Go through a rough patch

Hello and welcome to The English We Speak, where we explain phrases and expressions used by fluent English speakers so that you can use them too. I'm Feifei.

Oh, and I'm Phil.

Phil, I was waiting for you to get off your phone before we could start recording this.

Sorry, I've got a friend who's going through a bit of a rough patch. He's feeling quite down, so I rang him for a chat to see if I could cheer him up.

Ah, OK. Why don't we use learn how to use that phrase you just used – go through a rough patch.

OK, well, the two key words are 'rough' and 'patch'. 'Rough' is the opposite of smooth, and 'patch' can refer to a piece of land. Imagine you're driving along a smooth road – it's nice and easy to drive along, and then you hit a rough patch of road – it's gets bumpy, it's more uncomfortable, it's difficult to drive on. Well, a rough patch is when something in your life does that.

Yes, when things get difficult, you're going through a rough patch. The good thing about a rough patch of course, is that it's only a patch – you'll soon be out the other side, so it's just temporary. Or maybe it's something that you want to think of as temporary.

Yeah, we use it to talk about difficult times in life – maybe you're going through a rough patch at work, or in your relationship. Sports teams can go through a rough patch where they struggle to win games.

Yes. Now, let's hear some other people using 'go through a rough patch'.

My best friend and I had a big disagreement about something, and we went through a bit of a rough patch for a while, we didn't speak very much but luckily, we made up and now everything is fine. My uncle is going through a rough patch recently because he quit his job and couldn't find a new one. The football club spent millions and millions and millions on new players, but still they kept losing. It was a real rough patch, but now the team's started winning.

We've been learning the expression 'go through a rough patch' to talk about difficult times.

Yes, there are some other ways that we can describe these patches – we can talk about a 'sticky patch', or just a 'difficult patch'. They all mean the same.

OK. That's it for this programme, but join us next time to learn more English phrases and expressions

If your English learning is ever in a rough patch, we can help you to get through to the other side.

That's right! See you next time

Bye!