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British Slang

Do you know a lolly from a lorry? Test your knowledge of British words and phrases with this spiffing quiz!

1. What are you, if you are knackered?
   • Tired
   • Drunk
   • Sick
   • Happy

   Tired

   You could also say you are shagged out, buggered, or zonked.

2. What part of the car is the bonnet?
   • The trunk
   • The roof
   • The hood
   • The bumper

   The hood

   The trunk is known as the “boot.”

3. What is the main ingredient in Bubble and Squeak?
   • Sausage
   • Raisins
   • Bread
   • Potatoes

   Potatoes

   Bubble and Squeak is a traditional English dish of pan-fried leftover vegetables from a roast dinner. The dish, named because of the noise it makes during the cooking process, is usually made up of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas, Brussels sprouts, and other vegetables, and is served with cold meat from the Sunday roast.

4. What body part is the conk?
   • Nose
   • Ear
   • Head
   • Foot

   Nose

   The nose is also referred to as a hooter.

5. What are you wearing if you have on a jumper?
   • Overalls
   • Sweater
   • Suspenders
   • Jacket

   Sweater

6. What are you given to take care of a cut on your hand?
   • Bandybum
   • Sticky Strip
   • Plaster
   • Pillock

   Plaster

   Plaster is the British term for a Band-Aid.

7. What do you have to do if you have to “spend a penny”?
   • Go to the bathroom
   • Make a telephone call
   • Tell the truth
   • Take a cab

   Go to the bathroom

   This phrase originated during the time when public toilets cost a penny to enter.

8. The British call it treacle. What do the Americans call it?
   • Maple Syrup
   • Karo Syrup
   • Honey
   • Molasses

   Molasses

   Treacle can also mean mushy sentimentality—“That Sleepless in Seattle is pure treacle!”

9. What does it mean to “knock up” a person?
   • Wake them up
   • Get them pregnant
   • Call them on the phone
   • Beat them up

   Wake them up

   This phrase comes from the 19th century, when a man, known as a “knocker up,” was employed to go around the town and wake up the workers. He knew where all of the workers lived and would knock on their bedroom windows with a long stick. The phrase is more commonly used nowadays to refer to making something out of odds and ends—for example, to knock up a bird house out of old pieces of wood.

10. Whingers are not popular people. What do they do?
    • Lie
    • Whine
    • Fight
    • Steal

    Whine

    “Larry David is such a whinger—all he does is complain!”

11. If you’re “on the pull,” what are you doing?
    • Looking for a job
    • Hailing a cab
    • Taking a bribe
    • Looking for a date

    Looking for a date

    Otherwise known as being on the hunt for birds—or chaps!

12. What does it mean if a situation is tickety-boo?
    • It’s going well
    • It’s a disaster

    It’s going well

    Everything is certainly tickety-boo for Danny Kaye: