Britishism
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Britishisms are expressions peculiar to British English, including is British idiom. See also List of British English words not used in American English. The word Britishism is an Americanism.
- "[It's] all gone Pete Tong"
- all gone wrong (new-ish rhyming slang)
- As much use as a chocolate fireguard (or teapot)
- useless.
- BBC English
- the version of Received Pronunciation once considered typical of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Today regional dialects are frequently heard on the BBC.
- Birmingham screwdriver
- A hammer
- "Devils on horseback"
- sausages covered in bacon
- Egg-cosy or -cozy
- meal-time egg warmer, usually knitted.
- [it's a] game of two halves
- literally, a football match in which the two halves had very different characters; metaphorically, roughly equivalent to "It ain't over 'til it's over"
- Go pear-shaped, as in "It all went pear-shaped."
- go wrong
- Hit for six
- to hit mightily, to trounce (to hit a cricket ball off the field without a bounce, scoring 6)
- Industrial action
- strike or work-to-rule by employees
- Lovely jubbly
- great outcome, popularised by a catchphrase in a BBC TV programme Only Fools and Horses.
- Made redundant
- laid off, downsized
- Not cricket
- not fair
- Not much cop
- Of no consequence.
- Nowt so queer as folk
- people are unpredictable (uses the Northern English "nowt" meaning "nothing").
- Pukka
- good, an expression from the days of the British Empire in India (pakka = ripe in Hindi).
- Rocking Horse Shit Military term
- Non Existent, hard to come by, a lie (also used in the east end of London)
- Swings and roundabouts
- gains in one area will equal losses in another (short for "what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts")
Caveat lector: these are often very slangy, quickly obsolescent, age-specific and regional terms. Saying "Nowt so queer as folk" in a Cockney accent will get you mentioned in every conversation in that pub for the next six months. And quite possibly local radio.