What are some common American idiomatic expressions and slang? See if you can remember any.
Here are some:
*Blood is thicker than water. (Family ties are stronger than other ties, i.e. friendship, romance.)
*Break a leg! (Good luck!)
*Don't add fuel to the fire. (Don't make the situation worse.)
*That costs an arm and a leg. (It's expensive.)
*The man's dog rode shotgun. (The man's dog rode in the front passenger seat.)
If you are an English learner, you can easily survive in America without knowing these expressions. When you are speaking, you can use simpler sentences, such as the sentences in parentheses next to the expressions. However, when you are listening, you might not understand the message if an idiomatic expression is used.
The idiomatic expressions above are in popular use today. In fact, I have heard all of them used in the past two weeks, either on tv, radio or in conversation. If you want to understand tv commercials, sitcoms, and talk radio shows, then you should learn some idiomatic expressions.
Another reason for learning idiomatic expressions is to understand your American friends and co-workers. Idiomatic expressions are used casually, in small talk (which Americans are famous for) and in the American workplace. Sports is a common theme for small talk at the office, and its a theme for many idiomatic expressions. For example, if you ask your co-worker how the sales meeting went, he might say "Touchdown", meaning that it was a success. (Origin of touchdown: a goal in American football.)
In casual friendships among Americans, we also use idiomatic expressions very frequently. For example, let's say a friend comes to pick you up at your house and you are not ready yet. After some time, your friend might say "Come on, let's hit the road." This means, "let's get going". This is a polite way of saying "Hurry up because we need to go now."
So, in conclusion, it is important to know American idiomatic expressions to increase your understanding of what you hear from tv, radio, and from people. Good luck!
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As I see it, slang is a little different from an idiomatic expression because slang is usually a word or phrase that has become popular during some period of time and may not last a long time as an expression. As many years go by, it loses popularity. For example, the expression "Applesauce!" from the 1920's is no longer used. It's meaning is "Shoot" or "Darn". But most people don't use it anymore. Idiomatic expressions, on the other hand, are a pair or group of words that, when you put them together, mean something different than the individual words within the phrase. For example, "Get a grip" means to control yourself, your emotions. It doesn't mean to hold something as would be assumed from reading the definition of 'grip'. In any case, there are so mang slang and idiomatic expressions that exist, that no one - not even Americans, can possibly know them all!
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