All Questions
32 questions
0
votes
1
answer
440
views
Current prevalence of idiom "pulling for you"
A prior question asks about the origin of the phrase "pulling for you," a phrase that conveys well-wishes and support (Merriam-Webster):
US, informal
: to say or show that one hopes (...
- 41.7k
0
votes
1
answer
375
views
What does "pack a buck for miles" mean?
I am reading "Where the Crawdads sing" and I stumbled upon this sentence "pack a buck for miles".
Does this mean some money (e.g., US dollar)?
"The Land . . . being marshy ...
- 109
1
vote
0
answers
127
views
Usage of the term "good egg" [closed]
I came across the informal idiom good egg which means a likeable or pleasant person. The idiom seems somewhat old-fashioned.
My question is: How common is this idiom inside and outside the USA ? And ...
- 1,442
1
vote
1
answer
283
views
Can the idiom "fall off the wagon" be said to be "chiefly American"?
I read an answer on another site which referred to the idiom of falling off the wagon as being "chiefly American". That got me curious since I would have thought that this particular idiom ...
- 22.4k
2
votes
0
answers
2k
views
Can "raise a point" and "make a point" mean the same thing generally? [closed]
I personally think "to raise a point" means "to mention some point of interest" while "to make a point" means "to state or demonstrate something of particular ...
- 129
1
vote
0
answers
96
views
Is there a term for hyperbolic words or expressions that are no longer used for exaggeration?
I recently encountered two instances of apparently hyperbolic terms that were used without any realisation that the traditional implications were far more serious / demanding / extreme.
Someone said ...
- 2,664
1
vote
3
answers
2k
views
Where is the saying "A for away" from? [closed]
I have recently picked up the saying "A for away" (meaning, we are good to go/ready to go). I am English but live in South Africa and watch American TV, so I have no idea where this saying is from. Is ...
- 21
3
votes
1
answer
94
views
difficult nautical dialect
In the short story "The Last Cruise of the Judas Iscariot", by Edward Page Mitchel, Captain Cram, a sailor of Main, who builds a schooner with three masts to be frowned upon by the people of the town ...
- 99
27
votes
2
answers
2k
views
"It is" used as "there is": what is the origin?
Ok, this is a somewhat nonstandard English question. In the Southern US, or at least in Central Virginia, there is an idiomatic use of the phrase it is that is equivalent to the expression there is, ...
- 1,085
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
For whom does "upwards of" mean "less than, but approaching" ? Is it a regionalism?
The phrase upwards of X appears to be defined very explicitly to
mean simply and only “more than X”. (In other words, it is an exact
substitute for “north of”.)
I have a pernicious and deeply held ...
- 1,161
4
votes
1
answer
295
views
Translation and etymology of a slang passage
While reading software-user reviews on Google Play Store, I happened to run across the following (verbatim):
"I'm game ginger an as wet as, a otters pocket full support to do you will ave to be ...
- 41
4
votes
2
answers
900
views
Is "take a knee" primarily used only in American football/sports?
Is the expression "to take a knee," meaning to kneel on one knee, an idiom that is mainly limited to American football and other sports (as well as, perhaps, military jargon)? Has it primarily been ...
- 1,114
0
votes
1
answer
6k
views
The phrase: "Find out more information about it at . . . "
I hear this on local radio in northwestern Pennsylvania.
"You can find out more information about it at ..."
This grates on me a bit. I expect "Find out more at . . . " or "Find more information ...
- 101
5
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What do Americans call a "lie-in"?
The Random House dictionary gives the main definition of "lie-in" as:
a protest demonstration in which participants lie down in a public place against regulations and resist being moved.
The ...
- 12.8k
2
votes
1
answer
11k
views
The rain/snow/storm "let up"
What does "let up" denote in "the rain/storm has let up so we can go out/drive back home"?
With a context lacking clarity, should it be understood as, "the [hard] rain/storm ...
- 43.1k
8
votes
3
answers
3k
views
How do I identify a British idiom from an American one?
I live outside the US and the UK. I just started reading a book titled "Speak English like an American". The book teaches numerous idioms but I don't know if these idioms are usable outside the the US....
- 484
4
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Meaning and derivation of "so-and-so would know from X"
A couple of times I've seen a phrase much like "that's horrible coding — and I would know from horrible coding!" This seems extremely peculiar to me (if only because of how ungrammatical it is), ...
- 266
9
votes
2
answers
7k
views
why do some people call green peppers mangoes?
I have heard people from Lima, Ohio refer to green peppers as mangoes. How did that come about?
- 91
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
Is the term 'put on his parts' used everywhere, or only in some dialects?
In Norfolk, when a child misbehaves in a demanding, or sulking way, they are often said to 'put on their parts'.
'She is putting on her parts again', means that she is following a pattern, typical for ...
- 64.9k
3
votes
5
answers
28k
views
What is the origin of “I calls ’em like I sees ’em”?
This expression seems to be pretty widespread, for example being in Wiktionary and Futurama. Does anyone know what the origin is? Also, what kind of dialect might I calls or I sees be?
- 241
1
vote
1
answer
2k
views
What are some colloquial English expressions for comparing hot/cold weather to something else? [closed]
I'm looking for colloquial expressions that compare hot, cold, and wet weather to something else. For example, “It’s hotter than two goats in a pepper patch”, “Colder than a witch’s tit”, etc. Often ...
- 11
1
vote
2
answers
387
views
Is this correct English or is it slang from a particular region?
Is it correct to ask "Are you in area?" when you are asking if someone is from that city or township?
- 11
8
votes
5
answers
7k
views
Was your fender "stove-in" after your car was hit by that truck?
Is stove-in — smashed inward — an archaic expression?
Is it a regional expression? I was speaking with someone from my hometown (Salem, MA), and he used the word during our conversation. Made me ...
- 169
4
votes
3
answers
10k
views
Modern-day equivalent of "dog my cats"
As you know, somewhere in The adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim expresses his certainty that he's noticed that a noise came from the garden of Miss Watson by saying (my emphasis)
"Say, who is you?...
- 535
8
votes
6
answers
3k
views
What metaphor do countries that don't play baseball use for intercourse?
Related question: In sex talk, how many bases are there and what do they all mean?
There are lots of English-speaking (or English-learning) countries where baseball simply isn't played much if at all....
- 320
3
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Do things that “get one’s rocks off ” always “rock one’s socks off ”?
I see both of these two phrases used quite often and I have to question why rocks are so cool here. Is there a history behind both of these sayings, and is possible that both of them are just mere ...
- 1,418
3
votes
5
answers
13k
views
What does "slicker than snot on a doorknob" mean?
I have a friend from Mississippi and I've heard him use this expression sometimes: slicker than snot on a doorknob. What exactly does it mean? (I guess it's something positive but I'm not too sure ...
- 143
2
votes
2
answers
705
views
Origin and usage of "for choice"
I recently encountered the phrase "for choice" to mean "by preference". At first it didn't look like idiomatic English to me, but a web search turned it up in a few other places. Is this common in ...
- 205
9
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Are there idioms specific to one English dialect? [closed]
Let's get into a little conversation about the differences between American English, British English and regional dialects. Some words are specific to certain dialects (lass is Scottish, the lads is ...
13
votes
8
answers
88k
views
Is the use of "all set" exclusive to certain regions?
I grew up in the Northeastern US where the use of the phrase "all set" to mean "ready" or "finished" is common.
An example would be, "Are you all set with that?" (perhaps while pointing to an ...
- 6,526
10
votes
3
answers
8k
views
"Pretty" as an adverb
How correct/common/proper is "pretty" as an adverb? It is hard for me to see, since it's my native dialect, but I say "pretty often" pretty often, and "fairly often" fairly rarely. Does "pretty" mark ...
- 1,162
22
votes
5
answers
104k
views
Which is correct: "standing on line" or "standing in line"?
I'm curious to hear from folks in the the Northeast United States (or anyone, really) an explanation of why "standing on line" seems preferable to "standing in line" in the US northeast.
I imagine ...
- 3,446