[00:00.59]Hi I'm Jennifer and I'm waiting for Helen. I did see her in the corridor earlier, and she was looking a bit unhappy. Wait, here she is.
[00:12.10]Hi Helen.
[00:13.27]Hi Jen.
[00:14.42]What's the matter, Helen? Why the long face?
[00:17.66]What's wrong with my face?
[00:19.45]Nothing's wrong with your face, except that it looks a bit upset.
[00:23.30]But you just said I've got a long face.
[00:25.26]No, what I said was.
[00:27.80]You think I've got a strange face. I knew I shouldn't have worn my hair like this today.
[00:33.12]No, I asked you, "Why the long face?"
[00:36.55]Is it my nose? Is it too big? Or maybe my chin is the wrong shape. Maybe I should just wear a big bag over my head.
[00:43.62]No, no, no. That's not what I meant. First of all, you look lovely today.
[00:49.57]So what did you mean?
[00:50.61]In English, the expression "why the long face" is used as an informal way of asking someone what's wrong if they look upset.
[00:57.66]So there's nothing wrong with my face?
[00:59.43]No, there isn't. Let's hear some examples of the phrase in use.
[01:04.54]You've just got a new job, a new house and a new man. you should be happy. Why the long face?
[01:10.96]Hey there, don't look so sad. Why the long face?
[01:16.18]So "why the long face" is just another way of asking "what's the matter".
[01:20.66]Exactly. You could also say "what's up".
[01:23.89]That's very simple. You could say "what's wrong" too.
[01:26.90]So what IS wrong? Why do you look so miserable?
[01:29.80]I've just had a really bad day. Everything has gone wrong. First I lost my car keys, then I was late for a meeting and I fell over and landed in a puddle on my way.
[01:42.88]It was a horrible day.
[01:44.31]It sounds awful. I know, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up. You'll like this one.
[01:50.77]OK, why not. Let's hear it.
[01:53.61]A horse walks into a bar. The barman says, "why the long face?"
[02:01.26]So the horse was unhappy? What's funny about that?
[02:06.60]The barman says to the horse "Why the long face?"
[02:10.65]Why would a horse be in a bar?
[02:13.50]It doesn't matter. It's a joke. It's a horse so the barman says "Why the long face?"
[02:20.38]I don't understand.
[02:22.46]The horse has a long face.
[02:24.80] So it's unhappy?
[02:26.75]No, well, yes, but that's the joke. Horses have long faces.
[02:32.27]So why did it go into the bar again? I don't get it.