American Reacts to Popular British Expressions

I am very excited to react and learn about some popular British expressions from an American's point of view. I feel like these expressions are going to be extremely entertaining because even though English is spoken in both the United Kingdom and the United States it is still very difficult (and fun) to try to understand expressions from another culture. If you enjoy my reaction feel free to leave a like, comment, or subscribe for more videos like this!

[corringhamdepot]

I like the old expression "she's all fur coat and no knickers".

[davidmckie]

Break a leg, knock on wood and piece of cake are all very common in the UK.

[yorkieandthechihuahua]

A great example of the difference between UK and US slang happened to me while I was with my (american) late wife (well, she wasn't my late wife at the time - that would have been awkward). Anyhow, late one night she glanced out of the kitchen window and saw a skunk run into the neighbour's shed. She suggested I go tell her. I glanced at the late hour and told her "It's too late to go knock up the neighbour!" She froze in what she was doing, slowly turned to me, and said "Well... it might give her a thrill but what the HELL are you talking about?"

We all know the US meaning of "knock up" - to get someone pregnant. It's made its way across the pond too. However, back in the UK, especially in the North, "knock up" means to rouse/wake/get someone out of bed. It relates to the industrial age when some factories used to pay a worker to go round the houses of other workers and rap on the window to wake them for work. Such people were called "knock uppers" or "knocker uppers". So what I said was logical and innocent. What she heard was... well... me wanting to impregnate another woman. ;)

[paolow]

Knackered comes from the old days of Horse drawn transport when a horse became too old or died .it would be taken to the Knackers yard to be processed into pet food/ or fertiliser/or glue hence the expression to be Knackered /exhausted/done.

[iankinver]

Also, "put a sock in it" stems from the method of muting the volume of a phonograph by stuffing a sock into the horn.

[simondobbs]

"Knackered" is often converted to the rhyming slang "cream crackered": "after the week's work I was cream crackered".

[grahamgresty]

put a sock in it comes from the days of the wind-up gramaphone which had no volume control, so paeple would actually put a sock in the trumpet (horn) to deaden the sound. Piece of cake is also British

[DruncanUK]

Tyler: "I was looking at some common American expressions..." - and goes on to mention what must one of the oldest British expressions ever...knock on wood. Going right back to when people believed spirits lived in trees and would bring them luck.

[johnhull]

Knackers are also slang for TESTICLES, or BOLOOCKS

[viviennerose]

Glad you used the word pissed. You addressed this before. To be pissed is to be drunk. To be pissed off is to be fed up or maybe a bit angry

[JohnHollands]

Quid is to Pound as Buck is to Dollar.

[donnawinter]

Yep, , those American phrases are just as common in the UK

[marcvwest]

Evans here is a bit of history on the words you shared...

Knackered come from Victorian word meaning extremely exhausted and close to death... so for example a Knackers yard is the yard where animals is where animals were slaughtered when they are closed to death.

Skint is an old English word and derives from the word "skinned, " which implies having been stripped of money or resources.

Quid In: means you're up on your return. Quid comes from Latin phrase "quid pro quo, " which means "something for something" or "an exchange."

To be Pants: derived from "pants, " the Victorian British term for underpants or underwear. The phrase plays on the idea that something as mundane and unimpressive as underwear is synonymous with being subpar or unsatisfactory. If you think of an old pair of Victorian white Cotton Pants (underwear) stained, you get the gist!

The term "pants" is a shortening of "pantaloons, " which originated from the French word "pantalon." The word "pantalon" is derived from "Pantalone, " a character from the Italian Commedia dell'arte who was depicted wearing long, tight-fitting underwear.

Rubbish: The word "rubbish" comes from Middle English, where it referred to broken stones or waste material. Its origins can be traced back to the Anglo-Norman word "rubbous" or "robous, " and the Old French word "robe, " which means debris or broken stones. The modern english word is Rubble.

Amercian Trash is actually an old English word that was dropped predominantly in GB English language...
The word "trash" originates from Middle English "trasshe, " which referred to fallen leaves and branches.
The word "swear" comes from Old English "swerian, " which means to take an oath.

In GB english we might use the term that person is Trashy meaning something that is considered of poor quality, cheap, or lacking in refinement.

Get your knickers in a twist: it originates from Victorian English, it metaphorically represents the idea of that having your knickers being tangled or disheveled, humorously describe someone's emotional or mental state being in disarray.

Throw a Spanner in the works: A Victorian phrase from the industrial revolution. Throw a spanner in the works" means to cause a disruption or interference in a plan or process. It originates from the literal act of throwing a spanner (a type of wrench) into machinery to cause it to malfunction.

You got to be kidding me is also a Victorian expression: The expression combines "you've got to" (meaning "you must" or "you have to") with "be kidding" (meaning "be joking" or "not be serious").
The verb "kid" in the sense of "to tease or joke" dates back to the early 19th century. It comes from the idea of "kidding" as a playful or mischievous act, which evolved from older uses of the word "kid" meaning "to fool or make fun of which is used to describe Young Goats hence they are playful and mischievous."

Side Bar.

Young goats are called kids because they are playful and mischievous!

And your Kids are called kids because they doing what kids do, being playful and mischievous.

Playing' the Kiddy Goat an English expression means someone is messing around and being mischievous.

Getting on my goat: The variation "getting on my goat" is essentially a stylistic variation of "get my goat, " and it means to irritate or annoy someone.

Rightly so: The term "rightly" has been used in English since the 14th century, coming from the Old English word "riht, " meaning "just" or "correct." "So" has a long history in English as well, used to indicate agreement or affirmation. The combination of these terms into "rightly so" reflects a consensus or validation of a decision or situation.

The modern form is a "writ" is a formal written order issued by a court or legal authority directing someone to perform or refrain from performing a specific act. It is a key instrument in legal and judicial processes.

Enjoy!

[libradragon]

You've got to be kidding me...I would say, coming from Essex (using the absolutely lovely estuary accent 😂) Are you havin' a laugh? So there are local variations of these sayings! And, incidentally, being pissed in England (UK) usually means to be drunk, not annoyed, though you could say "Im completely pissed off" meaning you were really fed up!

[RouXRenard]

'Break a leg' originates in British Theater where wishing someone good luck was considered just asking for trouble 😆

[willowsparks]

One phrase that people use a fair bit is 'Gordon Bennet' (meaning For God's Sake without angering the Christian grandma down the road)

[louiseventer]

In South Africa we use all of these sayings and we know the American ones. Brilliant video, much love from South Africa💜

[peterrobinson]

An often used UK phrase is "It's not Rocket Science", meaning a task is not as difficult as it might appear. Also, "It's not Brain Surgery". Sometimes the two are combined - "It's not Rocket Surgery".

[Gwui]

All the comments you read out are old English sayings that are still used. Break a leg is an old term from theatre which means good luck and goes back to the times of Shakespeare

[alexanderbrown]

This woman has got 11 million youtube subscribers. Bewildering.