David_Perry

"Nancy-boy"

gailscout

He's taken the piss.

Janeyre

What a wonderful thread! Growing up with English parents, I heard:
Bloody hell! (from my mother mostly)
Mind the gap!
How 'bout a cuppa?
Don't be daft!
What a swiz! (rip-off)
Ta-ta (TTFN-ta-ta for now)
or just "ta" for "yes"

And my favorite endearment:
lovey

Trophywife007

The signs on the underground that indicate that "busking" is prohibited...

Merseyheart

Soldier On!

Suelynne

I didn't realise that so many expressions I've grown up with in Sydney [Australia] are English
eg "gobsmacked", "May I have a go at it?", "chuffed", "Are you daft?", "Mutton dressed as lamb". These are all common here - though the last two may be dated. Makes me wonder if I would be understood if I ever get to the US!
One expression my Yorkshire grandmother often used - which I don't hear here [!] - was, "Are you feeling poorly?"/"I'm feeling poorly".

Italiasubito

I work in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and one day our very sweet British neonatal MD sought to console the dad of a premature infant. Wanting to give him some encouragement after informing him of all the pitfalls that may occur with his baby, she closed with "There you go now - keep your pecker up!"

(That's when we found out that this was the equivalent of "Keep your chin up.&quot

sheila

I must say, I'm a huge fan of language and how it's used, and this thread is great fun.

It's quite amusing to see how many expressions you've picked up that are too rude for polite company, although, it's fair to say, probably pretty much in use in common parlance.

I try to use at least one good Scots expression daily.

And I'm really too busy to be doing this. My desk proves that I'm a' ahint, like the coo's tail.

nukesafe

I always liked the discriptive, "I'm feeling a bit fragile today". Especially apt after a few too many pints in the pub the night before.

walkinaround

>>>>>
Sorry (for pardon me or excuse me)
>>>>>

sorry also means:
-"get the _____ out of my way!!"
-"hey, you just jumped the queue"
-"i disagree" as in "SORRY...I was here first"
-"listen up" as in "SORRY, SORRY, would everyone please take their seats"
-"YOU just bumped into ME"
-"Hello" as in (the waiter) "sorry, can i take your order"

if the american "have a nice day" is disingenuous or fake as is often said here, then "sorry" is its british equivalent.

schnauzer

The expression Bob's your uncle, used to end with and Fanny's your aunt. An expression my mothers uses a lot is "All my eye and Betty Martin", which I think means some is exagerating or making something up. Of coure another which I don't think has been mentioned is "Tighter than a duck's arse". Meaning someone is very mean - with money.

Clark55

Been there, done that, worn the
T-shirt.

zupermaus

cockney rhyming slang (trad. and modern):

loaf of bread - head (e.g. use your loaf mate!)

apples and pears - stairs (i was runnin up the apples)

Brad Pitt - sh*t (bit a brad there)

trouble and strife - wife (me n the trouble were out on the town)

Tony Blair - hair (hey, nice Tony!)

Betty Swollocks - b*llocks (kicked me in me betty swollocks)

nutter/ nutjob - mad person

getting right on my tits - getting on my nerve

off my tits - incapacitated by drugs

on a mission - on a serious task

starkers / in his babysuit - naked (from stark naked)

top totty - attractive women

wag - soccer player's wife

also current slang is heavily influenced by Caribbean lingo:

sweet / sorted / safe /easy- good (that's serious sweet, mate)

you is - you are

Ja - do you

yaknowhamean - do you understand me? commonly used at the end of every sentence

at the enda the day... - summing up, commonly used just before a statement

battyboy - gay man (derogatory)

boppin - walking ( I's boppin down the street)

la'ers- see you later

fella - man

gimme a bong/trill - phone me

pukka - good (from South Asian slang)

joxxxxx

"all fur coat and no knickers" - style no substance (female)

"all mouth and no trousers" - talks big, can't pull it off (male)

"I'll go to the foot of our stairs" - expression of surprise, origin widely debated but unclear

"put big light on" - please switch on the overhead light so I can see what I'm doing

"numpty" - idiot, plural numpties

"put the kettle on" - make me a cup of tea

"a bit of dirt never hurt anyone"

"you're not made of sugar, you won't melt" - said to people who insist on putting up umbrellas at the first spot of rain - one of my mums favourites

"mizzle" - a combination of mist and drizzle

zupermaus

a trend for ironic 'proper' words too:

ja speak me parlance? - do you understand (see 'yaknowhaImean')

you are talking out of your bottom

but used most devastatingly in 'proper' or polite English, but with swearwords thrown in:

eg. 'I'm sorry madam, there's been some kind of mistake. You're obviously confusing me with someone who gives a sh*t'

or 'please, do f*ck off'

'I'd be most grateful if you'd stop p*ssing my life away upon this matter'

'ooh, excuse me, i've just come.' - I won't spell out what that means but its used when seeing something impressive.

zupermaus

i do like

copshop - police station

muppet - idiot

(whilst swiping the air above your head) 'concorde!' - you've lost me / left me way behind in conversation

joxxxxx

I forgot

"well b*gger me backwards" - extreme surprise

"like a dog on heat" - thoroughly overexcited

"there'll be tears before bedtime" - as above but polite or when referring to children

"sh*tfaced" - very drunk

And one of my all time favourites:
"He/she has got a face like a smacked arse"

zupermaus

yeah, bugger me backwards ('and call me nelly' is optional)

speaking of which,
bumfun - gay sex

twoflower

Yes, spencerinc:
"Pissed" means drunk;
"Pissed off" means annoyed;
"Really pissed off" means angry.

Growing up in New Zealand, so many of these sayings are so normal to me that I'm having some difficulty thinking what the American equivalent to some of them might be!

"Gooseberry" (3rd person, one with no partner, tagging along with a twosome) is many generations old - what did you use in its place? "Third wheel"? Wow!

Morgana

'Face like a bag of spanners'
'Looks like a bulldog sucking a lemon'
W****r is not polite, so just call someone a Merchant Banker!
Up here in Yorkshire people are 'dead chuffed'
When it is pouring with rain it is 'siling it down'
My Suffolk born dad used to describe the soil in the garden after rain as 'claggy'.
I use 'Foxtrot Oscar' a fair amount at work!