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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Entertainment & MusicPolls & Surveys · 8 years ago

Would Americans use these phrases?

I'm British (grew up in the East End of London) and it only just occured to me that alot of the phrases I use, most people in America don't. In the north, people use alottt more phrases/terms than I do, alot of which I don't think many Americans would understand.

Here are some of the phrases I use (and most brits use really). Would you use any of these?

Bloke = man

Takin the piss = Are you being serious?

Takin the mick = ^

Takin the biscuit= ^

Are you avin a laugh= Are you joking

Lad = young man/boy

Geezer = man

Bloody hell = damn

Takin a liberty = taking too many favours

Tw*t = someone very annoying

Kn*bhead = basically d*ckhead

Get on the dog & bone = Get on the phone

Go up the apples and pears = go up the stairs

Fiver = 5 pounds

Tener = ten pounds

The Guv'nor = the boss

The old bill = police

Bobby = police who wears a 'bobby hat'

Bobby on the beat = An alert police officer who is walking around the area

Nicked = put in prison

The beat = the law/police

Bloomin/bleedin heck = another way of saying bloody hell

Bob = money

Quid= money/pounds

mi-love = my love, used very informally by men toward women you don't know and do know, also used by women towards younger/elderly men and other women/girls.

Rubbish = Trash

Loo = bathroom

pesky = nosy/someone who pesters alot

blower = phone

Stag do = bachelor party (before the groom gets married)

Hen do = bachelorette party

Blimey = wow

Fags = Cigarettes

Daft as a brush = stupid

Faffing = messing about

Flippen eck = damn!

Tripe = Rubbish/stupideness

Banter = humour/joke

Manky = unpleasant

Mingin = horrible/unpleasant

Narky = moody

Plonker = someone silly/stupid

Tosser= a bit of an idiot/someone you don't like

It reeks = It stinks

Ta = thanks

Ta-rra = bye

Munter = ugly woman

The words 'my dear' 'my love' 'sweetheart' 'darling' 'dear' are used very informally here in Britain, often towards strangers, as a term of endearment, eg, if you went into a shop in the north, a male shopkeeper might say to a woman 'that'll be 10 pounds me-dear'

Or if a young man asked directions from an elderly woman, she might say 'it's just on the left love'

Even police officers use these terms of endearment towards the general public. Eg, if a woman asked a police officer for directions, he might say 'Just turn right where the traffic lights are, and then make another left turn, alright me-love?'

Now, this is some of the slang they use in the north, not so much slang, as what all of them say, I've included words from different cities:

Aye = yes

Me mam = my mum

Me pa = my dad

H'oway man = Let's go

Canny = lovely

Bonny= ^

Now't = nothing

Clobber = clothes

R'kid = way of describing a close male friend

Toon = town

Alreet = alright

Lass = girl

Lassie= ^

Can'nee = can't

Mega = really cool

Bad'un = no good

Bog = toilet

Butty = sandwich

Dale = Valley

Down't road = down the road

On the sauce = drinking alcohol

Pet = term of endearment (people from the north east corner of England (Geordies) use this alot)

Us = me, so for example, instead of saying 'She was telling me about her day' someone who is a Geordie (from the north east) would say 'She was telling us about her day' but still mean 'me'.

Kegs = trousers

Larking = play

Lug = ear

owt = anything

Scram = food

tadger = a mans 'package' (I think you know what I mean!)

Where ya born in a barn = you've left the door open, close it!

There's loadssss more words that I can't think of at the moment :) do you use any of these phrases?

Update:

It's tw a t not twit!

Update 2:

Orca doc: Thanks for all your time answering, you're awesome! Or as we would say, your brill!

6 Answers

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  • 8 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Bloke = man <<< rarely

    Takin the piss = Are you being serious?

    Takin the mick = ^ <<< These three - no

    Takin the biscuit= ^

    Lad = young man/boy << yes, on occasion

    Geezer = man <<< in the U.S., a "geezer" is an old man, usually a cranky/crochety one :-)

    Bloody hell = damn <<< once in a while; we wouldn't think of it as being as strong as "damn."

    Takin a liberty = taking too many favours <<< In the U.S., taking a liberty would mean doing something overly personal

    Tw*t = someone very annoying <<< if th asterisk is for an "a," then definitely not; it it's for an "i," then we'd mean the person was an idiot - but it wouldn't be the sort of word that would be censored

    Kn*bhead = basically d*ckhead <<< I've heard it a time or two

    Get on the dog & bone = Get on the phone << No. No "rhyming slang" here :-)

    Go up the apples and pears = go up the stairs << See above

    Fiver = 5 pounds

    Tener = ten pounds << Neither of these would apply in the U.S. My parents' generation might have said a "ten-spot" for a ten-dollar bill

    The Guv'nor = the boss << No, but we'd know what you meant :-) We'd say "head honcho" or just "boss."

    The old bill = police << No. For us, it would be "the cops" or (for younger people) "Po-Po"

    Bobby = police who wears a 'bobby hat' <<< they aren't worn here, but most Americans would know what a Bobby was.

    Bobby on the beat = An alert police officer who is walking around the area << No; we'd say "cop walking his beat"

    Nicked = put in prison << No (although if you used it in context, we'd probably get it)

    The beat = the law/police No - we'd say "the cops" or "the law"

    Bloomin/bleedin heck = another way of saying bloody hell << No - but we'd understand the intent; we'd probably just say "godd*mn" and get it over with ;-)

    Bob = money << no; we'd say "cash" or "change"

    Quid= money/pounds << No; the American equivalent would be "bucks" I suspect. "Big bucks" would mean lots of money, or that something was REALLY expensive

    mi-love = my love, used very informally by men toward women you don't know and do know, also used by women towards younger/elderly men and other women/girls. << Not used here; we'd be more apt to use "sweetheart" or "dear"

    Rubbish = Trash Yes - we'd also use it to mean "nonsense."

    Loo = bathroom Yes - I hear it once in a while. Sometimes W.C. (water closet) from older folks

    pesky = nosy/someone who pesters alot << yes - although it's not used a lot

    blower = phone <<< No - that would have been used in old mob movies though LOL

    Stag do = bachelor party (before the groom gets married) No; we'd just say bachelor party straight up

    Hen do = bachelorette party No; just "bachelorette party" - and those have only become common in the last generation or two.

    Blimey = wow No - but we'd understand it :-)

    Fags = Cigarettes - No - in the U.S., "fag" is a rude word for a homosexual

    Daft as a brush = stupid << "daft' maybe... the rest, no

    Faffing = messing about << no

    Flippen eck = damn! << no; we'd probably use "f*cking hell" or something along those lines

    Tripe = Rubbish/stupideness << Yes (not terribly common, but still used)

    Banter = humour/joke <<Yes

    Manky = unpleasant <<No

    Mingin = horrible/unpleasant <<No

    Narky = moody << No; here, a "narc" is a cop who deals with drugs, or someone who rats on someone else (not necessarily for drugs)

    Plonker = someone silly/stupid << No

    Tosser= a bit of an idiot/someone you don't like << No, but we'd get it :-)

    It reeks = It stinks Yes - kind of a formal word for us, oddly :-)

    Ta = thanks << Yes - you hear it now and then; also used as "goodbye"

    Ta-rra = bye << No

    Munter = ugly woman << No; we'd say "bag" or "old bag" depending on age

    Well, it won't let me have enough space... :-( Edit: I'm finishing below as Hocus Pocus

  • 8 years ago

    Ok - I'm the same person as Orca Doc - It wouldn't let me have enough space to finish the northern ones :-) so here they are:

    Aye = yes << Yes, occasionally - our Navy uses "aye-aye" as a response to a command

    Me mam = my mum << We'd say "my mom" and occasionally "my mum." "Ma'am" is a polite southern term for a woman. If a woman asks someone to do something, "Yes, Ma'am" would be a polite response from a younger person.

    Me pa = my dad << "Pa" would be used in the south still a little bit; "dad" or "daddy" would be more common

    H'oway man = Let's go << No - I've never heard that one at all :-)

    Canny = lovely <<< No - we'd use "uncanny" to mean "strange" in the sense of being a bit eerie, though. "Canny" would be uncommon, and would mean "shrewd."

    Bonny= Yes, occasionally - it's also used as a girl's name here.

    Now't = nothing - Yes - sort of. It's a corruption of "naught" which means "nothing" - but for us, it would be quite a formal word. We might say "His efforts came to naught" to mean that all his work was for nothing. Less formally, we'd say "nada" (Spanish for "nothing") or "zip"/"zero"

    Clobber = clothes << No; a new one to me

    R'kid = way of describing a close male friend << No - also new to me

    Toon = town - no, but we'd understand it

    Alreet = alright - No, but again, I think we'd understand it

    Lass = girl - yes - kind of an old-fashioned word for us, but still used now and then

    Lassie= ^ Same as above :-) To me, they're both Scottish terms

    Can'nee = can't << No, but we'd understand it - again, something I'd think of as Scottish

    Mega = really cool << Yes - or really big, or some other superlative

    Bad'un = no good << yes - particularly in the southern U.S.

    Bog = toilet <<< No; to us, a bog would be a soggy, wet area in a forest or swamp

    Butty = sandwich << No - also new to me

    Dale = Valley << Yes; it ends up in lots of street names

    Down't road = down the road <<< We would use the full phrase

    On the sauce = drinking alcohol Yes :-) Definitely used

    Pet = term of endearment (people from the north east corner of England (Geordies) use this alot) - no - we'd be more likely to use "dear" or "honey"

    Us = me, so for example, instead of saying 'She was telling me about her day' someone who is a Geordie (from the north east) would say 'She was telling us about her day' but still mean 'me'. << Yes - we'd use it, but we'd definitely mean that the speaker was talking to more than one person... so it's yes, but not quite LOL

    Kegs = trousers <<< No - here, a "keg" would be a large container of beer :-) We'd just say "pants"

    Larking = play <<< no, but we'd understand without a problem

    Lug = ear << No - here, a "lug" would be either a literal lug (such as the big kind that holds a tire onto a car) or a big, stupid guy LOL

    owt = anything - no, but some of us would uderstand it as the word "aught" - an old-fashioned sort of word for us.

    tadger = a mans 'package'- no - we'd say "the family jewels" or a guy's "junk" :-)

    Where ya born in a barn = you've left the door open, close it! <<< Oh yeah! I've had that one yelled at me as a kid more times than I can count LOL

    Your "northern" terms are very much phrases that would be used in the American south, for the most part. But I guess that's logical - much of America's south was originally colonized by Scots-Irish folk. Your second list was MUCH more familiar to me than your first, because that's where I'm from (Texas, but grandparents from Georgia and the Carolinas)

    Thanks for the fun :-)

  • ?
    Lv 4
    8 years ago

    Nope

    Source(s): :) I'm American
  • ?
    Lv 5
    8 years ago

    No, but I would love to. I just got to pick up my butty first you twit.

  • 8 years ago

    Sorry to tel you this, but no, those all are pretty much not American.

    Source(s): I'm Amurican!
  • 8 years ago

    No

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