English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips > 专家点评

Flip out over nothing

[ 2011-06-13 16:50]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

Flip out over nothing

Kim Bowden

Who gets bugged by cops, when your just skating, then they flip out over nothing. It's pretty retarded.

Could you explain "flip out over nothing"?

Most of us are probably clear on some of the more literal meanings of the word flip: we flip a coin before a soccer match to see which team kicks off or a gymnast performs a flip when they turn a somersault through the air.

But the combination of flip and out has a less literal meaning; it is a slang way of saying someone reacted strongly and abruptly to something, in an uncontrolled way. Basically, to say someone flipped out over something is to say it made them go crazy – crazy happy or crazy angry.

For example, "My friend will flip out when she hears I have got the new iPad 2," means the friend is expected to be incredibly excited about the news. In contrast, "My parents would flip out if they knew how little study I did for that English exam," suggests the parents would be furious.

The slang term is now so commonly used and recognized, the out can be dropped and the above meanings still implied. For example, "When she heard the news she flipped."

Related stories:

Bury the hatchet& have an ax to grind

Vocal proponent

Growing pains

Fleeting acquaintance

All-weather friend

Lead the pack

Fish or cut bait

Gilt-edged

To do more with less

Right down the middle

Take my word for it

40-sometimes

Last but not the least

Call it a dog

Pull my leg

Ego bath

Tough call

Rain check

Upper reaches

Off the shoulders

Off and running

Gold dust

Frugality fatigue

Red flag

Foregone conclusion

Call balls and strikes

Stare in the face

Cyber Monday

With a grain of salt

Drive home

Out of nowhere

Shove it under the carpet

the sky is the limit

hit it off

get my rib in my heart

本文仅代表作者本人观点,与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题,尊重他人,禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。

About the author:

Kim Bowden hails from Auckland, New Zealand, where she recently completed AUT University’s Postgraduate Journalism Diploma.

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn