Which are idioms used naturally in verbal communications by Americans?
Posted by Perfect_Middle_5533@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 57 comments
As a Vietnamese teacher teaching an English subject for students in an upper secondary school, I would love to know more idioms or collocations that Americans normally use in real life. Thanks in advance for sharing with me.
Fun_Machine7346@reddit
Go ahead make my day. I'll be back. Are ya feeling lucky punk? May the Force be with you. Live Long and Prosper. Give Peace a Chance. Fuck you.
Turdle_Vic@reddit
https://www.espressoenglish.net/100-idioms-meanings-examples/
This has basically all the common ones and how to use them. This should be helpful to you
steph_peregrine@reddit
Yes, these are all very common expressions that you'll hear in conversation, with the exception of "off the chain," which is more like slang (I would be surprised to hear someone middle-aged or older using it). Also, "off the chain" and "kick the bucket" are the only ones that wouldn't really be appropriate at work, if that helps.
the_quark@reddit
Gen Z has replaced "off the chain" with "out of pocket."
TheUnculturedSwan@reddit
Which, it is also important to note, has a completely independent meaning among older generations meaning to pay for something yourself.
the_quark@reddit
Speaking as an older generation, yes. I hate it.
VariegatedPlumage@reddit
lol at my last job the social media manager said “off the chain!” All the time
steph_peregrine@reddit
I stand by what I said, lol!
VariegatedPlumage@reddit
Oh I’m not even disagreeing with you, it was super annoying!
thomsenite256@reddit
So many it would be hard to list them all.
Perfect_Middle_5533@reddit (OP)
so just mention several idioms that you usually use in everyday life, or ones you hear from your surroundings.
yetiinrio@reddit
Don’t piss on my leg and tell me it’s raining
thomsenite256@reddit
Ok Judge Judy
AuggieNorth@reddit
You don't exactly hear that one every day.
Spam_Tempura@reddit
The South has a bunch of idioms that you won’t hear very often outside the region. Some of my favorites are: — Knee-high to a grasshopper - something that’s small or little —That dog won’t hunt - That won’t work — Sitting in tall cotton - Someone who is successful — Colder than a well-digger’s ass - freezing — Cattywampus or Catty-Cornered - Something that is not directly across or adjacent to something else.
Personal-Presence-10@reddit
I’m from the south and to me cattywampus would only be used to say something is messed up, janky, askew. For location (diagonal in relation to something else) I’d use catty cornered. They aren’t interchangeable for me.
Spam_Tempura@reddit
You know what that’s fair. I’ll edit my comment to reflect that.
steph_peregrine@reddit
And catty-corner is often kitty-corner, at least on the West Coast (but the same meaning, i.e., diagonally opposite).
Mediocre-Oil-5322@reddit
Kitty-corner in the northeast as well.
JasperStrat@reddit
I have lived in the Pacific NW my whole life, but I know #1, #2 and #5. #3 is very specific to the south and #4 probably is, but I don't know enough about how it gets used. I guess my favorite similar one to that would be "colder than a witches tit (or nose if around young children and want to avoid the word tit).
AShinySandile@reddit
Wanted to list out all the poop related I could think of.
Bullshit: untrue/bad Batshit: crazy Horseshit: also untrue Ain’t hot shit: isn’t very impressive Thinks their shit don’t stink: stuck up Trying to make shit shine: similar expression to pearls on a pig. Means trying to seem better than they are.
Entropy907@reddit
About as useful as tits on a boar.
Playful-Wallaby4097@reddit
Or “tits/teats on a bull” in some places
Minimum-Syrup7420@reddit
Tits on a frog at least one place.
glowybutterfly@reddit
I've never seen a frog that had tits in any place.
Minimum-Syrup7420@reddit
Kind of the point. Tits on a non mammal would be profoundly useless. Male mammals in general can still lactate....
vrctsl@reddit
Tits on a mouse
NoTime4YourBullshit@reddit
Boars are mammals so the females definitely have tits.
Donald_J_Duck65@reddit
Don't cry over milk under the bridge.
They're not the sharpest samdwich on the tree.
hmmletsflyinstead@reddit
“Throwing” someone a “softball question.” Or just “throwing you a softball.” It means asking an easy question, often one that makes the person look good. Often used in interviews. This one always sticks out to me because my boss said this to someone in an interview and she was not a native English speaker and not from the US and she had no clue what he was talking about. 😅
vrctsl@reddit
I wish I could upvote this post 20 times
Thhe_Shakes@reddit
That's cool to think about, but you should take everything you read here with a grain of salt. I wouldn't say you're barking up the wrong tree, but it might be hard to wrap your head around how many idioms we might just pull out of the blue. Sure this might be a good way to get the ball rolling, but you really don't want to drop the ball on these sort of things or it can get out of hand quickly. So I don't want to throw in the towel on teaching you some idioms, but I have bigger fish to fry at the moment and will have to kick the can down the road to the next commenter. Appreciate you trying to go the extra mile for your students though, we certainly don't want any of them to fall through the cracks!
PlantPainter@reddit
If I counted correctly, there were 12 there, and although that’s definitely more than usual in such a short space, it didn’t sound too unusual or awkward.
muddymar@reddit
Nicely done
Physical-Incident553@reddit
This isn’t rocket science! Meaning something is simple, especially when people are making it complicated
mightbetheproblem@reddit
Similarly it's not brain surgery. Or if you like to mix them this isn't rocket surgery.
UNoahGuy@reddit
So so many from sports, particularly boxing too:
-on the ropes (in danger etc) -the whole nine rounds (make it through something tough) -below the belt (unfair) -throw in the towel (surrender) -roll with the punches (suffer through it) -heavy hitter (a big time person) -saved by the bell (saved at a last minute) -in your corner (having a friend or ally) -come out swinging (start strong) -beat to the punch (act first) -keep your guard up (protect yourself) -square off (get ready to fight) -gloves are coming off (it is serious) -throw you hat into the ring (challenge someone)
DerPanzerknacker@reddit
“It is what it is” which is basically a shrug gesture verbalised and is entirely context dependent.
thats-gold-jerry@reddit
Kill two birds with one stone
julnyes@reddit
We also have a lot of idioms based on sailing, for example:
Three sheets to the wind (being drunk)
Learning the ropes (learning the required basics for a job as an example)
Loose cannon (someone who is unpredictable in a negative way)
There are more if you search "nautical idioms"
marylander_@reddit
RobotShlomo@reddit
"No sweat". Not a big deal.
"A cake walk". To win in easy fashion.
"A hop, skip, and a jump". An easy journey.
"A stone's throw." A short distance.
"... in a New York. " A very short time.
not_falling_down@reddit
That's "in a New York minute," not "in a New York."
RobotShlomo@reddit
Curse you auto correct, foiled again!
Educational-Big-6609@reddit
Straw man (hypothetical) Bury the hatchet (let bygones be bygones)
1Negative_Person@reddit
A straw man isn’t really a hypothetical…
A straw man is misrepresenting an opponents points in a debate and defeating weak, unsupported arguments that they never actually made.
Educational-Big-6609@reddit
Well, that’s a hypothetical but I get your point.
Fcuk_Spez@reddit
It still isn’t and at this point I don’t think you know what hypothetical means
Educational-Big-6609@reddit
Someone is making a hypothetical in bad faith if they’re making a straw man argument. It’s something that isn’t happening but probably could…under a different set of facts incongruent with present reality.
thatsknotwrite@reddit
To add on, "in the ballpark" is also used to mean roughly accurate when referring to estimates.
Suitable-Roof-3950@reddit
Wag the dog. Not super common (but it should be!)
riarws@reddit
Visitors from other English-speaking countries usually notice that there are a LOT of American idioms that come from baseball. Canadians use them too.
PemCorgiMom@reddit
It’s really amazing how much baseball language has made it into our common vernacular in the US. I never really noticed until I had some European friends who had questions, haha.
TheLizardKing89@reddit
My favorite Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_English-language_idioms_derived_from_baseball
Vandal_A@reddit
There's 3 episodes of a TV show which would be an enjoyable way for you to approach learning this. Season 3, episodes 1-3 ("Heart of Archness" trilogy) of the show Archer are largely based on the titular star trying to communicate via a translator with people while the translator constantly reminds him that idioms don't translate. It's a dialogue-heavy comedy show and there must be dozens of common, American idioms that get used in those episodes
Girlwithnoprez@reddit
Plead the fifth is VERY American
IHaveBoxerDogs@reddit
I think colloquialisms is the word you’re looking for, more than collocations. They mean different things. But maybe not, so forgive me if I’m wrong.