10 useful English expressions from Stranger Things

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

The second season of the science fiction series Stranger Things is released on October 27. In honor of the premiere, Ilya Laptiev, an English teacher and author of an educational YouTube channel, has compiled a set of expressions from the first season that are useful to know.

1. Have a stick up the butt

Meaning: to be too serious, boring, unhappy.

Dustin offers a slice of pizza to Mike's sister, one of the main characters, and she slams the door in his face. Dustin says to a friend: “She’s got a stick up her butt”, which can be translated as “She is sad, boring, overly arrogant.”

For example, you are one minute late for a lecture, and the teacher will not let you in. And you discuss this situation with your friends and say: “Man, he’s got a stick up his butt”, that is, “Why is he so serious, it’s only one minute”.

2. Play hooky

Meaning: mess around, skip school.

The mother of the missing boy persuades the police officer to start searching, and he brushes off and says: “Boy his age, he’s probably just playing hooky”, which means “A boy his age is most likely just skipping school”.

3. Low key

Meaning: quiet, inconspicuous.

The guys persuade Nancy to go to the party, but she is not particularly eager. Therefore, the guy she likes promises that the party will be quiet and there will be people Nancy knows. He says: "It'll be a low key party."

Low key literally means "low key", that is, a low sound, as if you pulled the thickest string on the guitar. People are less likely to recognize low sounds, so it seems that they are quieter, hence the expression.

4. Second something

Meaning: to support something, to agree.

One of the boys offers to tell his mother about everything, they say, it’s safer, and the other supports him: “I second that”. Generally, second is translated as "second in a row" or "second". But in this case, it is a stable expression that means "I support, I agree." It comes from the word "second" - the one who accompanies the duelist.

5. Rat someone out

Meaning: hand over someone, hand over.

The same boys talk about their friend, and one of them is sure that the friend would never betray them: "No way, Mike would never rat us out." Everything is clear here: rat - "rat". In Russian, this phrase sounds more harsh, but the meaning is the same.

6. Drop off

Meaning: drop off.

A friend gives Nancy a lift, and when they arrive at their destination, she says, "I'll drop you off here." This translates as "I'll drop you off here." By the way, “to give someone a lift” in the meaning of “give a lift” sounds like give someone a lift.

7. Grossed out by someone

Meaning: sick of someone.

A friend accuses Mike of being biased about a girl with too many problems. He says, "The girl is not grossed out by you," which means, "You're blind because of a girl who at least doesn't want you to puke." The word gross is translated as "vile, disgusting." Obviously, a friend says so because usually Mike is not very popular with girls. And this one does not feel sick of him, and this is already a success.

8. Give it a shot

Meaning: try.

Teenagers drink beer at a party, and only one girl refuses. A friend persuades her to try with the words “Come on! Give it a shot ", that is," Come on! Try!"

The word shot is ambiguous. In addition to the meaning of "shot" and "thrust", it is also used to mean "try".

9. Knock it off

Meaning: stop, stop.

Two guys start to fight over the girl. Friends try to separate them and say: "Knock it off", which can be translated as "Stop! Enough!" This phrase is constantly used both in movies and in real life. Parents of naughty children often have to resort to it.

10. Ruin the flow

Meaning: break off the buzz.

The boys play in the basement for several hours. Mike's mom walks in and says it's time to stop. But he protests and replies: "You’ll ruin the flow."

Flow is a smooth flow of something, but in general, the expression is used when someone ruined the pleasure.