WHAT IS A "SLANG"?
Slang is vocabulary that is used between people who belong to the same social group and who know each other well. Slang is very informal language. It can offend people if it is used about other people or outside a group of people who know each other well. We usually use slang in speaking rather than writing. Slang normally refers to particular words and meanings but can include longer expressions and idioms.
Slang changes quickly, and slang words and expressions can disappear from the language. For these reasons, it is generally best for learners of English to avoid using slang.
Some current examples:
He’s a geek. (someone who is felt to be strange because they spend all their time studying)
Look at those old fogeys on the bench! [teenager speaking about some elderly people in a park]
It’s all gone pear-shaped. (wrong, not as we expected)
Just because American English is so common worldwide does not mean that English speakers of different dialects can’t still confuse one another with slang and local terms. American English speakers and British English speakers both have usages that confuse, and amuse one another. Accents alone can sometimes be enough to form a language barrier, despite the fact that in the U.S., a British accent might be treated as either sexy, or comical depending on the persona it’s attached to.
Here we have some examples:
Bail — Intransitive verb for leaving abruptly.
Feeling blue; have the blues — A feeling of depression or sadness.
A buck — Slang term for a the American dollar.
By the skin of (my/your/his/her) teeth — just barely.
Creep (n.) — An unpleasantly weird/strange person.
Couch Potato — A lazy person who spends the bulk of their time engaged in things that can be done while sitting on a couch.
Cram — To study feverishly before an exam typically done after neglecting to study consistently.
Crash — To abruptly fall asleep, or to show up without invitation.
Down to earth — And adjective for practicality and lack of pretense.
Drive up the wall — To irritate.
For Real — A proclamation of honesty.
Going Dutch — When each person, usually in a dating scenario, pays for his/her own meal.
The cold shoulder — A metaphor for deliberately ignoring someone.
Give a ring — To call someone on the telephone.
Hyped (adj.) — A very excited state.
Hang out — To casually gather together or spend time with someone in a social manner.
Jack up — An abrupt increase, typically in the price of something.
Knock — To speak negatively, to disparage, to badmouth.
Lighten up — To relax and take things too seriously. Typically stated as an appeal to someone who is acting uptight.
Pass the buck — To deflect responsibility onto someone else.
