Anglicisms and Americanisms

[carl browne]

Gentlemen:

I'm always looking for interesting idioms, and I especially like anglicisms. Not, of course the very familiar ones that would just sound pretentious in my neighborhood, but others, that I may not have heard before. Invective would be truly appreciated. I'll get the ball rolling with a few americanisms:

"Open the kimono." Business term. Used to mean full disclosure.

"RF" Abbreviation of "Rat F**k." Used in college fraternities and men who have been members of college fraternities: a dirty trick or unfortunate situation generally.

"Friction Fire." Used to describe a building that burns because of friction between a bad lease and a good insurance policy.

"Wankster." Contraction of "wannabe" and "gangster." One given to impotent displays of bravado--generally feckless.

"A few sandwiches short of a picnic." Stupid or insane, or both.

Thanks.

[storeynicholas]

NJS

[Frog in Suit]

I think these are American, rather than English, idioms, but they can be useful:

"The elevator does not reach the top floor" or "The wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead", both used to disparage someone's intelligence .

Frog in Suit

[storeynicholas]

I think these are American, rather than English, idioms, but they can be useful:

"The elevator does not reach the top floor" or "The wheel is spinning but the hamster is dead", both used to disparage someone's intelligence .

Frog in Suit

Great to learn these FiS - never heard them - a couple of English equivalents are 'A sandwich short of a picnic' or 'A few bricks short of a wall'. 'As daft as a brush' is one of my favourites. Anyone interested in the rude (but comical) ones? There is one which begins 'As ugly as a hatful of...' but I won't finish it here.
NJS

[hopkins-luder]

'Bent as a nine-bob note' is an Anglicism for the American 'crooked as a dog's hind leg' referring to a thief, or, crook.

[whyescalar]

Racing [horse] has grealty contributed to both sides of the North Atlantic: "Blew the turn," "down to the wire," "by a nose," etc. Moreover, American English borrows heavily from military jargon.

[marcelo]

I remember I once saw "no names no pack drill" in this forum. The author of that post? No names no pack drill...

[storeynicholas]

'Bent as a nine-bob note' is an Anglicism for the American 'crooked as a dog's hind leg' referring to a thief, or, crook.

I think that the original form of this (certainly one that older generations used) was "as queer as a nine bob note" but then the delightful word 'queer' has, like the word 'gay' come (in maybe only 50 years), to bear just one restricted meaning and our language is the poorer for it. I can distinctly recall my grandmother, feeling faint, suddenly declaiming "I feel queer!" These days of course, an audience to this would be startled.

[Merc]

Gentlemen:

I'm always looking for interesting idioms, and I especially like anglicisms. Not, of course the very familiar ones that would just sound pretentious in my neighborhood, but others, that I may not have heard before. Invective would be truly appreciated. I'll get the ball rolling with a few americanisms:

"Open the kimono." Business term. Used to mean full disclosure.

"RF" Abbreviation of "Rat F**k." Used in college fraternities and men who have been members of college fraternities: a dirty trick or unfortunate situation generally.

"Friction Fire." Used to describe a building that burns because of friction between a bad lease and a good insurance policy.

"Wankster." Contraction of "wannabe" and "gangster." One given to impotent displays of bravado--generally feckless.

"A few sandwiches short of a picnic." Stupid or insane, or both.

Thanks.

i am american and have never heard a single one of these