45 Essential UK Slang Words for ESL Students

No
.

Slang
Words

Any road

All right

Ace

Anal

Ass

Arse

Aye

8
9

Explanation
Any road is another way of saying anyway. It is
commonly used up North. Instead of saying anyway,
they say any road!
This is technically a form of greeting. It is used a lot
in London and the south to mean Hello, how are
you. It is usually said as a question. Sometimes it
gets expanded to All right mate? You would say it
to someone you knew or a complete stranger. The
normal response would be to say All right back to
speaker.
This is used a lot in Liverpool. If something is ace, it
means it is awesome!
When someone is being anal about something, he is
choosing to be an asshole. He is choosing to be
tight and strong minded like the anal sphincter.
Therefore, you tell him: Dont be anal.
This means your buttocks, your backside, but
mostly a donkey!
This word means the same as ass, but is much
ruder. It is used in phrases like pain in the arse (a
nuisance) or I cant be arsed (I cant be bothered)
or you might hear someone say a half arsed
attempt meaning that it was not done properly.

It means yes. It is commonly used in Scotland. It

was used in the film Brave Heart
When a Brit say you are Bladdered, they mean you
Bladdered
are drunk.
It is used in informal settings to describe anger and
Ballistic
rage. E.g. He went ballistic ( meaning he went
mad)

10 Bloke
11 Barmy

12 Beastly
13 Blinding

Another word for male

If someone tells you that youre barmy they mean
you have gone mad or crazy. For example youd
have to be barmy to visit England without trying
black pudding!
You would call something or somebody beastly if
they were really nasty or unpleasant. Most people
would consider you a snob if you used this word.
People like Fergie can get away with it though.
If something is a blinding success it means its a
great success!

Someone who is blinkered is narrow minded or

narrow sighted they only see one view on a
subject.
One of the most useful swear words in English. It is
used for emphasis. E.g. bloody awful or bloody
15 Bloody
hell. bloody brilliant . It is used to emphasize
almost anything!
This is a great English word with many excellent
uses. Technically speaking it means testicles but is
16 Bollocks
typically used to describe something that is no good
(thats bollocks) or that someone is talking rubbish
(hes talking bollocks).
If something costs bugger all, it means that it costs
17 Bugger all nothing. Meaning it is cheap. If you have bugger all,
it means you have nothing.
This word is obviously used when drinking with
friends. However, it also has other colloquial
18 Cheers
meanings. For example when saying goodbye you
could say cheers, or cheers then. It also means
thank you.
French fries. it is basically a deep fried finger length
potatoes eaten in the UK not to be confused with
19 Chips
American potato chips- these are known a crisps in
the UK
To be flirtatious, that is, to speak to someone with
the intent of eventually engaging in sexual
20 Chat up
intercourse with them. Generally conducted in a
relaxed, playful and outstandingly obvious manner.
Another word for good. Usually said without
21 Cracking
pronouncing the last G. If a girl is cracking it
means she is stunning.
14 Blinkered

22 Dear
23 Dodgy
24 DIY

If something is dear it means it is expensive. E.g.

Dont you think flights to Nigeria is are dear.
Bad quality and untrustworthy. If someone or
something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted.
It is Commonly used in Britain as a short for do it
yourself.

Technically, it is used when addressing a stranger,

25 Excuse me when interrupting or disagreeing with someone, or
to request repetition of what has just been said.

26 Fancy

Like or desire. In America it means to like someone

in a sexual way, to want to be with them, to want
to go out with them. In Britain, fancy means the
same but it also means want E.g. Do you fancy a
cake? Technically, fancy is used for both people and
food. Geezer old man

27 Grub

Food. E.g. Im hungry, Lets get some grub

28 Gutted

This is a very common slang in Britain. It means to

be sad or upset. E.g. like when you fail your driving
test!

29 Jolly Good Very good. E.g. a Jolly good fellow

Basically means stupid, insane, nuts, moronic,
asinine
Tired or sleepy; exhausted. E.g. I am feeling a bit
31 Knackered
knackered today.
This has nothing to do with loading a van. It simply
32 Loaded
means rich. When a Brit says that guy is loaded, it
means he is rich!
33 Loony
Mad, crazy
30 Daft

34 On about

This is a very handy one to know. It means what are

you talking about?

35 One of

A one off is used to describe a one-time event that

is never to be repeated.

36

Piece of
Cake

37 Pissed

When something is exceptionally easy. E.g. He

makes that dance look like a piece of cake
Another word for Drunk Posh High class,
sophisticated.

38 Puke

Vomit Quid A pound in English money.

39 Smashing

If something is smashing, it means it is terrific.

40 Ta

A slang word for Thank you.

41

Taking a
Piss

42 Twat

43 Up for it

44 Wanker

45 Wind up

This has nothing to do with Urine. It basically means

making fun of someone.
A word used to insult someone who has offended
you. It means a person who is a stupid and lacks
good sense of judgement. It is also a slang for
female genitals.
To be available. When a Brit say they are up for it, it
means you are willing to come along. E.g. You up
for going down the pub? Yeah mate, im up for it
Uni : short word for university
This is a derogatory term used to describe someone
who is a bit of a jerk. It actually means someone
who masturbates and also has a hand signal that
can be done with one hand at people that cannot
see you shouting wanker at them. This is
particularly useful when driving.
This has a couple of meanings. If something you do
is a wind up it means you are making fun of
someone. However it you are wound up it means

you are annoyed.