This program explores common expressions in American English . Today we explore a word that does not sound very pleasant -- gut . In the medical world , guts are the internal organs of an animal . It's a person's stomach or the part of the body that contains the stomach . So , that's medically speaking . But in our everyday conversations , "guts ” mean many different things . In the United States , if you bust a gut you are laughing really , really hard -- so hard that your stomach starts to hurt . If you haven't busted a gut in years , maybe you should . It feels good to have a really good laugh . Now , just as our guts are inside of us , the inside parts of a machine are sometimes called guts , too . So , if you gut your computer , you take out all the pieces inside that make it work . That's right , “gut ” is also a verb . You can gut something , like a fish . This means you remove its internal organs before cooking it . You can also gut a building by removing everything from the inside . My friend who renovated her house , for example , gutted the entire structure first . The most important parts of a business deal or piece of legislation are also called the guts . And if you gut these things , you remove all the important parts . For example , you could say that after the council member gutted the legislation , it wasn't going to be nearly as effective . Now , let's talk about you . Within you are all your important thoughts , fears , dreams , feelings and secrets . If you spill your guts , you share these things with other people . It's an informal saying but you can use it when talking about any situation . If your best friend has a date and shares all the details with you , she has spilled her guts . Perhaps at work , a co-worker spills his guts when he tells you that his bossy personality actually comes from a deep childhood fear of failing . When spilling your guts , be careful . Remember , once you say something , you cannot take it back ! Now , if you strongly dislike someone -- I mean really , really hate them -- you can say you hate their guts . You hate everything inside them . This is a very harsh statement and sounds a little childish . You know , if you think about it , all those internal organs are important . They may not be pretty , but they keep us alive . So , guts can also mean some really great things . For example , the word “guts ” is an informal way of saying “bravery ” or "courage ." It takes guts to make a very difficult decision . Let's say you want to move to a country where you don't know anyone and don't know the language . You want to make a big change and take a chance ! Your friends who have lived in the same town all their lives say , "Wow , that takes a lot of guts ." For right now , they don't have the guts to make such a big change . This is where we get our expression "no guts , no glory ." This means that if you do not have courage to take a risk , you will not be able to achieve a goal or success . It might be scary . But you know in your gut that it's something you must do . Used this way , "gut " means a strong feeling about something . We can also use "gut " as an adjective . For example , your gut feelings are not based in logic or reason . Let's say I'm your best friend . When I hear about your plans to move away , my gut reaction is to ask , even beg , you to stay . But my gut also tells me that this is something you must do . So , I tell you to listen to your gut . Go chase your dream ! After a year's time , I finally get the guts to do the same thing . We meet in Paris and then move to Russia to live for a year ! As we say , no guts , no glory ! And that's the end of this Word and Their Stories . Is this body part , the gut , used the same way in your language ?