This is a blog about urban American slang and colloquial expressions. Some of the examples posted might seem to be grammatically wrong but I tried to make them sound like real people talking on the streets. So, some of the entries here are just for informal conversation.I may also post some unusual words or even expressions that usually don't appear in standard dictionaries. Entries accompany pictures to help you remember what words and expressions mean.
quarta-feira, 28 de novembro de 2012
terça-feira, 23 de outubro de 2012
terça-feira, 2 de outubro de 2012
SLAVE DRIVER
If someone is a “slave driver” it means that they make other people work incredibly hard. No one likes a slave driver. They are so difficult to work for and they don’t make your life happy. Many successful business people are slave drivers, but that doesn’t mean they are nice people. It just means they know how to make their staff work super hard.
A real “slave” is someone who has been taken away from their family and forced to work for zero or very low wages. When black people first went to the USA, many of them were slaves for the white men. This is a terrible period of history, but the point is to let you know what the meaning of a slave is. Now a “slave driver” isn’t as serious as the original meaning, it just means a boss who makes their staff work too hard for too little pay.
* Example: I quit my job because my boss was too much of a slave driver.
SLACKER
A “Slacker” is a person who is really lazy and does less work than they should do. People can beslackers in school or at work. If you do this sometimes, it’s called “slacking off“.
* He is a smart guy but he’s such a slacker. I think the boss is going to fire him if he doesn’t improve.
* He is a smart guy but he’s such a slacker. I think the boss is going to fire him if he doesn’t improve.
* She slacked off the whole semester but studied really hard for the exam. She somehow got the top mark in the class.
ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
* This is one of my favorite English expressions. I think this idea can be applied to all cultures and used in many situations.
The “Elephant in the room” is an expression that refers to something people don’t want to talk about but everyone is aware of. The “elephant in the room” is often a sensitive or embarrassing topic. People often don’t want to mention it but it is usually something that should be discussed. I’ll give a few examples to make you understand more clearly.
EXAMPLE: We all know that our company is losing money and we might lose our jobs. We have to stop pretending that things are going well and face the problem. We need to talk about the elephant in the room.
sexta-feira, 28 de setembro de 2012
TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS
1. Face a difficulty and grapple with it without avoiding it.
-Julie had always felt that she was missing out on a lot of fun because of her clumsiness on the dance floor. She had been putting off
-Julie had always felt that she was missing out on a lot of fun because of her clumsiness on the dance floor. She had been putting off
taking lessons, but she finally took the bull by the horns and went to a professional dance studio for help. She was tired of feeling left out and acted decisively to correct the situation.
quinta-feira, 6 de setembro de 2012
segunda-feira, 13 de agosto de 2012
FEENIN
1.Wanting, Craving for intensely. Mostly for a person.
2.
Wanting something very badly in a desirable or sexual nature
sábado, 4 de agosto de 2012
DUTCH COURAGE
1.(n.) An alcoholic beverage had before an unpleasant task. The fact that britains' second empire and the Netherlands' first rose at the same time caused a great deal of tension between the two nations (though never real animosity like there was with France) and when they joined in temporary naval alliances they noted that dutch sailors took thier alcohol allowance just before battle, whereas the Royal Navymen drunk throughout the day.
2.Drinking to have confidance.
* He'll need a bit of dutch courage to takle them!
2.Drinking to have confidance.
* He'll need a bit of dutch courage to takle them!
sábado, 28 de julho de 2012
SLEAZEBAG
(noun) Used to refer to a despicable person with no morals or ethics - rascal, scoundrel, bastard son of a bitch.
* Her ex-husband is a real sleazebag.
* Her ex-husband is a real sleazebag.
PROSTIE / PROSTY
1. Derivation of ' prostitute' , used to refer to a prostitute, whore, slut.
* She dresses like a prostie.
BITE ME
1. A similar expression to GO TO HELL!
CUT THE CHEESE
1. To fart.
* Ok, who cut the cheese?
* Pooh! Someone's cut the cheese! Oh, nevermind, let's just walk out the room.
AS COOL AS A CUCUMBER
* Joan felt nervous, but she acted as cool as a cucumber.
* The politician kept cool as a cucumber throughout the interview with the aggressive journalist.
ARTSY-FARTSY
1. something supposedly highly cultural, but to the regular sane person merely pretentious.
2. Also a pretentious, loud, overly intellectual person.
* It may be artsy-fartsy, but it was sold for a million dollars.
* That artsy farsty girl just painted a canvas black. she thinks it represents her pain, but i think it's just artsy fartsy.
sexta-feira, 13 de julho de 2012
BIG TIME SPENDER
1. (n.) someone who spends a lot of money.
* A big-time spender doesn't look at the prices on the menu.
* Susan is a big-time spender when it comes to clothes shopping.
segunda-feira, 18 de junho de 2012
PEEPS
1. Short for people.
* Tonight I am having dinner with my peeps.
2. Friends, close pals.
3. Marshmallow candies in the shape of rabbits and baby chickens. Usually served around Easter.
GOOBER
1. A person who picks their nose.
2. A person who unintentionally does ridiculouslly silly things that make everyone around them laugh.
3. Term used towards people who act lame, silly, or just say stupid things.
4. In Southern & Midland ( U.S.A ) = PEANUT
terça-feira, 15 de maio de 2012
KICKBACK
1. a form of bribery
2. a commercial bribe paid by a seller to a purchasing agent in order to induce the agent to enter into the transaction.
3. payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment.
4. Slang A return of a percentage of a sum of money already received, typically as a result of pressure, coercion, or a secret agreement.
2. a commercial bribe paid by a seller to a purchasing agent in order to induce the agent to enter into the transaction.
3. payment made to a person in a position of trust to corrupt his judgment.
4. Slang A return of a percentage of a sum of money already received, typically as a result of pressure, coercion, or a secret agreement.
terça-feira, 24 de abril de 2012
EAT ON THE RUN
1. To do something while you are on your way somewhere or doing something else.
* I always seem to eat on the run these days. I never have time for my personal stuff.
# EAT AND RUN:
1. Depart immediately after consuming a meal; also leave in a hurry.
* I hate having to eat and run, but if I dont leave now I´ll miss the last train.
quarta-feira, 18 de abril de 2012
CHICKEN OUT
1. To be too afraid to do something.
* Larry chickened out when he saw how big his opponent was.
* I chickened out of the bungee jumping when I saw how high it was.
SCREW UP
1. To make a mess of an undertaking. e.g: ( see image above)
2. To injure,damage.
* Lifting those heavy boxes really screwed up my back.
2. To injure,damage.
* Lifting those heavy boxes really screwed up my back.
BEATS ME!
1. I don´t know. I don´t know the answer.
2. Something that you say when you cannot understand something. Often used with a question word.
* It beats me how he managed to survive three weeks alone in the mountains.
* BILLY: " When are we supposed to go over to Brian´s? "
SALLY: " Beats me! Let´s call him and find out."
2. Something that you say when you cannot understand something. Often used with a question word.
* It beats me how he managed to survive three weeks alone in the mountains.
* BILLY: " When are we supposed to go over to Brian´s? "
SALLY: " Beats me! Let´s call him and find out."
segunda-feira, 16 de abril de 2012
LONGVERSATION
1. Lonversation: The quality of a conversation that is both long and rambling, without a fixed purpose and lacking in conclusion. Generally used in a a negative sense.
" The other day, Janet and I had such a longversation! I thought I could never leave.
domingo, 25 de março de 2012
FREAK
1. To go crazy.
* " He´s freaking out!"
2. A term used to describe anyone who society may believe is not mainstream like : punks, emos,goths, a weirdo, e.t.c
* " Look! It´s Rick... what a freak!"
3. adj. Word used for emphasizing in substitution for " fucking". It doesn´t sound as "bad" and it´s usually used by younger people.
* " Matt is a freaking idiot!"
quinta-feira, 22 de março de 2012
JOHN
1. A bathroom.
* "The john really smells!"
2. A cute, sweet, amazing sexy guy who women may get attracted to easily. This comes from the meaning of the name JOHN= a gift from God
* A: " Who was that guy you were with?"
B: "He´s my John! He´s name is Derek.
A: " He´s so fancy! You´re lucky!"
TO HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER
1. Feel mentally and phisically organized.
* " I don´t have it all together today. Try me again later when I have it all together.
CHEESY
1. Cheap.
* That chick is wearing a cheesy outfit.
2. A movie might be cheesy if it contains 'on the nose' ( precisely ) dialogue like, " I can´t live without you " or " You had me at hello."
3. Corny.
* That Celine Dion song is so cheesy.
4. Saying that is 'cliché' or overdone.
* Cheesy Person: " Hey, wazzup dawg!? we in this shizzle."
African American Man: " That´s so cheesy! Ghetto people don´t even talk like that!
quarta-feira, 21 de março de 2012
Kmart is open
1. A slang term for ones fly ( zipper) being in the downright position exposing ones underwear. It can cause social embarrasment, sexual harassment or cruel laughter.
* " Hey, Check out Fergie! Kmart is open! Lol!!!"
# You might also say: " Her fly is open."
* Dude, that girl will not even look at you if Kmart is open."
K-Mart
# In the link below Ellen Degeneres ( TV host) toasts with Oscar winner Christopher Plummer and refers to the Champagne they drink as K-mart stuff.
SHORTY
1. Commercial rappers have turned the meaning of this word up side down to mean ' a fine female' ( good-looking girl), apparently . However,it originally used to mean a young man, new to the game of rapping or simply someone who was just younger than you.
* " Shorty´s shaking her big booty so fine as the music goes."
CUCKOO´S NEST
1. A mental hospital, an insane asylum.
2. ( CUCKOOSNEST) A place where deadbeats or no-mates ( losers) hang out. This was taken after the the movie ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS NEST (1975). ( see picture above).
* " What a dork! He should be hanging out the cuckoosnest along with the other freaks!"
* " Yesterday I went to visit Ted and his family. Boy! I felt like I was visiting him at a cuckoo´s nest."
DEAR JOHN
1. A letter ( or an e-mail in today´s world) that is used by a woman to break up with her boyfriend from a distance. 2. A break up letter usually sent when one is seeing someone else.
* Meg Sue couldn´t wait for her boyfriend Thomas to finish his 2-year deployment in Iraq, so she sent him a Dear John Letter by e-mail just two months into his deployment to tell him she was seeing soemeone else.
DEAR ABBY
1. An advice column associated to many American papers where readers can write in about their deepest problems anonymously, but usually singned in a ficticious and even humorous way.
* "I wrote to Dear Abby about my husbands affair, should I stay with him or leave him for good?"
2. Someone you can confide secrets and problems to, and he or she will try to give you sensible answers and advice.
* " I called my friend Lucy on a Dear Abby to help figure out why my woman won´t put out anymore. Why´s she been so cold to me lately?"
DEAD TEXT
* " I receiced a message from my friend this morning after it was sent asking if I was still up, so I decided not to reply because it was a dead text."
2. A text recieved so late that its subject matter is void.
* " I got John´s text about the homework questions too late - by the time I responded, the assignment was already due."
terça-feira, 20 de março de 2012
COOL STORY BRO
1.A phrase sarcastically used to indicate one´s disgust or indifference towards a tl; dr ( too long; didn´t read) story.* Person A: (lenghty tale about how person A tragically broke up with his/her mate the other day).
Person B: " Cool story bro!
2.An appropriate response to a story that went nowhere and/or was completely uninteresting.
* " This one time me and my brother were eating sandwishes and he was like ' dude, I hate mustard' and I was like 'yeah!' "
"Cool story bro."
3. Saying commonly used when sayer is listening to someone talk to him and doesn´t really care.
* " So this one time we were sledding down a hill and we totally got broke."
" Cool story bro."
BONUS BOY
1.When a guy sticks his head in a picture he´s not welcome in or the people who are in the picture are unaware of him. 2.Someone who was not supposed to be in a picture.
* while looking at a photo of a group friends...
" Dude, who is that bonus boy in the back?"
BOO
BOO: 1 - Boyfriend or Girlfriend.
" Can you handle me? If you can´t you ain´t gonna be my boo!
BOO: 2 - Word used to scare people.
Guy1: " Boo!"
Guy2 : " Holy sh*t!"
Assinar:
Postagens (Atom)