How many English slang words do you know?
Do you find English so hard to learn? You have been learning English for at least a couple of years, even a decade but still cannot speak naturally to or hard to catch native speaker’s phrases precisely? There should be a language gap between what you learn in school and real life.
It is a fact that native speakers use English slang words in their conversations so often. A high possibility is that you might focus too much on learning academic vocabulary and miss out on learning famous English slang words.
In this article, we suggest a new learning aspect with Word Cloud to improve your English competency, in particular, English slang words. You will have a chance to access the ultimate list of 60 most famous English slang words, phrases, their meaning and examples that are used in both America, and England, and some old English slang words, too.
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The Reasons to Learn English Slang Words
If you still wonder why learning English Slang words is beneficial, here are the five reasons:
- Fit the new environment and expand relationship networking quickly
- Increasing the rate of accuracy in expression and preventing faux pas and misunderstanding
- Promoting a sense of belonging and having deep ties to culture and traditions
- Learning deep insight into local history and past events
- Presenting personal opinions and evoking emotions a more fresh and meaningful way to deal with any kind of conversation and speech
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British Slang – English Slang Words
- Ace â is used to describe something that is awesome. A word that is popular in the north and amongst youngsters.
- A load of tosh â is used to describe something that is not very good. For example, your lecturer might describe your essay âas a load of toshâ âŚ. harsh!
- Bees knees â the phrase does not relate to bees or knees but is an idiom for excellent. It became popular in the 1920s along with âcatâs whiskers.â
- Bird: This is British slang for a girl or a woman.
- Bevvy – The short for the word âbeverages,â usually alcoholic, most often beer.
- Bloody: As British slang, âbloodyâ places emphasis on a comment or another word. âThatâs bloody brilliant!â for example. It is regarded as a mild expletive (swear word) but due to its common usage, it is generally acceptable. For example, âOh bloody hell!â
- Bonkers: Can mean either “crazy” or “angry” depending on the context. Someone can be âcompletely bonkersâ or can âgo bonkersâ (the latter can also mean losing your temper).
- Bollocking – You get a bollocking when youâve done something you shouldnât have. âI didn’t do my homework and the teacher gave me a right bollockingâ.
- Butcherâs hook âoriginates from the East End of London and is a rhyming slang for taking a look.
- Canât be arsed: A commonly used British slang sentence is âCanât be arsed.â This is a less polite version of saying that you canât be bothered doing something. You might also see this abbreviated to âCBAâ in textspeak.
- Cheers: A multi-purpose word that can be used as a toast, to thank someone or even say goodbye.
- Cheesed off â is a quirky euphemism for being unhappy. Obviously, you would be unhappy if your cheese went off! It can be used in casual and formal situations for example someone could say âIâm cheesed off that you ate the last piece of cake.â
- Chuffed: If someone is “chuffed,” they are very happy or delighted
- Dead: A common English slang word for “very”, particularly in the north of England. âDid you see that bloke? Heâs dead gorgeousâ.
- Donkeyâs years â Apparently donkeyâs live for a long time so when someone says âI havenât seen you for donkeyâ they are saying they havenât seen you in a long time.
- Dodgy: Untrustworthy. A person can be dodgy but so can an object: âI think I ate a dodgy curryâ.
- Easy peasy â A fun and childish way of expressing something is easy to do or understand. We dare you to use it next time your lecturer is explaining something.
- Earful â is an expression used to describe someone who is being told off. For example, you may hear someone say âThey got an earful for being so loud last night.â
- Ends: London slang for the area youâre from. Itâs important to represent your ends.
- Fancy: Used as a verb to show a desire for something or someone. âI really fancy herâ is a profession of a love interest, but you could also ask someone: âDo you fancy some lunch?â.
- Flogging a dead horse â to try and find a solution to a problem that is unsolvable. For example: âYouâre flogging a dead horse by asking Martha to move to the UK â she hates rainâ
- Jokes: Used as an adjective, to mean âfunnyâ or just âfunâ. âLetâs go into town tonight mate, itâll be jokesâ.
- Iâm easy â next time you are in a restaurant and your friends are debating what to order just say âorder whatever. Iâm easyâ. Thatâs a signal that youâre happy with whatever they order.
- Jim jams â is slang for pyjamas and as a student, youâll hear âI think itâs time to put on my Jim jams and get into bed â Iâm exhausted!â â a lot!
- Lemon: If you think that someone looks foolish because they are shy or slow to take action, you can say that they are like a lemon. Eg: I just stood there like a lemon.
- Lush: Heard a lot in Wales but also in parts of northern England to mean “great” or “very nice”.
- Leave it out â means you want someone to stop doing or saying something that you find upsetting or annoying.
- Plonker: Someone who is a bit stupid or annoying. A little bit more affectionate than calling someone a pillock. âDon’t be such a plonkerâ.
- Shook: London street slang for “scared”.
- Rosie lee â is cockney rhyming slang for a cup of tea.
American Slang – English Slang Words
- Bummer: A disappointment. Eg. âThatâs such a bummer. Iâm sorry that happened.â
- Chick: a word to indicate a girl or young woman. Eg. âThat chick is hilarious.â
- Chill: means relax. Eg: I will go to Pari to chill for my upcoming holiday
- Cool: same as awesome means âgreatâ or âfantastic.â It also shows that youâre okay with an idea that is given by others.
- Couch potato: a person who takes little or no exercise and watches a lot of television. Eg: ‘It is no good you being a couch potato and having a Dobermann”
- Cram: Study like crazy. Eg: I am gonna take a history test and now I have to cram as much knowledge as possible.Â
- Flakey: is used to describe someone indecisive. Eg: âGarry is so flakey. He never shows up when he says he will.
- Flick: the movie. Eg: The flick Avatar is worth watching.
- Hypebeast: Someone who only wants to be popular
- I canât even!: used without the following phrase to indicate that the speaker is overwhelmed with emotion. Eg: “This is just so ridiculously cute. I can’t even.”
- I donât buy that: I don’t believe it
- Iâm down: Iâm able to join. Eg. âIâm down for ping pong.â
- Iâm game: I’m up for that. Eg: that you are willing to do it/want to do it. Eg: does anyone want to go to a nightclub tonight? I’m game.
- In no time: Very soon. Eg. âWeâll have our homework done in no time.â
- In the bag: North American word for drunk. Eg: After a long night in the pubs, he was in the bag”
- It sucked: It was bad/poor quality. Eg. âThat movie sucked.â
- Lame: The opposite of cool or fantastic. Eg. âThatâs so lame that you canât go out tonight.â
- Lighten up: mean relax. Eg. âLighten up! It was an accident.â
- My bad: means My mistake. Eg. âMy bad! I didnât mean to do that.â
- No biggie â Itâs not a problem. Eg: âThanks for tutoring me, David!â – âNo biggie, Lala.â
- Once in a blue moon: means very rarely. Eg: “he comes round once in a blue moon”
- Party animal: someone who enjoys parties and party activities very much and goes to as many as possible. Eg: Sarah’s a real party animal – she likes to dance all night.
- Rip-off: A purchase that was very overpriced. Eg. âThat phone case was a rip-off.â
- Same here: mean “I agree”. Eg: âIâm having a hard time studying for this exam.â – âSame here.â
- Score: Get what you want, or have sex with someone that you have usually just met: Did you score last night, then?
- Screw up: To make a mistake. Eg. âSorry I screwed up and forgot our plans.â
- That’s the stuff: That’s really great or satisfying. Eg: Ah, that’s the stuff. Nothing like a cold beer after a long day’s work.
- Thatâs rad: That’s exceptionally good, excellent, cool, or exciting. Eg: You’re going to the BlackPink concert too? That’s rad!
- Tying the knot: If you say two people tie the knot, you mean they get married. Eg: Len tied the knot with Kate five years ago.Â
- Wasted â Intoxicated. Eg. âShe was wasted last night.â
The Bottom Line
Basically, there is no way to speak like a native if you don’t add some English slang words in your vocabulary list. Learning new words is more challenging if you don’t practice them so often. If you are thinking of a game idea to learn new words effectively while having fun, why don’t you try AhaSlides Word Cloud. For learners, educators, and trainers, you can leverage the Word Cloud game to help you build cool and fancy language learning and teaching programs.