2024-03-11 Cook up an idea – The English We Speak

Introduction

Here’s a phrase that means to come up with an idea carefully. Learn how to use it in this programme.

Transcript

Phil
Welcome to The English We Speak, with me Phil…

Feifei
And me, Feifei.

Phil
We have an expression which means to carefully plan an idea – it’s ‘cook up an idea’.

Feifei
‘Cook up an idea’. So are there any ideas that you’ve been cooking up, Phil?

Phil
OK, it’s my son’s birthday soon – and I’m trying to cook up a party idea that he’ll really like.

Feifei
Children can be hard to please, so I hope you can cook up a good idea.

Phil
Don’t worry, I’ve been thinking about this for months – it takes time to cook up an idea this well. It’s going to be a surprise party.

Feifei
I love surprise parties! I threw a surprise party for my parents last year. It was amazing, but I spent a long time cooking up the idea. It’s a great expression because it sounds like you’re putting lots of ingredients together to make something special.

Phil
Yes, sometimes you need a lot of things to cook up an idea. It can be hard work! Let’s hear some more examples.

Examples
Don’t disturb her, she’s working on her own to cook up an idea for our project.

You’ve always wanted to start up a company, I’m glad you managed to cook up this idea!

I didn’t know how we were going to see all those places in one day, but I hadn’t realised Paulo had been cooking up a plan. It was amazing!

Feifei
You’re listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we are learning the expression ‘cook up an idea’, which is an informal way to say ‘to carefully plan something’. You can cook up an idea, or cook up a plan. The word ‘cook’ is important because it implies that care and effort have gone into the plan.

Phil
You could say that the best plans have many ingredients, and that you have to combine them in the right way. That’s why the best ideas can take some time to cook up.

Feifei
That reminds me. I’ve got a couple of friends visiting, and they don’t really like each other, but I’ve cooked up a plan to get them to speak to each other.

Phil
Well, I hope it works! We’ll see you next time! Bye.

Feifei
Bye!