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ESL forum >
Ask for help > colloquialism
colloquialism
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yanogator
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In the US, "woe betide" is considered totally archaic, but I guess the British still use it. I don �t think we have any equivalent in current US usage. A lot of people would say - Excuse my language here - Shit! or Damn! Others have their own personal expressions. "Alas" is another word that is considered to be archaic. Bruce |
26 Apr 2015
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jannabanna
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Hi, As a Brit, I �m inclined to go along with spinney: "I was fired a week ago. Woe betide me if I don �t find another job soon!" But what about: "I was fired a week ago. I �d better find another job soon!" Janet |
26 Apr 2015
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aleia
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And what about the expression: woe is me! Is it still much used in English? if so, meaning what?
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26 Apr 2015
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spinney
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Have a look at this: As I said before, almost archaic but not quite as you can see from the dictionary entry and I would say it fits "mal de mim" pretty well. I would be very surprised if it was used in The States although you never know. |
26 Apr 2015
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yanogator
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Spinney is right - "Woe is me" is considered archaic in the US. Everyone recognizes it, but no one says it. It seems to mean about the same as "mal de mim". Bruce
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26 Apr 2015
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MariFonseca
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Hello, I speak portuguese and am from Brazil I think the best way to translate the sentence would be, in PORTUGUESE: QUE AZAR O MEU, or , AZAR MEU. In English, it means that the person feels without luck, badluck... so, I �d put like this: "I was fired a week ago. What a bad luck of mine if I don ´t find another job soon!" |
26 Apr 2015
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Peter Hardy
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Bugger me. (The modern meaning, not the old one!) 
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26 Apr 2015
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Zora
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I like "Lord help me" ... I �d have to agree with Douglas there, and I also agree that it is probably something like "What bad luck" or "What rotten luck". Woe is me or woe betide is totally archaic in Canada too. We recognise it, but hardly anybody would actually use it in conversation. |
27 Apr 2015
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