out of the ordinary

out of the ordinary: meaning and explanation

When we say that something is out of the ordinary, we are saying that it is special, unusual, strange, surprising or different to what is normal. e.g. I fancy doing something a little bit out of the ordinary this weekend. What about you?

When we say that something is nothing out of the ordinary, we mean that it is nothing special, normal or ordinary. e.g. The meeting was fine. Nothing out of the ordinary.

This idiom is a great way to upgrade your English. Think of all the times you might describe something as normal, ordinary or nothing special - try using nothing out of the ordinary instead.

You can also use this phrase as part of a question, e.g. How did everything go while I was on holiday? Did anything out of the ordinary happen? (= did anything strange, unusual or interesting happen?).

Have a go at these micro-dictation exercises to hear this expression being used in context – how much can you understand?

Listening exercises

Dictation #1

Accent: North America

Dictation #2

Accent: Ireland

Dictation #3

Accent: England (RP)

Extra practice

Here are some questions/links to help you learn the new vocabulary:

• Describe something you experienced recently which was OK, but nothing special (e.g. a meal, a book, a trip). Use nothing out of the ordinary in your answer.