Have any of you ever thought about the things we say on a daily basis and pay no mind to? We simply understand and accept what has been said. But do you realize how weird and strange some of our most common sayings are?
Hit the Books and Hit the Sack
Meaning: To go study and to go to sleep
We really do like to hit a lot of things in our sayings. However, when you think about these in concept they make a lot of sense. What do you do when you go to study? You grab your books (usually pretty aggressively since you’d rather not be doing that). What do you do when you go to bed? You drop onto your mattress. Basically you hit both things which makes the saying, in part, true.
Cut to the Chase
Meaning: Skip all the boring stuff and get to the purpose of what is being said.
This is another one of those sayings that I can understand to a certain degree. When you are watching an action scene, do you care about all of the dialogue? No! You usually just want to see the epic fight and chase sequence that is always guaranteed to happen. But think about it: would you really want to be dropped in the middle of a movie with no exposition?
Stab Someone in the Back
Meaning: To betray someone in the way of spreading gossip about them when they are not around
Again with the violence! Why do a lot of our sayings seem to be so aggressive? I can only partially understand this one. When someone you trusted talks about you, it’s a hurt you don’t see coming. However, I would never compare the pain of someone talking about me to a stab wound. That may be a little melodramatic.
Face the Music
Meaning: To receive some type of repercussion for a specific action
Why is this saying even around? Whenever someone is mad at me, he or she rarely comes in with a boom box blaring music. I guess in way you sometimes hear that dramatic symphony music when walking toward one of your parents after you know you screwed up or the Jaws theme song when you sense them coming toward you…
On the Ball
Meaning: To be be amazing at something or to do much better than normal
This sounds extremely hard. I know that suddenly being amazing at something that you were only okay at is difficult, but I feel that being on a ball is even harder. I can barely stand on those little half yoga balls. I don’t think I will be jumping onto a ball anytime soon, unless I latch onto it like a baby monkey.
Under the Weather
Meaning: To be sick or to not feel good
Have you ever been outside during any weather? It feels different depending on what it is. Hot. Cold. Chilled. Under the weather is such an umbrella term that we just kind of accept. Anytime I hear this term I can only think of those images of a man huddled under an umbrella with tissues exploding from the pockets of his trench coat Definitely the worst way to be “under the weather.”
Blow off some Steam
Meaning: To relieve some stress by doing a specific action
When is the last time you became so worked up that you started to sweat? Then you start doing something or moving around to calm yourself down. This has never personally happened to me but that is the only time that I can think of this saying being true. If you are so hot you sweat, steam is probably pretty close behind.
Pitch In
Meaning: To help out; usually includes money in some way
To me, this one makes a lot of sense and I can understand the idea behind it. The word pitch means to throw or fling something casually. When the bill comes after having had endless appetizers with your friends, what do you do? You fling some money into a pile in the center of the table to help pay the bill. The only way this could be more literal is if someone balled up a twenty dollar bill and threw it 90 miles per hour at the table. That would probably scare me half to death if it happened at T. G. I. Friday’s.
Quit Cold Turkey
Meaning: To stop doing a habit without easing into it first
No, I do not mean a delicious slice of luncheon meat or a turkey in need of a scarf. This has got to be one of the weirdest American sayings out there. Imagine the first person who one day said, “You know what? I am going to quit smoking cold turkey.” Everyone probably looked at him as though he were insane.
Lose your Touch
Meaning: To not be as good as you once were in a specific task
This one sounds incredibly sad to me for some reason. If you think about how touch is one of your born senses, it is something everyone has. Then if you lose this, it kind of takes away a part of who you are. Which is true since the skill or task you use to be good at could be a defining characteristic of yourself and without it, you are lost.
Up in the Air
Meaning: For something to be undecided or unknown
This is one of those sayings that if you squint your eyes and tilt your head to the side you can kind of see how it makes sense. When you are up in the air, there are so many things that you don’t know how they will behave such as the weather, the wind, or even birds. Still, the best time I have heard this saying used is when my friends and I were discussing what our majors were and one of my friends told me, “Oh, it’s kind of up in the air.” … She wants to be an airplane pilot.
America is pretty weird, but I know for a fact that all other countries have some weird slang that if we heard it, it would makes us go, “What?” What is the weirdest slang term you have heard?