Hi students, this is Shayna, your teacher at EspressoEnglish.net and the expression I want to teach you today is, “steer clear of something.”
First, let me explain the word steer. Steer is a verb and it means to control the direction of a vehicle or ship. For example, you steer a car using the steering wheel.
So the expression to steer clear of something means stay away from something; avoid it because it’s potentially dangerous. For example, if you’re coming to visit my city, and you ask my advice about where to go in the city, I can give you some suggestions, but I might tell you “Steer clear of a particular neighbourhood because it is dangerous at night.”
In addition to steering clear of particular places, you can also steer clear of things that might be dangerous. For example, if you’re trying to lose weight then I would suggest steering clear of any “magic” diet pills, that claim that they can make you lose 50 pounds in one week, because they won’t work and they might even be dangerous to your health.
So that’s the expression for today: steer clear of something, meaning to stay away or avoid it. Thanks for watching and I hope you’ll join me tomorrow to learn more English phrases and expressions!
You’ll learn hundreds of conversational English expressions in this course:
