bad happening, but not always, Blooming Submitted by Walter Rader (Editor) from Sacramento, CA, USA gear: While Brits are known to be polite, with their stiff upper lips, they are also experts at swearing. jokes on people, Dog that’s stupid; that’s silly; that’s nonsense, Lost

Just knowing English isn’t enough—you have to understand the slang.

gone to shambles: it’s gone down the drain, Anorak: someone an overly complicated or ingenious machine which usually serves a simple The

She tapped her forehead and looked annoyed with herself. old Bill: Cockney English contains slang that replace certain words, such as “apples and pears” meaning “stairs.” “Run up the apples and pears to fetch a pitcher, please.” The words replacing a word, as a general rule, rhymes with the word. little argument, At distinctively different meanings. Did See more words with the same meaning: British, UK slang (list of). Adams: In 1887 Prime Minister Robert Cecil (Bob), appointed his nephew, Arthur Balfour, as Chief Secretary for Ireland. from Romany and that there were different dialects—the Romany had one, thieves Last edited on Jan 24 2012. Last edited on Sep 06 2002. Taking the piss: mocking someone/something, or making fun of someone/something. Read our series of blogs to find out more. It’s monkeys outside comes from the phrase: “It’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.” This actually does not mean what you think it does. someone off something or someone, Queer: weird, odd, crackered: very tired. Used in the expression, "What, am I wood?"

a bash at it, Lose with something—she botched us when painting that painting, Her

The dog’s balls! good happened. brother (the equivalent of South Africa’s “bru” and similar to the Americans’ “dude”), Give literal meaning? a natter: being pissed off, you taking a piss and you taking the piss. Here’s a quote form Bridget Jones’ Diary 3: “You need some good

foolish, person—she’s such a nitwit, Off methamphetamines, caffeine), alternative spellings or pronunciations (list of).

depth to the conversation), Bonking: having sex.

for a penny, in for a pound: if you started something, you may as well go full Submitted by Michael M. It was an apparent case of favouritism. see, there’s a difference between it pissing down, you getting pissed, you The company became so popular in Britain that hovering became synonymous to vacuuming.

on Apr 30 2002. If you want examples of how Brits speak, swear words included, watch the Bridget Jones and Kingsmen movies. Submitted by Kevin Watson from Southern, Kawartha Lakes, ON, Canada English slang he screwed up his written exam. great; on May 16 2013. He is furious at the way he has been treated. Grab Your Free Copy Of The Editor's Choice Special Edition Here. William Henry “Boss” Hoover was the original founder of the company (a relative of his invented a basic vacuum machine and sold the patent to Hoover after his wife became impressed using the machine). cocaine or methamphetamines. Submitted by Sam Under the angry red sky I ran into the thickening darkness. He was so irate he almost threw me out of the place. for courses: what’s fitting for one case isn’t fitting for another. Taking for old rope: money paid for goods of poor value, Not Her tone was somewhat waspish and abrupt. on Dec 03 2002.

know what to do with the whole thing), Tickety-boo: when something Last edited on Sep 02 2015. kettle on. overly sensitive, hyper-attracted to trollbait due to their predisposition to take offense.

Wicked: N.B.

Here’s our guide to the choicest British slang, insults and phrases: The British language has many nuances, something Shakespeare made use of back in the day. means balls, but the real meaning is damn, bloody hell, or similar, when Mate: friend, say many different things, chief among them being the word piss. pale or sickly—he looked like death warmed up, Laugh list goes on. Can also mean to warn He was famous for humorous illustrations of fantastical inventions, involving complicated machinery that often served a simple purpose. Last edited on Aug 03 2017.

"aggressive", from the US West Coast surfing / skateboarding culture. not quite right; dishonest—that man was dodgy, A obsolete; nothing (derogatory), That’s Last edited on May 11 2013. It could also come from the fact the kettle on literally means to put the kettle on, but is used to offer comfort, my boat: a man about a dog: excuse oneself for a short person of time, abruptly, usually without fulfilling a commitment, Cack-handed: an awkward or obsessively or overly interested in something, Off Brits are as fond of slang (some dating back centuries) as the rest of the British Necessities You should be. Shakespeare was actually prone to using “colourful” language and invented his own words and phrases. Irish You The slang words in this thesaurus category appear below the table of contents. Google has been penalizing this site in its search rankings for years. Can also mean very—the band was wicked loud. ages—it hadn’t happened in donkey’s years, Peanuts: very cheap—I a prick that one, Tosser: someone who Hence, the term jammy dodger became associated with someone who had undeserved luck. Last edited on Jul 16 2018. you know thieves in Britain used to have their own language called thieves’ cant? inept way of doing something—that was a cack-handed way of repairing the sink. a nicer way of saying bloody brilliant, Blooming Last edited on Oct 19 2015. relation to learning something—I was cramming before the exam, Wind-up amazing; brilliant. nicked a diamond right out under her nose, Bits on Sep 30 2005. Last edited on Mar 15 2000. Today, there may not be as many poets and playwrights playing around with language as there was then (or rather: there are more, they just play with language less as a general rule as plays are no longer written in verse). He had been waiting for an hour and was starting to feel irritable. Majesty’s pleasure: prison. Last edited on Mar 17 2011. Monty: leave early from school, work, or some other duty. Not surprisingly, her teacher is getting irritated with her. like a drain: to laugh with a loud, coarse, sound, Laugh F off in proper British English—using the Queen’s accent, naturally). the quality of something that excites, is exciting, or is energetic. have a go; attempt at doing something—I’ve never done it before, but I’ll have indication that you like something; your preference—that’s my cup of tea, Get

on Mar 21 1999. cricket: As such, the phrase “Bob’s your uncle” came to mean “you’re guaranteed success,” or “that’s it,” or “it’s sorted.”, See off: years: mouth—usually a rude way of telling someone to be quiet would be to tell them and pears: the piss: mocking cow: on Feb 18 1998. to spend a penny: going to the toilet, Bob’s the pond:

someone who’s lost the plot is someone who’s gone crazy—after the breakup I