whatever floats your boat
whatever makes you happy
TRANSLATION
whatever floats your boat = worauf immer Du Lust /Bock hast
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT - This city is a place of contrasts: You see five-story cruise ships foghorning past old-time gondolas; design classics in chrome and glass."
The Washington Post
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"Some technicians patiently cut the old rotor apart with a little cutting wheel and a high-speed grinder... WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT!"
Motor Magazine
Did you
know?
whatever floats your boat
idiom (US)
- used to say to someone that they should do whatever makes them happy
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WORD ORIGIN
No one knows where or how this curious American expression originated. It essentially means do what makes you happy, do it however you want to, do whatever you think is right. It is often used in a sarcastic tone as if to say "do what you want, because I don't care".
In response to criticism from parents or friends, a trend among adolescents and teenagers is to throw a weary glance and simply say "whatever" which incidentally, was voted most irritating word of the year in a 2017 poll.
Instead of "whatever floats your boat", you could also say "whatever brews your tea" or "whatever rings your phone".
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SYNONYMS
whatever turns you on, whatever works for you, whatever tickles your fancy, whatever you think, whatever
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Practice OWAD today, say something like:
"After asking me three times today if we could change the layout of the broschure, I finally said 'whatever floats your boat, John'."
