This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously…
American Phrase Book
21–30 of 177 posts
Re: American Phrase Book
#22Some are too cynical but pretty funny.
As a recent inductee to silicon-valley-ese I found it odd and funny how often people were "excited" about something.
Re: American Phrase Book
#23I'd love to see one of these for Australian English, although I don't think it would be possible. Aussies have a love of metaphor a simile that's unmatched in any other dialect of English, especially if you hang out with bogans (basically Australian Rednecks, for lack of a better description). It's basically the opposite of America, where instead of trying to be excessively polite, we try to be excessively offensive. The other habits of Australians are to shorten words down and add an "O" to the end, and to swear excessively.
Here's a couple of my favourites:
"Not here to fuck spiders" => Not here to waste time
"Mad as a cut snake" => Very angry
"Busier than a one armed brickie in Baghdad" => Very busy (a brickie is a bricklayer)
"Built like a brick shithouse" => A large, muscular man
"Crack the shits" => get annoyed
"Dog act" => something done to a friend that's uncalled for, e.g. skipping your round at the pub
"Stitch up" => A scam or a trick
"Sick cunt" => An outstanding person
"Old mate" => Someone who's not your friend
"Smoko" => Morning break at work
"Misso" => Girlfriend (short for missus)
"Ambo" => Paramedic (short for ambulance)
"Servo" => Service Station (gas station for Americans)
"Seppo" => American
"Pokies" => Poker machines
"Yeah nah" => either yes, or no, depending on context. Can also be used as filler in a sentence.
This leads to beautiful sentences, such as:
"Yeah nah, the misso cracked the shits at me 'cause I spent the whole arvo at the pokies"
Here's a decent sized list of Aussie slang: https://nomadsworld.com/aussie-slang/
Re: American Phrase Book
#24This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously…
I use literally as incorrectly as I can as a joke, but I probably just sound like a moron. I think that is true of most my jokes though.
Re: American Phrase Book
#25They lost me on the first two. "Let's have lunch sometime" - Yeah, when I say that I genuinely mean it. It does NOT mean "I don't want to see you again." to me. "Thanks for reminding me" - Again, I genuinely mean that when I say it. NOT "Stop bugging me!".
Most people are like you or me: we mean what we say and say what we mean. This list is not supposed to reflect how people actually talk with each other. It's just a made-up sarcastic list, put together for the sake of humor. That can be a fun thing, as long as we don't mistake for an useful phrase book that tries to describe what people actually say and mean.
This is either completely wrong or the perfect satire.
Re: American Phrase Book
#26Yup. One of the great mysteries of the world is how Americans think they are so straightforward and direct and honest... and then they ask a German if their butt looks big in these pants, and burst into tears on hearing the answer. On a mildly more serious note, I remember well my first ever serious business meeting in the US, where we pitched a potential joint venture to another company. 30 minutes of mutual praise…
I've never heard of Americans thinking/saying they were direct. In my case I see our culture as the opposite, as this page seems to demonstrate. Corporate double-speak is a well-known thing here (I presume its similar in many places, but I don't know), and I'm sure most people like me were taught "if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all". A common trope in child programs when I grew up was that being honest but hurtful was "incorrect".
Perhaps subtle cues or assumptions create such imagery of directness for those on the outside? Not that I take issue with your characterization, I just wonder how it came to be.
Re: American Phrase Book
#27Some are too cynical but pretty funny. As a recent inductee to silicon-valley-ese I found it odd and funny how often people were "excited" about something.
This « excitement » about anything became quite trendy everywhere in the world: you can't read a newsletter or an announcement that don't start by « We are very excited of/to... »
Re: American Phrase Book
#28This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously…
I use literally as incorrectly as I can as a joke, but I probably just sound like a moron. I think that is true of most my jokes though.
My friend, you are literally the stupidest person on earth!
Well, second stupidest, next to me.
Re: American Phrase Book
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Most people are like you or me: we mean what we say and say what we mean. This list is not supposed to reflect how people actually talk with each other. It's just a made-up sarcastic list, put together for the sake of humor. That can be a fun thing, as long as we don't mistake for an useful phrase book that tries to describe what people actually say and mean.
This is either completely wrong or the perfect satire.
Good satire that explain the cultural meaning that would stay hidden otherwise.
Re: American Phrase Book
#30This is a fun list! Let me add two of my personal favorites: "Literally", which means "figuratively". "I could care less", which literally means "I couldn't care less". https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/misuse-of-lite... https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2007/01/i-could-care-less... Edit: I feel like a party pooper saying this, but I see a few comments where people may be taking this phrasebook seriously…
I use literally as incorrectly as I can as a joke, but I probably just sound like a moron. I think that is true of most my jokes though.
I always say figuratively and try to see people's expression when they realize that's the correct word.