Start the New Year on the Right Foot: A British Idiom Explained

Jan 5
4 min read

Updated: Feb 6

A festive trip to England, useful vocabulary, and the difference between actually and currently

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

A very happy New Year! As always, the Christmas holiday seems to have flown by. It's hard to believe it's been almost a fortnight since I flew to England. My flight was only half full, so I had a full row of seats to myself and there was no one in front of me.

The train was also remarkably quiet, so I got to the station feeling very pleased with myself, thinking I was going to avoid catching any of the winter bugs that are flying around at the moment. Then my brother arrived to pick me up, and he said, "Don't hug me." 😧

Despite feeling pretty rough, he cooked a spectacular Christmas dinner: roast chicken with all the trimmings. I know turkey is the traditional Christmas meat, but we prefer chicken.

We all had a lovely day, and his son was so excited to play with his presents. He's only four, so it's a magical time for him.

On the 27th, I got the train to my mum's house, where I also saw my little brother and his kids. Unfortunately, that day I came down with the lurgy and wasn't very well for the next few days, but it was still a very enjoyable visit.

My mum cooked a second Christmas dinner, as well as some very tasty desserts.

Then it was time to head off to London to see my old uni friends for New Year! We played the new Traitors board game (based on a very popular TV show), which was a lot of fun. I would definitely play it again!

I was hoping to get some pics of the London Christmas lights, but I didn't end up going anywhere near the centre. Next year!

I'm now back home in Spain and ready to crack on with business as usual. I'm still not feeling 100%. The bug that I caught over Christmas seems to have evolved into a nasty cold and I have a bit of a cough, but I spent all weekend lying on the sofa, so it's time to man up and get on with things.

Happily, my faulty laptop has now been replaced, so I can get back to content creation over the coming weeks!

Vocabulary list

Fly by (phrasal verb): to pass very quickly (used especially for time).
Fortnight (noun, British English): a period of two weeks.
Remarkably (adverb): used to emphasise that something is surprising or unusual.
Bug (noun): a minor illness, such as a cold or the flu.
Pick someone up (phrasal verb): to collect someone, usually by car.
Rough (adjective): feeling ill or unwell (informal).
All the trimmings (idiom): all the extra dishes that usually come with a main meal, especially a traditional one.
The lurgy (noun, British English): an informal word for a mild illness or virus.
Not very well (phrase, British English): feeling ill or unwell.
Head off (phrasal verb): to leave for a place; to start a journey.
End up (phrasal verb): to finally be in a particular situation, often unexpectedly.
Crack on (phrasal verb, British English): to start working seriously or continue working with energy.
Business as usual (phrase): a normal situation, with nothing unusual happening.
Man up (phrasal verb): to deal with a difficult situation bravely (informal; can sound old-fashioned or insensitive - I only use this when talking about myself or humorously with people I know very well).

An English pun for you!

Why should you stand on just your left foot during the New Year's Eve countdown?

So you start the new year on the right foot!

Explanation at the end👇

Idiom of the week

Get / Start off on the right (or wrong) foot

This idiom means to begin a situation, relationship, or activity in a good way (on the right foot) or a bad way (on the wrong foot).

👉 I want to start the new year off on the right foot, so I’m setting realistic goals.

👉 We didn’t start off on the right foot, but things improved over time.

👉 A friendly email helped us get off on the right foot with the new client.

Your questions answered

Is there a difference between 'actually' and 'currently'?

Yes, and they are often confused!

Actually: used to correct information or add emphasis

👉 I don't live in Madrid, actually.

👉 It's actually really easy.

Currently: now; at the present time

👉 I'm currently working on a new project.

👉 The new product is currently unavailable.

⚠️ This confusion happens because in many languages, a word similar to actually means now. In English, this is not the case.

Explanation to the pun

If you stand only on your left foot during the countdown, when the new year starts you can put your right foot down first.

In English, to start off on the right foot means to begin something in a good or successful way.

So the joke works because right foot refers to both:

1) your actual right foot, and

2) a good start to the new year

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 festive trip to England, useful vocabulary, and the difference between actually and currently

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

A very happy New Year! As always, the Christmas holiday seems to have flown by. It's hard to believe it's been almost a fortnight since I flew to England. My flight was only half full, so I had a full row of seats to myself and there was no one in front of me.

The train was also remarkably quiet, so I got to the station feeling very pleased with myself, thinking I was going to avoid catching any of the winter bugs that are flying around at the moment. Then my brother arrived to pick me up, and he said, "Don't hug me." 😧

Despite feeling pretty rough, he cooked a spectacular Christmas dinner: roast chicken with all the trimmings. I know turkey is the traditional Christmas meat, but we prefer chicken.

We all had a lovely day, and his son was so excited to play with his presents. He's only four, so it's a magical time for him.

On the 27th, I got the train to my mum's house, where I also saw my little brother and his kids. Unfortunately, that day I came down with the lurgy and wasn't very well for the next few days, but it was still a very enjoyable visit.

My mum cooked a second Christmas dinner, as well as some very tasty desserts.

Then it was time to head off to London to see my old uni friends for New Year! We played the new Traitors board game (based on a very popular TV show), which was a lot of fun. I would definitely play it again!

I was hoping to get some pics of the London Christmas lights, but I didn't end up going anywhere near the centre. Next year!

I'm now back home in Spain and ready to crack on with business as usual. I'm still not feeling 100%. The bug that I caught over Christmas seems to have evolved into a nasty cold and I have a bit of a cough, but I spent all weekend lying on the sofa, so it's time to man up and get on with things.

Happily, my faulty laptop has now been replaced, so I can get back to content creation over the coming weeks!

Vocabulary list

Fly by (phrasal verb): to pass very quickly (used especially for time).

Fortnight (noun, British English): a period of two weeks.

Remarkably (adverb): used to emphasise that something is surprising or unusual.

Bug (noun): a minor illness, such as a cold or the flu.

Pick someone up (phrasal verb): to collect someone, usually by car.

Rough (adjective): feeling ill or unwell (informal).

All the trimmings (idiom): all the extra dishes that usually come with a main meal, especially a traditional one.

The lurgy (noun, British English): an informal word for a mild illness or virus.

Not very well (phrase, British English): feeling ill or unwell.

Head off (phrasal verb): to leave for a place; to start a journey.

End up (phrasal verb): to finally be in a particular situation, often unexpectedly.

Crack on (phrasal verb, British English): to start working seriously or continue working with energy.

Business as usual (phrase): a normal situation, with nothing unusual happening.

Man up (phrasal verb): to deal with a difficult situation bravely (informal; can sound old-fashioned or insensitive - I only use this when talking about myself or humorously with people I know very well).

An English pun for you!

Why should you stand on just your left foot during the New Year's Eve countdown?

So you start the new year on the right foot!

Explanation at the end👇

Idiom of the week

Get / Start off on the right (or wrong) foot

This idiom means to begin a situation, relationship, or activity in a good way (on the right foot) or a bad way (on the wrong foot).

👉 I want to start the new year off on the right foot, so I’m setting realistic goals.

👉 We didn’t start off on the right foot, but things improved over time.

👉 A friendly email helped us get off on the right foot with the new client.

Your questions answered

Is there a difference between 'actually' and 'currently'?

Yes, and they are often confused!

Actually: used to correct information or add emphasis

👉 I don't live in Madrid, actually.

👉 It's actually really easy.

Currently: now; at the present time

👉 I'm currently working on a new project.

👉 The new product is currently unavailable.

⚠️ This confusion happens because in many languages, a word similar to actually means now. In English, this is not the case.

Explanation to the pun

If you stand only on your left foot during the countdown, when the new year starts you can put your right foot down first.

In English, to start off on the right foot means to begin something in a good or successful way.

So the joke works because right foot refers to both:

1) your actual right foot, and

2) a good start to the new year

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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