Click here to play!

colloquial language or vulgar?!

Click here to play
   Share on Facebook  
Anonymous  #482051  Tue, 26 Feb 08 10:35 PM
hi,

today i wrote a letter (to an old aquaintance, whom i don't know very good), in which i wanted to describe a situation, where someone laughed VERY intensely - and because my english is kinda bad, i googled for a funny idiom. i found & used 'he laughed his ass off', which was described as 'slang-idiom'. after i sent the letter i suddenly found another description, saying that this is not colloquial or slang, but vulgar! this shocked me a lot, because i wanted to be funny, and the use of slang-language is really ok for me - but i did NOT AT ALL want to be vulgar! so i feel very embarrased now.. can you ease my sorrow - or NOT?Zip it!

 thanks a lot for your help!

an abashed girl

  
Feebs11  #482083  Tue, 26 Feb 08 11:56 PM
 This won't be of comfort to you - it is very vulgar. But I am sure the person you wrote to will understand - you can alway write a note to say you hope they were not offended, and that you were trying to be colloquial.
  
Top 25 Contributor
Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006
UK
Senior Member (4,809)
ModeratorProficient Speaker
Anonymous  #482777  Thu, 28 Feb 08 01:21 PM
 oh, i somehow posted twice by mistake, that's why i detected your answer so late:

well, that's all very embarassing Shake ..but thanks a lot for your reply!

bye! 

 

  
Grammar Geek  #482787  Thu, 28 Feb 08 02:14 PM

In the meantime, did you find other idioms to use?

He just about busted a gut.

He laughed his head off.

He was just about on the floor laughing.

(LMAO is short for laughing my ass off, and it's pretty common in chat speak, so it's not appallingly vulgar. I'd even use it with my mom - but not my mother-in-law.)

  
Top 10 Contributor
Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006
Pennsylvania, USA
Veteran Member (15,288)
ModeratorProficient Speaker
Barbara, who answers in American English.
Anonymous  #482813  Thu, 28 Feb 08 02:51 PM

It's only vulgar if you're very conservative. Ass is a cuss word, but it is used so frequently that it has become widely accepted as slang. Just don't say it to conservative people, and DO NOT use it at work or in an interview or any professional setting.

  
AddThis Feed Button RSS Feed: ESL Vocabulary and Idioms
© 2008 MediaCET Ltd.
Terms and Conditions