Being a South African and having moved to a completely new country, it never really dawned on me that the slang would be any different from what I knew and grew up with. It was just was never one of those things I had thought to add to my list of things I needed to prepare for. So, today I’ve decided to blog about ‘A Lesson Into The British Slang’.

I remember the first word of slang I came across, ‘lush’ as in “it was so lush”. ‘Lush’ means something is high quality or luxurious. So simple right, but man that threw me off. I thought everyone was just really into bath bombs (there is a well know shop called Lush, it’s known for it’s fun and fancy smelling soaps and bath bombs of course).

The word ‘pants’ also have a very different meaning in Britain. To this day I still call my jeans or trousers my ‘pants’, which inevitably results is some hilarious concerning facial expressions while in public as the word ‘pants’ on this side of the world means undergarments. You can just imagine the thought of the British folk when having stepped into a puddle and exclaiming ‘Agh no! I wet my pants!’.

One all South African’s will appreciate is ‘a cheeky Nando’s’ – that’s right! The British love Nando’s almost as much as we do! Having a ‘cheeky Nando’s’ means popping into Nando’s for a bite after a good night out. Something a little routinely for a South African, adjusting to the UK should be no problem!

“You alright?” – I’ve been asked this by almost everyone I meet, the only problem with how I understood it is that it’s not really even a question. ‘You alright’ is more of a greeting than anything else, and really doesn’t require an answer, of which I always give. Still getting used to that one.

Anyways, I hope this gave you a bit of insight into the British lingo!

I’ll see you here same time next week! Stay cheeky.