Summary
Neil’s local cafe is asking customers to make their own coffee. Does that sound ridiculous to you? If there’s a situation you would not have thought of because it seems too ridiculous, what could you say? We’re here to help with a phrase you couldn’t make up!
Transcript
Jiaying
Hello, I’m Jiaying. This is The English We Speak.
Neil
And hello, I’m Neil. Hey Jiaying, I’ve just been to the cafe downstairs and guess what…
Jiaying
You bought me a coffee?
Neil
No! I didn’t buy any coffee because now you have to make your own coffee – and you have to bring your own cup. What kind of cafe is that?
Jiaying
You couldn’t make it up!
Neil
But I didn’t make it up.
Jiaying
I know – I believe you! We say, ‘you couldn’t make it up’ to express how unbelievable or ridiculous a situation is. It is a situation you could not have imagined. So, why are they doing this?
Neil
Something to do with ‘health and safety’ – who could come up with an idea like that?
Jiaying
Like I said, you couldn’t make it up. Here are some more examples of this phrase…
Examples
The breakdown van that’s coming to fix my car has broken down – you couldn’t make it up!
The session about punctuality will start late because the speaker has been delayed – you couldn’t make it up!
You couldn’t make it up – the cake shop has started a ‘healthy eating’ campaign.
Jiaying
This is The English We Speak from BBC Learning English. We’re talking about the phrase ‘you couldn’t make it up’, which can be used to express how unbelievable or ridiculous a situation is. So, Neil, where are you going to get your coffee from now?
Neil
Probably from the other cafe across the street.
Jiaying
Oh, haven’t you heard? At that cafe, you have to bring your own coffee beans and milk if you want them to make you a coffee – something to do with saving storage space.
Neil
How ridiculous – you couldn’t make it up.
Jiaying
Actually, I did make it up – just so you could say the phrase one more time!
Neil
Thanks! I’m going to get my coffee now, and I’m not getting you one.
Jiaying
It’s OK, Neil. I’ve got one already. Bye.
Neil
Hmmm. You didn’t make that up, did you?