While trying to speak in English with my buddies,
I came to utter 'She is expensive.'
What I really intended to say was like, 'She is stuck up, ' 'She is playing hard to get.' or things like that.
When a lady plays hard to get, she can be described as someone expensive in the Korean language, and it is easily understood by most.
I googled to see if native speakers actually say 'She is expensive,'
and I am not quite certain whether it makes sense or not.
What would be your reaction like when you came to the expression - She is expensive? Would it tip off someone the speaker is obviously not a native speaker?
I will be looking forward to any of your comments.
Thanks.
"She's expensive" means you have to keep buying her presents and taking her out to posh restaurants to keep her sweet..
0 Replies
Setanta
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Thu 31 Jul, 2014 11:30 am
It would not be used by native English speakers to mean what you intend. All languages have idiomatic expressions, and they usually don't translate well into other languages.
It is, however, common for people to say that it can be expensive to pursue a particular woman . . .
She's so fine, there's no tellin' where the money went . . .
0 Replies
ehBeth
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Thu 31 Jul, 2014 02:45 pm
@SMickey,
She is expensive suggests that the person is for hire, i.e. a performer of some kind (singer/dancer/actor) or a prostitute. Actually, every context I can think of has to do with the person being for hire: she could be an expensive massage therapist or an expensive dentist.
0 Replies
Ragman
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Thu 31 Jul, 2014 02:45 pm
@SMickey,
In USA we might often say that she is 'high maintenance'! that seems fairly close to the spirit of what you've indicated.
In USA we might often say that she is 'high maintenance'! that seems fairly close to the spirit of what you've indicated.
That is the first thing that came into my mind...but the OP seems to rule out what "high maintenance" reflects.
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Romeo Fabulini
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Thu 31 Jul, 2014 04:51 pm
I was once chatting with a woman who said "I take some looking after"; I assumed she meant she expected a guy to shower her with presents and stuff, so I sort of slowly backed off from her and we never did date..
I would think it meant that she likes expensive things. She like expensive food, clothing, homes etc. Things of that nature. I would also think that he presence and time with you would require large sums of money from your pocket (:
If she's stuck up than maybe she has more than one man chasing after her. I've seen this happen with both sexes. The more men or women chasing after he or she the more confident and cocky the individual becomes.
Right. Actually, that expression - she is expensive - just came out of my mouth, and I began to wonder whether that's widely used.
Only then did I start looking up my dictionary and surfing the net.
I know you've helped me a lot, kindly answering my questions.
I really appreciate it, ehBeth.
Thank you.
High maintenance is a description of someone with a high level of emotional neediness. It is quite different from what you were describing in your original post. It may have been your intent - but it is not what you described.
0 Replies
ehBeth
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Fri 1 Aug, 2014 08:42 pm
@SMickey,
Do come and chat with us more SMickey.
Join in some of the community discussions so you get more practice with English speakers instead of practice with other people learning English.
I'm suggesting that from the perspective of someone who learned English as a 2nd/3rd language.
In a sense, then, a person stuck up is rather attractive and charming, I guess.
No. A stuck up person thinks they are socially better than others - will not be friends with people they do not perceive as their social equals or betters. That is not usually considered charming. It does not speak to their physical appearance/attractiveness.
0 Replies
ehBeth
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Fri 1 Aug, 2014 08:52 pm
@Romeo Fabulini,
Romeo Fabulini wrote:
woman who said "I take some looking after"; I assumed she meant she expected a guy to shower her with presents and stuff
she might have meant that she needed someone to love her
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