أكثر من 40 مصطلح وعبارة عامية أمريكية شائعة يجب أن تعرفها

• under the radar بسِرِّيَّة. To go unnoticed or avoid drawing attention. The government has been conducting covert operations under the radar for years.
• give me a hand مَدَّ إِلَيْهِ يَدَ العَوْنِ.. سَاعَدَهُ. Help me. Can you give me a hand with these heavy bags?
• give it the old college try كلّ ما فِي وُسْعِهِ: ما في طاقته وقدرته. Give your best effort. Even though it's challenging, I'll give it the old college try.
• start from scratch من البداية/ من الصفر. Begin from the beginning. After the computer crashed, I had to start from scratch on my project.
• make from scratch من المكوِّنات/ المَوادِّ الأوَّلِيَّةِ دون استعمال مواد جاهزَة. To create it from the very beginning, without using any pre-made ingredients or materials. She decided to make the cake from scratch for the party.
• take a chill pill هدِّئ أعصابك: استرخِ. Relax or calm down. You need to take a chill pill and stop stressing about it.
• add insult to injury زَادَ الطِّينَ بَلَّةً: زَادَ الأَمْرَ تَعْقِيدًا وَسُوءًا. To make a bad situation worse. Criticizing her in front of everyone would just add insult to injury.
• caught red-handed مُتَلَبِّسٌ: أَيْ وَهُوَ فِي حَالَةِ الْجُرْمِ الْمَشْهُودِ. To be caught in the act of doing something wrong. The security camera caught you red-handed stealing the cookies.
• in the act مُتَلَبِّسًا. In the process of doing something. I caught the cat in the act of stealing the fish.
• hold your horses عَلَى رِسْلِكَ: عَلَى مَهْلِكَ؛ اتَّئِد ولا تعجل. Be patient. Before you make a decision, hold your horses and think it through.
• break the ice أزالَ حاجِز الكُلْفَة: خلقَ جوًّا منَ الألفَة والصَّداقَة. كسَرَ حَالَة الجُمُود والتَوتُّر: لطَّف الأجوَاء. To ease tension in a social situation. She told a funny joke to break the ice at the party.
• hit the hay خَلَدَ إلى النَّوْم. Go to bed/sleep. I'm exhausted; I'm going to hit the hay early tonight.
• draw a blank نَسِيَ: غابَ عَنْ ذاكِرَتِهِ. To be unable to remember or recall something. I'm drawing a blank on his name. I know I've met him before, but I can't remember his name.
• cover all of the bases استعدّ لكل الاحتمالات. To prepare for every possibility or to take care of everything that needs to be done. Before starting the project, let's make sure we cover all of the bases.
• stay on top of it على اطلاعٍ دائمٍ ومستمر بِأَمْرٍ مَّا. To remain informed or in control of a situation. I need to stay on top of my email so that I don't miss anything important.
• you nailed it أَجادَ: أَصابَ وأَحْسَنَ في عَمَلٍ. You did an excellent job. You nailed it with your presentation; everyone was impressed.
• you hit the nail on the head أَصابَ: أَتَى الصَّوابَ في قَولِهِ أو رَأيِهِ. You're exactly right. You hit the nail on the head with your analysis of the situation.
• that’s an old wives' tale كلام غير دقيق أو لا يستند إلى أساس. A traditional belief or superstition without evidence. Don't believe that; it's just an old wives' tale.
• it’s not rocket science ليس أمرًا صعبًا أو مُعَقَدًا. It's not difficult to understand or do. Cooking this recipe is easy; it's not rocket science.
• heart of gold طيِّب القلبِ. Someone who is kind, generous, and compassionate. She has a heart of gold; she's always helping others.
• sell like hotcakes (سِلْعة ) تُباع بسُرعة/ عليها طَلب كَثير. Sell quickly and in large quantities. The new iPhone is expected to sell like hotcakes when it's released.
• a far cry from مختلِفٌ تمامًا عن. Very different from. The movie was a far cry from the book.
• I don't trust you as far as I could throw you لَا أَثِقُ بك أبدًا. I don't trust you at all. I don't trust you as far as I could throw you; you've been dishonest before.
• It doesn't sit well with me لم يستَسِغهُ: لم يَتَقَبَّلَهُ. I'm not comfortable with it. It doesn't sit well with me that they didn't inform us in advance.
• Once in a blue moon نَادِرًا مَا: قَلِيلًا مَا؛ مِنَ النَّادِرِ أَنْ؛ إِلَّا نَادِرًا. Very rarely. Once in a blue moon, we get to see a shooting star.
• I am on top of the world فَرْحَانُ: في غاية السعادة. Feeling extremely happy and successful. After winning the championship, he felt like he was on top of the world.
• I'm at my wit's end حارَ بأَمْرِهِ/ حارَ في أَمْرِهِ: أصبحَ حائرًا لا يَدْرِي ماذَا يفعلُ/ ما يَنْبَغِي فِعْلُهُ.. أعْيَتْهُ الحِيَلُ. Feeling frustrated and out of solutions. I'm at my wit's end trying to figure out this problem.
• Why the long face? لما الحزنُ يعلو محيّاك؟ Asking someone why they look sad or upset. Why the long face? Did something happen?
• high and dry عاجِزاً لاَ حِيلَةَ لَهُ. Left in a difficult situation with no help or support. They left us high and dry with no explanation.
• I'm so hungry I could eat a horse يتَضَوَّرُ جُوعاً. Feeling extremely hungry. I'm so hungry I could eat a horse; let's find something to eat quickly.
• the last straw القَشَّة الّتِي قَصَمت ظَهر البَعِير؛ القَطرَة الّتِي أفَاضَت الكَأس. The final, often small, incident that makes a situation unbearable. His constant lateness was the last straw; I can't tolerate it anymore.
• the straw that broke the camel’s back القَشَّة الّتِي قَصَمت ظَهر البَعِير؛ القَطرَة الّتِي أفَاضَت الكَأس. The final incident that causes an already strained situation to collapse. His dismissal from work was the straw that broke the camel's back in their relationship.
• You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs لا نجاح بدون تضحيات/ الإنجازات لا تأتي دون تضحيات. Achieving something significant often requires sacrifice or difficulty. You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs; sometimes, you have to make tough choices.
• Don't make mountains out of molehills لا تجعَل مِنَ الْحَبَّةِ قُبَّةً: أَيْ جَعَلَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ صَغيرٍ لا قِيمَةَ لَهُ قَضِيَّةً كَبيرَةً. Don't exaggerate small problems; keep things in perspective. Don't make mountains out of molehills; it's not such a big issue.
• Keep your chin up تَفاءل : استبشر خيرًا. Stay positive and resilient in the face of challenges. Keep your chin up and don't let setbacks get you down.
• I didn't catch that لم أسمَع/أفهَم ما قلت. I didn't hear or understand what you said. I didn't catch that; can you please repeat it?
• Go big or go home غامر أو غادر. Take bold actions or don't bother trying at all. Go big or go home; give it your all or don't do it at all.
• gotta risk it to get the biscuit لا كسب بلا مجازَفة أو مُخاطَرَة. You have to take risks to achieve something significant. Gotta risk it to get the biscuit; sometimes, you have to take chances to succeed.
• Down to the wire في اللحظات الأخيرة. Reaching the deadline or last moment. We finished the project down to the wire; it was due today.
• off the top of my head من خلاَل تَخْمِينِك أو ذَاكِرَتِك فقَط: دُون أن تُفَكِّرَ مَلِياً أو تَقُوم بِبَحثٍ لِكَي تَعرف. Recalling something without much thought or research. Off the top of my head, I'd say there are about 20 people attending the event.
• see the light فهِمَ الشَّيْءَ: أَدْرَكَهُ، عَلِمَهُ، عَرَفَهُ. Understand something after a period of confusion. After studying hard, he finally saw the light and understood the concept.
• missing the forest for the trees ضَيِّق الأفُق: يُركِّز على النِّقاط الصَّغيرَة والثَّانويَّة بدلاً من أن ينظُر إلى الأمُور والمعطياتِ من منظُورٍ شَامِلٍ. Focusing on small details and missing the big picture. You're missing the forest for the trees; look at the overall impact, not just the individual elements.
• Spit in the wind ضيّع وقته/جُهدَه على أمرٍ بلا طائل. To waste your time by trying to do something which has little or no chance of success. It's like spitting in the wind to try to convince her to change her mind.
• easier said than done القول أسهل من الفعل. Saying something is simple, but doing it is challenging. Easier said than done; it's not as easy as it sounds.
• preaching to the choir يَعِظُ/ ينصَح من هم أصلا يتّفقون معه في الرأي. Trying to convince people who already agree with you. Telling them about the benefits of exercise is like preaching to the choir; they already work out regularly.
• like shooting fish in a barrel في منتهى السّهولة. Very easy. The exam was like shooting fish in a barrel; it was so easy.
• go hand in hand يسيران جنبًا إلى جنب: مُتَّصِلان؛ مرتبطان. Closely related or often occurring together. Healthy eating and exercise go hand in hand for a balanced lifestyle.
• bite the bullet عَضَّ على جُرْحِهِ: صَبَرَ وَتَحَمَّلَ؛ تقبّل المَحتُوم.. ما لا رَجْعَةَ عَنْهُ، ما لا مَهْرَبَ مِنْهُ. Face a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage. Bite the bullet and tell them the truth; it's the right thing to do.