Thread: Toodle-oo, or Common American phrases :)

After numerous Olya's questions I decided that I need to brush my 'everyday' English a little too. So I opened my "Super-Mini Common American Phrases Dictionary (A guide to conversation and small talk)" by Richard Spears. It's supposed to teach me "общепринятым разговорным выражениям, используемых в современном англ. яз. в США".

But some examples at the early beginning made me cringe:

- See you later.
- After while, crocodile.
and
- After while, Mary.
- Toodle-oo.

My school teacher (years and years ago) told me, that this alligator/crocodile stuff is outdated. And what's with "Toodle-oo"? Do people really use it? It sounds... well, I don't want to offend anybody, who may use it.

Should I trust this dictionary?

А какого он года издания? Постоянно возникают новые выражения (что я хотела сказать дальше, вы сами знаете).
В Коллинзе toodle-oo мало того что британским обозвали, так ещё и написали, что оно редко встречается, так что ничего страшного.

Издание 2000 года, но я порылась - похоже, оригинальное издание было в 1991 году. Собственно, меня интересовало, какой была бы реакция окружающих (американцев), если бы я прощебетала в разговоре это "Toodle-oo!".

Ответили бы в том же духе? Вообще не поняли бы? Подумали бы, что я с приветом? И главный вопрос (скорее риторический), если это Toodle-oo! мало того, что не commom, да еще и British, можно ли верить всему остальному в этом словаре?

1. See ya later - is the only one of these you will usually ever hear. If someone says 'toodle-oo' or 'after while, crocodile' and they are not talking to a child, you probably don't want to associate with this person anymore.) I've never heard 'after while, Mary'.

Originally Posted by xRoosterx

1. See ya later - is the only one of these you will usually ever hear. If someone says 'toodle-oo' or 'after while, crocodile' and they are not talking to a child, you probably don't want to associate with this person anymore.)

Thanks, xRoosterx. That's exactly what I wanted to know.

I've never heard 'after while, Mary'.

Well, probably she confused Mary with a crocodile. )

One more question, if a grown-up person says "okey dokey" all the time, does he sound like an idiot, or it's just funny and informal?

Actually, it is all about rhyme:

See you later, alligator!
see you in a while, crocodile!
See you soon, teaspoon!
See you the 23rd of Febuary, cranberry?

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Actually, it is all about rhyme:

Yeah, I know. But I thought it's considered kinda lame nowadays.
BTW, I like cranberry rhyme.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

One more question, if a grown-up person says "okey dokey" all the time, does he sounds like an idiot, or it's just funny and informal?

Я думаю, что это довольно нормально, особенно среди более старых людей, но, может раздражать на личном уровне...

- See you later.
- After while, crocodile.

Я не СШАчик , но что же значит этот 'after while'?

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Actually, it is all about rhyme:

Yeah, I know. But I thought it's considered kinda lame nowadays.
BTW, I like cranberry rhyme.

Well, believe it or not... I use it

Never use me as an example for whether something is lame or not. The alligator part... not the cranberry...

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Well, believe it or not... I use it
Never use me as an example for whether something is lame or not. The alligator part... not the cranberry...

Oh, so I guess, it's ok then. I don't think you're lame.
I've just repeated what other people told me, but I didn't know whether it was true or not.

Originally Posted by basurero

Я думаю, что это довольно нормально, особенно среди более старых людей

Спасибо, basurero.

но что же значит этот 'after while'?

То же самое, что и 'in a while', разве нет?

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Actually, it is all about rhyme:

See you later, alligator!
see you in a while, crocodile!
See you soon, teaspoon!
See you the 23rd of Febuary, cranberry?

My response to any of these would be:

"And now I'm going to kick your a*s, (pause to think) large-mouth bass!"
:P

Honestly, Gromit's question is hard to answer because some people sound like idiots when they talk that way, and some people sound OK. Well, lame people, I mean. It sounds normal coming from lame people because you expect it from them and you don't notice it.
Just kidding VK...

Don't trust that dictionary, Gromit!
I don't know anybody who says "toodle-oo" without irony.

Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot

Don't trust that dictionary, Gromit!
I don't know anybody who says "toodle-oo" without irony.

Thanks for the detailed answer, Matroskin Kot.
I'm going to use this dictionary as a source of questions for that topic.

Another phrase from this dictionary:
Excuse, please.

Is it ok to omit "me" in "Excuse me, please"? Is it common?

Only if you are a foreigner!

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Only if you are a foreigner!

Man, they should ban this dictionary! But it's fun to leaf through it, looking for weird phrases.

These phrases are given as the equivalents of the expression "Give me five!":
Slip me some skin! (hmm...)
Give me (some) skin! (sounds like somebody is cheering girls in the strip-bar )
Skin me! (it's just scary, I wouldn't say this to a stranger, he may turn out to be a serial killer. No need to plant any ideas... )

Are they used? Do YOU use them?

I've only heard the "skin" analogy in 90's tv-series with african americans or in some ironic situation on tv. I don't know how likely it is that someone still uses it... I'd never use it, and I even use "alligator" analogies!

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

I've only heard the "skin" analogy in 90's tv-series with african americans or in some ironic situation on tv. I don't know how likely it is that someone still uses it... I'd never use it, and I even use "alligator" analogies!

Thank you.
It's probably the same situation as with some Russian-English slang dictionaries. Most of the expressions there are so weird that it looks like authors invented them just for fun or took some short-lived regional teenage slang terms.

Well, in this particular case, I think it was a little more widespread than a short-lived teenage slang, but I'll let someone with a little more street experience speak to the matter (DDT, Matrosin Kot, Dogster?)

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

Only if you are a foreigner!

My girlfriend, немецка, will say certain things that are grammatically correct and sensible but completely unorthodox ways of saying things. Then, I'll ask her where she heard that and tell me that her dictionary has it listed under 'Common Phrases'.