Some English regional
phrases that may have a different meaning to you.
I have South African
friends travelling to the UK tonight for a holiday. It made me think about the
differences in the use of the English language of which I’ve battled with a
little here. It’s not just the words used, it’s the context in which they are used.
I’ve lived ‘oop
north’ and dawrn souf’ and have been thrown with ‘daps, pumps and pimpsels as
well as ‘muffins, bread cakes and baps’ so I thought I’d put a list togheter
for them to use should someone say something that they may think has a
different meaning.
I’d love it if you’d
add your own to the list.
I would also like to
add that I will NOT be held responsible if these words/phrases are used and you
get into trouble with any of them. You are advised to proceed with extreme
caution.
Arse about face this
means you are doing something back to
front.
Arse over tit falling
over in style
Barmy to
describe the weather as in mild
Bum us a fag not
a request for sex, but ‘give me a cigarette’
Blow me again
not a request for sexual favours, used instead of ‘well I never’
Bob's your uncle used at end of
sentence to exclaim ‘it’s easy’
Bung as
in ‘to throw’ ‘bung us your keys mate’ or a bribe
Butchers to
take a look at something
Can you borrow me a
……. as in a
lend of
Cheerio to
say goodbye, not just a breakfast cerreal
Cock up again
NOT a sexual request but to make a big mistake
Fagged ‘I
cant’ be bothered’
Gagging ‘she’s
gagging for it’ as in she wants sex and now
Going out on a Bender heavy
drinking session
Gutted upset
about something ‘I’m gutted’!
Hiya to
be used in Wales to great everyone
How’s it hanging? ‘How
are you?’
Hump when
you have the hump with someone you are in a bad mood
I'm easy as
in ‘I don’t mind’ not just sex
Just a minute as
in South Africa you say ‘I’ll do it now’ means NEVER used in
Wales
Knob another
word for Penis and a door handle, you can also call someone a knob when they do
something stupid
Mobile and text cell
and sms
Mug if someone is a bit of a mug, it
means they are gullible
Narked as
in ‘pissed off or fed up’
Nesh being
pathetic, wimpish Not
my cup of tea something is not to your liking
Numpty polite
way of calling someone an idiot
Off your trolley meaing
‘you’re completely mad’
On the job either
‘at work’ or ‘having sex’ think context
On your bike polite
way to tell someone to ‘fuck off’
Pants polite
way to say something is crap/rubbish
Pavement pizza found
outside pubs and kebab shops on a Sunday
morning….vomit
Queer as
in ‘you look a bit queer/ill’
Quid a
Pound coin
Bladdered, Rat arsed, shitfaced, Trollied very drunk
Round as
in ‘your round’ your turn to buy the drinks in the pub
Shag a
greeting used between male friends as in ‘alright mate’
Shagged knackered/tired
Shufti take
a look at something ‘I’ll have a shuftie’
Sick as
in cool, used to describe something good
Slash and Waz Take
a slash and have a waz mean ‘I’m off for a wee’ quite
often
an outdoor event
Sorted everything
is ok or will be made ok
Ta to
say thank you, to be used in Wales
are
driving erratically
Totes as
in ‘I’m up for that’
Waffle Brits
are good at waffling, talking about nothing, usually the
weather
Mammasaurus blogged a delicious recipe the other day, but asked for a 'punnet' of raspberries. I left her a message, asking for a translation for her Canadian friend. It's about 250grams.
ReplyDeleteI've an American cookbook and still can't understand these 'cups' i just assume that as long as the ingredients are in proportion then it'll work.....lol
DeleteGreat list, and traffic lights are robots in SA :-)
ReplyDeleteits the GPS v Sat Nav post codes and coordinates that confuse me
DeleteOn a side note, it wasn't until I moved to Egypt that I realized that 'shufti" is from the Arabic "shuf" (to look). And in a similar vein, calling a young woman a "bint" is also Arabic for daughter.
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how many foreign words are used in England in a derogatory way.
DeleteBint for a stupid woman
Chav is a gypsy word meaning small/young child
Great to hear these! I miss the colour of a British turn of phrase. One that frequently confuses folks here in Canada is when I declare loudly, 'I'm knackered!' as in 'tired'. Someone once thought I meant 'Naked'!
ReplyDeleteAlso, in reference to your definition of 'Barmy', that spelling denotes craziness, as in, 'If you think I'm getting on that, you're barmy!' If you're talking about pleasant weather the spelling is 'balmy' though the pronunciation is the same.
I confess, I use cockney slang in Canada, though I never did back home, just to see the reactions :-) 'Got change for an Ayrton Senna?'
lol, spellcheck has a lot to answer to
Delete