this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2025
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My most beloved British slang is Knackered. Fucking knackered! It means very tired, exhausted. But those terms are sterlized of feeling, of life. You know that feeling after you finish moving? That total fucking exhaustion, you're knackered my friend. I can't think of a word that feels more accurate to the state of reality it describes. Knackered is a fucking gift.

Chuffed. If youre chuffed i believe that means your excited. I hate it but not for real good reasons. It sounds like a bad thing. Like i don't want to be chuffed from the sound of it. It sounds like i chafed my lungs from sighing too much cuz I'm miserable.

Ok now for the linguistic crime known as snog or snogging. It means to make out or tongue kiss someone. But it sounds like a fucking sex act involving noses. And not a normal sex act. A fucking depraved dirty sex act, you'd feel shame even googling, but again it involves noses. And honestly it sounds like snot is likely involved with this sex act. Do better Britain stop saying fucking snogged you dirty bastards.

What is your most beloved and hated British slang?

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[–] cyphear@lemm.ee 7 points 23 hours ago (1 children)
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[–] spykee@lemm.ee 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

War-Chest-Hair Sauce ... Werk-hamster-shire Sauce ... Wash-your-sister Sauce ... What's-this-here Sauce ... Wister-Sheer Sauce ... ... ...

Yeah. Fucking nailed it!

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 1 points 28 minutes ago

Wu. Stir. Shear. Sauce.

[–] undeadotter@sopuli.xyz 2 points 20 hours ago

I love 'dreich' (rhymes with 'greek') because it perfectly sums up British weather most of the time.

Also a fan of 'banging', as in top, class, right good.

[–] SouthEndSunset@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago

There’s too many people mixing England and Great Britain up in here.

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I like rhyming slang. Mostly for torturing my fellow Americans. I also enjoy clunge, jobbie, and being "sick to bastard death" about things.

The Australians have my heartstrings though, when it comes to inventive slang. They're not here to fuck spiders, tell you that much for free.

[–] coffeeismydrug@lemm.ee 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

cockwomble, wankstain, pillock, cretin, prick, jobsworth, nutjob, absolute.. (insert anything, e.g. biscuit, sausage). oh slang not insults? i think cheers is good it's not too indulgent like thank you very much but it's also a way to give some appreciation

[–] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

"Gutted" gets every single time, but for the most unfunny and fucked up reason.

I was at a bar and a guy was describing how his pet got hit by a car and he found it kind of split down the belly, then he said "I was gutted", describing his reaction. But his pet was also quite literally gutted. I didn't laugh or anything but it was just such a dark thing to say it was almost funny.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 1 points 21 hours ago

That's minging!

[–] fullsquare@awful.systems 33 points 1 day ago (3 children)

i'm convinced that rhyming slang is just 19th century coal mine brainrot. you cannot change my mind

[–] NotJohnSmith@feddit.uk 4 points 1 day ago

I believe rhyming slang was only in a small part of London, not many coal mines in London

[–] Delphia@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

It annoys me because you are forcing me to decipher what you're telling me because you feel like being an annoying cunt.

Also adding "Innit" to the end of every sentence is the british version of "nowhatahmsain" for americans and "Aye" for Australians and just makes me think you are stupid.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 1 points 23 minutes ago

british people also say "nahimsayin" fwiw.

Americans have plenty of words to add emphasis without adding meaning, yo, my dude, boy howdy.

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[–] sxan@midwest.social 2 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Fucking knackered! It means very tired, exhausted. But those terms are sterlized of feeling, of life.

Are you sure that anima you ascribe to "knackered" isn't coming from the adjective? "Fucking exhausted!" sounds, to my ear, just a full of feeling. Whereas, "I'm knackered" sounds just as lifeless as "I'm exhausted." I wonder if you're mis-attributing the vigor from "fucking," which is, indeed, a potent word.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 1 points 25 minutes ago

The knacker was the person who took your old tired horse and butchered it into meat, leather and glue, so it often carries that connotation too

[–] gothic_lemons@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

Your opinion is your own my friend. Knackered resonates with me, but if it don't with you that cool

[–] LockheedTheDragon@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Bloody, but just because when I had a period I would say things like "I'm on my bloody period!"

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[–] fubo@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)

England has a surfeit of terms for obnoxious people.

  • Jobsworth (obstructive clerk or bureaucrat)
  • God-botherer (religious fanatic)
  • Cockwomble
  • Minging cockwomble
  • Tremulous bollock-for-lobsters cockwomble
  • Sir Æthelbert Plonker Cockwomble of the Drubbing-over-Head Cockwombles

I may have made those last two up.

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 8 points 1 day ago (7 children)

God-botherer is fantastic, clearly god has better things to do than to keep hearing their complaints.

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[–] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 5 points 1 day ago

Gash / Axe Wound

[–] QualifiedKitten@discuss.online 16 points 1 day ago (6 children)

Probably not technically slang, and maybe not even technically British, but I hate the all variations of "whinge". I know it's a real word, but it always feels like someone misspelling "whine". I was well into adulthood when I finally learned that though, so those feelings are just so ingrained in me at this point.

Thanks for listening to me whine.

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[–] Pumafred9@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Chuffed for me is more to do with being pleased with something you have accomplished.

[–] SuperApples@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

Chuffed

Yes, very pleased or satisfied. Like, you'd be chuffed if you made a great pavlova, or parents got you a Megadrive for Chrissy.

[–] Nekobambam@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I like how “chuffed” sounds/feels like someone being all pleased with themselves but without the smugness of “smug”.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 day ago

This meme pretty much defined "chuffed" for me and I think about it every time I hear the word

[–] Stimpy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Cock Womble

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 day ago (2 children)
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British slang really depends on your region just because there are so many accents. Overall though, I'm quite a fan of plonker, pillock, (all)reet, mooch, and bog (as in shitter).

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