Speak like an American: what idioms and phrases will help you become 'your own' in the USA

Are you salty about my playlist? (“Does my music annoy you?”) an acquaintance asks his friend, smiling. The five of us sit at his house and play board games, eat snacks and drink cider, more like lemonade. He is from California, works in Washington and rents an apartment with two other guys in a trendy area among young people.

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Master of it game night evening and this friend of his is a graduate of Yale University, so during the conversation they remember their studies. "Spanish department had some drama"("Passion was in full swing in the Spanish department"), they recalled. There were so many unexpected and rich idioms in their language that I decided to start writing down the ones I liked the most.

I am a journalist by training, not a linguist, so I do not pretend to have perfect literacy of these phrases. But this is a living speech, which is used here, at least by my colleague friends who are native English speakers.

Most often, the meaning of turns can be easily guessed, although it never occurred to me to use these words in such a combination.

I caught you right mid-bite - means that the person was taken by surprise, killed literally in half a bite.

Same old stuff, that is, “everything is the same,” is a simple answer to the question of what’s new, if it’s just small-talkand not sincere interest.

He knows this stuff! - “he understands this.” Moreover stuff is a universal word that can be taken to describe literally everything.

She nailed it - literally “she hammered a nail,” which very logically means “she did a great job.”

To have a crush on someone, - in my opinion, a very good way to say about the easy feeling of falling in love.

Pain in the rear - one of my favorite euphemisms - literally means “pain in one place” and is used when talking about some ongoing problem or about a colleague with a difficult character.

Still in plasticsynonym brand new, - they are talking about something new, literally still in the factory packaging.

He is golden - an analogue of our “he’s in chocolate.”

Does that make any sense? Do you follow me? - "It's clear? Are you following the thought? - they ask when they want to make sure that they managed to reach the interlocutor.

Her parents did really good on her - another way to say that “she was raised well by her parents.”

She rains on your parade - literally “she rains on your parade,” that is, “spoils all the joy.”

In their pronunciation, they simplify everything that is possible, and this is understandable. Say about the plastic nose "nose job"Easier than" rhinoplasty "or"plastic surgery».

When Americans do a manicure, they will rather say: "I got my nails done", and not something that is difficult to pronounce - "manicure».

On a flat tire, say flat tire literally "flat tire".

To bug smb. - “to irritate someone, to bother”, like a mosquito in the darkness of a summer night.

You chew off bite - “bite off more than you can chew” - this is generally intuitive!

Americans are constantly creating new words. I'm longboarding home - I once heard another neologism from a teenager who was riding a type of skateboard - a longboard.

Venmo me - says a friend, talking about transferring money through the program of the same name.

Or to name the people who go to concerts in one laconic word - concertgoers - it's so simple!

Millennials - a very accurate definition for the “modern generation” of young people born approximately between 1982 and 2004.

And acquaintances taught me a few expressions, the meaning of which I would not have guessed.

For example, the fresh off the boat - this is what they say in a somewhat offensive tone about immigrants from Asia who have recently arrived in the United States.

Rђ RІRѕS, new off the boat - this is about the British who came to America, and does not have a negative connotation.

Word loaded has two figurative meanings - “drunk” and “with money”.

Other everyday words that I had never heard before, but now they seem quite natural: garments and apparel - synonyms for clothes, blinds - blinds, comforter - blanket. Glasses - called glasses, even if they are made of plastic, glass and ordinary plastic. Seasoning - a special word that combines salt, spices, seasonings, herbs. Don't be confused yet pantry - pantry, and pastry - confectionery products.

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And two more tips from my personal observations. American pets are not at all it, not neuter, domestic cats and dogs - only “he” or “she”. And don't forget about prepositions - prepositions and postpositions. Because, for example, Americans will not forget to say "out"In the phrases"check it out!”(“ Look ”) or "It is nice out there" ("it's good there").

American English is very diverse and depends largely on social class, education, ethnic origin, age of speakers and, of course, region. My observations are primarily based on the enlightened youth of the East Coast. What interesting idioms have you heard in the USA or from Americans?

The original column is published on the website. Ukrainian Service “Voices Americas.

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