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There are 171,476 words in existent usage successful the English language, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. If you’re learning English for the archetypal time, it’s an intimidating number.
Some of the words are cutesy (kerfuffle, jubilee). Others are onomatopoeic, with a akin dependable to the thought they’re describing (meow, clink, squeak). Some are bizarre sounding (for example, syzygy: the alignment of 3 celestial objects, specified arsenic the sun, the Earth, and either the satellite oregon different planet.)
Outside of those 171,476 weird, fantastic words, you person idioms, which are phrases that can’t beryllium afloat understood based connected the meanings of the idiosyncratic words. American English idioms thin to beryllium peculiarly strange: Put lipstick connected a pig? They went postal? Spill the tea? It’s a batch for a caller English talker to instrumentality in!
We asked radical from different countries and foreign-born Americans to stock the American phrases they ne'er got their heads around, and frankly, could bash without.
Keep successful mind, determination were a ton much sayings they loved, which we’ll sojourn different day. See what they had to accidental for this database below.
“Break a leg.”
“Every clip I perceive this operation I deliberation of virtually idiosyncratic with a breached limb and that imaginativeness frightens me. The crushed for this is that I heard this operation erstwhile I was starting to larn English, and I was taking everything with its literal meaning. Later on, I understood that it means bully luck, but I cannot negociate to region the imaginativeness from my mind.” ― Olga Grijalva Alvarez, a Mexican question contented creator
“Put lipstick connected a pig.”
“I hatred pigs and the ocular of that grosses maine out.” ― Jihan Fawaz, a Lebanese
language teacher who runs the YouTube relationship Learn Turkish with Jihan
“I’m moving connected it” (when talking astir food).
“I’m ever amazed erstwhile a server astatine a edifice asks if I’m inactive moving connected my food. I’m not moving connected it! I’m savoring it!” ― Virginia Langhammer, a Brazilian who teaches Portuguese and owns the Speaking Brazilian Language School
“I can’t even.”
“I understood the discourse erstwhile I archetypal heard it successful a video. Everything is fine, actually, but the information that it’s grammatically incorrect. When I inactive perceive the phrase, I expect it to beryllium completed somehow.” ― Firdaus Baig, an Indian tutor who teaches Hindi online Indian
“On a play basis.”
“Why usage specified a agelong operation to accidental ‘weekly’? I adjacent told 1 of my archetypal English teachers that it didn’t marque consciousness to me, but the teacher saw nary occupation with the expression.” ― Eli Sousa, a Brazilian who teaches Portuguese
“Literally”
“I’m not a instrumentality of Americans saying ‘literally’ successful each different condemnation erstwhile they virtually don’t cognize however to usage the word. ‘I was virtually implicit the satellite astir the quality ...’ It’s a connection that has go precise Americanized.” ― Macca Sherifi, a British question blogger at An Adventurous World
“It’s not rocket science.”
“The occupation is not the operation itself, the occupation is that generally, erstwhile idiosyncratic says it, it is not done successful a precise bully oregon gentle way.” ― Grijalva Alvarez
“Start a family.”
“I person a visceral antagonistic absorption to ‘to commencement a family’ which, contrary to the mode I interpreted it the archetypal clip I heard it, means not moving successful unneurotic oregon getting joined but having children. My occupation with this operation is, of course, purely ideological: it implies that childless families are not really families but simply candidates for being one. Because present is simply a precise hard clip for reproductive state successful the United States (or, to enactment things bluntly, present is the clip erstwhile reproductive state is actively threatened), each clip I perceive it I besides consciousness its sharpness, its imaginable to beryllium weaponized, its meanness.” ― Irina Zaykovskaya, a lecturer successful Russian and linguistics astatine the University of Minnesota who was calved and raised successful St. Petersburg, Russia
“Sure” oregon “uh-huh” alternatively of “you’re welcome.”
“When we survey English arsenic a 2nd language, we larn that the close mode to respond to the operation ‘thank you’ is ‘you’re welcome.’ But successful mundane life, Americans seldom accidental that, americium I right? I lone perceive ‘you’re welcome’ successful much ceremonial situations. The astir communal mode to respond to a ‘thank you’ is ‘sure’ oregon ‘uh-huh,’ successful New York astatine least. When I archetypal moved to New York, I was shocked erstwhile radical said ‘uh-huh’ to me! I thought radical were being rude oregon that I had done thing wrong. But, of course, present I’m utilized to it.” ― Langhammer
“Bite the bullet.”
“I ne'er truly understood this and ever took it literally. I ever thought it meant shooting someone.”― Ipinmi Akinkugbe, a Nigerian British question blogger who runs the tract Férìnàjò
“First floor”
“The archetypal time erstwhile I went to enactment successful the U.S., I asked wherever my table was located. My manager told maine that it was connected the 3rd floor. I went each the mode up to the 3rd level but couldn’t find my desk. Later on, I realized that Americans called the crushed level the archetypal floor, and the archetypal level the 2nd floor, and the 2nd level the 3rd floor.” ― Sindy Chan, a blogger from Germany (by mode of Hong Kong) who precocious moved to the U.S.
“Used their services.”
“Using the connection ‘use’ to notation to people’s services, similar successful the condemnation ‘I’d decidedly usage him again.’ Nothing incorrect with the connection per se, but successful Brazil, we ne'er employment this connection to speech astir services an idiosyncratic renders. If we do, it sounds disrespectful to that person’s efforts; it’s similar they tin beryllium utilized up and discarded. You usage a product, you usage software, but regarding a idiosyncratic — you enactment with, you hire, you edifice to their services.” ― Sousa
“He/she is simply a keeper.”
“This operation gives maine the aforesaid absorption colors springiness Wednesday Addams ― I interruption retired successful hives and tegument starts peeling disconnected my bones, oregon astatine slightest it feels that way. English is not my autochthonal language. I learned my basics successful the schoolroom and I americium utilized to consciously performing elemental morphological investigation to recognize caller words and expressions I encounter. ‘Rearrange’? ‘Re’ is simply a prefix that often means doing thing again, truthful rearrange mightiness mean thing similar ‘arrange anew, successful a antithetic way’. That benignant of thing.
This is wherefore I had a batch of occupation processing ‘he/she is simply a keeper’ erstwhile I saw it for the archetypal time. A keeper is idiosyncratic who is doing the keeping, right? Like a idiosyncratic is idiosyncratic who works, and an leader is idiosyncratic who employs people, and adjacent a zookeeper is idiosyncratic who keeps a zoo successful order! But this mentation didn’t marque consciousness for the contexts successful which I was seeing ‘he/she is simply a keeper,’ truthful for a agelong clip I considered the operation to mean that the idiosyncratic described successful it is susceptible of keeping the narration successful order. I realized that radical usage it to notation to idiosyncratic who is worthy keeping astir much, overmuch later, and it bugs maine each clip I perceive it.” ― Zaykovskaya
“What?!”
“The connection I hatred is erstwhile Americans accidental “what!?” alternatively of “pardon.” Americans are precise blunt and look to blurt retired ‘what’ erstwhile they don’t perceive oregon don’t recognize you. Equally annoying is the connection “huh!?” Perhaps that comes backmost to our ties to England English, but pardon is simply a overmuch politer mode to inquire idiosyncratic to repetition something. We grew up knowing that ‘what?!’ was rather rude.” ― Jules Hatfield, an Australian question blogger
“Hand-me-down”
“This tin easy beryllium translated but it has specified antagonistic connotations attached to it. I similar conscionable being literal and saying ‘these are my older siblings’ clothes.’ It conscionable sounds better.” ― Akinkugbe
English (US) ·