Top 30 UK Slang & Britishisms | Things We Heard British People Say | Americans React to UK Slang 

I find it noteworthy that those from the USA refer to their home country as 'the states'. 'Back in the states.' Imagine if we from the UK said 'Back in the kingdom'.

The 'Lighter' incident - you met a nutter!

Did you hear the one about the man who was run over by a steam train? He was chuffed to bits.

“About as much use as a chocolate teapot”......

Someone isn't a "So so". They're a "so and so". it isn't "long in the teeth", it's "long in the tooth"

When you say someone could do it for England the person does it so much they could represent England at it .Like a sport

she can talk for England means if there was a Talk Olympics, she'd be the representative. 'Pukka' is actually slang from India that UK has appropriated.

There is a difference between "Pissed" (drunk) and "Pissed off" (really unhappy about a situation)

“He talks for England” means more that, if there were to be an international competition of who can talk the most/the longest, he would represent England, rather than he represents the views of England. :)

I've !ived in the UK for 66 years and I've never heard " piss in your chips"

“Up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire” = time for sleep.

This one made my American friend laugh..,Rushing around like a blue arsed fly.….

"Mutton dressed as lamb" - an old person trying to dress up like a younger person. "Putting lipstick on a pig" - someone wearing makeup and it doesn't help. Don't use either of these in polite company!

Bog Standard has actually a very interesting meaning. In 1898 a company called Meccano created a Construction play kit ( I think in America you had a company called Erector do the same). Now, these kits came in two types. the 1st was a cheap version Called Meccano Box Standard, the 2nd was a more expensive kit called Meccano Box Deluxe. Being the cheap version, the Box Standard became known through slang as the Bog Standard meaning the 'average, normal, no frills' and that has carried on to mean anything that is similarly average. The 2nd set also got changed by slang from Box Deluxe to Dog's Bollocks meaning the best of something. So now when anyone says That something is the Dog's Bollocks they mean it is the best and when they say it is Bog Standard they mean it is average. I knew that this useless information would come in handy someday.

‘not my cup of tea’ = not to my preference, or something you would be interested in

"Fill your boots" can refer to anything really (from food to nookie) where something is on offer and one is invited to help themselves without too many restrictions. A little like "knock yourself out".

"If he fell down the lavatory (bog), he'd come up with a gold watch in his mouth" Not heard that version. The one I have heard often is "If he fell in a s**t heap, he'd come up smelling of roses" Another far more polite is "He's got more jam than Hartley's" or "Jammy git" Basically a very lucky person

Long in the tooth - not teeth. Pissed means under the influence of alcohol - either a bit merry or really drunk - it's a synonym for drunk. We also say ' going out on the piss', to mean going out drinking when a lot of alcohol is expected to be imbibed.

It's ' he's a bit of a so and so' and it's not always used in contempt, it's quite often used to lovingly joke about someone being a bit cheeky.

A similar one to the “gold watch” idiom is “he could fall in shit and still come out smelling of roses” (which is one that I used more and think it’s funnier)

You must have heard ‘bollocks’ a lot but it has multiple meanings. “The dogs bollocks” =something good, the best. “A load of bollocks”=someone talking a load of crap. “bollocks to that”= no way,. I’m not doing that. “Kick in the bollocks” = kick in the nuts. “A bollocking” = telling someone off. “Drop a bollock”= made a mistake.

i prefer vinegar on my chips, but each to their own

Most that you didn’t know are commonly known in 🇨🇦 Canada :) And we consume TONS of American TV, but these britishisms are soooooo common here ❤️

It always makes me smile when you describe vibrant and diverse language as ‘colourful’. In my family if a person uses a lot of ‘colourful language’ it means that a person ‘swears a lot’. Knackered or “cream crackered” One they seem to use down South quite a lot about someone they don’t like is “I wouldn’t spit on them if they were on fire”. Not a pleasant one but I’d never heard it before I lived in London.

"Never in a month of Sundays" means an almost impossible task to master. Derived from Sunday being Sabbath day. You wouldn't be able to learn/complete/master that task with a whole month of free time.

What's your ABSOLUTE FAVO(U)RITE British slang? Drop your answer under this comment and we'll try to feature you in our next slang video! 😆

Aww poor Grace! Who would say “you got a problem?” to you?! 🥺

"The dogs bollocks" meaning that something is very good, the best - It's the dogs bollocks.

"First Rate" is one of many British slang terms that come from the Royal Navy in the golden age of sailing ships. Battleships were rated by their number of guns so something like HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar with around a hundred guns, was a first rate battle ship, whereas a frigate of the time, with around forty guns, would be a fourth rate. Other Navy terms have come into common use as well, some that spring to mind are: "There isn't room to swing a cat in here." The cat in question is the cat of nine tails, a whip used for corporal punishment at the time. This was always done on the main deck as there was not space to swing the cat properly belowdecks. "To let the cat out of the bag." Things are about to go badly, the aforementioned cat o' nine tails was kept in a special baize bag, if someone let it out, someone was about to get a whipping. This was probably because they had "earnt their stripes" the whip would leave stripes in their skin, in the form of scars. A guilty man had earnt them and would have to "take his licks" of the cat. Ever had a "square meal" that was "piping hot"? Meals in the Royal Navy were served on square platters that would fit better on the table and not slide off in bad weather. You would know when it was ready and hot by a whistle from the bosun's pipes. There are many more but for now I will "pipe down". Another whistle from the bosun's pipe, this time at the end of the shift to tell the men to shut up, turn the lights down and go to sleep.

The best part about language in the uk is that it changes every 10km or so as you go around

Great observations guys .. our phrases sound weird when they're isolated like this .. you're right , we do have so many .

Pissed means both angry and drunk depending on the context.

The capiche man? Sounds like he may have escaped from the funny farm.

"Pucker" is an Indian word introduced into Britain during the Empire and it means the best or genuine. "Pucker Pies" is a brand of pies sold at many fish and chip shops.

Chuffed doesn’t actually mean happy exactly, chuffed is that warm feeling you get when someone pays you a compliment, or when you have achieved something ... as “I was chuffed when she said I was a great cook”, or “I was chuffed to get all A’s in my exams.”

"Pissed as a fart".

As a Brit (and London born) loved the video, thanks for posting. It's "he's and old so-and-so" not "so so" and "I'm getting a bit long in the tooth" rather than "teeth". Grace's interpretation of "it's just not cricket" was pretty spot on, so well done for that. To be "pissed" you'd need to be pretty drunk. Grace is a bit of a sort by the way, look that one up. Cheers!

You two make really fun, interesting videos. You also seem like nice people to boot. Keep up the good work! 👏

Loved the video guys! I’m from Yorkshire in England which is our largest county (a county is similar to a state) and here we have some very unusual phrases that just don’t make sense to people from other parts of England! Good job on the translations though! Hope you enjoyed England 🙏🏻

S/he does something for England means that they do it so much/well, they could do it competitively, ie for a national team, like at the Olympics.

That guy with the lighter sounds like he's not fully collected in the head.

I'm from the southern US and we use several of the expressions you discussed. We use a month of Sundays for a long period of time. We use wonky for something out of whack. You got a problem? for someone looking lost or staring at us. Long in the tooth to refer to someone old. And give it both barrels to tell someone to give it all they have! Plus, there was a form of jazz music known as bop or be-bop. And we used to say that someone walking in a fashion resembling a dance was just bopping along. All of the original families that settled our area were English, Scottish and Irish so it just goes to show that we didn't fall far from the original family tree!

Best posting so far! Well done guys.

Here’s a few: “About as useful as a chocolate teapot” Meaning: absolutely useless “As rare as rocking horse poo” Meaning: super rare “It’s like Blackpool Illuminations in here!” Meaning: it’s so bright, why are all the lights on? To ‘cock something up’ or to ‘balls something up’. Both mean the same thing: to mess up very badly. Example sentence: “The electrician cocked up/balls up all the electrics in the house and now we have to find another electrician to fix it!”

"He could talk the hind legs off a donkey/talk a glass eye to sleep!" - self explanatory 👍😝

"Who rattled your cage?" As in who badly upset you.

"Why use one word when three words will do?" Oh my. I'm rolling over that.

You 2 are awesome.. really enjoying your channel

"You got a problem?!" Aggressive and/or intimidated people reading the situation as someone being rude to them. If they think you've given them an odd look they might feel judged and suddenly think you want to start something or that they should retaliate. You were just looking around the room taking an interest. It's sad really.

'Put t' wood in't 'ole' - literally put the wood in the hole, Yorkshire slang for shut the door. Can also use 'were you born in a field?' directed at someone who left a door open.

very strange, i've lived in London for 30 years and i've never heard anyone shout 'do you have a problem'. maybe slightly stronger 'excuse me'

My grandmother always described being very happy of pleased as 'I was tickled pink!'. It's mainly fallen out of use now. I'm going to bring it back.

A Nelson Mandela - A pint of Stella. If you ever visit Glasgow never ask the locals for a welcoming Glasgow Kiss.

Bunch of yoghurt knitters is my current favourite britishism. Really enjoyed this video, thank you for reminding me how silly our language can be and you both seem very lovely. X

“As useful as a chocolate teapot” or “Could fall in shit and come out covered in glitter” are my two favourites..

You two have been away too long, or maybe it's just that you are so young, but I'm 60 and (by the way I'm typing on my wife's RU-vid so ignore the photo to your left, that is not me) in the USA we do say "Month of Sundays" and "Wonky" and "First Rate" and "Long in the Tooth" and it means the same thing here. (Wonky is a newer saying here, but the others are ancient). And I believe I have heard "give them both barrels" in the movies, especially in Westerns. Love your channel, hope you, and all of us, can travel again soon!

a person can be a right "so and so" if something is "so-so" its average

Was freaked out a few weeks ago when I realised that nobody I knew had heard the phrase 'Bought the farm'.

Dewonkifying = straighten. Pukka is a trade name for pies. As well as being great. Pop your clogs = die.

Fun show! I hadn't heard some of those in donkey's years!

12:24 - Muntjac is a small deer. The person "suffering from the Muntacs" was probably having their gardens invaded and eaten by the deer.

It's either "He's a bit so-so" (i.e. uninspiringly average) or "He's a bit of a so-and-so" (i.e. a reprobate).

"Come up smelling of roses" is being lucky. Long in the tooth rather than teeth is common.

Boggs was the company that pioneered porcelain lavatory fittings. The Toilet and tank and sinks. They became the standard everyone else had to meet. A lot of stuff came from this. "Bog Standard" their fittings where what the industry standardised on. (They were also ubiquitous - you'd seen one, you'd seen them all. They were all of a similar quality.) Calling a toilet "a Bogg" or saying you were going to the bogg, happened because it was marked on the toilet itself. Which changed to using Bogg instead of toilet - hence "Bogg Roll" for toilet paper.

13:30 Probably should be “so and so” meaning a unreliable or badly behaved person

"You got a problem"? You went to London then?

A few things I noticed. Pissed can be pissed as in angry, annoyed raging but also drunk. Knackered again can mean tired or exhausted but can also mean an item is useless broken beyond repair. Surprised you never came across anyone saying they had the lurgies or were full of lurgies

"Pissed" is all of it, ranging from "I'm a bit pissed" to "he's pissed as a fart"

"Pukka" - a term borrowed from Hindi. "Bungalow" (single storey house) is another example. "Pissed" simply means drunk, as in "rat-arsed". Add a suitable degree adverb to express the extent e.g. "totally pissed/rat-arsed" = blind drunk. 😀

I don't know what my fellow countrymen are talking about in the comments. I've heard all of these before, especially piss on chips. I live in the Midlands though so it might be a regional thing.

Knackered also has a horse connection. It comes from the fact that old tired horses that can't be worked any longers where sent to the knackers mainly go be turned into hides and glue.

String to bow correct just like another tool in tool box or another trick up your sleeve but could also mean you've completed a task well in that context similar to another feather in your cap which like the string to your bow is regionally used to mean the same thing. You might be interested to know that one of the first companies in the UK to make and sell modern -at the time - toilets was Boggs (not sure on the spelling) and this is the reason why toilets are colloquially called bogs and I believe that's the origin of bog roll. The same reason why vacuums here are called Hoovers.

Totally right about 'Another string to your bow'

A cad is a smooth talking guy of dubious morality, the actor Leslie Phillips can play cads for England!

Loving the vids! Just a quick one... It's not "he's a bit of a so so". "so so" can be used to describe anything that is neither good nor bad. "Did you enjoy your food?" "Hmmm, it was so so". Often used with a puzzled/faux thoughtful facial expression and a gesticulation (flat hand, wobbled from side to side). Can be used about anything or anyone to describe it or them as "just OK".

'Pissed on your chips' is when what you have done (usually to someone) spoils it for yourself, you have ruined your own dinner. Don't hear it too often these days but always gives me a laugh when I do.

I live in England and I have never heard of some of these phrases! 😂

Never ever heard Piss In Your Chips.

which part of the Midlands did you visit as many of the slang terms i have not heard used

Fill your boots mostly refers to food, but can DEFINITELY be used in other contexts. James O'Brian (LBC commenator) uses it when talking to callers. In this case, it means, "Go ahead, talk as much as you like to explain your position."

Yes Pukka is used by a chief “Jamie Oliver” meaning it’s was really good!

In our family we still say “I’m going to the khazi “ meaning I’m going to the toilet. That may be just a London saying from a long time ago when we had language influences from all over the Empire.

Santa comes once a year but when he does he fills your stockings.

"Knackered" meaning tired, exhausted etc. Is from (historically) when a working horse became too old or lame to work, it was sent to the "knackers yard" where it was put down and oftern processed into glue.

It's not "Long in the teeth" it's "Long in the TOOTH"

One of my favourites is 'as much use as a chocolate fireguard' - something or someone is useless.

Pukka Pies are a brand of pies. Pukka is usually said to mean something is really really good or top quality. Chuffed basically means your really pleased with something. Knackered is not just tired. It means you’re really really tired. Like exhausted. You’re extremely tired. Pissed does mean drunk, but it can also be used to mean you’re angry or annoyed.

It is “pissing on (not in) your chips”. The phrase is much more commonly used where somebody has suffered self-inflicted harm, usually by doing something crass that ruins their prospects for a successful outcome. “He has really pissed on his chips this time”. Also, one is more likely to tear off than tear on.

One thing that tends to Faze our American Cousins is the greeting “Alright?” or “You alright?” This isn’t a question about your health or circumstances and isn’t inviting a detailed reply. The usual response is the same or a non-committal “Fine thanks”....even if your shoes were on fire!

17:17 - Someone who is completely bladdered is considered pissed.

Love the channel guys! I’m a midland Brit. ‘Another string to your bow’, is a new skill particularly to strengthen your position on life or current situation. ‘Fill your boots’, is a literal unconditional offer, to perform any activity as much as one likes to meet your need, so it’s also particularly courteous to respond to the offer with a bounding suiting you’re actual need (eg. Oh thank you, I’ll take an extra couple of potatoes because I missed lunch) or to double confirm if your use could be seen as an abuse to the offer (eg. Really? Would you mind if I took some potatoes home if there are some left over?). Such abuse would not usually be refused, but would be character damaging if seen as greedy, selfish or to the detriment of other people. Glad you enjoyed Alcester, hope you can visit again, I’d love to see you in go to Worcestershire 😊

Knackered comes from the knackers yard, a place where horses would be put down when they were no longer of use and made into glue. Knackered means tired enough to be 'retired'. Similar to 'I'm dead after that walk'

Fill your boots yeah it’s food / consuming specific but can be used in any process where you take something - kids in the park”dad Can I play on the swings” Go on fill your boots

Also another version of popped your clogs is ‘kicked the bucket’ ( I have no idea where that one comes from) and also ‘snuffed it’

I've found your videos really interesting to watch and love your interpretations of British culture. You hit the nail on the head with most of them. We do use pissed to mean upset too, however we would be pissed off. "Pissed" - drunk. "Pissed off" - upset. I would usually say "give it to them both barrels", meaning give it all you've got, really lay it on thick. "Pukka" is a brand of pie, however we do also use it to describe something as being really good or really nice. "Fill your boots" can be used for anything, not just food, although that's probably where it is used most commonly. I'm offering free cinema tickets..."Can I have five tickets?" "Yeah, fill your boots". One slang that both the UK and the US use, is "accident". In the UK we would say "I did it by accident" whereas in the US it's "I did it on accident". Who's right? And "pop your clogs"......to die.

Nackered, as in really tired. Old worn out horses went to the Nackers yard for their final journey..

Pukka means really good the chef Jamie Oliver uses it all the time it is also a brand name for pie, pukka Pie

To understand the phrase "piss on your chips"' imagine you have a plate of chips. Now imagine I piss on them.

“Oh, smashing!” Can also be sarcasm too, “You’ve been voted to wash the dishes” “Oh, smashing!”

For the 'verb for England' thing, it's not really used in a really negative context and can in some cases be positive. It's mostly just a comment that someone is really good at or does a thing a lot, so much so that if there was an international competition they could represent England and win. Edit: Also, teepeeing (sp?) someone's house isn't as much of a thing here. Your house is more likely to get egged. Edit 2: Also, also, Pukka Pies is just a brand. Never heard the word used outside of the context. I don't even think it's a real word?