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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?
It's tw a t not twit!
Orca doc: Thanks for all your time answering, you're awesome! Or as we would say, your brill!
6 Answers
- 8 years agoFavorite 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 :-)
- 8 years ago
Sorry to tel you this, but no, those all are pretty much not American.
Source(s): I'm Amurican!