Welcome to the A to Z English podcast, where Jack and Sochil take you on a journey from learning the basics to mastering the nuances of the english language.
Our podcast is designed for non native speakers who are looking to improve their english skills in a fun and interactive way.
Each episode covers a wide range of topics, from grammar and vocabulary to slang and culture, to help you navigate the english speaking world with ease.
Welcome to the A to Z English podcast.
My name is Jack, and I am one of the hosts of the channel, and today I'm doing a solo episode and I'm going to explain the meaning of an english expression.
And this expression is burning the midnight oil.
Burning the midnight oil.
And what does it mean to burn the midnight oil?
This expression is used to describe someone who is working late into the night, usually to complete a task or project.
It implies putting in extra effort and sacrificing sleep for the sake of productivity.
So in other words, to burn the midnight oil is to basically pull an all nighter.
That's another expression that we use to pull an all nighter.
And we do this in college often because we don't study until the night before the test.
And then we stay up all night studying and studying and studying, and then take the exam the next day, or we don't.
We put off doing a project, we delay doing some kind of project or assignment, and then we have to work all night in order to finish the project the next day.
And so whenever you're doing this sort of thing, staying up very, very late to work, essentially we say, we are burning the midnight oil.
And here's an example sentence.
She was burning the midnight oil to finish her research paper before the deadline.
So there's a great example, doing a research paper, and so she was burning the midnight oil in order to finish her research paper before the deadline, which is usually the next day.
In this context, the expression suggests that she was working diligently and staying up late to complete her research paper on time.