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I liked the Tag ones......the Tag I know made me popular with guys until I found out what I was saying. I was dating this guy and the guys I worked with taught me foul things to tell him. The irony...he never told me. My roomie was a shy girl and got mad they did that.
A few common American ones.....I put meaning in paranthesis in case you haven't heard them. No offense intended.
......slipped my mind (forgot)
......laugh your head off (really found funny)
......broken hearted (lost true love or very sad)
......cute as a button (very cute)
......slept like a log (slept well)
.......shut your trap (be quiet)
........call it a day (be done with project)
........take a hike (I want you to go away)
......bloom is off the rose (not new anymore)
......under the weather (feeling ill)
.......sharp as a tack (not too smart)
........ants in their pants (too active or anxious)
......let the cat out of the bag (slipped the secret)
I loved the Deep South and California ones!
American culture is full of idioms we've come to accept as easy to understand to everyone, but some sayings come from our "melting pot society"(hmmm catch that?). We have picked up idioms from British, Irish, Italian, French, Filipino, Korean, Spanish, Mexican, Scottish.....oh heck.....everyone.
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froebelv
gwenhwyfar
Source(s):
39 years of living in California.
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You might also want to look in the recently completed Dictionary of American Regional English out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The content of the dictionary isn't available online yet, but the website is enough to get you started with it.
Here is the link: http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html
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1. All y'all comin'? = Which of you are willing to accompany me?
2. Are we fixin' ta go? = Will we be departing shortly?
3. Howdy. = How do you do?
4. Aidin' and abettin'! = I agree, sir!
5. Stop piddlin' with that thing. = Please cease disturbing the artifacts.
6. Older n' dirt! = quite old.
7. If'ta good lord's willin' = If random chance is on our side
8. Like white on rice = with great enthusiasm
9. Hit the road = leave
10. Good'ner = better than
Yeah. It's really messed up.
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Chido - Cool
Le falta un tornillo - he/she is crazy(literelly hee/she is missing a screw)
Estar entre la espada y la piedra -To be caught between a rock and a hard place (Literally, “to be between the sword and the stone”)
Con las manos en la masa - Red-handed (Literally, “with your hands in the flour”)
Tocayo(s) (mas) - for guys with the same name as for example if are with two guys with the name miguel they are tocayos. in girs is Tocaya(s)
Primo tocoyo - a cousin with the same name as you (I made this up when I met my cousin who has the same name as me)
the are other but there are very vulgar and others that aren't but can't remember.
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Answered Question
M$1
April 08, 2009 01:11 PM
What idioms do you use in your own culture or location?
I've got 2 cultures that I can share some...let's hear from you guys?
E.g. in Australia:
1. "Australian Rules" ~ Football played between 18-a-side teams according to these rules, also 'Aussie Rules'.
2. "joey" ~ a young kangaroo, still in the pouch
3. "She'll be right" ~ self-explanatory
4. "Fair dinkum" ~ anything genuine or real; or exclamation to denote exasperation
5. "Sheilas" ~ are women
6. "bluey" ~ nickname for redhead or the communications protocol bluetooth
7. "Blue" ~ fight
8. "Cockroach" ~ a person from New South Wales
9. "XXXX" ~ pronounced Four X, brand of beer made in Queensland
10. "Pig's arse!" ~ I don't agree with you
E.g. in the Philippines:
1. farting tongue (kaututang dila) ~ a gossip
2. sweet-tongued person (matamis ang dila) ~ a fast talker
3. spicy-tongued person (maanghang ang dila) ~ vulgar person
4. sharp-tongued person (matalas ang dila)~ one who talks offensively
5. one with itchy tongue (makati ang dila) ~ talkative person
6. flower of the tongue (bulaklak ang dila)~ exageration
7. fish brain (utak biya) ~ brainless
8. air headed (mahangin ang ulo) ~ arrogant person
9. dense-faced (makapal ang mukha) ~ shameless person
10. three-eyed person (tatlo ang mata) ~ cynical person, fault-finder
E.g. in Australia:
1. "Australian Rules" ~ Football played between 18-a-side teams according to these rules, also 'Aussie Rules'.
2. "joey" ~ a young kangaroo, still in the pouch
3. "She'll be right" ~ self-explanatory
4. "Fair dinkum" ~ anything genuine or real; or exclamation to denote exasperation
5. "Sheilas" ~ are women
6. "bluey" ~ nickname for redhead or the communications protocol bluetooth
7. "Blue" ~ fight
8. "Cockroach" ~ a person from New South Wales
9. "XXXX" ~ pronounced Four X, brand of beer made in Queensland
10. "Pig's arse!" ~ I don't agree with you
E.g. in the Philippines:
1. farting tongue (kaututang dila) ~ a gossip
2. sweet-tongued person (matamis ang dila) ~ a fast talker
3. spicy-tongued person (maanghang ang dila) ~ vulgar person
4. sharp-tongued person (matalas ang dila)~ one who talks offensively
5. one with itchy tongue (makati ang dila) ~ talkative person
6. flower of the tongue (bulaklak ang dila)~ exageration
7. fish brain (utak biya) ~ brainless
8. air headed (mahangin ang ulo) ~ arrogant person
9. dense-faced (makapal ang mukha) ~ shameless person
10. three-eyed person (tatlo ang mata) ~ cynical person, fault-finder
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Best Answer Chosen by Asker
| April 12, 2009 02:40 AM |
A few common American ones.....I put meaning in paranthesis in case you haven't heard them. No offense intended.
......slipped my mind (forgot)
......laugh your head off (really found funny)
......broken hearted (lost true love or very sad)
......cute as a button (very cute)
......slept like a log (slept well)
.......shut your trap (be quiet)
........call it a day (be done with project)
........take a hike (I want you to go away)
......bloom is off the rose (not new anymore)
......under the weather (feeling ill)
.......sharp as a tack (not too smart)
........ants in their pants (too active or anxious)
......let the cat out of the bag (slipped the secret)
I loved the Deep South and California ones!
American culture is full of idioms we've come to accept as easy to understand to everyone, but some sayings come from our "melting pot society"(hmmm catch that?). We have picked up idioms from British, Irish, Italian, French, Filipino, Korean, Spanish, Mexican, Scottish.....oh heck.....everyone.
| Asker's Rating: |
• share us more next time!
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froebelv
April 12, 2009 03:48 AM
So true that we pick up idioms from other cultures and we paraphrase so we can say its ours.
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gwenhwyfar
April 12, 2009 04:22 AM
hmmm "broken hearted" that may be adopted by Filipinos, I reckon? Thanks for sharing us more than list of 10...
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Other Answers (4)
April 08, 2009 04:57 PM
One thing that I always thought odd was the way people in California refer to freeways/highways. In Southern California, it's THE 405 or THE 210. In Northern California it's just 880 or 101, with no "the" preceding it. I think most of the US refers to freeways minus the preceding article. I know for sure that's how they refer to freeways/highways on the East Coast.
Source(s):
39 years of living in California.
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April 09, 2009 04:15 PM
It's interesting that you mention that. I live in Central California and this difference is noticeable the closer you get to the unofficial borders of Southern or Northern. In the dead center, there's a gooey cushion of both "the" and just numbers.
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April 10, 2009 02:38 AM
confusing as it is if you're a tourist as well! thanks for sharing Modctek!
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April 08, 2009 07:45 PM
In and around Chicago we refer to nearly all the highways by the late great people they memorialize: the Dan Ryan, the Kennedy, the Eisenhower, the Stevenson, Jane Addams, the Bishop Ford... it goes on and on. You might also want to look in the recently completed Dictionary of American Regional English out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The content of the dictionary isn't available online yet, but the website is enough to get you started with it.
Here is the link: http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html
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April 10, 2009 02:40 AM
Interesting! It encourages you to remember your history every day...thank you for sharing Infomaven!
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April 08, 2009 10:49 PM
I live in the Deep South. There are so many it is hard to begin... 1. All y'all comin'? = Which of you are willing to accompany me?
2. Are we fixin' ta go? = Will we be departing shortly?
3. Howdy. = How do you do?
4. Aidin' and abettin'! = I agree, sir!
5. Stop piddlin' with that thing. = Please cease disturbing the artifacts.
6. Older n' dirt! = quite old.
7. If'ta good lord's willin' = If random chance is on our side
8. Like white on rice = with great enthusiasm
9. Hit the road = leave
10. Good'ner = better than
Yeah. It's really messed up.
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April 10, 2009 05:30 AM
I lost most times when someone speaks in their slang...thanks for sharing quite a bit of yours! Which Deep South sorry? USA u mean?
"better hit the road" I hear this in Australia...
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"better hit the road" I hear this in Australia...
April 09, 2009 02:08 AM
this is in mexico so it's going to be in spanish Chido - Cool
Le falta un tornillo - he/she is crazy(literelly hee/she is missing a screw)
Estar entre la espada y la piedra -To be caught between a rock and a hard place (Literally, “to be between the sword and the stone”)
Con las manos en la masa - Red-handed (Literally, “with your hands in the flour”)
Tocayo(s) (mas) - for guys with the same name as for example if are with two guys with the name miguel they are tocayos. in girs is Tocaya(s)
Primo tocoyo - a cousin with the same name as you (I made this up when I met my cousin who has the same name as me)
the are other but there are very vulgar and others that aren't but can't remember.
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April 10, 2009 05:39 AM
Hola Amigo! Thank you for sharing us few...Tagalog language has 60% content of the Spanish language in the Philippines though different idioms of course. I agree with you that we use idioms in our own tongue like Tagalog not in English though depending on its meaning if it's literal or not.
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