People have been sharing the times they used an especially English word or phrase that was totally lost on other people – 14 favourites
Here’s a rather fabulous thing that started when writer and comedian @turntineforwhat shared the story of when they called someone a ‘silver fox’ only to totally bamboozle the people she was with.
English is neither of my roommates' first language so they often think I'm saying weird shit recreationally and I don't have the heart to contradict them. The other day at the farmer's market we saw a hot farmer and I called him a silver fox. They laughed at me for 5 minutes
— alex turntine (@turntineforwhat) October 2, 2025
to clarify they're both fluent in English, there's just certain sayings they've never heard before. At this same farmer's market one of them tricked me by asking what that one fermented health drink is called. I said kombucha? And she said "kombucha mouth on deez nuts" lmfao
— alex turntine (@turntineforwhat) October 2, 2025
And it got people sharing the times they too used a word or phrase that was totally lost on other people, and an absolute joy it was too.
1.
I once said “let’s blow this popsicle stand” to a Korean exchange student and his mind exploded in front of me
— clown musk (@WIGGYWAMWAM) October 2, 2025
2.
I once told a German that I fell down a rabbit hole last night researching something n she was like excuse me ???
— bea (@fridayfightingg) October 2, 2025
3.
introduced my friend to the term double fisting and he did not believe me when i said it wasn’t inappropriate
— luc (@r0tprince) October 2, 2025
4.
called my friend a silly goose while sitting next to a chinese international student and he laughed so hard i was worried about him
— маша (@menya_masha) October 2, 2025
5.
I'm married to a french woman, and this plus making her pronounce difficult words is the greatest joy in my life. She called hangers hookers
— Lars_75 (@Lars759) October 2, 2025
6.
once told my coworker from Honduras i worked at our job for “6 months and some change” and she giggled at me for 3 minutes as i explained it made our day
— when theres a ✨WILL✨ there’s a way (@s4t4a4r) October 2, 2025
7.
I once said “if push comes to shove” to this polish girl I was seeing and she was genuinely so deeply confused
— child of venus (@faded_faerie) October 2, 2025
8.
Telling someone who doesn’t know “I ate shit this morning” just means you fell
— Swiss 🙂 (@buddy_ho11y) October 2, 2025
9.
“Keep your pants on”, meaning pls be patient was days and days of fun for a friend from Mexico
— cheddarbiscuit (@kittypotomous) October 2, 2025
10.
They think “shits and giggles” is so funny too. Like yes now we shitting and giggling
— WitheredSage (@witheredsage) October 2, 2025
11.
I once had a British colleague, in a zoom meeting he started talking about teaching grandmas how to suck eggs?????
— Anne (@AnneArdon) October 2, 2025
12.
taught my ex brazilian boyfriend “bruh” and he said it every other sentence for two months
— gigi (@paper78436) October 2, 2025
13.
My mom learned English as an adult so she will occassionally mispell a word that sounds similar
She made got home warming gift and wrote “from my chicken you yours” on the card
— Astrid Vasquez (@AstridEquis) October 2, 2025
To conclude …
Introducing foreign speakers to turns of phrases is one of the great joys of multiculturalism
— Some Guy (@SomeGuy93450142) October 2, 2025
Follow @turntineforwhat here!
Source @turntineforwhat