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Help me to improve my English?

Posted by: Björn ( Sweden ) on May 07, 1999 at 14:35:48:

Hej på er!

I'm trying to improve my English. The are some words and expressions that I haven't been able to find in the dictionary. They are from an article in TIME ("The Littleton massacre") and from Nick Horby's book "about a boy". If there is a kind-hearted person out there who can help me I would be grateful.

*jocks

McSpot: Athletes. The sort of people who are very good at sports and tend to look down on those who aren't.

*preppies

McSpot: Rich kids. Frequently also jocks, if they are rich and like sport.

*Goths

McSpot: An attitude; a way of life. Frequently thought to be death-obsessed and terminally unhappy. Look here for more information. Musical tastes; think The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim...

*kindly spirit (Just a good person?)

McSpot: yes.

*stoners and deadbeats

McSpot: The term given to anyone who would rather sit around and smoke or drink rather than work a 40-hour week.

*Peekaboo

McSpot: A game you play with a baby; you hide behind your hands so the baby cannot see your face, then open them suddenly and smile at the baby while saying "peekaboo"; though that's not the way it was meant where you read it.

It basically means "surprise!"; since the whole point of the game is hiding and surprising the baby.

*mentoring

Looking after; teaching.

*busting "When they were both busting for a pee after a car journey."
Does 'busting' come from 'bust' or 'bustle'?

Neither; it's slang; and comes from "bursting". It means that they needed the toilet...

* "Been burning the candle at both ends?"

Staying up late at night working; if you burn a candle at both ends, you get twice the light, but it only lasts half as long. Similarly, if you "burn the candle at both ends" by staying up; you may get more done, but you will feel tired the following day.

If someone would like to learn Swedish -I can help you!

Thank you.

Kind regards
Björn Öfverström


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