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Just how old is that dang slang?

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09:13 PM Nov 13 2007 | Reply

Nu Pogodi

Nu Pogodi

United States

I have either heard or used the ones in bold. If you need an explanation, you are welcome to ask.


1650
To burn the midnight oil
Someone is a chip off the old block
A dog's life
Fair and square
To fall from grace
To fight tooth and nail
As I live and breathe
Grub (food)
To drink like a fish

1660
From A to Z
To blab about something
To smell a rat

1670
To use elbow grease

1680
To rack one's brain
Catch the gold ring

1690
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
To make ends meet
The long and the short of it
Hogwash
A cock and bull story

10:40 PM Nov 13 2007 | Reply

thisisbenmo

thisisbenmo

China

Hi, Nu Pogodi. I've never known these dang are so old~! Are they out of fashion in the daily life in English-speaking countries? Are they widerly employed in both spoken and written English?

10:40 AM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

lovelove500

United States

HELLO
l am miss kefee, l saw your profile today and after going through it many times then l became intrested in you, so l will like you to write back to me and so that l will give you my picture and for you to know who l am.(). l hope that we can move from here.
miss Kefee.

11:58 AM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

hakimi

hakimi

Yemen

To drink like a fish
It mean drink too much alcohol isn’t it?
1690
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned
To make ends meet
The long and the short of it
Hogwash
Is this paragraph about women in bad side or in good side?
I couldn’t understand it ,please explain it..if you can.
2.
To blab about something
To smell a rat
Is it mean that it isn’t secret?

07:01 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

Nu Pogodi

Nu Pogodi

United States

Hi, Nu Pogodi. I've never known these dang are so old~! Are they out of fashion in the daily life in English-speaking countries? Are they widerly employed in both spoken and written English?

The ones that are bold, darker in color, I have used or heard in my lifetime; I am 46.

 

07:10 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

Nu Pogodi

Nu Pogodi

United States

To drink like a fish
It mean drink too much alcohol isn’t it?

Very good, hakimi. It also implies a high occurence of drinking alcohol in excess.


1690
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned

No one is angrier than a woman who has been rejected in love.

 

07:38 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

Nu Pogodi

Nu Pogodi

United States

To make ends meet
To earn enough income to provide for basic needs: “The workers complained that on their present wages they could hardly make ends meet, let alone enjoy any luxuries.”

The long and the short of it
The substance or gist of something.

Hogwash
Worthless, false, or ridiculous speech or writing; nonsense. My great – grandmother used this expression.

Is this paragraph about women in bad side or in good side?
I couldn’t understand it ,please explain it..if you can.

A severe, or sever (pun intended), would be the case of Lorena Bobbitt.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorena_Bobbitt

2.
To blab about something

To engage in casual or rambling conversation.

To smell a rat
Is it mean that it isn’t secret?
To have a sense of something wrong, not clearly evident; to have reason for suspicion.
Billy Connolly, a Scottish comedian, has used the phrase "Someone's vomited in the petunias". I like this one better.

07:46 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

thisisbenmo

thisisbenmo

China

It's hard~!

07:47 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

Nu Pogodi

Nu Pogodi

United States

1700
First use of "ain't" in England
Between the cup and the lip
Bless my stars!
To bamboozle someone
A drop in the ocean (I have heard it as drop in the bucket)
To buy something for a song
To play second fiddle to someone

By fits and starts
Towering ambition
By word of mouth
To ram something down someone's throat
To put the finishing touch on something
From the cradle to the grave
Much ado about nothing

To play fast and loose (with)
To see with one's own eyes
Up in arms

Let me tell you!
Raining cats and dogs
Someone is a snake-in-the-grass

To sweep the board clean

1710
A flat denial
Hit or miss
A little bird told me
Rotten to the core
To go hat in hand to someone
Everything is even Steven

1720
Ain't
I can't make head of tail of it
To pick and choose
To read someone the riot act
Make one's mouth water

1730
With brute force
A moot point
God bless you (after a sneeze)

Someone is a blackguard
Damn with faint praise

1740
Blissful ignorance (ignorance is bliss)
Stuff and nonsense
A fine kettle of fish
Knuckle down to work

1750
That's the beauty of it
To save one's bacon
To let the cat out of the bag
To bilk someone out of something
To bring down the house (applause/cheers)
Someone's ears are burning
Under someone's thumb

09:11 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

thisisbenmo

thisisbenmo

China

Sorry, what does the number mean? The year?

09:12 PM Nov 14 2007 | Reply

thisisbenmo

thisisbenmo

China

I know raining cats and dogs.

That means raining heavily.

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