30 slang expressions in English that will help in communicating with Americans

Native English speakers often use slang words and phrases in their speech. These expressions are so tightly embedded in the everyday vocabulary that they do not cause discomfort at all, unlike foreigners and immigrants, whom strange idioms can completely confuse. Edition AdMe.ru collected popular English expressions, the knowledge of which will help you avoid embarrassing situations.

Photo: Shutterstock

bestest (the best of the best) is the best of the best.

Airhead (literally “air in the head”) is a dummy, an analogue of our expression “wind in the head.”

Full of beans (literally “full of beans”) - lively, groovy.

Go bananas (literally “to become a banana”) - to go crazy, go crazy.

red tape (literally “red tape”) – bureaucracy, red tape.

Mickey Mouse (literally “Mickey the mouse”) - frivolous, insignificant.

Eat like a horse (literally “eat like a horse”) - eat a lot, an analogue of our expression “have a voracious appetite.”

cash cow (literally “cow with cash”) – a source of funds, a cash cow.

Pearl shaped (literally “pear-shaped”) - awry; the expression means that the result of an action or process was not quite what (or not at all) what was expected.

Chin wag (literally “shaking your chin”) is a pleasant, long conversation during which the interlocutors nod to each other as a sign of understanding.

Have egg on one's face (literally “to have egg on someone’s face”) – to look stupid.

Smell a rat (literally “smell a rat”) - to sense something is wrong.

Nest eggs (literally “an egg in a nest”) – a stash.

monkey business (literally “monkey business”) - meaningless work.

big cheese (literally “big cheese”) – an influential person.

top dog (literally “best dog”) – winner.

Rain cats and dogs (literally “it’s raining cats and dogs”) - it’s pouring like buckets.

On the subject: Useful quarantine: 4 ways to easily pull up English at home

Sod's law (literally “the law of the scoundrel”) - the law of meanness.

Bee's knees (literally “the bee’s knees”) - something outstanding, amazing, out of the ordinary.

FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) - panic fear of missing something important.

JOMO (Joy Of Missing Out) - to be happy that you missed something or didn’t go somewhere.

OTP (One True Pairing) - a pair of movie or literature characters that you love.

Text soaked (literally “text-saturated”) – relationships built on text messages.

pig out (pig - “pig”) - to overeat.

Give the cold shoulder (literally “to lend a cold shoulder”) – to demonstratively avoid.

emoji tennis (literally “tennis with emoticons”) – sending emoticons to each other.

For donkey's years (literally “for donkey years”) - from time immemorial.

easy peasy (literally “easy and simple”) - as simple as shelling pears, a trifle.

Eager beaver (literally “swift beaver”) – a hard worker, a workaholic.

Leg it (leg - “leg”) - run, reel off, an analogue of our expression “take your legs in your hands.”

feel blue (literally “to feel blue”) - to be depressed, despondent.

Have a blast (literally “to have an explosion”) - something unrealistically cool, a real bomb.

Peanuts (literally “peanut”) - low cost, pennies, next to nothing.

On the subject: Do not be afraid of mistakes in English: 4 phrases that will do everything for you

Walk of shame (literally "walk of shame") - when a girl returns in the morning from a guy or from a stormy party, feeling awkward.

Bonus: Slang Money Names

• $1 – frogskin (literally “frog skin”).
• $10 – sawbuck (literally “saw”).
• $100 – c-note (literally “si-banknote”).
• £1 – jack, nugget, quid (literally can only be translated as “nugget”).
• £2 – deuce (literally “two”).
• £25 – pony (literally “pony”).
• £500 – monkey (literally “monkey”).
• A wad of money – wad (literally “piece”).

Read also on ForumDaily:

Useful quarantine: 4 ways to easily pull up English at home

The British Council offers free online English courses and more

Enriching our speech: 45 English analogues of Russian proverbs

9 difficult words in English that are often pronounced incorrectly

Snickers, siblings and the Alexander: 20+ secrets of English breaking language stereotypes

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.