British Idioms 1

I was well into adulthood before I learned the meaning of idiom. Looking through a list of definitions, I found this one from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: “an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but must be learned as a whole.”

Having hosted international people, I saw how difficult idioms are to learn from one language to another. Even in the same language, they present challenging fun. Here’s a list of ten that I’ve heard in the last three months.

  1. Bonnet is the hood of an automobile.
  2. Boot is the trunk of said auto.
  3. Butty a sandwich, a shortened form of saying “bread and butter.”
  4. Chemist is a pharmacist.
  5. Faf is to spend your time doing a lot of things that are not important instead of the thing that you should be doing
  6. Jab is an injection of medicine.
  7. Lorry is a synonym for “truck.” Lorry is no longer in popular usage but truck is.
  8. Pants means very poor in quality.
  9. Punnet is a kitchen storage container.
  10. Tea is not only a beverage but refers to the evening meal. A synonym for supper.

Now, which of these idioms did you not know before reading this post? I would like to know your answer to this question.

Then find them in the wordsearch below. There are no diagonal words and only one backward word.

A             Z             C            D            T             U            V             X             Y             ☺️

B             Y             C            H            E             M            I              S             T             ❤️       

G            X             O            P             N            Y             Q            U            E             🐶

H            X             P             U            N            N            E             T             A             🙂

I              F             A             F             O            Z             R             P             U            🌺

K             M            N            R             B             Q            E             L             N            😉

L             J              T             L             O            R             R             Y             E             🐱

M            A             S             W           O            D            E             N            A             😀

Z             B             U            T             T             Y             M            J              S             🐼

Linda Highman

8 Responses

    1. The idioms that you listed as new were also new to me and another reader. Thanks for responding; you’re good at doing that. It causes me to 😉.

  2. I spend a fair amount of my idle time watching the famous chef, Gordon Ramsey, and through my time spent listening to him speak I have picked up on a few of these but not all. I was not aware of: Booty, Faf, Jab, Pants, or Punnet. You must be chuckling daily hearing these new terms! Love from here, Nancy

    1. Isn’t it interesting that two of you plus me found those particular idioms “new?” I was aware of boot but not butty. Yes, sometimes there is a daily chuckle. Speaking of Gordon Ramsey, have you followed any of his recipes to a successful conclusion? Mmmm==I bet it was tasty.

    1. The idioms that you said were unfamiliar to you were the same with at least two other readers. Glad to see that you keep reading. This week I introduce your to Bella. Hi, Evan!

  4. Likewise, these idioms were new to me: boot, butty, faf, pants and punnet. However, tea in England, Germany, India (plus some other English colonies) were daily at 4:00pm with tea & biscuits or fruit tart when I visited.
    By the way, did your great grandmothers ask you to get a ‘tumbler’ from the cupboard?
    Fun assignment, Linda!

    1. I appreciate your comments, Sheri, I believe that a “tumbler” is a drinking glass. Right? I haven’t heard the word used here yet. I don’t remember my mother ever using it, but it seems that I’ve known its idiomatic meaning forever. I suspect dept. store ads gave me this bit of education.
      Glad to hear from you, Friend. ☺️