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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 70 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 American Slang
oomph. Now those are strange.
nitty-gritty. Nitty-gritty meaning of course, getting down to the essential, or the brass tacks. Flapdoodle is a personal favorite.
to dance. I guess this is self-explanatory.
an inferior chess player. Now checkmate like a man!
bright eyed and bushy tailed.
schlep. schlep meaning dragging something around, or yourself! Schlepping around town.
let the cat out of the bag.
china-clipper. A china-clipper is someone who works as a dishwasher. A chatterbox is a gun that goes ackack...
slicker. These are of course the derogatory versions.
Morphine. The phrase dates back to the days of the Civil War, and fits within the tradition of not really naming but just indicating problems.
alcohol intoxicated. Also used is the term 'boiled' or 'toasted'. Perhaps this is because alcohol can give you this warm feeling inside?
nonsense. Gubbish is a combination of garbage and rubbish, which explains a lot. It's a computer generation type of slang, where in email words get abbreviated a lot. The word was used in the early eighties and seems to have gradually disappeared.
an earnest student. Like many slang words this one has a military origin. It refers to someone who diligently does his/her paperwork and likes to do things by the books. 'Gunny' is used as well.
absent. Stems from the military phrase 'Absent Without Leave'.
in many tiny pieces. This term originated in Ireland.
absentminded. When someone's actually there but only physically not mentally.
a large automobile that uses much gasoline. Very American those gas-guzzlers, huge limos... but they seem to be going out of style.
on his butt. Okay... if you don't know where it stems from, imagine the shape of the number 6. This expression too seems to be popular in the military, more specifically the Air Force.
It may also refer to the numbers on a clock. Imagine facing the 12 - someone "on your six" would be right behind you. Since pilots do use the clockface for directions, this seems logical.
an honest person. Just like a straight arrow, someone who doesn't stray.
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