I can’t even say it without saying it in a British accent. OK, and I’ve got another one that’s like that for you now. One of our community members online mentioned that the wig I wore in our last video was spiffing and I had to go look it up. Where did you learn this word ‘spiffing’? I think we should teach the British word ‘spiffing’. So if they do something funny we might say ‘You cheeky monkey!’ Spiffing and tickety-boo! And it can also be used in a more positive way too. So we might tell a child to stop being cheeky and do as you’re told. So cheeky can mean disrespectful in British English. If children are cheeky theyre being wise-arses as youd say in American English – or wise-ass.
And erm yes, but people could also be being cheeky when they’re answering back. You could have a child who has a cheeky grin, and it’s quite a cute grin. We can use it in a sort of positive and negative way in British English. Cheeky in American English would be wise-ass.Īh, OK. What’s in the fridge?’ And if someone is only pecking at their food it means they’re only eating a little of it, perhaps because they’re not hungry or not feeling well. That’s when you’re not terribly hungry and you’re eating it. If you only want to eat a little bit of food, you might peck at your food.
Is it from the verb ‘peck’? To peck? Like a bird pecks at its food? Peckish means you’re a little hungry, right? Oh you need some help? Well, hard cheese! I’m going for my break! It’s used as a way to say we’re sorry about something, but we don’t usually mean we’re sorry. OK, next one… Hard cheese meaning hard luck Yes! So we could say ‘I can’t come out with you tonight because I’m skint’. Oh, so if I say I’m skint, I’m out of cash? It’s to do with money, but it’s when you have no money. I think it has something to do with being cheap. And the other is too old and not working well. I’ve been working all day and I’m knackered. Really? An inanimate object can be knackered? So your car could be clapped out or your bike could be clapped out and they can both be knackered as well. It means it’s too old or broken down to use any more. I worked for twelve hours today and I’m completely knackered. Knackered is when you’re exhasuted and your so tired you can’t do anything. Knackered meaning exhausted or clapped out For example, “Could I have a tad more time?” It means, ‘Could I have a little more time?” Erm… But you could also have a tad more to eat. Does tad always work with negative feelings? So I could be a tad unhappy, a tad disappointed. Right, but it’s little and so that’s how I remind myself that a tad means a little bit in British English. Now a tad always reminds me of a tadpole. If you want to be more polite you can say “I’m just going to the loo”. We say we’re going to the bathroom.īog is a slang way of saying toilet in British English. In America we never say we’re going to the toilet. So instead of saying I’m going to the toilet, we’d say I’m going to the bog. So it’s a toilet roll, and it’s another word for the toilet. Is that like… what we would call toilet paper? In American English we’d say a five dollar bill and a ten dollar bill. A fiver is the name we give a five pound note and a ten pound note is… Yes, we’d say five bucks, ten bucks, twenty bucks, so we add an s to make it plural.īut you were right to say a fiver. It’s an irregular plural because there’s no ‘s’. You’re lucky I don’t take your point away because the plural of quid is quid. And, erm, what about if you have five of them? What’s the note called?Ī five dollar bill? Oh you mean in quids! A five pound note. I saw this dude riding down the street on a bicycle!
So bloke is just an informal way of saying ‘man’. I saw this bloke riding down the street on his bicycle. The kind of thing you’d say with your friends.Īnd if you get them all right, you get a prize. Yeah, and they’re all slang, so they’re informal spoken English. I’ve got 10 different expressions here and we’re going to see how many you know. I mean we’ve been together for more than 20 years so I think I know a lot. British English slang words quizĪnd I’m going to test Jay to day on his British slang. We also look at two old-fashioned slang words that you can use as a joke:Ĭlick hereto see more videos about British and American English differences. hard cheese meaning hard luck – often ironic.You’ll learn 10 slang words and colloquial expressions including: Vicki (who is British) tests Jay (who is American) with 10 British English slang words and he does very well! Play along with a British English slang quiz.
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