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Why do Amercians have problems practicing languages?

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Please help me! | Internal Combustion Engines and Bill Gates in China

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#16 (permalink) Fri Mar 10, 2006 16:08 pm Problems practicing

Imagine the result of walking on eggs with lead feet...

Conchita
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Joined: 26 Dec 2005
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Location: Madrid, Spain

#17 (permalink) Fri Mar 10, 2006 16:16 pm Problems practicing

Conchita wrote:

Imagine the result of walking on eggs with lead feet...

If the eggs are placed vertically, your lead feet will not break them. Take an egg in two hands and try to break it by pressing against its vertical axis. You can't. The pressure is distributed across the whole surface, and the egg doesn't break. This is often used as a children's lesson on architecture.

Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5332
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

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#18 (permalink) Sat Mar 11, 2006 12:17 pm Crack up vs. flip out

Jamie (K) wrote:

We say, "give it some gas", and in German you say "Gas geben", even though we Americans are the ones who call the fuel "gas", and you call it Benzin. We also say "step on the gas" or just "step on it".

If you try to figure out which direction all the calques have gone, you'll flip out. (At least I know that ausflippen did come directly from English.)

Hi Jamie, what is the difference between to crack up and to flip out? Does crack up have anything to do with dope or any other drugs?
Thank you,
Nicole
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Nicole
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Joined: 24 Jun 2004
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Location: Bern, Switzerland

#19 (permalink) Sat Mar 11, 2006 13:45 pm Crack up vs. flip out

Nicole wrote:

what is the difference between to crack up and to flip out? Does crack up have anything to do with dope or any other drugs?

I think it's flip out that has its origins in the drug world. When people would get scared and hysterical while they were high on LSD, people would say they were flipping out. Now it means to go emotionally out of control for some reason. This emotional state is usually temporary, and it usually involves being upset about something, but not always.

Crack up has more than one meaning nowadays. Meaning 1 is to go insane, usually a permanent condition, and often from stress. Meaning 2 is to start laughing or to laugh out of control. Maybe there's another meaning I haven't thought of.

Jamie (K)
I'm a Communicator ;-)

Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 5332
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

#20 (permalink) Sat Mar 18, 2006 0:58 am Why do Amercians have problems practicing languages?

That's also true for Moroccan Arabic, "to walk on eggs" means to walk very slowly & lazily...

Ajanah
I'm new here and I like it ;-)

Joined: 26 Feb 2006
Posts: 32
Location: Morocco

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