Friends, pandas, countrymen, lend me thine ears! For 'tis a page of memes from the island of Britain that I present upon you. Okay, okay, no more poor attempts at Shakespeare-speak, I promise. I won't bore you with the usual British stereotypes either – mentioning crumpets, double-decker buses and saying 'rubbish' when something's really bad.
Yet Britain indeed has its own unique charm. Just like any other culture does. And while it's true that The Commonwealth doesn't have the best track record when it comes to honoring other cultures, we here at Bored Panda often honor the British sense of humor. This time we're covering the British Memes page on Instagram. Check out our selection and don't forget to upvote your favorites!
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Probably because other than the original inhabitants, most of you came from Britain ergo similar humour.
"Look at me, I'm a train on a track, I'm a train, I'm a train, I'm a chucka train, yeah, look at me, got a load on my back, I'm a train, I'm a train, I'm a chucka train, yeah! RRRRRRRRR AH HA HA HAAA!"
Just for the record bored panda. The UK is not "an island" there are 189 inhabited islands and over 6000 more besides.
Not an island? And I wasted all that money on the Chunnel. Will just drive over from Paris next time. Matey, it IS an island.
Load More Replies...But quite bad advice,, I'm leaving now, so you can do shady things...
Load More Replies...Unfortunately, that wouldn't work with some pests I know. They'd just say "oh, I'll go with you" and talk endlessly the whole way to the end of the world and back.
That's how it's done! Looking at you, France... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/04/french-rail-operator-sncf-fined-after-train-killed-cat-hiding-on-tracks
This story is making me so angry. Of course, the poor cat didn't dare come out with all the noises in a train station. "Just a cat" - the person who said this is very happy that I wasn't there...
Load More Replies...Happened at London Euston. The cat was seen half an hour before departure of the London-Manchester Avanti West Coast service. The train was replaced by a stand-by convoy "with only a slight delay". After two and a half hours personnel brought a bin to the side of the train and the cat was able to leave
A bin? Hmm so they enticed that cat with a fits and sits!
Load More Replies...It says "Avanti West Coast" Sklmbleshanks is a long way from Carlisle 😁
Load More Replies...The British Memes IG is one of many pages under the Pubity Group entertainment. Their 'about us' page boasts having more than 20 channels, which, according to them, cover diverse subcultures. It's not all about entertainment and popular culture – they have pages about sports, travel and even news.
The Pubity Groups is a true entertainment powerhouse tailored for Millennials and Gen Z. Most of their pages have a considerable following too – the British Memes page, for example, has a whopping 1.9 million followers. Their most popular IG page is Memezar with a 22.7 million follower count – a page that is all things meme and meme-culture.
what in the bloody jollywhap bloobyblam codswallop bumbernucklers it is a wee bit odd i reckon
I say “lol” to a lot of things I find funny but this genuinely made me laugh for the first time today so thank you fellow panda 🤍
Load More Replies...That meme is so old the British Museum stole it and put it on display.
my boyfriend is from the U.K. and he looked so pissed when is showed him this XD
That's on Fast and Furious XI set!! Stealing bank vaults is already outdated!
Was Barbara a cat? A dog? A turtle? Nah she’s every single one of us
While scrolling through these memes, you might notice that British humor (or, rather, humour) is quite distinctive. People often complain they don't understand British comedy shows or stand-up. That's especially true for Americans. Researchers from Birkbeck, University of London, even published a study on this topic.
They showed the participants two excerpts from two British television shows. The study sample included 128 British individuals and 95 American English users. The people had to rate the funniness of the two clips. A bigger portion of American English users rated British humor as less funny. They said they did not get the ironic and sarcastic aspect of British humor.
I slept in one of the red phone boxes more than once when I was homeless.
A packet of Tesco's basic crisps being replaced by Liz Truss as PM....
I'm not sure that this is uniquely British, because I don't think the trains can read elsewhere either.
Exactly the opposite, the trains that run through Reading must be able to read right?
Load More Replies...Self-driving cars can read signs, so why not trains? This seems very 20th century.
Aartdesigns.....This is just a play on a word. Reading (pronounced Redding) is a large town in the County of Berkshire (pronounced Barkshire) in Southern England.
Load More Replies...Many people think that the comedy ensemble Monty Python is the best example of British humor. Dr Ian Wilkie, a lecturer in performance at the University of Salford, reiterated this sentiment to the BBC.
"Having taught younger American students, they take the British sense of humour to be Monty Python, by which they mean a sort-of slightly erring towards the surreal, very iconoclastic in terms of attacking the big targets, very silly."
Poeple say8ng stuff about post office ruining lives i am stupid whats happening
You’re not stupid! Even if you’re in the UK, you still might have missed it. There was a scandal and subsequent Netflix programme called Mr Bates vs The Post Office, and because of faulty accounting software, Horizon, the Post Office wrongly accused something like 700 staff throughout the UK of false accounting/theft, some of whom went to prison, and lost everything. It really is awful.
Load More Replies...It’s uncanny how much this looks like former US Pres George W Bush. Ugh. Sorry Gordon, but that is not a compliment
That’s a compliment to Bush. 🤢 Huge insult to “Ramses”.
Load More Replies...I've seen numerous iterations of the sign, some woman really hates most coffee and thinks trip advisor is the place to complain I guess.
Considering what some people like, it always tastes burnt to me, I'd give this a try.
The equivalent here in Texas & the south is "Bless her heart." That can be genuine concern, utter disgust, amazement at the level of stupidity, etc. It covers a wealth of situations.
We don't have an equivalent here in Australia, because we just say whatever we want to say.
Load More Replies...In Dutch it's "Niet lullig bedoeld ..." which then is followed by something that is usually very lullig
My 97 year old neighbor used to say "Bless her heart but she was uglier than an old mud fence" I miss her so much
Same in the south in the United States "bless her heart" is essentially the same.
The south. I'm from up north. If we don't like u we keep on walking
As David Woods writes for PBS, American humor tends to be positive and upbeat. The British, on the other hand, derive their humor from oddities and misfortunes. Take, for example, Mr. Bean, another canonical British comedy character. He's always getting into some kind of trouble. Yet, we find his misfortunes funny – it can make us feel better about ourselves.
Mr. Bean is also an odd character. The way he moves, talks, even thinks – there's always something unusual about him. Same with Monty Python. Take the 'Ministry Of Silly Walks' sketch. It's full of absurd physical comedy, just like Mr. Bean.
If this was a cartoon it'd be hilarious but I feel really really bad if that dog is really that fat.
I'd steal that dog. Just to give it a healthier better life, poor thing.
So no one's going to talk about the fact that his pants are around his ankles?
I lived in the UK for 15 years, it is common for people to not have a clue what to do when it is beautiful weather. The usual result is going to a pub with a beer garden, but it is such a rare thing that some people are just not equipped to cope, this man probably doesn't even own a pair of shorts.
Load More Replies...Denmark too. Never mind how the temperature is. Sun is sun - and it requires bare skin...
I lived in the UK for 3 years and can’t get over a “heatwave” being around 80F/25C. I’m from the Midwest where a heatwave means it’s going to be 90F/32C to 110F/43C. With 100% humidity. My English cousins said they’d love that, but I don’t think they have a true frame of reference. 🥵🫠
Not been in touch with your English cousins recently? They probably do now. In 2022 the UK had a long lasting heatwave that peaked at over 40°C and most of us don't have air conditioning that we can routinely escape to. Countries with colder climates than the UK would consider a lower temperature a heatwave for their area - it's all relative.
Load More Replies...16 degrees Celsius is my ideal climate (I can withstand the cold though)
British comedian Stephen Fry also talked about the differences between American and British humor. He said that humor in classical American sitcoms comes from jokes.
And British sitcoms, in his opinion, rely on character, usually on the failure of a character. Fry describes these protagonists as "trying to be grand in a world that's letting them down." He cites such examples as Alan Partridge and David Brent.
I’d like to think I am an expert in garlic bread and a nice pasta with it… now I am hungry
And to think I had a high school orientation and they never mentioned specializing in garlic bread
When the photo first appeared online it was someone's dad who had lost his glasses making ordinary bread. If you are going to steal a photo for likes at least work out what the photo actually shows first.
This looks like an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog and somehow, that is Muriel.
That's nothing, My great auntie lost her teeth on her first visit come & see us in the u.s. Our Mum called everywhere we had been that day. This involved two places: McDonald's, and our house. Those poor kids at Mcy-D's. They searched all over for a pair of falsies...turns out, my Auntie had put them on our dry sink (a dresser kind of thing in the kitchen), and they fell down the back & underneath. Made for some most Excellent family stories.
for 2 years not once did you attempt to pull that? not once?... how do people get through a day without dying?
Only thing I could think is that they didn't give it a good pull. Washers have to have a good seal, while drawers and cupboards are relatively easy to pull ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Load More Replies...God, I wish I could find a surprise dishwasher in my kitchen... Unfortunately, there's absolutely nowhere it could be hidden 😭
"The American hero is faster, sharper, cleverer," Fry explains. He uses the toga party scene in the 1978 comedy film Animal House as an example. John Belushi's character smashes a guitar player's instrument in that scene. Americans want to be Belushi at that moment, Fry explains, and a British comedian would rather play the folk singer.
Why the downvote? As non-native English speaker I took me actually some moments. In neither of my languages "Bach" is pronounced as "bäkk". It is the sheep says "baaaa" plus I am a train "ch"ooo chooo
Load More Replies...I saw a sign in a shop: Payments must be received at time of service. If you want credit please go to Helen Waite
Yeah,even better when you are refused a mortgage for half the rent you are paying..
wild isn't it? Here in the USA A two bedroom apartment can run anywhere from $800 to $2000 a month (or more) yet I bought a house in 2016 and have a mortgage of $450 a month for a 2 bedroom house that is 50% larger and has a yard plus a large stroge building. If people can pay for rent they can usually afford a mortgage that is less per month
This rebuttal has been batted under the sofa.
Load More Replies...Fry believes that the British laugh at themselves. Americans, on the other hand, are not that good at self-deprecation. "Americans, I think – and I wouldn't overstate this – are not that good at laughing at themselves."
But not everyone believes there's such a clear distinction between American and British humor. Dr. Wilkie also told BBC he doesn't exactly think there is a British kind of humor. "I think the best you can hope for is some big, beacon terms (eg. sarcasm, understatement, self-deprecation), that maybe, over a fair amount of time, might hold water."
I think you're right. Don't wear a tie in there or they'll cut it in half and stick it to the wall!
Load More Replies...I thnk this over babies sometimes, everyone says 'oh look at him/her, isn't she beautiful' and i'm thinking. No, they look like a bald Mogwai
Yeah Mum, of course you think your kids are attractive, everyone thinks that. Doesn’t mean they are.
LOL my dad said something very similar recently. But he's not wrong! :)
I always thought my kids were gorgeous, but sometimes, seeing other people's photos of their kids when they were little just confirms it, lol 😂
In the US we'd artfully arrange that on a wooden board and call it charcuterie!
British cuisine is not far off from my toddler's diet. Except she doesn't like beans. That's it Britain the only thing separating you from a toddler is beans.
Oscar Wilde has famously said that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit. Is that a sign that British humor is maybe not so "streets ahead" compared to its American counterpart? In a previous interview with Bored Panda, researcher of humor studies at Keuka College Steven Kapica agreed that sarcasm is somewhere near the bottom of the barrel when it comes to ranking forms of comedy.
This is classic though, what is it with people having to put EVERYTHING on social media. 'hmm Dennis is posing with a massive wad of cash ...but he hasn't worked for months... ooooh. oh Dennis'
I thought the dude was holding tickets to a rugby match or something, but then I looked closer after reading your comment, duh. I forgot how colorful your money is.
Load More Replies...That should happen in every instance of dumb criminals that get caught because of bragging on social media!!! :))
Seriously, if you are stupid enough to post your crimes on social media, you deserve to be caught and do your time.
Daughter took her road test, examiner said "you are speeding", daughter replies "my Dad said it's ok to exceed by 5mph". "Well, I'm the person that determines if you get a license and I say you can't".
"It doesn't take much skill to inflect a phrase with sarcasm in response to an authority's power move, or to use sarcasm to point out what is already obvious to everyone. The jokester who feels inclined to perform what everyone else is thinking isn't [a] comic genius," Kapica told Bored Panda before.
Agreed. You need to let it crisp up a little to get the buttery flavour. Elsewise, it's like chewing sad cardboard.
Load More Replies...Wow..so, I simply "HAD" to do a bit of Googling on this sandwich...(for Americans, like myself, who didn't know what was going on) : What makes Greggs sausage rolls so good? Grace enlisted the help of food scientist Dr Stuart Farrimond to find out exactly what makes a Greggs sausage roll so delicious - starting with that irresistible smell every time you walk past a store. This is caused by a chemical reaction that sees protein and sugars combine at just the right temperature. .....Thanks...Now I need to try one of these!
Is this like how the British find heating water in a microwave disgusting for tea?
I don’t even know what I’m looking at. I get that there’s a radiator but the plastic bag reminds me of hotel laundry.
He's just reheating his Greggs sausage roll. I've never been sold one in a plastic bag though.
Load More Replies...I felt the same way about warmed Chili Cheese Dogs when I was a trucker, Sure were tastier warmed on the Manifolds!
Ohhhh she's just getting started. You don't sort it out until you're 25-29 (/J sort of)
Load More Replies...If she did all that at 7 in the morning, what the heck was she doing the night before?
Pisstake - taking the p**s is like making a mockery of something
Load More Replies...A pisstake is when something is so utterly ridiculous, shameful, or pathetic that it’s a total joke, and not the funny kind. A pisstake can also mean someone is being mocking, but in the context of the text, it means the first definition.
Load More Replies...Now there's a picture of his van posted on social media saying he's going about pinching sheep
He’s a Texel! They’re Dutch like me. Texels are known for being absolute units. Males weigh around 95kg/200lbs and they have really lean meat. I grew up on a sheep farm; my best bud was my Texel tup (ram) Bruno. He had a single horn that grew out the centre of his forehead; this guy looks like he might have the same thing going on.
Does he work security on the doors in Liverpool at the weekend? Sure I have saw the baaaa stars before.
He’s neither fat nor fluffy; what you’re looking at is 200lbs of muscle. He’s a Texel, a physical beast of a sheep, but nice natured
Load More Replies...However, Kapica admitted that sarcasm plays an important role in human interaction. "I think it is better to think of sarcasm as a rhetorical device than as a form of comedy.
As a rhetoric device, sarcasm can be an effective means of gauging, guiding, and winning one's audience 'in-the-moment.' But that's 'live' sarcasm. Internet-based sarcasm is... oof."
In The Netherlands, after the first motorways were constructed in the 60's, people actually sat in lawn chairs on the side of the road to watch the cars go by. This was genuinely a national pastime for a while.
perhaps, at certain times of the year, it turns into a swift-running river?
Come to France, we have lots, just pick one... et voilà ! But don't forget the accent on the à or it will not work 😇
Why they would tell you to combine bread with a string instrument they can't even spell right is beyond me!
Oh silly, it's right next to the elbow grease in the special ingredients aisle
Is the Bob from "Bob's your uncle" and the Bob from "Yeah, Bob!" the same Bob?
Load More Replies...This is odd. Last night I dreamed I was in a car that wouldn't go up a hill.
no we decided it was boring and it makes working out a sentence far more challenging if there are no commas etc to help meaning especially that darned oxford one 😜
Load More Replies...Feel so guilty about laughing, but can't stop.... !! lol!!
Load More Replies...Firstly, why would she choose that one, that is CRUNCHY, and second, aw :(
my stupid azz thought those were years and was unable to tell the difference, as every branch on the tree was the same. Now that I realize...
OK I'm sitting here thinking those were the years. OMG. We don't do military time in the states. lmaooooo
Neither do we, it's 24 hour clock. I assume the military use it in the US because of the need for precision
Load More Replies...If you can't see the hill it's raining, if you can see the hill it's about to rain
That is one of our national treasures. She appears to be indestructible since surviving polio as a child.
Load More Replies...You're right - I've actually had them like this!
Load More Replies...Mayo?! MAYO!?! I have never been so scandalised.
Load More Replies...For a Twix? That's ridiculous! I remember when Freddos were 10p. TEN P! :P
I can remember driving around trying to find gas in US for less than 26 cents a gallon...those were the boomer days
Just for clarification for anyone outside the UK, French fries (or fries in general) refer to the long skinny things that you get in places like McDonald's, and they are *not* suitable for a chip butty - that requires actual fat chips, preferably from the chippy.
Chips in the UK are similar to what Americans would call "steak cut fries." Big and chunky.
Load More Replies...I'm wondering if half the disbelief comes from the fact that in the USA, they do not butter their sandwiches? Leading them to think that this would be dry as f**k. I'm not a lover of a chip butty, but a well buttered bap/cob/roll, thick chips, with your choice of condiment (I'd go for HP Sauce), makes a simple, warm, and fulfilling snack.
In the US, we generally don't eat carb-on-carb sandwiches. I know, it's weird, because that totally sounds like something we would go for, but somehow it hasn't caught on.
Load More Replies...You can't have just plain chips you have to add a little bit of ketchup and then it will taste amazing
They were probably expect a crisp butty as they name everything the wrong way round - chips = crisps French fries = very English chunky chips
on a further note (this may have been said already but I CBA to read all comments) we brits will put most things between 2 slices of bread and love it. I give you the shepherds pie sanger for example - absolutely delish - as is the corned beef hash sanger and the infamous fish finger sanger
fish fingers and tartare sauce in a sandwich is yummy. also recommended the same, but done in a sandwich toaster. it's lovely
Load More Replies...They are mist excellent. And by thw way, they are hot chips, not French Fries.
Theyre chip sambos here in Éire. Bloody tasty. They're not French fries. Those skinny pathetic things are not chips!!!
I went searching and I'm guessing they must be a Christmas thing non of the supermarkets have them, neither does Amazon. I'm so disappointed.
Load More Replies...Never been more jealous!!! As a vegan can't eat them, but so happy for the rest of you:)
Gluten issues, so same. I miss maltesers a ridiculous amount
Load More Replies...Yeah Me want full bucket mon, My landlady hides it when she gits them!
Every time a Brit posts something like this, Rishi Sunak smiles. Just saying.
You should see the Trago Mills places, they have turrets like a castle!
didn't mock the week say trago mills sounded like a low budget bond villain?
Load More Replies...Hey, this Tesco - can you come and teach my local supermarkets (Tescos included) a thing or two about painting proper disabled bays? And enough of them?
The old Beechams factory has a clock tower, and that isnt a supermarket
It's nice that they put the handicapped parking like a half mile from the entrance.
That's so you can see how long it took you to spend 5000 pounds buying groceries.
Well, The Moguls figured look like warehouses,Git em in and Out quicker!
This is a photo of the UK and Éire actually. Let's just get that correct here. Cause too many Americans think that the island of Ireland is the UK. And that's not sound lads.
You're right. Though that teeny tiny corner of land down in the bottom right that looks like you could just take a wee hop on to. That's France.
Load More Replies...The Isle of Man is further up than I imagined it. Not great at the old geography.
I know I am bad in Geografy…. But I did not know I was this bad. I can‘t distinguish what part of the world this pic is showing. From the title I would guess Europe, but…. I really can‘t see it.
The little bit of land in the lower right-hand corner is the coast of France where Calais and Dunkirk are located. The brown pointy thing at lower center is the Bristol Channel.
Load More Replies...I see a face in the picture. Either a ugly face or a monster face. Anyone else seei it?
"this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images". Why? Just.. why?
Football hooligans destroyed the 51st image in a riot
Load More Replies..."this post originally had 51 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images". Why? Just.. why?
Football hooligans destroyed the 51st image in a riot
Load More Replies...
