TOP 100 British slang words and phrases
TOP 100 British Slang Words and Phrases
Slang is an informal, often non-standard language used within specific social groups to create a unique identity or facilitate communication. It frequently emerges as a way to stand out or connect with a particular group of people, whether friends, colleagues, or entire subcultures. Using slang can add liveliness and humor to conversations, and sometimes make it easier to express complex emotions or ideas.
British slang is particularly interesting due to its diversity and multifaceted nature. It includes words and expressions that reflect the cultural peculiarities, history, and even humor of the United Kingdom. Using British slang can help you understand not only the language but also the British way of thinking and living.
We’ve prepared for you the TOP 100 British slang words and phrases that will help you not only better understand the English language but also get closer to the culture and daily life of Britain. In our list, you’ll find both popular and lesser-known expressions that you can use in your conversations or simply to enrich your vocabulary.
100 British Slang Words and Phrases Everyone Should Know
- Bloke – guy, man.
- “He’s a nice bloke.”
- Lad – boy, young man.
- “He’s a cheeky lad.”
- Chuffed – very pleased, delighted.
- “I’m chuffed to bits with my new job.”
- Gobsmacked – astonished, amazed.
- “I was gobsmacked when I won the lottery.”
- Knackered – exhausted, very tired.
- “I’m absolutely knackered after that workout.”
- Cheeky – bold, impudent.
- “He’s a cheeky little boy.”
- Skint – broke, without money.
- “I’m skint until payday.”
- Minging – very unpleasant, disgusting.
- “That food smells minging.”
- Gutted – very disappointed.
- “I was gutted when we lost the game.”
- Nosh – food, snack.
- “Let’s grab some nosh.”
- Bollocks – nonsense, rubbish.
- “That’s bollocks!”
- Brilliant – excellent, fantastic.
- “That movie was brilliant!”
- Kip – short sleep, nap.
- “I’m going for a kip.”
- Quid – pound sterling.
- “Can you lend me a quid?”
- Faff – waste time.
- “Stop faffing around!”
- Arsed – unwilling, indifferent.
- “I can’t be arsed to do it.”
- Fit – attractive, good-looking.
- “He’s really fit.”
- Barmy – crazy, mad.
- “You’re absolutely barmy!”
- Plastered – very drunk.
- “He was completely plastered last night.”
- Cracking – excellent, great.
- “That’s a cracking idea!”
- Gaff – house, apartment.
- “Let’s go back to my gaff.”
- Grub – food.
- “The grub here is amazing.”
- Haggle – negotiate price.
- “I managed to haggle the price down.”
- Jammy – lucky.
- “You jammy beggar!”
- Knock up – wake someone up.
- “Can you knock me up at 7?”
- Mug – fool, idiot.
- “Don’t be such a mug.”
- Pissed – drunk.
- “He got pissed last night.”
- Rubbish – trash, nonsense.
- “That’s complete rubbish.”
- Scrummy – delicious.
- “This cake is scrummy!”
- Snog – kiss.
- “They had a snog at the party.”
- Strop – bad mood.
- “He’s in a strop today.”
- Wicked – cool, awesome.
- “That concert was wicked!”
- Chav – young person of low social status and education.
- “He’s acting like a chav.”
- Dosh – money.
- “I’m short on dosh.”
- Gob – mouth.
- “Shut your gob!”
- Lurgy – illness, disease.
- “I’ve got the lurgy.”
- Muppet – fool, idiot.
- “Don’t be a muppet.”
- Pukka – excellent, first-class.
- “This is a pukka place to eat.”
- Scrub up – clean up, make oneself presentable.
- “You scrub up well!”
- Scouser – person from Liverpool.
- “He’s a true Scouser.”
- Ta – thank you.
- “Ta for the help!”
- Telly – television.
- “What’s on the telly tonight?”
- Toff – upper-class person, rich person.
- “He’s a bit of a toff.”
- Waffle – talk aimlessly.
- “Stop waffling and get to the point.”
- Wanker – unpleasant person.
- “He’s such a wanker.”
- Yonks – a long time.
- “I haven’t seen him in yonks.”
- Zonked – exhausted, very tired.
- “I’m completely zonked.”
- Bugger all – nothing.
- “I’ve done bugger all today.”
- Dodgy – unreliable, suspicious.
- “That guy looks dodgy.”
- Bonkers – crazy.
- “She’s gone bonkers.”
- Daft – silly, foolish.
- “Don’t be so daft.”
- Bloody – very (used for emphasis).
- “It’s bloody cold today.”
- Fiver/Tenner – five/ten pounds sterling.
- “Can you lend me a fiver?”
- Kerfuffle – commotion, fuss.
- “What’s all the kerfuffle about?”
- Innit – isn’t it?
- “It’s hot today, innit?”
- Proper – genuine, real.
- “That’s a proper meal.”
- Miffed – annoyed, offended.
- “She was miffed about the comment.”
- Loo – toilet.
- “Where’s the loo?”
- Trainers – sneakers.
- “I bought new trainers.”
- Cheers – thanks, goodbye, to your health.
- “Cheers for the help!”
- To leg it – to run away quickly.
- “I legged it from the police.”
- Trollied / Plastered – drunk.
- “He was completely trollied last night.”
- Bevvy – drink (often alcoholic).
- “Let’s go for a bevvy.”
- Lost the plot – lose control, get angry.
- “When he saw the mess, he lost the plot.”
- Taking the piss – to make fun of, to joke.
- “Don’t be so serious, I was just taking the piss.”
- Throwing a wobbly – having a tantrum.
- “She threw a wobbly when she heard the news.”
- A cuppa – a cup of tea.
- “Fancy a cuppa?”
- Bog – toilet.
- “Where’s the bog?”
- Bog roll – toilet paper.
- “We need more bog roll.”
- Bird – girl, woman.
- “He’s dating a lovely bird.”
- Git – unpleasant person, idiot.
- “He’s such a git.”
- Slag off – criticize, speak badly of.
- “Stop slagging him off.”
- Sod – person (often used negatively).
- “You lucky sod!”
- Grafting – flirting, trying to attract someone.
- “He’s been grafting with her all night.”
- Pants – rubbish, underwear.
- “This movie is pants.”
- Prat – idiot, fool.
- “Don’t be such a prat.”
- Buzzin’ – excited, happy.
- “I’m buzzin’ about the holiday.”
- Pied off – rejected, turned down.
- “I was pied off by her.”
- Bev – attractive man.
- “He’s a proper bev.”
- To crack on – to continue doing something.
- “We need to crack on with the project.”
- Blimey – expression of surprise.
- “Blimey, that’s amazing!”
- Cock-up – mistake, error.
- “I made a total cock-up of it.”
- To nick – to steal.
- “He nicked my pen.”
- To Skive, Skiver – To skip work/school, or a person who often does this.
- “Jeremy is such a skiver. He always takes the day off work.”
- Naff – Unfashionable, lacking in style.
- “I was going to buy you the pink one, but I thought it looked a bit naff.”
- To sack off – To avoid doing something or to cancel plans.
- “Think I’m going to sack off work drinks later. I’m way too tired.”
- Par (noun), To par off – An act of disrespect or humiliation.
- “Did you see how rude that guy was to me? What a par…”
- Melt – A coward or weak person.
- “Just go and ask them out! Stop being such a melt.”
- To mug off – To take advantage of someone or make them look stupid.
- “That guy at the football kept laughing at me for wearing an Arsenal shirt. I told him to stop mugging me off.”
- Mate – Friend, pal. Often used both sarcastically and sincerely.
- “Cheers, mate!”
- “Stop annoying me, mate.”
- To be quids in – to suddenly be in a good financial situation (quid: slang for pound).
- “After winning the lottery, she was quids in.”
- To swear down – to swear, to promise sincerely.
- “I swear down, I didn’t take your phone.”
- To get one’s knickers in a twist – to get unnecessarily upset or worried.
- “Don’t get your knickers in a twist. Everything will be fine.”
- To throw a spanner in the works – to cause disruption to plans or progress.
- “His unexpected decision really threw a spanner in the works.”
- To be out on the pull – to be actively seeking a romantic partner.
- “She’s out on the pull tonight, hoping to meet someone new.”
- You have got to be kidding me – you must be joking.
- “You want me to finish all this work by tomorrow? You have got to be kidding me.”
- Rightly so – absolutely correct.
- “He thinks the dish is burning in the kitchen, and rightly so, there’s smoke coming from the kitchen.”
- Jimjams – a state of nervousness or anxiety (colloquial term for restlessness or unease).
- “I couldn’t sleep last night; I had the jimjams.”
- Full of beans – energetic, full of enthusiasm.
- “After a good night’s sleep, she was full of beans and ready to work.”
- Smarmy – excessively polite or ingratiating in a way that seems insincere.
- “I don’t trust him; he seems too smarmy.”
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