This term refers to the wrong way Filipinos use the English language. Usually, Filipinisms result from the literal translation of words from the native tongue to English, with the famous example patayin mo ang ilaw to kill the lights, or it could be that the use resulted to replacing the correct word or words with similar sounding/spelling words. Here are some examples of these words. Try correcting them if you can.
|Rubber shoes||Next, next week|
Trite Expressions or Clichés
These terms refer to words or word groups that have become stale because of frequent use or overuse. These expressions used to have a striking effect when they were first used because of the strong descriptions or amusing likeness of the words used to the thing or idea that they are referring. However, it is also because of this striking effect that these words were used over and over again, thus eventually they lost their striking meaning.
Clichés are either used to compare a noun with another word (noun, adjective or adverb words/phrase) or they could just be common phrases or words used to start an idea.
|bury the hatchet||at loose ends||on speaking terms||fair and square|
|at death’s door||after all is said and done||at death’s door||add insult to injury
|at loose ends||bite off more than you can chew||blushing bride||break the ice
|calm before the storm||busy as a bee||viselike grip||easier said than done|
|each and every||green with envy||in this day and age||quick as a flash|
|make a long story short||to the bitter end
||last but not least
||irony of fate
This term refers to words or group of words that convey a totally different meaning from their literal meaning. Usually, when translated to their respective literal meanings, they usually do not make any sense at all. However, with their idiomatic meaning, they can actually make your sentence much more vibrant.
|Back To Square One||Ball and chain||Beat a dead horse||Between the Devil and the deep blue sea|
|Bushed||Caught With Your Pants Down||Can’t see your nose in front of your face||Crash|
|Don’t look a Gift Horse in the Mouth||Flea Market||Get out of hand||Hit the hay|
|In your face||Junk Mail||Kick the bucket||Let sleeping dogs lie|
|Mum’s the word||New kid on the block||Over the hill:||Prick up your ears|
|Rub someone up the wrong way||Spinning a yarn||Tie the knot||Under the weather|