spoken communication lovers from other parts of the reality are big fans of these phrase and idioms .
lease ’s not flap around the bush here : Americans have a way with word .
The parlance and sayings we ’ve collectively coin through the year execute the gamut from folksy ( “ could n’t hit the side of a barn ” ) , to adorable ( “ cool as a Cucumis sativus ” ) to meanandadorable ( “ not the sharpest knife in the drawer ” ) .
There ’s also a lot of weirdly body - specific Americanisms . We’vereallygot a thing for legs : “ That estimation has leg , ” “ bust a leg ! ” “ That cost an limb and a pegleg . ”
A few calendar week back , we asked non - Americans to share thephrases specific to American English that get under their skin . To keep things balanced , we ask the same folks to share the Americanisms they instantly hump when they first heard them .
See what they had to say below .
‘Hang In There’
“ I love [ it ] mainly because of the imagery it create in my nous . I begin to image myself give ear somewhere until I ’m see to . That ’s a bit funny . ” ―Firdaus Baig , an Indian tutor who teaches Hindi online
‘Guilty Pleasure’
“ I find this face challenging because I do n’t think the concept of deliver a shamed pleasure even subsist in Brazil . I have never hear a Brazilian put those two words together . But now that I know this manifestation , I can reckon of many things I do that I could call a hangdog pleasance ! ” ―Virginia Langhammer , a Brazilian who teaches Portuguese and owns theSpeaking Brazilian Language School
‘Hella’
“ I love the word ‘ hella . ’ It originated in the Bay Area , where my wife is from , and it ’s very distinct in San Francisco and neighboring county . My first impression was that it remind me of the Australian adaptation of the parole ‘ oodles . ’ We use ‘ good deal ’ to mean a lot of or very , so ‘ hella ’ is like the American equivalent weight ! It ’s poor , concise and to the point , which is what Australian slang is all about . ” ―Jules Hatfield , an Australian change of location blogger
‘Monday Morning Quarterback’
“ This strike me in person because I always have a good solution for every problem everyone has … . after they have solved it . ” ―Eli Sousa , a Brazilian who teaches Portuguese
‘That Idea Has Legs’
“ I like it because of the visual of a non - living objective ingest legs . The first sentence I heard it , I thought it meant the idea was so uncollectible it needed to get out of here , but in fact it means the total opposite ! I think it ’s really cute . ” ―Jihan Fawaz , a Lebanese speech teacher who runs the YouTube accountLearn Turkish With Jihan
‘Squeaky Clean’
“ Once , my students asked me what my favorite English word was , and after a brief but vigorous thinking spurt , I realized that it ’s in all likelihood ‘ squeaky unobjectionable . ’ I have n’t been able to find out a reliable source on the origin of the phrase , but most usable sources agree that it is likely American and was in all probability popularized by some old - timey advert .
The cause I like it is the unexpectedness : We ordinarily determine cleanliness by visual signal . A fresh physical object is usually shining , or clear or bright , but the word ‘ squeaky ’ makes us hear how sportsmanlike that object is ! Additionally , ‘ squeaking ’ may well be my favorite onomatopoeic word , which mean a word of honor that represents sound . Mice and other small-scale rodents squeak , and I have always liked mice . By the means , several of my students now sign their e-mail to me with ‘ screaky clean ’ instead of ‘ good regards , ’ and it piss the casual trudge through my inbox so much more merriment ! ” ―Irina Zaykovskaya , a reader in Russian and linguistics at the University of Minnesota who was born and raised in St. Petersburg , Russia
‘Have A Nice Day’
“ It might seem fake and push at time , but I really like the sentiment behind ‘ Have a nice day . ’ I always result with a smiling on my face . And it ’s a phrasal idiom that is so synonymous with Americans , too . ” ―Macca Sherifi , a British travel blogger atAn Adventurous World
‘A Piece Of Cake’
“ know what this one entail amount with two bonuses : First , the set phrase reassures me that the spot or job is not a unmanageable one . The 2d bonus is that it gives me the image of cocoa cake in my mind . This phrase is reassuring and yummy at the same sentence . ” ―Olga Grijalva Alvarez , a Mexican locomotion substance Almighty
‘Break A Leg’
“ My first impression of the phrase was not a very good one . I pick up it in the movie ‘ High School Musical ’ and I was confused . It sound like something negative but it has a positive and a prompt connotation . ” ―Baig
‘You’re Bullshitting Me’ (And Other Instances Of Verbing)
“ One of the thing I love most about the American words is that we can turn almost any noun into a verb . I just rule out that this action has a name : verbing . This is enthralling ! Verbing does not exist in my native language ( Brazilian Portuguese ) .
What I like about verbing is that it make communicating prosperous and to the degree . I remember an anecdote from about 10 years ago when I had just moved to NYC . I clear by two young women on the street and overheard one of them saying , ‘ They bullshitted me . ’ That ’s when I make that any noun could be turned into a verb . ” ―Langhammer
‘Take An L’
“ I wish the phrase ‘ Take an cubic decimeter ’ for ‘ Take a personnel casualty . ’ It ’s an gentle way to summarize a stinky situation . For Aussies , shortening thing is always our preference , so this musical phrase is double-dyed ! It ’s also a bit more resonant of street slang , which is more colloquial , friendly and relaxed . ” ―Hatfield
‘Under The Weather’
“ I use it every time I ’m ill . Especially in oeuvre balance , it feels like the most professional way to commune an illness . ” ―Ipinmi Akinkugbe , a Nigerian British travel blogger who runs the website Férìnàjò
‘Rain On My Parade’
“ I lie with it because it ’s something all women can discover with and it often occur up on a girls ’ coffee berry escort . When I first heard it I loved it . It has a nice ring to it . ”― Fawaz
‘Thoughts And Prayers’ (Used Ironically)
“ I love how communities affected by gun violence were able to issue forth together online to mark this beaten - up empty platitude , reveal it as such and then repurpose it . I think of noticing someone doing that on Twitter a few years ago and thinking , ‘ Oh , that ’s clever ! ’ and then seeing it more and more often , to the point that it is difficult to use or say this idiomatic expression unironically . ” ―Zaykovskaya
‘Take A Chill Pill’
“ I once work on in an spot with American colleagues and a micromanager . Our manager was always super accent and micromanaging every project we did . One day , one of our colleagues asked this manager to take a chill pill . This was the first time I heard of this expression , and I find oneself it so cool . ” ―Sindy Chan , a blogger from Germany ( by manner of Hong Kong ) who recently moved to the U.S.
‘Couch Potato’
“ I just love the visual behind this one , like , what does this even wait like?”―Mitch Hyde , an Australian travel writer base in Singapore
‘Ride Shotgun’
“ I remember reading a Bible when I saw a phrase like ‘ I ’m riding shotgun . ’ I genuinely thought the guy had a shotgun on him and felt it uncanny because it did n’t agree the plot of ground . I write it down and read on to see whether that would turn out to be something of import . When I finished the Holy Writ , I attend it up on the Internet and giggled . Why would people associate the front bottom with a artillery ? Is that really a habit , people ride with scattergun ? ” ―Sousa
