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INTERNATIONAL STUDENT HANDBOOK
Greetings, Slang and Acronyms
Besides hello and good-bye you will hear many casual ways to greet
students. Instead of Hello you may hear Hi, Hey, Howdy, What’s
up?, What’s new? How’s it goin’?
You will also hear How are ya? or How ya doin? Unlike some other
cultures, these questions do not mean that the person wants to
stop and talk about how you are. The expected answer is Fine, even
if you are not feeling “fine”.
To say Good bye students also say So long, Let’s go, Take
it easy, Gotta go, We’re outta here, See ya, See ya later,
Buh-bye, Catch you later, Later, or even the Italian Ciao or the
Spanish Adios.
Expression
|
Description |
Sample Sentence |
| To “Ace” something |
To do extremely well: to earn a grade of an
“A”
|
I aced the economics exam! |
| APA |
Academic Peer Assistant. An APA is a student living in each
dormitory who can advise on your academic needs |
My APA told me where to go to find someone who would help
correct the grammatical errors in my papers. |
| Awesome! |
Said with enthusiasm. A positive over-exaggeration |
The concert was awesome! I enjoyed it very much. |
| Big Deal |
(1) When used ironically, it means: “That
does not impress me.”
(2) Without irony, it conveys importance
|
(1) Oh, big deal. (spoken with boring intonation)
(2) I have an interview tomorrow, it’s a big deal!
|
| No big deal |
Means: not a problem |
I have a chemistry exam tomorrow, but it’s
no big deal. I think it will be easy. |
| No biggie |
Means: not a problem |
Of course I can help you study for the chemistry
exam. I have plenty of time, so it’s no biggie. |
| Blow |
(1)To be unsuccessful
(2)To spend money foolishly
(3)Not good
|
(1)I failed that exam: I blew that exam!
(2)I blew all my money on shoes!
(3)This place blows, let’s go somewhere else.
|
| Buff |
Refers to someone who works out a lot and has well-developed
muscles. |
That basketball player is totally buff! |
| To be busted |
To get caught doing something wrong or illegal. |
John was cheating on his exam, but the teacher
busted him! |
| Change |
Refers to all coins: penny, nickel, dime,
quarter. After you make a purchase, the money you get back
is called your “change”. |
The total is $18.95 and you’ve
given me $20. Your change is a dollar, five ($1.05). |
| Chill |
To spend leisurely time with your friends |
Last night I was chilling with my friends
in front of the tv. |
Cool
|
Really interesting
|
That’s cool! He’s cool.
We have a cool professor. |
| Crash |
To fall asleep out of total exhaustion. |
After the long test, I went home and
crashed. |
| Cut it out! |
A demand implying “stop it!” |
You’re making too much noise.
Cut it out! |
| To be down |
To be sad, depressed, not happy. |
He looked down today. |
| To be down to earth |
Describes a person who is practical,
straight forward, and honest. |
My parents are amazingly down to earth.
They really understand me. |
| To drive someone up the wall |
To make one very nervous, upset or annoyed. |
When people in the dormitories forget
to turn off their alarm clocks, the constant noise drives
me up the wall! |
| Drugs |
Another acceptable word for medicine. |
The doctor prescribed a lot of drugs
for my cold. |
| Drugstore |
A synonym for “pharmacy”. |
I went to the drug store to pick up
some vitamins. |
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