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Ask for help > Looking for the right expression
Looking for the right expression

Fallen Angel
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Looking for the right expression
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Hi everybody!
When teens are on the street just talking, doing nothing especial, and they want to invite someone to join them, is it possible to say:
�We�re just hanging out. Join us!�
The 1st sentence sounds awkward.
Thanks in advance! |
8 May 2012
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ueslteacher
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hang about (British English, informal) 1 to wait or stay near a place, not doing very muchkids hanging about in the streets
hang out (informal) to spend a lot of time in a placeThe local kids hang out at the mall.
or else
- What are you doin? - Nothin, just chillin. Sophia |
8 May 2012
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cunliffe
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Yep - �chilling � is the word of the moment. That �s what they �d say - �We �re just chillin � � |
8 May 2012
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almaz
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Last I heard, you can just use hangin � without a particle. Isn �t that one of the problems with trying to capture �teen talk �/ �street � etc? Does anyone under the age of twenty actually say chillin � nowadays? As far as I remember, if anyone older than you used your slang, you just stopped using it. I suppose this is the difference between slang and colloquial language. |
8 May 2012
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ueslteacher
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Come on, Alex, seriously? When did you last hang around say American teens that you �re saying that chillin is outdated? Where �s that secret source of statistics you use? Let us all know so we could be wiser:) Sophia
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8 May 2012
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GIOVANNI
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@ueslteacher, I think the secret source is age. I haven �t heard chillin in years, hanging in, hanging out yes, but chillin, it �s been a long time.
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8 May 2012
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almaz
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Good question, Sophia, but, as the kids may, or may not, say: backatcha! What �s your up-to-date source?
My secret sources and, it has to be said, my secret vice, are Reddit and sites like it (4chan, Digg, for example). I�ve been using (and lurking on) these sites for years and I still feel awkward when I make a comment using internet slang and receive answers from people who are either foul-mouthed 12 year-olds or sophisticated 60 year-olds (or vice-versa). Sometimes, I can�t tell the difference.
Oh, and I�ve never used the word �dude� seriously in my life.
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8 May 2012
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ueslteacher
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Do you mean I �m old? As for me, I �ve never been around native-speaking teens:) The things I know I pick up from the media. @Alex: I hope you�re NOT referring to me when you say foul-mouthed:) I�m curious to know in what age category would you put me? Sophia
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8 May 2012
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almaz
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Perish the thought, Sophia.
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8 May 2012
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ldthemagicman
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Dear Sophia,
I don �t CARE how old you are! I would put you in the 18-to-24-year-old bracket --- young enough to be lovely, yet old enough to be also highly intelligent.
(Now, I will be banned from the ESLP site FOR EVER!)
Les |
8 May 2012
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