Learn Some Slang

Killer: a very funny joke.

e.g. That last one was really a killer;  everybody laughed.

In a jiffy: soon.

e.g. The manager will see you in a jiffy.

Next to nothing: hardly anything.

e.g. “Did she leave you anything at all?” “Well, next to nothing.”

Head above water: out of debt.

e.g. Nowadays, it is not easy to keep your head above water.

Mean-green: money.

e.g. Can I borrow a little mean-green from you?

Kick back: relax and enjoy.

e.g I really want to kick back and enjoy the music.

Smoke eater: a fire fighter.

e.g. Do you really want to be a smoke eater -- a dangerous occupation?

Hard put to it: in difficulty.

e.g. During the Great Depression people were hard put to it to make both ends meet.

Boil over: become angry.

e.g.  Get away from him: he's boiling over with rage.

All that jazz: all that sort of thing; etcetera.

e.g. He was telling everyone about his success in real estate investment and all that jazz. Well, we all heard that before.

Stephen Lau

Copyright© by Stephen Lau