Spoken english expressions!

[smileyyy]

Hi guys

Because I am very interested in the most spoken language of our planet, I'd like to learn loads of new unconvential expressions.

For example: How to express anger, happiness, sadness.

Like: At the back of beyond or in the middle of nowhere....like that you know.

Following is very important to me.

This should be a spoken-english thread, so please no school-style.

Everything is welcome, even english spam (if its okay for the "big-brothers" here)

Smileyyy (eager to learn)

[Quasar]

Original geschrieben von smileyyy
Because I am very interested in the most spoken language of our planet
That would be chinese, if i am not mistaken.

[smileyyy]

yes i thought so too while i was writing....but the most popular for sure.

[Ailuros]

Original geschrieben von Quasar
That would be chinese, if i am not mistaken.

That's all greek to me :D Uh oh wait.....

[smileyyy]

grat, thats exactly what i meant.

It means i cant figure what what this is/should be/ i dont understand?

[Shao-Domi]

Uuhm, I don't really understand what you want? Can you give us more examples?

And chinese is the most spoken language and also most popular, because most people on earth speak it. ;) English is just spoken on most places on the earth, but it surely is the shittiest language in the universe...

[VoodooJack]

/just kidding

Looks like we're all completely stumped.

[nggalai]

"Pull the other one, it has bells on."

One of my favourite idioms for expressing disbelief. ;)

93,
-Sascha.rb

[smileyyy]

And it means WHAT?

Yes Chinese is most popular and most spoken BUT in Europe everyone thinks (except you I suggest) that English is the most important language. And it definitely is.

[nggalai]

Original geschrieben von smileyyy
And it means WHAT?"Yeah, right. Stop shitting me, I don't believe a word you just said." ;)

Another one:

"He's the big cheese. Don't pull the mickey out of him or you're buggered." ;D


93,
-Sascha.rb

[Henrik]

Proverbs and Idioms

- where there's a will, there's a way
- to be in the same boat
- take things as they come
- i can't hear myself think with all this noise
- out of sight, out of mind
- there's no smoke without fire
- when the cat is away the mice will play
- to be as fit as a fiddle
- to get up the wrong side of the bed
- to be on cloud nine
- an apple a day keeps the doctor away
- to be caught red-handed (jmd. auf frischer Tat ertappen)
- if the shoe fits, wear it
- as different as day and night
- all rules have their exception
- to wear the trousers (?)
- the apple never falls far from the tree
- put off is not put away
- like father, like son
- (sometimes) you can't see the wood for the trees
- once a thief, always a thief
- (to fall) out of the frying pan into the fire
- to go from bad to worse
- the best defence is offence
- one swallow does not make summer
- fine feathers make fine birds
- children and fools tell the truth
- first come, first served
- the early bird catches the worm
- that's easier said than done
- to kill two birds with one stone
- there's no place like home
- don't count your chickens until they're hatched
- do drive someone up the wall
- (to behave) like a bull in a china shop
- a barking dog never bites
- actions speak louder than words
- to hit the nail on the head
- to bless one's lucky star (?)
- to have got the blues (US english)
- to make a mountain out of a molehill
- you cannot teach an old dog new tricks
- to be as paple as a ghost
- to have two left hands
- no sooner said than done
- business before pleasure
- to read between the lines
- you cannot please everyone
- it's no use crying over spilled milk
- to be the black sheep in the family
- all cats are grey in the dark
- in one ear and out the other
- it's a small world (after all)
- a bad excuse is better than none
- to learn something the hard way
- (to be) born with the silver spoon in one's mouth
- (to catch sb.) with his hands in the cookie jar
- to pull the wool over sb.'s eyes
- (a person is a) wolf in sheep's clothing
- easy come, easy gone
- much ado about nothing
- he/she has got his/her knife in me
- no bees, no honey - no work, no money
- earsdropper never hear any good of themselves
- love makes the world go round
- some girls have all the luck
- what the mind doesn't know, the heard doesn't grieve over
- you do not get something for nothing
- what's done cannot be undone
- tomorrow is another day
- the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing
- the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence
- a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
- a blessing in disguise
- troubles never come singly
- if you have good qualifications you can demand higher wages
- there's no fool like an old fool
- he who laughs last, laughs longest
- as old as the hills
- to pick sb. up
- to freak out (us english)
- to be out of one's mind
- to be nuts
- to make a dream come true
- (it's) like a dream come true
- to let the cat out of the bag
- to let sleeping dogs lie
- to make a fool of oneself
- (that's a) piece of cake (us english = that's easy)
- to go bananas (to go insane with joy)
- a fun way to do sth.
- to get a kick out of (driving fast cars or what ever)
- that serves you right
- it's as plain as the nose in your face
- you're kidding
- to cut sb. short
- to mess sth. up
- your guess is as good as mine
- don't make a fuss (~mach keinen aufstand)
- to stand the test of time
- to look for a needle in the haystack
- to keep up with the Jones (~ es den (reicheren) nachbarn gleich tun)
- to go/be white with fear
- to go red with anger
- to go red with embarrassment
- to go green with envy
- to go blue with cold
- to find fault with sth. (rumnörgeln)
- to jump up and down with excitement
- to jump up and down with joy
- so shiver with cold
- to tremble with rage
- as blind as a bat
- as light as a feather
- as poor as a churchmouse

[Henrik]

how about some more?? :D
i still have got about a hundred idioms...

[Henrik]

hab versehentlich gequotet anstatt zu editieren.

[smileyyy]

@3dfx wow theyre great...gimme more.
I think it would be great to add the german expressions, so everybody understands and can use them (but only to the difficult ones)

@nggalai
"He's the big cheese. Don't pull the mickey out of him or you're buggered."

What the hell does that mean?

[nggalai]

Original geschrieben von smileyyy
"He's the big cheese. Don't pull the mickey out of him or you're buggered."

What the hell does that mean? It's a rather rude way to say something like

"He's the boss here. Don't try to poke fun at him or you're in for a bad time."

93,
-Sascha.rb

[Ailuros]

That truly is a fine assembly of idioms 3dfxrulez; thumbs up :D

Nitpicks/additions:

to bless one's lucky star (?)

To bless (be grateful) for one's good luck or fortune if you prefer.

easy come, easy gone

Easy come, easy go.

no bees, no honey - no work, no money

Shortcut: no money-no honey

love makes the world go round

...money too :D

some girls have all the luck

Guys also ;)

he who laughs last, laughs longest

...or best.

I'm a pain in the ass (or butt if you prefer) I know ;D

[Henrik]

[u]So here we go again[u]
- it took me ages (to write the report or what ever)
- keep smiling/keep trying
- as swift as an arrow
- as swift as lighting
- as swift as the wind
- as swift as thought
- to have second thoughts (es sich anders überlegen)
- without second thoughts
- to ask sb. a favour
- to ask a lot of sb.
- to ask to much of sb.
- to ask (sb.) for help
- to ask (sb.) for permission
- to make a living (den Lebensunterhalt verdienen)
- to make ends meet (so grade über die Runden kommen)
- to work for next to nothing (für einen Hungerlohn...)
- (only) time will tell
- no pain(s), no gain(s) (ohne Fleiss kein Preis)
- no news is good news
- to catch sb.'s eyes
- so many countries, so many customs (andere Länder, andere
Sitten)
- as strong as a horse/ox/lion
- as stubbon/as obstinate as a mule
- to pour out your heart to sb. (jmd. sein Herz
ausschütten)
- to learn sth. by the heart (= to memorize)
- so set one's heart on sth. (= to want sth. very much)
- to take sth. to heart (=to be sad about sth.)
- to put in a good word for sb.
- to turn in (=to go to bed)
- to sleep in (=verschlafen)
- to sleep like a dog (~wie ein Murmeltier schlafen)
- can you give me a hint (Tipp, Rat)
- to drop a hint (-> Andeutung machen)
- okay, I can take a hint (hab schon verstanden...)
- What a shame!
- you can say that again! (das kannst du laut sagen)
- bad/tough luck (pech)
- it's no use / it's no good doing sth. (es bringt nichts)

sb. = somebody
so. = someone
sth.=something

I'll go on with the list later, take my word for it (=believe me).

[Henrik]

Original geschrieben von smileyyy

I think it would be great to add the german expressions, so everybody understands and can use them (but only to the difficult ones)



thought so too. so this time I noted them down.

[Ailuros]

All time personal favourites:

Light travels faster than sound; that's why some people appear bright, until they open their mouth.

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather, because it's easier to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs.

It doesn't matter if you're somebody in this world; it rather matters if you mean the whole world to somebody.


:D

[smileyyy]

Wow, they get better and better.
Thx@3dfx for those loads of expressions. You all know them or searched for them?

@Ailuros Lol theyre great.

[Quasar]

Original geschrieben von Ailuros
That's all greek to me :D Uh oh wait.....

:rofl: (laughing my ass off ;) )

'Twas raining cats and dogs here today...

[Henrik]

Original geschrieben von smileyyy
Wow, they get better and better.
Thx@3dfx for those loads of expressions. You all know them or searched for them?

@Ailuros Lol theyre great.

u won't believe me, but I learned them at school.
but, as I said, as soon as I've time enough I'll write the rest down, which is a further 100 or so.

[Deathrid3r]

Found this great thread....
anyone up for some more?

maybe henrik has such a good memory, he still remembers the other 100 :P

[Marcel]

When the shit hits the fan...
He's a bloke with balls.
Bugger off!
She'll be right.
Good on ya!
It's your shout.

But it's all kinda, like, you know? (<= great to make fun of young bravo-generation (or bravo-degenerated) girls who tend to use "I was, like, ..." and "..., you know?" in every other sentence)

edit:
Uh, I didn't notice that this thread is quite old.

[Deathrid3r]

Hehe.....or if you wanna show off with your knowledge of english comedy:

"Yeah, but no, but...." :P
Hmmm...."Kult" (cult same idiom?!) in 'Little Britain' :)


I still remember how an English friend used the "shit..fan" metaphor....its kinda to picturesque for me :P

[IVN]

Ailuros[/POST]']All time personal favourites:

Light travels faster than sound; that's why some people appear bright, until they open their mouth.

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather, because it's easier to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs.

It doesn't matter if you're somebody in this world; it rather matters if you mean the whole world to somebody.


:D
Excellent!

I have a good one too:
Ni kod babe za dzabe = (direct trans. without giving a damn about the flesh and soul of the source language) Not even granny gives it for free. :tongue:

(flesh and soul included) Not even an old whore offers her services for free. Meaning, no matter how bad a product is, it always has its price, nothing is for free. Not even a free breakfast. :D

[darph]

Ailuros[/POST]']All time personal favourites:

Light travels faster than sound; that's why some people appear bright, until they open their mouth.

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather, because it's easier to harrass rich women than motorcycle gangs.

It doesn't matter if you're somebody in this world; it rather matters if you mean the whole world to somebody.


:DI somehow don't think Terry Pratchett quotes qualify as common idioms, be they as tartly as they may be ;)

[Gast]

Some of the most important:

Help yourself
Feel free
Youre welcome

(I can´t imagine, why Firefox-search didnt get a result - arent this expressions really not there?)

[Marcel]

Whenever someone pisses you off with an excessive usage of the word "fuckin'", just to sound like a bloke with balls, simply ask him:
"Who the fuck has fucked this fucking fuck?"


Late arvo, the garbo used "I got an eski filled with stubbies on me ute and left me cozzies at home!" as a pick up line. But he didn't get plenty.

[Braincatcher]

Here is something rather special for you guys:
If you find yourself in a room with a relatively low ceiling, you may say:"It's too small to swing a cat" X-D

[Marcel]

It's better to kick ass than to kick the bucket!

[Marscel]

"It's just a flash wound."

[darph]

flesh ;)

[MrSeanKon]

All overclocking without using OcBible makes the overclocker a dull boy ;D :D

Welcome to brilliant side!

Well the actual proverb is "All work and not play makes Jack Daniels LOL Jack a dull boy"...