218 List of Common Slang in Britain

British slang mostly comes from an old story. What are the common slang in Britain? Let's talk about the list of common British slang in 218. Let's take a look. ? 1

　Why do we bury the hatchet？

why should we bury the axe?

Bury the hatchet literally means "bury the tomahawk", and the extended meaning means "reconciliation and reconciliation", which can be traced back to the local custom in the United States in the 17th century. When the warring parties bury the tomahawk underground, it means that the two sides stop fighting and make peace.

2

Steal someone's thunder

"steal someone's creativity"

In the 18th century, an actor and troupe manager named John Dennis invented a machine that could imitate the sound of thunder on the stage, but when he learned that a late-stage worker had used his machine, he shouted angrily, "They will not let my play run. They are not going to let my play continue, but they want to steal my invention! ）”

? 3

play to the gallery

"cater to low tastes"

Since the mid-17th century, the cheapest seats in the theater have been called the gallery, so play to the gallery means "cater to low tastes".

5

by the skin of my teeth

"escape from danger"

By the skin of my teeth' come from means "escape from danger", which is taken from a story in the Bible's Book of Job. In this story, Job suffered a terrible temper from Satan, but was finally saved by God.

6

eat no fish

"People loyal to the government"

During the reign of Elizabeth I in Britain, a new idiom called "eat no fish" appeared in English.

The background of its birth is this. After Elizabeth I ascended the throne (from 1558 to 163), the first task she faced was to deal with the religious problems left over.

She led Britain to turn to Protestantism neatly: in 1559, she quickly promulgated a new Supreme Act, re-established the Anglican Church, broke with the Holy See, and reaffirmed the King of England as the supreme leader of the Church of England.

In 1571, she urged Parliament to adopt the Thirty-nine Creeds as the official doctrine of the Church of England, and finally established the Church of England.

As a provision in the Thirty-nine Credo, the Church of England has abandoned the Catholic fast of not eating meat on Friday (in Catholicism, you can't eat meat on Friday, but eat fish). The Thirty-nine Credo is of great significance in British history, and it has been used to this day.

In order to show their attitude: to stand on the side of Elizabeth I and draw a clear line with Catholicism, one of their iconic practices and slogans is "No fish on Friday".

"Don't eat fish on Friday" is abbreviated to "Don't eat fish". In Elizabeth I's orthodox society, "not eating fish" has become a symbol of consistency with the government, so in English, "not eating fish" has become an act of supporting the government, and "people who don't eat fish" has become a synonym for "people loyal to the government" and even "honest and trustworthy people".

Elizabeth I was known as "The Virgin Queen" when she was alive. She remained single and never married all her life.

However, when she was young, because she was unmarried, she never refused or agreed to others' pursuit, so she made no statement, which dragged all parties in the world. She used her unmarried status to make promises to the royal families such as Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, France and Sweden, and used her marriage as a bargaining chip to balance the power among the countries in continental Europe, especially France and Spain.

7

Chew the fat

chew

In northern dialect, "chatting" is called "chew". Chew the fat is a common saying, which is similar to "chew". However, some people disagree with this: chewthe fat is obviously "chewing fat", which seems to be out of touch with "chatting and chatting"! Hehe, you have to check the etymology carefully to find the answer.

Fat means "salted meat" in the phrase, so talking about "chewthe fat" often reminds people of such a picture: a few friends, a few bottles of beer, and a few home-cooked dishes (beef jerky, tofu jerky, smoked meat). As a result, everyone is full of alcohol, and they are happy to talk, drinking, eating and chatting.

So, if you invite friends to chat at home, you can say, "Hey, John, why not come over and chewthe fat?"

In addition, chew is often used in English to describe some behaviors such as "meditation, complaining and chatting", such as the phrase chewthe cud; Chew the rag (chatting, arguing, complaining).

8

cock and bull stor

Nonsense

According to records, "cock and bull" can be traced back to 162, when it referred to a roadside pub in England. The name of the pub was "The Cock and Bull".

When tired travelers spend the night here, they often get together to chat and tell anecdotes about their experiences. Of course, these experiences don't need to be true, so they come as strange as they are. Over time, "cock and bull story" has become synonymous with "nonsense".

9

rain check

"Some other time!"

In the United States, there are many kinds of baseball terms, and baseball culture is integrated into American social and cultural life. Continuing the slang "marketer" just mentioned, let's look at a spoken word "Rain check" derived from baseball (literally: "rain ticket"; Extension: "Let's go to the appointment another day!" )

think of a context: a friend invites you to a movie or * * for dinner, but you can't keep the appointment because of something, so you can tell him in a declined tone: "May I take a rain check?" Or, simply: "Rain check?" "Rain check" appeared in the 198s, originally referring to "tickets for the future" that the audience got when the baseball game was postponed due to rain.

with the passage of time, the semantic scope of "rain check" has gradually expanded, which can be used to describe the promise to the future in different situations, such as "extended admission ticket when the competition is rescheduled", "no price increase guarantee when the out-of-stock goods are sold in the future" or "suggestion for another day when the contract is cancelled".

1

have on the ball

"Be good at something"

According to Dixon's New Baseball Dictionary (written by Paul Dickson), the slang "have on the ball" originated from baseball and means "someone is good at something".

"Have on the ball" first appeared in the early 2th century. It is used to describe a baseball player who is proficient in hitting, pitching, keeping the ball, running and stealing bases, and can completely control the situation on the court, making his opponent "afraid to watch the ball".

of course, from "have on the ball", we can also derive a series of phrases: have something on the ball; Have nothing on the ball; Have much on the ball.

11

Jaywalk

"jaywalk"

Jaywalk (jaywalk) is often used to describe "pedestrians don't obey the traffic rules and run red lights", and its origin is quite discriminatory, which can be said to be "a mockery of rural people by city people".

As early as the 16th century, when the city just developed in Britain, the rural people who entered the city were often nicknamed jay ("a dull, chirping bird", which can be understood as "a hillbilly" here).

Country people talk loudly, don't understand the traffic rules, and are amazed when they see the "huge" buildings in the city-this rare and strange behavior and lack of "civilization" is ridiculed by the city people, and jay (country bumpkin) has almost become synonymous with "idiot".

because "not knowing the traffic rules" is an important symbol of jay (a hillbilly), by the beginning of the 2th century, those pedestrians who "disobeyed the traffic rules and ran red lights" were nicknamed jaywalker, and correspondingly, "running red lights" could be expressed as jaywalking.

12

from pillar to post

Running around

In some vocabulary books, "from pillar to post" is often translated as "running around". Strictly speaking, this explanation is not accurate. "From pillar to post" means "running around for something, which is often unrewarded and considered as a futile act"

from the etymology of the following two statements, you may get some enlightenment: "running into a wall everywhere" or "desperate" can better interpret the connotation of "from pillar to post".

one view is that "from pillar to post" originated from "real tennis" in the United States [indoor tennis, also known as "pure tennis", is now almost replaced by "lawn tennis"].

The Zhou Lin in the indoor tennis hall stands on the wall pillars. Once the tennis ball hits these pillars, it will bounce around, and the tennis player will naturally run around between the pillars in order to pick up the ball. Therefore, "from pillar to post" is often used to mean "a person is running around looking for something, but he can't get it".

Another point of view is that pillar in the phrase is incorrect, which essentially refers to "pillar" (neck and hand cangue); Post means "whipping post" (the post that binds the whipped prisoner). As early as the 15th century, criminals had to be tied to posts and paraded around the streets wearing flail. Therefore, "from pillar to post" was often used as a metaphor for "the situation when prisoners were cornered".

13

cut-and-dried words

"Rhetoric"

"Rhetoric" is certainly not a compliment. To some extent, "Rhetoric" means absolute truth, absolute repetition and absolutely nothing new ... Rhetoric is an excellent language art in leaders' speeches, spokesmen's answering reporters' questions or work reports. In English, "set words" can be described as "cut-and-driven words".

It is said that "cut and dried" (literally: cut and dried) originated from logging. If the trees growing in the forest are to become commercial timber, they must be sawn and air-dried. At the same time, the sawn timber must meet the standard width and length.

Therefore, this kind of "standardized timber that is cut and driven" is often used to describe a certain kind of words and deeds that are never unconventional, a certain result has been expected, and a certain kind of film has become a routine mode.

14

A bus man's holiday

A nominal holiday

as early as the 19th century. It is said that most carriage owners love their horses and often dress up as passengers on rest days and secretly sit in their own carriages to ensure that drivers treat horses well. Over time, "a busman＇s holiday" came into being to describe "holidays without rest".

15

Egg in your beer

push your luck!

The expression "egg in your beer" first appeared in the early 2th century and was widely used by American soldiers during World War II. Regarding its origin, one view holds that beer with raw eggs will arouse people's sexual desire. For soldiers living in barracks, drinking "aphrodisiac" is of course a wild dream.

However, it is more convincing to speculate that eggs and beer are in short supply in wartime, so it is a good enjoyment to get one of them. If you want to have both, it is "pushing your luck".

16

cat got your tongue

"Why don't you talk"

In English, the corresponding oral expression of "why don't you talk" is "has the cat got your tongue/cat got your tongue?" At this time, the interviewees are often at a disadvantage in conversation, such as children who are criticized, debaters who are frustrated, and even prisoners who are on trial ...

It is said that as early as the Elizabethan era in the 16th century, sticking out your tongue through a tennis racket was an insulting hint. At that time, the strings of tennis rackets were processed and refined from the intestines of cats, so human beings who are good at playing invented a rather strange expression "Cat got you tongue" (literally: did the cat catch your tongue). However, etymologists don't agree with this view, although unfortunately, they can't tell the origin of this spoken language themselves.

17

Cook the books

"falsifying accounts; Tampering with financial statements "

Cook the books has nothing to do with" cookbooks ",which means" falsifying accounts; Tampering with financial statements ". <