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The English We Speak: Try one's patience
BBC's English-learning podcast The English We Speak turns to "try one's patience" — an everyday phrase for those moments when frustration reaches its limit. Hosts Feifei and Phil walk through the meaning, usage, and related expressions, using Phil's battle with a broken office printer as the jumping-off point.
What this episode answers
What does "try one's patience" mean?
It means to severely irritate someone or push their tolerance to its limit — conveying the sense that an emotional outburst is just around the corner.
How is the word "try" being used in this expression?
Here "try" is closer to "test" than to "attempt": "try your patience" means to put your capacity for patience to a real test, revealing just how patient — or impatient — you actually are.
In what everyday situations can you use this phrase?
It works in virtually any frustrating situation: bad traffic, annoying colleagues, terrible customer service, a computer that keeps crashing, and self-checkout machines that won't cooperate.
What nuance does the negative form "Don't try my patience" carry?
Used as a negative imperative, "Don't try my patience" functions as a warning or threat — essentially telling someone "push me any further and you'll regret it."
What related expressions have a similar meaning to "try one's patience"?
"Don't try your luck" and "Don't push your luck" were introduced as related expressions; both carry the sense of "don't press your luck" and work in similarly cautionary contexts.
A Printer Problem Introduces Today's Phrase
The episode opens with Phil struggling with the office printer. Paper jams, confusing instructions — open this tray, close that cover — and then the ink runs out on top of everything else. Nothing works. In exasperation, Phil says: "They really try my patience."
Feifei initially mishears the phrase as "try patience" and responds by suggesting Phil simply calm down. The misunderstanding is the perfect setup for the episode's main topic: what exactly does "try one's patience" mean, and how is it used?
"Try" as "Test"
The key to this expression lies in the word "try." Most learners know "try" as "to attempt" or "to make an effort," but in "try one's patience" it functions more like "test." As Feifei explains, when something tries your patience, you get to see in real time just how patient — or impatient — you are. It puts your tolerance under pressure right up until the breaking point. In Phil's case, Feifei notes, it didn't take the printer long to reach that point.
A Phrase That Works Anywhere You Feel Frustrated
Phil is quick to point out how versatile the expression is: you can use it for virtually anything that gets on your nerves. He offers three concrete examples:
- **Bad traffic** — sitting in a queue that doesn't move - **Annoying colleagues** — dealing with difficult people at work - **Terrible customer service** — unresponsive call centres or unhelpful staff
The episode also features three example sentences in action. In a cinema or event venue, someone might say: "Sit down. You're really trying my patience." A person at their desk could complain: "My computer just keeps crashing. It's really trying my patience now." And the self-checkout machine at the supermarket — announcing "Unknown item in bagging area" for the third time — prompts a weary: "These self-checkouts really try my patience."
"Don't Try My Patience" — A Warning
Feifei highlights that the phrase is also commonly used in its negative form. "Don't try my patience" means exactly what it says — don't test me — and carries the weight of a clear warning or threat: keep this up and there will be consequences. In the episode's example, it is paired with the context of "You are going to need my help," underscoring the power imbalance the negative form can imply.
The hosts wrap up the episode with a neat piece of wordplay: "We can help you improve your English without trying your patience" — a lighthearted reminder of the phrase's meaning and a promise about the show itself.
Related Expressions: Don't Try Your Luck / Don't Push Your Luck
To close, the episode introduces two phrases with a similar cautionary flavour: "Don't try your luck" and "Don't push your luck." Both warn someone against overstepping — essentially telling them not to test fate or the goodwill of another person. While there are subtle differences in nuance, all three expressions overlap in situations where one person is warning another to back off, making them natural companions to "Don't try my patience."
Takeaways
- "Try one's patience" uses "try" in the sense of "test" and means to severely irritate someone or push their tolerance to the breaking point.
- The phrase is highly versatile — bad traffic, crashing computers, self-checkout machines, and annoying colleagues all qualify — and flips into a direct threat in the negative form "Don't try my patience."
- "Don't try your luck" and "Don't push your luck" are closely related expressions that carry the same cautionary, back-off tone and are worth learning alongside the main phrase.
This article is edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. It is not an official summary — please listen to the episode itself.