Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall?

Jan 12
5 min read

Updated: Feb 6

A frustrating month, a useful idiom, and how to use 'used to', 'be used to', and 'get used to' correctly

This post comes from my weekly English with Em newsletter.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you use them, I earn a small commission — it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

Weekly update

Can you believe we're almost halfway through January already? For Brits, January is often a depressing month. The weather is cold and grey, and nobody has much money left after Christmas.

As I live in southern Spain, I can't complain about the weather, but it has been a bit of a stressful month so far. Why is this? The faulty laptop saga continues!

In October, having been working with poor quality tech for far too long, I finally bought a new laptop - a powerful Lenovo device. Unfortunately, in early December, it failed and had to be sent back. Eventually, after repeated pickup and delivery failures, I received a replacement.

All seemed well, but then on the second day of use, the new laptop also failed! Once again, I have sent it back. This time I have requested a refund, but the company I bought it from have not agreed yet.

Instead, they have insisted that I use the warranty, again, requesting a repair or replacement. I don't know about you, but I don't think that's reasonable at this point (it's now been almost a month since the first laptop failed and I've had to install the operating system on two devices, transfer files multiple times, and lost work as a result of unexpected shutdowns), so I have contacted a consumer rights organisation.

In the meantime, I am stuck using my old laptop, which isn't powerful enough for the tasks I need it for, so it makes content creation very slow and stressful. That's why I haven't posted much over the last month.

I really hope the situation is resolved this week so I can get my work done in a more timely manner. I'm also sick of thinking about it. Every day, I wake up wondering what's going to happen next.

On a more cheerful note, the sun is shining, and my latest electricity bill has come through much lower than I was expecting, so not a bad start to the week!

Vocabulary list

Left (adjective): remaining; what is still there after some has been used or spent.
Faulty (adjective): Not working properly; having a problem or defect.
Send back (phrasal verb): To return something to the shop or company you bought it from.
Eventually (adverb): After some time; in the end, after delays or problems.
All + verb + well (phrase): Used to say that everything is fine or OK. Often used with verbs like seem, be, and go.
Request (verb): To formally ask for something.
Refund (noun): Money that is returned to you after you give something back.
Warranty (noun): A written promise that a company will repair or replace a product if it breaks within a certain time.
In the meantime (phrase): During the time while you are waiting for something else to happen.
In a timely manner (phrase): At the right time; without unnecessary delay.
Sick of (idiom): Very tired, bored, or annoyed by something.
On a + comparative adjective + note (phrase): Used to change the topic or mood of what you are talking about. Often used with adjectives like happier, more positive, more serious, more personal, and more practical.
Bill (noun): A document that shows how much money you must pay for something, such as electricity or water.

What's new on YouTube?

Short

🌟 "There and then" or "Then and there"?

Brits and Americans don't agree!

An English pun for you!

Why do bulls make terrible salesmen? They charge too much.

Explanation at the end👇

Idiom of the week

Bang your head against a brick wall

If you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall, you are very frustrated because nothing you try is working.

You keep making an effort, but you get no results, so it feels pointless, like hitting your head against something hard that won’t move.

This is how I'm feeling with my laptop situation.

👉 Trying to get a reply from that company is like banging your head against a brick wall.

👉 Every time I talk to him about being on time, nothing changes. I’m just banging my head against a brick wall.

👉 She’s been asking for a pay rise for months, but her boss never listens. It’s like banging her head against a brick wall.

Your questions answered

Can you explain the difference between "used to", "be used to", and "get used to"?

I get this question a lot! Be used to and get used to are similar, but used to is completely different.

Used to + infinitive: to talk about past habits or past situations that are no longer true now.

👉 I used to live in London.

(I lived there before, but I don’t live there now.)

👉 She used to hate coffee.

(She doesn’t hate it anymore.)

Be used to + noun / -ing: to to say that something feels normal or comfortable for you now. It's like saying, this is not strange or difficult for me.

👉 I’m used to waking up early.

(It feels normal now.)

👉 She’s used to the cold weather.

(The cold doesn’t bother her.)

Get used to + noun / -ing: to talk about the process of becoming comfortable with something new. It's like saying, this is difficult now, but it will become normal.

👉 I’m getting used to waking up early.

(It’s still a bit hard, but it’s improving.)

👉 He’s getting used to living in Spain.

(It doesn't feel normal yet, but it will soon.)

🌟 In short

used to → past habit or past situation
be used to → something feels normal now
get used to → the process of becoming comfortable

Explanation to the pun

This pun works because charge has two meanings.

1) To ask for money for something

👉 They charge €10 for delivery.

2) To run forward aggressively, which is what bulls are famous for.

👉 Feeling threatened, the bull charged across the field.

So when we say “Bulls charge too much”, it sounds like they ask for very high prices, but it also means they run and attack a lot.

I hope you enjoyed this post from my weekly English with Em newsletter. If you'd like to have these tips sent directly to your inbox, you can subscribe here.

A frustrating month, a useful idiom, and how to use 'used to', 'be used to', and 'get used to' correctly

This post comes from my weekly English with Em newsletter.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you use them, I earn a small commission — it doesn’t cost you anything extra.

Weekly update

Can you believe we're almost halfway through January already? For Brits, January is often a depressing month. The weather is cold and grey, and nobody has much money left after Christmas.

As I live in southern Spain, I can't complain about the weather, but it has been a bit of a stressful month so far. Why is this? The faulty laptop saga continues!

In October, having been working with poor quality tech for far too long, I finally bought a new laptop - a powerful Lenovo device. Unfortunately, in early December, it failed and had to be sent back. Eventually, after repeated pickup and delivery failures, I received a replacement.

All seemed well, but then on the second day of use, the new laptop also failed! Once again, I have sent it back. This time I have requested a refund, but the company I bought it from have not agreed yet.

In the meantime, I am stuck using my old laptop, which isn't powerful enough for the tasks I need it for, so it makes content creation very slow and stressful. That's why I haven't posted much over the last month.

I really hope the situation is resolved this week so I can get my work done in a more timely manner. I'm also sick of thinking about it. Every day, I wake up wondering what's going to happen next.

On a more cheerful note, the sun is shining, and my latest electricity bill has come through much lower than I was expecting, so not a bad start to the week!

Vocabulary list

Left (adjective): remaining; what is still there after some has been used or spent.

Faulty (adjective): Not working properly; having a problem or defect.

Send back (phrasal verb): To return something to the shop or company you bought it from.

Eventually (adverb): After some time; in the end, after delays or problems.

All + verb + well (phrase): Used to say that everything is fine or OK. Often used with verbs like seem, be, and go.

Request (verb): To formally ask for something.

Refund (noun): Money that is returned to you after you give something back.

Warranty (noun): A written promise that a company will repair or replace a product if it breaks within a certain time.

In the meantime (phrase): During the time while you are waiting for something else to happen.

In a timely manner (phrase): At the right time; without unnecessary delay.

Sick of (idiom): Very tired, bored, or annoyed by something.

On a + comparative adjective + note (phrase): Used to change the topic or mood of what you are talking about. Often used with adjectives like happier, more positive, more serious, more personal, and more practical.

Bill (noun): A document that shows how much money you must pay for something, such as electricity or water.

What's new on YouTube?

Short

🌟 "There and then" or "Then and there"?

Brits and Americans don't agree!

An English pun for you!

Why do bulls make terrible salesmen? They charge too much.

Explanation at the end👇

Idiom of the week

Bang your head against a brick wall

If you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall, you are very frustrated because nothing you try is working.

You keep making an effort, but you get no results, so it feels pointless, like hitting your head against something hard that won’t move.

This is how I'm feeling with my laptop situation.

👉 Trying to get a reply from that company is like banging your head against a brick wall.

👉 Every time I talk to him about being on time, nothing changes. I’m just banging my head against a brick wall.

👉 She’s been asking for a pay rise for months, but her boss never listens. It’s like banging her head against a brick wall.

Your questions answered

Can you explain the difference between "used to", "be used to", and "get used to"?

I get this question a lot! Be used to and get used to are similar, but used to is completely different.

Used to + infinitive: to talk about past habits or past situations that are no longer true now.

👉 I used to live in London.

(I lived there before, but I don’t live there now.)

👉 She used to hate coffee.

(She doesn’t hate it anymore.)

Be used to + noun / -ing: to to say that something feels normal or comfortable for you now. It's like saying, this is not strange or difficult for me.

👉 I’m used to waking up early.

(It feels normal now.)

👉 She’s used to the cold weather.

(The cold doesn’t bother her.)

Get used to + noun / -ing: to talk about the process of becoming comfortable with something new. It's like saying, this is difficult now, but it will become normal.

👉 I’m getting used to waking up early.

(It’s still a bit hard, but it’s improving.)

👉 He’s getting used to living in Spain.

(It doesn't feel normal yet, but it will soon.)

🌟 In short

used to → past habit or past situation

be used to → something feels normal now

get used to → the process of becoming comfortable

Explanation to the pun

This pun works because charge has two meanings.

1) To ask for money for something

👉 They charge €10 for delivery.

2) To run forward aggressively, which is what bulls are famous for.

👉 Feeling threatened, the bull charged across the field.

So when we say “Bulls charge too much”, it sounds like they ask for very high prices, but it also means they run and attack a lot.

I hope you enjoyed this post from my weekly English with Em newsletter. If you'd like to have these tips sent directly to your inbox, you can subscribe here.

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