American Reacts to British Slang Words

[@beefabob]

I really don't want to confuse you sweetheart, but I thought this video was the Dogs Bollocks!

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Luckily someone just commented explaining what the dogs bollocks was or else I would’ve had no idea what you were saying 😂 thank you!!

[@aarontaylor4967]

As a lifelong Brit, when we say 'Alright?' the only acceptable response is 'alright?' What we absolutely dread and don't want to hear is how you're actually feeling!

[@williamwhitty7243]

not to bad,yourself. is also exetable

[@eddiehawkins7049]

It is fun to respond as if it was a genuine enquiry though. You can see the dread in people's faces as you launch into a list of your current life problems. 😂

[@crackpot148]

Knackered means worn out. It originally referred to draught animals no longer capable of fulfilling their purpose. A knacker's yard was a slaughterhouse where such worn out or injured animals were slaughtered.

[@crackpot148]

​@@williamwhitty7243 Not too bad. Yourself?

[@yann664]

God help her if she ever goes to Somerset 'Ah-be-yon'? Or Norfolk 'Yarrite old boy'? Or Yorkshire 'Aye up' or 'Ow do' Newcastle 'Alreet' Don't they say 'Sappenin' in Liverpool?

[@nickgrazier3373]

With Knackered the explanation is wrong it comes from way back when the horse was the motive force on farms and transport or any kind. It is what happens to old horses when they are too old to go on. When the horse is “finished” and is beyond help then the farmer or the owner would call in the Knackers yard to take the animal away to be “put down” or just dispose of the carcass. Horse meat is garnered and sold at market other bits of the carcass would also be used for various uses. So when you feel knackered you can in the extreme feel dead on your feet or just running on fumes as twer! There is the knackers yard or the knacker waggon all from the same thing! The reference to testicles is a modern twisted take on the word knackers but only in the last 60 - 70 years! There are a hell of a lot of British slang that has come from the British Forces world wide especially from the Royal NAVY like a square meal - meals on board ship were served on a square wooden plate and that was your ration. On the fiddle - meaning taking what was not yours! On the square wooden plate were wooden batons around the edge of the said plate the batons were called the fiddle so if you had food over the fiddle you were actually stealing more food than your allocation! Simples!!!

[@oopsdidItypethatoutloud]

Aye, going to the knackers yard

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks for sharing!

[@PaulVincent-n2x]

The mint is where money is made.

[@auldfouter8661]

The Royal Mint in Wales.

[@darkpitcher5242]

Only coins not notes

[@auldfouter8661]

@@darkpitcher5242 De La Rue?

[@robheyes6470]

@@auldfouter8661 Llantrisant. AKA the hole with the Mint.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@auldfouter8661 It used to be in the Tower of London.

[@alfresco8442]

The use of mint in the money context isn't really that strange. As you say, even Americans use 'in mint condition' which means something brand, shiny new...like a coin that's just fresh from the mint, before it's had a chance to tarnish, or get scratched. It's got nothing to do with mint as a herb.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Ya I didn’t think it had anything to do with the herb, just didn’t know where it came from

[@garmit61]

Lots of these have more than one meaning. "Faffing about" is not doing something properly or efficiently. But 'that's a load of faff' means it's a lot of effort or bureaucracy. Bollocks can mean BS as you said but it can also be short for 'the dogs bollocks ' which means excellent. We call American style Cookies, 'Cookies' Cookies go hard when they are past their best, biscuits go soft. Two nations divided by a common language. . I received a document which said 'Check the box' when I worked for an American company. I checked the box and it looked fine. I had no idea I was meant to 'tick the box' or as we'd say.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Amazing, thanks for sharing so I can widen my British slang knowledge :)

[@yann664]

William Huskisson, a Member of Parliament for Liverpool, was the first person to die in a railway accident on September 15, 1830, during the opening ceremony of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The local paper said he was 'chuffed to bits'.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh yikes!

[@wobaguk]

Yeah, here a cookie is a 'type' of biscuit (the sort you are imagining, eg choc chip), 'biscuit' generally used as an umbrella term for all kinds, like wafers, gingerbread and cookies etc, not just the hard kind. Similarly, we DO call "fries" fries, because we think of American style fries as a 'type' of chip thats different enough from traditional UK chips to be worthy of its own name.

[@KingOfSciliy]

Fries are skinny chips. If it's thicker than your fingers, then it's a chip. If it's slimmer than your fingers, it's a fry.

[@yann664]

Technically, 'biscuit' is French and means 'twice cooked' and the old ship's biscuits for instance were twice cooked and extremely hard. Cookies originally were just cooked the once and should be soft and crumbly and biscuits hard. We have cookies. You should explain where English Muffins come from though, because we don't have them over here.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks for sharing!

[@djs98blue]

Cheeky is sometimes used to mean rude in relation to misbehaving children. As in ‘don’t be cheeky’ !

[@trickygoose2]

I remember my English teacher claiming that children can't do sarcasm it is just cheek.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks!

[@christinebakewell3475]

I think minted ( which seems to be a relatively newer slang term) possibly comes from the royal mint which is probably the biggest mint in the world? That makes our currency = coins and banknotes+ commemorative coins medals ( massively popular with collectors) so minted = loadsa money.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Yes a few people commented that! Love it!!

[@geoffallardyce9864]

'Loo' is likely to have come from the corruption on the French word, 'l'eau', which translates to water, as in WC (water closet).

[@RoganBryan]

As in the Edinburgh admonition “Gardy Loo” - Regardez l’eau - cried when a chamber pot was emptied out of the window into the street below.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh I had no idea! Thanks for sharing!

[@jonathan.palfrey]

American ‘pissed’ = angry = British ‘pissed off’. British ‘pissed’ = drunk (never angry).

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahaha exactly 😂

[@RoganBryan]

At 0:10 you claimed “We both speak the same language”. We don’t. American ‘English’ is a pared down, dumbed down , re spelt (did you see what I did there?), Bowdlerised kindergarten version of the noble English tongue. It’s basically Pidgin English. The BBC have a daily news report in Pidgin (true, believe it or not) and it’s virtually indistinguishable from American ‘English’.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Yikes very rude! I disagree completely

[@RoganBryan]

@@SheRunTheWorld The tongue is firmly in the cheek there. I have a much loved American daughter in law and I’m on very good terms with her family . Her mum and dad and I call each other “Co-parents” because I don’t think there is a official name for that family relationship. Anyway, I tease them relentlessly over their version of English and they give as good as they get ! It’s all done with love - it’s a British way of showing affection without having to say “I love you”.

[@alecbowman2548]

Mint condition is how coins look when they come out of the mint, also where minted comes from.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks for sharing!

[@donepearce]

All of your problems stem from the fact that English is a high context language, whereas American is low context. In other words, in England much of the meaning lies outside the words themselves. One result is that the same word can mean different things - often complete opposites. Because we absorb the context, we are not confused.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

I don’t have problems, just pointing out phrases that are used in the UK and not used in the US

[@donepearce]

@SheRunTheWorld did you mean to provide a perfect example with your answer? I was talking about problems you were identifying. Obviously you don't have problems with these yourself or you would not have known to include them

[@JONSEY101]

It's funny hearing an American who speaks pretty much the same language, teaching English to Americans, lol! 😂 Although? Of course, i do understand the differences. We brits tend to know what most American words mean as we hear them so much in movies or tv shows. I have close American friends who know me very well and who have come to understand the humour. Often Americans will see two English friends joking around with one another, calling one another different names but to Americans, it seems as if they are bring nasty to each other when in reality, they are actually really good friends. It's what we call banter, lol! 😂

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahaha I completely agree! It can seem a bit harsh or more rude here if you’re not used to it- but it’s definitely just the British way. My dad taught me that😂

[@JONSEY101]

@SheRunTheWorld Yeah, I took me a while, when I was a young boy, to understand it and I'm British, lol! 😂 American friends of mine have become used to it over the years and now even do it back sometimes although I think they still feel a little uncomfortable with it, as if they are being mean, which i understand they aren't, lol! 😂

[@old.not.too.grumpy.]

A knackers yard is place were horses go to be put down. Chip are different from fries. Chips are fatter usually larger than fries. I am old and French Fries were always on British menues long before American fast food joints opened her in the UK. Many slang words are regionally based in the UK. However error with the growth of the mass media and Internet generation words used and there meanings have changed. Growing up I would have never used words such as knackered, bollocks or pissed, especially not to my parents, as they were considered to be expletives.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

So interesting!! Thanks for sharing :)

[@Really-hx7rl]

If someone spends all his money on going out and getting drunk..we can say "they pissed all their money up the wall". Piss is a very versatile word in the UK. 😁👍 As for Minted...think of the London Mint where money is made.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

I haven’t heard that one, I’ll add it to the pissed list 😂 thanks!!

[@RobertPizzey]

A woman I used to work with, always replied “ fair to crap”.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

What does that mean 😂

[@RogerBentley-be3mr]

The way to answer Alright is to nod and say Alright, like Whats Up in the States. In Aus they use How Ya Going but again it's a greeting, not a question

[@SheRunTheWorld]

That’s what everyone tells me😂 I just need to get used to it!

[@Foxbat320]

Knackered also means broken " this cars Knacked " Knackered can replace worn out in ANY sense , as well. Chuffed a sound like a steam train. So happy (Full of steam ). Cheeky can also be use as mild rudeness .Bollocks also mean testicles . Soft biscuit is a cookie Good job !

[@craignewell5728]

Bollocks always means testicles

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@crackpot148]

What do you mean we don't have biscuits, as in American biscuits, here in the UK? We do, we call them scones. Btw, the word biscuit is from the French for "twice cooked", a process which could only give you what we Britons and the rest of the English speaking nations, except for the US, think of as biscuits, those sweet or savoury crisp and crunchy flat things. Then there are crackers which are not sweet and are meant to be eaten with cheese, pate and the like. They are alternatively called biscuits, too.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

No scones are very different from American biscuits! Scones are so dry😂 biscuits are buttery and fluffy and soft. They melt in your mouth

[@Jay-Kay-Buwembo]

Piss also has a literal meaning => Urine. Pissing literally means using the the toilet to empty one's bladder.

[@yann664]

Yes, it makes more sense than to try to understand how being pissed is connected to being angry. And 'pissing it away' also clearly means drinking.

[@eddiehawkins7049]

Bowels? The only time I've pissed out of my arse was after I'd been drinking vodka out of a pint glass. Well it felt like it anyway.

[@Jay-Kay-Buwembo]

@eddiehawkins7049 typo meant bladder, I have corrected now cheers! 😝

[@eddiehawkins7049]

@@Jay-Kay-Buwembo I thought it might be. 😄

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Well ya of course😂

[@derekgibson2589]

Pissed isn't the only word with different meanings depending on the context. As well as meaning exhausted knackered can also mean beyond repair as in, "you might as well chuck (throw) that away. It's knackered. Biscuit can also have a different meaning. Saying something like, "well that just takes the biscuit!" This means that the event you are referring to couldn't be any worse.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

I never knew either of these! I love learning more slang. Thanks for sharing :)

[@geofff975]

Cheeky can also be used to describe someone who is rude to you, or someone who has done something like a friend who borrowed something without asking "Cheeky bastard"

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks for sharing!

[@PaulVincent-n2x]

Chocolate chip cookies are called cookies.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks!

[@shamaskhanewal5651]

A machine can also be knackered i.e. broken, not working.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Makes sense!

[@danielferguson3784]

Knackered is really quite rude, as it refers to being castrated. To be knackered is like having one's balls cut off. Bollocks also means testicles. A male cow who is castrated is thus called a 'Bullock', because he is castrated. To be 'pissed' is to have drunk enough to make you need to pee. To be 'pissed off' is to be annoyed, as in the US. Fancy is a contraction of 'fantasy' or 'fantastic'. A 'Dodgy' place or person is to be avoided, as not safe or trustworthy. Money, as coins, is made at a Mint. So someone who is 'minted' has enough money to open their own mint. I'm sure there are many American words & phrases that make no sense to a British person. Here in the UK we call Fries of American style 'French Fries'. They've been around here about 50 years. They are NOT the same as British Chips. American 'Cookies' have been here about as long, we have always known them as usually 'chocolate chip cookies'. They are just another type of biscuit, of which we have many, but they are the only ones called cookies. American 'biscuits' are more like British 'Scones'. Soft biscuits in the UK would just be considered stale. Fortnight comes from fourteen night originally, meaning 2 weeks. Your chin does 'wag' when you talk.

[@auldfouter8661]

I don't like the term male cow - male cattle yes but cow is feminine. ( retired dairy farmer here). I wonder if you've heard the term Jenny or Jenny Willocks? That's a freemartin ( hermaphrodite ) which would be 90-95 % of heifer calves that are born as twins to bulls. The shared placental circulation means that the female's reproductive tract development is impeded by male hormones from her brother in the early months of the pregnancy. Good job it doesn't happen in sheep or humans but it amuses me when MAGA types scream there are only two sexes. Jenny Willocks as a term is about 300 years old.

[@trevorlsheppard7906]

Hiya ,I've never heard the word knackered to mean castration , it originates from the term " Knackers Yard " a place where animals that were no longer fit for human consumption were taken to be processed ,Knackers yards are long gone .

[@auldfouter8661]

@@trevorlsheppard7906 At least in the UK there is still a knackery service provided for casualty farm stock. It has increased in cost greatly in recent years but you aren't allowed to bury anything on farm any more ( at least on the mainland ).

[@crackpot148]

​@@trevorlsheppard7906 "To knacker" does have a secondary meaning of "to castrate" but I have never heard it used to mean that in modern times.

[@crackpot148]

American "biscuits" are not only "like" scones they ARE scones whether they are sweet or savoury. A name for stewed fruit topped with sweet scones or stewed meat topped with savoury (unsweetened) scones then baked in the oven is cobbler. Hm, cobblers. Now there's a good old slang word. It's derived from the Cockney rhyming slang "cobbler's awls". I'll let you guess what it means.

[@crackpot148]

Cheeky certainly does mean rude in the UK. It depends on context whether it means being downright rude or just mischievously provocative in a playful way. That reminds me. I don't understand why some people, especially Americans it seems, pronounce mischievous with an extra syllable as if it has the letter "i" before the "o". It should be pronounced mis-chiv-us. I hope you don't think I am being cheeky by pointing that out.😉

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahaha really😂 I’ve never heard it used in a rude way! More playful

[@sooperhooper]

"Minted" comes from the place money (coins) are made ( The Royal Mint)& also the description of the manufactur of coins is "minted" as in "Ten thousand limited edition fifty pence pieces were minted today" as in made or manufactured.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

That makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

[@bonetiredtoo]

Man walks into a pub dragging a long rubbery mollusc which had tentacles trailing behind it. He goes up to the barman and says "Here is the sick squid I owe you!". I will get my coat!

[@eddiehawkins7049]

Nicker seems to have fallen out of favour over the last few decades. I actually got accused of being racist for using it on one occasion.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

I don’t get it😂

[@mikeede49]

Spot on and to the point with all of your examples and meanings, unlike a lot of You Tubers who make things even more confusing and at times wrong, a bit like some of the comments here.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks so much I really appreciate it!

[@richt71]

Hi. it should be noted that slang can change like accents every 30 miles or so.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Very true!

[@IUsedToBeSomeoneElseX]

"Pissed" can also mean misaligned, as used by craftsmen.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Wow interesting! Add that to the list!

[@eddiehawkins7049]

Mischievous not Mischievious

[@SheRunTheWorld]

American vs British pronunciation haha

[@christianprice5587]

Minted is so because money is made in the royal mint.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thank you!

[@markfour2841]

Bollocks actually means testicles !

[@SheRunTheWorld]

😂

[@auldfouter8661]

There's a whole other language waiting for you in Scotland , lassie . ( I don't mean the Gaelic ).

[@alejandrayalanbowman367]

More than one when it comes down to it. How many know Doric?

[@auldfouter8661]

@@alejandrayalanbowman367 Yes two almost secret Scottish things - the Doric and the Galloway Irish accent !

[@SheRunTheWorld]

True! On my visit to Scotland it was very difficult to understand the accent, let alone the slang 😂

[@yann664]

Brolly was a brand.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh very cool. We do that a lot in the states, refer to an item by the main brand like Kleenex instead of tissue

[@stephencurran9716]

FOOTBALL ⚽ Not the S word

[@hughacurl]

No football is definitely shit.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

😂😂

[@hughacurl]

“Y’alright mate?” Me: Hello

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Pretty much!! Haha

[@michaelcaffery5038]

I've only ever known 'zonked' to mean 'out of it', very intoxicated. Never as meaning 'tired'.

[@RoganBryan]

‘Zonk’ used to be a brand name for a painkiller. “ Zonk that headache” was an advertising strap line. Zonk was probably an opiate.

[@michaelcaffery5038]

@RoganBryan that would explain it thanks.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Didn’t know this one! Thanks!

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Ah very interesting!!

[@iancomputerscomputerrepair8944]

The "dogs bollocks" and the "Bollocks" have totally different meanings. The word "Totty" and "Hot Tott"are used as different levels of the same meaning. I enjoy your videos as they are very entertaining. I look forward to your next video.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks so much for sharing and watching! :)

[@yann664]

There's an old expression 'it's the bees knees' meaning excellent and it comes from a Hong Kong pronunciation of, 'it's the business'. I think dog's bollocks comes from there

[@philipgeorge5708]

Knackered was originally the Knackers yard. Where old tired horses went when old.

[@Canalcoholic]

And that's not a retirement home. We're talking dog food and glue.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh so interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[@timsyer3540]

'Knackered' = knackers yard... almost dead

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh wow never knew that!

[@hughacurl]

Oh my god, like, in England they totally have, like, so many totally, like, weird words for things that, like, Americans would totally, like, not say. Oh my god, I wish I had, like, a British accent.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

What a kind comment, very insightful

[@markaitcheson3212]

Yeah we don't really speak the same language, and You alright? is no different to Whats up? In the usa.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahah good comparison. That’s fair!

[@finosborne1665]

Knackered can also mean Something is worn or broken. For instance, My Trainers are Knackered.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Oh interesting! Thanks for sharing!

[@jacnah63]

Bollocks has mutiple meanings. for example - "Thats bollocks" == thats bad. Thats the "dogs bollocks" == thats brilliant. It all makes sense....honestly :-)

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Makes total sense….😂

[@Reporterfy]

Looking forward to this

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks!

[@PaulVincent-n2x]

Bollocks, testicles

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks!

[@glastonbury4304]

In the UK cookies bend and biscuits snap....lol

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Ahhhh! I love that. That’ll help me differentiate

[@craignewell5728]

Pissed off is angry

[@SheRunTheWorld]

👍🏻

[@darrentoon5332]

we have chips and fries, mint is money related

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Yes!

[@yann664]

Not quite right with 'dodgy'. It's more like when you would say something is, 'a tax dodge' . It's something getting round the law, maybe a bit dishonest so 'dodgy' is more often used to mean suspiciously dishonest. A dodgy neighbourhood would be one where you expect criminal activity so would expect to be mugged.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Ahhhh that makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

[@recliningbuddha]

Watch *The Two Ronnies: Rhyming Slang Sermon* and see how much you can understand.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Haha ok I will!

[@billythedog-309]

ln what way is How are you different from Are you alright?

[@SheRunTheWorld]

How are you is simply asking. But are you alright infers that you’re not alright. At least that’s how it sounds to us Americans!

[@bartonseagrave9605]

I was kicked in the thud is one to research, along with, where's the cludgie?

[@michaelcaffery5038]

I've been out of the country for 30 years and have no idea what 'thud' means except as a description for a type of sound. Isn't 'cludgie' Australian? A couple of years ago I saw a KZbin video with Europeans trying to guess British slang. The presenters were quite young. One word was 'chunder' which they didn't seem to realise was from Australia. I had never heard the word before the 80s when it was in the lyrics of ',Land Down Under' by Men At Work. Another word I didn't know was 'lege' for legend.

[@trickygoose2]

​@@michaelcaffery5038I think "lege" short for legend is fairly recent. Late 90s or early 2000s.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahaha I just looked them up😂 so funny! I wonder if people would know what I meant by where’s the cludgie in London since it’s Scottish

[@zakariyashakir4091]

When you say your dad is british you mean he is from England? how come you do not have an English accent yet UK citizinship?

[@trickygoose2]

People tend to have the accent of where they grew up. If she grew up in America she will have an American accent regardless of parentage.

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Yeah my dad was born and raised in England and moved to the US in his late twenties where I was born and raised, hence the American accent

[@regjauncey4843]

Excellent 🎉🎉🎉

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thank you☺️

[@veronapaisley6915]

"Minted". The Royal Mint produce coins and prints monetary notes on behalf of The Bank of England. Therefore being 'minted' means you make your wealth, you are rich, wealthy.

[@wobaguk]

The 'US Mint' is also a thing which seems to have a similar function

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thank you for sharing!

[@roddavis2876]

currency made in a mint - minted

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks!

[@splatten8597]

No idea unfortunately

[@SheRunTheWorld]

No idea about what?

[@ryuhassan6910]

If you really want to learn slang come to Newcastle. 😂

[@SheRunTheWorld]

That’s what I’ve heard! I need to make my way up there 😂

[@themachine5957]

If you were having a chat, your chin WOULD be moving! 😀

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahaha very true 😂

[@hughacurl]

‘Murica!

[@SheRunTheWorld]

🇺🇸

[@colinh9396]

So, the word bollocks. That's the bollocks meaning good, the dogs bollocks really good. Oh bollocks you've done something wrong, or dropped your biscuit in your brew (tea). You are the bollocks , again you the man, woman etc. You can talk bollocks, or chat shit. But you can be kicked in the bollocks. In the end it's all bollocks

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Hahahaha omg I had no idea!! Love this 😂 I’ll have to expand my use of the word bollocks then

[@497adam]

The dogs bollocks

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Someone just explained that in a comment below! Never knew about it!! Lol

[@aresgalamatis7022]

It seems your american pants never got wet in britain 😅

[@SheRunTheWorld]

😂

[@StephenRobertd]

Wonderfull amazing brillant awsome always 😊 🎉

[@SheRunTheWorld]

Thanks so much!