COLLOQUIALISM

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does colloquialism mean? 

• COLLOQUIALISM (noun)
  The noun COLLOQUIALISM has 1 sense:

1. a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

  Familiarity information: COLLOQUIALISM used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COLLOQUIALISM (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("colloquialism" is a kind of...):

expression; formulation (the style of expressing yourself)

Domain member usage:

firewall ((colloquial) the application of maximum thrust)

fix (something craved, especially an intravenous injection of a narcotic drug)

heavy lifting (difficult work)

biz; game (your occupation or line of work)

no-brainer (anything that requires little thought)

crapshoot (a risky and uncertain venture)

snogging ((British informal) cuddle and kiss)

wash (any enterprise in which losses and gains cancel out)

aggro ((informal British usage) aggravation or aggression)

dickey-bird; dickeybird; dicky-bird; dickybird (small bird; adults talking to children sometimes use these words to refer to small birds)

bunny; bunny rabbit ((usually informal) especially a young rabbit)

bib-and-tucker (an attractive outfit)

delf (an excavation; usually a quarry or mine)

funny wagon (an ambulance used to transport patients to a mental hospital)

boom box; ghetto blaster (a portable stereo)

lemon; stinker (an artifact (especially an automobile) that is defective or unsatisfactory)

long johns (warm underwear with long legs)

main drag (the main street of a town or city)

put-put (a small gasoline engine (as on motor boat))

rathole (a small dirty uncomfortable room)

rattrap (filthy run-down dilapidated housing)

redbrick university ((British informal) a provincial British university of relatively recent founding; distinguished from Oxford University and Cambridge University)

Ritz (an ostentatiously elegant hotel)

security blanket (anything that an adult person uses to reduce anxiety)

shooting gallery (a building (usually abandoned) where drug addicts buy and use heroin)

Sunday best; Sunday clothes (the best attire you have which is worn to church on Sunday)

war paint (full ceremonial regalia)

smoke (something with no concrete substance)

class (elegance in dress or behavior)

setup (the way something is organized or arranged)

backbone; grit; gumption; guts; moxie; sand (fortitude and determination)

way (the property of distance in general)

number (a clothing measurement)

enormity (vastness of size or extent)

drag (something tedious and boring)

hot stuff; voluptuousness (the quality of being attractive and exciting (especially sexually exciting))

eye; oculus; optic (the organ of sight)

peeper (an informal term referring to the eye)

proboscis (the human nose (especially when it is large))

countenance; kisser; mug; phiz; physiognomy; smiler; visage (the human face ('kisser' and 'smiler' and 'mug' are informal terms for 'face' and 'phiz' is British))

can of worms (a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity)

hang-up (an emotional preoccupation)

think (an instance of deliberate thinking)

crosshairs (a center of interest)

turn-on (something causing excitement or stimulating interest)

negative stimulation; turnoff (something causing antagonism or loss of interest)

plague (an annoyance)

bare bones ((plural) the most basic facts or elements)

pertainym (meaning relating to or pertaining to)

teaser (an attention-getting opening presented at the start of a television show)

pickup (a warrant to take someone into custody)

double Dutch (an incomprehensible talk)

put-down; squelch; squelcher; takedown (a crushing remark)

rap (voluble conversation)

bull session (an informal discussion (usually among men))

huddle; powwow ((informal) a quick private conference)

pep talk (a speech of exhortation attempting to instill enthusiasm and determination in a team or staff)

homestretch (the end of an enterprise)

barnburner (an impressively successful event)

blessed event; happy event (the live birth of a child)

creeps (a feeling of fear and revulsion)

blahs (a general feeling of boredom and dissatisfaction)

banger ((British informal) pork sausage)

firewater (any strong spirits (such as strong whisky or rum))

swad (a bunch)

maffia; mafia (any tightly knit group of trusted associates)

turf (range of jurisdiction or influence)

borscht belt; borscht circuit; borsht belt; borsht circuit ((informal) a resort area in the Catskill Mountains of New York that was patronized primarily by Jewish guests)

drink (any large deep body of water)

number one (a reference to yourself or myself etc.; 'take care of number one' means to put your own interests first)

big cheese; big deal; big enchilada; big fish; big gun; big shot; big wheel; head honcho (an important influential person)

bull; cop; copper; fuzz; pig (uncomplimentary terms for a policeman)

canary (a female singer)

cannon fodder; fodder; fresh fish (soldiers who are regarded as expendable in the face of artillery fire)

crazy; looney; loony; nutcase; weirdo (someone deranged and possibly dangerous)

dick; gumshoe; hawkshaw (someone who is a detective)

dimwit; doofus; half-wit; nitwit (a stupid incompetent person)

dodo; fogey; fogy; fossil (someone whose style is out of fashion)

don't-know (a person who responds 'I don't know' in a public opinion poll)

fence (a dealer in stolen property)

dud; flop; washout (someone who is unsuccessful)

fuddy-duddy (a conservative who is old-fashioned or dull in attitude or appearance)

gal (alliterative term for girl (or woman))

geezer (a man who is (usually) old and/or eccentric)

head (a user of (usually soft) drugs)

headhunter (a recruiter of personnel (especially for corporations))

hustler; operator; wheeler dealer (a shrewd or unscrupulous person who knows how to circumvent difficulties)

know-all; know-it-all (someone who thinks he knows everything and refuses to accept advice or information from others)

lazybones (a lazy person)

man (a male person who plays a significant role (husband or lover or boyfriend) in the life of a particular woman)

middlebrow (someone who is neither a highbrow nor a lowbrow)

mouth; mouthpiece (a spokesperson (as a lawyer))

paperhanger (someone who passes bad checks or counterfeit paper money)

rainmaker (executive who is very successful in bringing in business to his company or firm)

clone; dead ringer; ringer (a person who is almost identical to another)

shoofly (an undercover police officer who investigates other policemen)

gloomy Gus; picklepuss; pouter; sourpuss (someone with a habitually sullen or gloomy expression)

greyback; Johnny; Johnny Reb; Reb; Rebel ('Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; 'greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms)

killjoy; party pooper; spoilsport; wet blanket (someone who spoils the pleasure of others)

square; square toes (a formal and conservative person with old-fashioned views)

stuffed shirt (a bore who is extremely formal, pompous, and old-fashioned)

thrush (a woman who sings popular songs)

townee (townsman unacquainted with country life especially a slick and flashy male city dweller)

card; wag; wit (a witty amusing person who makes jokes)

woman (a female person who plays a significant role (wife or mistress or girlfriend) in the life of a particular man)

cleanup; killing (a very large profit)

giveaway (a gift of public land or resources for the private gain of a limited group)

meal ticket (a source of income or livelihood)

swag (valuable goods)

ice; sparkler (diamonds)

load (an amount of alcohol sufficient to intoxicate)

soup (an unfortunate situation)

size; size of it (the actual state of affairs)

state (a state of depression or agitation)

frazzle (a state of extreme exhaustion)

horniness; hot pants; hotness (a state of sexual arousal)

charley-horse; charley horse (a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise)

dumps; mopes (an informal expression for a mildly depressed state)

crack; shot (a chance to do something)

street (a situation offering opportunities)

throw (a single chance or instance)

fug ((British informal) an airless smoky smelly atmosphere)

soup (any composition having a consistency suggestive of soup)

sticks and stone (a general term for building materials)

week from Monday (a time period of a week or more)

month of Sundays (a time perceived as long)

blue moon (a long time)

figure (understand)

foot; hoof; hoof it; leg it (walk)

keep one's eyes open; keep one's eyes peeled; keep one's eyes skinned (pay attention; be watchful)

give it a try; give it a whirl (try)

break (happen or take place)

potted ((British informal) summarized or abridged)

living ((informal) absolute)

come-at-able; get-at-able; getatable (capable of being reached or attained)

un-come-at-able; un-get-at-able; ungetatable (difficult to reach or attain)

dead-on (accurate and to the point)

hot (marked by excited activity)

fly ((British informal) not to be deceived or hoodwinked)

hot under the collar (very angry)

huffy; mad; sore (roused to anger)

livid (furiously angry)

dinky ((British informal) pretty and neat)

dishy ((informal British) sexually attractive)

primo (the best of its kind)

chicken; chickenhearted; lily-livered; white-livered; yellow; yellow-bellied (easily frightened)

bone-idle; bone-lazy (constitutionally lazy or idle)

chancy; flukey; fluky; iffy (subject to accident or chance or change)

punch-drunk; silly; slaphappy (dazed from or as if from repeated blows)

anserine; dopey; dopy; foolish; gooselike; goosey; goosy; jerky (having or revealing stupidity)

buddy-buddy; chummy; thick ((used informally) associated on close terms)

togged (dressed especially in smart clothes)

bare-ass; bare-assed; in the altogether; in the buff; in the raw; naked as a jaybird; peeled; raw; stark naked ((used informally) completely unclothed)

starkers ((British informal) stark naked)

comfortable; comfy (providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief ('comfy' is informal))

bad; tough (feeling physical discomfort or pain ('tough' is occasionally used colloquially for 'bad'))

flustered; hot and bothered; perturbed; rattled (thrown into a state of agitated confusion; ('rattled' is an informal term))

jam-packed; jammed; packed (extremely crowed or filled to capacity)

far-out; kinky; offbeat; quirky; way-out ((informal) strikingly unconventional)

boss-eyed ((British informal) cross-eyed)

broken; busted (out of working order ('busted' is an informal substitute for 'broken'))

knocked-out (damaged)

licked (having been got the better of)

plummy (very desirable)

done for; gone; kaput (destroyed or killed)

tall (impressively difficult)

cushy; easygoing; soft (not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship)

flat-footed; flatfooted (forthright and explicit)

hopped-up; stoned (under the influence of narcotics)

live (abounding with life and energy)

anxious; dying (eagerly desirous)

ritzy (luxuriously elegant)

het up (worked up emotionally by anger or excitement)

crazy; dotty; gaga; wild (intensely enthusiastic about or preoccupied with)

no-frills (characterized by the absence of inessential features)

crazy (possessed by inordinate excitement)

big-ticket; high-ticket (very expensive)

cool (fashionable and attractive at the time; often skilled or socially adept)

groovy; swagger ((British informal) very chic)

in (currently fashionable)

prehistoric (no longer fashionable)

classy; posh; swish (elegant and fashionable)

snazzy (flashily stylish)

gammy ((British informal) sore or lame)

niffy ((British informal) malodorous)

chummy; matey; pally; palsy-walsy ((used colloquially) having the relationship of friends or pals)

stuffed (crammed with food)

honest-to-god; honest-to-goodness; sure-enough ((used informally especially for emphasis) real or genuine)

bang-up; bully; corking; cracking; dandy; great; groovy; keen; neat; nifty; not bad; old; peachy; slap-up; smashing; swell (very good)

hopeless ((informal to emphasize how bad it is) beyond hope of management or reform)

crappy; icky; lousy; rotten; shitty; stinking; stinky (very bad)

no-good; rubber (returned for lack of funds)

shirty; snorty ((British informal) ill-tempered or annoyed)

straight (not homosexual)

shady (of questionable honesty or legality)

killing; sidesplitting (very funny)

dickey; dicky ((British informal) faulty)

big (significant)

fiddling; footling; lilliputian; little; niggling; petty; picayune; piddling; piffling; trivial ((informal) small and of little importance)

potty ((British informal) trivial)

hep; hip; hip to (informed about the latest trends)

highbrow; highbrowed (highly cultured or educated)

banging; humongous; thumping; walloping; whopping ((used informally) very large)

man-sized (very large; appropriate to the size of a man)

whacking ((British informal) enormous)

bittie; bitty; itsy-bitsy; itty-bitty; teensy; teensy-weensy; teentsy; teeny; teeny-weeny; wee; weensy; weeny ((used informally) very small)

dinky; insignificant (small and unimpressive)

hot (recently stolen or smuggled)

canned; transcribed (recorded for broadcast)

blue-eyed; fair-haired; white-haired (favorite)

hexed; jinxed ((usually used colloquially) causing or accompanied by misfortune)

blood-and-guts (marked by great zeal or violence)

bodacious (incorrigible)

all-fired (extreme)

decent (sufficiently clothed to see visitors or appear in public)

together (mentally and emotionally stable)

awful; frightful; terrible; tremendous (extreme in degree or extent or amount or impact)

one; right ((informal) very; used informally as an intensifier)

some (remarkable)

square (leaving no balance)

stuck (baffled)

mind-bending; mind-blowing (intensely affecting the mind especially in producing hallucinations)

dressy (in fancy clothing)

cockamamie; cockamamy (informal term for ridiculous and implausible)

beastly; god-awful; hellish ((informal) very unpleasant)

hot (very popular or successful)

crazy; half-baked; screwball; softheaded (foolish; totally unsound)

high-flown; high-sounding; inflated (pretentious (especially with regard to language or ideals))

jumped-up ((British informal) upstart)

white-shoe (denoting a company or law firm owned and run by members of the WASP elite who are generally conservative)

fat; juicy (lucrative)

kosher (proper or legitimate)

cool (used of a quantity or amount (especially of money) for emphasis)

fishy; funny; shady; suspect; suspicious (not as expected)

lunatic; moonstruck (insane and believed to be affected by the phases of the moon)

screw-loose; screwy (not behaving normally)

all right; cool; fine; hunky-dory; o.k.; ok; okay (being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition)

umpteenth; umptieth; umteenth (last in an indefinitely numerous series)

hot (performed or performing with unusually great skill and daring and energy)

clubable; clubbable (inclined to club together)

bad (nonstandard)

shy (short)

A-one; ace; crack; first-rate; super; tiptop; top-notch; topnotch; tops (of the highest quality)

boss; brag (exceptionally good)

bum; cheap; cheesy; chintzy; crummy; punk; sleazy; tinny (of very poor quality; flimsy)

ropey; ropy ((British informal) very poor in quality)

gobsmacked (utterly astounded)

goggle-eyed; openmouthed; popeyed (with eyes or mouth open in surprise)

jiggered ((British informal expletive) surprised)

buttoned-up ((British colloquial) not inclined to conversation)

pumped; pumped-up; pumped up; wired (tense with excitement and enthusiasm as from a rush of adrenaline)

economical; frugal; scotch; sparing; stinting (avoiding waste)

all in; beat; bushed; dead (very tired)

whacked ((British informal) exhausted or worn out)

fuggy ((British informal) poorly ventilated)

knock-down-and-drag-out; knockdown-dragout (extremely violent)

goofy; silly; wacky; whacky; zany (ludicrous, foolish)

boiling (extremely)

plum; plumb (exactly)

all right; alright; O.K.; okay (in a satisfactory or adequate manner)

anyplace; anywhere (at or in or to any place)

someplace; somewhere (in or at or to some place)

all over; everyplace; everywhere (to or in any or all places)

anon ((old-fashioned or informal) in a little while)

apparently; evidently; manifestly; obviously; patently; plain; plainly (unmistakably ('plain' is often used informally for 'plainly'))

awful; awfully; frightfully; terribly (used as intensifiers)

by all means (definitely or certainly)

by no means; not by a blame sight; not by a long sight (definitely not)

good; soundly; thoroughly (completely and absolutely ('good' is sometimes used informally for 'thoroughly'))

flop; right (exactly)

forever; forever and a day (for a very long or seemingly endless time)

dingdong (heartily or earnestly)

right smart; way (to a great degree or by a great distance; very much ('right smart' is regional in the United States))

at any rate; at least; leastways; leastwise (if nothing else ('leastwise' is informal and 'leastways' is colloquial))

irregardless (regardless; a combination of irrespective and regardless sometimes used humorously)

certainly; for certain; for sure; sure; sure as shooting; sure enough; surely (definitely or positively ('sure' is sometimes used informally for 'surely'))

easily; easy (with ease ('easy' is sometimes used informally for 'easily'))

easy; soft (in a relaxed manner; or without hardship)

easy; slow; slowly; tardily (without speed ('slow' is sometimes used informally for 'slowly'))

in a pig's eye (absolutely not; never)

like crazy; like hell; like mad; like sin; like the devil; like thunder ((informal) with great speed or effort or intensity; used for emphasis)

hopelessly (in a hopeless manner)

bang; bolt; slap; slapdash; smack (directly)

rough; roughly (with roughness or violence ('rough' is an informal variant for 'roughly'))

heaps (very much)

plop; plunk (with a short hollow thud)

plump (straight down especially heavily or abruptly)

sweet; sweetly (in an affectionate or loving manner ('sweet' is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of 'sweetly'))

Domain member usage:

Ebonics (a nonstandard form of American English characteristically spoken by African Americans in the United States)

fantabulous (very good; of the highest quality)

forty winks (sleeping for a short period of time (usually not in bed))

ripping (very good; of the highest quality)

skip (leave suddenly)

snooze (sleeping for a short period of time (usually not in bed))

straight up ((of an alcoholic drink) stirred or shaken with ice, but served without it)

 Context examples 

Higginbotham's grammar, Higginbotham's colloquialisms, Higginbotham's mental quirks and processes, were apparent throughout.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)