Discussion on All Things British

Only British English   Thu Sep 22, 2005 9:05 pm GMT
This thread will discuss only forms of British English and words that are native to the UK. Possible Ideas, Words, and British sayings or phrases.
Damian: a British thing   Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:49 pm GMT
An elderly English couple, the wife rather deaf, were visiting New York, USA. They hail a cab and start out on a lengthy journey. It being New York, it isn't long before the driver starts talking.

Driver: You're limeys, aren't you?
Man: Aye, we are.
Wife: What did he say?
M: He asked if we were English and I said we were.
W: Ah.

D: I was in England, during the war.
M: Oh aye.
W: What did he say?
M: He said he was in England during the war.
W: Ah.

D: I was in Burnley, in Lancashire. You know it?
M: Yes, that's where we come from.
W: What did he say?
M: He said he was in England during the war - near Burnley.
W: Ah.

D: Do you know a patch of woodland just south of Burnley?
M: Aye, I know it.
W: What did he say?
M: He asked if we knew the woods south of Burnley and I said we did.
W: Ah.

D: You know, it was in those woods, during the war, I had the worst
f**k I've ever had in my entire life.
W: What did he say?
M: He says he knows you.
Seanees Show...tra la la laa.

PS: I've had a really good time this evening but I am deffo NOT snockered! Ye Cheeky wee minx! :-(
Damian   Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:51 pm GMT
ooops maybe I am a wee bit....that last PS msg was meant for cheeky minx URIEL......forgot to say so.
Uriel   Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:46 am GMT
It's all right, Damian -- I knew!
Only British English   Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:55 pm GMT
Very funny joke Damian - well done.

So question, if someone says they missed the tv show, shall they use the words

"I missed the show on the telly."

"There was a show on the telly and I missed it."

"I made it in late, so I didn't get a chance to watch the telly."

"Who took my knickers."
Damian   Fri Sep 23, 2005 3:22 pm GMT
**"Who took my knickers." **

So THAT'S who they belong to!
Adam   Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:01 am GMT
General British phrases.

Get Your Knickers in a Twist
To get one's knickers in a twist is to become confused, agitated or flustered.

Suck it and See
To try something out and see if it is successful.

Take the Mickey
To take the mickey or mick, is to tease or mock someone.

The Full Monty
The full Monty means everything...the whole nine yards...the whole shebang.

Keep Your Pecker Up
To keep your chin up;to try to remain cheerful even when times are difficult.

Pipped at the Post
To be beaten at the very last moment.

Bob's Your Uncle
Rougly translates to "there ya go-that's all there is to it!"

Throw a Wobbly
To become very upset and angry.

Sleeping Policeman
A speed bump or speed hump.

Daft as a Brush
Someone who is a very silly person.

Over the Moon
Someone who is very, very happy.

Knock you Up
To wake someone up.

Splash Out
To splash out UK-style is to splurge.

Arse over Tit
To fall head over heels.

Bobby Dazzler
A remarkable person or thing.

Bit of Fluff
A pretty young single woman.

An expression of surprise.

Bollock Naked
Stark naked.

Brass monkey Weather
Cold, taken from the phrase, "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey".

Bugger All
Nothing; very little.

"Button it!"
"Be quiet!"

Cheeky Monkey
A rude person.

Cheesed Off
Bored; fed up.

Clapped Out
Worn out, broken.

Cock and Bull
A story with little truth in it.

Cock Up
To ruin something.

Dark Horse
Somebody who surprises others by their actions.

Scatter-brained; crazy.

Do the Dirty On
To play a mean trick on.

Drop a Sprog
Have a baby.

Load of Bullocks
You're talking crap.

An insult.


Queer Street
Where you are if you don't have any money.


Flaky or dodgey.

A mischevious person.

Silly Arse
A foolish person.



Taking the Piss
Making fun of.

Infers that the subject masturbates.

Naff Off
Go away.

Daft as a box o'lights

Clever Clogs
A person who answers a question in a clever way.

Gor Blimey!
An exclamation, short for of "God blind me...",can sometimes be heard as "cor blimey!"

Now if you know anyone who has a really stong accent you may not have a clue as to what they are saying half the time. I'm going to do my best to try and translate some of it for you. My British friends got a great laugh out of my attempt to do this as well as being annoyed by my constant questioning and baggering as to how to spell what they we're saying.

Have you?

That's okay, all right.

Past tense of "ask." "I ast him."

An exclamation of surprise.

Can you?

Can you not?

To grab hold of.

Did not.

A lunchtime meal.

ee aa, eeyar
Here you are.

The female subject of the conversation.

To belong to a female.

Forget it.

The garage.

Gerroff, Gerrout
Get off, I don't believe you.

To go.

Give it here, give it to me.

Give it here, give it to me.

Is it not?

The male subject of conversation.

To belong to a male.

To belong to one's self.

Owzzizz, 'Ouses

Wha, Wot

What is the time.

You can not.


Adam   Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:08 am GMT
Yeah, remember that in American English "garage" is pronounced as it is in French, but in British English it's prounounced "garridge."

British English has a tendency to change the pronounciation of French words that have entered the language. For example, the Hampshire town of Bealieu, which was founded by the Normans and, I think, means "Beautiful place" is pronounced "Bewly."
Adam   Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:09 am GMT
That should be Beaulieu.
Guest   Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:17 am GMT
English still sounds like french to me.
Only British English   Sun Sep 25, 2005 12:41 am GMT
Very cool phrases Adam, I will try and utilize some of these in conversations, I'm sure my mates will be puzzled.
Adam   Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:23 pm GMT
Cockney Rhyming Slang.

25 September 2005



Shannon Kyle

TV favourite Del Boy was always feeling cream crackered after a hard day on his plates of meat, but now boffins reckon that Cockney Rhyming Slang is dying out along with other regional dialects like Scouse and Brummy. Cambridge University language experts say the confusing phrases - first used by crooks to baffle police who were trying to listen to them - will soon be lost. So in a bid to keep it going just a bit longer, SHANNON KYLE picks out some of her favourites - new and old - to prove it ain't all White Cliffs of Dover yet...

Custard and jelly - telly

Ayrton Senna - a tenner

Bended knees - cheese

Claire Rayner - trainer

Collar and tie - lie


Auntie Ella - umbrella

Alan Whickers - knick-ersBottle of porter - daughter

Pie and mash - cash

Kiss of life - wife

Tin tack - sack

Black and Decker - pecker, spirits

Tom and Dick - sick

Buster Keaton - meeting

Ping pong - strong

Haddock and bloater - motor

Britney Spears - beersSoap and water - daughter

Insects and ants - pants

Airs and graces - faces

Bag of yeast - priest

Slip in the gutter - butter

Cold potato (potater) - waiterJagger's lips - chips

Kung-fu fighter - cigarette lighter

Back seat driver - skiver, lazy person

Cream crackered - knackered, exhausted

Dolly mixtures - pictures, cinema

Cow and calf - laughLove and kisses - missus

Do as you like - bike

Piccadilly - silly

Royal Mail - bail

White Cliffs of Dover - over

Pick and choose - booze

Queen's Park Rangers - strangers

Raspberry ripples - nipples

Brown bread - dead

Corned beef - thief

Woolly vest - pest

Robin Hood - good

Rattle and jar - car

Cheese and rice - Jesus Christ

Raquel Welch - belchFlowery dell - cell

Sausage and mash - crash

Pineapple chunk - bunk (bed)

Babbling brook - crook

Mince pies - eyes

Boat race - face

Plates of meat - feet

Fatboy Slim - gym

Rain and pour - snore

Clark Kent - bent, corrupt

Kings and Queens - baked beans

Scotch eggs - legs

Ken Dodd - wad (of bank notes)Cough and choke - smoke

Cow's lick - nick, prison

Pie and liquor - vicar

Bubble bath - laugh

Cough and sneeze - cheese

Storm and strife - wife

Constant screamer - concertina

Cream puff - huff, bad temper

Dancing fleas - keys

Borassic lint - skint, broke

Grumble and mutter - flutter, place a betRub-a-dub - pub

Royal Navy - gravy

Yours and ours - flowers

Bar of soap - dope, cannabis

Don't make a fuss - bus

Down the drain - brain

Santa's grotto - blotto, drunk

Soapy bubble - trouble

Wallace and Gromit - vomit

Snake in the grass - looking glass, mirror

Wooden plank - Yank, American

Soap and lather - father

Smear and smudge - judge

Throw me in the dirt - shirt

Rabbit hutch - crutch, groin

Ugly sister - blister

Tony Blair - hair

Brussels sprout - Boy Scout

Widow Twankey - hanky

Weasel and stoat - coat

Brown Joe - no

Read and write - fight

Noah's Ark - park

Half inch - pinch, steal

Nelson Eddy's - readies, cash

Frog and toad - road

Dead horse - sauce

Dot Cotton - rotten


Damian   Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:46 pm GMT

ADAM: You've spelt it wrongly......it doesn't even LOOK Feench the way you wrote it! The town in Hampshire is BEAULIEU.....now doesn't that look properly French?

You're right on the other points though...it is pronounced ['Bi:u: li:] in the Anglicised way and it does mean "beautiful place" ....as it truly is according to it's web site......on the edge of the New Forest and it being a yachting centre on an inlet leading into the Solent.

A lot of places along the South coast of England have French names.....eg Herstmonceux where there's a huge castle..... even in the North of England...the abbey at Rievaulx. A throwback from the Norman Conquest.
Uriel   Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:48 pm GMT
A lot of ENGLISH names don't seem to be pronounced according to English pronunciation guidelines there, Damian!
Damian   Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:49 pm GMT
Feench = now that doesn't even look French either! typo

ADAM: re Beaulieu - I see now that you corrected yourself! Sorry.