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The English we speak from bbclearningenglish.com hello, I'm Fifi and it's time again for the English We Speak.
And with me is Rob.
Hello, everyone.
Rob, what is that awful smell of fish?
Ah, you mean these smoked kippers that I've got here?
Smoked kippers?
Why have you got smoked kippers in the studio?
To illustrate today's phrase.
And this long pan is a kettle.
It's not the thing you boil water in.
Oh, right.
So what is the fish related phrase then?
The phrase is a different kettle of fish.
We say it to mean a situation
or subject that is being discussed is completely different from the one you're talking about.
A strange phrase indeed.
So we could say writing English is a very different kettle of fish from speaking it.
Yes, we can.