down with the kids
1
9.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
en sintonía con los jóvenes
- Many adults try to stay down with the kids by using social media platforms.
You didn't just say down with the kids and put two fingers up.
- You didn't just say down with the kids and put two fingers up.
Examples
-
Yeah, I'm down with the kids.
Blog text (3) -
Yeah, I'm down with the kids.
Blog text (3) -
Look, Nathan likes to think he's all cool and down with the kids, but really he's very straight.
-
She dresses in trendy clothes because she wants to be down with the kids.
-
His knowledge of popular music makes him feel down with the kids.
Antonyms
How Trendy
- Informal
1
9.9
- Informal
11
8.1
64
3.1
- Informal
156
6.8
- Informal
∞
2.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meanings of the constituents ('down' + 'with' + 'kids') do not transparently yield 'aware of or familiar with youth culture'—here 'down' is used in a slang/idiomatic sense meaning 'hip/into', which is not predictable from its basic senses. This is a colloquial, idiomatic usage that a B1 learner who only knows the literal word meanings would be unlikely to infer without prior exposure.
Etymology
Down with the kids may come from older slang where down meant 'cool' or 'agreeing' and 'with the kids' meant young people. The picture is of someone who is on the same level as the kids and joins them, so the phrase now means 'in touch with young people'.