An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20111

ASL IDIOMS &EXPRESSIONS

Presented by

Paulette Sottak

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20112

The signs I will demonstrate are ASL idioms that are expressed with both signs and facial expressions. They can contain single or compound signs as well as entire phrases. These are fun signs used often and well worth knowing.

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20113

MOST COMMONLY USED SIGNS

… that you may have already learned from your current or previous ASL classes …

KISS-FIST O-I-C FINISH WHAT’S-UP?

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20114

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

ANNOYING; PET-PEEVE

(SICK sign; twisting on forehead)

- “It’s annoying.”- “Cutting in line is my pet peeve!”

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20115

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

YOU-GOT-ME

(SICK sign; moving in a couple of ways)

(palm inward)- “Chuckling”- “Oh, Brother!” – in response to a joke- “Oh, come on!” or “Oh, please!”

(palm outward)- “You got me!”

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20116

TAKE-RISK/CHANCE

[HS: 11 off from ears (palms inward), then fingers

extended]

- “No guts, no glory!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20117

LONG-TIME

(HS: Y; thumb on forehead, move straight forward) – usually associated with negativity

- “What takes you so long?”

- “That’s too long.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20118

DIDN’T-SAY-THAT

(HS: 1; tapping once on lip)

- “I didn’t say that.” (to clarify)

- “I didn’t mean that.” (error)

Note different facial expressions for both.

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/20119

GOOD-RIDDANCE

(HS: 55; middle fingers sticking out; moving forward)

- “Finally I got through with it!”

- “Bob has finally moved out. Good riddance!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201110

STARTLED

(“Light-on-then-off” sign on chest)

– “You scared the heck out of me!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201111

STAY-HOME

(BASEMENT sign)

- “Howard Hughes was a hermit.”

- “We’ve been snowed in for a week, and everyone

has cabin fever.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201112

SECOND-A-MOTION

(HS: L; moving like shooting)

- “I second the motion (in a parliamentary meeting).”

- “Yes, I totally agree with you!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201113

BETTER-THAN

(Shot-H – directional)

- “The University of Connecticut hammered Butler.”

- “I rooted for women’s NCAA Notre Dame, but they

were defeated by Texas A&M. Oh rats!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201114

CLOSE-CALL

(HS: F; move forward from forehead)

- “My father was speeding when he saw a police car

parked on the side of the road. He slowed down

and passed without incident. It was a close call!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201115

YOU/ME-TO-BE-BLAMED

(HS: A, moving outward from HS: B, palm down)

- “You didn’t read the instructions. It is all your fault.”

- “It’s all my fault for not telling you in the first place.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201116

HOLD-FOR-A-WHILE

(SUSPEND sign)

- “Going for her master’s is on hold while my sister is

raising her family.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201117

TALKING-TO-YOURSELF

(HS: ii, each from the temple to middle, bouncing)

- “Lynn caught me talking to myself.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201118

IT’S-UP-TO-YOU

(Compound signs = THINK+YOURSELF)

- “It’s your call whether or not you move back with

your parents.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201119

FEEL+NOTHING

(FEEL sign; then slide with HS:closed-5 over tip of palm)

- “Oh gosh, I didn’t feel anything when you tried to

get my attention!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201120

FUNNY-NONE

(Compound signs: FUNNY+ZERO)

- “That’s not funny.”

- “This is nothing to laugh about (serious).”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201121

PIECE-OF-CAKE

(HS:S, tap once on chin then twice on chest)

- “She thought her final exam was a piece of cake

(very easy).”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201122

END-OF-DISCUSSION

(Compound Signs: DISCUSS+VERY-DRY)

- “End of discussion. Period!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201123

OH-RIGHT

(HS:closed-5; shake vertically)

- “He told me a fabricated story that went in one

ear and out the other.”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201124

WITH-EVERYTHING-ON-IT

(INCLUDE sign)*

- “Jan wants a pizza with everything on it.”

*often confused with “INVOLVED”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201125

HAVE-FUN-GOOD-LUCK

(HS: U; move in a “cross” direction

- “Oh, you are having Professor Snape (Harry Potter

Series) for your class. Good luck (sarcastic) with

him!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201126

IMAGINE

(IDEA Sign)

- “Babies are born with 350 pieces of bone. Can

you imagine that!”

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201127

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

Tell me what you have learned so far.

An Evening of Sign - 04/08/201128

ASL IDIOMS & EXPRESSIONS

T H A N K Y O U

for supporting the Palomar College

ASL/Interpreting Department’s ASL Lab!