What is Slang English?
Has it happened to you that you have heard English phrases in series or movies, and they have caught your attention? Surely it was Slang English, a set of idioms and colloquialisms learned in conversations with local people. The English have their jargon that we are going to discover today.
Why is it important to know English slang?
Learning it will allow you to have informal and casual conversations with natives and tourists. Please note that words and phrases vary depending on whether it is British or American slang and the region you are in or want to learn from.
What are the most common words and phrases in British slang?
Quid: Refers to pounds; some people call them “squid”.
Bearer: 10 Pounds
Fiver: 5 pounds
Bevvy is the abbreviation for “beverages,” usually alcoholic, and is most commonly used to refer to beer.
Chuffed: If someone is “chuffed”, it is because they are happy or delighted.
Nosh: It is a British slang meaning “food.”
Gutted: Used to express sadness, pain, and disappointment.
Bev: To refer to a handsome man, the British use “Bev”.
Loo is the other word you can say to refer to the toilet.
Chips: French fries
Bangers: sausage
Snog: If you want to talk about a passionate kiss or French kiss, you can say “snog.”
Lost the plot: Used to say that someone got very angry
Give you a bell: This expression replaces the phrase “I’ll call you.”
What are the most common words and phrases in American slang?
LOL: laugh out loud
Yep and Nope: You can use it instead of “yes” and “no.”
Dunno: It is short for ‘I don’t know and it is an expression used in conversation, not writing.
It sucks: To express the opposite of something being bad, you can say, “It sucks.”
My bad: “My mistake.”
To pig out: When you eat a lot, you can say, “to pig out.”
Couch potato: If you’ve spent hours sitting on the couch doing nothing, you’re a ‘couch potato’!
Piece of Cake: This expression means that something is easy
Sorted: When you’ve resolved a problem or finished arranging something, you can say (‘That’s) sorted!’
Break a leg: It is another way of saying “good luck.”
No biggie: It’s the same as saying, “No problem.”
Now let us see the different variants according to the slang of each country:
The difference between slang English and basic English is that the former expands our colloquial vocabulary and gives us other variants to express what we want to say. In contrast, basic English is more formal than the English we usually learn in schools and institutes.
The best way to learn English slang phrases and words is by watching English series and reality shows and talking to native speakers.
