Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

hang out

English answer:

to want very much; to want desperately

Added to glossary by Evi Prokopi (X)
Oct 22, 2007 23:40
16 yrs ago
English term

hang out

English Social Sciences General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Aussie
IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS OR ARE HANGING OUT – TALK TO YOUR CLINIC NURSE

No more context given. I woner what may be wrong with "hanging out" and sb needs to see their clinic nurse.

tia
Change log

Oct 23, 2007 05:20: sofiablu (X) changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Oct 23, 2007 22:41: Evi Prokopi (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/130179">Evi Prokopi (X)'s</a> old entry - "hang out"" to ""spend a lot of time socially with friends who (may) influence you negatively""

Oct 23, 2007 22:44: Evi Prokopi (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/130179">Evi Prokopi (X)'s</a> old entry - "hang out"" to ""spend a lot of time socially with friends who (may) influence you negatively//to want very much; to want desperately""

Oct 24, 2007 00:19: Evi Prokopi (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/130179">Evi Prokopi (X)'s</a> old entry - "hang out"" to ""spend a lot of time socially with friends who (may) influence you negatively//to want very much; to want desperately""

Oct 24, 2007 00:22: Evi Prokopi (X) changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/130179">Evi Prokopi (X)'s</a> old entry - "hang out"" to ""to want very much; to want desperately""

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

PRO (3): Shirley Lao, Adriana Penco, sofiablu (X)

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Discussion

Evi Prokopi (X) (asker) Oct 24, 2007:
I am really sorry for making a 'mess', but may a moderator re-open the question, if Shirley is okay with it? Many thanks.
Evi Prokopi (X) (asker) Oct 23, 2007:
To be frank, I am not aware of any negative connotations either, but I cannot be 100% sure, especially when dealing with Australian English.
Shirley Lao Oct 23, 2007:
I should say "to hang out" sometimes has a negative connotation and this depends on contexts.
Caroline Moreno Oct 23, 2007:
I know you're doing "Aussie" work, but I just want to let everyone know that in American English, "hanging out" has absolutely no negative connotation.

Responses

+5
31 mins
Selected

spend a lot of time socially

"To hang out" means "to spend a lot of time in a particular place or with particular people". It generally has a negative connotation.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 34 mins (2007-10-23 00:15:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There is a discussion on "hang out with someone" in this forum at

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=386301

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 43 mins (2007-10-23 00:24:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The first of these is experimentation. This occurs when youth go out on the weekend to parties or to just "hang out." Alcohol tends to be present and whether it is through peer pressure or curiosity youth take that first drink. Sixty percent of all high school seniors report having tried alcohol in their lives. At this point, drinking is viewed as a social thing to do. Youth go to parties and alcohol is available. Kids drink to be "one of the crowd." It is important at this stage to let children know that this does not have to be the case. Prevention is paramount in this stage. Providing alcohol free alternatives is one of the best ways to combat the experimentation phase of alcohol addiction.
http://heartlandhs.org/Communication.htm

In this context, when someone is hanging out with friends, he/she may likely start drinking alcohol or taking drugs or may engage in dangerous or illegal activities out of peers' pressure or curosity. Therefore, such dangerous or illegal activities engaged during hanging out should be referred to the clinic nurse.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day43 mins (2007-10-24 00:23:38 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

If you want to reopen this question, just do it.
Note from asker:
I am sorry, but do you mind if the question opens again, because I just understood the third reply?
Thanks for your help and understanding.
Peer comment(s):

agree NancyLynn : I agree with your last definition - hanging out, being subjected to peer pressure, can lead to being drawn into a losing lifestyle.
2 hrs
Thanks!
agree orientalhorizon
4 hrs
Thanks!
agree Patricia Townshend (X) : I see no negative connotation in the meaning of the phrase itself, but agree it could lead to negative behaviour. I don't agree that it means being subject to peer pressure, but agree that it can lead to being influenced by peer pressure.
4 hrs
Thanks for your suggestions!
agree P.L.F. Persio
5 hrs
Thanks!
agree V_Nedkov : yes, if you alone do not use drugs and alchohol but spend enough time around people who do, there is a potential danger you might start doing it too.
7 hrs
Thanks!
agree kmtext
7 hrs
Thanks!
disagree KathyT : Although this meaning definitely exists, this was not the nuance intended *in this context*. Please don't take my disagree personally, Shirley, I'm just registering it for future KOG users that may be looking for the "other" meaning in this case.
22 hrs
Thanks for your comments!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I will go with this once, because I think it suits best to my context, and I see many people agreeing. Thanks!"
2 hrs

hang around / have nothing to do /spend time aimlessly

This seems to be the idea:
hang out . To wait, to congregate, usually aimlessly {hang around}.
American-Australian Slang Dictionary
Robert P. O'Shea
http://psy.otago.ac.nz/r_oshea/FUN STUFF/slang.html#H
Peer comment(s):

agree JohnGBell : but I cannot see why this would lead to seeing the clinic nurse
4 hrs
Maybe it has to do with depression tendencies or with a high liability of start using drugs or alcohol, who knows? Only context could tell...
disagree KathyT : Although this meaning definitely exists, this was not the nuance intended *in this context*. Please don't take my disagree personally, arte5577, I'm just registering it for future KOG users that may be looking for the "other" meaning in this case. // :-)
20 hrs
That`s OK, Kathy. This is what disagrees are for, actually!
Something went wrong...
+2
12 hrs

to want very much; to want desperately

In Aussie colloquialisms, "to hang out (for xyz)" can also mean "to want (xyz) desperately" (in addition to the "spend time socially" meanings above.)

So in your example, a person may have made the decision to abstain from drugs and/or alcohol, but then start going through some sort of withdrawal symptoms, thus "hanging out" (for more).
Rather than fall off the wagon, it would make sense to seek advice from someone (such as a clinic nurse) for help staying sober.

See these (Australian) examples where "hanging out" is used in the sense of "wanting very much/desperately":

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pag...
Heroin dependence - methadone treatment
<snip>
Methadone stops you from hanging out
Methadone will help you to stop **hanging out** for heroin. Methadone:
* Stabilises you so that you can lead a normal, healthier life
...etc.

Hot wired for addiction - Features - The Lab - Australian ...
If you're **hanging out** for a coffee, you're not alone. ... and artificial rewards, like drugs and alcohol, which don't necessarily add to our wellbeing as ...
www.abc.net.au/cgi-bin/common/printfriendly.pl?/science/fea...

http://www.rupissed.com/jokes.html
Free Drinks
Two Aussies, Bruce & Ken were down on their luck and **hanging out** for a cold drink or three. After checking their pockets and finding only 50 cents, Bruce came up with a brilliant strategy. "I'll take the 50 cents and show you how we can drink all day for free!"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2007-10-23 22:34:42 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Evi - it's not about being concise, it's about the CORRECT meaning for your context. I could care less about the points, but as you specified "Aussie" English, I provided you with the Australian meaning, supported by Australian web evidence.
The only reason another answer had more agrees is that it was posted much earlier, when your KudoZ question was still "fresh." Also, you will notice that neither the answerers, nor their "agreers" were Australian/based in Australia. As a seasoned KudoZ user, I'm sure you know by now that the answer with the most agrees is not necessarily the right answer!
It's fine (with me) that you selected another response, but for the sake of producing an accurate translation, I strongly urge that you use the meaning I have suggested.
Just trying to help you & your client!
Kathy

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 hrs (2007-10-23 23:24:05 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Cheers, Evi.
The meaning is not so much "being addicted to something," as to "want something very much". So, while this can of course be applied to any type of addict wanting their addiction of choice, it can also be applied to really anything else also.
Some specific 'addiction' examples:
A heroin addict "hangs out" for their next fix of heroin.
A chocolate addict "hangs out" for their next taste of chocolate.
(meaning that they can't wait for their next "fix"; want very much for their next "taste" to happen, ASAP).

Other examples:
The little kids were hanging out to go to their favo(u)rite amusement park again.
The teacher was hanging out for the next school vacation.
The elderly couple were hanging out to see their grandchildren again.
The teenagers were hanging out for the winter to be over so that they could spend time at the beach.

These examples mean the same thing: the people "couldn't wait for" or "wanted very much for" (the subject) to take place again as soon as possible.

I hope that makes sense.

As for the more common ("social") meaning, *everyone* in Australia hangs out with their friends. This is seen generally to have a positive meaning (unless you specify that someone is hanging out with "the wrong crowd") and has absolutely nothing to do with seeing a clinic nurse.
In your example, the addicts are "hanging out" for their next fix. Clinic nurses would be able to offer support for addicts trying to resist the temptation of lapsing back into their addiction, or in some cases, offer alternative transitional solutions (such as prescribed methadone to replace heroin), etc.
I hope that helps, Evi.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day59 mins (2007-10-24 00:39:54 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Hi again,
Evi - don't worry too much about re-opening the question.
As I said originally, I really don't care about the points.
I'm just happy that you were able to understand my response, and that it was somehow helpful :-)
(...and you've already changed the glossary entry!)
Sorry for all the trouble, everyone!
Cheers!
Note from asker:
I'm sorry I didn't pick your reply, which seems more concise, but I really struggle understanding what you mean, because I am not an English native.
Kathy, I added your suggestion to the Glossary, and thank you for reminding it. May I ask if your meaning is like "being addicted", because I cannot understand how it could fit in the context? I am really sorry, I don't know why I am so "stuck".
I finally understood what you mean. Thank you so much, I will try to re-open the question, but at least I corrected the Glossary. Once again, sincere thanks for such an explicit reply.
It was me making the trouble, because I could not understand what you were explaining. It took me a while to understand some other words in the specific text, as well (such as 'gaol'), and I need to understand first before I can translate. Thanks, again! Good day!
Peer comment(s):

agree [email protected] Pierzchala : I agree. To hang out for a drink or dose can also mean to want or need desperately. This would logically be a good time to seek the guidance of a clinical nurse.
4 hrs
Exactly. Thanks, Edyta.
agree Adriana Penco : I didn't know this meaning but it really makes sense here.
10 hrs
Cheers, arte5577.
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search