![]() ![]() Used to mean if something is a bit stupid. Not necessarily intended in a bad way, "bonkers" means “mad” or “crazy.” In the same vein as “bloke,” “lad” is used, however, for boys and younger men. “Bloke” would be the American English equivalent of “dude.” It means a "man." So, let’s crack on and get to the list of British slang words innit!ĥ0 Must-Know British Slang Words and Phrases You’ll quickly pick-up contrasting meanings between other English speaking countries and common English slang words. If you’re traveling between various regions, keep your ears open and try to notice the differences. For example, London slang words can be vastly different from British terms used in the city of Manchester. ![]() In fact, different areas within the same region, or even the same city, can have their own distinct British slang words. UK slang in general can seem like a whole different language, but there are also quite a few regional differences amongst inhabitants. Even though these British words are still part of the English language, their meanings tend to be very different from what other English-speaking countries are used to. Gitīy calling someone a git, you’re invoking the old Scots word get, which means "bastard." When it came down south of the border, it lost its harsh vowel sound and became something softer, albeit with the required spikiness in.Whether you enjoy following the Royal Family or binging shows like “Doctor Who” and “Peaky Blinders,” you’ve undoubtedly come across some of the weird and wonderful words that make up British slang. One of them is dunaker, a common thief of cows and calves. In the 200 years since it was published, there have been several terms that have fallen out of favor. ![]() Grose’s Dictionary of vulgarities is a rich seam of overlooked insults. Clod hopperĪccording to the brilliant Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue , dating back to 1811 and compiled by Captain Francis Grose, a clod hopper refers to a country farmer or ploughman-with the implication nowadays that you’re slow witted and bumbling. Originally pillicock (a Norwegian slang word for penis), the word has since been condensed to plain old pillock-though its meaning remains. PillockĪs words are used more regularly, the laziness of pronunciation can often warp them slightly. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of England’s first proper dictionary, claims the word comes from the Latin phrase non compos mentis (“not of right mind”), and was originally a legal term. Nincompoopįor such a colloquial word, nincompoop actually has a very learned past. Though etymologists struggle to agree where the word came from, it seems likely that it stems from the Old Scots word meng, meaning “sh**.” We didn’t say it was pretty. Often hurled at the opposite sex, to call someone a minger is to say they are objectively unattractive. The origins of this particular insult are contested: some think it’s from an Old Norse word- skifa-meaning “slice,” whereby the worker slices off as much work as possible. Someone who manages to duck under any responsibility and loaf around, doing very little, is a skiver. Skivers and shirkers are one and the same. Some linguists believe it comes from the word lummock, which typified a lummox: it means a clumsy oaf. There, around 1825, someone threw out the word as an insult, and it stuck, becoming a typically British go-to term. Though the etymology of lummox is heavily disputed, one thing is for certain: It came from East Anglia, the coastal outcrop of Britain above London. ![]() At the time, "lad culture" ran throughout British music and television, and wazzock, a North-England accented contraction of the sarcastic wiseacre (a know-it-all) became a powerful tool to shoot people down in an argument. Wazzock was a particularly prevalent-and particularly loutish-insult in the 1990s. Let's dig a little deeper into the grab bag of insults that language has bequeathed us throughout history, and find out where those terms come from. For as long as people have been speaking the English language, they’ve been deploying it to poke fun at one another. ![]()
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