get outta town (sometimes shortened to get out)
reaction to a remarkable feat or an unbelievable piece of news. It expresses being in awe and impressed
unlike the literal interpretation of the words, it does not express anger or annoyance
next thing you know
a comment on how quickly time passes
it's as if someone blinks and the next thing of which they're aware or conscious is [i.e., their baby has learned to walk]
yeah, right
the only grammatically correct [as far as I know] instance of a double positive in English: it looks like an affirmation but expresses disbelief
a likely story
almost the same as yeah, right
this phrase employs sarcasm: the speaker thinks that the claim is unlikely
badum tss
the A and U make the schwa sound, and the syllabic stress falls on "dum"
sound of a drum, reaction to a particularly witty remark
ooh, burn!
similar concept to badum tss, a reaction to a particularly witty remark that makes fun of someone else
make do
replace a more preferred option with a less preferred option, make the less preferred option functional for the task if it wasn't originally, and don't complain about not having what you want
here goes nothing
used when someone is about to attempt something, expresses apprehension
if worst comes to worst
"of all the potential results of this situation, if the worst one happens,"
Bonus tip: if the words don't make sense, infer what you can from the context. That's the key to listening in your target language.
🤔A good analogy for me is this weird combination of words, "pineapple pizza". What does that even mean?
Of course, I'm being sarcastic.
I stumbled over yeah,right. Doesn't it also have a direct meaning of confirmation? I'm asking because this phrase is often used in textbooks. Thanks for the list!
@Dora_Serge That's interesting. I've never read a textbook for English language learners, so I have no idea what's in them. I suppose it might be used in affirmation in certain instances, but if you ever hear "yeah, right" in real life, you'll know from the tone of voice and the body language that it expresses disbelief.