British-isms: Impress your friends with your new vocabulary!
"Naff" Like cheesy, out of fashion
"Plonk" This is an adjective (or a noun), not a verb. So instead of "plonking" someone in the head with a bat, you would bring something "plonk" to drink to a dinner party, not PBR. Thus, I’m assuming it means, a beverage of an adult nature and nicer.
"Fetching" An adjective, not a verb! Lovely, striking, attractive, etc. The context I heard it was Jamie’s co-worker Ben describing his socks as “quite fetching”. Use it like this: “Jon’s muscles are quite fetching. So is Bosh's chest hair."
"Brilliant!" I've heard this word a billion times in the past two weeks! It is clearly not just from a Guinness commercial. Simply means great, awesome, super, etc. and not referring to intelligence. "Jon's throwing arm is brilliant!"
"Punter" A customer or supporter or fan, typically one that bets. "The punters came stumbling out of the pub.", "The punters lost all when Fulham beat Chelsea."
"Bang-on!" Absolutely Right! "Jamie was bang-on in choosing Brad as a husband."
"Gutted" Distraught, upset. "Brad was completely gutted over Fulham's loss to Chelsea…"
"Tuck In" meaning "Dig in", Eat up. I was told to "tuck in" to dinner last night at small group.
"Gherkins" Pickles. Yup. Have no idea where that term came from. Some other fun food words are: courgettes (soft "g") = zucchini, aubergines = eggplant, mince = ground beef, crisps = chips, chips = fries, sweet/savory biscuits = cookies/crackers.
"Knackered" Tired, exhausted. I was knackered after staying up late to watch the Rugby World Cup final.
"Take the mickey" To tease or make fun of, as in "Brad really took the mickey out of Jamie for not understanding what a 'try' was in rugby" A little more crude is to "take the piss"
"The Dog's Bollocks" I peed a little when I heard this one :) Means the best, top notch. "That wine was the dog's bollocks." I suppose similar to "the cat's miaow"...
"Give a Bell" To call on the phone. "I'll give you a bell a little later."
"Daft" Silly, Stupid, Idiotic, often as in "Don't be daft!" or "That was a bit daft!"
"Snog" Smooch, kiss, make-out. Means kissing, from a peck on the cheek to full on make-out session to even being an innuendo for doing it. Also a relationship status for the kids - "Are you snogging yet?"
"Can't be bothered" A very British way of saying someone didn't do something they should and could do. "Jon can't be bothered to shower every day."
"Sod's Law" Murphy's Law. Used as an interjection, kind of like 'Bob's your uncle,' but with the pessimistic sense. "I was in a hurry and, Sod's Law, couldn't find my keys."
"Gardening Leave" AKA golden parachute - this is the term used to describe the period of time after someone (usually pretty senior) gets sacked but is still getting paid. They just get sent home to look after their garden and enjoy their severance package!
"Blitz" Meaning to thoroughly clean, as in "I spent last weekend blitzing my flat".
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