While you may be familiar with the basics, like ‘mate’ and ‘bloke’, the British have many phrases up their sleeves that will leave you feeling properly gob smacked. To avoid any potential social blunders, it is best to brush up on your British slang before making your journey across the pond.
Greetings: During an encounter with a native Londoner, you may be greeted with “you alright?” or simply “alright?”. Do not be mistaken. This Brit is not inquiring about your health and well-being. This phrase is simply their way of saying hello. You may be tempted to assure them that you are in good health or start to delve into your feelings, but this is not expected of you. Instead, you can repeat the phrase back to them or play it safe and pick from the arsenal of greetings that you already know. A simple “hello” would suffice. Perfecting the response to this greeting is the first step to your cultural assimilation. Moods: In order to understand the British, you must understand their emotions. During your stay in London, you may hear someone declare that they’re “chuffed” or sometimes “chuffed to bits”. Without the proper context, this phrase would leave the average American scratching their head. While this foreign word may seem daunting, chuffed is just a term used to express happiness. If someone is properly chuffed, they’re extremely pleased. On the contrary, if a Brit tells you that they’re gutted, it means that they’re devastated or disappointed. Romance: There is an entirely new language to be learned if you plan on looking for love in London. If you happen to hear a young British man talking about getting more than friendly with a bird, fear not. This Brit is not pursuing a romantic relationship with a flying animal. Like Americans with the word “chick”, the British use “bird” in reference to young women. If you’re looking to crack on to someone, or flirt as we Americans call it, flattery is important. Instead of calling someone attractive, a British person might say “peng” or “fit”. Exclamations: We’re all familiar with “bloody hell”, but if you want to live like a real London native there are many more expressions to choose from. Take “bollocks” for example. A Brit might use this term to express anger, disbelief, annoyance, or dismay. A truly versatile word, bollocks can also be used as an insult. Another multipurpose phrase commonly used is “cheers”, which can be a greeting, a thanks, a goodbye, or a toast. Similarly, the term “ace” or “aces” is used to say that something is great. On the other hand, if you’re getting on a local’s nerves, they may tell you to “bugger off”, which is a very British way of telling someone to get lost. During your stay in London, you’ll likely hear more slang than just this. But with your newfound proficiency in British vernacular, you should be able to navigate social interactions with ease. Cheers!
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