Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. Hold your chin up! And don�t be down on the dumps.
- What does �don�t be down on the dumps� mean?

2. � Cheers! and drink empty!
- Is this natural? And �cheers� here means �drink for our health�, right? And it also means �goodbye�, right?

3.� Do you often snore when you�re sleeping / when you sleep?
- Who has just farted? / Who has just broken wind? It�s Mr. Keller.
- Are these natural?

Thanks a million to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[Brian Boyd]

Hi Steven

It's 'down in the dumps'. That means feeling low, depressed, gloomy.

Cheers can mean goodbye, thank you or a salute we say when we drink. I've never heard 'cheers and drink empty' before, but I'm sure it's used somewhere.

You can also say 'bottoms up' instead of cheers when you drink (but not for goodbye or thanks!)

All your sentences in number three are correct, but you can make them sound more natural by contracting them eg: Who's just farted?

Cheers

Brian
_________________
'
Comics for students ...

http://www.grammarmancomic.com

.

[CP]

I agree with Brian, but I would add one comment:

Your expression, "drink for our health" is not what a native speaker would say.

You may toast with, "To your health," the equivalent of "Salud" in Spanish, but usually not "for your health" and not "our health."

When you say, "To your health," usually the other person will reply, "To your health," and then you both drink, and you both wake up healthier the next morning.

Other toasts (Americanisms, anyway), if you get tired of wishing good health or cheer:

"Here's to you."

"Here's looking at you."

"Here's how!" The person expects to hear, "Here's to you," but you say, "Here's how (to drink this)" and immediately take a drink. No answer required, other than taking a drink yourself.

"Here's mud in your eye!" Just as, "Break a leg!" is a way to wish an actor good luck just before the play, "Here's mud in your eye" really is a wish that nothing bad happen to you.

Yours truly, CP

[LucentShade]

Instead of "drink empty," we would say "drink up!" --it's kind of like a phrasal verb meaning "drink all of ~"