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19 June 2023

Writing Tips | British English: Slang Terms

Wanting to write a British character or about a British setting? Or maybe you have a British friend that you need a translator for? Well, I'm here to help! I've provided a few British slang terms, along with their definitions, and some examples of how they would be used in a sentence. Of course this list is only of things that I can think of for the time being, so I might make another one in the future if I can think of anymore. And of course, feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions or suggestions! Disclaimer: This will contain strong language and alcohol references (this is Britain after all!)



Cuppa: Cup of tea
E.g. "Do you want a cuppa?"

Brew: Cup of tea
E.g. "Do you want a brew?"

Wank: To masturbate
E.g. "He was caught having a wank."; "He was wanking."

Wanker: A horrible person
E.g. "He's an absolute wanker!"

Tosser: A horrible person
E.g. "He's such a tosser."

Twat: A horrible person
E.g. "He's a twat."

Fuzz: Police
E.g. "Somebody call the fuzz."

Nosh: Food
E.g. "This is my favourite nosh."

Scran: Food
E.g. "I really want some scran."

Keks: Trousers 
E.g. "I'm wearing my favourite keks."

Prick: A horrible person
E.g. "Watch out, you prick!"

Slag: A promiscuous woman
E.g. "She's such a slag."

Snog: To kiss
E.g. "Have a quick snog"; "They were caught snogging"; "We only snogged."

Shag: To have sex
E.g. "Let's shag"; "I'm really good at shagging"; "We shagged last night."

Alright: 1. Hello
E.g. "Alright?
2. How are you?
E.g. "You alright?"

Footy: Football
E.g. "I'm going to watch the footy."

Quid: Pound Sterling (British currency); £
E.g. "This costs five quid."

Fiver: £5
E.g. "It only cost a fiver."

Tenner - £10
E.g. "It only cost a tenner."

Loo: Toilet
E.g. "I need the loo."

Bog: Toilet
E.g. "You've been on the bog for hours."

Bog Roll: Toilet paper
E.g. "We've run out of bog roll."

Chav: An unintelligent, violent, crude person, often of a low social class
E.g. "They're such a chav."

Tory: 1. Conservative (political party)
E.g. "The tories came knocking on my door last night."
2. Conservative party supporter
E.g. "I voted tory."
3. A rich, out of touch person
E.g. "They're such a tory."

Bonce: Head
E.g. "Apply the shampoo to your bonce."

Nonce: Paedophile
E.g. "That guy is a nonce."

Ey Up: 1. Hello
E.g. "Ey up, everyone!"
2. How are you?
E.g. "Ey up?"
3. Wow; expression of surprise
E.g. "Ey up!"
4. Watch out; excuse me
E.g. "Ey up, guys."

Lug Oil: Ear
E.g. "They grabbed my lug oil!"

Radged: Silly; crazy; funny
E.g. "You're so radged."

Beltin': Amazing
E.g. "The party was beltin'!"

Lad: 1. Boy
E.g. "He's just a young lad."
2. Cool or good person to be around
E.g. "He's a lad."

Cheeky Nandos: Visiting 'Nandos'; a popular chicken restaurant
E.g. "We'll grab a cheeky Nandos on the way there."

Bloke: Man
E.g. "This bloke came out of nowhere."

Bird: Woman
E.g. "It was just some random bird."

'Spoons: 'Weatherspoons'; a popular pub-restaurant chain
E.g. "Shall we meet up at 'Spoons later?"

Lass: Woman
E.g. "It was a young lass."

Cock: 1. A horrible person
E.g. "You cock!
2. A term of endearment
E.g. "How're you doing, cock?"

Mate: Friend
E.g. "My mate works there."

Plods: Police
E.g. "The plods are over there."

Shit-Faced: Drunk
E.g. "We got absolutely shit-faced last night."

Piss/Pissed: 1. Angry; annoyed
E.g. "They really pissed me off."
2. Drunk
E.g. "We got so pissed last night."
3. Urinate
E.g. "I need a piss"; "He's pissing in the corner"; "I pissed myself."
4. Go away
E.g. "Piss off!"

Bender: Going out to drink alcohol
E.g. "They went out on a bender last night."

Lash: Going out to drink alcohol
E.g. "We were out on the lash last night."

Pub Crawl: Visiting many different pubs in one night
E.g. "We might go on a pub crawl tonight."

Fag: Cigarette
E.g. "They were caught smoking a fag."

Daft: Silly; funny; stupid
E.g. "Don't be so daft."

Telly: Television
E.g. "We watched telly in the morning."

Fresher: First year student at university
E.g. "He's a fresher at university."

Fancy: To desire something, either object or person
E.g. "I fancy a cheeseburger" or "They fancy each other."

A Laugh: To have fun; to joke around
E.g. "We were having a laugh."

Cock Up: To ruin something; make a mistake
E.g. "This is a cock up" ; "We cocked it up"; "I need to stop them cocking it up."

Quids In: To make a lot of money
E.g. "We'll be quids in when I get this job!"

Wee: Small
E.g. "They're just a wee baby."

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