[00:00.00]Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.
[00:21.15]I'm Rich Kleinfeldt with some expressions using the word heart.
[00:26.19]People believed for a long time
[00:29.55]that the heart was the center of a person's emotions.
[00:33.82]That is why the word "heart" is used in
[00:37.87]so many expressions about emotional situations.
[00:41.89]One such expression is to "lose your heart" to someone.
[00:47.36]When that happens, you have fallen in love.
[00:51.28]But if the person who won your heart
[00:54.71]does not love you, then you are sure
[00:58.24]to have a "broken heart."
[00:59.97]In your pain and sadness,
[01:03.22]you may decide that the person you loved
[01:06.41]is "hard-hearted," and in fact, has a "heart of stone."
[01:12.20]You may decide to "pour out your heart" to a friend.
[01:17.18]Telling someone about your personal problems
[01:21.39]can often make you feel better.
[01:23.62]If your friend does not seem to understand
[01:28.32]how painful your broken heart is,
[01:30.60]you may ask her to "have a heart."
[01:35.01]You are asking your friend to show
[01:38.31]some sympathy for your situation.
[01:40.24]Your friend "has her heart in the right place"
[01:45.25]if she says she is sorry,
[01:47.76]and shows great concern for how you feel.
[01:51.68]Your friend may, however,
[01:55.20]warn you not to "wear your heart on your sleeve."
[01:59.19]In other words,
[02:01.72]do not let everyone see how lovesick you are.
[02:05.69]When your heart is on your sleeve
[02:08.72]you are showing your deepest emotions.
[02:11.54]If your friend says "my heart bleeds for you,"
[02:17.40]she means the opposite.
[02:19.54]She is a cold-hearted person
[02:22.11]who does not really care about your situation.
[02:25.66]In the ever-popular motion picture,
[02:29.98]"The Wizard of Oz," the Tin Man seeks a heart.
[02:34.34]He wanted to feel the emotion of love,
[02:38.20]and was seeking help
[02:40.95]from the powerful Wizard of Oz to find a heart.
[02:44.42]The Cowardly Lion, in the same movie,
[02:48.94]did have a heart.
[02:50.54]But he lacked courage and wanted to ask the Wizard of Oz
[02:55.77]to give him some.
[02:56.79]You could say that the cowardly lion was "chicken-hearted."
[03:02.72]That is another way of describing someone
[03:05.99]who is not very brave.
[03:08.27]A chicken is not noted for its bravery.
[03:13.07]Thus, someone who is chicken-hearted
[03:17.03]does not have much courage.
[03:19.40]When you are frightened or concerned,
[03:23.23]your "heart is in your mouth."
[03:26.16]You might say, for example,
[03:28.74]that your heart was in your mouth
[03:31.50]when you asked a bank
[03:33.22]to lend you some money to pay for a new house.
[03:36.57]If that bank says no to you,
[03:40.51]do not "lose heart."
[03:42.73]Be strong-hearted.
[03:44.84]Sit down with the banker
[03:47.29]and have a "heart-to-heart" talk:
[03:50.03]be open and honest about your situation.
[03:54.65]The bank may have a "change of heart" --
[03:59.05]it may agree to lend you the money.
[04:02.13]Then you could stop worrying
[04:05.35]and "put your heart at rest."
[04:08.44]This VOA Special English program
[04:23.49]Words and Their Stories
[04:25.35]was written by Marilyn Christiano.
[04:28.18]I'm Rich Kleinfeldt.