Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I've heard some that seem pretty strange to me.

Just now on the Dominion Post I've seen the following two used in headlines

Stoush (had to Google it, it means disagreement/fight)
A couple of Kiwis I work with claimed to have never heard the word.

Jumped the Shark
From Wikipedia:
So not a Kiwi expression but not one I've heard before!

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I knew the Jump the shark one but never ever heard anyone use it in general chit chat

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

'Doing the Hard Yards' is something I'd never heard before I moved to NZ.

I did enjoy BEV's use of the idiom 'pig in a poke' earlier this week in a post. In case anyone doesn't know, it comes from a con where someone would try to sell you a pig - but it is tied up inside a bag (the poke). If you buy it you open the bag to find out that the content has been incorrectly described (i.e. it is not a pig) but in fact another creature. Hence to 'let the cat out of the bag' is to uncover the hidden truth.

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I also hear many phrases from the Bullsh*t Bingo card at work

"Getting our ducks in a row", for example.

"Covering things off" in a meeting always sounds funny.

And "Dealing to" a problem does my head in :D

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I knew the word stouche from when there's a difference of opinion on the sports field and the opponents come to blows.

The phrase, 'jump the shark' has been around but not ofthen used for a while.

My husband says 'deal to' instead of deal with. For me, no biggie.

I didn't quite understand, 'Sweet As' when I first arrived here three years ago. I though it was inverse i.e. as sweet as lemon juice. Similar to clear as mud. When I realised that sentence is never finished and 'Sweet as' is the whole phrase and it just means good/ok I thought, all right then.

Shift means move house. Move house means literally lift it off the ground and move it elsewhere.

To be three weeks out from something means to be three weeks away from something. It used to bother me but now it doesn't. Championships being shortened to Champs used to grate, again, kinda used to it now. Also dub dub dub instead of the whole word being used. I accept it's a common short form it just makes me think the person saying it sounds dumb dumb dumb !

Oh and I made some people laugh when I said larder. They said it was old fashioned. However, to me the word, pantry sound like something one's butler would get things from.

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

One that is massively over-used and makes no sense is (insert verb)ing up a storm.

X will be singing up a storm this weekend. etc etc.

Just read " we will be Snapchatting and 'gramming up a storm with exclusive content "

And "Get your X on"

Get your drink on, etc etc.

Now I'm just turning into the grammar police again.

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

Oh yeah I agree, 'dancing up a storm' was quite a nice thing for someone to say but now it's become singing up a storm, cooking up a storm. Oh think of something else !

My husband and I are grammar Nazi's. We're the armed offenders squad of the grammar police ! (only joking)

Yesterday in a shop in my local town I could have bought some, 'sandles' from a shoe shop but I'd rather have sandals. Yes, I know that's a spelling error not an expression or poor grammar.

At least, 'low hanging fruit' or 'a quick win / quick and dirty win' has dropped out of the vernacular. I shouldn't worry, there'll be more. Oh and, 'bring you 'A' game' can do one as well.

In a news bulletin, 'journalist is across developments' - just sounds odd.

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

There are a few strange sayings/words
Head down, bum up was new to me, but is not dissimilar to having your nose to the grindstone.
Munted - wrecked
Bowled - demolished
Money for jam - getting $$ for a simple act (easy money)
There are loads more that stop me in my tracks, but I think I am getting used to them

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I didn't realise that money for jam was just another way of saying money for old rope.

Oh, and to skite seems to mean to brag or to boast. Not move quickly like it does in Britain.

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Ditto for me, when the say they ae going to deal to a person or talk to a topic or a report. :blink:

Many other expressions that whilst familiar to me from the UK seem to be used in different context or suffer from an excess of use over here:

Going gangbusters
Jack up - as in arrange something like a meeting or a fit up, something made up, a con or a cheat
Shivers - instead of alternative expletive
Far out!
Man alive!
Sucking at the public teat
Make a fist of it (have a go / do a pretty good job)
Out of the box (new)
Spewing (angry)
Stuffed or poked (broken)

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

Thinking outside the square!

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

It's a beat up, it seems everything is a beat up!

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

I find most of the expressions hilarious (in a nice way), I spend my life laughing at them/with them and my mates in turn laugh at all my odd expressions.
The only ones that make me cringe are 'brought' instead of 'bought' and when someone starts a sentence with 'look'.

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

_________ for Africa was an interesting one

Re: Unfamiliar Expressions
 

That's another one that is in occasional use in the UK to say that you had over catered or had been faced with way too much food but it's in every day use here; we seem to have shoes, paper or apples and all manner of things in excess for Africa.

If ever there was an overused word in Kiwi language, it is the very word conversation, or confersation as is often said. We need to have a conversation with Fred, you guys need to have a conversation and when you guys have done having all these conversation we'll 'ring up' Sarah.

I don't think I have 'rung anyone up' since 1978 - the thought of 'ringing people up' seems very old fashioned to me now. :lol: