Hot answers tagged phrases
80
Something is meta (and self referential) if it is about itself. If you substitute the word "about" where you see meta in a sentence longer than "it's meta", you will get close to the meaning, even though the sentence you make won't necessarily be grammatically correct. Some examples of meta things:
in a meeting, time spent discussing the meeting itself - ...
56
"I want a pony" is a slang phrase, usually used in reply to someone's request for something impossible.
From the Urban Dictionary:
"We want a copy protection solution that's 100% unbreakable."
"Yes, and I want a pony."
In this context, it reads to me that while the author would very much like a solution to the Eurozone crisis, he doesn't believe ...
49
If etc. occurs at the end of a sentence, then you do not add another period.
It's all about apples, oranges, bananas, etc.
However, if etc. occurs at the end of a clause, you can add a comma or other punctuation mark after it.
I bought the apples, oranges, etc., but they were all rotten.
This grammar reference gives the following rule:
When ...
44
It doesn't at all mean "don't go around talking about this to anyone." It is in fact much closer to "you're welcome."
When you are telling someone "don't mention it", what you are telling them not to mention is the 'thank you' itself -- you are saying "Your thanks isn't necessary. I was glad to do it, so you didn't need to mention your thanks."
(Note: This ...
42
To expand a little on Claudiu’s excellent answer, there seems to be an interesting progression/evolution here:
metaphor: “it’s like he was spat out of his father’s mouth” (1689).
metonymy: “he’s the very spit of his father” (1825) — when the metaphor is commonplace enough, it no longer gets spelled out in full.
idiom/cliché: “the spit and image of his ...
39
It means she was young and immature. The phrase "going on" means nearing in age.
My daughter is six going on seven.
This means she is almost seven.
If the gap is wide, it suggests either that she is precocious (18 going on 30) or immature (22 going on 16).
Joe Blow has covered a lot of this already, but I feel it is important to emphasize that this ...
38
Wikipedia actually has an article dedicated to this phrase. It says:
The earliest confirmed publication is the 1866 Dion Boucicault play Flying Scud in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, "Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can't stop; I've got to see a man about a dog." In a listing for a 1939 revival on the NBC Radio program ...
35
Wikipedia on Gratis versus Libre:
Gratis versus libre is the distinction between two meanings of the English adjective "free"; namely, "for zero price" (gratis) and "with few or no restrictions" (libre). The ambiguity of "free" can cause issues where the distinction is important, as it often is in dealing with laws concerning the use of information, such ...
34
It is common in the US to use "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays" as a more secular sentiment for this time of year (Wikipedia has a pretty good description of these). Also, "Happy New Year" by itself is quite common and not considered lame at all.
Finally, I am not Christian, but I don't find it offensive when well-wishers offer me a "Merry ...
33
The sign says "wet floor" because the floor is wet.
The sign is giving you full and complete information about a condition of the floor that is not its normal state. Wet floors are not always slippery; slippery floors are not always wet.
Some people might be more concerned about getting their pants wet when splashing through the water; should the sign ...
33
The current colloquial use of meta is a bit hard to pin down with a definition — it doesn’t entirely fit the concept of self-reference. It’s probably better illustrated by a couple of examples. There are lots of old jokes that begin:
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar…
and go on to tell some story where the three people each do ...
33
For me, the phrase "Give each of us a pony" means literally "give each of us a gift of a horse."
Ponies, as far as I know, are regarded as a status symbol among certain circles. (Imagine a young girl in a well-to-do family requesting her father this for a birthday present).
So, for me, saying "give each of us a pony" is equivalent to "give each of us a ...
32
X is "the only child" of his parents, and "an only child" along with Y and Z. Similarly, I am "the" elder child of my parents and "an" elder (and eldest) child along with bunches of other people.
One refers to the specific situation; the other refers to the classification.
Edited to add:
Consider the following examples:
"The":
Census interviewer: Do ...
31
Aside from the phrases "God forbid" and "Heaven (or heaven) forbid" which could be construed to have religious connotations, this site suggests perish the thought. On the entry for this phrase, the site writes:
Don't even think of it. This expression is used as a wish that what was just mentioned will never happen. For example, "He's going to give ...
31
The original telephone switchboards were literally patch boards: the caller and callee were physically connected with a wire (patch cable) to form a circuit.
Photo from here.
29
In the United States, toilet-training a child typically starts with diapers. An intermediate step is "trainers" or "pull-ups", which are basically diapers with elastic: the kid gets used to the idea that s/he shouldn't just "let go" at any moment, but the absorption is there so that it's not a total disaster if it happens.
Finally, when the kid has ...
28
It stands for "(advanced) skill". There are lots of similar constructions, such as "Script-Fu", "Google-Fu", and so on. Wiktionary has an article on the suffix -fu:
Etymology
From kung-fu
Suffix
1. (slang) Expertise; mastery.
My google-fu is weak!
Aragorn uses Ranger-fu to figure out that Sam and Frodo have taken a boat.
28
Yes, "my bad" is a proper English phrase. It is an apology; when you say "my bad", you're basically saying, "I admit a mistake" or "my fault, sorry for that". Wiktionary says:
(colloquial) (idiomatic) My fault; mea culpa.
Yes, I realize the humvee isn't supposed to be parked in the heirloom flowerbed. My bad.
It also links to this Language ...
28
TV Tropes call it "My Friends And Zoidberg" trope:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MyFriendsAndZoidberg
A standard comedy trope which, at its
core, takes the form:
"Group A ... and Bob."
It is often expanded to mention two or
more groups:
"Ladies, Gentlemen ... and Bob."
In either version, Bob is already
expected ...
28
I found an earlier appearance in the 1904 novel Beverly of Graustark by George Barr McCutcheon. This is on page 39:
Even the hills have eyes and ears.
The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs has similar phrases going back a long way, but not "the hills have eyes" specifically.
"The fields have eyes and the woods have ears" is used by Chaucer in The ...
25
These two are not equivalent. Even though is used to introduce a condition which currently is true, while even if introduces a hypothetical condition that is not yet true.
I'm going to the park even though it's raining.
This means that it's raining right now, but I'm going to the park anyway.
I'm going to the park even if it's raining.
This means ...
25
The other two answers are correct, but they miss a crucial detail which is key to why the phrase has entered popular idiom. The message on the Chance card is worded the way it is to be unambiguous, but the intent is that it is to happen straightaway and no detours are allowed. Because of this, using the phrase outside of the board game means not only "you've ...
25
To be "going on" a particular age means to be nearly that age. It's usually used in reference to the next age up, when it's nearly your birthday; that is, a 15-year-old would be "going on 16" when their birthday is near, perhaps within the next month or so.
Alternatively, you might say you are "going on" the next age to emphasize that it's going to happen ...
25
You certainly did your research!
Two crucial points that it's not clear if you came across, though:
1) SNL is an abbreviation for Saturday Night Live, a popular comedy show that features comedic stand-up skits and musical guests.
2) The cowbell, in addition to being a countable noun, is also an instrument.
Now, let's take a break and watch an excerpt ...
25
The usage stats from the British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA) look as follows:
BNC COCA
TOTAL SPOKEN TOTAL SPOKEN
what the hell 716 143 4668 408
what on earth 585 85 607 99
what the fuck 93 ...
23
In the literal sense, this refers to something becoming untied, unwrapped, unfastened, etc. For example:
Be careful with that gift. If it comes undone, they'll be able to see what is inside.
In the figurative sense, it means that something has either not gone as planned, or has failed in some way. E.g. a plan can come undone meaning it hasn't ...
23
"Your mileage may vary" is a well known phrase in the US and can be used in casual conversation. I have never heard anyone spell out "Y M M V" in spoken conversation as opposed to "A S A P" which I hear spoken out loud a lot.
I would never use the phrase or the abbreviation YMMV in any formal writing.
However, it is a nice shorthand phrase in casual ...
22
Banging 7-gram rocks.
He's talking about taking ("banging") crystals of crack cocaine. Seven grams is a LOT. According to the Wikipedia article, "Large amounts (several hundred milligrams or more) intensify the user's high, but may also lead to bizarre, erratic, and violent behavior." If a large dose is less than a gram, one wonders how Mr. Sheen ...
22
It is a nonsense phrase; as Windell mentions it is only used to identify fellow reddit users. Because it is nonsense, it's hard to give a good description of what it “means”.
Bacon and narwhal are both popular words on reddit and in other internet communities, because bacon is delicious and horned sea creatures are awesome. They serve as in-jokes or memes, ...
22
There exists a term malicious obedience or malicious compliance, and I'm guessing that you're thinking of one of those; but most users of that term (in either variant) use it somewhat differently from what you describe. This page, for example, is typical: it says that malicious obedience is "when people set their boss up to fail by doing exactly as he or she ...
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