American Slang

Hi! Today I will tell you about some words from American slang.

1. KUDOS — “Bravo!”, “Respect!”: another word for expressing respect, derived from the Greek kytos (“recognition”).

Kudos for organizing this party. It’s brilliant!

2. DISS —To speak to someone’s address disrespectful, dismissive, insulting.

Stop dissing her behind her back. Show some respect!

3. DIG — In the exact translation — “digging”, but in modern informal jargon — “to catch a buzz”, “to drag oneself”. About what you really like.

Hey, I dig your new style. Where did you buy that T-shirt?

4. FULL OF BEANS
Energetic, clockwork. Literally — “full of beans.” According to one version — coffee, because coffee is a well-known energetic.

All the children were full of beans at the party.

5. CRAM
To work hard to prepare for the exam in a short time, cramming.

I was so busy with my family before the exam, that I only had three days to cram for it!

6. THROW A SPANNER IN THE WORKS
In Russian, sticks are inserted into the wheels. In English, a wrench. The expression means “interfere, prevent something, destroy something” — like a spanner destroys a working mechanism (one of the meanings of the word works), once it gets into it.

I managed to keep the surprise a secret, right up until the day before my sister’s birthday, then he threw a spanner in the works by telling her!

7. EASY PEASY
So children call something very simple. However, not only children.

I could make that for you, if you like? It’s easy peasy!

8. STROP
And another expression of British slang. If someone is out of sorts, we can say that he is “throwing a strop” (throwing a rope), or “getting a strop” (catching a rope), or “being stroppy”. In a word, “I got hit by the tail.”

Andrew, would you please cheer up? It’s your birthday, don’t be so stroppy!

9. DODGY

Sly, dodgy, unreliable, suspicious, not trustworthy. The Russian equivalent is “dumb”.

I saw a few dodgy-looking people standing around along that quiet street near our house, so just to be on the safe side, I notified the police.

10. ZONKED

A word from the vocabulary of the Americans. One who is zonked or zonked out is experiencing a complete breakdown.

He had a lot of fun at his birthday party earlier, but he’s completely zonked out now!

That’s it for today!