Oh, it's on. I'm Ronnie. And I'm here to teach you some slang because it's what I
do. It's on, though. It's on. What's on? Check. Is it on? Is it on? Today's slang
lesson is about "on". So, probably your TV's "on", your laptop is "on", your
phone is "on". We never really turn our phones off, do we? So, whatever you're
watching me "on" — hello. Ha-ha. Get ready for some slang. Woo-hoo. It's on.
So, literally, this means that something is... has power to it. Well, so, for
example, I can say: "The oven is on." It's the opposite of "off". I just
happen to have this... this thing, here, and I have a light on top of the hand.
So, the light is "on". Quite literally, I can turn it "off". Okay. I did; I
turned it off, and I can turn it "on". So, I can say: "The light is on" or
But, in slang, if I say: "It's on", it's provocative. It means: "I want to start
a fight with you." Oh, I don't, but that's what it means. It's in slang. So,
you will hear this in movies, like: "Oh, it's on, bro. It's on. Bring it on. It's
on". "Bring it on" is also another way to, like: "Let's start a fight"; sort of
some kind of a battle. So, if someone says: "Oh, it's on." You're like: "Oh.
What's 'on'?" It means they want to fight you. So, I don't know. Run? Try to
have a conversation with them. You know, literally... If something's "literal",
"literally", it means: This is the meaning of it; and then we have the
slang meaning. So: "It's on" — the slang meaning — means you're going to start a
fight, as I described; but if something is literal, like "literature" or
"literally" — you guys know this, especially from Brazil. Where's the
book? The book is on the table. It's on the table. I can say: "The hand is on
the table." The candle, or the fake candle: "The light is on." And it's
also: "On the hand" as a preposition. The opposite of "off" is "on". Have you
left the oven on? Have you done that? I did that. I was on a long bike ride.
Beautiful; amazing. And all of a sudden I was, like: "Oh, oh. I think I left the
toaster oven on." I had to drive an hour back home, and I didn't leave the
toaster oven on; I had turned it off. But I didn't want my house to burn down;
didn't want my dog to die. So, yeah. It's not a good memory.
Let's continue. If you're going someplace; maybe you're at a restaurant
or you're going to get a couple of drinks, or somebody says: "It's on me."
And you look at them and go: "No. You physically don't have anything on you.
You're clean; you didn't slop anything on you." But if someone says: "It's on
me" — this is a good thing. It means that this person is going to pay. So,
let's say you go out for dinner and somebody says: "Ah, you know, Ronnie,
don't worry about it. It's on me." Ronnie's happy, like: "Yes. I don't have
to pay for this dinner! Perfect!" Or you go someplace and somebody says: "All the
drinks are on me", like: "But they're not on your head." It's not literal, not
literally on someone's head; it means they're going to pay for you. This is
wonderful. "Don't worry; these drinks are on me." But they're not sitting
there, like this: "All drinks on me." It's not; it just means they're going to
pay. It also can talk about possession; what you have. So, somebody might say:
"Oh, okay. Oh. I'd like to buy this." Oh, but you know what? Because I'm old
and I carry cash, I say: "Oh. I don't have any money on me." It means: "I,
physically, I'm not holding any money. I don't have money; I'm not possessing
money." Because now everyone uses a card. Right? A cash card, a debit card,
a credit card. "Oh no. I don't have my wallet on me." It means: "I'm not in
possession of my wallet. I forgot my wallet." This is a bad thing. Remember
to bring your wallet. Always happens to me. Usually, I don't like to have my
phone on me if I'm going for walks; I like to leave my phone at home. But,
inevitably, there will be something cool that I want to take a picture of. I'm
like: "Aw, man, I don't have my phone on me." So, I didn't bring my phone; I
can't take a picture of it. No Instagram for me.
Another way that we use: "on me" in slang is to blame someone. Let's say you
do something wrong, and you want to admit to people, say: "Oh, you know,
that's on me. I did that. It's my fault. It's my mistake." Or you can also blame
other people. If you say: "It's all on me", it means: "It's my fault." But I
can say: "That's on you." Okay? That means that's... I'm saying: "It's your
fault". "Oh, that's on him. That's... that's his problem." You hear that a lot
in relationship movies, like: "That's on him. He... he owes you an apology."
Literally — okay? — is if something's "on me", like a drink, it means it's
physically on your body. So, "on me" I am wearing... I have a beautiful
bracelet. So, it's physically "on" my body. I'm wearing glasses — glasses are
"on me". And the last one: "I'm on it. Don't worry about it; I got this." This
means: "I'm doing the task, or I'm doing the work that needs to be done." So:
"I'm on it. Don't worry." So, your boss will say: "Hey, come on. You have to do
this." Like: "I'm on it, lady. I've already started the task. I'm doing the
task." But instead of saying: "I'm doing this already", we say: "I'm on it." It's
shorter, faster. Literally — right? — if you're "on" something, that means that
your body's physically "on" top of something. So, I'm on the table. I'm
not, but if I was, I would say: "I'm on the table."
And Ronnie's favorite: "Get it on". "Bang a Gong (Get It On)". Who sings
that song? I don't know. But if you "get it on" — oh, hmm, hmm — it means you
have sex. Yeah. So, I encourage everyone to bang a gong, get it on; and I'll see
you next time, if you're lucky. I'm Ronnie. Bye. If you want to see some
more slang lessons — I do them privately, mm-mm —
www.englishwithronnie.com Check out the website, and I'll see you on the flip
side.