British Phrases an English-Speaking Foreigner Might Not Understand
@cmoneyspinner (9221)
Austin, Texas
November 19, 2017 5:18pm CST
Improving my vocabulary and learning at least some expressions in a foreign language are always two items on “Goal List”. I check or measure my progress regularly to see if I'm achieving these goals.
Found this BI list “88 very British phrases that will confuse anybody who didn't grow up in the UK” and wanted to see if the words and phrases really did sound foreign to me. I watch a lot of BBC programs so I thought for sure that I probably knew most of them.
Surprise! It was the other way around. Actually, I don't even think I ever heard anybody on the British shows that I've watched use many of these expressions. For sure if one of the characters had said these words (below), I would have remembered this expression if I had heard it.
“Hey! Don't take the Mickey!”
Cause I'd be like … M-I-C … K-E-Y … Why is Mickey Mouse even in this conversation??! 
This list of slang and idioms defines the weird and wonderful British dialect we grew up with.
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6 responses
@marguicha (215470)
• Chile
19 Nov 17
I read most of them. English is not my native language. But the only one I had heard (and a lot) was "bloody" or "bleeding". Not that Jane Austen used it.
2 people like this
@cmoneyspinner (9221)
• Austin, Texas
20 Nov 17
My late sister actually taught me that word. She said it was OK for me to say it, since I was American and it wasn't considered a cuss word in our country. In other words, mom wouldn't spank me for having a dirty mouth. 
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215470)
• Chile
20 Nov 17
@cmoneyspinner I cannot use it. But I do use a couple of swear words in American English.
I cannot use it. But I do use a couple of swear words in American English.1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 17
Some of those words and phrases are rather dated and a few tend to be regional (not everyone in England speaks Cockney, surprisingly!).
'Taking the mickey' is pretty general, however. I'm surprised to find that it is said to have originated as late as the 1930's and doesn't seem to have appeared in print until the late 1950's. It does mean "making fun of someone (usually in an oblique or less than obvious way)' and it is roughly equivalent to 'winding [someone] up' and 'taking the piss'. I am somewhat doubtful about it being rhyming slang for the latter, since nobody seems to know who Mickey Bliss was! On the other hand, 'to micturate' was used as a less coarse term for 'to unrinate' in the 19th Century and 'Mick' or 'Mickey' is a likely contraction of that term.
I won't go into detail about why 'taking the piss [out of someone]' came to mean 'making fun of' or 'taking someone down a peg' (meaning 'deflating someone's false pride') but there is an expression 'piss-proud' which is used about someone who is over-pleased with himself and you may do your own research on why that expression came about!
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@cmoneyspinner (9221)
• Austin, Texas
20 Nov 17
Well thanks for your comments. That was very educational. 
1 person likes this
@allen0187 (58444)
• Philippines
21 Nov 17
Thanks for the link.
A former boss is Brit so I've heard a few of the expressions in the list.
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