History Main / StockBritishPhrases

* Fanny: only women have them, and it's on the opposite side of the pelvis from what Americans mean by the term. (US "fanny pack" <-> UK "bum bag".)

* Crumpet: somewhat old-fashioned term for a woman, in the same sense as "bird." Most popular during TheSeventies.

** "The thinking man's crumpet" = "Very attractive woman who is also very smart/cultured." Originally in reference to Joan Bakewell, later used in reference to Creator/NigellaLawson, Creator/HelenMirren, and [[Series/{{Countdown}} Carol Vorderman]]. Unlike standard "crumpet," can be used in reference to a man (e.g. Creator/BenedictCumberbatch was once called "the thinking woman's crumpet."

* {{Friends}} includes an episode where an acquaintance (Jennifer Coolidge) insists on speaking with a fake British accent. Not only is her speech a bizarre mix of every accent in the UK, but she also uses every stock phrase in the book.

** Unless you're BorisJohnson. Also possibly the only man in any era to use the phrase 'old bean' genuinely and while under pressure.

* Bar: The counter of a pub. Often given as "I'm off to the bar" to denote going to the counter to order drinks.

* Crikey! (Thanks to the late, lamented SteveIrwin, this is less British and more Australian.) 'Crickey riley' is also said, though possibly only amongst the working class.

* Crumpet: somewhat old-fashioned term for a woman, in the same sense as "bird." Most popular during TheSeventies

Due to a lot of [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal cultural cross-contamination with the countries of the Commonwealth]], some of these phrases are also common in Irish, [[GdayMate Australian]], New Zealand, and Indian dialects of English (among others) -- in fact, some are ''more'' common in those countries (particularly India) than they are in the modern UK, where they've [[AntiquatedLinguistics died out]] or been [[DefiedTrope rejected]] as clichés.

* Hello, what's this?: An expression of mild surprise.

** Let's give a mention to Yugi in the flashback to episode 6, in which he "[[OohMeAccentsSlipping randomly started speaking with a British accent]]":

** Its also used, or given as "Bad Form" when someone does something intentionally wrong.

** "Spot Of" is sometimes used as a diminutive, eg "Let's get a spot of lunch" which is something this troper says without irony.

* Jamie Hyneman on MythBusters used "Bob's your uncle" as coda to his description of the function of a pneumatic cannon in the Killer Soda Cup myth. Narrator Robert Lee followed with "So Robert's your mother's brother" in the narration.

* Bird: Woman. More common OopNorth, though also used in cockney slang.

* Wang: Slang for penis and a common chinese surname.

* You're nicked, chum: You're under arrest (Or its variant from ''TheSweeney'': "Get yer trousers on -- you're nicked!").

* Lots of these phrases can be heard in the English releases of {{Xenoblade}} and TheLastStory. Not at all surprising, as both were dubbed by British voice actors.

** The origin is believed to be when Robert Cecil was Prime Minister, and the next PM was Arthur Balfour (Robert's nephew).

* ''Aye''. In Scotland, it's a more common word than "yes" in colloquial speak that means the same thing. Elsewhere, tends to be the preserve old/mysterious men, often smoking a pipe while ruminating on something. In the nautical world, it's used a bit more specifically -- "aye" is shorthand for "I understand and will obey." In other words, "yes" is an answer to a question, while "aye" is a response to a command.

* In ''OnAClearDayYouCanSeeForever'', when Daisy discovers her doctor has been hypnotizing her into revealing her past life as an 18th-century Englishwoman, this is how she answers him on the phone:

** In a related Germanic language, an adaptation of the JU87 Stuka dive-bomber as a ground-attack weapon for use against Russian tanks was nicknamed the ''Panzerknacker'' or ''tank-knackerer''. it mounted a quick-firing anti-tank cannon under each wing and could reduce a T-34 to scrap in seconds.

** I always thought that "Sodding" came from the word "Sod", which is a clump of dirt. It would explain why it is slightly less profane.