10 Native-Level British English Expressions You Won't Learn in Class | Improve Your English

You don't learn this in your language school.

Shut up, mate, you’re doing my nut in!

You only learn this vocabulary if you grow up in England.

Yeah I’m f***ing knackered, mate

She went off on one because I was steaming!

I was gonna ask her out but I bottled it

I have been asking one question on my Instagram lately.

What is this man saying?

So before you learn this vocabulary which is above advanced

above proficiency, this is like C3 level.

You need to learn some filler words for British English.

Some are easy like mate, that means friend, but you know that that's easy.

“Hello, friend!” in British slang English:

“Alright, mate!”

also we can use the word right to add strength,

tension, drama to our sentences.

Well, more specifically a phrasal verb.

How do we use that?

Well, let's say, for example, you made a mistake with your work.

Fine.

But a phrasal verb sounds better.

Sounds more natural, right?

So

Fine.

But you want to express how bad this is

You want to say I completely made a mistake.

I completely messed up.

Use the word “Right”

First we separate the phrasal verb.

I missed my work up

next,

put the word right before the preposition.

I messed my work right up.

Notice I put the stress on the word right.

I messed my work right up.

I have to do it again.

Don't use this in formal situations.

Definitely not business contexts either.

in fact most of today's vocabulary is informal, unless I say otherwise.

So let's start here.

She flobbed in my face when I told her to do one.

no one got this correct.

Even some British people had never heard of this word.

There's a good reason for that.

So first it's not flop with a P, it's flob with a B.

And it means to spit.

But not just a normal spit. No.

It's one of those disgusting spits

Save the phlegm.

You're It's like they're trying to get their demons out of their body

with a spit.

That is a flob.

And I didn't go to a fancy posh school growing up.

I went to a public school in a sh*t town.

So we use this word.

But posh kids growing up definitely didn't.

They had better behavior.

We, however, we had slang words

for other slang words, and this is one of them.

“Flob” it does sound pretty funny.

Yeah.

Also when you learn new vocabulary or new slang,

you should be aware that geography matters

Where you grew up dictates what words you use.

For example, this map shows the different words

we use for a bread roll depending on where you are in the UK.

So yeah, also “flob”

It's a southern English thing.

She flobbed in my face when I told her to do one.

These situations didn't happen, by the way.

They're just funny examples I thought of

When you tell someone: “Do one!”

You're telling them to go away.

In a very slang British way.

It's not a swear word like f**k off.

But it's definitely more confrontational than “go away”

Do one. It's very, very British.

And it means go away. Leave me alone.

but with a bit more MMPH!!!

You know?

And again, it's very British

Americans. They don't say this.

If you need extra, extra English practice.

I've made this and tons of other lessons available in my English study book.

This is the best book for self-study.

You can get it on my website.

papateachme.com or Patreon.com/papateachme

the link’s in the description.

okay.

So you know how go on about something means talk about something

for a long time.

For example, on our first date,

she was going on about her ex and how amazing and handsome he is.

So, yeah, I just left.

when you say someone went on

about something, it's not necessarily bad. But

if you're saying,

they were talking for a long time, it's not always great, right?

So keep that in mind.

But anyway, that is to go on about something

Can I say to go off about something?

Well you know that to “go off”

can mean explode like a bomb, right?

This bomb is gonna go off in 10s unless we cut the right wire now!

Well, it's the same kind of feeling

if you use this to say

this person was talking for a really long time about something

they're obsessed with, like

Bro, have you ever done CrossFit?

No.

You should come to CrossFit with me next week.

Yeah, I go every week, actually.

Put the biscuit down.

I go like three times a week.

You should come next week.

The trainer works you so hard you’ll be sweating so much.

Mate, stop going on about CrossFit.

No one cares.

or if that person is angry

and talking in an explosive way, like.

She was very angry.

What did she do?

my mate was going off on one about CrossFit.

Like, I get it, you're insanely fit.

Stop talking.

he's very annoying.

How can we say when someone is being very annoying?

They're doing something to annoy you.

In British slang, English, we say to do one's head in.

mate. Stop going on about CrossFit.

You're doing my head in.

Or if your London English is very good,

you know that we can replace the word head with nut.

mate, shut up about CrossFit.

See? Oh, he really goes on.

But why are you so angry?

Why are you so annoyed today?

Why are you so irritable?

Maybe it's because you're super, super tired today.

Now, in British slang.

English, you know, we have a word for very, very tired.

“Knackered” or “Shattered” Say it with me.

Two syllables. Knackered.

Knackered.

Shattered. Shattered.

I'm knackered mate.

I'm shattered.

I worked all night.

That is your third filler word.

We use well before an adjective again

to give emphasis to that adjective.

Again.

This is very British slang, so very informal.

Also, we can replace the word WELL with PROPER

Again, this is only British English.

Americans don't say this.

So I am proper shattered.

mate. Are you okay?

You look proper tired

Oh she's going to be WELL angry.

You messed it RIGHT up.

You are PROPER stupid.

But why are you so proper knackered?

Maybe it's because last night you were drinking.

You got drunk.

You got so drunk that you couldn't talk properly,

you couldn't focus, you couldn't think.

We have a British English slang expression.

You were steaming!

“Steaming” is a great word for “Drunk”

but if only there was something

that could show me exactly how drunk I was.

Using my illustrations and a lot of vocabulary

for different words for drunk hmhm.

Where would I find such a thing?

let's talk about last night.

Why did you get so steaming?

Well, actually, it was a mistake.

You didn't want to.

It just happened because you were nervous.

Why were you nervous?

Well, you are really in love with your friend Haley.

You want to confess your love to her

But you're very, very nervous. So.

I know a little bit of Dutch courage, and I'll be fine.

By the way, what do you say for that

when you drink a little bit to get a confidence boost?

We call it Dutch courage.

I don't know why, Dutch, So you're nervous, okay,

but you're getting Dutch courage from the beer

in your new Papa Teach Me pint glass full of vocabulary.

And you're like, oh,

okay.

So I'm just going to say, Hey, Haley.

I bought you this bouquet of flowers.

Do you want to come live with me on my farm?

Oh no.

What if her reply is just

I don't think I could handle that kind of rejection.

So you decide not to do it because you're too nervous.

When that happens, the British slang expression is to bottle it.

I bottled it.

Did you ask Haley out?

No, I bottled it.

I knew you'd bottle it.

He bottled it, everyone.

He bottled it.

And finally stitch someone up.

I tried to explain this to someone the other day, but

it's very difficult to explain.

So if I read you the Google definition.

Okay.

So to manipulate a situation so that someone's placed at a disadvantage

or wrongly blamed for something. Yes.

We mostly use this when we put someone in a bad position

or say that this bad thing happened

because of that person, So for example.

Oh, what? Don't worry.

Steve already told Haley that you like her!

Yeah.

He also told her that you like to smell your dog's bum when no one's looking.

What? But how did he even know that?

I mean, I don't do that gross.

“Bum”, if you don't know, it means this.

Your behind, your rear, your posterior. Whichever word you prefer to use.

This is the childish version of that word.

And I'm an adult who pays bills and rent, but I still laugh

so goddamn hard at the word bum because it's a funny word.

Also, it's a very British word.

It's a very Canadian word.

In American English, they prefer the word butt or

ASS!

Put all of these words together into a story.

I'll give my favorite ones little hearts.

And if you want extra, extra English practice,

you can practice with my Ultimate English e-book.

This is the best English study book for self-study.

Get it on my website.

Papateachme.com or patreon.com/papateachme

Or that link in the description and I'll see you in the next class. Bye.

actually, the other day, someone rode

past me on a bike on their phone, like, shut up, mate, you do me nothing.

And that gave me the idea for this series.