Fun British Phrases and What They Mean

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One of the things I enjoy when I visit other countries is the accent of the locals.  The Scottish, Irish and British all speak English, and yet they sound very different from each other and from Americans.

Beyond their charming accents, it’s interesting to hear unique words, expressions and colloquialisms common to the region. I’m typically in a country for a day before I begin to understand the dialect enough to respond properly!

I have British kinsmen and friends. I spent three amazing days in London, England on a girls’ trip with family. And those wonderful British shows that I love are sprinkled with colorful language. Thanks to all of these sources, I’ve picked up a few common sayings.

Check out these fun British phrases and what they mean, before your next trip to England.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean title meme

British Words We Know

Most of us know a handful of British phrases, thanks to movies and television, and some even caught on in the US. The loo is the toilet…or as it’s more commonly called in the US, restroom or bathroom. In England a cookie goes by the name biscuit and chips are french fries while the British use the word crisps for chips. And when looking for the elevator in a building, call it the lift.

We use the British word cheers as a drinking toast but not often in place of goodbye or thank you. As we know, a flat is an apartment and a frock a girl’s dress. The word gobsmacked, meaning amazed, crossed the pond 40 years ago. President Obama apparently uses the word.

Mate, as in friend, roundabout, queue and knickers, all words originating from England, are fairly common in the US now too.

British Words and Phrases We May Not Know

See how many of these words and phrases you know!

Anorak

Although it’s more often used as a synonym for a raincoat, an anorak carries a different meaning  in slang.

The geeky person, with strong interests or expertise in a particular niche, is called an anorak. This might originate from the perceived uncool appearance of anorak coats and the people wearing them.

Bagsy

Calling bagsy is the equivalent of calling dibs on something, like riding in the front seat of the car. A kid might call bagsy on food from his friend’s lunch, that the friend isn’t going to eat.

Bender

Someone who goes on a spree of excessive drinking and mischief is on a bender. Benders may last more than 24 hours, so you might hear that someone is on a weekend bender or a three-day bender.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean London Dungeons
Fun British phrases and what they mean – we weren’t on a bender, however this is one of my favorite photos from London! My good natured mom isn’t sure what’s going on!

Bloody

This word, considered a mild curse word, pairs with practically any other word to demonstrate incredulity or anger. I’ve most commonly heard it paired with hell, as in “bloody hell”.

Bob’s Your Uncle

I love this comical phrase! It is the British equivalent to “there you go” or “voila”. The phrase accompanies a process that seems more difficult than it actually is. “Balance on the bicycle, start peddling, and Bob’s your uncle…you’re riding a bike.”

Brolly

Brolly is simply the abbreviated form of umbrella.

Builder’s Tea

A strongly brewed cup of English breakfast tea with milk is called builder’s tea.  It’s common courtesy to offer a builder working on a house builder’s tea, especially during cold weather. This practice most likely originated the phrase.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean Speedys
Fun British phrases and what they mean – Speedy’s in London. I wonder if you can get a builder’s tea there?

Chuffed

When someone feels joyful or pleased with an accomplishment, she is chuffed.

Curtain Twitcher

A nosy neighbor (neighbour in England), spying on what’s going on in her neighborhood from behind a curtained window, is called a curtain twitcher.

Faff or Faffing

To faff is to waste time doing very little. It comes from the 17th century word “faffle” meaning “to flap about in the wind.” If you are hanging out, not really doing anything, you are faffing about.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean tower bridge
Fun British phrases and what they mean – we did NOT do any faffing about while visiting London!

Innit

I’ve heard this phrase a lot. The abbreviation of “isn’t it”, people use innit to get agreement from someone OR to agree with something said. For example, “It’s cold today, innit?”. Or a person says, “It’s cold today” and another answers “Innit.”

Minging

Something unpleasant, unattractive or unappetizing is minging. The word comes from the Scottish slang word “ming”, meaning feces. “What is that you are eating? It’s minging.”

That’s Pants

When someone says “that’s pants” they aren’t referring to trousers. It means rubbish, trash or garbage.

Pea Souper

When fog covers London, especially a yellow or dark fog caused by air pollution, it’s a pea souper. This phrase originated in the 1200s due to the burning of coal, which contributed to heavy, dirty looking fog.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean ripper tour
Fun British phrases and what they mean – it was appropriately dreary on our Jack the Ripper Tour, but not quite a pea souper. We enjoyed this tour.

Poppycock

I think I first heard this British word as a child, while watching a movie. Poppycock comes from two Dutch words, “pap” which means soft and “kak” which translates to dung. It means nonsense or implies an untruth. When someone says “that’s poppycock”, they literally mean “that’s soft poo”.

Skew Whiff

Something that hangs crookedly or seems askew is skew whiff.

Skive

From the French word esquiver, meaning “to slink away”, skive is the act of avoiding work or school by faking an illness.

Sod’s Law

This British axiom means “If anything can go wrong, then it definitely will go wrong.” In the US we call it Murphy’s Law.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean station
Fun British phrases and what they mean – we didn’t experience Sod’s Law while on our trip, thankfully!

Spend a Penny

Another charming saying, spend a penny is the polite way for women to say they are going to the loo or toilet. The phrase originated in Victorian England when it cost a penny to open the lock on a public toilet for women. Men’s urinals were free.

Splash Out

This phrase means spending a significant amount of money on an event or an item.

Tickety Boo

Something satisfactory and in good order is tickety boo. The phrase may originate from the Hindu phrase, ṭhik hai, babu, which translates to “it’s alright sir”.

Wind Your Neck In

Americans might say “mind your own business”. The British say “wind your neck in”, meaning the same thing. This tells a person his opinion is not wanted or that the issue doesn’t concern him.

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean London eye
Fun British phrases and what they mean – everything was tickety boo on this trip to London.

Did You Learn New Phrases?

Aren’t these words and phrases fun? Of course, there are many more. I intend to share unique fun phrases and what they mean from each of the countries I’ve visited. Watch for those posts.

I love adopting words, phrases and customs from other countries. One of my favorite practices, afternoon tea, came home with me from Scotland in 2014.

Do you have favorite phrases you enjoy, from countries you’ve visited? Share them in the comments!

Fun British Phrases and What They Mean London Bridge
An iconic view of Big Ben and London Bridge.

More Tales from England:

10 Things You May Not Know About Buckingham Palace

Daring Escapes from the Tower of London

Tower of London Ravens

 


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24 Replies to “Fun British Phrases and What They Mean”

  1. A lot of those unsurprisingly are used in New Zealand. My father is Irish and I have English, Scottish and Welsh heritage so all of those and many more have been used. Lovely to have you share the background and history.

  2. Lol- Tickety Boo. I use that one. I can’t help but giggle when saying it though and I think I need to add in “That’s pants”my vocabulary.

    Now how would you use Skew whiff in a sentence ?

  3. Fun post! We see a version of A Christmas Carol every year that has a line that’s like “I’ll be back quicker than you can say ‘Bob’s your uncle.'” This made me think of that. Cheers!

  4. Love this post! I studied etymology in college as I’m so curious about the origin and evolution of words. I only knew three of these phrases.

  5. I love this list! I always think of “poppycock” as rather refined, but now that I know it’s soft poo…. 🤣💩 I also am thinking of adding “That’s Pants!” to my useable vocabulary. Thank you!

  6. I learned something new today. What a fun phrases. I know about Bloody from Gordon Ramsay when he says “bloody hell”😄

  7. These are both funny and informative! I have a BIL who is Scottish and sometimes I can scarcely understand him when he really gets going. It’s funny how accents and an occasional odd word here & there make such a difference.

  8. These are great! I knew some of these, like bender, but I had no idea about most. I like Bob’s your uncle and Sod’s law the best. And bagsy!

  9. This was a fun post! I love learning simple words or phrases from other places. I knew a few of them but some I had never heard of. I think poppycock was my favorite, it just sounds funny!

  10. I think I would like to faff with some builder’s tea. haha. This was a delightful read and refreshing. Thanks for the information – I always love to think about the origin of sayings.

  11. Thank you for a very entertaining post!! We have a friend who immigrated to Canada from England a few years back, and he uses so many of these phrases! What surprised me… I remember my German-Speaking grandmother using the word ‘anorak’. So strange! I’ve never hear it used anywhere else!!

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