161 Phrases 'Coined in the USA'
No country has a closer association with the language of Olde Englande than the USA. From the days of the first Puritan settlers to recent cross-Atlantic tweetings, the two countries have shared in the development of English.
Many words and phrases used in the USA have retained their Elizabethan English meanings and pronunciations that have long disappeared in England itself.
There are many American phrases which are used in the USA but haven't been adopted anywhere else. Example of this are:
These, and many others, are widely understood in the US, but would procure puzzled looks in other English-speaking countries.
The list below are of (some of) the many English phrases are were 'coined in the USA' and now wisely used around the world.
A bigger bang for your buck
A piece of cake
A rose is a rose is a rose
A shot in the arm
A sledgehammer to crack a nut
Acid test - The
All singing, all dancing
An accident waiting to happen
An arm and a leg
Another day, another dollar
As easy as pie
As easy as taking candy from a baby
As happy as a clam
Attack is the best form of defence
"Two countries divided by a common language".
A celebrated quotation, usually, and probably wrongly, attributed to George Bernard Shaw.
Baby boomer
Back to the drawing board
Back-seat driver - A
Bad hair day - A
Balling the jack
Ballpark figure - A
Barking up the wrong tree
Bass-ackwards
Bats in the belfry
Bee's knees - The
Between a rock and a hard place
Big fish in a small pond - A
Bigger bang for your buck - A
Birds and the bees - The
Blast from the past - A
Blaze a trail
Blonde bombshell - A
Born again
Break a leg
Bronx cheer
Brownie points
Bunny boiler - A
Bury the hatchet
Card-sharp - A
Catch 22
Chaise lounge
Chick flick - A
Climb on the bandwagon
Close, but no cigar
Coin a phrase
Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey
Compassion fatigue
Cold turkey
Concrete overcoat
Cost an arm and a leg
Customer is always right - The
Cut to the chase
Dead ringer - A
Doom and gloom
Double whammy
Down the tubes
Drop-dead gorgeous
Ethnic cleansing
Face the music
Fancy pants
Fashion victim - A
Feeding frenzy - A
Fifteen minutes of fame
Filthy rich
Five o'clock shadow
Flavor of the month - The
Fly off the handle
Foot in the door - A
Fuddy-duddy - A
Funny farm - The
Generation X
Get down to brass tacks
Get your dander up
Get your goat
Gild the lily
Go haywire
Go the whole hog
Go postal
Go pound sand
Go to hell in a handbasket
Good riddance to bad rubbish
Goody, goody gumdrops
Gung ho
Have an axe to grind
Heads up - A
Heavy metal
Heebie-jeebies - The
Hell's half acre
High on the hog
High, wide and handsome
Hissy fit - A
Hold your horses
Hooray Henry - A
Hunky-dory
Identity theft
If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen
In an interesting condition
In like Flynn
In spades
In the bag
In the sticks
Indian summer - An
Jobs for the boys
Joined at the hip
Jump on the bandwagon
Jump the gun
Jump the shark
Jury is still out - The
Kangaroo court - A
Keep the ball rolling
Keep your chin up
Kit and caboodle - The
Knock into a cocked hat
Know your onions
Lame duck - A
Lead-pipe cinch - A
Level playing field - A
Loose cannon - A
Lose your marbles
Make a bee-line for
Memory lane
Middle of the road
More bang for your buck
Mother country - The
My bad
My way or the highway
New kid on the block - The
Nitty-gritty - The
No dice
No-brainer - A
Off the record
On cloud nine
On the wagon
On the warpath
Paddle your own canoe
Paint the town red
Pass the buck
Peg out
Peter out
Pie in the sky
Piece of cake - A
Pipe dream - A
Play by ear
Power dressing
P.D.Q. - pretty damn quick
Pride comes before a fall
Prime time
Pull the wool over your eyes
Quality time
Red letter day - A
Rise and shine
Road rage
Run a mile
Run of the mill
Sacred cow - A
Security blanket
Seven-year itch - The
Sitting pretty
Six ways to Sunday
Skid row
Smart casual
Smoke and mirrors
Sold down the river
Sound bite - A
Spill the beans
Spin doctor - A
Spring forward, fall back
Square meal - A
Stool pigeon - A
Tail wagging the dog - The
Take the cake
Taken for a ride
Talk to the hand
Talk through one's hat
Tell me about it
Real McCoy - The
That's all she wrote
The best defense is a good offence
The road less travelled
That's All Folks!
The pits
The whole nine yards
The whole shebang
There's no such thing as a free lunch
To beat the band
Top notch
Tuckered out
Up a gum tree
Up shit creek without a paddle
Wear the trousers
Well heeled
What you see is what you get
What's not to like?
Whoops-a-daisy
Wild and woolly
Zero tolerance