English in a Minute Series 5
Intermediate level
Phrases with 'stone'
Episode 250715 / 15 Jul 2025

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Introduction
A stone is something hard that you can find in nature – it’s like a rock. In English, there are a few phrases with the word 'stone'. Learn some of them here with Georgie.
Phrases with 'stone'
set in stone
a plan or decision which can’t be changed – it’s fixed
- Dates for the festival change each year – they’re not set in stone.
kill two birds with one stone
achieve two things at once
- I’ll visit both my nephew and my best friend when I go to the city – it’ll kill two birds with one stone.
leave no stone unturned
look everywhere until you find something or try absolutely everything until you achieve something
- The boss said to his employees that he wanted them to leave no stone unturned in the search for a solution.
a stone’s throw away
a short distance away
- The supermarket is just a stone’s throw away – it’ll only take you five minutes to walk there.
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Download a free transcript!
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TRANSCRIPT
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
Georgie
This is a stone, but what are some useful phrases to use with it?
A plan or a decision can be set in stone. That means you can't change it – it's fixed.
Sorry… the essay deadline is set in stone. No exceptions!
If you kill two birds with one stone, you achieve two things at once.
I listen to podcasts while I'm commuting to work – it kills two birds with one stone.
If you leave no stone unturned, it means you look everywhere until you find something or try absolutely everything until you've achieved something.
The detectives promised to leave no stone unturned in their search for a suspect.
If something is astone's throwaway, it's a very short distance away – it's close!
My new flat is just a stone's throwaway from work – I can walk there!
Try to incorporate these phrases into your everyday life!
Next
Learn more phrases and expressions in The English We Speak.
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