Sound like an American

Elena Levina
Sep 6, 2018 · 2 min read

Today I would like to talk about American slang words that people should know to understand Americans better. I did a little research and found out 7 words that people in the US always use (for this I studies some Internet resources to find the most used collocations/words and watched several American youtubers to be sure that Americans really use them).

1. A bail

It means “leaving abruptly”
For instance, you’re going to the cinema with your friends and you suddenly understand that you haven’t done your homework yet. So you say: “Hey guys! I’m sorry I’m going to bail” and you go home to finish what you have to do.

2. To feel blue

It means “to feel sad”
After watching a Titanic once again you can come to your mother and say: “Please, leave me alone I feel blue”.

3. Zonked

“Zonked” means “Completely exhausted”
How can you use it? For example, you were doing your home assignments during the 6 hours and you just said after all: “I’m zonked”.

4. A creep

It has a following meaning: a weird, unpleasant person.
You know in my school there was a girl who was “a creep”. It seemed that she was always not in the mood even when we all had to be friendly and smiling because we had some guests visiting school. Also she gave everyone a cold shoulder (do you know what it means? I’ll tell you later). It was really hard to talk to her because her answers were just like yes/no (even if you asked her to express her opinion about something). She was a creep.

5. The cold shoulder

Give a cold shoulder to somebody means you ignore them on purpose. You don’t want to communicate with people at all.

6. To Screw up

This expression means “to make a mistake
Last Friday I filled in some documents and screwed up. Accidentally I wrote “Elelena” instead of “Elena”.

7. To bust somebody

To get busted means be caught doing something illegal
For example, you can say “You are busted” to the man who is smoking in the public place.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Use this vocabulary as much as possible while your travelling in the US and don’t be afraid.
Elena

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade