Buy Your BritSlang.com Dictionary Design
Mad as a Hatter – This wonderful British saying means completely crazy and is rather macabre in its origin. Hat makers (hatters) would commonly use mercury in the making of hats. The prolonged excessive exposure to this toxic chemical damaged the nervous system and caused them to shake uncontrollably. Thus making them appear to be completely insane or bonkers as we Brits would say.
British Sayings – British Slang – British Words
- Sweet Fanny Adams:
Sweet Fanny Adams - Absolutely Nowt - Nothing! This is an Unusual British Saying that Has an Intriguing and Macabre Origin. In 1867 an Young Lady was Killed and Her Corpse Butchered by a Man Named Frederick Baker. A Couple of Years Later, British Seamen Were Given Tinned Mutton as Rations. They Decided that it Tasted so Bad it Must be the Remains of Fanny Adams. From that Point on, "Fanny Adams" became Slang for Mutton or Stew and Later on Anything Worthless.
- Up The Duff:
Up the Duff - This is a British Euphemism for being pregnant or "preggers" as a Brit might also say. It can pertain to an unplanned pregnancy but in recent times it usually just means "preggers".
- Englishman's Home is His Castle:
An Englishman's Home is His Castle - This English dictum means that a man's home is his world to do as he pleases with no rules - in general. It dates back to the 17th Century when Sir Edward Coke, declared in the "Institutes of the Laws of England,1628 that: -
"For a man's house is his castle, et domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium (and each man's home is his safest refuge"
In modern times, the majority of Brits still believe in this to an extent. It's common for a man to look upon his place of domain as his kingdom
- Red Rag to a Bull:
Red Rag to a Bull - To purposely provoke someone into an adverse reaction. Say for example you "borrow" your sister's best frock and then flaunt it in front of her down your local on a Friday night. Now you'd be asking for it - that's like a "red rag to a bull" and certain to end quite nastily!
- Bloody Nora:
Another great British Slang Term that means "Bloody Hell". Not used much nowadays but still one of the greats.
- Pleased as Punch:
Pleased as Punch - This lovely British Saying has origins in the popular Punch and Judy puppet show in England. It has a similar meaning to "Chuffed to Bits" and translates as, "very pleased with or very happy with something". In the original puppet show the lead character, Punch, was known for being very pleased with his evil deeds, hence the British Saying, "Pleased as Punch".
- Cock It Up:
Cock It Up - Er, You've Made A Mistake.
- Bollocks!:
Bollocks - Slang Term for Absolute Rubbish. A load of Tatt. Someone Tells You A Little White Lie, Tell Them Bollocks To That!
- Shrek in a Frock:
Shrek in a Frock - Got this lovely British Slang term from one of our famous exports, Mr. Gordon Ramsay. Simply translated it means someone who is acting out of control and being loud and obnoxious - screaming and shouting.
- Voddy:
Voddy - Us Brits love to abbreviate words or add a "Y" to the end and this British Word didn't escape either. It's the English way of saying Vodka.
- By The Short And Curlies:
By The Short And Curlies - To get caught In a Bind, As It Were?
- Nookie:
Nookie - Have A Bit Of The Other - Sex. Again this British Phrase a Bit Naughty but a Covert Way to Let Someone Know What You Were Really up to Last Night.
- Zed:
Zed - the letter Zee to the Americans. It's the last letter in the alphabet but probably the most popular. And even in the ABC children's' ditty we Brits rhyme Zed with Cee at the end. Works for me!
- Bugger!:
Bugger! - S_ _ _! D_ _ _! Usually Used After You've Done Something Wrong or "buggerd" something up
- Cream Crackered:
Cream Crackered - This is another bit of rhyming slang, which is very common in the cockney dialect. It rhymes with another bit of British slang called - "knackered". All of this simply means very tired or exhausted. Whether your knackered or cream crackered, this little British saying is a perfect retort when your friends want to drag you out on the town after a long day at work!
