laitimes

Why do foreigners always call people with high looks "A ten"?

author:China Daily

ten is a common number word meaning 10. But you know what? In addition to 10, there are other uses of ten.

Why do foreigners always call people with high looks "A ten"?

Markus Spiske/unsplash

She is a ten she is beautiful

a ten ten; it was perfect

Decimal is a globally accepted way of counting, and in many places, the number 10 has a good meaning. Just as there is a perfect saying in Chinese, ten in English also means perfect.

So you should know how to understand She's a ten to mean that she is beautiful and perfect, right?

If you just finished dating and a friend asks you how this girl is, you may say: she is perfect, out of 10! At this point, in English it can be said:

example:

She's a perfect 10. I fall in love with her.

She was awesome, I fell in love with her.

Count to ten

Speaking of count to ten, there is a movie and a song with the same name, Chinese translates as "count to ten".

However, if a foreigner says this to you, he may mean that he wants you:

Take a moment to calm down (similar to "take a deep breath, calm down")

English explanation of this slang:

In slang, count to ten means taking the time to calm down and never act impulsively, much like we often say "give you five minutes to calm down."

Thomas Jefferson of Thomas Jefferson said:

When angry count to ten before you speak. If very angry, count to one hundred.

When you are angry, count to ten before you speak; if you are very angry, count to a hundred.

Father always tells me to count to ten when I get angry.

My father always told me to take a moment to calm down when I was angry.

Five-and-ten

Five-and-ten is shorthand for five-and-ten-cent store, and Americans say they are used to saying five-and-ten.

But that's not what five and ten mean, what it really means: cheap goods; grocery stores, small retail stores

of these, five means 5 cents and ten means 1 dime.

And if Americans say five-and-dime, the dime[ daim] (U.S., Canada) here represents a dime of silver.

In a five-and-ten-cent store, you can buy what you want.

In the small grocery store you can buy what you want.

Ten-four

At first glance, The Ten-four may seem like 10:4 or something, but it's actually an affirmation or acknowledgment.

相当于:Roger that /Message received/You got it!

The phrase originated from the code word used by people to communicate on CB radio (citizens band civilian band radio) before the popularity of mobile phones.

A: I'm going to pull over up ahead.

A: I want to park in front.

B: 10-4.

B: Okay.

(Source: Spoken English Town Editor: Yaning)

Source: English Speaking Town