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What's the funniest English expression


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What's the funniest English expression Tue Mar 13, 2007 16:49 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

What English expression made you laugh when you learned it? I'm not asking which expression you had trouble understanding, or which is different from in your language, or anything like that. I just want to know what expression you found downright funny when you first learned it, even if it wasn't a joke.
Jamie (K)
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What's the funniest English expression Tue Mar 13, 2007 17:17 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

Here's a word I learnt 4 or 5 years ago...asymptote...ka ka ka Laughing believe me, malay students find this word fuuuunnnyyyy. I remembered my professor had to replace it with a malay word "anu" so the students won't laugh everytime she referred to the thing.
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What's the funniest English expression Tue Mar 13, 2007 23:27 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

"strategery"
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 0:03 am  What's the funniest English expression
 

hi guys

You are giving words here not expressions: My word would be whatyamacallit or thingymabob or Ugymaflip.

My expression would be "that tickles my fancy" or "whatever shakes your tree".
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 0:31 am  What's the funniest English expression
 

it's a candy bar: Whatchamacallit

http://www.hersheys.com/products/details/watchamacallit.asp

---

Here's another good one:

"whatever floats your boat"
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:47 am  What's the funniest English expression
 

Hello Mr.Tunncilff,

Would you mind explaining the meanings of the coiled words?

Thank you in advance,
Nina

p/s: This is the first time I've come across the surname you have, how do I pronounce it? "Toon-kilf"?
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Okotteru Papa mo suki dakedo, nikoniko yasashii Papa ha mo~tto suki!
NinaZara
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Location: Japan

What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 11:44 am  What's the funniest English expression
 

The first time I heard someone say "My bad." I laughed in horror. Cool
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 13:05 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

Pls do call me Stew, Nina.
Mr Tunnicliff sounds like my Dad.

The coiled " " apostrophed phrases mean.
tickles my fancy means gets my interest or excites me depending on context.
Ands shakes my tree is like float my boat so I leave that to prezbucky to explain.

Yankee
My bad is almost as naff as "thats is so gay (original meaning of bad)"
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 13:56 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

The "boat" expression does sound funny, I thought I heard it before in some tv shows and I guess it means "whatever agrees with you".

And Stew, "Mr Tunnicliff sounds like my Dad" is very funny. I laughed my heart out when I read it Laughing
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:15 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

Yankee wrote:
The first time I heard someone say "My bad." I laughed in horror. Cool

I have a terrible time with that one, because a lot of my ESL students have picked up ghetto English in high school or at work before they come to my classes. They usually don't know there's anything wrong with their English, because American high schools praise them for almost anything they do.
Jamie (K)
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:23 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

stew.t. wrote:
Mr Tunnicliff sounds like my Dad.

There was a family Tunnicliffs down the street from me when I was growing up, and we always called them the Tunafish family.

That was far from the worst nickname anyone on my block had. One kid was called "Foamy" because of his tendency to drool. There was another kid with a nickname I won't print here, and his problem was that people knew only his nickname and didn't know his real name. There was a girl who was a state swimming champion in the butterfly stroke who had a horrible nickname that we boys gave her out of admiration for her perfect physique. It basically meant "girl of steel", but it involved a part of her body and was quite embarrassing to her. Kids are really mean, huh?
Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 3992
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:25 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

Many Americans laugh the first time they learn the German word for "rental car". It's "Mietwagen", and it sounds like the English expression "meat wagon", which is very bad slang for an ambulance.
Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 3992
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:25 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

NinaZara wrote:
Here's a word I learnt 4 or 5 years ago...asymptote...ka ka ka Laughing believe me, malay students find this word fuuuunnnyyyy. I remembered my professor had to replace it with a malay word "anu" so the students won't laugh everytime she referred to the thing.

Why is this word funny to Malays?
Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 3992
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 14:49 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

I think it's the Malay accent that made it funny, with the exaggeration at the third syllable, aseemtottt Laughing
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Okotteru Papa mo suki dakedo, nikoniko yasashii Papa ha mo~tto suki!
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What's the funniest English expression Wed Mar 14, 2007 16:33 pm  What's the funniest English expression
 

Jamie
ROFL @ "Foamy". That is just waaaaaaaaaaaaay below the belt. Poor kid!

Do you remember the fun we had with "fahrvergnugen" in those old VW ads? That was a blast in junior high and high school.
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