A List Of British Slang Words And Their Meanings

Blog
04 April 2023
By Sarah Angela Almaden
Japanese House
Unsplash: Samsung UK

When you’re watching a British show, do you happen to sometimes pause and wonder what the characters are saying? Not to say that the characters are speaking gibberish, not at all. It’s just that sometimes, they are using British slang that is commonly used in the UK, and it's possible that you’ve never heard of these terms before or that they have a different meaning from what you’re familiar with. That’s okay, because that’s the beauty of words: they can have unexpected meanings + their meanings can vary greatly based on the city and the region.

With British slang, it's important to remember that this type of English used in Great Britain has about 40 dialects, so it's easy to get a little lost when hearing words like "sloshed" and "snog” and “rubbish” and “gob.” Alrighty, now let’s get to it and learn what the Brits are saying.

  • Bruv: brother
  • Dosh: money
  • Rubbish: garbage
  • Bants: short for banter
  • Gob: mouth
  • Dishy: good looking
  • Leg it: to run away from a bad situation
  • Loo: toilet
  • Wagwan: What’s going on
  • Manc: someone from Manchester
  • Scouser: someone from Liverpool
  • Peng: someone or something that is attractive
  • Nick: to steal
  • Bird: a woman
  • Snog: a kiss
  • Mental: crazy
  • Poppycock: nonsense
  • Bog roll: toilet paper
  • Daft: stupid
  • Faff: to waste time
  • Kip: a short power nap
  • Porkies: lies
  • Sloshed: being drunk
  • Waffle: to talk on and on
  • Bash: party
  • Minted: very wealthy
  • Fit: someone who is very, very attractive
  • Twat: someone stupid