Here’s our guide to the choicest British slang, insults and phrases:
The British language has many nuances, something Shakespeare made use of back in the day. Today, there may not be as many poets and playwrights playing around with language as there was then (or rather: there are more, they just play with language less as a general rule as plays are no longer written in verse).
But whether you’re going to the Old Blighty yourself, or trying to complete a course in British literature, it’s good to know some common terms, phrases and, possibly, curses. Just knowing English isn’t enough—you have to understand the slang.
The Brits are as fond of slang (some dating back centuries) as the rest of the world. And they have some rather funny examples of how you can use one word to say many different things, chief among them being the word piss. Yes, piss.
You see, there’s a difference between it pissing down, you getting pissed, you being pissed off, you taking a piss and you taking the piss. All five have distinctively different meanings.
ntrigued? You should be. Read on to unravel the mystery (and learn how to tell someone to F off in proper British English—using the Queen’s accent, naturally).
N.B. these are not always dictionary translation of words, but rather a Brit’s take on them.
British Insults
Nitwit: silly, or foolish, person—she’s such a nitwit
He’s a knob: he’s a dick/idiot
Dick: an idiot
Off their rocker: mad—they were off their rocker, they were
Mad as a hatter: mad—stemming from back in the day when hatters used a manufacturing process for felt that, indeed, made them mad (mercury poisoning)
Gormless: clueless; slow witted
Bugger off: go away; run along
Prick: dick; asshole—he’s a prick that one
Tosser: someone who doesn’t have it all together
Daft: silly;stupid—oh, don’t be daft
Daft cow: silly; stupid (referring to a woman)
Cockwomble: idiot; foolish; obnoxious
Fun Fact
An angry Tweeter, after Brexit was announced and Trump made a statement that the Scots had made a wise decision to leave the EU—they voted to remain in the EU—called Donald Trump a “polyester cockwomble.”
Never say the Scots aren’t inventive where language is concerned! It is almost Shakespearean prose! Shakespeare was actually prone to using “colourful” language and invented his own words and phrases.
British Exclamations & Swear Words
Blasted: usually in relation to something going terribly wrong; you wouldn’t use it if something good happened
Blast it: dammit;
Dog’s bollocks: a person or thing that’s the best of it’s kind (it’s the dog’s bollocks!). The literal meaning? The dog’s balls!
Bloody hell: oh my God—usually in relation to something extremely good, or bad happening
Hell’s bloody bells (or: hell’s bells): oh my God—usually in relation to something bad happening, but not always
Bloody brilliant: wonderful
Blooming brilliant: a nicer way of saying bloody brilliant
Bloody marvellous: wonderful
Blooming marvellous: a nicer way of saying bloody marvellous
Blooming: bloody
Damn: oh no
Nutter: crazy person
Bonkers: crazy—he was bonkers
Blast it: sod it
Sod it: blast it; damn it
Hell and damnation: damn
Fanny Adams: obsolete; nothing (derogatory)
Sweet Fanny Adams: same as Fanny Adams
Goddamn: damn
Plonker: idiot
That’s rubbish: that’s stupid; that’s silly; that’s nonsense
Lost the plot: someone who’s lost the plot is someone who’s gone crazy—after the breakup I believe he lost the plot
Blimey: my goodness; oh my God
Bollocks: literally it means balls, but the real meaning is damn, bloody hell, or similar, when expressed angrily
Fun Fact
While Brits are known to be polite, with their stiff upper lips, they are also experts at swearing. “Hell’s bloody bells, that’s bloody marvellous!” would be a display of great happiness, not rudeness. Swearing is used as much when one is happy as when one is annoyed.
If you want examples of how Brits speak, swear words included, watch the Bridget Jones and Kingsmen movies. Those movies also display many of the different accents—in both franchises Colin Firth speaks using RP (Queen’s English) and Taron Egerton has an East London dialect.
British Duplicity
Taking the piss: mocking someone/something, or making fun of someone/something
Taking a piss: going for a wee
Pissing down: raining a lot (a proper downpour)