Feifei Hello and welcome to The English We Speak. I’m Feifei.
Rob And I’m Rob. So Feifei, have you got any holiday plans?
Feifei Yes I have actually. Three weeks in Australia.
Rob Australia – wonderful! If I had the money, I’d go there at the drop of a hat.
Feifei What? At the drop of a hat? Here, take my hat.
Rob Your hat?
Feifei Yes, you said you’d go at the drop of hat, so here’s my hat, now drop it – and then you can go.
Rob I wish it was that simple. When I said at the drop of a hat I meant ‘mmediately’. If I had enough money, I would go to Australia immediately – without delay.
Feifei I see. So in other words, you would go to Australia without hesitation.
Rob Exactly. Let’s hear some more examples…
Examples My husband just can’t stop spending - he buys clothes at the drop of a hat!
If I knew what to do next, I’d quit my job at the drop of a hat. Until then, I’ll stay where I am.
My wife’s expecting a baby so I might have to rush to the hospital at the drop of a hat.
Feifei To do something at a drop of a hat means to do something immediately without even thinking about it. Well Rob, I’ll send you a postcard when I get to Australia but it may take a while.
Rob Why’s that?
Feifei Well I’m going skiing in France first.
Rob Oh, well that’s somewhere where you really don’t want to drop your hat – it’ll be freezing!
Feifei So you don’t fancy coming with me then?
Rob Skiing? No, that’s something I wouldn’t do at the drop of a hat. I’ll think about it. But have fun.
Feifei Thanks.
Both Bye!