British Phrases I Love - Favourite British Sayings  

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I think the full saying of "swings and roundabouts" is. "What you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts". Meaning that it will all come out equal in the end.

Larry Foley was an australian boxer who never lost a fight. His last fight was in the 1870's, he was paid the vast sum of £1000 and won the fight - "hence as happy as Larry".

Here's one for your collection: 'He was hoist by his own petard'. It comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A petard was an explosive device placed against the gate of a fortification that was being attacked. The fuse was lit and you ran away before the explosion. Sometimes it exploded too soon and the person was 'hoisted' i.e. blown up. The meaning is to badly hurt by something that you created. The architect of your own harm or destruction.

Swings and roundabouts are both play equipment for children you’d find at the park. Though frankly I don’t think you’d often get far trying to convince a crying child they’d have just as much fun on the roundabout if the swings are all full. And rock up does just mean to turn up somewhere. But there’s a subtext that the arrival is somehow sudden, uninvited, unwanted, or unexpected or that the guest is unprepared or inappropriately dressed.

common alternatives to 'dragged through a hedge backwards' are 'look like death warmed up' and 'look like something the cat's dragged in'

As different as chalk and cheese probably makes more sense to a culture that doesn't have cheese that isn't that different to chalk. 😆

Yes we Brits use ‘six of one , half dozen of another’ too. In fact according to Google it dates to the 1700s and was first recorded as used by a British naval officer in 1790. I think ‘swings and roundabouts’ is too old a saying to be referring to road roundabouts. I think it refers to the swings and roundabouts found at the fair!

Dara, the roundabouts in "swings and roundabouts" refers to a piece of equipment in the childrens playground along with swings and slides etc. It was a round wooden contraption on a fixed spindle, kids would stand or sit on it while other kids spun it. Needless to say some kids would spin it so fast that kids would fly off in all directions, so they were removed on safety concerns. As an aside, I'm a Brit married to an American living in the U.S. and have picked up some American sayings. My favorite at the moment is "Well pardon me all to hell".

To me, there a difference in meaning between "dragged through a hedge backwards" and "looking like a dog's dinner (breakfast)" versus "looking like death warmed up (over)". The first two would indicate someone looks a mess (haven't washed their hair or in creased clothes) and the last indicates someone looks or feels ill (flu or suchlike) or has a bad hangover.

Love "It would be rude not to". "Not too bad" is so typically British - and "doing my head in!" 🤣

I use most of these. With regards to "cheap as chips", back in the 1960's children would often go to a fish and chip shop and you could buy a paper bag of "scraps". Scraps were the bits of fish batter that would fall off when frying the fish. For 6 pence (old money), about 7 cents I guess, you could buy a bag which you shared among your friends. Occasionally, you might get them free if "chippy" had a good day.. I am 73 and remember those times very well.

I must say I love the enthusiasm you show in your videos for my country. Thank you.

We definitely say 'six of one, half a dozen of the other'.

You got the definition of "rock up" pretty much spot on. It just means to turn up ... but possibly unexpectedly !

We have very similar expressions ‘looking like death warmed up’ which, I believe, refers to someone looking ill and ‘looks like a dog’s dinner’ meaning the person looks a mess.

I first heard "cheap as chips" from a TV presenter David Dickinson who used it to describe the costs of antiques on a daytime show "Bargain Hunt" and "Real Deal".

The phrase " sorted" comes from the printing industry. In the past when printed material was made from lead type the letters were sorted into a sectioned tray with each section for each letter. The trays were called "cases" and there were two cases an " upper case " for the capital letters and beneath it a "lower case" for the small letters. After something was printed the letters from the print page were removed to be used again but had to be sorted back into the trays. This is the origin of phrase sorted meaning to place things back into their correct position to be reused. It is also the origin of the phrases " upper case " and "lower case". Sometimes in printing things went wrong if for example you ran out of the letter " e" for an article you were printing it was said you are "out of sorts" we still use thus phrase to mean you are not feeling well.

We don't say dog's breakfast we say dog's dinner better alliteration 😂 my favourite saying was when my mum would tell me off for running about she'd say will you sit down you're like a witch on a windy day, brilliant 😂❤

I didn’t realise ‘rock up’ was particularly British. It just means to arrive somewhere but there is a sense that it might be unannounced or unexpected, e.g. ‘he just rocked up to the party even though he wasn’t invited’. I love ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ too but a less common one which my Mum uses in the north east is ‘I look like the wreck of the Hesperus’. That one is great.

All of these phrases are common in Australia as well.

"Mind how you go" I love that you specifically referenced Thursday saying this in Endeavour. To me it's a neatly understated way of the scriptwriter showing, despite a grumpy demeanour, what a kind and decent chap Thursday is and how he has this paternal affection for Morse.

One of my favourites is you can say the absolute worst about a person, but as long as you follow it up with the phrase 'bless them' -then it's OK. Because it implies they aren't really responsible for whatever action or character trait you deplore and you have forgiven them (even if you haven't really).

"Not bad" is very common, but I used to work with a woman who would answer "I'm bearing up under the strain" so now I use that frequently 🙂

My grandmother had a whole vocabulary of sayings, including your as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The latter ones were a sandwich short of a picnic .This was said to people who didn't show common sense. My great grandmother would say you will have me in the workhouse every time we my grandmother would take her shopping,she thought sherry was 2p a quart. My boss would say well,your half right , instead of saying l don't agree. On a visit to Chicago a few years ago l found many British sayings from the locals. Chips when l was a boy were 10p a fish was 18p and if you wanted to push the boat out a Pukka (brand) was 20p. When my cousin was getting ready to go to school. My aunt would say don't go out looking like a bag of rubbish tied in the middle. Happy days.

In our childhood, the fifties/sixties, children’s playgrounds had swings and… roundabouts; a pole with hanging from it a wooden circle fixed by metal poles; you could sit/stand on the circle or climb to a cross bar between the poles. It was quite dangerous, as the wooden circle not only revolved but went in and out, and could hit a child’s head - but swings can too, if a child is careless. We all survived.

An English boyfriend used to say things I did not understand. When he explained it, I thought he was just making it up. One of those phrases is “The painters are in”. I’m enjoying your videos. I’m in Dallas, and looking forward to my next UK trip.

I could have sworn that "rock up" was an Americanism. It's a relatively recent thing in the UK, I don't think anyone said it pre-2000

I’m an American who loves all things British. I used to have a very well read boyfriend who used the dragged through a hedge backwards phrase. Gemma of the Gem of Books channel just introduced me to the bless your little cotton socks phrase recently. I love it! I happened to stumble upon your channel (probably the RU-vid algorithms) and you made my morning.

I didn’t know ‘it would be rude not to’ was exclusively British. One of my favorites is ‘much of a muchness’ to mean no great difference exists between two things.

Loved that one Dara. We use a lot of those phrases Swings and Roundabouts. 🤣🤣. We use that a lot - no idea where it came from but probably the playground - it will be a roundabout on a playground not a road intersection. So many cool phrases 😃😃. Fascinating that they’re not used in the States!! Hope you’re doing well Dara. 👍👍

I've never lived in the UK but have spent a lot of time there and done business in London. There are certain words or phrases that I love but seem disingenuous if I try to use them (Cheers for example). Some has slipped in though. I use 'clever' frequently as in 'Aren't they clever'. 'Staff' when referring to my employees is another. And one, which I need to stop using with my 'staff', is 'I would suggest...'. They don't get it. It isn't a suggestion. I expect them to do it. My favorite in business, by the way, is 'That is a very brave proposal'.

Swings & roundabouts are both play equipment in the childrens park. They are usually sited near each other, so if the swings aren't free, you can use the roundabout instead.

Hello from Australia! We also use most of those sayings. Here a some I inherited from my Dad that go back at least to the 1940s. "Spanner short of a toolbox" "Mad as a cut snake" "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick" "Better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish" "Walks like a South African running duck" "Keep your knickers on" "Face like a boarding house pudding" "Dry as a dead dingo's (use your imagination) "Don't get your t*ts in a tangle". Plus heaps more. Not too sure if they're used anywhere other than Australia. Love your work!

I like the mental imagery when I hear someone say that so-and-so is throwing their toys out the pram. I don't know if there is an American equivalent.

'Have-a-go-heroes' often would appear in the newspapers, which means someone who jumps in to help someone in distress or in an emergency in the absence of 999 crew.

As far as I know, happy as Larry is short for as happy as Larry the lamb in spring, a lamb prancing around a field on sunny spring day.

When I was quite young, we used to go to the local chippie and as for 'a six of chips' which means 6 pence worth of chips. It wasn't less than you'd get nowadays for a couple of quid !

If you go back as far as WW2, you could by a "penn'orth of chips" -a penny's worth. It was just about the cheapest food item you could buy, hence "cheap as chips". I've never heard the expression "That looks like a dog's breakfast" used in Britain. It's usually "a dog's dinner" or "a pig's breakfast". My favourite saying was one my mother used often to describe any situation where someone is either wandering about aimlessly or in a state of distraction: " You're back and forth like a dog at a fair!" It just conjures such a vivid image.

Chalk and Cheese...used quite often in one of my favs...Doc Martin. Yep...last words ...Inspector said, " Mind how you go." I use 'have a go' quite often. Thanks Dara. These are great. I also hear many Brits say, "Well done you."

I'm surprised you didnt include "Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt" or "what's that to do with the price of fish". Also, "daft as a brush". 😊

There are so many, many are also regional. My grandparents said the funniest things, if my grandmother was startled she would say " ooh I nearly had kittens". A lot of the good ones are probably dying out.

It appears that the phrase ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ was something the British Transport Police invented. 'Sorted' is earlier.

We also do say six of one thing and half a dozen of another! I use it often.

We do use ''six of one, half dozen of another". It's a very interesting back story to ''bless his/her little cotton socks".

Of course we say 6 of one half a dozen of the other. Swings and roundabouts were in old English playgrounds for children. Love all of your examples of difference.

Without trawling through over 500 replies to see if this has been commented on, in Britain we have a similar expression to 'death warmed ove', it is 'death warmed up'.

Don't pre-book, don't try and secure tickets beforehand, just rock-up on the night and see if you can get in.

Very interesting to learn, thanks for sharing ~

You can also "have a go" at somebody meaning you take them to task about something they've done.

I loved your take on British phrases! It's fascinating how these idioms reflect such distinctive cultural nuances. The 'swings and roundabouts' explanation was intriguing, giving an equalizing spin to the ups and downs of life. Some phrases, like 'chalk and cheese,' create vivid imagery. The subtle differences in expressions like 'dragged through a hedge backwards' make me smile! The depth and history behind these sayings are like a glimpse into the heart of British culture. 🎡🧀🇬🇧

I never would've thought "not too bad" is a British thing to say, but I guess it is. I say "not too shabby" quite a bit, or I say "surviving" a LOT, both of which in my mind are way more British, lol, but now I know even just saying "not too bad" is giving me away! Every day is a school day I suppose! Also, we don't say "looking like death warmed over", we would say "looking like death warmed up" ... and we don't say "Dog's breakfast", we say "dog's dinner" here in Britland

Finally finished some heavy work schedules; can’t wait to hear what you’re going to share Dara!

Hello Magenta.Your intelligent open minded view of my country is wonderful! I hope next time you come here you will fully explore the English lake district where I reside.P.S. every place you both go I agree with everything you say.eg.chips need to be cooked till they brown , cheese and pickle butties etc.The point is your viewers have similar tastes in life even though we live 3000 miles away.

two things that are like chalk and cheese are as different from each other as they can be; one suggested origin is about the type of land used to raise sheep (which can be on chalk) and dairy (for making cheese); And "fell pregnant" is in the same vein as "fell ill". And I think the chips referred to in cheap as chips refers to chips of diamonds created when the stones are cut. These were (perhaps still are) set in cheap jewellery.

I did research it. At the time of Nelsons navy young recruits were known NEWTS. Every sailor received a daily tot of rum. The youngest men couldn't cope with it like the old sailors and easily became drunk, hence the expression "p....d as a newt" The daily rum ration was only stopped relatively recently in The Royal Navy.

Thank you , after watching the protesters in London and being an ex pat from London you brightened my day , thank you again .

Every days a school day is one of my favourite! And it applies to me nearly everyday! Yep - it would be rude not to - another favourite. Hahahah dragged through a hedge backwards - me everyday!! It’s dogs dinner here. You can’t beat a good mooch! Great video. Cheers 🍻

I'm Australian and we use most of those about 18 of the 21. For some one pregnant we say along with the Brits someone is "up the duff"

Swings and roundabouts is like saying “it’s as broad as it’s long “

Nice to know about it.

Something my grandmother used to say 'red hat no drawers' or she's all furcoat and no knickers. Both meaning all top show and no substance.

My mother was from Devon, my father was from Manchester. Consequently, my accent is unusual I am told. I don't really have a problem understanding most dialects.

I believe cheap and cheerful was connected to the Woolworth stores in the UK. They were known to sell cheap things that were of reasonable quality, hence 'cheap,and cheerful. Best, Cook.

"Cheap and cheerful" is generally used for something that didn't cost much but did exactly what you wanted to and pretty much as well as a more expensive option.

I always say “Mind how you go”. It's a very Norfolk phrase and is pronounced, "moind hew yew gew!" I can't stop myself from saying it over in the States and it is met by a very blank expression! 🤣

Loved this video, Dara! 🤗🤗 Firstly, '’sorted" is used all the time in the UK. I don't think most Brits realize that it is not used the same way in the States.

Hi Dara, really enjoyed your'e video. Lots of saying that we use especially 'you look liked you come through a hedge backwards'. I hadn't really heard of the 'rock up' saying, think i say mind how you go quite a lot, thank you for sharing x Julie x

Lol I’ve definitely hit the like button so as to not to have missed it lol

Roundabouts and Swings - Patrick Palmer, a banker in London around 1900, The key to the phrase is the final two lines: It was early last September nigh to Framlin'am-on-Sea, An' 'twas Fair-day come to-morrow, an' the time was after tea, An' I met a painted caravan adown a dusty lane, A Pharaoh with his waggons comin' jolt an' creak an' strain; A cheery cove an' sunburnt, bold o' eye and wrinkled up, An' beside him on the splashboard sat a brindled tarrier pup, An' a lurcher wise as Solomon an' lean as fiddle-strings Was joggin' in the dust along 'is roundabouts and swings. "Goo'-day," said 'e; "Goo'-day," said I; "an' 'ow d'you find things go, An' what's the chance o' millions when you runs a travellin' show?" "I find," said 'e, "things very much as 'ow I've always found, For mostly they goes up and down or else goes round and round." Said 'e, "The job's the very spit o' what it always were, It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a 'are; But lookin' at it broad, an' while it ain't no merchant king's, What's lost upon the roundabouts we pulls up on the swings!" "Goo' luck," said 'e; "Goo' luck," said I; "you've put it past a doubt; An' keep that lurcher on the road, the gamekeepers is out." 'E thumped upon the footboard an' 'e lumbered on again To meet a gold-dust sunset down the owl-light in the lane; An' the moon she climbed the 'azels, while a night-jar seemed to spin That Pharaoh's wisdom o'er again, 'is sooth of lose-and-win; For "up an' down an' round," said 'e, "goes all appointed things, An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!"

Of course whenever we stop by, we leave a like and a comment, Dara and Ian. "It would be rude not too!" Fun phrases that I don't usually hear. Well then, Off we go!

Roundabout is not just a road system it’s also a piece of equipment in a children’s playground

I have learned about most of these phrases in grammar school. As a non-native speaker, during our English classes (I think it was in 8th grade) we had some lessons about British idioms and special expressions. I think having those "funny phrases" makes a language so special.

It’s getting chilly here in Britain, it will soon be “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!” Meanwhile, SueEllen is “a few sandwiches short of a picnic” 😂

Mad as a Hatter as per box of frogs. From the use of mercury in the hat industry in days past. As in The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. You could also say "He's going round the bend". Love your comments re the language differences. 😊

"Right , you are" has become my go to phrase.

Dragged through a hedge backwards, see ' Dead man's Switch' hair dryer rant short 😂

swings and roundabouts were playground rides in the UK when I was young - I am now 77. (I think the roundabouts were taken out because, due to more recent safety considerations, they were treated as dangerous for young children).

Rock up means to attend without an invite. For example I rocked up to a party would basically mean to gatecrash

One Welsh/British phrase I've always liked is "I'll do that now in a minute." It could mean that you will do it in a minute, or maybe in six months time.

Swings & roundabouts are found in children's playgrounds. Or they were when I was small, many years ago.

Yes we say six of one half dozen of the other, as for the roundabout, that is referring to a playground toy often found next to the swings...we could have gone with slides and see saws. I might start saying that just to confuse people.

Re. the first one, the roundabouts aren't the kind you see on the road, they are something you will see (along with swings and a slide) in the kind of small children's playgrounds that you might find in a park or in a town. I just Googled American terms for this and it seems you may call them merry go rounds or playground spinners. So, in that context, swings and roundabouts are similar things as they are both children's equipment.

Sorted in the UK means getting your smarties collated into different colours..

The one price for chips I really remember from back when I was about nine or ten was “six of chips and a bag of batter” which is a sixpence worth of chips (old money small silver coloured coin) and the drips of the batter cooked and collected from the beef dripping in the fryer for throwing away. With salt and vinegar on both made a fantastic tasting banquet for us kids!

Hello Dara. A regular phrase here is that somebody or something is as “Much use a chocolate teapot”, or someone could “be a sandwich short of a picnic”. Because I live in the English speaking part of South Wales we often mix Welsh-English sayings, usually by non-Welsh speakers. One is Chwarea Teg, by a local it sounds more like worra terg. It means fair play, both in sport or to someone doing something very well. My youngest brother when he was younger would say “Tidy Init” meaning it’s good. He stopped saying this after he was bought a local book called “Speaking Tidy in Ponty”, a comical book. My young nephew who lives in Bala, North Wales, would confuse us all when he wanted to “Go down to see the Fonzz”, it took a while to understand he wanted to go to the lake and feed the swans. When my younger brother was naming his new boxer puppy he called her Tess, his reason was that she looked like a lady who lived in our village, he said “She had a face like a slapped butt” or “she looked like she was chewing a wasp”. In the late 50’s I used to buy a bag of chips for 6 old pennies, 2 ½ new pence theses days. In pre decimal times six old pence was from the nursery rhyme “Sing a song sixpence a pocket full of rye” I think it then went on about two and twenty blackbirds in a pie? We could buy some cheap candy, 4 fruit salad chews or 4 black jacks for an old penny, a 240th of today’s £1.

If you want to hear the British words that I have now adopted into my vocabulary, check out this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a3DwsdoqEo4.html

Magnificent, the quality of the shooting is excellent. Thank you for sharing, let's stay in touch. Greetings from Turkey, Best Regards🎉🎉🇹🇷🇹🇷💐

Mad as in crazy not angry. "Mad as a box of frogs" means someone isn't playing with a full deck of cards.

Now that was interesting. Know many of them. Not so much the origins though. Funny how we say things without checking out first of it's ok and not derogatory. Great examples Dara. Enjoy the weekend. 🩷 🇳🇱🙋‍♀🇳🇿

Another way to say "Not too bad" is to say "Mustn't grumble"

ROCK UP - is something new - it was never used when i lived here in the UK back in the early 90s - ive only heard it since i returned in 2019

"Mind how you go" sounds sooooo much better than the equivalent American "take care!"

In my language, there are also such funny phrases that non-native speakers don't get in the beginning, as they don't make any sense if you translate them literally. That's why Philippe sometimes looks at me as if I am an alien speaking Luxembourgish 😂

Hello from Wales! A few South Wales words/expressions for you, not sure if they have been mentioned already: a hug/cuddle is a cwtch, you pronounce it like ‘cutch’, rhyming with butch. Also 'I'll be there now in a minute' which means you'll be there or with someone soon but not quite yet. Also 'lush' not in the alcohol sense but something that is really good, 'that was a lush bowl of cawl (thick soup/broth)'

love watching your channel

We use 6 of 1 and half of a dozen of the other Swings and roundabouts are children rides on a park. First time i heard as chalk and cheese as a P.E game

I always thought “swings and roundabouts” referred to the things in a kid’s playground, not the traffic circle in the latter case. As in, both are fun things in the playground that are equally good really - so “swings and roundabouts” is kind of a variant of “six and half a dozen”.

One phrase in fairly common use that I don’t remember hearing when being young is “It’s the dogs’ bollocks” or “He thinks he’s the dogs’ bollocks”, applied to something or someone of high quality / well dressed. I don’t know its origin though.

'Swings' as in a park, but those parks also had a rotating circular apparatus called 'round abouts' that children would cling to while another would spin it and then jump on. Both were equally as much fun, so came the phrase 'swings and round abouts' And yes, we do use 'six of one, half dozen of the other'