some slang

[marvan]

Hello teachers,

While watching a short film on recycling, I have come across several expressions which I do not quite understand. Tha language is pretty informal, I guess it is meant for students or teenegers, so it might be a slang?!. Could you please help me to get a clue what exactly they mean (words/expressions in question are in bold):

PRETTY HARD ON YOUR BACK
"In fact, the average European junks about 525 kg of waste each year. I mean – that’s a whole lot of stuff. And much of it really IS stuff – as opposed to waste. Useful stuff, worth money. All in all, it’s just a waste of waste, isn’t it? Pretty hard on your back, too."
Later on in the text, he again refers to the same point saying: "So, how’s your back, then? Better, eh? Looking good! Ok, let’s go."

SHAZAM
"Of course, collecting and processing isn’t free… but here’s the clever bit:
recycling turns your waste into useful stuff that can be sold. Shazam! Money in the bank, mate."

NO CONTEST
"But in the long run, burning waste is definitely a whole lot cheaper than burning oil or coal. Same with greenhouse gas emissions – no contest, really."

CRYING OUT LOUD
"But hang on a second, do you really need to create that much waste to begin with?
Come on, it’s half a ton for crying out loud!"

SWEET SIDELINE
"Meanwhile, in Hungary, a mushroom company have this really sweet sideline going:
an electric powerplant, fuelled by biogas made from mushroom scraps and used growing substrate, that produces marketable green power. I mean, how clever is that?"

Thank you very much for your assistance!

[Gillnetter]

Hello teachers,

While watching a short film on recycling, I have come across several expressions which I do not quite understand. Tha language is pretty informal, I guess it is meant for students or teenegers, so it might be a slang?!. Could you please help me to get a clue what exactly they mean (words/expressions in question are in bold):

PRETTY HARD ON YOUR BACK
"In fact, the average European junks about 525 kg of waste each year. I mean – that’s a whole lot of stuff. And much of it really IS stuff – as opposed to waste. Useful stuff, worth money. All in all, it’s just a waste of waste, isn’t it? Pretty hard on your back, too." (This seems to be saying that carrying or lifting the "waste" is difficult. It's like lifting a heavy rock or trying to push or lift an automobile - that would be hard on your back.)
Later on in the text, he again refers to the same point saying: "So, how’s your back, then? Better, eh? Looking good! Ok, let’s go." (Does your back feel better now?)

SHAZAM
"Of course, collecting and processing isn’t free… but here’s the clever bit:
recycling turns your waste into useful stuff that can be sold. Shazam! Money in the bank, mate." (There was an American comic book hero named Captain Marvel. He had some of the powers of Superman. When he was not Captain Marvel he was a somewhat weak and disabled boy who sold newspapers. When he said, "Shazam", he magically turned into Captain Marvel. The saying here seems to be that things can change quickly - you sell the items and you have money quickly.

NO CONTEST
"But in the long run, burning waste is definitely a whole lot cheaper than burning oil or coal. Same with greenhouse gas emissions – no contest, really."
(No contest means that it is very clear that one (burning waste) is inexpensive when compared to burning oil or coal. If you had a foot race between a trained marathon runner and an obese man of 56, there would be no contest - the trained runner would win.)
CRYING OUT LOUD
"But hang on a second, do you really need to create that much waste to begin with?
Come on, it’s half a ton for crying out loud!"
(Half a ton is much more than is needed and it is not a good thing to do. It is apparent that is too much waste. For crying out loud, can't you see that jumping out of an airplane is not a good idea?)
SWEET SIDELINE
"Meanwhile, in Hungary, a mushroom company have this really sweet sideline going:
an electric powerplant, fuelled by biogas made from mushroom scraps and used growing substrate, that produces marketable green power. I mean, how clever is that?"
(In this case, an extra source of income for a business. It is considered "sweet" because the company is using scraps which would normally be thrown away. This company now makes extra money by burning these scraps.
Thank you very much for your assistance!

Gil

[marvan]

Gill,
Thanks so much for your explanantions! Nice day

[Rover_KE]

Note: none of the expressions you are asking about here can be called slang.

Rover

[BobSmith]

Note: none of the expressions you are asking about here can be called slang.

You mean all the kids aren't running around saying "Shazam!" !?

[marvan]

Hi guys,

Well I did not know these expressions and most of them I could not find in dictionaries so I considered them to be slang.