British Slang Words 50 Plus Examples – Britlish™

British slang is something that most non-Brits have trouble understanding.  British slang is a cross of British and American English butchered with slang and idioms. Proverbs are often backward, upside down, and frequently incomprehensible.

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Brit did not create some of the British Slang “Britlish™” on the Move™ Brit defines all the British Slang examples for you. Some of these originate from Northern England slang and are understood by most from this region. Others are cockney rhyming slang, widely known by all in England. Several of these can’t be explained and are simply Nikkism’s ™.

British Slang

Word or Phrase	Translation	Context or Used in a Sentence
Aye	Yes	Aye, go on then I’ll have a beer
Av	have	Do you av five minutes?
Ayup	Hello	Ayup Tommy, what you been up to?
Barnet	Head or hair	Jesus, sort your barnet out it’s a mess
Bird	Girlfriend	R’ Tommy has got a new bird and she’s hot
Bloody	Curse word used to emphasize a comment or make an angry statement	Don’t be bloody daft, pigs don’t fly Don’t bloody start with me
Boat load	A lot	That cruise was boat load of rubbish
Boat race	Face	Sort out your boat race you look miserable
Bob’s your uncle	You’re all set or you’ve got it made	We sorted out the overdraft and Bob’s your uncle!
Bog	Toilet	Do you av any bog roll?
Bollocks	Technically, it’s testicles but it’s used to convey nonsense or a mistake	That show was total bollocks I made a right bollocks of that paint job
Bonney	Pretty	That lass is bonney
Boris Becker	Pecker  (Penis)	Your fly is open, we can all see your Boris Becker
Bray, braying	Beat, beating	I’m going to bray r’ Tommy when he gets in
Butty	Sandwich	Will you make me a ham and cheese butty?
Change your boat race	Change your face	Change the expression on your face
Chelpin’	Talking, complaining, moaning	Stop chelpin about Tommy, I’ve heard enough already
Chippy	Fish and chip shop	Run to the chippy and get us some tea
Chuffed	Pleased, excited	I am well chuffed with my raise
Cream crackered	Knackered, tired	I am so cream crackered I am going  to bed early tonight
Daft	Stupid	Don’t be daft, 2 and 2 is not 5
Daft as a brush	Stupid	Tommy is as daft as a brush
Deffo	Definitely	I will deffo sort that out tomorrow
Dickhead	A stupid man or an irritating, or ridiculous man	That dickhead thinks that the world revolves around him
Didya	Did you?	Didya pay the credit card?
Eeh by gum	Oh my God	Eeh by gum, I can’t believe me mar is in the hospital
Egh	What?	Egh, you mean to tell me you did not pay the credit card?
Faffing	Messing about	Stop faffing about with the remote control
Famished	Starving, hungry	I can’t wait until 1:00 for lunch, I am famished
Flippin ‘eck	Shock and surprise	Flippin’ eck r’ Tommy’s only gone and quit his job
For “fox” sake  (FFS)	For “f***” sake, like saying OMG or not again	FFS, can you believe that we are re-writing it again?
Friggin’	Curse, like f****** but politer!	Don’t friggin’ get me started
Gaffer	Boss	I don’t know if we can do that, we need to check with the gaffer
Gander	Look at	Let’s av’ a gander at those new houses
Gear	Stuff, things, items	Don’t pack my gear I will sort it out myself
Get your feet dirty	Get your hands dirty	idiom gone wrong! A Nikkism
Get your hands wet	Get your hands dirty	idiom gone wrong! A Nikkism
Gibberish	Nonsense, rubbish	Some would consider “Britlish™” to be gibberish!
Ginnell	Alleyway	I saw your two dogs running through the ginnell
Giz	Give	Giz a piece of that pizza
Gormless	Stupid	R’ Tommy is so gormless, he’s only gone and lost his wallet
Grub	Food	Do you have any grub at your house?
Gunna, gonna	Going to	I’m gunna get that new job
Hovel	A squalid, unpleasant, or simply constructed dwelling.	I can’t stay here, it’s a hovel
In’t –  (in it…)	Isn’t it?	In’t a beautiful day
Jammy	Very lucky	How jammy was it that we did not get a ticket?
Jammy dodger	Very lucky person	That Jammy dodger did not even get a ticket
Kidding	Joking, teasing	It really cost $1,000, no kidding
Knackered	Tired, exhausted	I am totally knackered
Lass	Girl, women, sister, girlfriend	R’lass, aka our sister or bird (girlfriend)
Lavvy	Toilet	Where is the lavvy?
Manky	Not nice, unpleasant, dirty	That restaurant is well manky
Mar	Mother	Me mar will be 65 this year
Mingin	Shanky, stinks, unpleasant	That lass is totally mingin
Mithered, Mitherin(g).	Irritated with something or meddling	Stop mitherin in r’ Tommy’s business
Monkey in the wrench	Throw a wrench in the works or Throw a (monkey) wrench in(to) the works	idiom gone wrong! A Nikkism
Neb	Nose	Keep your neb out of my business
North	South, West or East and all in reverse	Brit on the Move gibberish or dyslexia
Nosh	Food	Do you have any nosh at your house?
Nout	Nothing	I ain’t got nout to say
Nowt	Nothing	I ain’t got nowt to say
Oh aye?	Oh really?	Tommy got arrested! Oh aye?
Owt	Anything	I ain’t got owt to say
Pack it in	Stop it	Kids, pack it in I am not going to tell you again
Paggered	Knackered, tired, exhausted	I’m completely paggered I just paggered the car
PMSL	P***ing myself laughing	That was so funny I am PMSL
Pop	Fizzy drink	Do we have any pop or should I pick some up?
Pudgy	Fat, Chubby	R’ lass has gotten pudgy
R’	“Our” used in family context, sometimes used with close friends	R’ Tommy is in getting engaged R’ Tommy said he has an interview next week
Radged	Pissed, mad, angry, crazy	That bird r’ Tommy brought round is radged
Rubbish	Trash, garbage, nonsense	That story Tommy told us is a boat load of rubbish
S***  tip	Hovel, dive	That hotel we stayed in was a total S*** tip
S*** hole	Hovel, dive	That hotel we stayed in was a total S*** hole
Sarnies	Sandwiches	What sarnies did you make for lunch?
Scran	Food	Do you have any scran at your house?
See You Next Tuesday	Too naughty to translate	Use your imagination for this one!
Slag	Hooker, easy, hoe	Why is Tommy going out with (dating) that slag?
Snap	Ditto	Ditto, we have the same bag!
Sprong	Child	Why are sprogs allowed to fly?
State Side	Somewhere in the north riverside of Chicago	Brit on the Move gibberish or dyslexia
Summat	Something	Tommy, do you av’ summat to say like?
Ta	Thanks	Ta love, it was lovely to get those flowers
Taking in the Piss	Making fun off	When Tommy said she looked good, you know he was takin the piss right?
Tarra	Bye	Tarra love, I’ll see you next week
Tea	Dinner	What’s for tea tonight?
Throttle	Strangle	When I catch up with r’ Tommy I am going to throttle him!
Tits up	Fails completely	The project went tits up and I lost my job
Tosspot	Originally a habitual drinker, most commonly used like wanker or to insult someone	That tosspot cheated on r’ Pauline
Town bike	Lose girl,  aka everyone can get a “ride	R’ Tommy only spent the night with the town bike, can you believe that?
Twat	Referring to a person considered obnoxious or stupid	You gormless twat That twat pulled his usual stunt and did not show up
Vexed	Angry	I am so vexed right now I could literally smack you
Wanker	A worthless man, dickhead	That wanker cheated on r’ Pauline
Went to the water one to many times	Went to the well one too many times	idiom gone wrong! A Nikkism
Yonder	Walk or look	Let’s av’ a yonder at the lake
You having a laugh?	Making fun off or are you being sarcastic or “funny”	You think it’s a good idea for us to swim in that alligator infested lake?  Are you having a laugh?

Closing Thoughts

So now you know some British slang, put it in to practice and let me know how it goes!

Looking For Places Try Out British Slang? Start Here:

• Castle Howard – Yorkshires Brideshead Revisited
• Chatsworth House – England
• Helmsley, England
• Harrogate’s Victorian Turkish Baths
• Lotherton Hall – Yorkshire
• Whitby Abbey
• Yorkshire Lavender Farms 

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