Multi-national cultural expressions and idioms | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Multi-national cultural expressions and idioms

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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Mar 3, 2014
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I hesitate to come back in :drama: but I do want to say, I would never criticize someone for not understanding a colloquialism. Like @Tavi, I am in awe of the English skills of our non-Anglophone posters:clapper:

I love learning new idioms even from Anglophone posters. I remember the first time I saw "carry on like a pork chop". I thought it was a typo:laugh: Who knew?

So I do have a question: what would a light hearted way of saying "Bye" be in other languages or other cultures? (My Spousal Unit says "See you in the funny papers". Except only people our age and older know what the "funny papers" are, let alone the idiom:biggrin: So I won't ;) )
 

Harriet

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Oct 23, 2017
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Australia
So I do have a question: what would a light hearted way of saying "Bye" be in other languages or other cultures? (My Spousal Unit says "See you in the funny papers". Except only people our age and older know what the "funny papers" are, let alone the idiom:biggrin: So I won't ;) )

I know what the funny papers are but I've never heard that one!

A couple of similar, slightly dated expressions in Australia (or at least my bit of it) would be 'See you in the soup' and 'See you round'/'Like a fruit loop'. Old standbys are 'Catch ya' and 'So long'. But I don't know what The Yoof These Days are saying. It's some time since I've counted as one of The Yoof.
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION šŸ”„
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Jun 2, 2014
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So I do have a question: what would a light hearted way of saying "Bye" be in other languages or other cultures? (My Spousal Unit says "See you in the funny papers". Except only people our age and older know what the "funny papers" are, let alone the idiom:biggrin: So I won't ;) )

A newer expression here is "peace out". Personally, I like "see you in the trenches", although I write that more than I say it.
 

moriel

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Mar 18, 2015
:rock: Is that good or bad?

Eat a dog on/in something means to be an expert in something.
There is also extended version, "ate a dog, but chocked on the tail" - do something very hard, and then stumble on some little thingy.
 

TontoK

Hot Tonto
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Jan 28, 2013
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A newer expression here is "peace out". Personally, I like "see you in the trenches", although I write that more than I say it.

I always thought "peace out" had sort of a dismissive tone to it, rather than a friendly goodbye. Maybe it's an age thing.

So, even among native English speakers, there can be differences in interpretations of idioms.

On a continuum of idiomatic goodbyes, my age falls somewhere between "See you later, alligator" and "later, dude."
 

Arriba627

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I always thought "peace out" had sort of a dismissive tone to it, rather than a friendly goodbye. Maybe it's an age thing.

Guess I never thought of it as such. The Urban Dictionary tells me the top definition is "slang for good-bye". However, my favorite part is that it says you should also pound your chest with your fist twice and then make the peace sign!!! :laugh2: Forget it, that's too much work. I'll just say "later gator".
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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Oct 25, 2012
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In a way, it is sad that this thread had to be created. But, boys, but it is fascinating to read! :biggrin:

English is a mongrel of a language. Over the centuries it has borrowed from so many other languages. And now it has spread to other parts of the world, and developed regional variations. With all this, I am glad that I am a native speaker, because I imagine that it would be a nightmare to learn, due to the lack of structure and rules that arose from so much borrowing.

As somebody from Northern Ireland, we have lots of quirky expressions that people across the water in England don't understand, never mind English-speakers from further afield. So, although I would use them in everyday life, I tend to avoid using them on here. Or else, look them up on Urban Dictionary first just to make sure that they have not been given rude meanings elsewhere.

Looking up an expression that you use in everyday life can be really eye-opening. One time I was going to write on here that something "gets on my wick", an expression that everybody in Northern Ireland uses to mean that something gets on their nerves, i.e. annoys them. But when I looked it up, I discovered that it is not a Northern Ireland expression at all. "Wick" is actually short for "Hampton Wick", a village in Middlesex which is now a suburb of London. And "Hampton Wick" is used as Cockney Rhyming Slang for, you've guessed it, a popular slang term for a certain part of the male anatomy. :eek:

Suffice to say, I avoid using that expression now.

And another time when talking to a fellow British member, I used an expression which was one of the catchphrases of a much-loved and much-missed British entertainer, Bruce Forsyth. We both understood the reference, but an American member didn't. So, they looked it up on Urban Dictionary, and informed us that it has been hijacked and given a very dirty meaning. And we were both totally shocked and disgusted to find this out.

gsk8 said in the opening post of this thread that "Google is your friend". Well, so is Urban Dictionary. I have been using it extensively since joining this forum, because there are a lot of things I have seen written on here that I have not come across before. Oh, and that is before we even get to text-talk, which I have never understood and probably never will. Every time I see abbreviations, I have to look them up to see what they mean and, hence, try to understand the post. Which is a total curse.

Text-talk was invented because there is a very small character limit on text messages, and people needed to abbreviate things to get their message across within the required number of characters (160). Well, there is not a small character limit on GS, so there is no need to abbreviate things here. Yes, it makes it quicker for the poster to type. But it makes it an awful lot longer for people like me to read, as we have to look up all the abbreviations.

Although I am complaining about having to look things up to understand posts, at the same time it is fascinating to discover expressions that are used in other parts of the world. So, I am by no means saying don't use them. In fact, I would encourage it, provided of course they are not rude.

Abbreviations and text-talk, on the other hand...

CaroLiza_fan
 

ancientpeas

The Notorious SEW
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Jan 11, 2014
My dad used to always say the following expression to me: You can't have your cake and eat it too. I never got it. What did it mean?? If I had my cake then of course I could eat it.. I had it in front of me. But what it means is: You can't eat your cake and then still have it to eat later.

He had lots of weird expressions as did my Mom. Two Brits living in Canada with all their funny Englishism and their very Canadian daughter. My least favourite was "Cross patch draw the latch sit by the fire and spin" which was always about me because I tended to sometimes have a bit of a sulky expression on my face.
 

gizmo

On the Ice
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Jun 13, 2018
Even for native English speaker, there can be communication errors..... I am not a native speaker but had lived briefly on both sides of the Atlantic. On one occasion, I found myself tranlsating between American and English, explaining sneakers and trainers, trucks and lorries....and of course rubber can mean totally different things.....
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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My dad used to always say the following expression to me: You can't have your cake and eat it too. I never got it. What did it mean?? If I had my cake then of course I could eat it.. I had it in front of me. But what it means is: You can't eat your cake and then still have it to eat later.

Ah. I knew the meaning, but I always assumed it was a reference to the story attributed to Marie Antoinette. You know, "if there is no bread, then let them eat cake". So, I just looked up the two expressions, and there doesn't seem to be any connection between them.

I also discovered that the "let them eat cake" statement probably didn't have anything to do with Marie Antoinette, and I feel sorry for her now, with all the bad press she has got over the past couple of centuries because of it.

You learn something new every day because of this forum!

He had lots of weird expressions as did my Mom. Two Brits living in Canada with all their funny Englishism and their very Canadian daughter. My least favourite was "Cross patch draw the latch sit by the fire and spin" which was always about me because I tended to sometimes have a bit of a sulky expression on my face.

Haven't heard that one before, but reading it there now, there seemed a bit of rythym to it. So I looked it up, and it turns out it is the start of a nursey rhyme. The full rhyme and it's meaning is included on this page:

http://mentalfloss.com/article/60152/6-forgotten-nursery-rhymes-and-their-meanings

Reading that page was fascinating. Of the rhymes listed, I only knew the first half of #4, although I knew a totally different version of #3. But, I didn't know the stories behind them. And from reading the stories, I think the reason I didn't know these versions is that by the time I came along, children were deliberately being taught sanitised versions.

With this in mind, it's a wonder there was never a sanitisied version made for "Ring a Ring o' Roses"...

CaroLiza_fan
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
So I do have a question: what would a light hearted way of saying "Bye" be in other languages or other cultures? (My Spousal Unit says "See you in the funny papers".

I know what the funny papers are but I've never heard that one!

I think that (originally at least) you could only say this to a blonde. "Bye, Blondie -- see you in the funny papers." Referring to the character in the "Blondie" comic strip.

For a dismissive goodbye there is always, "Don't let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you." (on your way out).
 

TallyT

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Apr 23, 2018
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Australia
English is a mongrel of a language.

A quote I like: "We donā€™t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." (James D Nicoll)

My dad used to always say the following expression to me: You can't have your cake and eat it too. I never got it. What did it mean?? If I had my cake then of course I could eat it.. I had it in front of me.

The saying has the two variations and the more sensible (and possibly older, but for some weird reason less common) version is "eating your cake and having it too."

My mother when she didn't want to answer a question would say "aha! she cried as she waved her wooden leg." I only found out as an adult that there were other versions (with slightly different meanings) of this one :laugh: and experts aren't sure where it originally came from. Or why.
 

Jeanie19

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Oct 20, 2017
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Eat a dog on/in something means to be an expert in something.
There is also extended version, "ate a dog, but chocked on the tail" - do something very hard, and then stumble on some little thingy.

I love this one. I'm going to start saying it. Everybody will be like "what are you saying". :laugh:
 

DenissVFan

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Oct 20, 2017
In Polish we say "eat your teeth on something". I think it's pretty similar in meaning to that Russian idiom.
 

Jeanie19

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My favorite saying,. Cut your nose off to spite your face. Basically meaning you are stubborn. It scared me as a child not to be stubborn. :biggrin:

Not only is English a difficult language. It's different between countries, certain phrases and words. But it is different within each country.

I was working in Arizona and I asked where the elastics were, and nobody knew what I was saying. I picked up the rubber band and my co workers were like, why do you call it an elastic. There were other words too, but I can't remember them all.
 

WednesdayMarch

Nicer When Fed
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Living in Cornwall, I have to deal with the English language, Cornish language and Cornish dialect on a daily basis, especially in the summer months when we're overrun with emmets (the Cornish word for "ants" and meaning tourists). That's great fun.

The most misunderstood expression is "dreckly", which most people take to mean, "directly" and therefore, "I'll do it dreckly," would mean, "I'll do it directly," ie "now". In reality, the Cornish concept of dreckly is a bit like the Spanish "manana", only with a far less sense of urgency. This causes great confusion to people who aren't familiar with the term and great hilarity amongst the Cornish, who have an excellent - but not always kind - sense of humour.

And then there's, "Dear of 'im," which sometimes means, "Awww, bless him," (or her, we're not fussy about gender with this) but is more often meant in a slightly sarcastic or ironic vein. Non-Cornish usually assume it's meant the first way.

The Cornish language is mostly unintelligible to non-speakers, other than the Welsh and the Bretons, as they all come from the same Brythonic root. It's a beautiful language to sing in, though. For anyone interested, the best word in the entire language is "Splann" which means, "Splendid," and is widely used.
 

CaroLiza_fan

EZETTIE LATUASV IVAKMHA
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A quote I like: "We donā€™t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary." (James D Nicoll)

Thank you so much for sharing that quote. It is pretty much spot on! :agree: :laugh:

My mother when she didn't want to answer a question would say "aha! she cried as she waved her wooden leg." I only found out as an adult that there were other versions (with slightly different meanings) of this one :laugh: and experts aren't sure where it originally came from. Or why.

I had never heard that phrase before, but now that I have I absolutely love it! :biggrin:

My favorite saying,. Cut your nose off to spite your face. Basically meaning you are stubborn. It scared me as a child not to be stubborn. :biggrin:

Quit you talking about my Granny! :mad: :laugh:

That is a phrase that I hear all the time. And although it is most frequently used in reference to my Granny, it has also been used in reference to me... :slink:

Not only is English a difficult language. It's different between countries, certain phrases and words. But it is different within each country.

I was working in Arizona and I asked where the elastics were, and nobody knew what I was saying. I picked up the rubber band and my co workers were like, why do you call it an elastic. There were other words too, but I can't remember them all.

That's what they are called here in the British Isles - elastic bands. The only time you ever hear them called "rubber bands" is by foreigners.

Living in Cornwall, I have to deal with the English language, Cornish language and Cornish dialect on a daily basis, especially in the summer months when we're overrun with emmets (the Cornish word for "ants" and meaning tourists). That's great fun.

The most misunderstood expression is "dreckly", which most people take to mean, "directly" and therefore, "I'll do it dreckly," would mean, "I'll do it directly," ie "now". In reality, the Cornish concept of dreckly is a bit like the Spanish "manana", only with a far less sense of urgency. This causes great confusion to people who aren't familiar with the term and great hilarity amongst the Cornish, who have an excellent - but not always kind - sense of humour.

And then there's, "Dear of 'im," which sometimes means, "Awww, bless him," (or her, we're not fussy about gender with this) but is more often meant in a slightly sarcastic or ironic vein. Non-Cornish usually assume it's meant the first way.

The Cornish language is mostly unintelligible to non-speakers, other than the Welsh and the Bretons, as they all come from the same Brythonic root. It's a beautiful language to sing in, though. For anyone interested, the best word in the entire language is "Splann" which means, "Splendid," and is widely used.

Now, this is interesting. Because, apart from the emmets, I understood ALL the examples you mentioned! :agree:

I don't speak Irish, but reading your post is making me realise that more of the dialect spoken here in Northern Ireland must be derived from Gaelic than I thought.

CaroLiza_fan
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION šŸ”„
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After the announcement of Shoma's coach change, I compared the unexpected nature of it to Jason's coach change situation and for both of them wrote "Who would have thunk it." After I posted that, I immediately went in and wrote that "thunk" means thought! :biggrin: Then I found myself thinking "Where on earth did that word come from???!!!" (typical language geek stuff)
 

Harriet

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Oct 23, 2017
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Australia
After I posted that, I immediately went in and wrote that "thunk" means thought! :biggrin: Then I found myself thinking "Where on earth did that word come from???!!!" (typical language geek stuff)

LOL. You made me remember teaching English grammar to international students - all the different varieties of irregular past tense verbs. Sink, sank, sunk, but not not think, thank, thunk...and very definitely make sure everyone knows that 'wink' is a regular verb! :laugh: (I made enough embarrassing mistakes of my own when learning other languages to want to help my students steer clear whenever I could.)

We use 'Who'd'a thunk it?' here in Australia too, though usually with a slightly sarcastic tone in response to someone stating the painfully obvious. Or it can be shortened to a simple 'Ya think?' We do tend to the laconic, traditionally. Can't open the mouth too much or too often; it lets the flies in.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
After the announcement of Shoma's coach change, I compared the unexpected nature of it to Jason's coach change situation and for both of them wrote "Who would have thunk it." After I posted that, I immediately went in and wrote that "thunk" means thought! :biggrin: Then I found myself thinking "Where on earth did that word come from???!!!" (typical language geek stuff)

I think :)) ) it is from a confused notion of tenses for this verb. If it is correct to say "drink, drank, drunk," why shouldn't it be "think, thank, thunk"?

Edit -- Never mind. What Harriet said. :)
 
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