'Flying pigs' and 'smart cookie': what are popular American idioms

When learning English, non-native speakers often find it difficult to translate fixed expressions. Edition Voice of America on its Instagram page considers the most interesting and fun phraseological units.

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under the weather

Americans, like the overwhelming majority of other earthlings, do not like bad weather. And when they say that they are "under the weather" (this is literally translated under the weather), they mean that they do not feel very well, a little sick, tired or simply exhausted. Although sometimes "under the weather" and fall due to alcohol intoxication. That is, on the morning after a good wedding, some of the guests are likely to be under the weather.

smoking gun

Is that the gun that smokes? No, the American expression "smoking gun" means incontrovertible evidence that virtually cannot be refuted. It's like catching someone at the scene of a murder with a pistol that is still hot. This expression came from one of the stories about Sherlock Holmes, and it is used very widely and not only when talking about criminal offenses. Depending on the situation, a document, an interview or even a post on a social network can become a “gun that smokes”

Covidiots

While hundreds of millions of people around the world are under quarantine to stop the spread of COVID-19, there are those who, ignoring the rules of public distancing, continue to shake hands, cough and sneeze in public without covering their mouths, forget to wash their hands.

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In the US, people who, due to their recklessness and stubbornness, only contribute to the spread of coronavirus are called covidiots. One example that has been more exposed to public outrage is the students who, after the pandemic was declared and universities closed, filled Florida beaches and attended crowded parties. This status is also attributed to those who massively sweep scarce goods off the shelves - so that there is.

smart cookies

“Smart cookie” (literal translation of smart cookie) is what Americans call smart people who are capable of making smart decisions. And “tough cookies” are called tough nuts, shot sparrows - in general, all fairly thick-skinned and emotionally unperturbed people.

Monday morning quarterback

Most of the American football competitions take place on Sunday, and on Monday morning fans of this game actively discuss the duel over their morning coffee at work. Monday morning quarterback, that is, "Monday morning quarterback" is called some clever guys the day after the fight. That is, these are people who criticize yesterday's decisions and offer an alternative strategy that the team should have adhered to, or their "smart" version of how a particular person should have acted. The expression, of course, is used not only in the case of football matches, because in everyday life there are also many smart people who are ready to offer an ideal solution from their point of view when it is no longer relevant.

Kangaroo Court

This is the name of a quasi-or fictitious court (trial), in which the principles of law and justice are not observed or distorted. That is, it is a kind of parody of justice. This idiom came to us from the XNUMXth century, and now no one can explain exactly why the reputation of a kangaroo suffers. According to one of the versions, due to the fact that this animal is known for its fast spontaneous movements, which are associated with unreasonable decisions in the heat of the moment "kangaroo court".

rabbit hole

Have you ever been googling eggplant recipes and one of the links led you to another where your search turned up information about the Lebanese Civil War? Or did you decide to make a small remark to your partner, but ended up having the quarrel of the century and the decision to radically change your job, dye your hair and buy a motorcycle? In this case, as the Americans say, you have fallen into the rabbit hole. This is a situation (often absurd) in which the search for something (such as an answer or solution) leads to new questions, problems, or additional searches.

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go nuclear

When someone "goes nuclear" it means they are acting crazy, aggressively expressing anger, or taking critical (and likely irrevocable) steps. To go to the end (it is not at all a fact that it will be victorious) - this idiom can be interpreted this way. The phrase has go nuclear and the literal meaning: "use nuclear weapons or start developing them."

When pigs fly

Also popular is the American phraseological unit when pigs fly - “when pigs fly.” According to Americans, pigs will fly at the same time when, according to Ukrainians, a crab whistles or a pumpkin grows on a willow tree. That is, never.

food coma

Remember the feasts at grandma's? On the table there are three levels of dishes, sausages, cabbage rolls, potatoes with cracklings, pies. And that moment when, having washed down the last dumpling with uzvar, you want only one thing - to lie down, or even better, to take a nap. Americans call such drowsiness after gluttony food coma, that is, “food coma.” And most often this happens on Thanksgiving Day, right after the holiday dinner. The average American consumes 4500 calories on this day. In total, 45 million turkeys are eaten annually in the United States on Thanksgiving Day.

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