Learn slang expressions to describe a situation
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Maryssa: When You Need A Better Phrase To Describe A Situation |
| Maryssa: Hi everyone, and welcome back to NorwegianClass101.com. I'm Maryssa. |
| Patrick: And I'm Patrick! |
| Maryssa: This is Must-Know Norwegian Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 4. In this lesson, you'll learn when you need a better phrase to describe a situation. |
| Maryssa: Sometimes, the usual phrases just aren't enough to fully describe a situation. When that happens, try using one of these. |
| SLANG EXPRESSIONS |
| Maryssa: The expressions you will be learning in this lesson are: |
| Patrick: midt i smørøyet |
| Patrick: helt Texas |
| Patrick: ugler i mosen |
| Patrick: skjegget i postkassen |
| Maryssa: Patrick, what's our first expression? |
| Patrick: midt i smørøyet |
| Maryssa: literally meaning "in the middle of the butter eye." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "a great situation." |
| Patrick: [SLOW] midt i smørøyet [NORMAL] midt i smørøyet |
| Maryssa: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Patrick: midt i smørøyet |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Maryssa: Use this slang expression when you want to describe being in a great situation. |
| Some background on the expression is that Norwegians put some butter in the middle of a bowl of porridge, and everyone knows that this is the best part! |
| Maryssa: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Dette er jo midt i smørøyet! [SLOW] Dette er jo midt i smørøyet! |
| Maryssa: "This is great!" |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Dette er jo midt i smørøyet! |
| Maryssa: Okay, what's the next expression? |
| Patrick: helt Texas |
| Maryssa: literally meaning "completely Texas." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "a crazy situation." |
| Patrick: [SLOW] helt Texas [NORMAL] helt Texas |
| Maryssa: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Patrick: helt Texas |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Maryssa: Use this slang expression when you want to describe a crazy situation. |
| The background of this expression is that Norwegians used to watch a lot of Western movies and TV shows, and there is always a lot of action and crazy stories happening. It became natural to use Texas as a substitute for saying that a situation is crazy. |
| Maryssa: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Den festen var helt Texas. [SLOW] Den festen var helt Texas. |
| Maryssa: "That party was completely crazy." |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Den festen var helt Texas. |
| Maryssa: Okay, what's our next expression? |
| Patrick: ugler i mosen |
| Maryssa: literally meaning "owls in the moss." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "a suspicious situation." |
| Patrick: [SLOW] ugler i mosen [NORMAL] ugler i mosen |
| Maryssa: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Patrick: ugler i mosen |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Maryssa: Use this slang expression when you want to describe an uneasy or suspicious situation. |
| This expression can be traced to a Danish book of expressions from 1682, and it used to be "wolves in the forest." It is unknown what it originally meant, but it changed to owls after wolves went extinct in Denmark. |
| Maryssa: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Hun ante ugler i mosen. [SLOW] Hun ante ugler i mosen. |
| Maryssa: "She felt suspicious about the situation." |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Hun ante ugler i mosen. |
| Maryssa: Okay, what's the last expression? |
| Patrick: skjegget i postkassen |
| Maryssa: literally meaning "the beard in the mailbox." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "a situation of failure." |
| Patrick: [SLOW] skjegget i postkassen [NORMAL] skjegget i postkassen |
| Maryssa: Listeners, please repeat. |
| Patrick: skjegget i postkassen |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Maryssa: Use this slang expression when you find yourself in a situation where you have failed miserably. |
| There is no exact background for this expression, but it is easy to imagine having closed your mailbox and trying to move with your beard still stuck inside being a good metaphor for having failed! |
| Maryssa: Now let's hear an example sentence. |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Nå står du her med skjegget i postkassen. [SLOW] Nå står du her med skjegget i postkassen. |
| Maryssa: "Well, now you've failed miserably." |
| Patrick: [NORMAL] Nå står du her med skjegget i postkassen. |
| QUIZ |
| Maryssa: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I will describe four situations, and you will choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready? |
| Maryssa: You just came back from a big Christmas sale at the mall, and your friend asks you how it was. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Patrick: helt Texas |
| Maryssa: "a crazy situation" |
| Maryssa: When everything is going your way and you have everything that you want. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Patrick: midt i smørøyet |
| Maryssa: "a great situation" |
| Maryssa: When you’ve promised your mother to clean the house, and she arrives home from work before you’ve done any house work. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Patrick: skjegget i postkassen |
| Maryssa: "a situation of failure" |
| Maryssa: It’s your birthday and your friends have all seemed to forgotten, but it’s very important to them that you come straight home from work that day. |
| [pause - 5 sec.] |
| Patrick: ugler i mosen |
| Maryssa: "a suspicious situation" |
Outro |
|---|
| Maryssa: There you have it; you have mastered four Norwegian Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at NorwegianClass101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks everyone, and see you next time! |
| Patrick: Ha det bra! |
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