The 10 MOST Common British Expressions and Phrases

well hello and welcome back to love English! Being British isn't just about having a good cup of tea nor is it just about fish and chips but what we really identify with is language so today I'm going to tell you about 10 very British expressions that really only the British understand they're not something I have ever taught in class nor are they something that you would be able to learn if you'd learn American English in fact these expressions are enough to confuse anyone that wasn't born in Britain so do you fancy going out for a coffee and having a bit of a chinwag we could even have a butcher's around the shops now understanding the origins of these expressions is a little bit difficult they are often slang or colloquial so that means that they've been used for a very long time however I'm gonna explain what they mean how to use them and try and give you some information on the origins of these weird and wonderful expressions okay number one to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic now when the opportunity presents itself meaning when it's not raining in the UK we love to go out into the forests or down the beach and have a picnic now this expression to be a few sandwiches short of a picnic actually is quite a recent expression it was coined by a comedian Lenny Henry back in the late 80s for a comedy show and it's meaning well it simply means to not have a lot of common sense maybe even not be particularly intelligent it could also mean you're a bit crazy did you see that car the other day what was she doing done I think she was a few sandwiches short of a picnic number two is one word but it is one word that the Brits always use now it can be used as both part of a swear word or as an intensifier meaning a word like very or really the word bloody bloody now to say bloody hell is kind of rude and so you might want to avoid it but to say bloody it's bloody freezing it's bloody hot oh my god that dinner was bloody rubbish so bloody means very really its origins well no idea really but it is often used even in some of the Harry Potter films you might hear them say that was bloody good I think it was Ron but I've got no idea which film he said that in bloody hell was that all about okay number three is a great one and it actually originates from cockney rhyming slang it's been shortened so to have a butcher's is to look it comes from there cockney rhyming slang butcher's hook now cockney rhyming slang that's another lesson let me know in the comments box below if you want to learn more about cockney rhyming slang to have a butcher's simply means to have a look my family actually originated from London so very often my mum will say to me do you want to have a butcher's or let's have a butcher's in that shop now number four chin wag chin wag again very British say this to America they will not know what it means to have a chin wag is to chat to catch up with someone to have a gossip usually associated with women coming together and having a chat so the origins of this expression well I haven't looked it up because to me this one actually makes sense so your chin is just this part of your face here you've got your jaw and your chin so to have a chin wag wag is usually what we say about a dog's tail wag like this I'm just doing this but your chin moves a lot when you talk at least it should so do you fancy coming over for a cup or in a chinwag number five to be full of beans now to be full of beans means you've got lots of energy we often say this about children oh my god they're full of beans they just keep jumping around what do I do with them so the origins of this to be honest hmm not really got a clue I guess beans are full of energy if you eat them and so you've got a lot of energy to burn hmm who knows now number six is sods law this is an expression that we would use as an exclamation in American English the equivalent would be Murphy's Law so now you might have an idea what I'm talking about sods law means you were really unlucky at the worst possible time so let's go back to that idea are the British picnic let's go for a picnic tomorrow tomorrow comes oh it's raining sods law all for example if you are rushing for a train or a bus or some kind of public transport and you think you're gonna miss it and then it's canceled sods law or if you're getting married and you want to have beautiful weather to have your pictures taken again raining sods law actually a lot of my examples are to do with rain maybe it's not so much slobs law but living in the UK right number seven now this is a bit more advanced so try and get your head around it meaning to understand swings and roundabouts now this is a swing that's a roundabout weird expression is it not what could it mean well swings and roundabouts means that everything evens out becomes equal or the same in the end so for example if you're deciding how to get somewhere should we go by car or take the train the train would be faster but there'll be traffic on the road if we take the car swings and roundabouts it's the same in the end whether you get the train or whether you take the car now the expression it came about during the end of the 19th century when fairground rides started to become popular in Britain number eight another more advanced one a bit unusual Bob's your uncle now Bob's your uncle I actually had no idea what the origin of this was until I looked it up today for this lesson my mum would often say Bob's your uncle I might even say it actually but it is a very British expression and the origins are very British as you can expect Bob's your uncle means that something can be done quickly and efficiently so for example if you want to make a cup of tea get a cup boil the kettle put the teabag in the cup and Bob's your uncle I can actually give you the year that this expression was born 1887 the theory is that the British prime minister Robert Cecil I think it's sisal Cecile sisal anyway the name Robert when it's shortened is Bob so the Prime Minister of Great Britain at that time Robert Cecil or otherwise known as Bob decided to appoint his nephew Arthur Balfour as chief secretary for Ireland which was both a surprising and an unpopular decision so his nephew means that he the Prime Minister would have been his nephew's uncle this is essentially nepotism it's our way of saying Bob's your uncle well that was simple that was easy but his origins are actually in nepotism when your family give you favorable treatment because you're related so Bob's your uncle that was easy simple don't worry sorry I was away with the fairies so number nine to be away with the fairies now a fairy this to be away with the fairies means that you are in a dream world can often be in a dream world not really based in reality and even a little bit crazy it's not a bad expression but you can say oh she's away with the fairies again the expression does come from the terrifying tales are the children being taken away and kidnapped by fairies totally untrue and bizarre so number 10 I actually think is one of my favorite expressions to help you sound very British when something goes pear-shaped now a pair is this fruit but when you say it all went pear-shaped it means that it went wrong now the origins of this expression are believed to come from slang created within the Royal Air Force the RAF and apparently pilots would say when their mission went off course and expeditions went wrong that it went pear-shaped now I really don't know if that's got anything to do with the shape of the pair who knows so is anything gone a bit pear-shaped for you recently comment below and let me know thank you so much for watching this a very British expressions lesson I hope you're gonna try and use some of those more advanced British expressions and surprise some of your native British friends believe me they will be shocked now let forget to subscribe and keep watching theirs plenty more British lessons coming up

Channel: Love English with Leila & Sabrah

Views: 27,210

Keywords: british expressions, british phrases, british idioms, learn english, english idioms, english expressions, english phrases, very british english, english vocabulary lesson, common british expressions, british english, learn british english, speak british, how to, speak like a British, top ten, top 10, top 10 idioms, top 10 english expressions, british idiomatic expressions, speak english, english vocabulary, english lesson

Id: kfnT36PSJfQ

Length: 10min 21sec (621 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 23 2018