Colloquialisms Quotes

“Look lak we done run our conversation from grass roots tuh pine trees.”
― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

“Another segment of society that has constructed a language of its own is business. People in business say that toner cartridges are in short supply, that they have updated the next shipment of these cartridges, and that they will finalize their recommendations at the next meeting of the board. They are speaking a language familiar and dear to them. Its portentous nouns and verbs invest ordinary events with high adventure; executives walk among toner cartridges, caparisoned like knights. We should tolerate them--every person of spirit wants to ride a white horse.”
― William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style

“Jeet yet?”
― Lonna Cottrell-Thompson, Everyday Is Like Sunday: A Memoir

“She said, "I could kill him for what he did to you!"
It was a curious phrase. I could kill... One I never used since I actually had killed before. I was a murderer, so for me it lost its hyperbolic quality. But like when you buy a car and then see that specific model everywhere, I noticed whenever anyone idly threw out murderous threats. And it was often. For me they stuck out like neon signsin otherwise dull common colloquialisms. People were always exclaiming, "I could kill you right now! or "I want to fucking kill her!" or the classic joke, "If I tell you, I'll have to kill you," and on and on and on. I heard something like that said at least once a week, and I nodded and smiled and understood, like a well-adjusted nonhomicidal person.”
― Sascha Rothchild, Blood Sugar

“During my first semester on campus, I was pretty shocked at how open everything was. I'd hear girls in the dorm talking about hooking up with guys they just met, and I wasn't even totally sure what that meant. Half the time, I'm still not sure, because it seems like different people mean different things. To some, it's just making out, but to others, it means sleeping with someone, and to others something in between, if you know what I mean. I spent a big chunk of my freshman year trying to unscramble the code.”
― Nicholas Sparks, The Longest Ride