British English Idioms
This lesson is about British English idioms. An
idiom is
one type of
figurative
language in the English language.
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An idiom is a commonly used phrase that
does not mean what it says.
Idioms should not be taken
literally.
That means that you should not
believe it exactly as it is written.
Idioms can be unique to a
language, culture, or area. A British
English idiom may not have the same meaning (or any meaning
at all) in another language or culture.
Although American
English and British English
are similar, they do
not
always use the same idioms.
However, some idioms are found in both
American
English and
British
English.
These are a few well-known idioms
that have the same
meaning in both
American English and British English.
- a piece of
cake

(If something is a
piece of cake, it is very easy to
do.)
That math test was a
piece of cake.
- just the
ticket
(If something is just
the ticket, it is the perfect
thing.)
A day on the beach is just
the ticket to help me relax.
- doing time
(When someone is doing
time, they are spending time in jail
or prison.)
Sam is doing
time for theft.
- off your
rocker

(If you are off
your rocker, you are acting crazy or
insane.)
Tom is acting weird today. He is off his rocker.
- with child
(A woman who is with
child is pregnant.)
Sally is eating healthy because she is with
child.
- lost your
lunch
(If you vomit, you might say you lost your lunch.)
She had the flu and lost
her lunch.
The idioms above are the same in both American English and British
English.
Many times
idioms in British English are different from idioms in American English.
For example, suppose someone is in jail or prison.
In
American
English you would say they are:
in the
slammer
or
behind
bars
In
British
English, you would say they are:
in the
clink
All of these are ways of saying that someone is in prison.
Here is another example:
In
American
English, if you want someone to
hurry up,
you might say:
Shake a leg!
However, in
British
English, you would say:
Pull your finger out!
or
Get your
finger out!
Here is one more example:
In
American
English, if something is very common and easy to get, you
might say it is:
a dime a
dozen
In
British
English, you might say it is:
ten a penny
or
two
a penny
British English idioms
Here are some idioms that
are unique to British English.
- take the
mickey/mike out

(If you take
the mickey or take
the mike, you are
teasing or copying someone.)
The kids would take
the mickey out of him because of the way he talked.
- jobs for the
boys
(This is a reference to people in power who use their
power to give jobs to friends and family.)
The store owner only has jobs
for the boys.
- off your own
bat
(You do something off
your own bat when you do
something without being told.)
He cleaned the kitchen off
his own bat.
- daft as a
brush
(Someone who is daft
as a brush is not very smart.)
Sometimes Bill acts daft
as a brush, but he is actually very smart.
- queer fish
(You might say that someone is a queer fish
if you think
they are strange.)
Bob is a queer
fish because he likes to eat strawberry jam on his
hamburger.
- on the blower
(If someone is on
the blower, they are talking on the
phone.)
It is considered rude to be on the blower
in public.
- noddy work
(Noddy work
is something that is very easy to do.)
Washing laundry is noddy
work. 
- quart into a
pint pot
(If you are putting a quart
into a pint pot, you
are putting too much into a small space. A quart is more than a
pint.)
Trying to fit everything into my little closet is like trying
to put a quart
into a pint pot.
- lose your
bottle
(If you lose
your bottle, you lose your courage to do
something.)
Ask her on a date before you lose your bottle.
- laugh to see
a pudding crawl
(If someone would laugh
to see a pudding
crawl, that means it is easy to make them laugh.)
Sally thinks I'm funny, but Sally would laugh to see a pudding
crawl.
- banana skin
(A banana skin
is something that causes embarrassment.)
No one liked the film. It is a banana skin
for the movie industry.
- bent as a
nine bob note
(If someone is bent
as a nine bob note, they
are dishonest.)
Tim is a criminal, and he is bent as a nine bob note.
- on the dole
(If someone does not have a job and is receiving financial
assistance from the government, you say they are on the dole.)
After he lost his job, his family was on the dole
for two years.
- in a tick
(If someone says they will do something in a tick,
that means
they will complete it soon and quickly.)
Supper will be ready in
a tick.

This
was an overview of British English idioms. Now that you
understand,
it is
time to practice!
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