Just a list of British slang terms that I’ve been working on for some time.
Of course, I could go on all day with localizations, but I think this covers the bigger ones.
Am I missing any?
- Tosser – Idiot
- Cock-Up – Screw up
- Bloody – Damn(ed)
- give you a bell – Call you
- Blimey! – My goodness
- Wanker – Idiot
- Gutted – Devastated
- Bespoke – Custom Made
- Chuffed – Proud
- Fancy – Like
- Sod off – Piss off
- Lost the plot – Gone crazy
- Fortnight – Two weeks
- Sorted – Arranged
- Hoover – Vacuum cleaner
- Kip – Sleep or nap
- Bee’s Knees – Awesome
- Know your onions – Knowledgable
- Dodgy – Suspicious
- Wonky – Not right
- Wicked! – Cool
- Whinge – Whine
- Tad – Little bit
- Tenner – £10
- Fiver – £5
- Skive – Lazy, skipping, or avoiding something
- Toff – Upper-class person
- Punter – Customer or prostitute’s “client”
- Scouser – Someone from Liverpool
- Quid – £ (a British Pound)
- Taking the piss – Screwing around, or making fun of
- Pissed – drunk
- Loo – Toilet
- Nicked – Stolen
- Nutter – Crazy person
- Knackered – Tired
- Gobsmacked – Amazed or taken aback.
- Dog’s Bollocks – Awesome
- Chap – Male or friend
- Bugger – Jerk
- Bog roll – toilet paper
- Bob’s your uncle – There you go
- Anti-clockwse – Counter Clockwise
- C of E – Church of England
- Pants – Underwear, panties, or briefs
- Throw a spanner in the works – screw up, or intentionally screw up
- Zed – “Z” (“zee”)
- Absobloodylootely – (emphatic) yes!
- Nosh – Food
- One off – One time
- Shambles – Mess, bad shape, or gone wrong
- Arse-over-tit (or “A over T”) – Fall over
- Brilliant (or Brill) – great
- Dogs Dinner – Nicely dressed, or a mess
- Up for it – Willing to have sex
- On the pull – Looking for sex
- Made redundant – Fired from a job
- Easy Peasy – Easy
- See a man about a dog – Make a deal or use the bathroom
- Up the duff – Pregnant
- DIY – Do it yourself (home improvements)
- Chat Up – to flirt
- Fit – Hot or good looking
- Arse – Ass
- Strawberry Creams – Breasts
- Shag – to have sex with
- Gentleman Sausage – Penis
- Twigs and Berries – Male genitalia
- Fanny – Female genitalia
- Bollocks – Male genitalia
- Ponse (Ponce) – A poser or someone pretending to be more than they actually are
- Don’t get your knickers in a twist – Don’t get worked up
- The Telly – The television
- Bangers – sausage (not sausage patties)
- Chips – French fries
- Daft Cow – Idiot (used for female)
- Do – a party or event
- Uni – College/University
- Starkers – Naked
- Smeg – Term use in Red Dwarf
- Anorak – a person with a nerdy interest in something
- Bits ‘n bobs – various, often small items
- Her Majesty’s Pleasure – to go to prison
- Horses for Courses – Won’t work for someone else
- Plastered – drunk
- Meat and two veg – Male genitalia
- Knob head – idiot
- Knob – male genitalia (also a candy on the Isle of Man)
- Chav – White Trash
- It’s Monkeys outside (freeze the balls off a brass monkey) – It’s cold outside
- Stag Night – Batchelor party
- Ace – Cool!
- Plonker – Idiot
- Blighty – Britain
- Rubbish – Garbage or “that’s crap”
- Doolally Tat – to lose one’s mind
- Bonkers – Weird, crazy, or strange
- Barmy – Weird, crazy, or strange
- Wodge – scrunched/crumpled up piece of something
- Poppycock – purposefully misspeaking, exagerrating, lying, “a load of crap”
- Bleedin Taters – very cold
- Sweaties – People (usually men) from Scotland. Sweaty Socks – Scots.
