Learn 10 English idioms that TV series and movies invented! | English Idioms Lesson

1) English idiom: To "Catfish" someone!

The MTV show "Catfish" gave birth to this expression, and online dating has only made it increasingly more common to use in daily conversation!

Definition: To deceive someone by creating a fake online persona.

Movie Origin: Catfish (2010)

Example: "She thought she was chatting with a model, but it turned out she was being catfished by someone using fake photos."

You meet the love of your life online, you start talking and realise this person is everything you always wanted in a partner. Then one day they ask you to send them money, or never seem to be available to video chat, or maybe both! How can you be sure they are who they say they are? Well, you can't be 100% sure.

In fact usually if this is the case, you might be dating a "Catfish"! A catfish is someone who isn't who they say they are online. Usually using someone else's photos.

You can use this as a noun:

"True story: I had a friend once whose granny was talking to a catfish for months, and the guy scammed her out of $90k. Crazy world!"

Or a verb:

"I think she's catfishing you!"

2) English idiom: To "Gaslight" someone!

Definition: To manipulate someone into questioning their own reality or sanity.

Movie Origin: Gaslight (1944)

Example: "He tried to gaslight her into thinking she was misremembering events, but she knew the truth."

This one is actually quite a dark one. You see it in toxic relationships a LOT! To "Gaslight" someone means to tell someone they are crazy and they imagined something they actually saw/heard. Usually to avoid getting in trouble with that person. Think of a cheating boyfriend/girlrfriend being caught and then denying it happened and saying the partner must have imagined it and they're crazy! That's "gaslighting"!

This expression came from a 1940s movie called "Gaslight" and is only now having a popular moment in modern English. Why? I don't think it's a controversial view to say that politicians just outright lie about things we can see and hear. But because it's easier than ever to fact-check, it's also easier than ever to call out when someone is "gaslighting" you.

You can learn this lesson the easy way in my video here:

 AND you can practice it here in my Self-study English eBook!

3) English idiom: To "Jump the shark"

Definition: The moment when something that was once popular and successful starts to decline in quality and become ridiculous.

Movie Origin: Happy Days (TV Show, 1977)

Example: "The show jumped the shark when they introduced that outlandish plot twist."

Jumping the shark was such a unique moment in TV that the action became synonymous with a TV show doing something cheap or crude to keep viewers watching. There was this TV show called "Happy Days" which had been on for a few years already, so to keep viewers watching, and to keep things fresh, they decided that the main character would jump over a shark on water skis!

Why? I ... I don't know, honestly. But now when a TV is becoming a bit repetitive, and a character does something crazy that ultimately gets people talking about the show again,

An example with this English idiom could be: "In my opinion they really jumped the shark when they killed off the main character's son in (Spoiler!)"

4) English idiom: Bucket list

Definition: A list of things a person wants to do before they die.

Movie Origin: The Bucket List (2007)

Example: "Skydiving is definitely on my bucket list."

I honestly didn't realise this idiom was so new!

5) English idiom: Groundhog Day

Definition: A situation in which events seem to be continually repeating.

Movie Origin: Groundhog Day (1993)

Example: "Every day at work feels like Groundhog Day – the same routine over and over."

6) English idiom: Glitch in the Matrix

Definition: A term to describe a momentary sense of déjà vu or an odd occurrence that suggests something is not quite right.

Movie Origin: The Matrix (1999)

Example: "I swear that exact same woman in the red dress just walked past us a minute ago! 'Is this a glitch in the matrix?'"

7) English idiom: "As-if!"

Definition: Used to express strong disbelief or sarcasm.

Movie Origin: Clueless (1995)

Example: "You think I'm going to let you borrow my car? As if!"

This one we don't really use anymore but you'll occasionally hear it from older Millennials or Gen-Xers.

8) English idiom: "Mind-Meld"

Definition: A deep connection or understanding between two minds.

Movie Origin: Star Trek

Example: "When we discussed our ideas, it felt like we had a mind-meld. We were perfectly in sync."

9) English idiom: "Spam"

Definition: Unwanted, irrelevant, or repetitive messages, often sent in bulk.

Movie Origin: Monty Python's Flying Circus (TV Show, 1970)

Example: "My inbox is full of spam emails offering me dubious investment opportunities."

The thing clogging up your email

10) English idiom: "My bad!"

Definition: A very casual "I'm sorry!"

Movie Origin: Clueless (1995)

Example: "Oops, I sent the wrong file. My bad!"

I personally love this and use it as my most commonly used way to say "I'm sorry". However if you did something REALLY bad, better stick to the "I'm sorry!", "I'm ever so sorry!", or even the extra special "I sincerely apologise!". This also came from the movie Clueless which just goes to show how iconic and important to pop culture this movie was!

What's your favourite idiom? What would you like to see in the next English Idioms Lesson?

Did I miss any? Let me know in the comments! Not only idioms but any word which came from a movie or TV series!