# Britishisms I've adopted **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626 "2015-07-19T18:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/41 "2015-07-20T04:49:40Z")
I’m fond of the exaggerated, disapproving “Good Looowd”, à la Hastings on _Poirot_ myself. Also the Cockney oi, as in “Oi ! You ! Stop that !”. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/42 "2015-07-20T05:49:20Z")
I use “bloody” where I’d like to say “fucking” or “goddam” but children are present. However, if you pronounce “schedule” as “shedule” instead of “skedule”, I think you’re full of skit. (stolen from Dorothy Parker.) ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/43 "2015-07-20T07:15:57Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Also “snogging,” which usually leads to “rogering.” Not in “Harry Potter” ! – where there’s a great deal of the former, but to all intents and purposes, none of the latter. Though with Rowling’s writing primarily for children and adolescents, she had to do a bit of modifying of reality here. ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/44 "2015-07-20T09:03:14Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > However, I have adopted Guy Fawkes Day as my own because I love burning shit and it makes for a good party. Any British person will tell you that it’s not Guy Fawkes Day, it’s Bonfire Night… ---
**Author:** ![Heracles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heracles/32/487_2.png) [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/45 "2015-07-20T11:20:17Z")
For km I like to pronounce “KIL-a-meeter” and not “kilAAAHmetter”. It’s because it’s logical. But is that a britishism? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/46 "2015-07-20T11:51:51Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A lot of my milder profanity is British. Same here; I guess we’re both a couple o’ silly cunts. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/47 "2015-07-20T11:55:45Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I use “bloody” where I’d like to say “fucking” or “goddam” but children are present. I say “bloody” because people at work get upset when I say “fucking”. I say processing with a long “o”, mostly because I have a difficult time saying it with a short “o”. Oh, and “Crimbo” amuses me, so I use it. It’s ghastly, I know. ---
**Author:** ![Honey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honey/32/5074_2.png) [@Honey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Honey)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/48 "2015-07-20T12:42:48Z")
I always “The wrong way round” instead of around. I’ve been saying is like that for years, to the delight of my daughter. I also have a special fondness for the word Cunt ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/49 "2015-07-20T13:15:31Z")
May I recommend _anticlockwise_ and _Flippin’ 'eck_? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/50 "2015-07-20T14:10:14Z")
Well, I do find myself throwing the word “cunt” about with frequency 😛 “Fuck off” is said all smooshed together with the stress on “off” “I’m sat here” as in “I’m sat here with my thumb up my arse waiting for you wankers” “Arse” and wankers" “Numpty” “Fandabidozy” (I have no idea how to spell it; just picked it up from the boyfriend) “On about” as in “what are you on about?” Such and such “really gets on my tits” Jeez, you’d think I only communicate via pub talk. There are many more but I can’t think of them, I assume because I’m so used to saying them. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/51 "2015-07-20T14:35:42Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > I don’t think I’ve let any British usages supplant my natural word choice, except maybe _satnav_ for _GPS_ and _mobile_ for _cell phone._ (I used the German _handy_ for a while.) Those exceptions are based on a certain precision: _GPS_ and _cellular_ describe the technological techniques, not a particular device… Aside: I say “cell” or “cell phone,” not _cellular_, which as you point out is an adjective and I will not be using an adjective as a noun, thank you very much. I first heard these phones regularly called “cell phones” during the O.J.Simpson trial in 1995, which (being out of work at the time) I watched religiously every day on TV; Marcia Clark referred to _cell phones_ all the time. Up until then, the devices weren’t that widespread, and I can’t remember what we called them. I do remember that my late husband’s came in a bag as big as a Bible, and another friend had one that he used to stand on end like a brick in the middle of the lunch table. I do like the British use (and pronunciation of) _mobile_. Someone upthread asked where we even hear these terms, and it’s on the zillions of British TV shows that we watch (like on AcornTV). The word _handy_ for the phones is charming. Around here, “handy” can refer to what Bill Cosby was too much of. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/52 "2015-07-20T14:41:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > May I recommend _anticlockwise_ and _Flippin’ 'eck_? How do you use “taking the piss”? I like the idea, but have trouble using it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/53 "2015-07-20T15:12:54Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > How do you use “taking the piss”? I like the idea, but have trouble using it correctly. It’s just the same as ‘extracting the Michael’! ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/54 "2015-07-20T15:23:22Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > How do you use “taking the piss”? I like the idea, but have trouble using it correctly. You could use it as a replacement for “are you shitting me?” eg Geezer: How much are them jellied eels mate? Pearly King/Queen: 10 bob a paaahnd me ole china. G: You what? Are you taking the piss? or to mean “make fun of” eg “Let’s all go to the Pit and take the piss out of Kayaker” ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/55 "2015-07-20T15:25:56Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Say “Bob’s your uncle!” ‘Bob’s your auntie’s live-in lover!’ > [@Heracles](#): > > For km I like to pronounce “KIL-a-meeter” and not “kilAAAHmetter”. It’s because it’s logical. But is that a britishism? Me too. I consider it a Germanism. ---
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/56 "2015-07-20T15:28:16Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > The word _handy_ for the phones is charming. Around here, “handy” can refer to what Bill Cosby was too much of. > > Carry on. One of my first jobs, a staff member pulled me aside and told me to stay clear of the boss - he had WHT. Wandering Hand Trouble. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/57 "2015-07-20T16:22:27Z")
I wasn’t aware that “dodgy” was a Britishism. I use it a lot, to describe something that is suspect or possibly unsafe. I like the Britishism “bint”, as I don’t think there’s an American equivalent word. “Bitch” is meant for a mean, nasty woman, but I apply the word “bint” to a female lunkhead. Like the ones who walk oafishly out into traffic mid-block while staring at their cellphones. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/58 "2015-07-20T16:31:35Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > You could use it as a replacement for “are you shitting me?” > > eg > Geezer: How much are them jellied eels mate? > Pearly King/Queen: 10 bob a paaahnd me ole china. > G: You what? Are you taking the piss? > > or to mean “make fun of” > > eg > “Let’s all go to the Pit and take the piss out of Kayaker” Or, “Do a piss-take on Kayaker” . (Source: British boyfriend.) The same British boyfriend kindly mailed me a copy of\* Bridget Jones’ Diary \*before it was available in the US, so I may have been the first American in the southeastern US to use the terms" **fuckwit**" and “ **fuckwittage** ”. Bonus: I got a bunch of westside-living, pickup-truck driving, line-dancing, country-music listening women to also use those terms! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/59 "2015-07-20T16:53:28Z")
Also, I’ve made up the phrase “Buggering Buggeries!” to express frustration with a situation. ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/60 "2015-07-20T16:56:28Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > Or, “Do a piss-take on Kayaker” . > > (Source: British boyfriend.) > > The same British boyfriend kindly mailed me a copy of\* Bridget Jones’ Diary \*before it was available in the US, so I may have been the first American in the southeastern US to use the terms" **fuckwit**" and “ **fuckwittage** ”. Bonus: I got a bunch of westside-living, pickup-truck driving, line-dancing, country-music listening women to also use those terms! 😃 There’s too much fuckwittery going on around here! A Canadian acquaintance of mine was impressed when I described Donald Trump as a “bell end”. He tells me he intends to seek opportunities to use that as often as possible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626.md?page=4)