Leyla
Community Tutor
Slang words in English.

Share some interesting and funny slang words in English:)))

I learned some words:

Aggro-aggressive behaviour

babe-young attractive Woman

dish-good looking man

berk-stupid person

cheerio-good bye

chill-out  ---Relax

emo-shy person and funny slang EGG HEARD -clever and intelligent person:))))

Jan 14, 2015 11:20 AM
Comments · 8
7

Hello Leyla

It's good that you are learning different types of vocabulary, but may I give you some advice? You should keep most of these words in your passive vocabulary. This means that you should learn them so that you can understand when native speakers use them, but you should be very careful about using them yourself.

Slang, by definition, is a type of language which is used by a particular small group of people, and only in certain contexts. Teenagers use slang which they wouldn't use to adults, because it they're not part of the group. Sometimes men use slang which they wouldn't use to a woman, because she would be offended. British people might use a slang expression among themselves but not with Americans, because they wouldn't understand it - and vice versa, of course.

I might watch a film about gangsters in Chicago. I might understand the English slang they use, but I'd never use it. Why? Because I'm not a Chicago gangster. Slang is all about context and belonging to a group.

Of the expressions that you've written above, the only one which I'd recommend you use, if you wish, is 'chill out'. This is widely used and understood, and, for this reason, is not strictly speaking a slang expression.

Of the remaining words, some are wrong : 'emo' doesn't mean 'shy person', and it's 'egghead' not 'egg heard' that can mean clever. Others are sexist or possibly offensive. Others are old-fashioned, while others are only used in the UK. If you said most of these words to an average native speaker, you would probably get a strange reaction.

Have fun learning new expressions, but do, please, be careful about using them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 14, 2015
2

Eejit - Idiot

"You're a pure eejit!"

 

Buck eejit - Complete and utter idiot

"Quit actin' the buck eejit!"

 

Gub/gob - Mouth

"Wise up before a hit ye a belt in the gub!"

 

Lug - Ear

"Some pair a lugs on thon!"

 

Craic - Fun

"Last night was mad craic!"

 

Bucketin' - Raining heavily

"It's been bucketin' all day!"

 

Scundered - Really bored/fed up

"I've been scundered all day!"

 

A dose - An intolerable person for whatever reason

"He's a pure dose hi!"

 

 

January 14, 2015
1

You're welcome, but I have to agree with Su.Ki - you shouldn't use them.

 

Here's a funny story that demonstrates why:

 

My dad used to live in America for a while when he was younger and he told me that when he was discussing a night out he'd often say things like "some craic last night" or whatever, and only his Irish friends understood him. Everybody else thought he spent the night before smoking drugs. 

 

Another funny one was when my dad's mate went into an ice cream parlour and said to the young lady at the till "can I have a poke?" He thought he was asking for ice cream, she thought he was asking for something else entirely. 

January 14, 2015
1

'Awesome' and 'cool' don't count as slang words either, because they are so widely used, particularly among younger people all over North America. Feel free to use those if you wish.

 

Spangola has given you some great examples of Irish slang. Enjoy them. But remember, most of them wouldn't be understood in Britain, let alone the rest of the world. Look but don't touch!

January 14, 2015

Thanks,Spangola:) I never heard these words.

January 14, 2015
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