About Slang in Popular Culture
Slang is defined as a casual type of language that is playful or trendy. It consists both of coined words and phrases and of new or extended meanings attached to established terms. Slang tends to develop from the attempt to find fresh and vigorous, colorful, pungent, or humorous expression.
Examples of common slang within the United States include:
- Ankle biter – a derogatory term for an infant or small child
- Bail – leaving in a hurry
- Chillin' – spending time with your friends
- For real – speaking honestly and truthfully
- Hooker – a female prostitute or someone who is behaving like a prostitute
- In a New York minute – to do something very fast
- Juiced – to be very excited or eager to do something
- Queen – a homosexual man
- Trashed – to be very drunk or to completely destroy someone’s property
- Zonked – completely exhausted, very tired
- Y'all (South and Texas) - a shorthand way to say "you all." Do y'all want to go?
- Fixin' to (South and Texas) - a quick way to say "about to." I'm fixin' to go. Are you ready too?
- Wicked (New England) - it translates as "really." These lobsters are wicked good.
- Clothes tree (Northeast) - a piece of furniture with extended arms that stands against the wall for hanging clothes.
- Hella (Northern California) - a very casual slang word used as an adjective to describe something that is really good. The waves are hella good, so it is a great day to surf.
- Bubbler (Eastern Wisconsin, eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island) - identifies a public drinking fountain. It was so hot after my walk that I looked for a bubbler in the park.
- Pank (Michigan's Upper Peninsula) - another way to say compress or push down. I had to pank down the garbage so that I could get more into the can.
- Bufflehead (Pennsylvania) - slang for idiot. The guy was a real bufflehead.
- Whoopensocker (Wisconsin) - a shorthand way to describe something that is really terrific. This multi-level burger is a real whoopensocker.
- Punee (Hawaii) - a small couch or day bed.
Since a number of slang terms make reference to sex, violence, drugs, or crime, the use of slang is often seen by many people as an indicator of the speaker’s lower social status. Slang used by particular ethnic groups is also frequently looked down upon, although it should be noted that use of slang in everyday speech bears no relationship to the speaker’s intelligence.
Regional Slang Words
Some slang words are commonly used nationwide and appear in nationwide communication such as movies, television and magazines; but, some slang words have not gone mainstream and are used only in certain regions of the U.S.
For example here are a few regional slang words highlighted by HuffingtonPost.com:
- Knocked up – a woman coping with an unplanned pregnancy, usually someone who is either very young or unmarried
Using Slang
Slang should be avoided in most types of writing, especially academic research papers and essays. Screenwriters and novelists sometimes use certain expressions to add a touch of their character’s personality to specific bits of dialogue, but this tactic can backfire if the slang is obscure and thus unfamiliar to the reader.
Although slang is informal speech, it is not equivalent to jargon. Generally, jargon refers to terminology that is associated with a particular profession—such as medicine, law, or computer science.
Idioms
Algunas expresiones y frases agrupadas por palabras claves
| as | as a rule / as usual / as a matter of fact / … |
| at | at a loss / at least / at large / at length / … |
| beyond | beyond question / beyond doubt / … |
| by | by all means / by and large / by chance / … |
| down | down and out / down to earth / … |
| for | for certain / for free / for good / for once / … |
| from | from now on / from scratch / from side to side / … |
| in | in a hurry / in advance / in abeyance / in brief / … |
| of | of age / of late / of course / of benefit / … |
| off | off and on / off duty / off guard / off season / … |
| on | on and on / on behalf of / on duty / on foot / … |
| out | out and about / out cold / out of breath / out of hand / … |
| over | over and over / over the hill / over the top / … |
| so | so far / so long / so much / so to speak / … |
| to | to and fro / to date / to some extent / to the letter / … |
| under | under arrest / under control / under the counter / … |
| up | up and around / up and away / up front / up in years / … |
| when | when least expected / when the chips are down / … |
Algunas expresiones y frases agrupadas por verbos claves
| to be | to be on the carpet / to be slow on the uptake / … |
| to beat | to beat around the bush / to beat the rap / … |
| to bite | to bite the bullet / to bite the dust / … |
| to blow | to blow a fuse / to blow the lid off / … |
| to break | to beak even / to break loose / to break the news / … |
| to bring | to bring down the house / to bring home the bacon / … |
| to call | to call a spade a spade / to call it a day / … |
| to carry | to carry the ball / to carry the torch for / … |
| to cast | to cast doubt on / to cast the first stone / … |
| to catch | to catch red-handed / to catch off guard / … |
| to come | to come alive / to come clean / to come to an end / … |
| to cut | to cut class / to cut corners / to cut the chase / … |
| to do | to do a double take / to do one's duty / to do the trick / … |
| to draw | to draw fire / to draw a blank / to draw the line / … |
| to drop | to drop a bombshell / to drop a line / to drop a brick / … |
| to eat | to eat crow / to eat dirt / to eat one's words / … |
| to fall | to fall asleep / to fall in love / to fall into place / … |
| to get | to get a break / to get a grasp of / to get a raw deal / … |
| to give | to give birth to / to give chase / to give rise to / … |
| to go | to go astray / to go broke / go at it / to go bad / … |
| to hang | to hang loose / to hang tough / to hang by a thread / … |
| to have | to have a big mouth / to have a word with / … |
| to hold | to hold a grudge against / to hold court / to hold good / … |
| to jump | to jump all over someone / to jump the gun / … |
| to keep | to keep a stright face / keep one's cool / … |
| to lay | to lay an egg / to lay low / to lay waste to / … |
| to let | to let off steam / to let bygones be bygones / … |
| to lose | to lose face / to lose one's cool / to lose heart / … |
| to make | to make a fuss / to make a fool / to make a killing / … |
| to pay | to pay one's dues / to pay through the nose / … |
| to play | to play fair / to play hooky / to play it safe / … |
| to pull | to pull a boner / to pull oneself together / … |
| to put | to put an end to / put on airs / to put the blame on / … |
| to run | to run a risk of / run an errand / to run low on / … |
| to set | to set fire to / set one`s mind at rest / to set sail / … |
| to stand | to stand a chance of / to stand to reason / … |
| to take | to take place / to take a bow / to take pride in / … |
| to throw | to throw a fit / to throw in the towel / … |
 |
Expressions
If you click on the red triangles next to the Spanish sentences, you can listen to their pronunciation by a native speaker. Please note: the audio player appears in a separate pop-up window, so you will need to set your browser to allow this particular pop-up.
If you'd like to listen to several sentences in a row, don't close the player; all expressions will play in that same window.
In case you experience any technical glitch, please send feedback including all relevant information (type of error, browser version etc.)
Also check out the "Audio and transcripts" page for yet another large collection of basic words and useful expressions.
Greetings
| Hello. | ¡Hola! |  |
| Good morning. | ¡Buenos días! | |
| Good afternoon. | ¡Buenas tardes! | |
| Good evening / Good night. | ¡Buenas noches! | |
| See you / Bye. | ¡Hasta la vista! / ¡Adiós! | |
| See you soon. | ¡Hasta luego! | |
| See you tomorrow. | ¡Hasta mañana! | |
Courtesy
| Please. | ¡Por favor! | |
| Thank you. | ¡Gracias! | |
| Thank you very much | ¡Muchas gracias! | |
| Not at all / You're welcome. | No hay de qué / De nada. | |
| No, thanks. | No, gracias. | |
| Sorry. | Perdón. | |
| Excuse me. | Perdóneme / Discúlpeme. | |
| I'm sorry. | Lo siento. | |
| I'm very sorry. | Lo siento mucho. | |
| Never mind / Doesn't matter. | No importa. | |
| My pleasure. | Encantado / Mucho gusto. | |
| How are you? | ¿Cómo está? / ¿Cómo estás? ¿Qué tal? | |
| All right. | De acuerdo / Vale. | |
| Of course. | ¡Por supuesto! / Naturalmente. | |
Introduction
| What's your name? | ¿Cómo se llama usted? / ¿Cómo te llamas? | / |
| My name is XY. | Me llamo XY. | |
| My name is XY. | Mi nombre es XY. | |
Age
|
Uncertainty
|
Problems of understanding
|
Asking and telling the time
|
Asking and giving directions
|
Health
|
Shopping
|
Talking on the phone
 ACTIVITIES
|
- we gonna give you a few slangs and you have to make a sentence
This round is mine - esta ronda es mía:
To be fresh/tiddy - estar contento, mareado
To be pissed - estar borracho
- write the meaning of that idioms
| to pull: | |
| to put: | |
| to run: | |
| to set: | |
| to stand: | |
| to take: | |
to throw:
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is a family owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France, Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2014, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of Bill France, Sr.[1]NASCAR is the largest sanctioning body of stock car racing in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing.com Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 US states and Canada. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, theAutódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, and the Calder Park Thunderdomein Australia.[3]
NASCAR's headquarters are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, although it also maintains offices in four North Carolina cities: Charlotte, Mooresville, Concord, and Conover.[4] Regional offices are located in New York City, Los Angeles, andBentonville, Arkansas, and international offices are located in Mexico City andToronto. Additionally, owing to its Southern roots, all but a handful of NASCAR teams are still based in North Carolina, especially near Charlotte.
NASCAR is second only to the National Football League among professional sports franchises in terms of television ratings in the United States.[5][not in citation given] Internationally, NASCAR races are broadcast in over 150 countries.[6] In 2004 NASCAR's Director of Security stated that NASCAR holds 17 of the top 20 regularly attended single-day sporting events in the world.[7] Fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other motor sport,[8] although this has been in decline since the early 2000s.[9]
|
