Step into the land of milk and tea, and you will inevitably fall upon shouts of "All mouth, no trousers" and bellows of "bloody hell!" While some British slang is common sense, other terminology seem entirely nonsensical to the foreigner without a proper guide. Well, look for a guide no further--welcome to the world of British slang! A
All of these slang terms and more can be found on Smartling.
1. "All mouth, and no trousers" = "All talk, and no do"
Example: "Ah, you shouldn't rely on that lad. He's all mouth and no trousers."
2. "Argy-bargy" = "An argumentative altercation"
Example: "Madame Pompous got into quite the argy-bargy last night!"
3. "Damp Squib" = "Something that fails"
Example: "Your brother is a damp squib when it comes to school."
4. "Doofer"" = "A British version of whatchamacallit
Example: "Will ya hand me that...um...er...doofer?"
6. "Idiot box" = "A television set"
Example: "Shall we see what's on the idiot box tonight?"
7. "Kerfuffle" = "A quarrel over opposing views"
Example: "Those British politicians – always getting into silly kerfuffles."
8. "Knackered" = "Incredibly tired"
Example: "A day of field work always leaves me knackered."
9. "Miffed" = "Offended"
Example: "You really know how to get someone miffed you arrogant bastard!"
10. "Odds and Sods" = "Odds and ends."
Example: "I've still got some odds and sods to deal with."
11. "Penny-dreadful" = "A cheap tabloid"
Example: "I read about the impending apocalypse in the penny-dreadful."
13. "Drinking Sherbets" = "Drinking Beer"
Example: "Who is up for some sherbets at the pub tonight?"
Now that you're an expert on British slang, go ahead and test some of your knowledge during your next trip to England, or tag along with your British buds to the pub and wow them with your prowess.
