2021-10-25 Not a patch on something – The English We Speak

Summary

An expression for when something is much worse than something else. But what is the connection to Jiaying’s jeans?

Transcript

Jiaying
Hello, I’m Jiaying, and this is The English We Speak. 

Neil
…and hello. I’m Neil.Are those new jeans, Jiaying? 

Jiaying
Yes they are! Do you like them? I’m not so sure about them… They’re not a patch on my old ones.

Neil
Well, I was going to say – you probably do need some patches. They’re covered in holes!

Jiaying
The holes are supposed to be there, Neil. It’s fashionable to have holes in your jeans these days.

Neil
Ah, right. So why are you talking about patches?

Jiaying
I was using our expression for this programme. If something ‘isn’t a patch on’ something else, it means it is nowhere near as good as the thing you first mentioned.

Neil
I see. So it’s not connected to the word ‘patch’, which means a textile cover for something which is damaged?

Jiaying
That’s right. I’m saying my old jeans were much better than these new ones. Let’s hear some examples of this expression in action.

Examples
My new phone isn’t a patch on the old one. The camera is rubbish.

I know some people disagree, but for me the Olympics isn’t a patch on the World Cup. Football is way more exciting!

My holiday at home wasn’t a patch on a trip abroad. Overseas travel is so much more fun.

Jiaying
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English and we’re talking about the expression ‘not a patch on something’, which is used to say that one thing is not as good as another. Neil, what are you doing with that knife?

Neil
I’m just cutting some holes in my jeans – you know, to be more fashionable, like you.

Jiaying
That looks terrible – and if you’re not careful you’re going to cut yourself.

Neil
You’re right, Jiaying. These types of holes in jeans are really not fashionable, are they?

Jiaying
No. In this case, I think you really do need some patches.

Neil
Bye.

Jiaying
Bye.