BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture English Culture what is your favorite English word?

Mine is Wick. I just love the sound. Anyone else got one they love?

what about cruet? thats a good word.

I have two of them..First one is "TaTaa.."!!! And the second one is.. "You're Bloody well right.." (Yikes..)!!

Cheerio!

Yes cheerio is a good one, it is also a breakfust cereal!! LOL!

Tickety-Boo


I love that

Done and Dusted is good too.

Obligingly yours, used to make me laugh when it used to appear on letters from bank managers...when we used to have those things.

How about "Blimey"..??..(is that a word)..??.. ..!!

Blimey or Cor Blimey is a derivative of God Blind Me...people changed it for fear of being a blasphemer. It is usually said when someone has a big surprise, or a sudden wage rise, often it is said when a gorgeous female passes by

Oh Sh#t...we are talking about the other side of the pond as in England's English. What about American English. ;D

We would not call it 'over the pond!' To us its a HUGE sea!LOL

How about Lad or Las (Lassie)..??? Two of my favorites..!!

Guvna (govener) Did I spell that right?

The slang term is possibly spelt gov'ner. Yes that is typical, as is Laddie, especially when in trouble! Funny thing is thats Scottish too!

How about Awright (as in awright mate)

Scottish? I never knew that.

I also like the way the English say something like, "He is at hospital." or "At holiday." Whereas the American would say, "He is in the hospital." or "On vacation."

And the "telly".

How about "Pip, Pip, Old Chap"..Do you guys really say that..?? ..

The saying is 'Toodle pip!' and it means Goodbye, or See you Later. Yes people do say it! Not me!!

For my friends across the pond...a funny story.

I had a friend visit from England and she was shocked to see a Fanny Farmers in the mall! She wanted to know what kind of country the USA was! BTW - it is a candy store.

For those of us not from England - hummmm - how to put this nicely - in English slang fanny means a womens personal area.

Bloody h'll and Lad and Lass Water closet and the Lue!

Had a girl at church that kept asking if she Might visit Lue in my sunday school class. I had no Idea she ment could she go to the bathroom! then she said Might I visit the water closet? I told her we didnt have one of those and I didnt know anyone that did!

her grandma told me the next sunday that the lue or water closet what down the hall across from the nursey and that most people had water closets. I Said oh no that is the restroom.. so she takes be inside and said no it is a water closet why would anyone want to rest in the water closet! I cracked up when I realized that she had never heard the term before and thought that I ment that people go in there to take a nap or something!

I also like Toliet its not a pot or potty or commode just toliet. if the girl had asked to visit the toliet I would have figured out she had to go to the bathroom... I felt to bad! she almost peed all over herself before class was out just because I had no idea what she was asking! I thought she wanted to go play with her friend Lue in the sauna or something! She was 4 at the time so....wouldnt you have said watercloset for a small room with a hottub or a small pool..? at that age kids have fun words for things...

What about "Thick as a brick"..?? (It's in a song by Jethro Tull)..lol..!! ..!!

I heard this term used by Dame Judi Dench in "As Time Goes By"....she said "it gives me the collywobbles".

I assume it means goosepimples to us over here in the USA.

Collywobbles........what a cool word.

yes it does, collywobbles means creepy.
Loo, privy, outhouse, toilet,Lav, spend a penny (cos it used to cost!)are all words used to go to the bathroom.

I love "bloody" and "minging", both of which I tend to use often. I am like a little kid who has just learned a new word and they want to say it every time they get a chance. lol

Is "blinking" British? "Blinking" as in: "My teeth hurt blinking awful." Similar to "blimey" I suppose?

British English is great. I really enjoy using it

I always thought "bollox" was funny and "posh" as in "posh frock", of course we can't forget when your "in the nick" as in, in the jail. OR how about when your "knackered", like when your tired. I remember in the books about Dr. James Herriot, when a large animal died, they called the Knacker to take the body away, I guess over time it has evolved in usage.

How about "The Full Monty"..(that sounds kind of naughty)..lol..!!
..!!

The full monty, means the 'whole thing' of anything ie English breakfust, but it was ALso the title to a saucy film!

Boll**** is a rude word describing a mans bits !!
Knacker comes from knackers yard, the place horses were taken to be turned into glue because they were knackered or old/past it. The word used now is I'm knackered.

Blinking IS probably a politer version of 'blimey' which is a curse word, actually meaning 'blind me' so some people did not want to say that!!

Posh means something rich/royal people have/do/eat ect.

Bloody is a curse word, taken from the christian faith, it is blasphemy and is also followed by the word hell. the bloody is of course Christs blood.

Minging probably derives from 'minge' an extremly unpolite word , not rude, but impolite to describe a ladys bits, minger means bad or smelly. Not nice!! of all impolite or curse words/slang It is a word, I personally do not like.

Wow..One wouldn't think we share the same language..Our
Slang is so different..I checked out a website that has a UK Slang dictionary but they didn't elaborate on anything..We must have borrowed a few from you..Like to "Jones" something..This is so interesting..Ta-Ta..for now..lol..!!

Jones, is like the quote' to keep up with the Joneses' or to be the same as the snobby people who have the best!

Ha! I do tend to use curse words way too often. But I love how "bloody" and "minging" sound. Ah, British English is the best

One more word: slag. One of my ex boyfriends who was British used to talk about "slags". He would talk about how so and so was a "bloody slag". I understood the term to be similar to "slut" more commonly used in the US. Kinda cheeky hehe

Well unfortuanatly, if one said it here, they would fine them self in trouble. It is very insulting. the thing is some comedians have used it in a joking way, so some get confused, but I know if it was said to some on on a night out, there would be trouble.

LOL That would explain why he said it all the time, Nicola! =P The poor man had issues.

How about Bloke..?? Is that a guy..??

Wanker.

If it's not really an "English term," Hugh Grant uses it in enough of his comedies to make it look like one! Sometimes there just isn't any other word quite as appropriate for some people...

N :-)

Yes Bloke is a word for guy. And Nicki, I fully agree with you!!

I cannot spell it all out because it is far to crude, but typically, in Medieval England a place where a person would go to get the services of a prostitute was called C***F*** Street! I was told this by my Archaeology Tutor, and the whole class was in fits of laughter! Talk about being straight and to the point!

And it shows even 500 or more years ago, the English were using those words WITH those meanings!! I do not know if they originated with England, but I suspect so!!