Five English colloquial phrases that confuse a Russian-speaking person

It happens somewhere at the upper-intermediate level, when it seems that you begin to "feel English speech". You know that you don't have to talk about the details of your life in response to how are you or what's up. Or that taking the floor is giving a speech, not "taking the floor." But just when we relax, problems arise, writes Puzzle English.

And at this very moment, when the illusion appears that you finally begin to understand something in this English and feel more or less confident in communicating with Americans, they come ... Expressions that do not fit into the Russian-speaking head and are at odds with the existing ones ideas about English speech.

Here they are, these confidence destroyers:

1. Out of the blue

If something happens out of the blue, then it happens completely unexpectedly, takes you by surprise, in fact.

• One day, out of the blue, she announced that she was leaving.
• One fine day, she suddenly announced that she was leaving.

This idiom was used by the famous British singer Adele in her song Someone like you. It tells the story of how an out of the blue girl invites herself to her ex-young man’s wedding without an invitation, to let him know that for her not everything is over.

• I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
• But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it
• I had hoped you'd see my face
• And that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over.

At first glance, it seems that nothing in this phrase hints at its meaning. The same out of nowhere is much more explainable.

However, if you look at the similar idiom out of the clear blue sky, which means what happened as unexpectedly as a bolt from the blue, then everything falls into place. By the way, for "thunder from a clear sky" the expression a bolt from / out the blue.

• His resignation came like a bolt from the blue.
• His resignation came as a complete surprise.

2. For good

For good has nothing to do with the phrase for the better, as you might think.

I'm leaving you for good. This is not "I'm leaving you for the better," but oddly enough, "I'm leaving you forever."

• Last year I quit smoking for good.
• I finally quit smoking last year.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, originally the expression sounded like for good and all and meant “final decision”, “final action”.

Now used in the meaning of "forever", "finally."

British actress June Brown used this very phrase to emphasize that she left the series, in which she starred for 35 years, forever.

• I've left for good, - said the 93-year-old in an interview.
• “I'm gone forever,” said the 93-year-old actress.

3. So long

And this is not “as long” as it might seem at first glance. Unless you ask someone that he has been going for so long. (What took you so long?)

In fact, this is nothing more than the well-known goodbye.

On the subject: 20 interesting and useful phrases in English

One of the first to introduce this phrase into the English language was the famous American poet Walt Whitman, who used it in his 1861 poem. By the way, then not all contemporaries understood this expression. And when one of his friends asked what it meant, Whitman explained: when people say so long, they say goodbye with the feeling that someday sooner or later they will meet again.

Initially, this phrase was used among sailors, athletes and prostitutes, but soon, thanks to Whitman, it began to be used everywhere, and not only by Americans.

British singer James Blunt even included this phrase in the title of his song So Long, Jimmy, dedicated to the American virtuoso guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

So long, jimmy, so long

Thought you only stayed a moment

We all know that you're the one

Singing, so long, Jimmy, so long

Sure we're glad for the experience

We miss you now you've gone

We're just swimming in your soul cause

We all wish we wrote this song

Life goes on

In an interview, Blunt said that in addition to dedication to Hendrix, the song is also a farewell to his friend and musician Jimmy Hogarth, with whom Blunt stopped working at that moment, since he was leaving for the United States.

4. You got this / you've got this

This colloquial expression is very similar to the more familiar I still got it, which is usually uttered by a TV character after he manages to do something, despite a long lack of practice. For example, winning at cards after a ten-year break. Or if someone looks attractive and younger than their age. It means something like the Russian "I am still nothing", "there is gunpowder in the flasks."

But you got this, although it looks like, it means a little different. Unlike I still got this, it is used in anticipation of some kind of accomplishment to cheer up a person, they say, come on, you can, you will succeed.

• I know you can lose that weight! You got this!
• I know that you can lose weight! You will succeed!

If you want to support an English-speaking friend, feel free to use this expression.

5. A great deal

Again, this is not a “great deal”, as it may seem at first glance and out of context. This expression also has nothing to do with the familiar to most English learners colloquial phrase a big deal (it's huge), meaning an important or even grandiose event.

• A great deal of something (or a good deal of something).
• Means a large amount of something, and it is something must be uncountable.
• The book took a great deal of his time and effort.
• He spent a lot of time and effort writing this book.
• He knew a good deal more than I did.
• He knew a lot more than I did.

Countable nouns and plural nouns do not use a great deal. Replace it with a lot of.

For example, to say about people but a great deal of people is impossible. In this case, replace it with a lot of people.