Expressions...

[deemabrouk 0]

well I think it is funny trying to explain American or whatever expressions to your Foreign SO.. My husband is always like.. "What is this??!"

We've actually started a notebook

SO far I've had to explain....

"Knock it off"

"Getting Ripped off"

"Stop being fresh! " I actually had a hard time explain what "Fresh" means

Edited July 17, 2007 by deemabrouk

[ya falaha! 0]

My father always tells ppl "take it easy" when he's saying goodbye. So the first time Moh met him when we were saying our goodbyes my dad tells him, "take it easy". We got in the car and Moh says, what does that mean, take it easy? He was baffled. I told him it was kinda like, "take care".

[doodlebug 3]

"so hungry I could eat a horse" - does NOT mean I eat horse.

"wicked" - good, but not just good, wicked good. lol

"shut up" - you don't say!

[aya*abouelnasr 0]

Once, my hubby and I got into it small argument over the phone, and I said something to him that he wasn't very pleased with. The next day he told me, "Honey, really that said make me very angry, why you said that?". My reply was "To wake you up" He said, "Oh, no honey, I was not asleep when you said that, I was walking home from the cafe' internet."

I tried to explain that it meant for him to really think about what I had said, but I don't know if he ever "got it".

Doodle, I so hope this is not the camel I rode in Petra!

[deemabrouk 0]

the expression "Whatever" makes him nuts.. he always like.. This whatever.. I hate this Whatever.. What is this..

hahaa.. too bad.. its DEEPLY embedded growing up in the 80's

"so hungry I could eat a horse" - does NOT mean I eat horse.

"wicked" - good, but not just good, wicked good. lol

"shut up" - you don't say!

hahaa.. I have no problem telling my husband "Oskote!!!" ..lol.. he's like.. "eh? shut uP (with a heavy P) huh? Mesh."

[doodlebug 3]

Once, my hubby and I got into it small argument over the phone, and I said something to him that he wasn't very pleased with. The next day he told me, "Honey, really that said make me very angry, why you said that?". My reply was "To wake you up" He said, "Oh, no honey, I was not asleep when you said that, I was walking home from the cafe' internet."

I tried to explain that it meant for him to really think about what I had said, but I don't know if he ever "got it".

Doodle, I so hope this is not the camel I rode in Petra!

how can you tell that's your camel? lol. I don't even remember where I got him from. He just looks how I feel today though. Lack of sleep, bored, unimpressed with life, etc.

[amal 4]

Mine picked up a new one... "what's shakin' bakin' " I soooooo hate it and asked him to stop saying it.

He came home one day and said .. what does supman mean .. I said.."supman"???? he said "yeah when i say hi to somebody they say hi, sup man"

I had to explain "load of #######", "Piece of s###" , "she/he's hot" , "cool" , "wicked" , "nifty" , "awesome" (pronounced as owwwwsum by hubby).... too many to list. I just love that.

[ya falaha! 0]

Whatever and anyways back fires on you once they get used to saying it. Although Moh says it he admits that he doesn't like it said to him (unless it's done jokingly).

the expression "Whatever" makes him nuts.. he always like.. This whatever.. I hate this Whatever.. What is this..

hahaa.. too bad.. its DEEPLY embedded growing up in the 80's

[Aymerlu 3]

The word "freakin." I say it way to much and so do my kids. Khallid had no clue what we were saying when we said this

[MHandMB 0]

"by the way" is one I've gotten from Amed. It's also kind of tricky to explain, too! But, now he says it all the time, and I still don't think he knows what it means.

The other is "frickin." My mom was joking around and said it the other day, and he latched onto it like a little kid. "What this mean? Frickin?" Now everything's "frickin" this and "frickin" that.

Now I tell my mom it's her fault, because she started it!

**** Edited to add: lol Aymerlu, we think alike!

Edited July 17, 2007 by MHandMB

[elizabeth&hisham 0]

"Supman" just made me giggle.

Over the past couple of years, we've hit on a few funny ones.

In the early days, he used to blush whenever people would bid farewell by saying "have a good one." He thought that 'having a good one' sounded somewhat sexual.

Then came our showdown over Wal-Mart. I typically avoid the place, but he found it amazing. So when he asked what was wrong with Wal-Mart, I explained by offhandedly saying that some of their business practices seemed "shitty" and "shady" to me. Thus Wal-Mart became (and remains) "the Shitty Place."

Third, he seemed to think that "umm" is as weird as "yanni" sounds to me.

And, most recently (as his English continues to improve), I'm constantly amused by his use of the word "until." In my mind, "until" is always somehow linked to a negation (as in "I *didn't* go to bed until 3am" or "please *don't* water the plants until Saturday). Meanwhile, for him, until is infinitely more useful...

I came to work until 9am (him) = I *didn't* come to work until 9am (me)

Do we have any linguistics or ESL people here? Anyone who could enlighten me on how to better explain the strange intricacies of until...?

Miss this forum. If I could be online more, I'd post more. Best wishes to everyone,

E

[sereia 0]

i think abdou has watched too many music videos because i had to explain to him that the "N word" wasn't something people normally say other than black people to each other!!!

[deemabrouk 0]

i think abdou has watched too many music videos because i had to explain to him that the "N word" wasn't something people normally say other than black people to each other!!!

hahaa.. I had to stop my husband from saying that the other day.. He didnt know it was a bad word. And of course we are driving around Dudley(bostons peoples) when he starts saying it - of course with the windows down

[doodlebug 3]

i think abdou has watched too many music videos because i had to explain to him that the "N word" wasn't something people normally say other than black people to each other!!!

hahaa.. I had to stop my husband from saying that the other day.. He didnt know it was a bad word. And of course we are driving around Dudley(bostons peoples) when he starts saying it - of course with the windows down

I have to see if my husband even knows that word. I don't think he does though since he doesn't listen to rap. He's more of a heavy metal guy.

[Moe_lisa 0]

This is a cute thread! Brings back a lot of smiling memories. My favorites: one day i said to moh, you will get glad in the same pants you got mad in! so had to explain that one! Now he loves to say it to me!! Or the time I told him if he didnt stop teasing me I was going to thump him on the head and give him a nuckle sandwich, jokingly of course. so had to explain that one too! One more, i said nothing new in that department, (meaning the same old thing), so again tried to explain that one. There have truely been many funny times like this. The small moments that make each day so special!