Advanced - American Slang

[Bilge Gökçen]

eye-opener
something new and surprising that one can learn something from it
Listening to him talk about his adventures in China was a real eye-opener.
____________________
have a screw loose
To be a little bit crazy, or not acting normally.
Paul has had a screw loose ever since his girlfriend left him.
____________________
be a wiz at something (verb phrase)
to be very good at doing something
You are a wiz at math! "You should be a math teacher."
____________________
dry run (noun phrase)
a practice session, a rehearsal
I'd like to do a dry run of our presentation. I need more practice using the microphone.
____________________
sick as a dog (adjective)
[informal]
to be very sick
Yesterday I was sick as a dog with the flu. I stayed in bed all day.
____________________
brainstorm
To concentrate on finding ideas, either alone or as a group; to think hard about a
solution to a problem.
Let's all sit around and brainstorm about how to solve global warming.
____________________
follow one's heart (verb phrase)
to make important decisions based on your dreams and goals
I'm quitting my job and I'm going to follow my heart. I've decided to move to Rome."
tough cookie (noun phrase)
[informal]
a strict or determined person
I don't think Susan will let you take the day off on Friday. She's a tough cookie.
____________________
peeping Tom
Someone who watches other people without their knowledge; a voyeur.
Make sure you close your shades at night - you never know when a peeping Tom might
be watching.
____________________
in someone's hair
Constantly annoying; bothering someone again and again.
My little brother is always getting in my hair
____________________
paper tiger
A threat that lacks force; a bluff
For a long time, the United States regarded mainland China as a paper tiger, but now the
U.S. is treating China as a genuine military threat.
____________________
monkey business
Foolish or mischievous conduct; silly behavior marked by jokes and pranks.
Enough with this monkey business! Let's get serious -- we have an important meeting in
five minutes!
____________________
bad egg
A troublemaker or criminal.
That Emily is a real bad egg -- she's always starting fights and causing trouble.
____________________
work your fingers to the bone
To labor very hard under difficult conditions.
Henry worked his fingers to the bone to make sure the project was finished on time.
____________________
money to burn
Great wealth; excessive amount of money.
Donald Trump has money to burn -- I saw him give his cab driver a $100 tip!
quick buck
Fast and easy profit; money made in a short period of time.
He doesn't care about you -- all he wants is to make a quick buck.
____________________
Hype
Loud advertising and promotion
The new movie by Steven Spielberg is getting a lot of hype.
____________________
throw your weight around
To use your authority or influence, usually in a way that annoys other people.
Don't throw your weight around unless you absolutely have to -- people might start to
dislike you!
____________________
knucklehead
A stupid person
You knucklehead! How could you have mixed the dog food with the cereal ?
____________________

 

[Bilge Gökçen]

Cevap: Advanced - American Slang

Shades
Sunglasses; tinted glasses.
Nice shades! They make you look like Tom Cruise
____________________
on the same wavelength
Sharing a common understanding; thinking the same thing as another person.
Peter and Sabah have really been on the same wavelength lately -- they agree about
almost everything.
____________________
cut to the chase (expression)
[informal]
used to tell someone to get to the main point
Paul, why don't you cut to the chase and tell us what happened after dinner.
____________________
space cadet
Someone who is generally unaware, or not paying attention, or out of touch with reality
Suzie is a real space cadet -- I don't think she even knows what day it is.
Wrong side of the tracks
The poor part of town.
Chris came from the wrong side of the tracks , but eventually he became a millionaire.
____________________
Easy as pie
Very simple; easily
The job was easy as pie , and we finished up an hour early.
____________________
Out like a light
To fall asleep very quickly.
After working a twelve hour shift yesterday, I was out like a light as soon as I got into
bed.
____________________
Back stabber
One who attacks another person unfairly, and without warning; one who secretly plots
against a friend.
I've heard that Greedie Corporation is a terrible place to work, because the company is
filled with back stabbers and liars.
____________________
Call of nature
The need or urge to go to the toilet; sudden impulse to relieve oneself.
If you have to go to the bathroom then go; don't fight the call of nature.
____________________
Down-to-earth
Someone who is sensible and practical; a rational, level-headed person; sincere and
honest.
Timothy is really down-to-earth; if you want some advice, you ought to talk to him.
____________________
Play hooky ( phrase)
staying away from school without permission
"....... the misadventures of a happy-go-lucky boy who plays hooky from school."
____________________
Hush-hush
Something that is hush-hush is secret and not to be discussed with other people.
They were desperate to keep the marriage hush-hush
pull something together (verb phrase)
to get things organized, especially without much preparation
"How did you pull dinner together so fast? It only took you 10 minutes!"
____________________
potbelly (noun)
[offensive]
a round, fat stomach
Karen's getting a potbelly. She should start exercising.
____________________
old-timer (noun)
[offensive]
an old person
I don't think any of the old-timers will like this new music. It's too loud and fast.
____________________
off base (adjective)
incorrect, wrong, or inappropriate
John's comments are really off base. He thinks he can tell me who to date, but it's none of
his business.
____________________
wiped out (adjective)
extremely tired
I'm wiped out from painting the house all day in the hot sun.
____________________
loaded (adjective)
very rich
Paul's loaded. He inherited a lot of money and now he's got three cars and two houses.
____________________
the lowdown (noun phrase)
[informal]
the truth about something, or inside information
Let me give you the lowdown on the new Thai restaurant. The dinner dishes are terrific,
but the lunch dishes are boring.

 

[Bilge Gökçen]

Cevap: Advanced - American Slang

no hard feelings (expression)
used after a disagreement to tell someone that you aren't angry
" No hard feelings, Nancy. Everybody makes mistakes."
a drop in the bucket (noun phrase)
a very small amount of something compared with the amount that is needed
"We have some money to help the homeless people, but it's not enough. It's just a drop in
the bucket."
____________________
haywire
In a state of chaos; not functioning.
Jack lost all of his work when his computer went haywire
____________________
out of it
To be in a daze or incoherent; not feeling as one normally should; not in a good state of
mind.
I'm so out of it.. I've been studying for physics since last week, and all I see now are
formulas and equations.
____________________
the whole nine yards (expression)
used to describe something that is complete or total
Margie went shopping for her big date and she bought a new dress, shoes, pearls-- the
whole nine yards
____________________
tweak (verb)
[informal]
to make small changes to improve something
"This report looks OK, but we need to tweak it before we send it to the president."
____________________
wild goose chase (noun phrase)
a difficult and useless search for something
"We drove around for three hours looking for the restaurant, but we never found it. It was
a wild goose chase."
____________________
snail mail
Letters sent through the post office; mail that is carried, as opposed to e-mail.
I sent the payment by snail mail so you should get it by next Friday.
____________________
dinosaur
Very old; out of date; obsolete.
That cell phone you're using is a real dinosaur. When did you get it, 1983 ?
cut it out (expression)
[informal]
used to tell someone to s doing something
Cut it out ! I can't study when you're making so much noise.
____________________
bust digits
To get someone's telephone number
I need a date for tomorrow night, so I'm going to try to bust some digits tonight.
____________________
couch potato
One who sits in front of the television for long periods of time, with little or no physical
activity.
My roomate is such a couch potato - last weekend he watched television for 14 hours
straight!
____________________
wear your heart on your sleeve
To make your true feelings and emotions known at all times; to show your feelings
publicly, without restraint
Richard really wears his heart on his sleeve. Everyone can tell he's in love with Sarah!
____________________
be in someone's shoes (verb phrase)
to try to understand how you might feel in another person's situation
I wouldn't want to bein Paul's shoes. He owes the bank $10,000 and he doesn't even have
a job.
____________________
go bananas
To be irrational and wild; to lose control.
I knew Joe would go bananas when he found out he's not getting a raise this year.
____________________
cold spell (noun phrase)
unusually cold weather that lasts for a certain period of time
I can't wait until this cold spell is over. It's freezing outside and all of my plants are
dying!
____________________
barking up the wrong tree
Looking for something in the wrong place; to be mistaken.
Tanya tried to get some money from her uncle, but she was barking up the wrong tree -
he doesn't have a dime!
stoned
Intoxicated with drugs or alcohol; a state of incoherence.
Erin gets stoned at every party she goes to ….
____________________
dime a dozen
common, not special, easy to find, not rare, unexceptional
I'm getting tired of action movies. They bore me. I mean, car chase scenes are a dime a
dozen these days. It's just not interesting to watch cars crash.
____________________
get a head start on something (verb phrase)
to start doing something earlier than necessary
I'm going to get a head start on my homework. I don't want to wait until next week to
begin.
____________________
light at the end of the tunnel
a pleasant situation in the future which gives you a lot of hope and optimism
I ran a marathon last week. It was so long and I was so tired. I didn't really feel like there
was a light at the end of the tunnel until I saw the finish line.
____________________
dweeb
A nerd; someone who is interested only in schoolwork or computers.
Stephan spends all day on his computer and never talks to anybody. What a dweeb.
____________________
junkie
A drug addict.
That's a bad neighborhood -- it's filled with junkies and prostitutes.
____________________
birthday suit
Wearing nothing but skin; the state of nakedness.
She showed up at the party wearing nothing but her birthday suit.
____________________
be at odds with someone (verb phrase)
to be in disagreement with someone
I was at odds with Mary about the schedule. She wanted me to work on Saturday, but I
couldn't.
jump the gun
To act too soon, before the proper time; to act on an impulse, without thinking
carefully.;
Hey, don't jump the gun. Listen to what he has to say before you make a decision.
____________________
birdbrain (noun)
[offensive]
a stupid, unintelligent person
Don't be a total birdbrain. The directions are completely clear.
____________________
go nuts ( verb phrase )
[informal; offensive]
to become angry and act or yell in a crazy way
Selena went nuts when I told her the bad news.
____________________
Uncle Sam
The U.S. government; a patriotic figure who symbolizes the United States.
July 4th is Independence Day in the United States. Happy Birthday, Uncle Sam
____________________
bad hair day (noun phrase)
a day when someone's hairstyle doesn't look as good as it could
I'm having a bad hair day today, so I'm wearing a hat.
____________________
love handles
Unsightly fat that shows from the sides at the waist, usually on men.
I need to exercise more -- my love handles are growing!
____________________
backbone (noun)
courage or strength
Show a little backbone! Don't always agree with everyone at the meeting.
____________________
have the time of one's life (expression)
used to describe an experience that is unusually fun or enjoyable
We had the time of our lives on vacation in Las Vegas. It was fantastic!
ladies' man
A man who is popular with women; a man who pursues women with great enthusiasm.
Billy is a bit of a lady's man -- every time we go out for drinks, he gets at least a dozen
phone numbers from cute girls.
____________________
nerd (noun)
[offensive]
a boring or unpopular person
Some people think that all engineers are nerds.
____________________
out of the loop (adjective)
not involved with a current discussion or situation
Michelle's been on vacation for a month, so now she's out of the loop. .
____________________
back to square one (expression)
used to describe a situation where you tried to accomplish something, failed, and must
begin again
None of the plans for the new park were successful, so now we're back to square one.
____________________
screw up (verb)
[offensive]
to make a big mistake or to do something poorly
Tony really screwed up today's presentation to the CEO. I hope he doesn't get fired.
____________________
bent out of shape (adjective phrase)
upset or angry
Jan is bent out of shape because she wanted to go to the zoo, but no one would take her.
____________________
over one's head (prepositional phrase)
[offensive]
too difficult for someone to understand
John watched the movie but he didn't understand it. It was over his head.
____________________
tip-top (adjective)
the very best, the highest degree
Carlos takes really good care of his car. It's in tip-top condition.
miss the boat (verb phrase)
to fail to take advantage of an opportunity
That computer company is so successful now. John really missed the boat when he didn't
take that job with them.
____________________
to rub someone the wrong way (verb phrase)
to annoy someone by doing something that the person doesn't like
It really rubs me the wrong way when Daryl visits without calling first.
____________________
Down in the dumps
Depressed and miserable
She’s feeling a bit down in the dumps and needs cheering up.

 

[Bilge Gökçen]

Cevap: Advanced - American Slang

____________________
Out of my depth
A situation that is too difficult to cope with
I’d always struggled at school. I hated it and felt out of my depth.
____________________
living large (adjective phrase)
[informal]
living a very comfortable or expensive lifestyle
Tina is really living large. She has a house in the city and another at the beach.
____________________
lay down the law (verb phrase)
to set strict rules
The new boss really laid down the law. Now no one can leave work before 5 p.m. or
make any personal calls.
____________________
Go under ( verb phrase )
Business or project fails to continue its operation
If one firm goes under it could provoke a cascade of bankruptcies.
____________________
drop-dead gorgeous (adjective phrase)
[informal]
very beautiful or handsome
Gloria is drop-dead gorgeous. She could be a model.
fender bender
A minor car accident, where there is slight damage to the body of the car but no serious
injuries.
Herbert got into a fender bender while he was looking for a parking place.
____________________
take a breather (verb phrase)
to rest or s doing something for a short period of time
Let's take a breather after we finish these homework exercises.
____________________
basket case
someone who is so nervous or anxious that they cannot deal with simple situations
We were all totally stressed out --- we thought something awful must have happened to
you. Mrs. Nakamoto was worried sick, and Chase is practically a basket case.
____________________
a tall order
difficult thing to do
Financing your studies may seem like a tall order but there is plenty of help available.
____________________
nuts and bolts
The detailed and practical aspects of a subject or activity
Powell is getting into the nuts and bolts of a timeline for implementing the Mitchell
proposals.
____________________
rank and file
ordinary members in an organization
Substantial numbers of rank and file members ignored their union's advice ...
____________________
crash course
concentrated, short term course
I did a 15-week crash course in typing.
____________________
French leave
leaving without saying goodbye
He took French leave during the dinner party