4 Slang Expressions in English with “ON”

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

"It's on".

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.