Helen: Hello and [bad word] to The English We Speak. I'm Helen. 

William: Hi, I'm William. Today Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is opening. 

Music, birdsong 

Helen: Oh, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show – the world's largest flower show! I've seen it on the news before. If only I had a garden! 

William: Ah yes, you live in an apartment, don't you Helen? 

Helen: Yeah. So William, let me guess, today we are going to do a phrase relating to flowers and gardening? 

William: Exactly. 

Helen: So...? What's the phrase? 

William: Er... Well, how about... how about... er. No, it's gone. It's no good. I can't think of a phrase right now. 

Helen: Oh well. Let's just have a chat instead. I'm tired of learning new phrases anyway. 

William: OK. Well, how are you Helen? How are the kids? 

Helen: Oh they are both really well. My little boy eats too much chocolate though! 

William: Oh really? Well, you want to nip that in the bud. 

Helen: Eh? Nip it in the bud? 

William: Nip it in the bud. If you nip something in the bud, you stop it before it [bad word] a problem. Listen to this example from a business context: 

Man: The last few deliveries we've had from [bad word] have all had broken parts in them. 

Woman: Well, we need to nip that in the bud. Tell them that unless their service improves, we're going to look for another supplier. 

Helen: So in that example, the man [bad word] about poor service from a supplier. The woman wanted to nip it in the bud. 

William: That's right. She wanted to take steps to improve the service before it got even worse. 

Helen: So where does this [bad word] from William – to nip something in the bud? 

Birdsong and music 

William: Well, [bad word] from gardening, actually. bud is the part of a plant that [bad word] a flower, a leaf or stem. If you nip something in the bud, you cut the bud off the plant before it has time to grow. 

Helen: Oh. That's not very nice. 

William: Well, gardening is a tough game, Helen. You have to nip things in the bud sometimes. You also have to kill slugs and snails. 

Helen: Eugh! I'm glad I don't have a garden. 

William: Bye! 

Helen: Bye!