It's genuinely incredible how diverse our world is – but what's particularly impressive is the number of stunning languages it carries. To be somewhat precise, around 6,500 languages are currently spoken by folks globally, as well as an uncountable amount of accents and dialects. Every language has its own set of slang words and sayings that might make no sense to other people yet are perfectly straightforward to those who're used to using them. After all, who knew that "Bob's your uncle" could ever become a way of saying "and there you have it", though the origin of the phrase is quite amusing.
Speaking about British slang and sayings, an online user shared a now-viral Tweet stating how she wishes she were British just so that she could describe everything as "absolutely mental". The post ended up receiving nearly 100K likes and even encouraged fellow non-Brits to share their favorite slang words that they wish to use in their everyday conversations.
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No fraudulence at all ; the phrase ' Bloody Hell, you really are rubbish at that' can be used in many situations from driving, to golf to lovemaking ......
According to the definition of the word "slang", it is basically a language that is made up of words and sayings that are considered to be very informal and are not a part of the standard vocabulary. To describe it in a simpler way, slang words are usually those very rich metaphors that essentially add extra color to our everyday conversations.
Whenever one decides to learn a new language, slang tends to be the hardest aspect to grasp in the entire process, as all the words are typically quite unique and more often than not, nobody really knows where the term or phrase came from.
It's fascinating how the slang world constantly changes and never stays in one place. Each century, decade and year, our society comes up with brand new meanings for different words and actions, or even creates something totally new. People constantly come up with things to express themselves in a more creative manner and it's truly brilliant.
For all one knows, these days the number one source for all kinds of innovative and even sometimes artistic slang words would be everybody's favorite – the internet. The web is full of insanely talented people, and it's not surprising that once in a while we get a little something that we could add to our slang jar.
Moreover, in the space of a year, Oxford Online Dictionaries adds roughly 1000 words to our what seems like infinite vocabulary list. It's fascinating how new expressions come around because of music, politics, films, and most importantly, all sorts of things that happened to earn the title of a meme. We adopt those words into our daily conversations without even realizing that the word didn't exist a few months ago.
However, our cultural lexicon never stays the same and that's the true beauty of any language, even if we end up embarrassing our future selves when remembering how often we said "yas, queen" in 2019.
What's also quite thought-provoking is that slang is somewhat similar to what we call "offensive" language. Profanity has existed for centuries or even thousands of years, and the vocabulary for this kind of language also tends to grow, definitely not as rapidly as slang does, but still.
Slang is mostly forbidden from any serious literature and films, just like profanity is, and it essentially shows us that humanity craves and requires more ways that could potentially help folks to express themselves in a more vibrant manner.
Anyhow, British slang tends to satisfy people, whether it's the words themselves or the accent that enunciates the absurdity of some sayings that makes it all sound so exciting and entertaining. For instance, the previously mentioned "Bob's your uncle" has such an amusing history that it makes you want to adopt the phrase forever.
The thing is, in 1887, British prime minister Robert Gascoyne-Cecil appointed his nephew Arthur James Balfour as Minister for Ireland, and the phrase originated when the nephew addressed the prime minister as "Uncle Bob", which is why the saying began to be used to describe something that could be done very easily.
In which case, you would be chuffed to say aluminium (with the pronounced 'i')
Bit of a pickle is an ironic military term for when everything is going tits up and one might need to get one's a**e out of there sharpish .....
Ultimately, it's pretty obvious that slang helps people to express their thoughts and is essentially just a very fun twist for any language to have. Just imagine what kind of words the English language will have in 50 years' time – do you think things will still be absolutely mental?
Must be a young persons thing ; us oldies have been wankered, wasted, totalled, tired and confused (that's a toff politicians excuse), trolleyed, pissed, lathered and full to the eyeballs.......
Fact: Wank is a town in Germany. Now imagine an alternate universe where it is the capital of Germany. Now think of John F. Kennedy in said universe.
Oh dear, you are going to have a massive shock if you ever get over to this sceptered isle ..... probably thinks we all wear bowler hats to work and have afternoon tea every day ....
No thanks... I think it would be more engaging to watch paint dry...
The problem I have found with Americans trying to do British, is that they often get the context wrong and they always get the pronunciation wrong, so it falls flat. I lived in the USA for over 22 years and on a daily basis, I would be confronted with an American who tried to emulate my British accent and share what they thought were British slang words/colloquialisms. Bloody nightmare!!
"Bob's your uncle" and "It's all gone t1ts up" are some of my favorites.
Bloody love this post! I'm chuffed to bits that our language is used elsewhere 😊
Don't forget that adding "ed" onto practically any word can mean being drunk - trollied, badgered, floored, wankered, tabled, trashed and the list goes on. Scottish folk sure do love getting creative with their insults too
"Snogging" for "making out. "Whingeing" for complaining or griping. "Pissed" for being drunk. "Bloody hell." "Knackered" for being tired. It's been 30 years since I lived in London, but I still use a lot of slang that I don't remember at the moment.
Americans enjoy my Glaswegian style of describing things: "Walk to that big fuc*off building over there and take a left". Apparently putting 'big fuc*off' before a description of anything is absolutely hilarious on the American side of the ocean. They also enjoy "as balls" after a description of anything. "That steak's as tough as balls". The one that still brings horror/collapse into hysterics is: "Know what we call cunnilingus in Scotland? Growling at the badger".
Well I just found out that living in a country that is a British colony means we already talk like this 😅
What about "dodgy"? Remember this was used commonly in the UK but causing other English speaking nations rotfl
I worked in a bag/luggage store in my 20's, British people came in and asked what an item was, I told them they were "F***y packs", they laughed till they were red in the face. That is when I learned that the British definition of "F***y" is much different than my Canadian version.
I watch Acorn TV, BritBox and Masterpiece Theater more than American TV. I find the British programs better written and the actors are more normal looking. (Not phony American glam.) I've picked up a lot of phrases and they are so much better at describing things: bloody wanker, k**b head, absolute nutter, brilliant, cuppa, have a go, gobsmacked, pissed, and the list goes on. I was definitely born on the wrong side of the pond. "God save the queen," and all that.
My particular favorite was a friend from Scotland referring to trump as a "clueless numpty". Absolutely brilliant! 😁
Really what's notable about British slang is how little it changes in relation to American slang. All these terms were being used 50 years ago, I think, with the exact same phrasing and meaning.
Years ago I had a coworker with a strong Cockney accent, but posh tastes and mannerisms. One day he was giving us a hard time about Americans pronouncing things wrong, and I happened to see that his digital watch displayed 3:33, so I asked him the time, knowing exactly what he’d say. He said, “It’s free firty free.” And then I had to tease him right back. He retorted with a friendly, “Piss off!” I do miss him teaching me a bunch of rhyming slang.
My partner was raised in the UK and he uses a lot of these. I have adopted them as well. I love to use Bloody Hell and Knackered.
I've always been partial to "Don't get your knickers in a twist." Rhyming slang is fun but Yanks don't get it . . . can't use your Loaf of Bread (head), or go talk to your Trouble & Strife (wife) . . .
A lot of these expressions are used in Canada. My favourite word is skookum! And Newfoundlander “Stays where yer at ‘til I comes where you’re to.” (Stay there ‘til I get there.)
I’d like to hear American’s using the phrase rushing around like a blue arsed fly.
My favorite is "good on you". I use it as much as I possibly can.
Reading this as a Brit I'm mostly surprised how many every day phrases are unique to us. I hadn't realised.
also, to the horror of me seppo friends, all good mates here are absolute cvnts to us!
Started using trolley instead of shopping cart and que instead of line.
Ahhh majority of these aren't unique to the UK, very common in NZ and Australia
Why am I reading all of these posts in a very bad British accent in my head?
Never really thought of this. I thought more of these would be in wider circulation. I now think I could probably have a full conversation in English that an American would struggle to understand, lol! I wonder what phrases they use that we're not familiar with.
Used to be in a cadet based organization and the senior members (anyone adult) had a lot of rules to follow concerned the cadets (minors). I wasn't particularly interested in remembering the cadet names so I used mate quite a bit... and it evolved on me. Now, instead of calling people unnecessary names (jerk, a*****e) I use mate. It didn't evolve the way I thought it might.
Americans trying to say English idioms sounds hilariously ridiculous. Bet you anything they bloody muck it up by getting the context wrong and sound like a bleeding wanker 99% of the time.
I like to use the phrase “let’s have a conflab, shall we” and my friends’ reactions to it makes me laugh 😂
I watch loads of British TV. Here in Canada, growler means something significantly different lol. I do have my tea my Great Gran made hers. T****r has to be my favorite next to w**ker
Newt (nothing) or ewt (anything) drives my husband mad and that's just a local divide
I've been enjoying listening to Pink Floyd with my son. Getting fresh chuckles for the various descriptions of "crazy" from The Trial (from The Wall) (most are familiar to Americans, but still put in a fun way: Toys in the attic, I am crazy/ Truly gone fishing/ They must have taken my marbles away... Crazy/ Over the rainbow, I am crazy/ Bars in the window...
Do you reckon? I think thats hilarious that British people use the word "reckon" regularly.
I (46f) grew up on the states but I'm from a commonwealth country. It never ceases to amaze me when I find out things I say are "not American." Words I've used my entire life but no one has bothered to point out that they don't understand what I'm saying. My American accent is one of the things I've hated most about myself. I can't stand when people try to fake accents though. Especially when they're god awful. Americans also use these words incorrectly and. It just sounds weird coming out of their mouths.
'Spitting feathers' =thirsty. 'Me stomach thinks me throats cut' =hungry. Two of many with love from Northern England.
you can also be absolutely off your nut or off your tits (usually after taking lots of drugs), if it's cold out we also say it's fu%&ing Baltic out there (some dutch friends of mine loved that one) sometimes we say that it's absolutely brass monkeys to say it's cold outside too. bell end is also a favourite thing to call people - I could go on and on and on
The problem I have found with Americans trying to do British, is that they often get the context wrong and they always get the pronunciation wrong, so it falls flat. I lived in the USA for over 22 years and on a daily basis, I would be confronted with an American who tried to emulate my British accent and share what they thought were British slang words/colloquialisms. Bloody nightmare!!
"Bob's your uncle" and "It's all gone t1ts up" are some of my favorites.
Bloody love this post! I'm chuffed to bits that our language is used elsewhere 😊
Don't forget that adding "ed" onto practically any word can mean being drunk - trollied, badgered, floored, wankered, tabled, trashed and the list goes on. Scottish folk sure do love getting creative with their insults too
"Snogging" for "making out. "Whingeing" for complaining or griping. "Pissed" for being drunk. "Bloody hell." "Knackered" for being tired. It's been 30 years since I lived in London, but I still use a lot of slang that I don't remember at the moment.
Americans enjoy my Glaswegian style of describing things: "Walk to that big fuc*off building over there and take a left". Apparently putting 'big fuc*off' before a description of anything is absolutely hilarious on the American side of the ocean. They also enjoy "as balls" after a description of anything. "That steak's as tough as balls". The one that still brings horror/collapse into hysterics is: "Know what we call cunnilingus in Scotland? Growling at the badger".
Well I just found out that living in a country that is a British colony means we already talk like this 😅
What about "dodgy"? Remember this was used commonly in the UK but causing other English speaking nations rotfl
I worked in a bag/luggage store in my 20's, British people came in and asked what an item was, I told them they were "F***y packs", they laughed till they were red in the face. That is when I learned that the British definition of "F***y" is much different than my Canadian version.
I watch Acorn TV, BritBox and Masterpiece Theater more than American TV. I find the British programs better written and the actors are more normal looking. (Not phony American glam.) I've picked up a lot of phrases and they are so much better at describing things: bloody wanker, k**b head, absolute nutter, brilliant, cuppa, have a go, gobsmacked, pissed, and the list goes on. I was definitely born on the wrong side of the pond. "God save the queen," and all that.
My particular favorite was a friend from Scotland referring to trump as a "clueless numpty". Absolutely brilliant! 😁
Really what's notable about British slang is how little it changes in relation to American slang. All these terms were being used 50 years ago, I think, with the exact same phrasing and meaning.
Years ago I had a coworker with a strong Cockney accent, but posh tastes and mannerisms. One day he was giving us a hard time about Americans pronouncing things wrong, and I happened to see that his digital watch displayed 3:33, so I asked him the time, knowing exactly what he’d say. He said, “It’s free firty free.” And then I had to tease him right back. He retorted with a friendly, “Piss off!” I do miss him teaching me a bunch of rhyming slang.
My partner was raised in the UK and he uses a lot of these. I have adopted them as well. I love to use Bloody Hell and Knackered.
I've always been partial to "Don't get your knickers in a twist." Rhyming slang is fun but Yanks don't get it . . . can't use your Loaf of Bread (head), or go talk to your Trouble & Strife (wife) . . .
A lot of these expressions are used in Canada. My favourite word is skookum! And Newfoundlander “Stays where yer at ‘til I comes where you’re to.” (Stay there ‘til I get there.)
I’d like to hear American’s using the phrase rushing around like a blue arsed fly.
My favorite is "good on you". I use it as much as I possibly can.
Reading this as a Brit I'm mostly surprised how many every day phrases are unique to us. I hadn't realised.
also, to the horror of me seppo friends, all good mates here are absolute cvnts to us!
Started using trolley instead of shopping cart and que instead of line.
Ahhh majority of these aren't unique to the UK, very common in NZ and Australia
Why am I reading all of these posts in a very bad British accent in my head?
Never really thought of this. I thought more of these would be in wider circulation. I now think I could probably have a full conversation in English that an American would struggle to understand, lol! I wonder what phrases they use that we're not familiar with.
Used to be in a cadet based organization and the senior members (anyone adult) had a lot of rules to follow concerned the cadets (minors). I wasn't particularly interested in remembering the cadet names so I used mate quite a bit... and it evolved on me. Now, instead of calling people unnecessary names (jerk, a*****e) I use mate. It didn't evolve the way I thought it might.
Americans trying to say English idioms sounds hilariously ridiculous. Bet you anything they bloody muck it up by getting the context wrong and sound like a bleeding wanker 99% of the time.
I like to use the phrase “let’s have a conflab, shall we” and my friends’ reactions to it makes me laugh 😂
I watch loads of British TV. Here in Canada, growler means something significantly different lol. I do have my tea my Great Gran made hers. T****r has to be my favorite next to w**ker
Newt (nothing) or ewt (anything) drives my husband mad and that's just a local divide
I've been enjoying listening to Pink Floyd with my son. Getting fresh chuckles for the various descriptions of "crazy" from The Trial (from The Wall) (most are familiar to Americans, but still put in a fun way: Toys in the attic, I am crazy/ Truly gone fishing/ They must have taken my marbles away... Crazy/ Over the rainbow, I am crazy/ Bars in the window...
Do you reckon? I think thats hilarious that British people use the word "reckon" regularly.
I (46f) grew up on the states but I'm from a commonwealth country. It never ceases to amaze me when I find out things I say are "not American." Words I've used my entire life but no one has bothered to point out that they don't understand what I'm saying. My American accent is one of the things I've hated most about myself. I can't stand when people try to fake accents though. Especially when they're god awful. Americans also use these words incorrectly and. It just sounds weird coming out of their mouths.
'Spitting feathers' =thirsty. 'Me stomach thinks me throats cut' =hungry. Two of many with love from Northern England.
you can also be absolutely off your nut or off your tits (usually after taking lots of drugs), if it's cold out we also say it's fu%&ing Baltic out there (some dutch friends of mine loved that one) sometimes we say that it's absolutely brass monkeys to say it's cold outside too. bell end is also a favourite thing to call people - I could go on and on and on