American slang

Similar to Aussie slang, American slang has been incorporated into the UK language off the back of the vast number of American films and TV shows aired daily. Unlike many Americans, who struggle with the British slang, UK residents have become so familiar with the American slang terms that they now fully understand the majority of their meanings and in some cases have adopted them too. One particular phrase will live on in history and that is the departing words of 9/11’s United flight victim Todd Beamer, with his stirring ‘let’s roll‘ directive.

Like any language there are simply too many terms to list here; although a dictionary is available, but just a few of the more recognisable phrases include: ‘hit the sack’ - go to bed; ‘take a hike’ - kindly leave; ‘hang loose’ - relax my friend; and ‘what’s going down’ - what’s happening? Some American slang words quite well known include: ‘pad’ - place to live; ‘slammer’ - jail; ‘can’ - bathroom; ‘cool’ - good; ‘drag’ - boring; ‘foxy’ - very sexy & attractive; ‘hot’ - stolen; and ‘ace’ - very good. An ‘airhead’ in American slang is a stupid person, whilst a very fat person would be referred to as a ‘blimp‘. If you visited a cheap bar that would be a ‘joint’ in America; where a visit by the ‘narks’ - the drugs police, could turn the night into a ‘bummer’ - bad experience, but only I guess if you were in possession of the stuff, in which case you could be classed as a ‘schmuck’ - total idiot!