- No big deal/ no biggy/…. Big deal!!!
These phrases are used in respose to a problem to say that the problem is not a big one. ¿no pasa nada! No veo el problema. No tiene importancia…
Imagine you´re going to take a trip to Paris and you ask your secretary to change the flights so can return one day earlier, but she´s not succesful..
Secretary: “ I´m sorry, I wasn´t able to change the flight”
You: “No big deal. I don´t mind spending an extra day in Paris”
- No contest
Con diferencia, de lejos,.. ¿Dónde va a parar?
Say this expression when talking about a competition or comparison in which one person or option is obviously better than the other. There´s no posibility than the other person or option winning
Which restaurant is better, Vips or McDonalds?
Vip´s, no contest! McDonalds food is disgusting
The expression “no contest” means that Vip´s is clearly superior
- No dice: this is a very informal expression and that means it isn´t or wasn´t posible.
“ I tried to fix my car myself, but no dice (fat chance). I´ll have to take it to the mechanic (mechanic´s UK).
- No hard feelings = I´m not angry. You can use this expression in response to a situation that might have made you angry
“I´m sorry about missing your birthday party and forgetting to call you”
You can say “ That´s OK, no hard feelings” to express that you´re not angry.
- No harm done = there was no damage or negative effects from a situation that could have caused negative effects
For example if you try to help someone to instal a computer program and the person makes a mistake during the instalation, and the person says
“ Oh, no. I accidentally cancelled the installation of the software! What do I do now?
You can answer,
“No harm done-just click on the program again to re-start the installation” and it means that the mistake didn´t cause any damage
- … no ifs, ands, or buts = no hay pero que valga = there will be no discussion, debate, negotiation, or doubt
Parents often use this expression with their children
“you can´t watch TV until you finish your homework- no ifs, ands, or buts”.
Sin ninguna excusa.
- No kidding.
Two meanings. A) you can say this when you´re a little bit surprised,
“I spent a year volunteering in Nicaragua”
No kidding! (no way) What kind of work were you doing there? No kidding= wow!!! Is an expression of small surprise
Another meaning of “no kidding” B) is when something is very obiously true, and you agree with it
.._ Everything in that store is overpriced”
.._“No kidding. 200 bucks for a pair of jeans is ridiculous” …… it means you completely agree with the statement that your friend said.
- This is no laughing matter
Use this expression when people are laughing or joking, and you want them to be more serious about a topic
Imagine that someone in your office always forgets to flush the toilet, and your boss calls a meeting about the topic, but all your co-workers are laughing about the situation.
The boss can say
“this is no lauging matter, folks. Not only is it unhygienic, but also makes a bad impression when we have visitors to our office”
- No offense: /sin ánimo de ofender, no te lo tomes a mal/
use this expr. before or after a coment that could be offensive to someone who is there in that moment
- example if John is talking to a group of men which includes one woman, he could say
“ Most women are way too emotional, no offense Laura”
And Laura can respond “None taken” (I´m not ofended)
- No pain, no gain. If you want to improve, you need to work so hard that it sometimes hurt. It´s commonly used in sports or exercise
“I ran ten miles yesterday, and now my legs are really sore. But hey… no pain, no gain, right?”
- No sweat = no difficulty or no problem
Can you get this done by tomorrow?
“Sure, no sweat” ( It´ll be easy= con la gorra)
- No way. This expression has 3 different meanings
- a) no possibility… de ninguna manera,
There´s no way we can get home by 8. It´s already 7:30, and the traffic´s terrible, so the drive will take at least an hour”
- b) as an exclamation to say “ No, definetly no”… ni borracho, ni loco
Would you lend your car to Dan?
No way! He´s a terrible driver. He had two accidents in the past month”
In this case No way is a strong form of “NO”.
- c) finally this expression is used to express strong surprise…. ¡¿
Qué me estás contando!!! Qué me dices !!!
“Did you hear that Sarah dropped out of college?”
No way! She was always a dedicated student. I wonder what happened!”
- No wonder = it´s not surprising: there´s a logical conection between cause and effect
“No wonder the baby´s crying. His diaper needs to be changed”. No es de extrañar, no me extraña
- I´m in no mood to = (I don´t feel up to, no me siento con ganas, fuerzas (como) para
I don´t have the patience or energy to do something
“ after a togh day at work, I was in no mood to socialize, so I spent the evening relaxing at home”
- No strings attached = a gift, donation, or offer without any special conditions or hidden requirements.
We say this offer has strings attached
An offer with strings attached is:
“You can buy this cell pone for $ 99 instead of $ 399 but you have to sign a two-year contract with monthly payments.” So way say this offer has strings attached.
An offer with no strings attached is:
“This cell phone is normally $399 but today it´s on sale for only $99”
In this case you can buy it for $99 and there are no special conditions or hidden conditions… it´s no strings attached
- picnic =(slang) no es moco de pavo
Slang An easy task or pleasant experience: finishing the project on time was no picnic.
no picnic a hard or disagreeable task
