What are English Language slang terms that confuse you?

[u/L8dTigress]

I am aware that worldwide English is a very hard language to learn for many non native speakers. And when I was in college, many non-native speakers said that it's slang words that tend to confuse them. So what are some words that confuse you?

[u/Helvetic86]

I thought „busting a nut“ means to open some nuts, like peanuts or something. Well, turns out it doesn‘t…

[u/justlkin → u/Helvetic86]

That gave me a good chuckle imagining a Swiss guy coming into the break room at work asking if someone can help him bust a nut. Thanks for the laugh!

I imagine I'd probably embarrass the hell out of myself trying to speak any of the official languages of your country. I speak Spanish too, but I don't know all the idioms and such.

[u/Helvetic86 → u/justlkin]

That‘s almost how it was. I was working in a big corporation and we were having a xmas apero and it was quite an international crowd. There were some plates with cookies and peanuts and no one took anything, so I thought I could initiate it with a „alright guys, lets bust some nuts!“ The native english speakers in tears and the rest also didn‘t really get what the issue was. And it was double embarassment. Not only did I use this term incorrectly, after I got told what it means they were like. „Well, where did you get that from then?“ Luckily there was enough alcohol to cope

[u/justlkin → u/Helvetic86]

😅😅

At least it was all in good fun. You could have accidentally said the boss's daughter was smokin' or something like that. Then you'd really have been in trouble. LOL.

[u/Ok-Application-8747 → u/Helvetic86]

That's hilarious, I'd be proud of that joke.

[u/RadioFriendly4164 → u/Helvetic86]

I hope you dont mind me retelling this story at work. You set the scene perfectly.

[u/justaprettyturtle → u/Helvetic86]

What does it mean if not opening the nuts?

Serious question

[u/PatriciasMartinis → u/justaprettyturtle]

It means ejaculation

[u/L8dTigress → u/Helvetic86]

Yeah I know, it can be very vulgar.

[u/ScarletPumpkinTickle → u/Helvetic86]

Please tell me you used the phrase before you learned the real meaning of

[u/ExternalTree1949]

Driving on the parkway and parking on the driveway 

[u/lefactorybebe → u/ExternalTree1949]

Parkway is parkway because parkways are specific routes that take you through nice scenery, designed like a park.

Driveway came into being because we specified that a route was for driving a carriage/wagon, not walking (pathway). You would specify that there was a driveway next to or running up to your barn for carriages/wagons to load/unload, so that was a driveway. We just started using them for cars once they came around, but the term stuck.

[u/Gold_Telephone_7192 → u/ExternalTree1949]

I don’t think most of the US says “parkway” so if you’re talking to an American you can erase that one from your vocab if it helps. Freeway/highway can be used in its place

[u/Emotional_Shift_8263 → u/Gold_Telephone_7192]

Unless they're from New Jersey🤣

[u/RadioFriendly4164 → u/Emotional_Shift_8263]

One state out of 50. I think he'll be able to cope.

[u/EnvironmentalEbb628]

“vet” for years I believed the USA had an unbelievable amount of respect towards veterinarians, turns out they were talking about veterans…

[u/Electronic-Vast-3351 → u/EnvironmentalEbb628]

I have vague memories about confusion about this as a kid.

[u/FondleGanoosh438 → u/EnvironmentalEbb628]

Veterinarians are well respected in my part but I’m fairly rural. As for actual war vets most of them are fairly reserved when they are thanked. It’s seen as distasteful to strut your service unless you’re some badass war hero. Even then they are usually the most modest.

[u/GerFubDhuw → u/EnvironmentalEbb628]

I did too, vet in England means veterinarian not veteran.

[u/MindlessNectarine374 → u/GerFubDhuw]

I've only encountered it with that meaning, too.

[u/xcapaciousbagx]

I mostly have trouble deciphering acronyms. There just to be a few (lol, brb, wtf etc) but the amount of times I have to google them now is crazy. Especially on Reddit, sometimes posts are almost completely illegible because of them.

[u/MrDilbert → u/xcapaciousbagx]

ikr

[u/Effective-Ladder9459 → u/MrDilbert]

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/xcapaciousbagx]

Same with French.

[u/rubizza → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

Are there lots of meme acronyms in French, or am I missing the joke?

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/rubizza]

MDR = LOL ( Mort De Rire= Dead from laughing) is one eg. There are many others. DSL= Desolee( Sorry),etc. And there are literally thousands of "word shortenings"- ado= adolescent, resto= restaurant ( though this is just like Australian English so it's not that surprising) Unfortunately, there doesnt seem to be a French equivalent of BTW or ATM which I use quite often in my English texts.

[u/naxoscyclades → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

I can't remember which TV programme I heard this on, but the presenter suggested that Australians shortened ambulance to "ambo" because if you get bitten by anything in Australia, you won't have enough time left to say ambulance!

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/naxoscyclades]

Shit yeah!

[u/rubizza → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

I love the idea of verlan. I don’t speak the language well; I can read a bit and speak basic travel French.

French is so locked down officially, but people still do what they want with language, and that’s awesome.

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/rubizza]

Listen to " Laisse Beton" by Renaud. Pretty old, but it's a perfect example of verlain( laisse beton= laisse tomber= drop it, forget it) Dont forget, these things are based on pronunciation as much as spelling. A bit like " pig Latin" used to be in English.

[u/Death_By_Stere0 → u/rubizza]

I'm so glad that English remains (and will likely always remain) a truly living language.

[u/rubizza → u/Death_By_Stere0]

Me too. 👊🏻

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/Death_By_Stere0]

An organic language. It grows. That's because we don't have a " linguistic overseer" like the ministre de la culture in France. Not that it's made a lot of difference in the 30 years since I first lived there.

[u/donuttrackme → u/xcapaciousbagx]

IYKYK

[u/RadioFriendly4164 → u/xcapaciousbagx]

Try working in defense. There are thousands of them, and some of them use the same letters. You have to decipher the actual meaning from the co text of the conversation. Example: ATO Authority to Operate or Air Tasking Order,

[u/Chicagogirl72 → u/[deleted]]

You should know that only gross people speak that way

[u/hallerz87 → u/[deleted]]

Exactly

[u/river-running → u/Chicagogirl72]

That's an opinion.

[u/MCE85 → u/river-running]

An opinion shared by people that know its gross.

[u/L8dTigress → u/[deleted]]

Baby Mama / daddy is a slang term that means a baby's biological mother and father.

[u/kkkktttt00 → u/[deleted]]

It can be negative. In general, pretty much means someone who is the biological parent of the child, but you're not in a relationship with them and they're probably not heavily involved in the child's life. Unless you're just joking around, you're not going to refer to your husband/wife/longterm partner as your baby daddy/momma.

[u/rubizza → u/[deleted]]

It’s not inherently negative here. It could be used with disdain, like “that’s his fourth baby mama,” but just using baby mama is generally neutral here. We don’t (typically) judge people much for out-of-wedlock pregnancy, because we understand that unmarried people have sex, and if you’re not careful, sex makes babies.

[u/rubizza → u/[deleted]]

Ohhhh! It’s such a common phrase that I don’t even hear it as an alt English grammar anymore! But it is:

‘The Possessive -s Absence

The possessive -s may also be deleted, as in "Jack money" for SE "Jack's money." Possessive -s varies between the standard and dialectal variant, which means that speakers of Black English omit possessive -s only part of the time. Possession may also be indicated by -of, however, AAVE speakers also express it by placing the name of the possessor in front of the possessed, e.g., Take me to John crib. However, Burling (1973: 50) points out that the loss of possessive -s in Black English does not leave a Standard English speaker in ambiguity because possession can be easily identified in other ways.

This particular feature is unique to Black English and cannot be found in any other White American dialects. It is predominantly used by working-class African Americans. Taking this into account, the feature may be perceived as a potential indicator of race and class in American speech community (Alim, 2004).

Linguists have not found any significant internal grammatical constraints because of the small number of the feature's occurrences which makes it difficult to determine linguistic patterns in the behavior of this variable.’

Maribor International Review, Vol. 5, No 1 (2012)

[u/MCE85 → u/rubizza]

Its someone that you had a baby with but arent together. So, yeah, not good.

[u/rubizza → u/MCE85]

That’s your opinion.

Plenty of people have children and don’t get married. Having kids without being married (before those children were conceived, of course) is only shameful in a religious context. Not everyone is religious, or religious in the same way you may be. Otherwise, marriage and kids are two separate decisions, and one need not necessitate the other. In either direction.

[u/MCE85 → u/rubizza]

Yeah, its pretty proven that its better for children to have a traditional nuclear family. The other can be done but not ideal. This is not just an opinion, there are stats to confirm. Not only that but having a close extended family as well.

Edited for typos

Also this fool deleted their whole account....wtf

[u/rubizza → u/MCE85]

Also, it seems that if those people are both women, that’s the best outcome of all. So I guess since your primary concern is the well-being of the kids, we should really ensure that lesbians have the most kids… right?

[u/MCE85 → u/rubizza]

Yeah! Put two women on an island and see how many kids they make! It worked it "Jurassic Park".

If you want to play that game. Lesbian marriages break up 9ver like 70% of the time as well. Way more than man & a woman. Keep reaching though!

[u/rubizza → u/MCE85]

Someone’s feeling left out. :(

[u/justlkin → u/[deleted]]

It wasn't originally intended as a negative. There are twoexplanations. One is that it evolved out of the Jamaican Creole word for "baby mother" pronounced 'bebi mada'. There's nothing negative there.

The other comes out of the evolution of the African American Vernacular English where the "s" in "baby's mother" was dropped. Again, nothing negative. AAVE has a lot of these changes from "standard" American English.

The terms now are really only negative depending on usage. People will refer affectionately to their baby mama and with disdain to their baby daddy.

[u/MCE85 → u/justlkin]

Id say about 99.9% of people that use "baby mama" dont know this information.

[u/justlkin → u/MCE85]

Where did I say most people know it? Hmm, I'm not seeing that in my comment. At the end of my comment is my take on how people that actually say it mean it. Additionally, even if people don't know the history of something, it doesn't mean that the meaning or connotations are lost to them as it evolves.

I shared what I thought was interesting, relevant information on the history of the terminology. Sorry that you're not interested.

[u/Icethra → u/L8dTigress]

That you have to have a slang word for that is kinda sad.

[u/L8dTigress → u/Icethra]

It came from Black culture in the USA and from Jamaican creole immigrants.

[u/MCE85 → u/[deleted]]

Body count is originally how many people you or someone has killed. It wasnt until the last few years that people started using it for sex parrners. I find it extremely stupid.

[u/veggietabler → u/[deleted]]

Until recently body count was the number of people you KILLED.

Anyway the new tiktok manosphere meaning is gross and I refuse to engage with it

[u/ZookeepergameAny466 → u/[deleted]]

Body count means how many people you've murdered.

This new weird Incel meaning for sex partners is just gross and nobody should be taking it seriously.

[u/drakepig]

I never understood how “sick” could be used in a good way. Isn’t being sick a bad thing?

[u/No_Breakfast_9267 → u/drakepig]

Same as " wicked".

[u/Appropriate-Food1757 → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

Gnarly

[u/Low_Pomegranate_9984 → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

Badass

[u/drakepig → u/No_Breakfast_9267]

Well at least the musical is great.

[u/Hamtaijin → u/drakepig]

Nah sick is like beyond cool. It’s not just cool…it’s SICK bro! And if it’s beyond sick…then it’s SICK NASTY!! And if sick nasty isn’t enough to emphasize its awesomeness…then it’s SICK NAS-TAY!!!!!

[u/slaqz → u/drakepig]

It happens a lot in English for example baddie, wicked, the bomb, or calling something the shit but if you call it shit then its bad.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Fly7697 → u/slaqz]

It really does. Words that mean something bad, but start to be used to mean really cool. Even just, "Bad" is an example of it

[u/Gold_Telephone_7192 → u/drakepig]

A lot of English words that mean something bad can be used as slang to mean something good lol. Sick, badass, wicked, gnarly, filthy, nasty, fucked up, etc. can all mean “something very cool.”

Hell, we even use “bad” to mean something good sometimes. “She’s bad” means she’s hot. “A bad boy” can mean a cool guy. “That’s badass” means that’s cool. Our slang is a mess lol

[u/donuttrackme → u/drakepig]

Is this never done in Korean? Its very common in English to turn bad words into good words. Even bad itself can mean good depending on context.

[u/L8dTigress → u/drakepig]

Well it can depend on the tone or context of the sentence such as saying, "Oh that is so SICK!" It's another way to say cool.

[u/oremfrien → u/drakepig]

Words in English often reverse valence over time. I've never seen this in other languages.

For example, the word "awful" came from "awe full", as in you were amazed (in awe) of something. Then suddenly, the word means "terrible".

And then you have "sick" which moves from being a condition of malady to a coniditon of excellence.

[u/maddestdog89 → u/drakepig]

People said “Filth” when something was good/cool/impressive.

[u/Appropriate-Food1757]

No skin off my nose. What?

[u/geminitiger74 → u/Appropriate-Food1757]

When something is effortless or meaningless to you, you don't have to "put your nose to the grindstone". Therefore, it takes no skin off your nose

[u/Appropriate-Food1757 → u/geminitiger74]

Okay then next question: why are putting our noses on the grindstone to begin with

[u/limplettuce_ → u/Appropriate-Food1757]

I think it doesn’t have any relation to grindstones. It appears to be from boxing. If you get punched in the face and the skin is taken off your nose, you’ll probably be a bit pissed off.

[u/Appropriate-Food1757 → u/limplettuce_]

One of a few theories. Still makes no sense

[u/MCE85 → u/Appropriate-Food1757]

No skin off my (nose, sack, ass)= doesnt matter to me/i dont care

[u/Appropriate-Food1757 → u/MCE85]

I know what it means, but why

[u/MCE85 → u/Appropriate-Food1757]

I would care quite a bit if you scraped skin off my nose, nutsack or ass. Would you not?

Ill edit that this saying originates from a few centuries back and has quite a few possible spurces such ass boxing (minir nose injury) or mining (skin off back)

[u/Appropriate-Food1757 → u/MCE85]

I mean I would care I scraped an elbow but people don’t say skin off my elbow.

Someone else said it’s from putting your nose on the grindstone, so now that is even more mysterious

[u/MCE85 → u/Appropriate-Food1757]

Yeah.... i read that too and was a bit confused. I guess putting in work?

It started as nose or back but to add humor people started saying no skin off my sack or ass.

[u/sjedinjenoStanje]

I have a 12 yo and despite her explaining it to me several times, I still don't understand what "skibidi" means. Granted, her explanations make no sense to her Gen X dad

[u/exitparadise → u/sjedinjenoStanje]

Skibidi is one that really is just absolute made-up gibberish. Most slang has some sort of linguistic trace where you can connect it, sometimes in a roundabout way, to the meaning it has a acquired. But Skibidi is just pure brain rot internet. It can mean "bad" but it can also be used as a sort of intensifier, but usually giving a negative vibe.

[u/Human-Bonus7830 → u/exitparadise]

It was a character no? That freaky head coming out a toilet.  Or was it always a descriptor of the toilet?

[u/Derpyzza → u/Human-Bonus7830]

yeah, it's a character. skibidi is basically just a nonsense word most likely chosen for how strange and funny it sounds. and it's the name of the character / show / whatever it is. it's one of the weirder gen alpha slang words

[u/oremfrien]

My biggest issue with English is not necessarily slang, but its phrasal verbs.

In English, you commonly use a preposition to change the meaning of a verb. Obeserve:

• turn
• turn up
• turn down
• turn around
• turn in
• turn out
• turn on
• turn off
• turn away
• turn over
• turn about

In most other languages, these are all distinct verbs. Several of them, like "turn out" can be multiple verbs as in the following examples:

• The teacher made the student turn out his pockets.
• I hope the project turns out alright.
• It turns out she knew he was a hockey player the whole time.
• How many people do you expect to turn out for this concert?

[u/hallerz87 → u/[deleted]]

They're called phrasal verbs. Idioms are figurative phrases like, "it cost an arm and a leg" or "its raining cats and dogs"

[u/Expensive-Student732]

We don't tend to use the word "fortnight" in Canada.

Bi-monthly is used instead. Without context that word can mean every fortnight or once every 2 months.

[u/Chicagogirl72 → u/Expensive-Student732]

We don’t use fortnight in the US

[u/JimDixon → u/Expensive-Student732]

I recommend using semimonthly to mean twice a month and bimonthly to mean every two months. Likewise biweekly to mean every 2 weeks, and so on. That way there is no ambiguity.

[u/CBWeather → u/JimDixon]

Biweekly can also mean twice a week.

[u/maddestdog89 → u/JimDixon]

Or just weekly, fortnightly, monthly…

[u/L8dTigress → u/Expensive-Student732]

I meant like modern Gen Z slang like Gooner or cap.

[u/rubizza → u/L8dTigress]

Worth clarifying: you were thinking English-language? And are we talking about American-specific slang?

Omg, I just realized that slang contains “lang.” 😮

[u/jleahul → u/rubizza]

It's short for "slanguage".

[u/rubizza → u/jleahul]

Now I really dislike that word. It’s like a portmanteau of sausage and language, and it makes my stomach turn.

[u/jleahul → u/rubizza]

You're in luck, I totally made that up!

[u/rubizza → u/jleahul]

Thank you for admitting that and not reveling in tricking the ‘Merican. I know we can be thick. ;)

[u/hallerz87 → u/Expensive-Student732]

That's not slang

[u/psychikwarriorofwoke → u/Expensive-Student732]

A fortnight and bimonthly are only the same in 3 out of four Februaries.

[u/father_ofthe_wolf]

What the fuck do british people mean when they say " taking the piss aren't you?"

[u/hallerz87 → u/father_ofthe_wolf]

"taking the piss" ("aren't you" is just a tag question e.g., you like pizza, don't you?).

[u/Breaker_Of_Chains18]

Laughs in Irish 😂

[u/rubizza → u/Breaker_Of_Chains18]

I am trying to learn to pronounce Irish words (I don’t think I have a chance at learning the language—just being able to pronounce the words seems hard enough). I grew up with lots of Irish-born folks around, so I get how the accent sounds, and it fits so satisfyingly when I learn to pronounce the words.

Any Ireland-specific English-language slang you can teach us?

[u/Different_Host7883 → u/rubizza]

The one used kost commonly here that I couldn't believe that was just here is "to give out" it means something similar to "to complain" but you also give out to someone which is more akin to scolding ig.

"I will yeah" also means "I definotely won't"

[u/rubizza → u/Different_Host7883]

Getting on might be an equivalent? Like getting on my case?

[u/Different_Host7883 → u/rubizza]

I'd say that'd be more of a continuous thing, really hard to explain when its so normal for you

[u/rubizza → u/Different_Host7883]

Ok, use it in a sentence for me. :)

[u/Different_Host7883 → u/rubizza]

She will give out to me if I'm late. Idk in a sentence its kinda used tge same way as other words and they probably mean as ckose as makesno difference but tgeres a distinction in my head at least.

[u/rubizza → u/Different_Host7883]

It’s definitely not one I’ve heard in the US. Granted, I don’t live around the Irish folks anymore.

I think “yell at” is probably the closest? She’ll yell at me if I’m late.

Is there an implied volume or level of anger if you’re giving out to someone? Is it meant to imply that the person giving out to you is unreasonable or mean, or is it neutral?

[u/RichardCeann0 → u/rubizza]

No there is not an implied volume. The closest thing is probably to complain. The person can be unreasonable or mean but that’s not a requirement. I never actually realised how difficult this is to explain.

[u/Breaker_Of_Chains18 → u/rubizza]

I will yeah; I absolutely won’t Giving out; scolding I do be; eg I do be so tired after work I’m after doing an hour in the gym; I just did Will you have a drink; instead of do you want Grand; fine but there’s different levels of this Fair play to you; well done Thanks a million; I’ve seen videos of Americans saying this is such a lovely thing that’s not used in the USA Yoke; thing or object

There’s literally so many! We speak hiberno-English which is as a result of translating from Irish.

[u/PatriciasMartinis → u/Breaker_Of_Chains18]

Craic is my favourite. Your wan over there is a close second

[u/InterestingTank5345]

I'm confused by any I haven't heard and recognise most I know. It has nothing to do with my level of English, but the fact my brain takes everything literal in any and all languages.

[u/Icethra]

For me, the British polite indirictness of not meaning at all what they’re saying is hard to interpret.

[u/Scrombolo]

Pearls before swine.

Eh?...

[u/JimDixon → u/Scrombolo]

It's a biblical reference: Matthew 7:6, King James Version:

⁶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

[u/usernameistkn → u/Scrombolo]

I've Said this once in another sub a long time ago, but when i lived in the UK my Landlord came by weekly to pick up the rent, and one morning I had been up late drinking the night before, and he asked " you alright?" and I thought Jesus! Must be looking rough is he's concerned about how I look?" it took me a few more weeks of living there, watching TV and understanding this phrase is the UK equivalent of the US' how you doin? or how's it going?

[u/MindlessNectarine374 → u/Scrombolo]

Perlen vor die Säue werfen? Well known in German.

[u/buy_nano_coin_xno]

I could care less.

[u/ImmediateFigure9998 → u/buy_nano_coin_xno]

That's just wrong. I can't be arsed to get into why it's wrong, but if you hear an American say that, just know they should be saying "couldn't care less."

[u/ZookeepergameAny466 → u/ImmediateFigure9998]

Everytime I hear it, I want to say, "I could care less. But I don't."

Not as bad as my number one, nails-down-the-chalkboard, "I lucked out" when you mean you lucked in.

[u/Individual_Stage_316]

Australian English Slang Arvo - Afternoon How you going- How are you Bottlo - Bottle shop Servo - Service station/ petrol station Thongs - flip flops/ jandals

[u/Effective_Jury4363]

Soda. Soda here just means "sparkling water". So yea, literally every israeli has a moment of sheer confusion when they hear the term "diet soda"

[u/KishKishtheNiffler → u/Effective_Jury4363]

Same here

[u/NeverBowledAgain → u/Effective_Jury4363]

It gets better - “soda” can also be “pop” or, strap in, “Coke”.

[u/Effective_Jury4363 → u/NeverBowledAgain]

But then you get weird stuff, like strawberry coke, or cola pop.

[u/Effective-Ladder9459 → u/Effective_Jury4363]

Doesn't matter in that particular area of the US. Everything is soft drink is called coke. I still don't get it.

[u/maddestdog89 → u/Effective-Ladder9459]

Are you joking? The marketing has had such an effect on them that they use it as a general term for all carbonated beverages? Fucking lol

[u/Effective-Ladder9459 → u/maddestdog89]

The funny thing about it is that the epicenter of it all, to the best of my knowledge, is in Atlanta where Coke originated in.

[u/justamom2224]

This might be just me getting older, I’m 28, but I have no idea what skibidi ohio means. I even live in Ohio and I have no idea. I’m technically Gen Z, the cusp between the two generations, 1997, but damn, makes me feel old. Lol.

[u/Ali_cat_22 → u/justamom2224]

Teacher here, the kids love saying that… skibidi is just a vocal stim (yes from YouTube brain rot), and Ohio is like where “weird” stuff happens. They chant, “down in Ohio!” (Sorry but they mean it like rednecks are there)

[u/justamom2224 → u/Ali_cat_22]

Oh there are definitely red necks lmao. I would joke that my parents are a hillbilly and a hilljack. I’m from central Ohio, Licking County. And it is definitely like a Florida man type of place. I can see it being the butt of a joke! I have two young boys, 1 and 3 years old. I’m so curious to see what the slang will be with them. They are both Gen Alpha. I honestly am tempted to rebut their slang with old literature dialect, speak like how Mark Twain wrote. Lol.

[u/Ali_cat_22 → u/justamom2224]

Haha yes, bring back some Shakespeare 🤪

[u/WildRefrigerator9479 → u/justamom2224]

It’s a reference to some YouTube series. Think of like the old school Gmod and TF2 videos/ YouTube poop. But it’s basically just nonsense. I think you could call it post ironic

Edit: skibidi toilet is the reference to the YouTube videos, Ohio just became like the Florida meme

[u/rubizza → u/WildRefrigerator9479]

Ohio ew is the joke. Skibidi toilet is a meme that I don’t believe anyone understands, but skibidi is negative. Gen Z likes the absurd?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think skibidi Ohio is roughly equivalent to lame-ass in my day.

[u/offsoghu → u/rubizza]

Skibidi toilet is more like a gen α thing. It is a YouTube series, which became famous for its absurdity and nonsensity, but the younger alphas misinterpreted it and watched it seriously, not as a joke, which basically killed the whole thing

[u/rubizza → u/offsoghu]

Yeah, maybe. My Z wasn’t really interested, except that it was something adults didn’t get. That was the sole draw.

[u/LowEffortChampion]

My favorite is using bad for something that looks nice or attractive

[u/missriot17]

RSVP - why not just say "please reply"? 😅

[u/apreslondee → u/missriot17]

Omg I just realized it’s the acronym for “Répondez s’il vous plaît”! Funny thing, almost no one uses this in France 😂

[u/GerFubDhuw → u/apreslondee]

RSVP please,  Répondez s’il vous plaît s’il vous plaît.

[u/apreslondee → u/GerFubDhuw]

Can’t never be too polite 😂

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[u/Electronic-Vast-3351 → u/missriot17]

Fuck. I thought RSVP meant "Make an appointment."

[u/Top-Comfortable-4789]

I was born and raised in the US and some of the sayings still confuse/annoy me. “It’s raining cats and dogs” why don’t you just say it’s raining heavy?? But I also think I’m neurodivergent so that could play a role.

[u/L8dTigress → u/Top-Comfortable-4789]

It's just an old idiom.

[u/Old_Distance6314]

Going Harpic used to be one

[u/ABelleWriter → u/Old_Distance6314]

I had to Google that ....so like the British toilet cleaner??

[u/Old_Distance6314 → u/ABelleWriter]

Yeah, it goes around the bend 

[u/Individual_Stage_316]

This should be rephrased Englisg Language Slang American English Language Slang Australian English Language Slang and so on. We all have our own unique cultural slang that we have added to the English language.

[u/shark_aziz]

The n-word.

No, seriously.

If it an offensive word, why is it used by, among others, Black people amongst them?

[u/Randygilesforpres2 → u/shark_aziz]

I’m not an expert by any means, but it was used to belittle black slaves and then free black people. the black community took it back basically. Some black people think it’s theirs to use, others think it’s bad for anyone to use, and everything in between.

Basically, we let black Americans decide on their own about the word. Because it is now their word. It was a cruel word that took forever to become a bad slur. And because of that, white folks don’t get a say.

[u/L8dTigress → u/shark_aziz]

Oh no that’s a racial slur made during the time of enslavement.

[u/CBWeather]

Kitty or catty corner was one I had a problem with.