Lyrics Hold Your Horses - HVOB

William: Hello and welcome to The
English We Speak. My name is William Kremer.
Li: And I'm Li. William, what's our phrase today?
William: Well, hold on a second Li, let me just play you -
Li: No, come on, tell me now – what phrase are we looking at today?
William: Well,
We'll come onto that in a minute
But I've got some very special FX for
You...
Li: More special FX?!
And special music? That's not what our people want! They
Want authentic English phrases, and they want them now! So what's our
Phrase today?
William: Li, hold your horses!
Li: Eh?
William: Hold your horses. It means: be patient.
Li: Oh... where does this phrase come from, William?
William: Well, apparently it comes from battles in times of war:
Example
FX – Battle re-enactment noise
Man: Hold your horses men!
FX – gunfire, horses whinnying
Li: Wow, Will, your FX this week are really special!
William: Hmmm, I know!
In that clip we heard a soldier telling his men to hold their
Horses before he started firing weapons.
Li: But nowadays, I am guessing,
You don't need to be a soldier to use this
Phrase, right?
William: Exactly, yes. It means: don't rush,
Be patient. Let's hear a couple of examples:
Examples
Man: I've just gone online to order
Us some new computers. What's our charge
Code again?
Woman: Ah, well you're going to have to
Hold your horses! I haven't agreed a budget
Yet with the management team.
Man: I've just spoken to Mark –
Woman: Have you indeed?
Well don't listen to a word that man says! He's never liked
Me...
Man: Hey, hey hey! Hold your horses.
We didn't discuss you at all, as a matter of
Fact.
Li: So in that first example,
The man couldn't order his computers yet because the
Company hadn't agreed a budget.
He had to wait; he had to hold his horses.
William: Hmm.
And in the second example it was slightly different. In that clip we
Heard a woman interrupt the man
Because she thought she knew what he was
Going to say.
Li: Ah yes,
The man told her to hold her horse and wait for him to finish
Speaking.
William: Ah, yeah,
But Li we never say "Hold your horse" we always say "Hold your
Horses".
Li: Oh OK, I'll bear it in mind. But, er, Will...?
William: Yeah?
Li: Can you hold this for me please?
Horse whinnying