My Spanish grandson, a computer science student, reads novels in English by authors such as Ken Follett to sharpen his skills in that language. He wrestles with colloquialisms and slang expressions that he encounters. The one he mentioned specifically was “It’s not my cup of tea.” He asked me recently to provide him a random list of such expressions off the top of my head for him to ponder and possibly recognize should he encounter them. I’ve free-associated thus far the following hodgepodge for him. (Nagging question: Is all slang this weighted toward the derogatory and snide? Or is it me?)
-a He’s… She’s… You’re… They’re…
-b I… You… He… She… They…
-c It’s…
Not my cup of tea.
Pulling my leg.
Took me for a ride.
Let sleeping dogs lie.
Make hay while the sun shines.
Lie with dogs, rise with fleas.
On it like a duck on a junebug.
Not a bowl of cherries.
Not all hats and horns.
Has a burr in his blanket.
Has a bee in her bonnet.
Old as the hills.
Wild and woolly.
High on the hog.
In high cotton.
High as a kite.
Free as a breeze.
There’s a new bull in the pasture.
All hat and no ranch.
Too far over his skis.
Under the weather.
Ugly as a mud fence.
Open a can of whup-up on him.
Long in the tooth.
Living on borrowed time.
Speaks with a forked tongue.
Over the moon.
Pencil-neck geek.
Straight arrow.
In over his head.
The sky’s the limit.
Butter my butt and call me a biscuit!
His cheese done slid right off his cracker.
Crazy as a loon.
Up a creek without a paddle.
Oil field trash and proud.
Busy as a bee.
Just got skunked.
One brick shy of a load.
Not playing with a full deck.
Not rowing with both oars.
A loose cannon.
(Cc) 2019 JMN.
Draw It, Remember It
(Tim Herrera, “A Simple Way to Better Remember Things: Draw a Picture,” NYTimes, 1-6-19)
(c) 2019 JMN.