Language buff from other part of the world are openhanded fans of these phrases and idioms .
Let ’s not beat around the bush here : Americans have a way with words .
The idioms and saying we ’ve jointly coined through the years start the gamut from folksy ( “ could n’t hit the side of a barn ” ) , to adorable ( “ nerveless as a cucumber vine ” ) to meanandadorable ( “ not the sharpest tongue in the drawer ” ) .
There ’s also a lot of weirdly body - specific Americanism . We’vereallygot a matter for legs : “ That idea has legs , ” “ Break a leg ! ” “ That cost an sleeve and a wooden leg . ”
A few weeks back , we require non - Americans to portion out thephrases specific to American English that get under their skin . To keep things balanced , we asked the same folks to divvy up the Americanisms they at once loved when they first heard them .
See what they had to say below .
‘Hang In There’
“ I enjoy [ it ] mainly because of the imagery it create in my mind . I get down to visualize myself hang somewhere until I ’m attended to . That ’s a bit funny . ” ―Firdaus Baig , an Indian tutor who teaches Hindi online
‘Guilty Pleasure’
“ I find this formulation challenging because I do n’t think the conception of have a shamed pleasure even exists in Brazil . I have never get word a Brazilian put those two speech together . But now that I know this look , I can think of many things I do that I could call a guilty pleasure ! ” ―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 married woman is from , and it ’s very distinct in San Francisco and neighboring counties . My first opinion was that it reminded me of the Australian version of the word ‘ mickle . ’ We expend ‘ heaps ’ to mean a lot of or very , so ‘ hella ’ is like the American equivalent ! It ’s short , concise and to the point , which is what Australian slang term is all about . ” ―Jules Hatfield , an Australian change of location blogger
‘Monday Morning Quarterback’
“ This hits me personally because I always have a good solvent for every trouble everyone has … . after they have solved it . ” ―Eli Sousa , a Brazilian who teaches Portuguese
‘That Idea Has Legs’
“ I wish it because of the visual of a non - living physical object having legs . The first sentence I pick up it , I mean it meant the mind was so bad it needed to get out of here , but in fact it means the total opposite ! I cerebrate it ’s really cute . ” ―Jihan Fawaz , a Lebanese language teacher who scat the YouTube accountLearn Turkish With Jihan
‘Squeaky Clean’
“ Once , my bookman asked me what my favorite English word was , and after a brief but vigorous intellection spurt , I pull in that it ’s in all likelihood ‘ squeaky clean . ’ I have n’t been able to find a dependable source on the origin of the phrase , but most useable sources agree that it is potential American and was probably vulgarise by some old - timey ads .
The reason I wish it is the unexpectedness : We usually determine cleanliness by ocular sign . A sportsmanlike aim is usually polish , or decipherable or bright , but the Son ‘ squeaky ’ makes us get wind how clean that object is ! to boot , ‘ squeaking ’ may well be my favorite onomatopoeic word , which intend a word that be sound . mouse and other modest rodent squeak , and I have always like mice . By the way , several of my students now sign their emails to me with ‘ Squeaky unclouded ’ instead of ‘ unspoilt regards , ’ and it earn the day-by-day trudge through my inbox so much more fun ! ” ―Irina Zaykovskaya , a lector in Russian and philology at the University of Minnesota who was born and conjure in St. Petersburg , Russia
‘Have A Nice Day’
“ It might seem simulated and forced at times , but I really like the view behind ‘ Have a nice day . ’ I always leave alone with a smile on my face . And it ’s a phrase that is so synonymous with Americans , too . ” ―Macca Sherifi , a British change of location blogger atAn Adventurous World
‘A Piece Of Cake’
“ Knowing what this one means comes with two bonuses : First , the phrase reassures me that the place or problem is not a difficult one . The second fillip is that it give me the image of umber cake in my mind . This phrase is reassuring and toothsome at the same time . ” ―Olga Grijalva Alvarez , a Mexican travel subject creator
‘Break A Leg’
“ My first impression of the phrase was not a very upright one . I heard it in the movie ‘ High School Musical ’ and I was confused . It sounds like something negative but it has a positive and a incite intension . ” ―Baig
‘You’re Bullshitting Me’ (And Other Instances Of Verbing)
“ One of the thing I love most about the American language is that we can turn almost any noun into a verb . I just witness out that this activity has a name : verbing . This is fascinating ! Verbing does not exist in my aboriginal language ( Brazilian Portuguese ) .
What I like about verbing is that it prepare communication sluttish and to the point . I call back an anecdote from about 10 year ago when I had just moved to NYC . I passed by two young woman on the street and overheard one of them say , ‘ They talk through one’s hat me . ’ That ’s when I realized that any noun could be turned into a verb . ” ―Langhammer
‘Take An L’
“ I like the phrase ‘ Take an liter ’ for ‘ Take a red . ’ It ’s an well-heeled way of life to summarize a crappy situation . For Aussies , shortening things is always our orientation , so this musical phrase is perfect ! It ’s also a bit more reminiscent of street slang , which is more colloquial , well-disposed and relaxed . ” ―Hatfield
‘Under The Weather’
“ I utilise it every metre I ’m ill . Especially in workplace proportionateness , it feel like the most professional fashion to pass on an illness . ” ―Ipinmi Akinkugbe , a Nigerian British travel blogger who scarper the site Férìnàjò
‘Rain On My Parade’
“ I love it because it ’s something all women can identify with and it often comes up on a girls ’ coffee engagement . When I first heard it I loved it . It has a nice anchor ring to it . ”― Fawaz
‘Thoughts And Prayers’ (Used Ironically)
“ I love how communities affected by gun violence were able to do together online to notice this beaten - up empty platitude , discover it as such and then repurpose it . I think of detect someone doing that on Twitter a few age ago and thinking , ‘ Oh , that ’s cunning ! ’ and then seeing it more and more often , to the point that it is difficult to use or read this musical phrase unironically . ” ―Zaykovskaya
‘Take A Chill Pill’
“ I once worked in an office with American fellow and a micromanager . Our manager was always super emphasise and micromanaging every project we did . One Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , one of our colleagues take this managing director to take a iciness birth control pill . This was the first metre I hear of this expression , and I found it so cool . ” ―Sindy Chan , a blogger from Germany ( by mode of Hong Kong ) who of late moved to the U.S.
‘Couch Potato’
“ I just love the visual behind this one , like , what does this even look like?”―Mitch Hyde , an Australian change of location author based in Singapore
‘Ride Shotgun’
“ I remember read a Word of God when I saw a phrasal idiom like ‘ I ’m riding shotgun . ’ I genuinely thought the bozo had a shotgun on him and feel it unearthly because it did n’t fit the plot of ground . I write it down and translate on to see whether that would flex out to be something important . When I finish the book , I looked it up on the net and giggle . Why would citizenry associate the front seat with a artillery ? Is that really a habit , people riding with shotgun ? ” ―Sousa
