At the Olympics, after winning the Gold Medal a minute or two ago in the 1500m - following her Gold in the 800m - Kelly Holmes said she was, "Gob-smacked".
:lol:
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At the Olympics, after winning the Gold Medal a minute or two ago in the 1500m - following her Gold in the 800m - Kelly Holmes said she was, "Gob-smacked".
:lol:
:?:
I think I missed the joke.
Actually not a joke. I just thought that 'gob-smacked might be an interesting word for a Russian speaker mastering their use of English. Sorry it’s no more entertaining than that :|Quote:
Originally Posted by Линдзи
mabye they ment "god smacked"?
No that was Great Britain's Men's 4 x 100m relay team :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel_of_Death-NZ
(You will get my meaning if you saw the race)
What a win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But I'm really sorry you think anyone ought to learn the word gob-smacked. IMO it is horrible. More and more people are using it but it is singularly unattractive. There are so many other, better words to use. I was amazed...I was thrilled... I was so excited. Please all you people out there learning English - don't use the expression gob-smacked!
Mmm. 'Gob-smacked' when they win; 'gutted' when they lose.
The language is dying on its feet.
:lol: :lol: :lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by joysof
I guess you do have a point joysof! Maybe it's just evolution: social change reflected in linguistic behaviour. In Shaw's day he was able to use bloody as a shock-word in Pygmalion.Quote:
Originally Posted by joysof
My view is that there is a difference between knowing the meaning of a common word and using it. 'Gob-smacked' is not a rude word or even a taboo word in any way. Although, clearly, I was sufficiently surprised by the athlete's use of the word, that I was propelled into writing my post. Bearing in mind that Kelly Holmes will go down in athletics history as one of the all-time greats, she can say whatever she likes, as long as it is not offensive, even if there are more eloquent alternatives :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by BJ
I do agree with you BJ there are alternatives worth considering but in informal situations you will often hear the word gob-smacked and long may it continue.
I know it's not rude or taboo, but it is ugly. It is used too much by athletes and footballers and people who are too lazy to find an alternative. If someone said 'Shut your gob' it would be considered insulting so why use it as part of an expression to show amazement. Please - don't encourage its use!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
FYI, Gob -smacked is a very recent appearance in US, and is pretty uncommon. It is much more common in England, which makes sense given that "gob" is not used for "mouth" in the US.
Anyway, I agree with a Mike's view. I wanna speak right ;) but also I want to understand people. For example, an expression "Хрена ты здесь торчишь" is rude but you ought to know the meaning if somebody is yelling this one to you.Quote:
Originally Posted by BJ
That phrase is very uncommon. I can say that I have never heard anyone on the west coast say it, and we come up with some interesting phrases! I agree that it sounds very ugly and if I heard someone say it I would be shocked into silence. It's not one of those phrases you should need to know the meaning of and if you ever hear anyone say it--smack him.
I'm interested TiaraNEug, what are some of the other phrases 'you should not need to now the meaning of'?Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
I hear it regularly, and don't find it offensive in any way. Do I win a prize?
Kelly Holmes is our local hero here in my town (in which she grew up) so she can say gob-smacked if she likes. In Britain it's a very common (particularly amongst sportsmen!) and not-at-all-offensive phrase. We need to remember the difference between colloquial/slang and offensive language.
Where did anyone say gobsmacked was offensive?
Oddo and Scotcher- No one said it was offensive. Not even once. Where did you guys come up with that? :|
And to be honest-I can't think of any "good" phrases or slang words that you don't ever need to know. I even asked my "native american-english" speaking friends and they couldn't help. It's one of those things where you just know. You know? Maybe not...
OK, allow me to rephrase...
Quote:
I hear it regularly, and don't find it objectionable in any way. Do I win a prize?
no.
I'm not sure I get your meaning TiaraNEug. Would you mind explaining a little bit more?Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
Eh. Hard to explain what I mean through typing. I'm sure every language has phrases or slang that they come up with that are only used in certain areas or dialects. When a foreigner to the language is trying to learn, say English, they don't need to learn those words. Especially if they are words or phrases like "far out" which were popular at one time, but not so much anymore. That is what I meant. And everyone may know of such phrases in their own language, but since they are not extremely imporant to know they may not be able to list them when asked. I hope that *sort of* cleared up my earlier post.Quote:
Originally Posted by майк
Yes, it is easy to be misunderstood - thanks for explaining further.Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
I think there are two issues. Firstly, in learning a foreign language, is it necessary to learn words that are not used often? Secondly, what is the meaning of the word 'gob-smacked' and when might it be appropriate to use the word? On the first point, I agree with you TiaraNEug, it's hard enough to remember everyday words like 'pen' in Russian let alone obscure slang terms. And it's better to learn frequently used words like только and чтобы before этажерка or ярый!
In relation to 'gob-smacked', I don't think we need to punch any hims, or hers come to that! If you do, in England (I'll just speak from my knowledge of England), you'll be doing quite a bit of punching. You might like to have a look at this posting of July 21, 2004:
http://www.wordwizard.com/clubhouse/...1.asp?Num=6092
I'll quote just a short piece, 'What a great word and it’s been around since the 1980s, but, of course, it spent a long time in Britain before it infiltrated the President’s English spoken on this side of the pond. But it is definitely a hot word in the U.S. right now threatening to render ‘blown away,’ ‘flabbergasted,’ ‘dumbfounded’ and ‘thunderstruck’ obsolete!
Anyway. I'm personally going to steer clear of using 'that word' for a while - too dangerous :lol:
I don't know if I agree with the guy you quoted about it being used widely over here or about the idea that it would replace any of the other phrases. I had never even heard it, let alone know what it meant until I read this thread. Hmm.
But I totally have asked the same questions you pointed out. Maybe it's up to the learner. Or maybe it depends on your definition of fluency even. If to a learner fluency is learning everything from daily language to words that are almost obsolete, then by all means-have at it. Maybe I should have pointed out that my opinions were completely personal...
At any rate. you and I are on the same level now. BTW. Can't seem to find a translation for the Russian words you used. What did they mean?
Lingvo gives:
только - only, merely;
чтобы - in order to, so as to
этажерка - bookshelf, bookcase, shelves ( для книг )
ярый - violent, furious, raging, vehement, fierce
Actually I have http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...2.MZZZZZZZ.jpg, although, regrettably, I'm too lazy to read it. The first two are at the front the second two at the back :thumbup:
Yes, best not learn it because TiaraNEug hasn't heard it, so it must therefore be obsolete (even though it's widely used and likely to be heard right across the rest of the English speaking world, especially in London).
I've never heard this before untill today. Must be a british thing. Sounds funny to me
Scotcher sounds offended. Relax. No one is attacking you, so why attack me? Thanks Dogboy...that's pretty much what I was getting at.
Where did you find that book, майк? Looks like it would be a good one.
Right click over the image, select properties, look at address - you see amazon.com. So go to http://www.amazon.com and click the [Books] tab and search for '10,000'Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
At this site you can even flick through the book - it's fantastic - I was http://www.freewebs.com/mgf999/gsmack.jpg ... flabbergasted :lol:
Edit: Trying to get the img working
Quote:
Originally Posted by майк
Who hasn't heard that one ?
Look people, a living, breathing British English/American English difference!
Clearly, if "Gob-smacked" is used frequently in the UK (and if you pay any attention to the UK you will see that it is), it is a useful phase to know. There are undoubtedly words used in the US that would be unknown to most Brits, but that does not mean that a foreign learner would not be well-advised to know them. (It's actually hard to think of an example, as Brits are exposed to so much US TV and movies that they probably DO know a lot of the slang.)
Incidently, for those of you who are non-native speakers, don't fret if the differences between Brit and US ACCENTS are very hard for you to determine -- they are often difficult for Brits and Americans. Most American attempts at a British accent are horrible -- often unrecognizable (Gwenyth Paltrow is an exception). Most Brits, on the other hand, are fully convinced they can do a good American, but they can't. Basically they just speak with a ridiculously nasal accent that sounds like person from Devon with a heavy cold.
Okay, I'll shut up.
Buy it - it's great.Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
Giggle.
BBC2, some documentary about the city of Sparta in ancient Greece. Being interviewed: Professor Anton Somethingorother, Head of Classics at Oxford University (don't remember his name or which college)
"...any provincial Greek must have been gobsmacked at the vastness of Xerxes' army as it marched past..."
:)
That's Oxford for you.
Find me a Cambridge man who uses 'gobsmacked' and I'll defer.
:wink:
So, ultimately, Tiara was right...! :lol:
So, ultimately, Tiara had a view! :lol: And long may that continue...... :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by TiaraNEug
I have my moments. Few and far between-but I have them. Read further posts for an upcoming "view."