Part 2: What does 'milk it' mean?

I'm Feifei.

And...don't you know who I am?!

I am Rob.

Yes, we all know that, Rob.

But I am THE Rob - Rob of The English We Speak.

There is nobody else like me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't milk it!

Eh? Come on, show me some respect.

Oh, I seem to have pulled a muscle. That hurts.

Come on, Rob. You hardly moved.

Ouch, it's in my lower back. It's so painful, I don't know if I can carry on.

You are milking it again!

Feifei, what am I "milking" exactly?

Everything! "To milk it" means to take full advantage of a situation usually to gain sympathy, respect, or kindness.

Sometimes, like Rob, you fake something to get attention.

That's when we say, "You're milking it."

Are you talking about me?

Of course I am, Rob. Let's hear some examples of other people "milking it."

OK, don't milk it, Sam! You've told me a hundred times you've got tickets for the World Cup final.

Tom's had a week off work with a cold. I think he's milking it now.

Since her promotion, Freya keeps bossing us around and telling us to call her "Miss Brown." She's really milking it!

You're listening to The English We Speak from BBC Learning English, and we're talking about the phrase "to milk it."

This means to take full advantage of a situation usually to gain sympathy, respect, or kindness.

So Rob, have you got what "milking it'" means?

I do, and I seemed to have recovered from my pulled muscle, but I've become so thirsty, I was wondering...

If I could get you a drink of milk?

No, Feifei. I was thinking more of a cup of coffee. You are so very kind and generous.

You are milking it again, Rob.

Actually, I've got just the thing for you.

Hold on...

Meet Daisy!

A cow!!! How do I milk that?

I'd start down there somewhere.

Good luck. Bye.