Fun UK slang words and phrases, add yours!

[steve2470]

'Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs' - an expression of amazement or surprise.

'It's black over Bill's mothers' - implying oncoming bad weather.

'He had an ague bout' - a layperson's description of some sort of medical affliction. I remain uncertain of what this is despite many years in the medical sector.

'Ey up me duck' - a form of greeting used in certain parts of the English Midlands.

'Its piddling down' - rain is currently falling.

'Mardy' - a descriptive term used for someone who is over-emotional (currently me!)

A 'Chelsea Tractor' - the four wheeled drive, expensive, vehicles beloved of rich ladies in London.

'She could talk the hind legs off a donkey' - she talks too much.

'Coffin dodger' - an extremely elderly individual, not yet deceased.

'Fur coat and no knickers!' - an individual who is all appearance, no underlying substance.

'Syrup of figs' - a wig.

many more here: https://www.quora.com/British-English/What-are-some-phrases-sayings-or-words-that-people-use-in-the-U-K-that-arent-used-in-the-U-S-A

[frogmarch]

1. My British cousin

when visiting in the US asked the desk clerk at her hotel to knock her up at 7 a.m.

[steve2470]

2. haha I'm sure the clerk was quite shocked! nt

[frogmarch]

3. She said he was, but until we explained to her

what knocking someone up means in the U.S. she didn't know why. Oh, and a desk clerk did knock her up at 7 a.m. - by phoning her room.

[LiberalElite]

13. A friend's elderly aunt, visiting from the U.K.

was being driven around the neighborhood and they passed a beauty parlor. A sign in the window made her exclaim Oh My!
This was back in the '70s when the shag haircut was in style. However, as we know from Austin Powers movies, "shag" is U.K. slang for sex. The sign read: "Shag and Blow $15.00".

[frogmarch]

16. hahaha!

That is hilarious!

[Yavin4]

23. In her defense, it was the 70s,

you never know.

[Lionel Mandrake]

4. SUBWAY TO UNDERGROUND

said a sign somewhere under the streets of London. As an American tourist, I found that sign quite confusing.

[Glassunion]

5. A few of my favorites...

'Jimmy' - take a leak

'Jog on' - basically a 'f%#k off'

'Piss off' - another 'f%#k off'

'Honking' - vomit

'Bell End' - the helmet shaped portion of a gentleman's sausage (dickhead/knobhead) - A favorite of James May from Top Gear

'Get Your Skates On' - hurry up

'Faff' - procrastinate

'Sixes and Sevens' - all messed up

Not to mention the 80 thousand unique words and phrases they have for every single level of getting and being drunk.

[OriginalGeek]

17. I laughed my ass off when a British lady I know

called some guy a "Shiny faced bell end". When I told her that was my new all-time favorite insult she said nobody can swear like a Brummie lass.

[Glassunion]

18. I just love how they pronounce it as one smooth word "bellend".

[T_i_B]

19. Sounds like she was describing David Cameron!

[OriginalGeek]

20. lol, that's quite possible

we discuss politics a lot. One of the reasons I like her.

[smirkymonkey]

6. "Bollocks''

I also like "wanker", "bells end" and "knobhead".

[mythology]

7. My favorites

Bloody hell, sodding ponce and bugger off.

[vanlassie]

8. "Innit?

My 12 month old Essex granddaughter will never be allowed by her California born mother to ever use that word. I agree with my daughter.

[T_i_B]

11. As much as I enjoyed living in Essex...

...I can't resist posting this.

[LiberalElite]

14. Translation please? nt

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

15. Isn't it?

As in: "Liberatin innit?"

[T_i_B]

9. Some of these I've never heard

Mardy on the other hand is one I hear a lot as I'm from Sheffield. Mardy is a very "Sheffield" word.

"Ey up mi duck" is pure Derbyshire.

I'm actually surprised that Chelsea Tractor or All fur coat & no knickers haven't caught on in the States.

[madamesilverspurs]

10. Some of the food is fun, too.

This might help if you need to keep your pecker (chin) up . . .

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. "I've cocked up, have you got a rubber?"

Translation;

I've made a mistake, do you have an eraser?

[mainer]

21. "On the job" means something completely different and embarrassing in the UK

"Joe and I are on the job" = Joe and I are having sex.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

22. Things I've learned from British acquaintances, novels, and TV

"Jobsworth"--A person who gets by with the minimum required for his job and is especially disinclined to be helpful

"Fancy"--to be attracted to, as in "She fancies him."

"Kerb crawling"--driving around looking for a prostitute

"and Bob's your uncle"="And then you have everything taken care of/accomplished."

"Spiky"--high church, as in prefers church services that are highly formal and ritualized, the opposite of "happy-clappy."

"Zebra crossing"--Crosswalk

"Flash"--Trendy in a show-off manner

"Bacon buttie"--Slices of bacon served on a sub roll

"Bap"--A roll similar to a hamburger bun

"Jumper"--a windbreaker

"Pinafore"--What Americans would call a jumper (dress)

"Garden"--refers not just to a place where you plant things but what we would call the "yard" of a house.

"Chippy" or "Chipper"--a shop that sells take out (excuse me "take away&quot fish and chips

"College"--either a subset of a university that students are affiliated as undergraduates, such as King's College, Cambridge, or a school that takes students who have passed their GCSE's (school leaving exams) and are studying for university entry. (Entering a university requires passing subject exams known as "A levels.&quot

"City"--legally, a community with a cathedral. The smallest one is Wells, which has a population of about 15,000. Or, "The City," the oldest part of London, where the major financial institutions are located.

[T_i_B]

27. I think it's worth mentioning bread rolls at this point

Everywhere has a different name for them. Being a Yorkshireman, I prefer to use the term "breadcakes".

If you are down Derby/Nottingham way, they are known as "cobs".

Then you have baps, stotties, barmcakes, and any number of other regional variations.

http://www.villagebakery.co.uk/blog/bakery-blog/buns-barms-and-bin-lids/
http://bizarrebritain.com/bun-bap-stottie-nudger-or-barm-cake/

[MicaelS]

24. Ague is fever, chills and sweating.

I remember running across that term when reading the Sherlock Holmes stories.

[Le Taz Hot]

25. "She's gone walkabout"

for "She's lost her mind." First time I heard that I doubled over with laughter.

[LeftishBrit]

26. Don't be an ass = don't be silly (from the 'donkey' meaning of ass)

(I understand it means something ruder in the US.)

'Bum'= bottom, rear end. Hence British kids find the American song 'Hallelujah I'm a Bum' hysterically funny.

NEVER speak in the UK of 'sitting on your fanny', etc.: it has a much ruder meaning here.

Boot (of a car) = what Americans would call the trunk.

Rubber = eraser (not what I believe it means in the US).

Whinge = complain (excessively); whine.

Bonk = have sex (slightly old-fashioned term, but still much used by the media; e.g. a certain British politician is frequently called Bonking Boris)

Shag = bonk!

Right : often used as an intensifier, especially for insults ('he's a right bastard')

Toff: somewhat contemptuous term for an upper-class person (thus, David Cameron is a right toff)

Chav: Snobbish term for a person seen as lower-class

Pillock = fool

Prat = fool, especially perhaps used of a somewhat pompous fool

Nutter = crazy person; often used somewhat metaphorically to mean someone who is a bit reckless, impulsive or just has a different opinion from oneself. There are few Brits who have never been called nutters!

Bits and bobs = bits and pieces.

Pussy = kitty. We do know the ruder meaning, but it most commonly just means a cat!

Innit = isn't it?; but used much more indiscriminately than that by many in London and the South East; perhaps the southern British equivalent of the Canadian 'eh'.

Nowt = nothing (more used in the North)