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The English We Speak from the BBC.
Hello and welcome to the English We Speak.
I'm Neil and joining me is Fei Fei.
Hi ya, Fei Fei.
Can you explain to our listeners why I'm sharpening an axe in the studio?
Yes, I can.
Because in this program we've got an expression for you which contains the word axe.
It can have three different meanings.
One, to have an opinion you want other people to accept.
Two, to be angry or upset about something, and three, to have a hidden plan.
The expression is to have an axe to grind.
If you can imagine in the past, if someone did something bad to you, you might want to get revenge and hurt the person.
So you might need a sharp weapon like an axe.
That's horrible.
In modern use, you can say that someone has an axe to grind,
but it doesn't mean they're going to attack you with an axe.
Let's hear some examples of the different meanings of this expression.
Oh, no, Here comes Roger.