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COMMON
CONTEMPORARY
ENGLISH SLANG:
These
slang expressions are regularly used in
contemporary English, specially in Britain. Some of them are well
established,
but most are recent or new words or phrases.
With
some exceptions (e.g. for contrast), this
list does not include a lot of very well-established slang
words that appear
in all good dictionaries. It does not include SMS language. It does not include
dialectal or regional
slang, swear words or "bad language". Words marked "impolite" should be
avoided in most situations.
Note
for students: It is not advisable
for the learner of English to "learn" slang. Most slang words are
either
very short-lived, or else regional (dialect). London slang from the
1980's
would for instance be largely incomprehensible to a New Yorker in the
2000's!
ace:
really
good, exceptional.
anorak:
very boring person,
person who has no character.
ballistic: furious, extremely angry (as in "He'll go ballistic when he hears that")
bash,
have a bash: (1)
try to do something, (2) have a party.
bird:
woman,
female.
blab: talk, give away secrets
blag:
talk in persuasive language (blag in,
blag out). (Do not confuse with brag, to boast)
blown
away by: very impressed by.
box,
on the box:
television, on TV.
brass:
money.
brill:
really good, brilliant.
broke
(adjective): without
any money.
bucks:
dollars.
bum
abound: go
round doing nothing.
chav: aggressive cultureless
teenager or young person, with no social aspirations, and probably
jobless.
chick : girl
chill
out: stop being excited,
become calm. (c.f. cool it.)
Chinese,
go
for a Chinese: have a take-away Chinese meal.
chippie:
fish and chip shop
cool
it: don't get excited, be
more calm, calm down.
cool:
good, fashionable.
crack
up: (1) disintegrate under pressure, (2) laugh
uncontrollably.
crap
(impolite): excrement, shit,
something with no value.
crash
(out): go to bed, go
to sleep
cut
it out: shut up, stop talking.
cut
up (adjective): distressed, sad.
do
over:
burgle, steal from
dope:
drugs.
doss:
sleep
dough:
money
dude:
person, man
easy,
I'm easy; I don't mind, I have no
preference one way or the other.
fazed:
worried,
disconcerted (and
unfazed: cool,
calm )
fag
(noun): (GB) cigarette: (USA) homosexual, gay.
flak,
take the
flak: criticism, blame, take the blame
funny
farm:
hospital for mentally retarded people, asylum.
grand:
thousand (pounds or dollars)
grass
(noun): 1.
cannabis. 2. An informer. (also supergrass).
grass
(verb): to give information about someone (to the police or the
authorities).
grub:
food.
gutted:
very annoyed, very angry with oneself
guy:
man,
boy, person
hair,
keep your hair on: stay calm,
don't get alarmed
halls:
university student
residences.
hand,
lend a: help.
hang
on:
wait
hell
of a (adjectival expression): enormous,
giant, big.
high,
he's on a high: elated, in a
very good mood.
high:
he's high: he's under the
influence of drugs.
hole
in the wall: cash
distributor, cash machine
hump,
he's got the hump....
: he's (very) angry with ...
iffy: dubious, of dubious quality
kip:
sleep
knackered:
tired, exhausted
knock
someone up: (GB) wake
someone up: (USA - impolite) have sex with someone.
knot,
tie
the knot: get married.
lad:
brash young
man who tries to be popular with other lads, see lager lout. (Traditionally, a lad
is just a Scottish word meaning a boy or young man)
ladette:
female version of lad
lager-lout:
hooligan, young
male who drinks too much cheap beer.
lass: girl, young lady (Traditional Scottish word)
mate: friend
mental:
mad, stupid, idiotic.
miffed:
disconcerted, taken
aback
naf,
naff: of poor quality, rubbish
neat:
really good, appreciated.
nerd:
person who is
passionately interested in computers.
nick
(noun):
prison
nick
(verb): take, steal
pad:
the place you live in.
PIN
number: personal
identification number used at a hole in the wall.
piss
off: go
away, stop it
piss
off, as in
You
piss me
off: You bore or annoy me.
pissed
off:
angry, fed up
pissed:
drunk.
plastic:
plastic bank card, Visa card etc.
Pond:
the
Atlantic Ocean
pop
pills: take drugs
psyched
up: tense, anxious
puke:
vomit, be sick
quid:
pound (sterling)
rat,
to rat on someone: to give
information about someone.
sack,
hit the: go to
bed.
sad: pathetic,
poor, opposite
of cool.
sarnie: sandwich.
score
with... : have sex with...
screw,
have a screw
loose: be mentally retarded.
screw: (a)
extort money from a person, overcharge for something. (b) (impolite)
have sex with a person.
screw
it up: do something
very badly, fail at something (e.g. an exam)
screwball: idiot.
shack
up with: live
with.
shattered:
very tired, distressed
shoot
down to: go quickly to...(e.g. shoot down to the station).
shoot
up: inject a drug (such as heroin).
sickie,
take a: be absent from work
because you are (or are pretending to be) sick.
skive:
avoid work, avoid going to work.
slag
someone off: to
say unpleasant things about someone to other people.
slag: a
woman who sleeps around with different men.
sleep
around:
have sex with lots of different people.
sleep
over: spend
the night at someone else's house.
slog,
a hard s.:
something very difficult.
snog:
kiss, embrace.
stoned: under
the influence of
cannabis.
strapped: short
of money.
suss out: work out, find the solution
a
swift one: a quick drink.
switch,
hit the:
turn on or turn off (TV, etc.)
takeaway: restaurant
seeling take-away food.
throw
up: vomit, be sick
(puke).
twisted,
he's twisted: he is a bit
strange.
twit: idiot,
stupid person.
unfazed:
cool, calm
wank:
masturbate
wanker:
(impolite) stupid person, un-cool person
wheelie,
do a: cycle
with the front wheel in the air.
wheels:
car,
vehicle.
wicked: fantastic,
really good.
wind up: to tease or try to deliberately aggravate someone
Yucky,
yug, yuggy: disgusting, unpleasant
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