The English We Speak
8 January 2013
Not rocket science
The English We Speak
© British Broadcasting Corporation 2013
Page 1 of 2
bbclearningenglish.com
(Sound of a rocket being launched)
Kaz:
Hello, I'm Kaz.
Yang Li:
And I'm Yang Li. Hey Kaz, why are we listening to this rocket launch?
Kaz:
Well, it's dramatic, but there's another reason. I thought it could introduce
today's expression.
Yang Li:
Tell me more.
Kaz:
The expression is 'It's not rocket science'.
Yang Li:
'It's not rocket science', meaning?
Kaz:
Something that's not complicated or difficult to understand – 'it's not rocket
science'.
Yang Li:
For example?
Kaz:
OK. Somebody can't get the television to work and asks you, "How do I
switch this thing on?" You would say "It's not rocket science. Just press 'on'
on the handset".
Yang Li:
So there's nothing complicated about it. You just press the 'on' switch and
away you go. But is the expression 'it's not rocket science' only used for
gadgets?
Kaz:
No, not at all, Li. In fact it's used for many situations that are just
obvious… for example – why are we always short of money?
Yang Li:
Well, it's not rocket science Kaz – we don't get paid enough!
Kaz:
Brilliant Li. That's an excellent example.
Yang Li:
Yes, I like it too. But let's listen to some more examples:
Examples
A: How do I cook this soup?
B: Come on Rob, it's not rocket science, all you have to do is open the tin and heat it up.
C: I can't understand why our company is in such a mess?
D: It's not rocket science to figure that out – there are too many managers!
