American Reacts to Popular British Expressions

Sdílet
Vložit
  • čas přidán 4. 09. 2022
  • Check out my Patreon for more exclusive videos and to help support the channel: / tylerreacts
    I am very excited to react and learn about some popular British expressions from an American's point of view. I feel like these expressions are going to be extremely entertaining because even though English is spoken in both the United Kingdom and the United States it is still very difficult (and fun) to try to understand expressions from another culture. If you enjoy my reaction feel free to leave a like, comment, or subscribe for more videos like this!

Komentáře • 734

  • @davidmckie7128
    @davidmckie7128 Před rokem +68

    Break a leg, knock on wood and piece of cake are all very common in the UK.

    • @lizbignell7813
      @lizbignell7813 Před rokem +19

      I would say touch wood rather than knock on wood.

    • @ronnieroo227
      @ronnieroo227 Před rokem +14

      I think they are old English sayings, that have travelled across the pond.🇬🇧❤

    • @mikepowell7385
      @mikepowell7385 Před rokem +2

      @@lizbignell7813 You're absolutely correct Liz. In the USA they say "knock" and in the UK we say "touch". However, "touch wood" can shock Americans as "wood" is a slang word for "penis".

    • @lizbignell7813
      @lizbignell7813 Před rokem +9

      @Mike Powell, l think Americans are quite easily shocked!

    • @laurabailey1054
      @laurabailey1054 Před rokem +9

      “Break a leg” is a theatre term for good luck

  • @corringhamdepot4434
    @corringhamdepot4434 Před rokem +83

    I like the old expression "she's all fur coat and no knickers".

    • @helenb1374
      @helenb1374 Před rokem +10

      That's what I tell my cats, luckily they don't take offence to it.

    • @Cinesta76
      @Cinesta76 Před rokem +2

      I've not that one for a while now. 🤣🤣

    • @johnbanton5921
      @johnbanton5921 Před rokem +2

      Yep, still in use by me 😂

    • @branthomas1621
      @branthomas1621 Před rokem +6

      I've always like "put that in your pipe and smoke it"

    • @johnbanton5921
      @johnbanton5921 Před rokem +1

      Lol yes I still occasionally use it 👍

  • @paolow1299
    @paolow1299 Před rokem +59

    Knackered comes from the old days of Horse drawn transport when a horse became too old or died .it would be taken to the Knackers yard to be processed into pet food/ or fertiliser/or glue hence the expression to be Knackered /exhausted/done.

    • @emma-janeadamson4099
      @emma-janeadamson4099 Před rokem +1

      And don't forget knackers...

    • @TehJumpingJawa
      @TehJumpingJawa Před rokem +3

      Yeah, I'm somewhat surprised this verb doesn't exist in modern American English, as knacker as a noun (one who slaughters old/sick animals) is an ancient occupation, certainly predating colonization of The Americas.

    • @martinez9756
      @martinez9756 Před rokem +5

      @@emma-janeadamson4099 Knackers were testicles in my day!

  • @yorkieandthechihuahua
    @yorkieandthechihuahua Před rokem +93

    A great example of the difference between UK and US slang happened to me while I was with my (american) late wife (well, she wasn't my late wife at the time - that would have been awkward). Anyhow, late one night she glanced out of the kitchen window and saw a skunk run into the neighbour's shed. She suggested I go tell her. I glanced at the late hour and told her "It's too late to go knock up the neighbour!" She froze in what she was doing, slowly turned to me, and said "Well... it might give her a thrill but what the HELL are you talking about?"
    We all know the US meaning of "knock up" - to get someone pregnant. It's made its way across the pond too. However, back in the UK, especially in the North, "knock up" means to rouse/wake/get someone out of bed. It relates to the industrial age when some factories used to pay a worker to go round the houses of other workers and rap on the window to wake them for work. Such people were called "knock uppers" or "knocker uppers". So what I said was logical and innocent. What she heard was... well... me wanting to impregnate another woman. ;)

    • @charlie2578
      @charlie2578 Před rokem +4

      Never heard any of this fella

    • @dawn5227
      @dawn5227 Před rokem +6

      I've only ever known "knock-up" to mean get someone pregnant. But "knock down " would make more sense to me as to knock on someone's door. Like when kids used to knock on someone's door and run away as a child where I was it was known as 'knock down ginger" or 'knock knock ginger"

    • @yorkieandthechihuahua
      @yorkieandthechihuahua Před rokem +2

      @@dawn5227 For your further education, check out the second definition from Urban Dictionary: www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=knock%20up
      And for the historical term, here's wikipedia:
      en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knocker-up

    • @carolinejohnson22
      @carolinejohnson22 Před rokem +4

      Because clocks were far too expensive for mill workers! 😶

    • @robertjones3001
      @robertjones3001 Před rokem +4

      ​@@yorkieandthechihuahua What part of the UK are you in because I have never heard anyone say "knock up" as in to wake someone up. Everyone in the UK knows "knock up" to mean get someone pregnant. Maybe you're in some backward small village, l don't know.

  • @iankinver1170
    @iankinver1170 Před rokem +28

    Also, "put a sock in it" stems from the method of muting the volume of a phonograph by stuffing a sock into the horn.

  • @johnhull1955
    @johnhull1955 Před rokem +24

    Knackers are also slang for TESTICLES, or BOLOOCKS

    • @davebirch1976
      @davebirch1976 Před rokem +10

      And "bollocks" has multiple uses
      Something bad "that's bollocks!"
      Something good "that's the dogs bollocks"
      I've made a mistake " I've dropped a bollock here"
      😆😆😆

    • @Robob0027
      @Robob0027 Před 19 dny

      Also a slaughter house was known as a knacker's yard years ago. It was where old horses were sent to be killed for meat. It also related to being too tired to work.

  • @donnawinter7561
    @donnawinter7561 Před rokem +33

    Yep,, those American phrases are just as common in the UK

    • @stevenmutumbu2860
      @stevenmutumbu2860 Před rokem +4

      Abosutely! .."Get on your coat your pulled" Iwas expecting many peoples will get it right😂

  • @JohnHollands
    @JohnHollands Před rokem +25

    Quid is to Pound as Buck is to Dollar.

  • @libradragon934
    @libradragon934 Před rokem +22

    You've got to be kidding me...I would say, coming from Essex (using the absolutely lovely estuary accent 😂) Are you havin' a laugh? So there are local variations of these sayings! And, incidentally, being pissed in England (UK) usually means to be drunk, not annoyed, though you could say "Im completely pissed off" meaning you were really fed up!

  • @grahamgresty8383
    @grahamgresty8383 Před rokem +47

    put a sock in it comes from the days of the wind-up gramaphone which had no volume control, so paeple would actually put a sock in the trumpet (horn) to deaden the sound. Piece of cake is also British

  • @simondobbs4480
    @simondobbs4480 Před rokem +22

    "Knackered" is often converted to the rhyming slang "cream crackered": "after the week's work I was cream crackered".

    • @seeyouanon2931
      @seeyouanon2931 Před rokem +1

      Where I live we also use " I'm hanging " as well as cream crackered or knackered.

    • @emma-janeadamson4099
      @emma-janeadamson4099 Před rokem

      @@seeyouanon2931 And somehow cream crackered is less offensive. Where I come from, "hanging" was disgusting to look at. You might be talking about a spot or the boy who likes you.

    • @seeyouanon2931
      @seeyouanon2931 Před rokem

      @Emma-Jane
      So you are saying "hanging " means something like a spot or someone who fancies you is ugly? Interesting, I have never heard it being used in this way before, "minging" maybe.
      We also say "hows it hanging " as in hows it going, how are you.

    • @emma-janeadamson4099
      @emma-janeadamson4099 Před rokem

      @Seeyou Anon I'm 45 - in 90s Manchester it was all, "Johnny fancies you" - "Eeuw! He's hanging!" We also used minging.

  • @G4wui
    @G4wui Před rokem +13

    All the comments you read out are old English sayings that are still used. Break a leg is an old term from theatre which means good luck and goes back to the times of Shakespeare

    • @audiocoffee
      @audiocoffee Před rokem

      because it's bad luck to wish a performer good luck.

    • @entirely-English
      @entirely-English Před 13 hodinami

      You wish somebody the worst that can happen, because calling on "the lady" is doom; hence Test pilots aren't wished good luck, you say "crash and burn"

  • @willowsparks4576
    @willowsparks4576 Před rokem +19

    One phrase that people use a fair bit is 'Gordon Bennet' (meaning For God's Sake without angering the Christian grandma down the road)

    • @chrisbodum3621
      @chrisbodum3621 Před rokem +1

      I'm guessing you have no idea who Gordon Bennet was and why his name is used in such a manner.

    • @janprimrose
      @janprimrose Před rokem

      I say 'Gordon Bennett', quite often, still. There was a Gordon Bennett in my class at school, so I didn't say it in those days 🤣

    • @helenchelmicka7894
      @helenchelmicka7894 Před rokem +1

      @@chrisbodum3621 Who was he? My mum used to say this all the time, would love to know!

    • @chrisbodum3621
      @chrisbodum3621 Před rokem

      @@helenchelmicka7894 czcams.com/video/QPFCa4JyvS8/video.html (The Debauched (and Fascinating) Life of Gordon Bennett)

    • @rempanda
      @rempanda Před rokem +1

      @@helenchelmicka7894 James Gordon Bennett Jr. He was actually an american, from New York in the late 1800's if I remember correctly. He lived a very lavish and rather scandalous lifestyle (think Dorian Gray without the murder and the supernatural painting). When he came to Europe people were really rather appalled by him and hence the british came up with the phrase "Oh Gordon Bennet!" when exasperated by something. Or so they story goes, at least. The man was real and so were his escapades, but there's been debate as there always is with old phrases if that's the true origin but it seems most likely.

  • @Jer0nim0
    @Jer0nim0 Před rokem +38

    I've never heard anyone say "I swear down" and I've lived in the UK all my life.

    • @missdragonfire
      @missdragonfire Před rokem +8

      I've heard and said it a fair bit, so I'm guessing it's a regional thing.

    • @eleanorcookson7541
      @eleanorcookson7541 Před rokem +2

      I haven't either and as well as being British I taught English for over 20 years and that includes teaching idioms and expressions!

    • @12thArchknight
      @12thArchknight Před rokem +5

      i dont know about the north but in london its very common especially among youth heard it enough growing up that im sick of it honestly =\

    • @cameracamera4415
      @cameracamera4415 Před rokem +3

      Swear down blind

    • @Vortiporius_
      @Vortiporius_ Před rokem +2

      A daily thing in South Wales. I use it regularly myself.

  • @GirlOfTheTardis
    @GirlOfTheTardis Před rokem +10

    The three American phrases you mentioned at the start are also British phrases

  • @DruncanUK
    @DruncanUK Před rokem +58

    Tyler: "I was looking at some common American expressions..." - and goes on to mention what must one of the oldest British expressions ever...knock on wood. Going right back to when people believed spirits lived in trees and would bring them luck.

    • @Luredreier
      @Luredreier Před rokem +12

      It actually predates English.
      I *think* that's it's just Germanic?
      Or possibly Celtic?
      Both Germanic and Celtic culture considered trees and wood fairly important.
      Honestly thinking about it the fundamental ideas might be Indo-European?
      Although the saying probably isn't.

    • @DruncanUK
      @DruncanUK Před rokem +5

      @@Luredreier I was thinking of Celtic/Druidic origins, but, yeah, you're right, it could be way older. It would be hard to trace back though, I believe.

    • @seeyouanon2931
      @seeyouanon2931 Před rokem +6

      @artful bodger
      I also believe it is an ancient Celtic/druid practice, the celts/druids considered trees very sacred, especially the oak, hence the oak tree, is the tree of life. Trees were used in every day life, all over Britain and Ireland, and all had a tree spirit, and the trees were used medicinaly, spiritually, superstitious practices, protection, reading the future etc etc.. If you're into this sort of thing, the Celtic tree zodiac gives you more insight.
      I think " touch wood" has to be right up there for a British superstition, also if you are walking through the woods you may come across a"wishing tree" where people hammer a coin into the tree, either for good luck, or asking the tree spirits to cure an illness.

    • @DruncanUK
      @DruncanUK Před rokem +3

      @@seeyouanon2931 That's interesting, I didn't know about the coin in the tree thing. I guess it's similar to tossing coins into water to appease the water spirits.

    • @Luredreier
      @Luredreier Před rokem

      @@seeyouanon2931 I'm fairly sure that it's older.
      Germanic religion often involved praying by trees.
      And look up Yggdrasil, the world tree connecting the human realm of Midgard with the other realms of the world.
      And I think there's elements of similar tree venerating practices in other Indo-European cultures too.

  • @bernardthedisappointedowl6938

    'Knackered' can also mean broken - by example, "This PC is knackered" - it comes from the place old horses went to die called the "Knackers yard" - Charming as she was, it's a real pity the explanations of the origins of the words wasn't better, good video from you though, ^oo^

    • @lynnhamps7052
      @lynnhamps7052 Před rokem +11

      I agree, the point she made about it being a tad rude is because knackers are also another word for men's testicles although not related to tiredness as such.

    • @djtwo2
      @djtwo2 Před rokem

      It means that it feels like you have been kicked in the balls, or that you feel as week as if you had been kicked in the balls.

    • @ruthfoley2580
      @ruthfoley2580 Před rokem +1

      @@lynnhamps7052 Or even "You look completely knackered."

    • @christineperez7562
      @christineperez7562 Před rokem

      Or 3 sheets to the wind

    • @bernardthedisappointedowl6938
      @bernardthedisappointedowl6938 Před rokem

      @@lynnhamps7052 Indeed - though used in the context of tired, it's shouldn't really be considered rude - I guess over the years, that separation of the meanings got blurred, ^oo^

  • @BKKMekong
    @BKKMekong Před rokem +6

    Knackered comes from “Knackers Yard” a place where worn out Horses are put down

  • @louiseventer6580
    @louiseventer6580 Před rokem +28

    In South Africa we use all of these sayings and we know the American ones. Brilliant video, much love from South Africa💜

  • @Jessy-cs1jz
    @Jessy-cs1jz Před rokem +7

    Knickers from knickerbockers ..
    Pants from pantaloons ..

  • @mattendo-retrogaminguk3584

    One that lots of Americans think is theirs is actually from the UK. "you stole my thunder" originates from traditional shakespeare era plays and the metal sheet used for thunder is missing, which was an in person in real time effect to create tension for a character's impactful scene. Today it's used similarly around groups where someone has one upped someone, such as skating and someone done a better trick than you. They stole your thunder.

  • @catrionacobbold6541
    @catrionacobbold6541 Před rokem +12

    We are familiar with most American English in U.K. due to watching Hollywood films/movies. 😊

  • @pjmoseley243
    @pjmoseley243 Před rokem +3

    Knackered: Horses were taken to the knackers yard to be but down when they had finished their useful life.

  • @timglennon6814
    @timglennon6814 Před rokem +6

    Knackered isn’t considered rude.

  • @KirkhamWesham
    @KirkhamWesham Před rokem +13

    In Lancashire, "pants" mean "trousers."
    Slang varies all around the UK.
    Many areas have their own slang, which will baffle even a fellow Brit from another town.
    Alot of the slang, in this video, a national slang, rather than regional.

    • @KirkhamWesham
      @KirkhamWesham Před rokem

      *are national

    • @Jenniferharv1
      @Jenniferharv1 Před rokem +1

      Agreed!!!

    • @branthomas1621
      @branthomas1621 Před rokem +1

      Yes, I am from Lancashire, now living in Scotland. I've tried telling people that pants means trousers, but everyone here thinks it's an Americanism

    • @KirkhamWesham
      @KirkhamWesham Před rokem

      I live near Preston. I refer to trousers as "pants."
      It's either a Lancashire thing or North Western.

    • @MoonMoon-zz3lq
      @MoonMoon-zz3lq Před rokem

      @@KirkhamWesham not north western, other places in the north west don’t use it. (In my experience anyway)

  • @geofffletcher840
    @geofffletcher840 Před rokem +15

    Some of our phrases date back hundreds of years especially some that originated from the Industrial Revolution, and quite a few from the armed forces overt time. Enjoyed your vid.

  • @Shoomer1988
    @Shoomer1988 Před rokem +9

    "Pants" comes from the word "Pantaloons" which is either English, French or Italian depending on who you listen to.

    • @janprimrose
      @janprimrose Před rokem +1

      When dressing my little granddaughter, my daughter calls her pants 'pantaloonies'. Which we now all do, too, lol.

  • @Niusereset
    @Niusereset Před rokem +7

    As you in the US are using "break a leg", in my country (Czech Republic) we are using "break a neck" in the same meaning (which is not the literal one 😀 )

  • @travisgrant5608
    @travisgrant5608 Před rokem +14

    Tyler ... you are NOT average ... far from it ... you are way above! 👍😉

    • @bencodykirk
      @bencodykirk Před 10 měsíci

      No, I'd say he's about average.

    • @douglashtang
      @douglashtang Před 6 měsíci

      ⁠@@bencodykirkTyler has learned so much about Norway, Canada, and U.K stuffs on his 3 channels, just like his twin brother Ryan, also 3 channels. I know they are not average American anymore, I know they just say that because it's them being content creator on CZcams, having to stay consistent with the intro. When the camera is off, I would say these two are pretty intelligent because they have learned so much over the years.

  • @jgreen2015
    @jgreen2015 Před rokem +3

    To be knackered actually means to be broken beyond repair
    'I had to scrap my car. it was knackered'
    It was then used as a metaphor for being tired in the 'worn-out' sense. After a hard day's labour your body is 'knackered'.
    And then even more recently expanded to also mean tired in the sleep sense. "I'm knackered. I didn't get much sleep last night"

  • @anca6702
    @anca6702 Před rokem +12

    I'm from Romania but living in the UK. We have lots of slang in Romania as well that would make zero sense in other languages.

    • @bencodykirk
      @bencodykirk Před 10 měsíci

      That's interesting - I've always wondered about that sort of thing as I've only ever lived in English speaking countries.

  • @michaeljamesstewart1000
    @michaeljamesstewart1000 Před rokem +1

    Knackered, meaning tired and worn out, comes from the slang for a slaughterhouse. When a horse was no longer able to work it was either handed over to the Knackers for them to take it away or the owner would take the horse to the knackers (slaughterhouse).

  • @rachealbrown2166
    @rachealbrown2166 Před rokem +8

    Lucy's videos are generally aimed at non-English speakers looking to improve their language skills so you should gave been able to understand some of them.

    • @bencodykirk
      @bencodykirk Před 10 měsíci

      I don't think he realised that. He's just "an average American" after all 😂

  • @allandale1018
    @allandale1018 Před rokem +5

    I,m from the North west of England and if we say get some pants on it could mean eg, get trousers on or jeans or shorts on , so unlike the south of England we call them under pants, undies, boxers or Y fronts which go under your pants, I used to live down south and i had the van keys in my pocket and my boss shouted to me where the van keys where and i said just get them they are in my other pants pocket in other room, But because of the lingo difference he thought i ment under pants and said i,m not getting them from there. So even being from England, the
    English lingo does not work all over England

    • @ruthfoley2580
      @ruthfoley2580 Před rokem +2

      I knew I wasn't the only one. I use pants like this too. My bloke thinks I'm unusual in this. But then he's a brummie so. . .

  • @davidfisher8654
    @davidfisher8654 Před rokem +3

    When I was young Knackers was slang for testes and scrtum!

  • @brucewilliams4152
    @brucewilliams4152 Před rokem +5

    Like most of those kinds of words, skint probably has its foot in old English, even Anglo Saxon english. You may find this interesting. This he Roman is speaking old english.( Anglo saxon). If you listen carefully you will start to understand him. It's English from1000 or more years back

  • @jerry2357
    @jerry2357 Před rokem +4

    Knackered probably seems slightly impolite because there’s the English slang word “knackers”, which means testicles, and is not completely polite. Some years (thinking about it, decades) ago, there was some media criticism of Prince Charles when he said he was “knackered” after playing in a polo match.
    But the word actually comes from the knackers, who disposed of old horses that couldn’t work any more.

  • @billydonaldson6483
    @billydonaldson6483 Před rokem +1

    Trousers in French is le pantalon, it is also used for slacks. Originally people wore long stockings, these were eventually sewn together in order to make horse riding more comfortable, hence why we say a pair of trousers.

  • @janecarmichael8060
    @janecarmichael8060 Před rokem +2

    To 'touch' or' knock on wood' was used in England in Roman times. Thought to be from the Druids.

  • @dougbowers4415
    @dougbowers4415 Před rokem +2

    A spanner is a wrench so throwing a spanner into the works is the same as throwing a wrench in the works in other words screwing everything up.

  • @entirely-English
    @entirely-English Před 13 hodinami

    Throw a spanner in the works, this comes from the Industrial Revolution, where Luddites (followers of Ludd) would sabotage machinery, which the believed were taking their jobs, by dropping (amongst other things) spanners into the "works" (the mechanisms, gears etc)

  • @antiqueinsider
    @antiqueinsider Před rokem +10

    Knackered IS widely construed as linked to testicles, so people sometimes say 'cream-crackered' which is cockney rhyming slang for 'knackered'. Skint comes from 'skinned' as in "I've been 'skinned alive'". 'Quids in' isn't always financial. "My best friend just got made boss, so I'm quids in!' (= I have an inherent advantage.) "I saw the film of Mama Mia. It was pants!" 'Tiger Tiger (burning bright). is named from a poem (Google it).

    • @trevorgoddard2278
      @trevorgoddard2278 Před rokem +6

      Knackered actually refers to the Knackers Yard (where old horses were taken to be turned into dog food and glue)

    • @GrumpyDragon_aka_LjL
      @GrumpyDragon_aka_LjL Před rokem +3

      A Londoner would say “I’m creamed” as cockney is a code so the rhyme is very rarely given in full. However, “creamed” can sound even worse! 😉

    • @pv-mm2or
      @pv-mm2or Před rokem

      @@trevorgoddard2278 knackered a verb, worn out, spent, exhausted ( a state of being) knackers a noun ( testicles)

    • @trevorgoddard2278
      @trevorgoddard2278 Před rokem +1

      @@pv-mm2or If you want to get into Etymology :-
      A Knackers Yard is a place where the Knacker worked.
      Knacker, a word derived from the old Norse words hnak(saddle) and hur(horse), means "one who slaughters and (especially) renders worn-out livestock (especially horses) and sells their flesh, bones and hides".
      So therefore the slang word "knackered" is probably a shortened version of "ready to be knackered"

    • @pv-mm2or
      @pv-mm2or Před rokem

      @@trevorgoddard2278 yes I did know but I was simply bringing the words into modern contexts to satisfy some other contradictory entries surrounding the word, fascinating and intriguing don't you just love the English language wort's an all.

  • @mattfisher7432
    @mattfisher7432 Před rokem +1

    Knackered isn't rude at all. It has its roots in farming. When an elderly farm animal was sent to the knackers yard. As in the slaughter house.
    But. Some people use the word knackers as a term for teticals.

  • @HopeIsFleeting
    @HopeIsFleeting Před rokem +2

    Saying 'I'm knackered' is a bit like saying 'I'm shagged'. Meaning there are just more polite ways of saying you're tired.

  • @janettesinclair6279
    @janettesinclair6279 Před rokem +6

    An American phrase that I find strange is "It sucks". (I know that it means that something is "pants") Where did this expression "it sucks" come from?

    • @andyevans8221
      @andyevans8221 Před rokem

      I always thought it referred to a sexual act.

  • @iancook7792
    @iancook7792 Před rokem +6

    Your amazing. Love your casts. Just for interest the phrase put a sock in it,,, comes from when the original phonographs that played discs and had a horn speaker there was no volume control, so to quieten the sound people put a rolled up pair of socks into the horn speaker to dull the sound 👍 keep doing what you do 🤗

  • @nicolek2021
    @nicolek2021 Před rokem +7

    Hello from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 You should react to more British Slang on Vanity Fair! There’s SO many and British celebrities explains them! 😁

  • @peterrobinson3168
    @peterrobinson3168 Před 2 měsíci

    I think the tennis player John McEnroe popularised the phrase "You have got to be kidding me" into the UK. Also "Are you SERIOUS!!!" and "You are the PITS!". This was during his notorious tantrum at Wimbledon in 1981. In UK parlance he "Threw a Wobbly".

  • @markwhalebone751
    @markwhalebone751 Před rokem +2

    Going on the pull is donkeys years old although it's been 40 odd years ago since I was last on the pull
    lol.

  • @billythedog-309
    @billythedog-309 Před rokem +3

    Sometimes you allow almost ten seconds before commenting - falling down on the job there.

  • @MartinAlex19
    @MartinAlex19 Před rokem +5

    Hi from Romania 🇷🇴

  • @peterphillipson9854
    @peterphillipson9854 Před rokem +13

    Most of your examples of yank slang are stuff we Brits exported to you.

  • @nickgrazier3373
    @nickgrazier3373 Před rokem

    Knackered actually comes from the 17 to 1800s when horses were worn out or dead or even other cattle on the farm and could not work any more or their carcass needed to be sent to the knackers yard to serve their last job as tallow, leather or even as candle wax etc. the knacker man would be called to remove it to the knackers yard. So to be knackered could also mean broken beyond repair as in “that back wheel mount is knackered needs replacing” which was its original meaning, then genteel and pc took over for delicate ear’s maybe.

  • @vaudevillian7
    @vaudevillian7 Před rokem +2

    Knock on wood / touch wood is an old Royal Navy (and wider) superstition so that’s from the UK, break a leg is centuries old and comes from the theatre in England as far as I’m aware. As an actor I’ve said it a lot

  • @CuRLyWuRLyGuRLy
    @CuRLyWuRLyGuRLy Před rokem +1

    You came up with probably the most American sounding phrase ever when you said "oh man . If I would have thought about this more....I never would have got it" best quote ever

  • @racheldicker5611
    @racheldicker5611 Před rokem +1

    Skint Is cockney rhyming slang comes from brassic and lint which I think were cleaning products, we also say brassic as well to mean the same thing

  • @markaitcheson3212
    @markaitcheson3212 Před rokem +2

    Knackered or Knackers has multiple meanings, it can mean broken or tired or it can mean testicles as in " I got kicked in the knackers" most uk slang has multiple meanings depending where you are from and the context of use.
    I love how Americans all try to be so literal when it comes to slang ha ha the fact that the slang changes here every 10 miles and is in no way literal would confuse you a lot.

  • @mskatonic7240
    @mskatonic7240 Před rokem +1

    16:48 - never heard that one. The version I know is to swear up and down, although the meaning is the same, it's where someone is insisting a thing is true, usually when it's a bit unlikely and people don't entirely believe them.
    As opposed to swearing up a storm or swearing a blue streak, both of which mean you're cursing so hard you changed the weather or turned the air blue respectively.

  • @yvonnephillips9710
    @yvonnephillips9710 Před rokem +1

    I believe knackered refers to an old horse going to the knackers yard! Money slang is as follows: a deep sea diver is a fiver £5, Cock and hen, £10 , a score is £20, a pony is £25, a bullseye is £50, a ton is £100, a monkey is £500 and a bag of sand is a grand, £1000!

  • @paulbriggs5238
    @paulbriggs5238 Před rokem

    Bulldog chewing a wasp is one of my favourites

  • @Well-in-the-garden
    @Well-in-the-garden Před rokem +1

    Knackered can also mean something is broken or not working. There's so many more when you get into cockney slang or rhyming slang.

  • @skyebates246
    @skyebates246 Před rokem +13

    You know break your leg is not an American expression. I'm pretty sure all of the stuff well at least most of the stuff you said come from Britain.

  • @jamiehammell1
    @jamiehammell1 Před rokem +3

    Hi tyler. Those examples of phrases you showed are also used in the uk as well.

  • @peterrobinson3168
    @peterrobinson3168 Před 2 měsíci

    An often used UK phrase is "It's not Rocket Science", meaning a task is not as difficult as it might appear. Also, "It's not Brain Surgery". Sometimes the two are combined - "It's not Rocket Surgery".

  • @michaeljamesstewart1000
    @michaeljamesstewart1000 Před rokem +1

    Skint (meaning almost or completely broke) arose around 1925, in the UK, and is a slang variant of skinned, a past participle of skin.

  • @carolinequirk6136
    @carolinequirk6136 Před rokem +1

    Here in Wales we say, I’ll do it know in a minute, meaning I’ll do at some time.

  • @grapeman63
    @grapeman63 Před rokem +27

    A "quid" comes from the Latin phrase quid pro quo - something for something. Originally a person would exchange a literal pound of gold with a bank for a promissory note (a bank note) that promised to pay the bearer the sum of one pound (in gold) upon presentation of the note. This made both travelling and business much easier as there was much less weight to cart about. The bank note eventually became known for the weight of gold it represented, i.e. one pound, and colloquially as the "something" part of the phrase, i.e. a quid.

    • @stevenmutumbu2860
      @stevenmutumbu2860 Před rokem +4

      Whaoh! you've hit it on thr head.

    • @Jessy-cs1jz
      @Jessy-cs1jz Před rokem +5

      Totally wrong , slang develops usually from working class folk , not used to Latin phrases ....
      the old papermill that produced notes for the Royal mint was in QuidHampton , all quality paper was empossed with the makers name and still is ....
      Quid was obviously short for QuidHampton which was heavily embossed in the paper ....

    • @jerry2357
      @jerry2357 Před rokem +3

      A pound was actually a pound of silver, not gold. It’s called a Pound Sterling, because it was originally a pound of Sterling silver.

    • @stevenmutumbu2860
      @stevenmutumbu2860 Před rokem +1

      @@jerry2357 In Kenya during British Colonial time a pound wsa equivalent to 20 Shillings up to date they call 20 shillings "Kifao" which is abit funny coz now 1£ I like hudrend and thirty shilling😂

    • @jerry2357
      @jerry2357 Před rokem +1

      @@stevenmutumbu2860 Yes, a shilling was originally 12 silver pennies, and there were 20 shillings in a pound, so there were 240 silver pennies in a pound. The shilling continued in use in Britain until 1971, when we decimalised so there are now 100 new pence in a pound, and the shilling has disappeared.

  • @tracy6568
    @tracy6568 Před rokem +1

    Swear down is very common here in Luton England more with younger gen

  • @mearsm50
    @mearsm50 Před 11 měsíci

    On the trouser debate; in slang trouser can be used as a verb, to put something in you trouser pocket, usually money. eg Did you ever get that refund? - No the boss must have trousered it!
    Also the range of euphamisms for underpants - Skivies, trollies, undercrackers, grundies, kegs, keks, etc....

  • @XRos28
    @XRos28 Před rokem +1

    That lady is a teacher, her channel is very good for learning British English! You must check this video out Tyler: "You're quoting Shakespeare" - Rob Brydon reveals popular Shakespeare phrases in everyday use / I've wrote you about it in an earlier video, but this is what you should look for...

  • @nieldooley2906
    @nieldooley2906 Před rokem +7

    I am from England, I have always referred to trousers as pants and male underwear as underpants.The idea of calling pants for underpants is relatively new to me.

    • @donnajohnson2180
      @donnajohnson2180 Před rokem +7

      Nobody I have ever met has called trousers pants!

    • @easterdeer
      @easterdeer Před rokem +1

      Same. It might be a Northern thing to call trousers 'pants'. It was years before I knew that people here were sometimes talking about underpants. :D

    • @emmahowells8334
      @emmahowells8334 Před rokem +2

      Really, I've never heard anyone in the UK use the word pants for trousers, that's odd in the UK.

    • @jmurray1110
      @jmurray1110 Před rokem

      Let’s all agree the best term for trousers is the Victorian term “necessities of the north”

    • @boggleboggle100
      @boggleboggle100 Před rokem

      The word trousers is used in the UK. If you asked someone about their pants, they would assume you were talking about underwear.

  • @kbrickell4732
    @kbrickell4732 Před rokem +2

    Pissed means drunk ..pissed off means angry

  • @iddjutt
    @iddjutt Před 8 měsíci

    You mention "Put a sock in it" actually comes from when we had gramophone players there was no volume control so putting a sock in the trumpet/horn muffled the sound output. Most of words she says is not used that often unless you are aged 90

  • @bloozee
    @bloozee Před rokem

    Knacker are testicals here but refer to the place dead horses are turned to glue. "Knocked up" used to be used for tired in Australia during the war.... did mean pregnant in the USA. ( my grandmother confused a GI who was staying at their house)

  • @markjones5417
    @markjones5417 Před rokem +2

    Excellent. Pretty sure there's plenty more scope for this - especially Cockney rhyming slang. As a Brit, I've always assumed "You've got to be kidding me" was American in origin, although I have no idea why. In my head, I seem to hear it in an American accent.

  • @clairelucy5667
    @clairelucy5667 Před 11 měsíci

    "Thrown a spanner in the works" I usually use when ther3s a plan and some new information or something happens which means the/my plans have to adjust

  • @vickytaylor9155
    @vickytaylor9155 Před rokem +1

    The saying don’t get your knickers in a twist is a british saying.

  • @eileencritchley4630
    @eileencritchley4630 Před rokem

    Knackered comes from a previous term Knackers Yard refering to the slaughter house and especially horses.

  • @Jessy-cs1jz
    @Jessy-cs1jz Před rokem +3

    I don't think the term pants was a British thing before Bart Simpson used it ....
    I certainly never heard it before the 90's

    • @richardbrown8966
      @richardbrown8966 Před rokem

      Did Bart Simpson use the word pants to mean bad?

    • @stephenlee5929
      @stephenlee5929 Před rokem

      No, it was definitely in use in the 70's, probably earlier.

  • @20oxford
    @20oxford Před rokem

    Knacker's yard was slang for a slaughterhouse, where you sent worn out horses to.

  • @planetwatch0000
    @planetwatch0000 Před rokem +6

    Sayings like "Piece of Cake" or "Knock on Wood" are very well used here in the UK.

  • @stephenlee5929
    @stephenlee5929 Před rokem +1

    Hi, Knackered has an offensive connotation as Knackers is slang for balls, generally from Gelding an animal.
    Also an old horse maybe sent o the Knackers Yard, to be rendered to glue.

    • @shellbell1705
      @shellbell1705 Před rokem

      Knackered is not offensive, it is just informal, slang for exhausted, worn out, tired or broken.
      Although seeming almost the same, knackers (slang for testicles) has nothing to do with knackered. They do not originate from the same word and neither have anything to do with the castration of animals.

  • @viviennerose6858
    @viviennerose6858 Před rokem

    Glad you used the word pissed. You addressed this before. To be pissed is to be drunk. To be pissed off is to be fed up or maybe a bit angry

  • @rachaeldavison30
    @rachaeldavison30 Před rokem

    Hey am from the UK and I found watching your reacts to these videos funny lol ✌🏻👍🏻

  • @maverickhistorian6488
    @maverickhistorian6488 Před rokem +1

    Knackered can be used in another context, when saying that something doesn't work or function e.g. My car is completely knackered, my boiler is knackered or my tv's knackered.

  • @EmilyCheetham
    @EmilyCheetham Před rokem

    You’ve got to be kidding me can also be used in surprise e.g. Tim “ I just won £10 on the scratch card OR I just got tickets to Glastonbury music festival” Tom “you’ve got to be kidding me. “

  • @petedutfield8617
    @petedutfield8617 Před 5 měsíci

    Skint is a British slang from the early 20th century for broke or penniless. It derives from being ‘skinned' which is actually also a slang word but from a century earlier..the english Language is beautiful 🙂😂

  • @boothy201
    @boothy201 Před rokem +5

    As a born and bread Brit, I have to say that I have never heard the term 'Swear Down' in my life. Just sayin' ;-)

    • @OblivionGate
      @OblivionGate Před rokem +1

      I'm 54 been living in England all my life and I've never heard it either!!

    • @more-reasons6655
      @more-reasons6655 Před rokem +2

      Must be a northern thing. Almost daily on the play ground you'd hear a kid say "Miss, I swear down, I never even (insert school thing here)"

    • @irenepeter-lyons350
      @irenepeter-lyons350 Před rokem +1

      @Paul Barrett Not a northern thing. I'm from Scouse, (58 years old) and never heard it before.

    • @marielouise9126
      @marielouise9126 Před rokem +1

      Same, I’m 49 and have never heard that. I would say “I swear on my life”

    • @more-reasons6655
      @more-reasons6655 Před rokem

      @Paul Barrett I can back that up as well, cant speak for the whole north but did go school in Manchester

  • @francisbarlow9904
    @francisbarlow9904 Před 7 měsíci

    Knackered comes from an almost dead horse being collected by the Knackerman who takes fallen stock, Knackers is also a rude term for testicles... hence slightly rude

  • @notmissingout9369
    @notmissingout9369 Před rokem +2

    I can’t remember ever saying to be more like I’m knackered or that’s pants but I guess she’s speaking queens English

  • @djgrant8761
    @djgrant8761 Před 10 měsíci

    The word pant/s can also mean to breathe with short, quick breaths (The dog pants after fetching the ball). It can also mean to yearn or long for (As the deer pants for the water so my soul longs for You).

  • @shellaquinn7185
    @shellaquinn7185 Před 4 měsíci

    Slang words come and go , when "thats sick" came here to the UK us older people were very confused as sick means throwing up 😂I also have never said most of those words appart from knackered most days😂

  • @peterrobinson3168
    @peterrobinson3168 Před měsícem

    A Knacker Man was a name for a man who slaughtered animals - usually horses. Working horses are not a big thing in recent times so this meaning has become lost. I take it as a synonym for broken rather than tired. "I tried fixing my car's engine but it's knackered". Knackers on the other hand is the archaic term for a man's dangly bits.

  • @countesscable
    @countesscable Před rokem

    ‘Out on the Lash’ is another one used when going out t have a night out drinking.

  • @marythurlow9132
    @marythurlow9132 Před rokem +1

    Never heard of the phrase "swear down".

  • @carolineskipper6976
    @carolineskipper6976 Před rokem +2

    Swear down- not very common- I'm not sure I've ever heard this used. Knickers in a twist is common, and widely used- but not in a serious work meeting! t's definitely slang, and used with family and close friends. Lucy's videos are mainly intended for non native English speakers to widen their English vocabulary- which is why some of these are common in the US as well as the UK.

  • @Demonic_Angel
    @Demonic_Angel Před rokem +2

    Greetings from London, New to the Channel. I dunno why but I love watching how other countries see us. As a 47 year old who's lived in SE London her whole life, America is not somewhere I'd like to live(the UK has it problems too but....) but I'd always be down for a visit one day. Anyway keep up the great work, it's very entertaining and feel free to ama on the UK or about london and being a Londoner xx

  • @beatieswanepoel3004
    @beatieswanepoel3004 Před rokem +1

    Common frases in South Africa as well. Put a sock in it as well 🌹🐝🇿🇦

  • @stephenogier7499
    @stephenogier7499 Před 6 měsíci

    To be knackered can be seen as being a bit rude because one of the meanings of knacker(s) - usually in the plural - is testicle(s) and so knackered used to mean almost specifically exhausted after sexual activity. These days it just means exhausted after any strenuous activity. I've been moving furniture all day and now I'm knackered.

  • @davebirch1976
    @davebirch1976 Před rokem +6

    "the English equivalent" yet again, an American thinking they invented the English language 😆

    • @rebelangel9572
      @rebelangel9572 Před rokem

      I'm English and I don't see it that way. He's not English so to him these words may sound very foreign. He says English equivalent because that's how he sees it