Here are some british terms for idiot plonker, muppet, numpty, clot and pillock. And that this trickled down into american slang to be used by blacks against whites but it not in any way a reference to the race of the people its used against. No other language in the world has been as bastardised as this one. Of course there are always room for the more offensive terms of. Others were brand new phrases, born on the european and pacific fronts. Indeed even those born and raised in britain would struggle. We are constantly updating our database with new slang terms, acronyms, and abbreviations. I am not asking you to be disrespectful to people or call people with names but just want you to understand the meaning of these slang english words below. Ramsey claims that the word cracker originated from the british slang for cracked head, as in that bloke is crackers and was used to insult the poor and working class. Ten of the best british insults and where they came from.
Irish insults for when youve really got your irish up. Learning uk slang isnt just fun, it can help you have conversations with british people. Youll be chuffed after you read this peng british slang list, with bare terms that will keep you from looking like a pillock. Oftentimes, its not so much the word itself thats awesome but the usage of it so. Cracker definition and meaning collins english dictionary. British slang is english language slang used and originating in the united kingdom and also used to a limited extent in anglophone countries such as the. Cockney rhyming slang may have been around since the 16th century, but it really came to life in the 1840s, among market traders and street hawkers. Cockney insults show how genuinely clever these londoners are. Cracker meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense. What i mean is that this once mighty british empire that more or less covered a quarter of the worlds land surface could not ever have imagined that english would evolve to almost a million words and almost every single one of them would be.
The team at the business insider uk office have compiled a list of the best british slang and idioms that define the weird and wonderful british dialect we grew up with. Worse than ur mom gay, ur dad lesbian, ur granny tranny, and ur grandfather asexual. Cracker comes from the gaelic word craic which means a good conversation and is still in use in ireland today. If you say this word, you will immediately become a virgin and your left lung will explode. That honor goes to hogmanay, or scotlands version of new years years ago, i was in the grocery store, picking up a few things, and i ran into one of my old college professors. Cracker, sometimes white cracker, is a racial slur used against white people, used especially against poor rural whites in the southern united states. Submitted by sole from detroit, mi, usa on mar 05 2003. British slang is a fountain of beautiful words that we dont normally use in america. Is cracker the common slang word for the irish answers. It is not uncommon for minority groups to adopt an originally disparaging term and use it of themselves, as an act of self. But whether youre going to the old blighty yourself, or trying to complete a course in british literature, its good to know some common terms, phrases and, possibly, curses.
A cracker is a thin, crisp biscuit which is often eaten with cheese. Some are hilarious, some are rude and some are interesting. Anyone who encounters australian slang for the first time seems rather surprised how sweet it sounds as if all adults agreed to share their kids language. British slang is littered with insults for every occasion. The first 5 insults are still going strong in british english, but dont worry, theyre not strong enough to offend people, unless you have particularly sensitive friends. North american english, slang an offensive word for a poor white person with little education from the southern us informal a person who illegally finds a way of looking at or stealing information on somebody elses computer system.
The following is a list of sexual slurs that are, or have been, commonly or notably used to refer to members of a given sexual minority, gender, sex, or sexual orientation in a derogatory or pejorative manner. Star wars slang wildloughrhulains characters wiki fandom. Crackers definition of crackers by the free dictionary. Most of the words are slang words and belong to the. Here are 18 mustknow british slang words you can start using today. And todaypost is about where it all started british slang. Looking for a crazy list of british slang words, insults, expressions and expletives. In mtvs explainer web series decoded above, franchesca ramsey explains that cracker is a classist insult invented by a richer white upper class to describe lower class white people. Heres our list of our top 100 favorite british slang words and phrases. The amount of misinformation contained in some of these answers is amazing. Do white people actually find the term cracker offensive.
It is filled with wonderful information regarding slang terms and other wonderful details of 19. Within this universe that slang and curse is far different from the earth slang. In this english lesson you will get an idea of english insults which are quite offensive. Soldiers, like other groups of people who have interests and associations that are not shared by society as a whole, develop their own special terminology. Insults, curses and offensive slang are the name of the game if youre in a large group of.
This list is comprised of slurs that have named references. An huge collection of all those strange english words and phrases combined in a dictionary of slang and colloquialisms of the uk. The anthology is filled with slang words and terms of the kind dictionary scribe samuel johnson had previously deemed unfit for his influential a dictionary of the english language 1755. At times, terms may even have been changed in certain translations to more cultureappropriate terms. Big girls blouse a wimp or someone who lacks confidence. And of course, slang can quickly become really uncool.
Though it has since turned into a racial insult, ramsey says that upper class whites in the 1600s and 1700s used cracker to refer to dumb, lazy lower. This page comprises wordsproper english terms, french loanwords, and slang wordsthat are distinctive for their relatively widespread use in canada. Crackers were poor white folk who lived in the south during the antebellum era. Crack slang synonyms, crack slang pronunciation, crack slang translation, english dictionary definition of crack slang. This idiom has its origins in slavery white people were called crackers because of the sound of a slaveowners whip. Slang words for to insult, complain, criticize urban. British slang is an important part of the culture, and much of these slang terms are used as insults. Canadian english has words or expressions not found, or not widely used, in other variants of english. It was used to refer to poor whites, particularly those. The definition, example, and related terms listed above have been written and compiled by the slangit team. Additionally, like other dialects of english that exist in proximity to francophones, french loanwords have entered canadian english.
The brits are as fond of slang some dating back centuries as the rest of the world. It is sometimes used in a neutral context in reference to a native of florida or georgia. Learning some of these will help you have british english down to a t. I think that british slang insults are far more pleasing to the ear than american insults. A 2nd grade insult used to devastate your friends with a amazing insult only used by the most ruthless 2nd graders. Kraut since world war ii, kraut has, in the english language, come to be used as a derogatory term for a german. Cracker, the old standby of anglo insults was first noted in the mid 18th century, making it older than the united states itself.
Here are some examples of american and british military slang that date to the period of. Based on the common given nickname jerry, short for jeremiah, gerald, and other similarsounding names. A good portion of the slang made its way into civilian culture, and continues to be used today, particularly among greatest generation grandparents, and even their children. Rhyming slang jerry the german, primarily used in the first and second world wars by the british, but also other english speakers. Military slang of the revolutionary war era history is fun. Because slang is casual language, some of these might not be appropriate for younger learners. In scotland, christmas isnt the most important holiday on the calendar. Top 100 most beautiful british slang words and phrases. A dictionary of slang c slang and colloquialisms of.
Just knowing english isnt enoughyou have to understand the slang. It was used to refer to poor whites, particularly those inhabiting the frontier regions of maryland, virginia and georgia. A term in southeastern united states english to describe poor white trash, derived from the scottish meaning of the verb to crack, which, in this sense denotes ostentation. British terms used in the harry potter series are generally specific to british culture and may seem foreign to readers from other countries. Given their name because of their staple diet of crackcorn, crackers were often hired by plantation owners in order to replace a slave in dangerous jobs.
British english, informal something that you think is very good, funny, etc. Military slang of the revolutionary war era there is nothing new about military slang. But to the untrained ear these cutting jibes can be difficult to decipher. Strangely poetic insults from the irish for be nasty day. And that this trickled down into american slang to be used by blacks against whites but it not in any way a. Lets examine miz crackers drag name and whether its a. These are located at the end of the regular slang dictionary under a separate heading. The information comes courtesy of chambers slang dictionary by jonathon green, a noted author of several oldtime urban dictionaries.