Those Crazy Things British People Say!

Well, since we're going to a country where they speak English we figured, sweet, we won't be needing to learn a new language.  However, as you will see below, apparently there are some terms that we lost when we gained our independence.  
Here are just a few nutty words and phrases we are sure to hear over in the Queen's country:

Any road - Up north, instead of saying anyway, they say "any road"!

Bees Knees - This is the polite version of the dog's bollocks. So if you are in polite company and want to say that something was fabulous, this phrase might come in handy.

Belt up - It's the British for shut up.

Bob's your uncle - This is a well used phrase. It is added to the end of sentences a bit like and that's it! For example if you are telling someone how to make that fabulous banoffee pie you just served them, you would tell them to boil the condensed milk for three hours, spread it onto a basic cheesecake base, slice bananas on top, add some whipped double cream, another layer of banana and Bob's your uncle!

Chuffed - You would be chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something.

Dog and Bone - Telephone.

Dog's bollocks - You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks.

Gormless - A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy.

Horses for courses - This is a common saying that means each to his own. What suits one person might be horrible for someone else.

Lurgy - If you have the lurgy it means you are ill, you have the Flu. Don't go near people with the lurgy in case you get it!

Luvvly-jubbly - Clearly another way of saying lovely. Made famous by the TV show Only Fools and Horses.

Owt - This is Yorkshire for anything. Similarly nowt is Yorkshire for nothing. Hence the expression "you don't get owt for nowt". Roughly translated as "you never get anything for nothing" or "there's no such thing as a free lunch".

Scrummy - This is a word that would be used to describe either some food that was particularly good (and probably sweet and fattening).

Sixes and sevens - If something is all at sixes and sevens then it is in a mess, topsy turvy or somewhat haywire!

Spend a penny - To spend a penny is to go to the bathroom. It is a very old fashioned expression that still exists today. It comes from the fact that in ladies loos you used to operate the door by inserting an old penny.

Tickety-boo - If something is going well with no problems we would say it is tickety-boo.

Yonks - "Blimey, I haven't heard from you for yonks". If you heard someone say that it would mean that they had not seen you for ages!

Zed - The last letter of the alphabet. The English hate saying zee and only relent with names such as ZZ Top (Zed Zed Top does sound a bit stupid!).