# Meaning of slang term "much in" in England? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 16, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295 "2022-06-16T11:45:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/21 "2022-06-16T18:26:21Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > It was only intended as a throwaway joke, I apologize if I offended you. No offense taken, I was just a bit at sixes and sevens as to the exact meaning of your reply 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/22 "2022-06-16T18:31:24Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > In FQ, I would have thought it was assumed that OP was looking for answers from British people. Respondents need not be British - they just need to know stuff about British usage of the English language. Example, I’m not British, but I can tell you a “crisp packet” is a potato chip bag. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/23 "2022-06-16T18:34:41Z")
FYI … “Brilliant” is _so_ last year. Everything is “amazing” now ! (Many Brits have very small vocabularies (i am a brit btw)) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/24 "2022-06-16T18:36:16Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Respondents need not be British Sure - it would have been better to say “people who know the factual answer”. And I wasn’t for a moment suggesting that nobody else should comment to discuss matters of linguistic interest. As I say - my comment was only intended as a throwaway joke, and obviously didn’t hit home as such. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/25 "2022-06-16T19:15:00Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > (Many Brits have very small vocabularies (i am a brit btw)) “Right” – especially leading off an utterance – seems to pull a lot of duty in British English. I think my favorite nuanced use of British “right” is to mean “_You’re shamefully lying/wrong/mistaken, but I’m too polite to say so openly_”. The American equivalents “(I’m) sure” and “OK …?” just don’t have the same panache. “**[Sure, Jan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JTSAKFDSVw)**” is fun, but childish. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/26 "2022-06-16T19:21:48Z")
> [@solost](#): > > No offense taken, I was just a bit at sixes and sevens as to the exact meaning of your reply 🙂 Now you’re on the trolley! But, what in tarnation does _“a bit at sixes and sevens”_ mean? Some sort of Norwegian colloquialism, or just phonus balonus? It gives me the heebie jeebies. I’ve got to go iron my shoelaces now, after I see a man about a horse. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/27 "2022-06-16T19:41:27Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > But, what in tarnation does _“a bit at sixes and sevens”_ mean? Assuming you aren’t just having a laugh and actually want to know, my understanding is that it’s [an English idiom used to describe a condition of confusion or disarray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sixes_and_sevens). I first learned the phrase from the Rolling Stones’ song Tumbling Dice, although they also added ‘nines’ to the phrase, which seems to be a Stones invention…? > [@Meaning of "sixes and sevens and nines"](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-sixes-and-sevens-and-nines/283084): > > This could be a Cafe Society question (apologies – please move if appropriate) because it deals with a song lyric, but it might also be a general phrase and I’m trying to find its meaning. The song is The Rolling Stones’ “Tumblin’ Dice” and there’s a passage that goes: “Honey, got no money, I’m all sixes and sevens and nines.” What do the sixes, sevens and nines represent? The song has a strong gambling theme, but I can’t figure the correlation. Are they rolls of the dice? What significance … ---
**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:** [June 16, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/28 "2022-06-16T20:36:05Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > This appears to be an English colloquialism The phrase isn’t a specific colloqualism, the structure is though. If I want an update on a situation where the context is very plain and understood between myself and the respondent, a query can be expressed with very few words - for example: I’m in charge of a team answering support tickets; I’ve just come back from lunch. I say “Many tickets?” - it’s immediately understood that I mean “Have there been many new tickets in the interval since I was last here?” Likewise “Any news”, “Anything happened?”, “Been busy?”, “Feeling OK?”, “Much traffic?”, “Had lunch?”, “Going out?” etc Edit: I have a feeling English might get this from its Germanic roots. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/29 "2022-06-16T21:04:54Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Assuming you aren’t just having a laugh and actually want to know, my understanding is that it’s [an English idiom used to describe a condition of confusion or disarray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sixes_and_sevens). I was having a laugh, but also wanted to know, so thanks! Your explanation was the gnat’s whistle. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/30 "2022-06-16T21:12:57Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Likewise “Any news”, “Anything happened?”, “Been busy?”, “Feeling OK?”, “Much traffic?”, “Had lunch?”, “Going out?” etc Would these _not_ be colloquial in non-British dialects? ---
**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:** [June 16, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/31 "2022-06-16T21:15:03Z")
No idea; I just know it’s very common in British English. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/32 "2022-06-16T21:25:50Z")
Maybe he was asking about lunch… Munchin’? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/33 "2022-06-16T22:10:44Z")
Back to brilliant. In British and Australian usage, where we are allowed not to only use the literal version of words, ‘brilliant’ can also be a perfectly acceptable response to some news that annoys you and has just ruined your day. e.g. ‘Your sister and her husband are joining us for this cruise’. ‘Brilliant!’ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/34 "2022-06-16T22:13:35Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Back to brilliant. In British and Australian usage, where we are allowed not to only use the literal version of words, The literal meaning of “brilliant” has to do with bright lights. So it’s not the case that Americans don’t make metaphorical uses of words. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/35 "2022-06-16T22:14:18Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > In British and Australian usage, where we are allowed not to only use the literal version of words That’s a bit unfair. Americans understand sarcasm _wonderfully_ well, after it’s explained to them. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/36 "2022-06-16T23:18:06Z")
> [@CardboardBoxx](#): > > Context would probably make it clearer, but from your brief description it would appear to just be a shortening of “is there much in?”, so a couple of coppers might be asking if there were a lot of new cases overnight for example. I just watched a couple of episodes where it’s said and this is the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/37 "2022-06-16T23:31:53Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Context would help. I found some episode transcripts, and it appears the general consensus on the interpretation is correct. (Some of the dialogue part identifications are clearer than others.) [“Lazaretto”, s04e03:](https://subslikescript.com/series/Endeavour-2701582/season-4/episode-3-Lazaretto) > [@](#): > > [b]Morse[b]: Morning, sir. > Thursday: I won’t be a minute. > Much in? > Morse: There’s a sudden in Northway. > Uniform want us to give it a quick once-over. [“Neverland”, s02e04](https://subslikescript.com/series/Endeavour-2701582/season-2/episode-4-Neverland): > [@](#): > > “Much in?” > > “We’ve an 11-year-old, Tommy Cork, done a bunk from home.” > > “Davey Cork’s boy?” > > “Yep.” > > “Figures.” > > “And we’ve a request from County to be on the lookout for a George Aldridge. Absconded from Farnleigh tea-time Saturday.” ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/38 "2022-06-17T01:33:28Z")
Brilliant! Now can anyone explain what “There’s a sudden” means? 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/39 "2022-06-17T01:48:05Z")
Sudden death I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295/40 "2022-06-17T01:49:02Z")
I’m guessing that “a sudden” is copspeak for “a sudden death”? Officer training on [Sudden Death](https://foi.west-midlands.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/0001_15.-RESPONDING-TO-A-SUDDEN-DEATH-V2.01.pdf): > [@](#): > > This chapter provides an introduction to Sudden Death. These notes will enable you to describe your initial actions and individual responsibilities at the scene of any apparent death whether suspicious or not. […] > > ‘Sudden death’ is a police term for any death which involves some form of police action. It may not be sudden at all, in that the deceased may have been ill for some time, but because of circumstances, such as an elderly person living alone who has not been seen by a doctor for a considerable period, some enquiry is necessary. ETA: bah, ninja’d by Princhester bc I went out for cites. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meaning-of-slang-term-much-in-in-england/966295.md?page=3)