Using slang words and phrases in daily routine English conversation is very common by native speakers. These slang terms are never taught while you learn English as they are a part of informal English conversation and are not used in general formal conversation. Today, In this English lesson I am bringing you 10 Common English slang phrases and words with meanings and practice sentences that are commonly used in British English and American English. They make English language more interesting and most of them are not even found in the dictionary, although some of these words have made their way in the English dictionary in 2018 and more would in 2019. Slang English you hear on the streets and is common with native English speakers, as every language have their own version, such as Hindi, Spanish, German, Arabic would certainly have their own slang terms, if you know any please put them in the comments. You are watching this spoken English lesson on Let’s Talk – English Speaking Institute with more than 35 learning centres in India. Check out our English language courses and classes.
Complete Lesson Transcript :-
Hello everybody, this is me Meera and today I am in a different mood, so I thought I should share few slang words that I use and I like so that you guys can relate with me if I use it in the future or probably understand those who use these terms and then you will not feel lost or left out anymore. Well slang is all about incorrect words in incorrect places. It is all about creativity I believe. Truly a language from real life and it is not taught yet you face these words and get confused about its meanings, right? New words keep adding and you might feel lost, but thanks to my students who keep me updated and to say the truth, it is fun. I will tell you a few words which I really like and I end up using them as well. These words are meanings that the group or people using it understand very naturally. There are many variations but, I will tell you few that I like the most so, let’s get started.
The first one I’ve got is ‘kick-ass’. It means to attack with determination and with full force, but it is also used when you find something extremely good. Let us look at some examples, alright? If someone is about to perform in front of people, an audience you can say, “Go and kick some ass, you would do great.” You’re actually trying to say go and give your best shot. You’re motivating that person. Let us look at another example, “Don’t be scared of him, go kick his ass.” Here you’re not asking someone to get physical, but just encouraging that person to be strong. “Have you heard the new song?” “It is kick-ass.” That means the song is extremely good. “Have you seen her abs?” “They look kick-ass.” You’re trying to tell your friend, that the girl you are talking about has done a great job working out. I bet you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?
So let us keep rolling the next one is ‘faff’. Faff, which means wasting time. This one is very useful since we waste our time a lot, you can say, “I did not work on Friday, I kept faffing around.” “We are late, stop faffing.” “We got late for the train, because she was faffing around.” Here is one more, “We should not faff all life.” I’m sure these all are helping you, right?
‘Shit bricks’, no not for real but it means to be very scared. To have an extreme reaction. If someone scares you, you can say, Oh my God! You scared me, I almost shat bricks. Another example, “I’m not prepared for their exam, I am shitting bricks right now.” Or you can say, “It was so dark in the hospital, I shat bricks for real.” There you go, “I’m so scared of my father, that I shit bricks when he gets angry at me.” How did you like this one? Do you want to know more? Let us take a look at the next one.
Next up we have ‘epic’. While dictionary says it is a long poem, in slang it means impressive, very good. For example, “Oh my God! That episode from GOT was so epic. First of all shout out to all Game of Thrones fans out there. Second of all, it means that the episode was so very good. “Have you tried the double cheese burst pizza?” “It is epic.” My expression might have told you how much I enjoyed it, right? Some people use this term as well ‘epic fail’ “That selfie was epic fail.” You’re just talking about a selfie which failed to look good, simple.
Okay, let us move forward ‘sick’. Not the health sick, in slang dictionary it means really cool some awesome or great. For example, “The new iPhone is so sick.” “Oh! This dress is so sick.” “That dialogue from that movie is so sick.” Some people also use it to express something filthy or creepy, but I use it in a good way. Let me give you a negative example as well, “Yuck the salad tastes sick” that means you have not liked the salad.
Okay then, we will move on ‘screw up’. This one tells us when a situation is completely mishandled. For example, “I completely screwed up.” Which means you messed up in a situation. “Make sure you don’t screw up this time in your relationship.” “I booked the wrong movie tickets I screwed up, I’m sorry.” Or, “I’m so sorry I screwed up.” Simple.
Let us jump to the next one ‘rip off’. This means fraud or things which are overpriced. Here you can say, “Those brands will rip you off.” “I bought this new bag for more price than expected, I got ripped off.” “I suggest you not to go to that shop, they will rip you off.”
The next one we have is ‘for real’. This you can use when you want to express how genuine, real or actual anything is. Let us take us, let us take some examples, “I was not at home for real.” Here you’re trying to convince someone that you’re speaking the truth and you were really not at home. “I got that job for real.” That means you’ve actually got a job. Sometimes when something really surprising happens and in a good way or probably a bad way you can still use the slang to express that. For example, “My brother fell off a scooter when he was supposed to help me set up my apartment the next day and I saw him all covered and in torn t-shirts and shirts, I was obviously surprised, worried and angry at him for being so careless and I said to him, “Is this for real?” It is, it was obviously real but I just didn’t want that to happen and I couldn’t believe it. This one time my mother surprised me with a new laptop and I shouted, “For real?” It wasn’t a joke but sometimes you’re so happy and you cannot believe it, right?
Okay well the next one is ‘damn!’ To express anger or frustration. This usually comes with an exclamation (!) “Damn! I completely forgot. “Damn! I broke my charger again.” “Damn! all the books got wet in the rains.” Or you can say, “Damn! The mosquito bite.”
Next one ‘rolling’. When you use this slang, it can mean so many things such as, let’s drive, let’s leave. It is basically to do something. For example, “Pooja, get ready fast, we have to got to roll. Here I’m asking her to get ready fast because we need to leave. “The plan is great, let us get rolling.” This means let us get up and leave. “Let us roll tonight.” Well here I mean either dance or party or long drive, anything. I like using this because it literally fits into so many situations.
Well now that I have shared my slang dictionary, go ahead and use them in your sentences. Well with this I finished my lesson for today, I have planned many more exciting videos for all of you out there. I will come back very soon. Until then get rolling, keep smiling, keep practicing, spread love you guys, this is me Meera signing off. Bye
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