. Are there any similar phrases?

Phil
And you can also say 'I'm just biding time' if someone asks what you're doing and you're patiently waiting for something. So, that's a slightly different way to use it.

Feifei
Now, there are lot of interesting phrases to learn in English, but you'll have to bide your time until the next episode of The English We Speak - see you then!

Phil
Bye!

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