A colloquialism is a word or phrase used in everyday conversation, but generally avoided in formal speech and writing.
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1answer
75 views
Correct spelling of “can too” in response to “you can't” [closed]
If someone says "you can't do that" there's a colloquial response of "can too". Is it "can too" or "can to"?
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2answers
64 views
Evolution of “push somebody's buttons” and “know what buttons to push”
Colloquially speaking, "to push somebody's buttons" means to irritate or annoy the person. And, "know what buttons to push" means to know what to do to get people to act the way you want.
I can't ...
-4
votes
2answers
116 views
Can I use “lardy-dardy” to describe a man's gay lisp and gesture?
Can I use "lardy-dardy" to describe a man's gay lisp and gesture? If this is not OK, I have three more questions.
How else can I ever use lardy-dardy?
Which word should I be using instead?
Is ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
When to use “programming's” vs. “programming is” [duplicate]
My sentence can be said as:
Programming is fun.
and it can also be said as:
Programming's fun.
Both seem to be correct. When should I use one instead of the other?
-1
votes
1answer
175 views
How does the expression “Not half bad” hold its meaning? [closed]
I'm interested in the phrase 'not half bad', which, like 'cheap at half the price' actually means the opposite of what the user is generally trying to say. The term 'not half!' is commonly used to ...
1
vote
2answers
78 views
“What time?” instead of “What day?”
I was talking with a friend about an event that was going to happen in the future. He asked me "What time?" referring, as I discovered after a while, to the day this event was going to happen.
I ...
8
votes
1answer
227 views
What is the etymology of “todger”?
What is the etymology of "todger"? My Concise OED is rather vague:
ORIGIN 1950s: of unknown origin (also tadger)
"Tadger" is just listed as a "Variant spelling of TODGER"
Other references ...
4
votes
3answers
210 views
What does “flustrated” mean, and is it a word?
What does the flustrated mean? Is it even a word? I am using Lingea Lexicon and it doesn’t know this word, but the Internet is full of it.
I find myself hating people for using it both in English ...
4
votes
1answer
159 views
What is the correct way to write the interjection “ha ha?”
I had a hard time finding the English origin of this interjection and how it technically should be written. I am often ridiculed in written conversations, especially those that are informal, because I ...
1
vote
1answer
96 views
What do “truxtop” and “thumb tax” mean? [closed]
What do truxtop and thumb tax mean?
I found them mentioned in this quotation from English Words History and Structure, 2nd edition (p. 113):
The replacement of the sequence [ks] by x is a ...
1
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1answer
81 views
What does “playus nigh” mean in Cockney?
Quotation from A history of the cries of London ancient (p23).
Refer to What does “him as writ plays” mean?
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votes
2answers
152 views
What does “him as writ plays” (etc.) mean in old newspaper clipping?
Quotation from A history of the cries of London ancient (p23).
... famous theatre afterwards to be so widely known. The sunshiny time of our literature and life, making a red-letter period in ...
1
vote
1answer
228 views
“so long as” vs. “as long as”
I just googled the difference between as long as and so long as. The difference has alredy been discussed here. There are, it seems, two contexts for these expressions:
lengths and physical ...
1
vote
4answers
91 views
An alternative to “serious business”
I am writing an article about a fancy cocktail bar and I am looking for an alternative to the phrase "drinking here is a serious business". Normally I am pretty good at this but, I just have the same ...
18
votes
10answers
1k views
Derogatory term for electronic device
In German, the term "Kiste", literally meaning "box", is often used as a colloquial derogatory term for electronic and mechanical devices.
It is comparable to "jalopy", which, however, seems to be ...
-1
votes
1answer
126 views
Is it ok to end a sentence with a preposition? [duplicate]
I have a sentence:
It can be derived from either A or B.
But I’m not sure how to ask the following question:
Which one of them can it be derived from?
Is that ok, or would it be better if ...
0
votes
1answer
159 views
What should I say to people when I am passing them by?
I am talking about situations when you want to greet someone, without stopping to talk to them. In Russian, people usually say "добрый день" which means "hello." This is a greeting, not a valediction. ...
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votes
4answers
186 views
Using any punctuation, how many meanings does this sign have? [closed]
I was walking in the Norfolk countryside today, when I spotted this sign.
Notice that it is devoid of punctuation. It is obviously a warning sign to motorists. However, it made me giggle. Using any ...
3
votes
1answer
75 views
Acceptability and use of “to got” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“Don’t got” — how common is it in American usage?
Recently, I've started to hear more and more often people use "got" as a present simple form (obviously originating ...
-2
votes
1answer
98 views
Is “all of your everything” common English?
Is the phrase “all of your everything” proper English? It seems to mean “all of your belongings”, but what special connotations does this phrase have?
It can be found here but the search engine of ...
1
vote
4answers
396 views
What are some colloquial English phrases for 'a child acquiring its parents' characteristics or features'?
I am not sure if the title is clear enough to you, so let me briefly explain what I'm looking for.
We sometimes see children who look very much like their father or mother, or even behave typically ...
3
votes
2answers
331 views
What are the origins for the phrases “Knock it off” and “Cut it out”?
When taken literally, the colloquial phrases "Knock it off" and "Cut it out" do not seem to mean "Stop what you're doing." How did these two phrases get their current meanings?
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votes
8answers
176 views
Non-offensive equivalent to KISS [closed]
Is there a non-offensive way to tell someone:
is better to (k)eep (i)t (s)imple, (s)...
Update
Let's say someone came with his part of the homework done, then it turns out to be a rather ...
4
votes
1answer
300 views
Does “awe” have a colloquial meaning (similar to “awesome”)?
The meaning of awe is given in dictionaries as "an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime" (this definition is from ...
3
votes
3answers
228 views
Is “ain’t” slang, or is it colloquial instead?
Does using the word ain’t in a song make it slang, whereas using it in a speech make it colloquial?
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1answer
144 views
Etymology of “What could (possibly) go wrong?”
What is the (likely) origin of the popular usage of the phase "What could go wrong?" or "What could possibly go wrong?" as a theatrical plot device or ironic commentary? Does this usage pre-date or ...
3
votes
2answers
95 views
Use of 'That“ rather than ”the"
The weather reports on the BBC frequently use the word "That" when I was expecting either no article or possibly "the". For example 'There will be more of that cold weather.' when no cold weather has ...
4
votes
3answers
345 views
Bless your heart
Is "bless your heart" something only used by old women in the South (all I've ever heard)? Or is it ever appropriate for a man to use it without seeming unmanly? Does the term always have ...
0
votes
1answer
172 views
“Might” vs. “Maybe” [closed]
Is it a correct form to say while talking?
"I might go" => i.e., maybe I will go
"he might be available" => i.e., maybe he will be available.
1
vote
2answers
172 views
“Time's up” or “time up” for games
I have seen games using both forms time's up and time up to say that the time is up. Which is correct?
1
vote
0answers
30 views
The problem is is that [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
“The thing is, is that…”
Does anyone know when or why people started saying things like
The problem is is that...
or
The thing is is that...
It's as if they ...
0
votes
5answers
309 views
Is there a word to describe the unintelligent/streety way some people talk? [closed]
This type of communication frequently leaves the 'g' off the end of words. "Talking" becomes "talkin'".
Also, it combines certain small phrases into one. "What's that?" becomes "Wuzzat?"
The best ...
2
votes
4answers
682 views
Is “blah blah blah” the most common spelling?
What is the most common or correct spelling of "blah blah blah"?
blah blah blah
blah blah
bla bla bla
bla bla
My question stems from when I first wrote it as "bla bla bla" in an English text, ...
5
votes
4answers
279 views
Less colloquial version of “(X), never mind (Y)”?
From Chapter 7, it was found that PV installers do not interact frequently with geographic data within their assessment, never mind 3D geographic data.
"Never mind" seems like a bit of a ...
0
votes
3answers
2k views
How to use “you are so lame!” or “you are so retard!” with friends? [closed]
I heard lots of these words from my colleagues.
Definitions in Dictionary do not help me much.
What I really want to know is what these words actually mean when using with friends and what situation ...
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votes
3answers
251 views
Usage of third person form for first person
Recently, I discovered the following sentence in a Terry Pratchett book (which was not a typing error, since it appeared several times):
I sees what he's doing.
Presumably, the wrong usage of ...
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votes
13answers
1k views
What do you call a USB flash disk?
I assume usually you don’t say USB flash disk, right?
By the way, in Chinese we call it something more like U Disk.
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vote
0answers
67 views
Resources for Australian street talk? [closed]
I know of a great series of books called "Street Talk" which tries to cover colloquial American English. Is there any such resources for Australian English? Especially with emphasis on Listening and ...
2
votes
1answer
242 views
Why are detectives/investigators referred to as “gumshoe”s? [closed]
Why are detectives/inspectors colloquially referred to as Gumshoes?
Is it anything other that they would travel a lot in investigations and, presumably, wore hard-wearing shoes?
9
votes
5answers
845 views
Etymology of “to be like” meaning “to say”
It seems that "to be like" is an informal phrase for "to say". E.g.
She was so angry, she was like "I'm breaking up with you", and I was like "I'm sorry", and she was like "Go away".
Is this a ...
2
votes
2answers
154 views
Failed Experiment? [closed]
Is it proper to use the phrase "failed experiment" at all? And if so, should it refer exclusively to experiments that had some ineluctable flaw in the process of their implementation or can it also ...
3
votes
1answer
391 views
Is “and then some” an offensive expression?
I started an internal email discussion with the title "Editorial: link issues, some spelling issues and then some".
However, upon rereading my own mail, it occurred to me that this might express ...
2
votes
1answer
171 views
Would you use the term cucumber-time and why?
During International Law studies I talked to English natives about politics, using a literal translation of the Dutch "komkommertijd", cucumber time, meaning to refer to the news-silent period of high ...
3
votes
1answer
471 views
What does “I'll kill that cat” in the play Dinner for One mean?
In the play Dinner for One, James the butler says, "I'll kill that cat," at time 14:05. What does this mean? Is he referring to the tiger rug which keeps tripping him, or is it a saying or ...
3
votes
3answers
392 views
How do you say to “connect nails with heads”?
I was chatting with a non native speaker and they said "we will connect nails with heads" or something along that line, and asked if that was the right way to say it in English. I knew what he meant: ...
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vote
3answers
3k views
Meaning and usage of “to no end”
What does the phrase mean in "He annoys me to no end"?
Literally, does it mean that he annoys me forever? Or does it mean that he annoys me to no result?
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0answers
203 views
“There are a number of …” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
A number of questions “has been” or “have been” asked?
Does “the same number of people” behave as singular or plural?
While ...
0
votes
2answers
88 views
Is “after” in this context solely a local colloquialism?
There are a number of turns of phrase that I have to avoid as an English person speaking to an American audience. Would it be possible for someone to clarify whether this colloquialism is ...
1
vote
4answers
1k views
Can I use “you guys” when it includes gals? [Northeast USA] [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is “guy” gender-neutral?
I'm in the Northeast USA.
I'm about to email 3 people, 2 are women
It is ok to say "I thought you guys would find this ...
3
votes
3answers
330 views
“Will” and “Going To”. What are the real differences of the colloquial usage of them?
I'm from Brasil and here we study the differences of using "Will" and "Going to" to talk about the future. But it is usually very confusing because we have a different kind of conjugation that uses no ...
