A (Slang) Word With You
June 9th, 2010
col·lo·qui·al·ism
kəˈloʊ kwi əˌlɪz əm [kuh-loh-kwee-uh-liz-uh m]
–noun
1.
a colloquial expression.
2.
colloquial style or usage.
Origin:
1800–10; colloquial + -ism
Not only do I love this word, I happen to adore colloquialisms. And loathe them. Simultaneously. More familiarly known as slang, they are after all the beginning of the end of my beloved formal English. That being said, the original English have quite a lovely array of colloquialisms themselves. Maybe not more than we Americans, but it’s close.
I have to complain at this point about the particularly banal colloquialisms that have been springing up. Not only are they banal but they are particularly pedantic in that their creativity depends solely on their obviousness—and their opposition. Sick is good. Gay (using its original meaning: happy, light-hearted) is bad. Sweet is a sign of approval, awesome is used waaaay too much. Told you I don’t usually approve of colloquialisms. The kind I favor are the creative type, clever and colorful ways of making the mundane…magical. Or at least interesting.
Let’s face it, the Brits have it all over us when it comes to colloquialisms. Of course, I’m used to ours, and you know what familiarity breeds… Still, Lollipop Men instead of Crossing Guards? Come on, they have it all over us in the colloquialism department. As well they should, being the Mother of our tongue. So to speak.
I’ll be revisiting this subject and sharing some of the more interesting and memorable colloquialisms from our cousins across the pond as well as our own. So stay tuned.
Grammar Punk Sentence: C O 3
As appreciative as we all were of Oliver’s colorful colloquialisms, oftentimes no one in the office had the first clue what he was talking about.
Give it a try. Write a sentence or three that contains 3 words with the letters C and O and also includes the word colloquialism. Better yet, write a cool sentence using a colloquialism of your choice.