Colloquialism

In communication, a colloquialism was a commonly spoken word or expression often used in an informal or familiar conversation to a specific localization or group; as such, colloquial terms were often contained many elements of slang and idioms.

Following the delivery of Leonard James Akaar in 2267, Doctor Leonard McCoy showed Eleen how to properly hold her new son, meanwhile speaking to the child with the non-sense phrase, "Oochy-woochy coochy-coo." Spock, who was not familiar with the saying, had it explained to him by Captain James T. Kirk as being "An obscure Earth dialect," and that "If you're curious, consult linguistics." (TOS: "Friday's Child")

Later that year, when the dikironium cloud creature, a cloud creature that fed on iron-based hemoglobin, attacked Spock, whose hemoglobin was copper-based, the result left its victim unscathed. Doctor Leonard McCoy observed that due to this fact, "I'll bet he left a bad taste in the creature's mouth, too." Spock replied that his comment was "Colloquially expressed, but essentially correct." (TOS: "Obsession")

Later yet that year, upon the arrival of the USS Enterprise to 892-IV, Lieutenant Nyota Uhura noted that she detected that "both amplitude and frequency modulation [were] being used," adding that "I think I can pick up something visual. It's a news broadcast using a system I think they once called video." Following this stated, she was corrected by Spock, who explained that "Television was the colloquial term." (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")

After the landing party was captured by the Sun worshippers of the planet, and Spock was asked by Flavius about his ears, and Spock stated the obvious, "I call them ears," Flavius further inquired if he was "trying to be funny?" to which Spock further replied, "Never," before noting the amazing parallel of Flavius' use of "colloquial 20th century English." (TOS: "Bread and Circuses")

When Data wished to learn about humor, in 2365, he explained to the Comic that "Nothing makes me laugh," and that "I wish to learn" leading the Comic to refer to Data as "a tough room." Data, who was not familiar with the term, accessed his database and defined it as "A colloquialism meaning a severe, rigid, closed-minded audience," before expressing his desire to "attempt to be an easy room." (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")

Later that year, when Data explained what was know for the cause of the wars on Daled IV, he described "Only that it is the difference between night and day." The surprised William T. Riker then replied, "Data, you used a colloquialism," before Data asked himself "Did I?" before realizing that what he meant was "that Daled IV rotates only once per revolution. Therefore one side is constantly dark, and the other side constantly light." (TNG: "The Dauphin")

List of colloquialisms

"A-OK" (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday"; VOY: "One Small Step")

"All of a sudden" (ENT: "Shuttlepod One"; TOS: "Arena", "Wink of an Eye"; TAS: "Mudd's Passion", "The Terratin Incident"; TNG: "Elementary, Dear Data", "Remember Me", "Dark Page", "Emergence"; DS9: "Time's Orphan", "Chrysalis"; DS9: "Scientific Method", "Ashes to Ashes")

"Am I right?" (TOS: "The Galileo Seven", "Wolf in the Fold", "Bread and Circuses", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country; TNG: "Datalore", "All Good Things...", Star Trek Nemesis; DS9: "Dramatis Personae", "Necessary Evil", "Playing God", "Past Tense, Part II", "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

"Attaboy" (TOS: "Charlie X"; TNG: "The Royale"; VOY: "The Fight")

"Attagirl" (DS9: "Accession")

"Be a thing" (VOY: "Lineage")

"Belly of the beast" (ENT: "The Crossing", "Zero Hour")

"Bloody nose"

"Boo-boo" (VOY: "Thirty Days")

"Boob" (Star Trek: Insurrection)

"Buck up" (TNG: "A Matter of Time")

"Bucking for" (VOY: "Demon", "Thirty Days", "Nightingale")

"But who's counting?" (VOY: "Twisted")

"Bye-bye" (TNG: "Peak Performance", "Disaster", "Time's Arrow, Part II", "Relics"; VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

"Close up shop" (ENT: "The Catwalk")

"Cutting it close" (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

"Domesticated" (VOY: "Course: Oblivion")

"Eager beaver"

• Dr. Katherine Pulaski referred to an irresponsible scientist as an eager beaver. (TNG: "The Child")

"Fat chance" (VOY: "Q2")

"Fit as a fiddle" (DS9: "The Passenger")

"Fruity as a nutcake" (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier)

"Garbage scow"

"Get the hang of" (DS9: "The Jem'Hadar"....)

"Give it a rest" (ENT: "Shuttlepod One", "Rogue Planet", "Singularity"; DS9: "The Emperor's New Cloak")

"Go it alone" (ENT: "Fortunate Son", "Proving Ground"; DS9: "Dramatis Personae")

"Going off half-cocked" (TOS: "The Menagerie, Part I"; DS9: "For the Uniform"; TNG: "Data's Day")

"Gotcha" (TNG: "The Inner Light"....)

"Gramps"

"Grease monkey"

"Hard time" (TNG: "The Big Goodbye"....)

"Hold your fire" (TOS: "Journey to Babel"...)

"How's it going?" (TOS: "The Enemy Within", "The Return of the Archons", "The Devil in the Dark", "The Apple", et al.)

"In God's name" (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; TNG: "Hollow Pursuits", "A Matter of Time"; VOY: "Fair Haven")

"In the face of" (TNG: "Code of Honor")

"Is it just me'" (VOY: "The 37's", "Barge of the Dead")

"It's no use" (TOS: "The Return of the Archons"...)

"Know how to pick 'em" (VOY: "Alter Ego")

"Lady killer"

"Lay a hand on" (ENT: "Unexpected"; DS9: "If Wishes Were Horses")

"Paramilitary" (TNG: "Preemptive Strike")

"Raring to go" (VOY: "Memorial")

"Sho'nuf" (TOS: "This Side of Paradise")

"Spitting image" (TNG: "The Neutral Zone", "The Game")

"Take a powder" (TNG: "Manhunt")

"Tyke" (VOY: "The Q and the Grey")

"Wee (small) hours" (DS9: "The Maquis, Part I"; DS9: "Investigations")

"What's the big idea" (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")

"What's the use" (TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome", "The Tholian Web", TAS: "The Pirates of Orion", Star Trek III: The Search for Spock; DS9: "Our Man Bashir")

"Who cares" (TOS: "Day of the Dove"; TNG: "Evolution", "The Mind's Eye", "The Perfect Mate"; DS9: "Rules of Acquisition", "Necessary Evil", "Rivals", et al)

"Whopping"/"Whopper" (TNG: "Pen Pals"; VOY: "Real Life")

"With any luck" (TNG: "The Enemy", "Silicon Avatar"; DS9: "Emissary", et al.)

"Y'all" (TOS: "This Side of Paradise"; TNG: "A Fistful of Datas"; VOY: "Caretaker")

"Yay" (TOS: "The Way to Eden"; DS9: "Time's Orphan", "Take Me Out to the Holosuite")

"Yeah, right" (ENT: "These Are the Voyages..."; TNG: "The Emissary", "Clues", "Aquiel"; DS9: "The Darkness and the Light", "The Reckoning"; VOY: "Future's End", "Warlord")

"You boys" (ENT: "Extinction"; TOS: "Spectre of the Gun", Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; TNG: "Brothers", "Half a Life", Star Trek: First Contact; DS9: "Prophet Motive", "Trials and Tribble-ations", "Profit and Lace"; VOY: "Real Life", "Spirit Folk")

"You girls" (DS9: "The Muse"; VOY: "Resistance")

"You guys" (ENT: "Strange New World", "Shadows of P'Jem", "Shuttlepod One", "Vox Sola", "Shockwave", "Shockwave, Part II", "Carpenter Street", "Zero Hour", "Storm Front, Part II"; TOS: "A Piece of the Action", "Assignment: Earth", Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home; TNG: "The Neutral Zone", "The Royale", "Ménage à Troi", "The Mind's Eye", "True Q", "Journey's End"; DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II", "For the Cause", "His Way", "Tears of the Prophets", "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang"; VOY: "Flashback", "Future's End", "Demon")

"You know what I mean" (ENT: "Breaking the Ice", "Stigma", "Similitude", "Carpenter Street", "Babel One", "These Are the Voyages..."; TOS: "Wolf in the Fold", "A Piece of the Action"; TNG: "Manhunt", "Suspicions", "Second Chances"; DS9: "A Man Alone", "Captive Pursuit", "Dramatis Personae", "Second Sight", "Crossover"; "Nor the Battle to the Strong", "The Begotten", "Profit and Lace", "The Dogs of War"; VOY: "Unity", "Revulsion", "One")

"You're the boss" (VOY: "Initiations", "Message in a Bottle")

"You're the elder brother" (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")

"You're the empath" (ENT: "These Are the Voyages...")

"You're the doctor" (ENT: "Two Days and Two Nights"; TOS: "Mudd's Women", "Shore Leave", "Plato's Stepchildren", "The Lights of Zetar"

"You're the science officer" (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome")

"You're the terrorist" (DS9: "Return to Grace")

"You've got to be joking" (DS9: "Body Parts")

"You've got to be kidding" (ENT: "Desert Crossing", "Azati Prime"; TNG: "Samaritan Snare"; DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars", "Change of Heart", "Take Me Out to the Holosuite"; VOY: "Prime Factors", "Alliances", "Random Thoughts", "Demon")

External link

• Colloquialism at Wikipedia