Podcasts by The Slang Podcast - Learn British English Now

Break a Leg - What does "Break a Leg" mean in British Slang? from 2022-12-07T06:45

One of my friends is a musician and he is performing at his first concert tomorrow! This morning I saw him for a coffee and said:

Looking at me with confusion and fear he repeated:
...

Ish - What does "Ish" mean in British Slang? from 2022-05-09T05:45:02

After a long day at work my partner always asks how I am feeling. I usually reply with one of the two:

• hungry-ish or tired-ish.

Mug - What does "Mug" mean in British Slang? from 2022-05-02T05:45:02

Our slang word of the week is mug spelt M-U-G. This is a tricky word due to its vast range of meanings within both slang and formal English.

Now our first and formal meaning of mug is a...

Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt - What does "Bob's Your Uncle" and "Fanny’s your aunt" mean in British slang? from 2021-07-08T11:00

Things don’t seem easy these days, whether you're setting up an online bank account, learning how to work i-teach platform to teach your students, or finding the right ingredients in the supermarke...

FOMO&JOMO - What does "FOMO" and "JOMO" mean in British Slang? from 2020-11-14T17:17:31

Have you ever suffered from FOMO or JOMO? If you've no idea what I'm talking about, then it could be argued that you're in fact already a victim of them without knowing!

So FOMO, F-O-M-O...

Salty - What does "Salty" mean in British slang? from 2020-06-08T13:15:08

So you have planned three holidays, booked time off work and are totally ready to lay on a beach sipping pina coladas under the sun. This I am sure were many of your summer plans, unfortunately the...

Sick - What does "Sick" mean in British slang? from 2020-06-01T11:35:41

My friend Kelly used to work at an Italian Pizzeria in Canterbury. She worked with many Italian chefs and would compliment them on the daily pasta specials looking ‘sick’.

Their response...

A Few Sandwiches Short of a Picnic - What does "A Few Sandwiches Short of a Picnic" mean in British slang? from 2020-05-25T10:12:10

Today we will be exploring idiomatic phrases that I would say are rare gems of slang. Before we start, I want to give you some context.

You and your friend have decided to go for a day a...

Bob's your uncle and Fanny's your aunt - What does "Bob's Your Uncle" and "Fanny’s your aunt" mean in British slang? from 2020-04-29T11:00

Things don’t seem easy these days, whether you're setting up an online bank account, learning how to work i-teach platform to teach your students, or finding the right ingredients in the supermarke...

Beat - What does "Beat" mean in British slang? from 2020-04-09T10:37:04

As I have been trapped inside for a while now, I have been "face timing" many of my close friends who are far away, as I am sure you have all been doing. While speaking to my closest friend Ella I ...

Shook - What does "Shook" mean in British slang? from 2020-04-01T19:19:10

Before we get started I wanted to say a few words about the current global situation.
In desperate times we feel panicked and scared for many reasons. I want to thank everyone who is helping u...

Chum - What does "Chum" mean in British slang? from 2020-03-13T10:53:18

This weekend I have been lazy, I have gone shopping, tidied my flat and spent some time with my chum... Louisa what are you talking about now? What are your chums?

Chums C-H-U-M-S, is a ...

Bloke - What does "Bloke" mean in British slang? from 2020-03-10T18:17:24

While telling my Italian friends about my good friend Ollie from Glasgow I said "he is a good bloke". Bloke? what nationality is that? No it is not a nationality! So what is my friend Ollie?
...

Money Slang Special - What's the meaning of Pony and Monkey in British Slang? from 2020-03-04T18:19:43

You are listening to our fourth and final episode specialising on slang and money!

Ok on to our next slang term for money… a pony. I can hear you asking me- Louisa why are we now talking...

Money Slang Special - What's the meaning of Fiver, Tenner and Bluey in British Slang? from 2020-03-02T18:55:09

You are listening to our third episode specialising on slang and money!

Today we are starting by looking at the most common and widely used slang terms. I was in a bar recently with my I...

Money Slang Special - What's the meaning of Pound, Quid, Nicker and Squid in British Slang? from 2020-02-12T06:30:02

In our most recent episodes we are discussing slang words for money! Something key when travelling to a different country or even speaking a new language! Today we will be examining slang words for...

Money Slang Special - What's the meaning of Moolah, Bread, Dough and Wedge in British Slang? from 2020-02-10T06:30:04

Today we will be talking about money, something universal….however us brits have found many words and phrases to use when talking about it.

While the origins of these slang terms are man...

Internet Slang Special - People on the internet (TROLL, LURKER, BAE) from 2020-01-29T06:45:11

Today we will be exploring more social media slang, in particular how do we identify the sea of people on social media, from trolls to baes...what are they and what do they mean?! Now is your chanc...

Internet Slang Special - English Social Media (AMA, IRL, GTG, BRB) from 2020-01-20T06:30:08

Today we will be exploring more social media slang! The internet is super important when learning a new language as social media is something that allows you to connect with people from all over th...

Internet Slang Special - English Social Media (DM, SELFIE, FOMO, TBT) from 2020-01-15T06:45:09

Last episode we mastered internet slang and abbreviations but this episode we will become experts on slang specifically for social media.

Even if you’ve mastered English vocabulary offli...

Internet Slang Special - English abbreviations (CBA, TBH, BTW, TMI) from 2020-01-13T06:45:14

Today we will be exploring essential internet abbreviations.

The more time you spend learning English, the more time you’ll spend reading and writing English on the internet. I know as a...

Stag Party - What does "Stag Party" mean in British slang? from 2020-01-08T08:46:11

Last episode we looked at the slang term "hen party" an event for a woman before she gets married.
But is there one for men? Yes! And that’s what we will be looking at today.

This i...

Hen Party - What does "Hen Party" mean in British slang? from 2020-01-06T11:25

Ok so this week's episodes are inspired by my friend Rosie Higginbottom, who is soon to be married! I was telling my Italian friend about traditional english celebrations, concerning weddings... an...

Christmas Slang Special - Christmas traditions (Queen's Speech, Crackers, Pantomime) from 2019-12-25T11:19:04

We all have our own special way of celebrating Christmas, whether its spending all day socialising with friends or simply curling up by the fireplace all day. Today I want to tell you about what Br...

Christmas Slang Special - Christmas food (Figgy Pudding, Mince Pies, Pigs in Blankets) from 2019-12-23T14:44:46

Today we will be exploring our third, Christmas topic, my favourite, Christmas food. So let’s get started...

Many countries have their own special ways of celebrating Christmas, all us...

Christmas Slang Special - Days and Celebrations (Boxing Day, Hogmanay, Twelfth Night) from 2019-12-18T06:45:15

Hello and welcome back to a very special episode of Slang with me Louisa May Adams. This show will give you the chance to hear, understand the origins and meanings of new slang and to use it immedi...

Christmas Slang Special - What is the meaning of Yule, Xmas and Chrimbo? from 2019-12-16T06:45:07

For the next two weeks every episode is dedicated to British Christmas slang.Today we will be starting with different words for the winter season. So let’s get started.

Christmas is a ti...

Woke - What does "Woke" mean in British slang? from 2019-12-11T06:30:16

Ok so today we will be focusing on a slang word that has got so much negative and positive attention recently. This word is "woke"... So what does it mean?
Is it positive or negative? Let’s e...

Ghosting - What does "Ghosting" mean in British slang? from 2019-12-09T09:45

One of my students recently moved to England. His dream was to meet a lovely english woman and settle down. I wished him luck and warned him to watch of for ghosting! He responded by saying that he...

Fancy - What does "Fancy" mean in British slang? from 2019-12-04T08:05

Ok so today we will be looking at a word that I use all the time! This word is fancy. If you are an English language learner you most probably have heard this word before however I encounter studen...

Dodgy - What does "Dodgy" mean in British slang? from 2019-12-02T08:32:11

While telling my Italian friend about my travels around Italy we got onto the topic of Rome, a beautiful and lively city. I stayed there for 3 weeks alone over a recent summer while studying classi...

Gutted - What does "Gutted" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-27T07:18:36

In November I often feel gutted, its cold, the sun has disappeared and as Christmas crawls closer I check my bank account and wonder if my family would each be happy receiving an ironic orange.
Listen

Link - What does "Link" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-25T07:18:33

Having a partner of a different nationality has many benefits however I must say, me and my Italian boyfriend often find ourselves slightly lost in translation over small things, mainly due to slan...

Nick - What does "Nick" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-20T08:35

I was telling my class about my close friend from England who called me yesterday. She was very upset because her coat got nicked on the subway.

When i told them, they responded with lit...

Bail - What does "Bail" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-18T07:45:06

Have you ever been to a boring party? Stuck with the same music and dry conversation on repeat? Then it’s time to tell your mates to bail! Confusing right? Why am I talking about jail and money at ...

Wavy - What does "Wavy" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-13T10:15

While living in Italy I have noticed the vast range of adjectives that can be used to describe positive or cool things. Having a lack of knowledge of these in Italian is something that makes me re...

Cotch - What does "Cotch" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-11T07:12:01

While having dinner with an Italian friend, she asked me if I would like to go for a glass of wine, I told her I was very tired and was planning to go and cotch. She nodded and asked me where I was...

Bare - What does "Bare" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-06T11:19:06

While arriving in my class yesterday I apologized to my students for being late. I told my students this was because there were bare people outside. They all suddenly rushed to the window and stare...

Banter - What does "Banter" mean in British slang? from 2019-11-04T08:25

Recently one of my students are I were joking with each other about our accents, he was mocking me for my poor accent while speaking Italian, especially when rolling my Rs. I told him that I wasn't...

Beef - What does "Beef" mean in British slang? from 2019-10-27T15:21:09

Hello and Welcome to Slang . I am Louisa May Adams, this is our first podcast so if you enjoy it please keep checking out what more we have in store! I am an English Language teacher living in Ita...