Feifei: Welcome to The English We Speak.
It's Feifei here with Rob, and we're in a bit
Rob: …yes yes, I've hurt my foot and we've
Feifei: Ooo, it looks nasty Rob – all red
and swollen. It was a good job I was
Rob: Yes yes, thanks for the lift, Feifei. But it
really is hurting, so could you step on it,
Feifei: Oh, OK. If you say so.
Rob: Ow! That was painful – what did you
Feifei: You said 'step on it' – I thought that
was an odd request, but I did.
Rob: No, Feifei! I meant drive faster –
that's what 'step on it' means. It's what
you say to someone to ask them to hurry.
Feifei: Oops, sorry! Right, well hold on
tight, Rob. I will step on it while we hear
Taxi! Could you take me to the
station, please? And could step on it? I'm late!
Our coach told us to step on it if we
wanted to get to the match on time.
Please step on it, otherwise we're going to
Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English. And we're finding
out about the phrase 'step on it', which
means 'go faster' or 'hurry up'.
Well, we're nearly at the hospital, Rob.
Rob: Good good, because my foot hurts
so much – I need urgent medical
Feifei: How exactly did you hurt it?
Rob: I was playing football and another
player stepped on my big toe. It was so painful.
Feifei: What! So you've got me to 'step on
it' – and drive at high speed – because
someone stepped on your big toe?
This isn't an emergency, Rob - you can get out and walk.
Feifei: You had better step on it, Rob –