TheaterFire

What's some British slang that really confuses tourists?

Posted by JimmyNeutronisaNerd@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 349 comments

I know that Bollocks and Lurgy are big ones! I'm curious as to what others have found?

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349 Comments

theofficialofficialy@reddit

Im lookin for the exact phrasing of people saying "all-type" or sounds like "oldtype" /"olltype" .in sentence them man is All type/olltype Londoners Or in grime Olltyp /alltype .. on productions
View on Reddit #62164077

UncleSnowstorm@reddit

Conversation with a French colleague: Him: how come whenever I ask how you are you say "not too bad"? Me: because I'm not too bad Him: but you're smiling when you say it Me: yeah because I'm not too bad, it's a good thing Him: how is that a good thing? It's a bad thing. It's not really bad, but it's a bit bad, it's just not too bad *Me silent in moment of realisation* I'd genuinely never thought about it like that before. To me it seemed obvious that "not too bad" was a positive thing. British sarcasm was so ingrained that I hadn't even realised what I was saying.
View on Reddit #50878135

EvilTaffyapple@reddit

A lot of British “positivity” replies are actually negative: “Can’t complain” “Not too bad” “I’ve been worse” I can’t remember the comedian, but I’m sure I’ve seen a clip of them going through them all. Brits totally see these as positive, but everyone else things they’re not.
View on Reddit #50878787

JimmyNeutronisaNerd@reddit (OP)

It is actually really intereasting to look at how many british sayings we have that sound negative but mean positives, and a saying thats overly positive just make it sound like you're being sarcastic!
View on Reddit #58514664

BigBunneh@reddit

Bill Bailey: https://youtu.be/V7d79Knc8p4?si=ALiWMweaDEeIXSI5
View on Reddit #50973733

kittencoral@reddit

That would be [Bill Bailey ](https://youtu.be/V7d79Knc8p4?si=snGHBBf61LDk3pxE)
View on Reddit #50971544

Snoo-84389@reddit

In response to any "How are you?" question my old Nan always used to reply with "Not too dusty!". So maybe that should be added to your list 😀 (I've just Googled it and apparently, it's a more common response than I first thought)
View on Reddit #50970548

First_Television_600@reddit

If it’s “Not ideal” everything’s an absolute shitstorm.
View on Reddit #50942674

-Po-Tay-Toes-@reddit

Also the opposite is true as well. "living the dream" generally means you're having a horrible time of it and are likely depressed.
View on Reddit #50878966

EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Haha I didn’t even think of that. “How’s it going mate?” “Absolutely tip-top mate” / “Fan-bloody-tastic” God we’re a bunch of snarky fuckers haha.
View on Reddit #50879068

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

>Absolutely tip-top mate” / “Fan-bloody-tastic” I'm unable to read either of these without my internal voice sounding sarcastic as fuck..
View on Reddit #50921538

-Po-Tay-Toes-@reddit

We really are.
View on Reddit #50879100

whooptheretis@reddit

and "I'm in a spot of bother here" really means "I'm in mortal danger"
View on Reddit #50887150

TheRealJustSean@reddit

If something is "catastrophic" or "totally fucked", it's quite bad. If something is "quite bad" or "could be worse" it's the worst thing in the world
View on Reddit #50888929

iktw@reddit

I think Milton Jones does a bit about these phrases too, "I'll let you go" at the end of a phone call etc
View on Reddit #50888169

terryjuicelawson@reddit

Bill Bailey did a bit about this. "Not too bad" combined with "all things considered".
View on Reddit #50879583

PsychologicalDrone@reddit

“Things are pretty bad, but they could be worse”
View on Reddit #50882741

EvilTaffyapple@reddit

Ah that’s who it was! I knew I’d seen a clip. Great comedian.
View on Reddit #50880272

AlfCosta@reddit

Better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick
View on Reddit #50879070

Afinkawan@reddit

It's not necessarily positive. It can also mean "I'm fantastic but I don't want to bang on about it in case you aren't" or "shit, but that's not your problem".
View on Reddit #50911525

Boldboy72@reddit

my dad had a Brazilian housekeeper who queried the "not too bad" ... she assumed he was saying he was bad but not the worst...
View on Reddit #50910036

HugsandHate@reddit

Well, it does stipulate '*not*'.
View on Reddit #50905345

Personal-Listen-4941@reddit

The word “quite” causes a lot of confusion when used between Brits & Americans. “That’s Quite nice”, for a Brit would be a compliment, we consider it above just saying “that’s nice” “That’s Quite nice”, for an American would be disparaging they consider it below just saying “that’s nice”
View on Reddit #50879127

CityOfNorden@reddit

They could care less though, so swings and roundabouts.
View on Reddit #50883910

randypriest@reddit

\> swings and rotaries FTFY
View on Reddit #50888476

rsbanham@reddit

🤢
View on Reddit #50902569

loopeytunes@reddit

I think the French tend to do talk similarly with the phrase 'pas mal' (literally 'not bad'). See here: https://www.reddit.com/r/French/s/3svew8ITdT
View on Reddit #50885749

UncleSnowstorm@reddit

But "not bad" and "not too bad" would mean the opposite (literally speaking).
View on Reddit #50887790

Comeawaytoneverland@reddit

This is an example of 'litotes', which is when you negate a positive to convey irony. We do it a lot in Britain. e.g 'Not too shabby.' 'Not exactly the nicest of people.'
View on Reddit #50883048

ScallyGirl@reddit

My go to when I am asked how I am is 'absolutely average'.
View on Reddit #50881058

Adam-West@reddit

I once got asked by a Frenchmen why all the English people leave his shop and say ‘Cheese, mate.’
View on Reddit #50877372

JimmyNeutronisaNerd@reddit (OP)

That had me cackling at my desk!
View on Reddit #58514598

SUMMATMAN@reddit

Cheddar, pal
View on Reddit #50880244

Thisoneissfwihope@reddit

Wensleydale, friend
View on Reddit #50880610

qing_sha_wo@reddit

Gouda Geeza’
View on Reddit #50880720

stealthygorilla@reddit

Brie, bro
View on Reddit #50881049

Longjumping_Tour_613@reddit

Gorgonzola, guy...
View on Reddit #50881392

plertskirt@reddit

Parmesan, pal
View on Reddit #50881991

slade364@reddit

Stilton, sweetheart.
View on Reddit #50882092

PsychologicalDrone@reddit

Pecorino, pet
View on Reddit #50882645

Oghamstoner@reddit

Manchego, man
View on Reddit #50882972

Demongeeks8@reddit

Dairylea, darlin'
View on Reddit #50883281

ColossusOfChoads@reddit

Camembert, comrade
View on Reddit #50883668

Silvagadron@reddit

Muenster, monsieur
View on Reddit #50884216

Throwaway91847817@reddit

Asiago, Acquaintance
View on Reddit #50899451

Ok-Bag3000@reddit

Dolcelatte, Duck
View on Reddit #50979661

SuperfluousGland@reddit

Limburger, love
View on Reddit #50884677

EldritchCleavage@reddit

Fontina, old fruit.
View on Reddit #50887464

HarB_Games@reddit

Are we pronouncing Cheddar like "Ta-Da"? Che-Da, pal!
View on Reddit #50896094

Any_Mathematician411@reddit

Edam, my man!
View on Reddit #50944695

Norman_debris@reddit

Took me a while to break the habit of saying cheers when leaving somewhere here in Germany. Eventually stopped when a German stopped me to say "it's pronounced Tschüss".
View on Reddit #50887518

MokausiLietuviu@reddit

My Lithuanian partner had the reverse when she moved to Britain and wondered why everyone said 'tschüss' and why it was never covered in her English classes.
View on Reddit #50914281

EvilTaffyapple@reddit

“Can I bum a fag please mate?”
View on Reddit #50876962

JimmyNeutronisaNerd@reddit (OP)

Never see a more confused look on someone who doesn't know british slangs face!
View on Reddit #58514574

slintslut@reddit

Always thought "bum" in that context was more of an American thing.
View on Reddit #50896854

spynie55@reddit

Me too. Can I get, have, borrow, scrounge, or do you have a spare/ can you give/ lend/ . B
View on Reddit #51032298

slintslut@reddit

Nick is my favourite
View on Reddit #51033886

Speesh-Reads@reddit

Tell 'em a joke: I used to have a dog with no legs, called him Woodbine. 'Cause I used to take him out for a drag.
View on Reddit #50880947

Boldboy72@reddit

my mate had a dog with no nose, I asked how he smells Bloody awful
View on Reddit #50909443

Diligent-Sherbet2587@reddit

I saw a Monty Python sketch years ago. Basically the same, but with English subtitles (the voices on the audio may have been from the original footage). Hitler: My dog has no nose. Somebody else: How does he smell? Hitler: Awful.
View on Reddit #50950859

slimdrum@reddit

How’d you stop your dog from barking in the back of your car? Put him in the front!
View on Reddit #50940268

Speesh-Reads@reddit

I had a dog that I trained in metalwork. Kick it up the arse and it'd make a bolt for the door.
View on Reddit #50896653

ThatBurningDog@reddit

What do you call a dog with no hind legs and balls of steel? Sparky
View on Reddit #50884864

Speesh-Reads@reddit

I had a dog that I trained in metalwork. Kick it up the arse and it'd make a bolt for the door.
View on Reddit #50896618

Anybody_Mindless@reddit

What do you call a woman with no legs? Fanny Walker.
View on Reddit #50886264

Flingaway69420@reddit

Currently in the US, I'm saying this at every opportunity. The yanks seem to know what's up and see the funny side. Fair play to them.
View on Reddit #50948171

SarcasticDevil@reddit

I've honestly only ever heard this on Reddit, is that use of bum regional? Then again I don't smoke so why would I hear this I suppose
View on Reddit #50882644

Ginger_Tea@reddit

It's heard less often, mostly in my case because of the indoor smoking bans. Bum, teenagers or adults recalling their youth bumming for fag's during lunch, knowing now both words have multiple meanings. Tax, because it's sometimes said by someone not asking. Borrow, though I don't want it back. Got a spare? Like it's a Lego set with leftover pieces.
View on Reddit #50885152

crackerjacker7@reddit

See that “Can I steal a fag off you?” shite? It’s hardly stealing if you’re asking. I’m no giving you it and you’re no stealing it
View on Reddit #50943392

EldritchCleavage@reddit

Also ‘bash’ a fag, where I grew up. Which is even worse for misunderstandings.
View on Reddit #50887336

Ginger_Tea@reddit

Americans and smoke because their term isn't used much round my way. Mind you I don't hang around people bragging about murder, let alone of gay men. Some book, might have been Terry Pratchett and someone else, an American air base was near by like Mildenhall. Character asks a soldier for a fag. What you gonna do with em? Smoke em of course. Nice. Not sure what decade or the exact line as I was told about it rather than read it myself. IIR faggots in the oven too. If the Internet didn't exist, no one would really associate them with slurs outside of the LGBT community and even then I'm not sure if either were in use back in my youth. Eg watched a 70s film and asked my dad why he called that man a cigarette. I don't think my age had anything to do with it, because by the time I was 18 that film was probably my first of two encounters with the term in the near decade between. Many racial slurs were only heard in 70s films, not on the streets of the UK.
View on Reddit #50888153

Joe_Kinincha@reddit

That book would have been “good omens” by Terry pratchett and Neil gaiman.
View on Reddit #50893288

EldritchCleavage@reddit

No, I think I had pretty much all the slurs thrown at me, though to be fair some of the more florid ones were only used to show off.
View on Reddit #50888334

Ginger_Tea@reddit

What decade? Because without the Internet I wouldn't know why people might get upset. I knew via an anecdote of my mums that fanny didn't mean what it means here. An American in her town said something meaning her bum, but she knew it as the front bottom so gave him a slap. She might have slapped him anyway, but the language barrier put it on a different level. Some YouTube video went off on a tangent on explaining that fag and faggots don't automatically mean slurs in the UK and they grew up in the 80s where smoking and using fag on TV was normal. We had enough euphemisms and slurs for gay men, we didn't need to co opt the meaning of cigarettes and meat dishes.
View on Reddit #50888980

presidentphonystark@reddit

Yorkshire, id understand someone wanting to bum something
View on Reddit #50895614

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

With those manners? Course you can!
View on Reddit #50922094

dcuffs@reddit

Try asking if there's a fag machine in the bar. I did this back in the 80's and couldn't figure out why the barman seemed so angry and confused.
View on Reddit #50878703

Living-Excuse1370@reddit

I went to the USA for work in the late 90s, said I'm going out for a fag. The place went silent and the whole place stared at me! I was equally confused about fanny packs!
View on Reddit #50915537

ConvertedHorse@reddit

were you in SoHo or Brighton?
View on Reddit #50885541

dcuffs@reddit

Lowell, Massachusetts
View on Reddit #50886010

Timely_Egg_6827@reddit

I used it aged 10 in a scrabble game in Kentucky. Bad idea. Had to speak to school counsellor. Read both Tom Brown's Schooldays and knew slang for a cigarette.
View on Reddit #50889494

BookWurm_90@reddit

35 years in this country and I’ve never heard anyone at anything remotely close to that. It would be more like ‘giz a fag mate’
View on Reddit #50909718

CleoJK@reddit

The 'bum' is interchangeable with; Chav, Scav, Borrow, Tick, Rob... There was also that whole "do you wanna go twos mate?" No Trev, I don't want to share my singular robbed, from mum, fag with your spit lips!!!
View on Reddit #50884030

Hitonatsu-no-Keiken@reddit

There's an old one you don't hear any more: "Can I touch you for..." meaning can I have/beg. As in "Can I touch you for tenpence, I need to make a phone call" to which some joker would reply (in a camp voice) "Give us a quid and have a good grope!"
View on Reddit #50904392

WaveyDaveyGravy@reddit

Don't Duck Arse it.
View on Reddit #50888019

Fannnybaws@reddit

And none of that power dragging and putting a massive head on it
View on Reddit #50888839

ot1smile@reddit

Fuck yeah I had a mate who power dragged and he’d ask you for a puff and in one pull completely destroy the filter so the rest of your fag was all warm and harsh.
View on Reddit #50893183

Fannnybaws@reddit

Haha..I was gonna add on the filter ending up flattened and dark brown. Always tell those people you can have doubt.
View on Reddit #50894587

Valuable-Incident151@reddit

Very interesting to hear that people "chav" a fag now, because actual chavs *ponce* their fags
View on Reddit #50888316

CleoJK@reddit

Oooh, forgot ponce! Good one!!!
View on Reddit #50888718

kaest@reddit

Everyone knows what that means. It's a British stereotype at this point.
View on Reddit #50892359

Mel-but@reddit

Interestingly I've noticed a lot of young people using "cig" or "ciggie", likely due to the alternate meaning of "fag"
View on Reddit #50881298

Timely_Egg_6827@reddit

Think that one has always been around too. But the other might be getting less common.
View on Reddit #50889582

Adam-West@reddit

I’d say that’s perfectly clear.
View on Reddit #50877347

Kiardras@reddit

To us maybe, but say that to an American...
View on Reddit #50877482

Beer-Milkshakes@reddit

Do I have to speak to one of them?
View on Reddit #50887271

Wednesdaysbairn@reddit

Came here to say this - just fag is enough to send most of them scuttling
View on Reddit #50886792

TankFoster@reddit

We wouldn't use "bum" in that context.
View on Reddit #50878057

SISCP25@reddit

That’s…. Kinda the point?
View on Reddit #50881451

TankFoster@reddit

It's not British slang then, is it?
View on Reddit #50881843

2xw@reddit

It is in the Collins dictionary as such and was common when I was young. Not so much now.
View on Reddit #50883142

ColossusOfChoads@reddit

Been used in America my whole life. "Hey man, can I bum a cigarette / a ride / five bucks?"
View on Reddit #50883604

TankFoster@reddit

Exactly. As far as I know, it's never been a British thing.
View on Reddit #50885627

2xw@reddit

I wonder if it came from American films or whatever cos I guess mor traditionally we'd use "cadge"
View on Reddit #50883714

TankFoster@reddit

Really? I've never heard a British person use "bum" in that way. Fair enough if you have. Maybe a regional thing.
View on Reddit #50883638

Gisschace@reddit

My friend was in New York and asked the bar staff if there was ‘a fag machine in the bar’ ‘A what machine?????’
View on Reddit #50879340

OliLeeLee36@reddit

Equally alarming for them to hear "Right, going outside to smoke a fag." BRB, just commitin' hate crimes.
View on Reddit #50878704

dubblw@reddit

Said this without thinking when I was out drinking in the states and to do some very quick explaining.
View on Reddit #50878138

cmdrxander@reddit

I've heard that smoking fags can have similar levels of confusion
View on Reddit #50878646

ZakFellows@reddit

Did you just call that vagrant a homosexual sir?
View on Reddit #50878205

PrawnQueen1@reddit

😂😂😂😂😂
View on Reddit #50877674

Christonabikeman@reddit

Haway yer daft Cnut. I heard an American tourist pause momentarily in Newcastle whilst a local almost bumped into them going into the metro, the American stood and grinned ear to ear as though he’d been just been greeted in the most endearing way possible. Magic.
View on Reddit #50886140

The_Hot_Cross_Bunny@reddit

That would be "Howay".        It's "Haway" in Sunderland.
View on Reddit #50971712

Christonabikeman@reddit

I only ever say it as Haway!
View on Reddit #50983569

The_Hot_Cross_Bunny@reddit

[I rest my case](https://www.reddit.com/r/NewcastleUponTyne/comments/1jb2tuk/post_box_knitwear/)!
View on Reddit #51083481

The_Hot_Cross_Bunny@reddit

Mackem!
View on Reddit #50993136

ofthenorth@reddit

Not really slang but saying “see you later” can cause confusion
View on Reddit #50877345

ShitBritGit@reddit

I remember my mum had a thing about "see you later". Could totally understand when you know you are going to see them later, but why say it when what you mean is "goodbye".
View on Reddit #50978243

scalectrix@reddit

au revoir and asta la vista mean basically the same thing.
View on Reddit #50892337

IPoisonedThePizza@reddit

As an immigrant I always replied to that when my friends used it after a clubnight lol "No you wont lol"
View on Reddit #50878314

Left_Potential5901@reddit

Not British slang, but British cultural thing that might be confusing to some foreigners. Used to have a mate who told us a story about how he knew this girl from university. She was born and raised in Britain. Went on a year travel post uni. She married a guy during her travels from one of those small island countries near Australia. A few months later, she brings him over to Britain. He met her family and all seemed good. Next few days they went to a nearby retail park for some shopping so quite a bit of driving. Upon coming back home, the guy throws a fit at how his wife is having affairs with multiple lads. She was confused with this sudden allegation. Turns out during the drive to/back from the retail park, there were multiple occasions where she thanked people who had been courteous to her during driving by means of a thank you gesture. The poor guy, oblivious to the British culture, thought she knew all of them personally.
View on Reddit #50973852

Mahoganychicken@reddit

I always notice that when you greet a foreigner or a tourist with "Alright?" they seem to think you're really asking them.
View on Reddit #50876794

Organic_Award5534@reddit

this messed with me a bit too as an Aussie. When I first moved here I was aware of the concept but never knew how to respond, so always ended up looking like a like a clown
View on Reddit #50877545

BigBunneh@reddit

It's easy. Them: "Alright?" You: "Alright, ta. You?" Them: "Alright." Under no circumstances answer anything more than the above, they don't want to know of your latest ailments, what your partner's done to upset you, how the dog's doing, or anything else that could be classed as 'opening up'. The whole process is to merely acknowledge each other's existence. If it's a mate, you could add a bit more, if you're genuinely suffering: Mate: "Alright?" You: "Not bad." Them: "That's the spirit." I had this very same greeting issue over the phone, with my mum last week, who's genuinely not great with her health. Me: "Alright, mum?" (Note the addition of the subject's status, it sets a level of familiarity, which can open up a world of options for the next bit). Mum: "Alright son, still the right side of the daisies." Me: "You shouldn't be thinking of gardening with your knees, mum." I'm travelling to her see her next weekend.
View on Reddit #50973582

prx_23@reddit

Every Aussie I've ever met says y'alright? I guess the difference is, they actually are. We just say yes but it's not true
View on Reddit #50878812

ot1smile@reddit

As per Bill Bailey; “Alright?” Aussies: “Awesome!” Brits: “Not too bad”
View on Reddit #50893543

cmdrxander@reddit

Would "how ya goin'?" be the equivalent for Aussies or is that also expecting an answer?
View on Reddit #50877759

tomtink1@reddit

Used to have the opposite problem with a Texan college who would walk into the staffroom with something like "Hi, how are y'all?" and got annoyed when people smiled but didn't respond. It didn't help that we were all sat in small groups and she was addressing the whole room so no one knew who was meant to speak.
View on Reddit #50968103

HumanBeing7396@reddit

It’s the equivalent of an American saying “What’s up?” to a Brit.
View on Reddit #50877037

Havoksixteen@reddit

I dunno, what's up is just a casual greeting and don't think someone would be genuinely concerned as if it were a real question
View on Reddit #50878750

ot1smile@reddit

That’s the point. ‘You alright’ has the same meaning to us in the UK but to a non-native it has the appearance of a genuine question.
View on Reddit #50893320

Havoksixteen@reddit

But I'm not a US citizen. I'm a Brit, as are most people I know. And we all use "whats up" just the same as "Alright" and understand its just a casual greeting..
View on Reddit #50913440

don5434@reddit

Me too dunno what this kids on about
View on Reddit #50923702

djwillis1121@reddit

I mean, both have the same meaning in theory. I think what's up is just more well known because it's American
View on Reddit #50887250

HugsandHate@reddit

Huh.. I'm a Brit and I say 'what's up'. Is that not normal?
View on Reddit #50905219

Leipopo_Stonnett@reddit

I had an interesting experience with this as a British person. I had an American friend who was staying here who had learned that we say “alright?” as a greeting. Yet, whenever he said it to me or some of my friends, we took it as genuine concern. We figured that while the word was the same, somehow his intonation was different and it was throwing us off. It was bizarre.
View on Reddit #50879451

Hank_Wankplank@reddit

My ex is American living in the UK and after a while she started picking up British sayings and phrases, but it never sounded right when she said it. I eventually realised it's similar to how British and American comedy is different. In American comedy they put an over the top emphasis on the joke or the punchline, but in Britain we say it in a more deadpan manner and to Americans it can sometimes fly over their heads because they don't realise you're joking as you aren't emphasising it. She would do the same thing and put an emphasis on the phrase so it sounded weird and over the top.
View on Reddit #50897903

Reactance15@reddit

It's why I love Arrested Development for its often subtle or sarcastic humour.
View on Reddit #50908318

RgCrunchyCo@reddit

Came here to say this. 😂😂😂
View on Reddit #50880785

Pancovnik@reddit

As an Eastern European, it took me few months to stop responding with: "Yeah, why are you asking?" which was usually followed by a very confusing look from the other party.
View on Reddit #50879740

LobbyDizzle@reddit

It's the equivalent of asking anyone not from England, "Hey, how are you doing?" and then being flabbergasted when they respond with anything other than "Hi, how are you doing?"
View on Reddit #50878300

theo_wrld@reddit

Lived in Canada for a while and one co worker got so angry when I did this, it’s such a habit I didn’t do it to piss her off, but she thought I was insulting her by assuming that something was always wrong
View on Reddit #50878146

Snoo-84389@reddit

"I'm gunna take a piss" = i need to go to the lavatory. "I'm gunna get pissed tonight!" = I intend on having a couple of drinks this evening 😁 "You're taking the piss mate!" = you are over-stepping the normal societal boundaries and are becoming a bit of a nuisance (and you aren't my friend either).
View on Reddit #50970137

Anon_767@reddit

Hearing Lancastrians call each other love , cock or cocker must be well confusing
View on Reddit #50963265

NortonBurns@reddit

Melt. Wanker seems to have lost its 'magic untranslatability' these days. An old friend of mine, a local radio DJ in the UK, got a job in the states where they insisted he used 'wanker' at every opportunity on air, because no-one knew what it meant.
View on Reddit #50877005

Future-Entry196@reddit

There’s an episode of The Simpsons from the 90s featuring U2 as guest stars. Bono refers to the other band members as “wankers”, which obviously was censored when shown on UK TV. The first time I saw the uncensored US version I was honestly shocked
View on Reddit #50943260

MissingScore777@reddit

I've only ever seen melt used online. Never heard it in real life. Is it a regional thing rather than UK wide? I'm from the North East (England) and nearly 40 for context.
View on Reddit #50878083

NortonBurns@reddit

I'm Yorkshire, though now living in London. tbh, I kind of think of it as a bit of an Eastenders/Corrie word, a good one to use when you can't swear, like using 'jog on' instead of 'fuck off'. I couldn't really say where I heard it first, or most often.
View on Reddit #50878553

Afinkawan@reddit

Weird. I grew up in London and thought of it as a North West thing.
View on Reddit #50911955

SaltyName8341@reddit

Don't hear it here in North west
View on Reddit #50915298

Afinkawan@reddit

I actually meant North East. Basic compass fail.
View on Reddit #50915532

darcsend_eu@reddit

North east Scotland checking in and melts been a staple in the vocabulary for years
View on Reddit #50913669

DameKumquat@reddit

It was only in Northern Ireland when I grew up, but over the last 10-20 years it's got all over. Derry Girls probably helped.
View on Reddit #50899658

Jaffadxg@reddit

I live in Hampshire, and when I was in school (left 9 years ago), “melt” was used a lot, still hear it here and there nowadays
View on Reddit #50891434

skatemoose@reddit

Live just outside London and I've people say it, not so much recently though
View on Reddit #50886794

SnooStrawberries2342@reddit

My mam's from Hartlepool and used to call me a melt (affectionately) back in the 80s. It went away but then seemed to come back.
View on Reddit #50884173

Afinkawan@reddit

A guy I worked with about 25 years ago showed us a photo of his American cousin proudly wearing a baseball cap with WANKER printed across it because he'd convinced him it meant 'cool dude' or something similar.
View on Reddit #50911835

pwuk@reddit

Especially these people (google maps link) [https://g.co/kgs/NLpHGFi](https://g.co/kgs/NLpHGFi)
View on Reddit #50877097

furrycroissant@reddit

Anything cockney rhyming confuses tourists a lot.
View on Reddit #50939904

Not_So_Busy_Bee@reddit

See You Next Tuesday
View on Reddit #50936656

jaymatthewbee@reddit

Bobs your uncle
View on Reddit #50877249

_x_oOo_x_@reddit

I have no relatives called Robert. What are you talking about?
View on Reddit #50935016

Confudled_Contractor@reddit

Fanny’s your mum’s brother.
View on Reddit #50877919

Throwaway91847817@reddit

Or your Great Aunt.
View on Reddit #50878191

BlueOXMotel@reddit

Saying Quarter too. To an American.
View on Reddit #50931277

Comprehensive_Cut437@reddit

Not sure it’s slang but asking for a rubbwe
View on Reddit #50930933

ihopeitsnice@reddit

“Quite good” in American English means relatively good. “Quite good” in British means a flaming pile of dog shit
View on Reddit #50929040

Samsterman@reddit

Apparently Americans can't seem to grasp that "you alright?" is simply a greeting, and not a question based from concern.
View on Reddit #50927292

UnexpectedRanting@reddit

Worked with a polish Guy fresh off the boat and it was great fun teaching him the lingo. “mate” even if theyre not a friend Kurva?! “Alright?” What is right??
View on Reddit #50925732

Joe_Kinincha@reddit

I accidentally reduced a room full of septics to laughter by saying that I felt “rough as a badger’s arse” after a night out.
View on Reddit #50894480

szisex@reddit

I like if I’m really hungover to say “rough as the whole badger”
View on Reddit #50925098

I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS@reddit

A foreign guy once told me that when he first came to the UK, it really confused him that people said 'cheers' to mean thank you. His only idea of that word was that it's what you say after pouring a drink.
View on Reddit #50925070

TheAKYoung@reddit

In Dundee we referred to roundabouts as ‘circles’ which confused many visitors when giving directions, i.e. take the third exit off Scott Fyfes circle
View on Reddit #50924376

pajamakitten@reddit

"Alright?" as a greeting is the classic. 'Swings and roundabouts' is another they do not seem to know. Using 'tea' to mean dinner in the cooking/food subs really sets them off in my experience.
View on Reddit #50877694

eltea01@reddit

Using dinner for lunch always gets people confused too
View on Reddit #50924352

fourlegsfaster@reddit

Startled American cousin at a big transnational family wedding after Australian cousin asks UK cousin "Where's John?" "Gone for a slash"
View on Reddit #50879366

Ze_Gremlin@reddit

American, Australian, UK.. Christ, when your aunts/uncles were born, did they just start sprinting and not stop? That's some far-travelled family you got..
View on Reddit #50922881

fourlegsfaster@reddit

One married an American, one thought they might return from Australia but never did, Just a large family, who manage to be get on very well. At the moment, there are branches in only 3 countries but at one point Greece. Netherlands and New Zealand were also in the mix as countries of residence/work.
View on Reddit #50924286

elmachow@reddit

You’re a bit nesh, cracking the flags, it’s a bit George.
View on Reddit #50921196

GBRUGGEDBOY@reddit

I'd have to guess it would be "can I bum a fag off you mate"
View on Reddit #50921057

Fit-Good-9731@reddit

Gonnae no dae that! There's no such thing as "British" I don't understand road man shit same as they wouldn't understand somebody from Orkney or glasgow
View on Reddit #50920421

purplechemist@reddit

When they step out in front of me on my bike: “Fucking hell, are your eyes just painted on??”
View on Reddit #50919490

South-Bank-stroll@reddit

“Sorry mate, I don’t have any shrapnel.” I said this to a bloke in Auckland who asked me for change and he looked so confused he powered down like one of those Westworld robots. That or his drugs had just kicked in.
View on Reddit #50878465

Mel-but@reddit

I would too, where's that from? never heard it up north, maybe I'm just too young...
View on Reddit #50881761

simonecart@reddit

It's shrappers in Bristol.
View on Reddit #50917483

South-Bank-stroll@reddit

My friend, honestly I don’t know. I’ve heard it for most of my adult life in London. It’ll become less relevant as we all use our cards more. There was a time when you could buy sweets for 1p and I vaguely recall 1/2ps being a thing but I currently have the flu so I may be hallucinating that! Have a great day.
View on Reddit #50881950

DuoDriver@reddit

I'm so old I remember buying four fruit chews for a penny (pre decimalisation).
View on Reddit #50910749

browsib@reddit

Never heard it in the north west
View on Reddit #50892822

Mel-but@reddit

Exactly, maybe all these other northern folk are from Yorkshire
View on Reddit #50892916

geebeetee@reddit

I've used it most of my life and I'm in NE Scotland
View on Reddit #50887858

SnooStrawberries2342@reddit

People in the north refer to loose change as shrapnel too
View on Reddit #50884248

pinpoint321@reddit

I’ve always used it and I’m in the North. Don’t know when or where I picked it up from though. I am old though.
View on Reddit #50884014

Illustrious-Divide95@reddit

Pants. as in "That's completely pants mate!"
View on Reddit #50916258

dvb70@reddit

I remember confusing an American colleague when I said something was donkey's years old. I think you can infer the meaning of that one but my colleague had never heard it.
View on Reddit #50877928

LordEmostache@reddit

Because a Donkey's Ears are long.
View on Reddit #50914199

AlternativePrior9559@reddit

Well you could always start by calling them grockles
View on Reddit #50914093

Physical-Bear2156@reddit

Have you got the time on yer cock?
View on Reddit #50877279

UncleSnowstorm@reddit

A comma would help this sentence (when written down). Grammar is important, kids.
View on Reddit #50877939

Longjumping_Tour_613@reddit

Grammar is, important kids?
View on Reddit #50881910

LordEmostache@reddit

Difference between helping your Uncle Jack, off a Horse and helping your Uncle jack off a horse.
View on Reddit #50914046

LNGBandit77@reddit

hahaha ... No it's just a wort mate
View on Reddit #50902578

hazps@reddit

thetre's a whole lot of pet names that can cause confusion or alarm. "M'Lover" in the West Country, "love", "duck", "honey", "pet" from random strangers.
View on Reddit #50894439

Otto1968@reddit

No but I've got it on my wrist
View on Reddit #50883593

cmdrxander@reddit

As a southerner, this might confuse me too but I would assume that cock is a friendly word like pet or duck and you're just asking for the time?
View on Reddit #50877723

catmadwoman@reddit

London/Essex here and cock was used by my parents and family growing up - "Watcha cock" meant hello, or "poor little cock" for child in distress. Don't hear it anymore except by me.
View on Reddit #50881644

Goldf_sh4@reddit

I would absolutely have assumed she was asking me if I had a penis with a watch strapped to it. (Southerner here).
View on Reddit #50878084

Physical-Bear2156@reddit

Correct.
View on Reddit #50877831

joefraserhellraiser@reddit

Referring to my sister as “our kid”. Had work colleagues thinking I had a child for a couple of years.
View on Reddit #50913513

breathanddrishti@reddit

american here, is this a safe space? the one i dont really understand is punter
View on Reddit #50878324

TheLordMed@reddit

To ‘punt’ something can also mean to kick with some force - “he punted the ball into the back of the net from 30 yards out”
View on Reddit #50912656

No_Direction_4566@reddit

Also Punting - Can be paying for sex Can mean using a stick to power a small boat (usually in Cambridge). Context matters.
View on Reddit #50884975

Rare-Bumblebee-1803@reddit

Also in Oxford
View on Reddit #50889399

Personal-Listen-4941@reddit

Punter is depending on context common used to refer to; A general customer A gambler Someone specifically paying for sex. Context matters. (It less commonly is also used for boating & Rugby)
View on Reddit #50879295

breathanddrishti@reddit

this is helpful - from context most of what i've seen is #1 i'll see lines like "X pub is full of punters on a saturday afternoon"
View on Reddit #50883225

Ecstatic_Effective42@reddit

As long as you mind your ps and qs, yes it is. 🙂
View on Reddit #50878773

Dolphin_Spotter@reddit

You're safe. It kind of means customer, sometimes gambler as in 'Taking a punt on the gee gees'
View on Reddit #50878605

jackdavies@reddit

Someone who gambles. Can also be used to mean customers in general
View on Reddit #50878519

jptoc@reddit

Yanks I've spoken to are confused by the concept of "faff" and find it very quaint.
View on Reddit #50878107

imtheorangeycenter@reddit

And it's brother, Kerfuffle
View on Reddit #50878277

ColossusOfChoads@reddit

> Kerfuffle In US English that means 'a conflict of some kind.' Anything from a mild argument to a bar fight.
View on Reddit #50883801

Afinkawan@reddit

A 'mild kerfuffle' is a mild kerfuffle, a 'bit of a kerfuffle' means the place probably burned to the ground.
View on Reddit #50912261

GoonerwithPIED@reddit

Reminds me of an African country (I forget which one) where they had a devastating civil war which they call "The Palaver"
View on Reddit #50887712

Ginger_Tea@reddit

The troubles. Doesn't seem that bad till you read about it, or lived through it.
View on Reddit #50893790

imtheorangeycenter@reddit

Ah, so it's known over there (theoretically at least). Came up in a "slag I've never heard before until I moved to the UK" video
View on Reddit #50884186

Ginger_Tea@reddit

The slag error reminded me of a YouTube thumbnail "useful [language] slag" for a few months my brain referred to her as that if I saw her latest thumbnail and not her name. She fixed it, the comments were full of laughter emoji.
View on Reddit #50885536

NortonBurns@reddit

That's what we call the band Kasabian, in our house ;)
View on Reddit #50897393

Key_Meaning5334@reddit

I.m having a "row" with my wife for no reason
View on Reddit #50912074

cjgmmgjc85@reddit

'see you later'
View on Reddit #50910209

ellasfella68@reddit

*ANY* Cockney rhyming slang. So many people use it without realising.
View on Reddit #50910087

Boldboy72@reddit

Alright? It's not a fucking question... it appears to be one but it isn't
View on Reddit #50909261

springsomnia@reddit

My friends from non English speaking backgrounds always get confused by “you was” “he was” “we was” etc. Henning When, a German comedian here, made a joke about how he didn’t need to learn verb conjugation in English because everyone just uses was for everything!
View on Reddit #50909167

lightningtree74@reddit

Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt. 
View on Reddit #50908964

Equivalent_Parking_8@reddit

cockwomble
View on Reddit #50878706

OrionGrant@reddit

Nobody says this anymore, luckily.
View on Reddit #50905808

UnrealCanine@reddit

Uni The amount of people who didn't know what it meant astounded me
View on Reddit #50905737

HugsandHate@reddit

I have a Russian friend who's lived in the UK almost all his life, but had never heard 'finicky' before.
View on Reddit #50905623

HugsandHate@reddit

Any phrase someone doesn't know... That's how language works.
View on Reddit #50905074

Taken_Abroad_Book@reddit

Bus wankers
View on Reddit #50889940

LNGBandit77@reddit

The US version of that was just awful.
View on Reddit #50902623

Ill-Basil2863@reddit

Bristol Cities.
View on Reddit #50902368

Flagon_dragon@reddit

Put one in for <name> In Kent this was "one in the woods", which I saw one American tourist very confused by
View on Reddit #50901050

ArmouredWankball@reddit

I don't know about tourists but I had a neighbour in the US who kept referring to her kids as spunky.
View on Reddit #50900703

Soldierblueskin@reddit

Big hat no knickers
View on Reddit #50899296

publiusnaso@reddit

I was listening to a commercial on the radio aimed at black cab drivers and an American friend I was with looked visibly shocked.
View on Reddit #50899271

barriedalenick@reddit

Virtually all of Polari. It is pretty much dead but making a small revival.. [https://vimeo.com/125398425](https://vimeo.com/125398425)
View on Reddit #50877425

terryjuicelawson@reddit

Amazing how much is in common use without us realising its origins. Naff, scarper, drag, to zhoosh up, blag.
View on Reddit #50879406

Joe_Kinincha@reddit

Slap for make-up as well. But scarper isn’t Polari, it’s Cockney rhyming slang: “Scapa flow” = “go”.
View on Reddit #50893581

terryjuicelawson@reddit

Apparently ""Scarper," meaning "to flee or depart suddenly," originates from a British argot, likely Polari, and is derived from the Italian word "scappare" meaning to escape". May well be crossover with that and rhyming slang though.
View on Reddit #50896504

Joe_Kinincha@reddit

Fair enough. Etymology is a notably tricky science
View on Reddit #50898963

daekle@reddit

That is quite amazing. I find it both unintelligible, yet can follow it by context clues. Language sure is amazing. A great little film, thank you for sharing! Guy deserved to be spat at.
View on Reddit #50878723

decisionisgoaround@reddit

Can you explain it to me? What did he say to trigger that reaction?
View on Reddit #50889073

daekle@reddit

My understanding of the story near the end is that he had sex with another man, and whilst he was leaving the police turned up and he ratted on the other guy so he could get away. The other man was arrested for being a homosexual.
View on Reddit #50889679

decisionisgoaround@reddit

Ahh gotcha. I could pick up on the bit where he told them there was a gay man inside, but I hadn't followed the lead up to it.
View on Reddit #50889862

clrthrn@reddit

Julian and Sandy! I love Kenneth Williams and his diaries so I am better versed in Polari than your average straight woman should be :D
View on Reddit #50878119

SleipnirSolid@reddit

The "ooo matron" guy form the Carry On films?
View on Reddit #50879253

clrthrn@reddit

Yes if you look up Round the Horne, he did whole sketches in Polari on BBC radio - very radical for the time. His diaries are wonderful but also very very sad. He's such an interesting character on and off screen.
View on Reddit #50880501

GreenWoodDragon@reddit

Yes.
View on Reddit #50880093

barriedalenick@reddit

Bona!
View on Reddit #50879083

Pandamonkeum@reddit

Bona to vada your dolly old eek!
View on Reddit #50879721

DenzLore@reddit

"Give your head a wobble" - think/try again "All mouth no trousers"- all talk, no action
View on Reddit #50897134

british-pie203@reddit

U alright matey
View on Reddit #50896028

fost1692@reddit

Christ on a bike
View on Reddit #50879082

Joe_Kinincha@reddit

I find that in situations where you can’t use that expression - serious work meetings, meeting your in-laws, in court etc etc - an appropriate substitute is “crikey on a bikey”
View on Reddit #50894070

No_Direction_4566@reddit

Or its equally eye raising "Jesus Chris on a motorbike" which one of our younger drivers uses whenever possible.
View on Reddit #50884909

Crivens999@reddit

Fuck a duck comes to mind
View on Reddit #50893949

bigbadbass@reddit

You ok for a drink?
View on Reddit #50893886

Fuzzy-Loss-4204@reddit

Born in Dorset living in Devon i have a habit of calling everyone male or female My Lover ( you need the farmer accent ) When i lived in London for a couple of years i got some very strange looks and even nearly beaten up for that one my lover
View on Reddit #50893185

Speesh-Reads@reddit

"Give us a goosie" Let me have a look. Derived from "Let's have a gander." Goosie gander. Gander, a look or glance. Or a male goose
View on Reddit #50881907

Valuable-Incident151@reddit

To be fair I confused all the posh kids at my grammar school by asking them to "gis a gander" at a magazine that was being passed round
View on Reddit #50892079

rayofgreenlight@reddit

"You can't even give it away."
View on Reddit #50892048

BocaSeniorsWsM@reddit

Careful, there's plod about.
View on Reddit #50877439

FantasticWeasel@reddit

On the subject of plods, sleeping policeman and lollypop lady both confused an American colleague once.
View on Reddit #50884157

BocaSeniorsWsM@reddit

Ha ha, Lollypop Lady. Forgot that one.
View on Reddit #50890642

affordable_firepower@reddit

crikey. it's the rozzers
View on Reddit #50877864

taflad@reddit

Said in the best James May impression!
View on Reddit #50878262

ekeicudidndjsidh@reddit

👮🏻‍♂️Catching crims and putting them away👮🏻‍♀️ 🎶
View on Reddit #50880430

gardenfella@reddit

Eh, eh, calm down, there's bizzies about
View on Reddit #50879330

wybird@reddit

It still breaks my brain how Americans can’t understand British people saying “water”
View on Reddit #50878632

Inoffensive_Comments@reddit

Sorry, what’s that? Oh, you mean *wader”?
View on Reddit #50878923

wybird@reddit

Wahdurrr
View on Reddit #50890532

r_keel_esq@reddit

Or in parts of Western-Scotland, "Watter"
View on Reddit #50880398

TinhatToyboy@reddit

I could murder an Indian.
View on Reddit #50890159

Beautiful_Path_3519@reddit

Do you know where I can pick up some fags round here... No, could I bum one off you?
View on Reddit #50889907

TheRealJustSean@reddit

Bit of a snafu
View on Reddit #50889411

SingerFirm1090@reddit

The Lurgi is an interesting term, it is a nonsense word popularised by Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes, scriptwriters for a 9 November 1954 programme of The Goon Show, “Lurgi Strikes Britain”, about the outbreak of a highly dangerous, highly infectious and—as it turns out—highly fictitious disease known as “the Dreaded Lurgi”.
View on Reddit #50889253

Wooden-Bookkeeper473@reddit

Being friendly but calling them a cunt.
View on Reddit #50876922

OurSeepyD@reddit

Almost nobody actually does this though.
View on Reddit #50883623

TheRealJustSean@reddit

Almost everyone does this though
View on Reddit #50889094

phatboi23@reddit

call my best mate a cunt all the time.
View on Reddit #50887302

Wooden-Bookkeeper473@reddit

Ahh don't be a silly cunt!
View on Reddit #50885530

txakori@reddit

Me when I greet a group of my very best friends with the line “who let you cunts in then?” whenever I meet them in the pub.
View on Reddit #50884284

SearchStack@reddit

I think Australians embrace this one more than us
View on Reddit #50884401

MFA_Nay@reddit

I said "gotta love you and leave you" to some Americans I get on well with. They were very amused, confused and found in endearing. Lucky on my part.
View on Reddit #50888331

geebeetee@reddit

Most of the old Doric slang. So much I ended up taking in a translation book in for the Filipinos that were working with us.
View on Reddit #50888199

Valuable-Incident151@reddit

An Italian woman I worked with, in a state of some distress: "I need to ask you - what does 'cheers' mean? People keep asking me to do things and then saying 'cheers' when they leave, I don't understand and I'm so confused." Bless her heart, she only knew about it in the context of drinking
View on Reddit #50888142

Graciepops189@reddit

Written on the back of a fag packet
View on Reddit #50888027

ekeicudidndjsidh@reddit

I lost it laughing at Deadly Sirius podcast when Diane Morgan explained for international audiences what is a barm cake by saying "a bap" like a) that's obvious and b) everyone will know what a bap is.
View on Reddit #50880528

Speesh-Reads@reddit

If you come from Birmingham, like me, you know what a bap is
View on Reddit #50881718

phatboi23@reddit

could be a cob. could be a barmcake. could be any number of things as the name changes every other town.
View on Reddit #50887384

alrightmush@reddit

Alright mush, how's the nipper doing.? A phrase I use often without thinking, but no idea how that evolved from "Hello my good man, how are you?, and I hope things are currently going well in your offspring's life" Tourists and non-English speakers really don't stand a chance. 😂
View on Reddit #50887359

Anybody_Mindless@reddit

Faffing about.
View on Reddit #50886192

cmpcmurp@reddit

A tour guide in Indonesia said she loved Harry Potter but couldn’t understand why Ron always said bloody hell and there wasn’t any direct translation to her native language, fun one to explain.
View on Reddit #50886046

blahblahblahblah1943@reddit

UK: You alright? Anywhere else that has English as a first language: Translation- Hi, How are you? Yeah, I'm fine. Now I'm on the defensive. What about my demeanour would make you think/ask if I'm OK? I'm ok, are you OK? - silently under my breath, yarn weirdo. Whisnot ok at a wedding, ya freak! . I'M FINE YA WEIRDO!!!! Under my breath... "weirdo" ..... Bloody Brits. So polite but so weird!
View on Reddit #50885980

Sleepybeez@reddit

"You alright?"
View on Reddit #50885335

SuperfluousGland@reddit

Limburger, love
View on Reddit #50884623

Due-Resort-2699@reddit

I’ve never heard lurgy in my life and I’m born and raised here
View on Reddit #50877735

MyTeaIsMighty@reddit

I feel like it's more of a northern thing? Definitely heard it more since I moved to Newcastle. Just means you're sick with some sort of cold/flu. "He's got the lurgy"
View on Reddit #50877848

ColossusOfChoads@reddit

Could that be any relation to the word "loogie"? We have that in the States, but I don't know whether you guys do too.
View on Reddit #50884047

MyTeaIsMighty@reddit

A quick google doesn't show any connection! Not a word we use ourselves - I'm only familiar with it because of Tony Hawk's Underground 2..
View on Reddit #50884269

BppnfvbanyOnxre@reddit

Grew up mostly in Surrey and went to school there, definitely pretty common in the 60s/70s
View on Reddit #50878254

No-Mechanic6069@reddit

Isle of Wight had the lurgy too.
View on Reddit #50879654

DisorderOfLeitbur@reddit

Sorry to hear it.
View on Reddit #50883231

GreenWoodDragon@reddit

Grew up in Derby, lurgy is common there.
View on Reddit #50880315

dvb70@reddit

Possibly it's regional. I am from the south east and would immediately know what someone meant if they say they have the lurgy.
View on Reddit #50877859

pineapplesaltwaffles@reddit

Same, it was used a lot in my primary school in the SE.
View on Reddit #50878116

imtheorangeycenter@reddit

SW, bog-standard term. Ohh, now is "bog-standard" one?
View on Reddit #50878253

r_keel_esq@reddit

I've heard it claimed that "Bog-Standard" and "Dog's Bollocks" both come from the orignal Meccano sets - one was the "Box Standard" and one was the "Box Deluxe" It's entirely possible that this is completely made up, but I like it so refuse to verify
View on Reddit #50880474

imtheorangeycenter@reddit

I can hear James May's voice telling me that, so I'm with you.
View on Reddit #50881088

SpinyGlider67@reddit

Normal peat? Armitage shanks? Question time.
View on Reddit #50879296

clrthrn@reddit

Yorkshire reporting and can confirm that lurgy is well used amongst locals
View on Reddit #50878041

dcuffs@reddit

I believe it originates from a Goon Show sketch about a breakout of the Dreaded Lurgi https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lurgy
View on Reddit #50879042

TemporarySprinkles2@reddit

It probably died out because everyone had their jab for life no hold in the 80s/90s
View on Reddit #50878193

LittleLotte29@reddit

I'm not a tourist but my coworkers had to explain to me that a pudding doesn't have to literally be a pudding
View on Reddit #50881957

WelshLeachy@reddit

Reminds me of comedian Tom Sade when he talks about the meat van at the market. 'I GOT A BAG FULL OF FAGGOTS!'
View on Reddit #50881786

Mel-but@reddit

Funny or funky as words describe something that is odd, off, strange or just not right in some way. Didn't even realise this was not universal until I started my current job where I have to speak to Americans all the time
View on Reddit #50881453

megawoot@reddit

Flippin' 'ell! My non-English girlfriend, after about a year of dating, dropped something and exclaimed, "flippin' eggs!"
View on Reddit #50881097

redidedit@reddit

It's not confusing as such, but ARSE has come up several times as an answer in the NYT mini crossword. I don't think they really get it properly.
View on Reddit #50880654

codeduck@reddit

Up the Oxo Tower.
View on Reddit #50877606

dinobug77@reddit

I took my missus up the oxo tower. Gotta say she wasn’t that impressed. It promised so much and didn’t really deliver for either of us. The brassiere prices are steep for what you get.
View on Reddit #50878326

SpinyGlider67@reddit

Tower? Barely know her.
View on Reddit #50879345

SonnyListon999@reddit

‘Mustn’t grumble’ can get some quizzical looks
View on Reddit #50879240

SpinyGlider67@reddit

Toot-toot, Jeremy Lemonade
View on Reddit #50879216

nocreative@reddit

"that baby is dead cute" generally throws people for a loop
View on Reddit #50879013

MDK1980@reddit

“Alright”
View on Reddit #50878584

IPoisonedThePizza@reddit

Not British slang but I love Portuguese people when they suggest you to go and suck from the 5th paw of a donkey
View on Reddit #50878464

Craft_on_draft@reddit

Use Cockney rhyming slang, say to a tourist “that’s a nice whistle, mind if I have a butchers” they will know all the words buts have no idea what you are saying
View on Reddit #50876927

IPoisonedThePizza@reddit

Saying to people "This is me china" while pointing at one of your friends.
View on Reddit #50878406

mortalbug@reddit

It seems like lots of people don't understand rhyming slang and say the full rhyme. so rather than "That's a nice whistle" end up saying "That's a nice whistle and flute"
View on Reddit #50877274

BppnfvbanyOnxre@reddit

Faff confused a Malaysian friend that she had to look it up.
View on Reddit #50878364

Ambitioso@reddit

“What the blue blazes?!”
View on Reddit #50876939

taflad@reddit

That's an American slang phrase. I think it relates to the blue blazes of hell or something. Often said in a Southern accent. Like 'What in tarnation"
View on Reddit #50878212

imokaytho@reddit

'taking the Micky' an American thought I was talking about the mouse
View on Reddit #50878032

Chamone_Chapelle@reddit

Sound as a pound
View on Reddit #50877311

No_Bodybuilder_3073@reddit

Fuck up?
View on Reddit #50877054

elmo298@reddit

Alright cunt
View on Reddit #50876929

kathiom@reddit

“I could murder a fag”
View on Reddit #50876923

LoquaciousLord1066@reddit

Can I bum a fag off you?
View on Reddit #50876896

Caveman1214@reddit

“Hiya” confuses Americans I’ve found, they seem to think I’m asking how they are
View on Reddit #50876885

AutoModerator@reddit

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View on Reddit #50876714