Spoken English has a lot of little expressions that are used frequently by native speakers – and some of these expressions are so similar that you might accidentally mix them up. Two such expressions are peace of mind and a piece of one’s mind – they sound almost the same, but they are in fact very different!
PEACE OF MIND
Peace of mind describes being calm, without worries, having a feeling of tranquility and security. We often talk about having peace of mind or things that give us peace of mind:
- I’d rather make less money and have peace of mind than have a high-earning, high-stress job.
- Our home security system gives us peace of mind because we know our house is protected.
- Try to make your own example sentence – What’s one thing that gives you peace of mind? I’ll mention my example – I have a really good babysitter for my daughter, so I have peace of mind when I’m away from home, because I know my daughter is being cared for well by the babysitter.
peace of mind = calmness, tranquility, free from worries
GIVE SOMEONE A PIECE OF YOUR MIND
The expression give someone a piece of your mind means to express your honest feelings, when those feelings are angry, criticizing, or negative in some way. When you give someone a piece of your mind, you don’t make your criticism more polite or diplomatic; instead, you express your negative feelings in strong and direct words. Here are some examples:
- After my employee was late to work for the third time this week, I gave him a piece of my mind. (For example, I said something like “Lateness is completely unacceptable. If you’re late one more time, you will be fired.”)
- My roommate always gives me a piece of her mind whenever I leave a mess in the kitchen.
(For example, she says something like “Why don’t you ever clean up? You’re such a slob!”)
Now put it into practice – think of a time when you gave someone a piece of your mind, or when someone gave you a piece of their mind.
I’ve got an example. I had a flight booked for the afternoon, but recently the airline changed the schedule and now the flight leaves at 5:30 AM. I called the airline and gave them a piece of my mind – I expressed how upset and disappointed I am about the schedule change and the very inconvenient new time.
If you give your husband/wife a piece of your mind, it might lead to an argument.