Describing Things

Words for people, situations, and quality

Introduction

The British have an instinct for the perfect descriptive word—a single term that captures a complex judgment. Something isn't just "bad" or "suspicious"; it's "dodgy"—a wonderfully versatile word that suggests untrustworthiness without requiring you to specify exactly what's wrong.

These descriptive words often carry moral or practical judgments wrapped in casual packaging. Calling something "dodgy" is gentler than calling it "corrupt," but the meaning is clear. This indirectness is very British—delivering verdicts without making accusations.

This chapter covers the vocabulary you need to describe people, situations, and things with the nuance and understatement that characterises British English. You'll learn to say a lot with a little.

Themes

All British Slang & Idioms in This Chapter (115)

• Dodgy Suspicious, unreliable, or of poor quality
• Grotty Dirty, unpleasant, or of poor quality
• Minging Extremely ugly, smelly, or disgusting
• Rank Disgusting, foul
• Rubbish Bad, worthless, nonsense (British)
• Wicked Excellent, cool
• Dope Excellent, cool
• Lit Exciting, excellent, intoxicated
• Grim Unpleasant, harsh, depressing
• Grand Fine, okay, good (Irish)
• Cheeky Impudent in an endearing way; playfully rude
• Legit Legitimate, real, genuine
• Mental Crazy, wild, extreme
• Well Very, really (British intensifier)
• Dead Very, really (Liverpool intensifier)
• Buff Attractive, muscular (British slang)
• Random Strange, unexpected, out of place
• Sketchy Suspicious, questionable, untrustworthy
• Sus Suspicious, not trustworthy, questionable
• Basic Unoriginal, mainstream, lacking individuality
• Extra Over the top, dramatic, excessive
• Savage Brutal, cutting, impressively ruthless
• Low-key Subtly, kind of, secretly
• Spot On Exactly right, perfectly accurate
• Bang On Exactly right, precisely correct
• Rough Unwell, difficult, or shabby
• Handy Useful, convenient, skilled with hands
• Brilliant Excellent, wonderful, great
• Shocking Terrible, appalling, very bad
• Class Excellent, top quality
• Deadly Excellent, brilliant, amazing
• Ripper Excellent, fantastic, great
• Beaut Excellent, beautiful, wonderful
• Fair Dinkum Genuine, real, honest, true
• Chronic Terrible, awful, very bad
• Half-decent Reasonably good, acceptable
• Not Half Bad Actually quite good
• Two-bit Cheap, worthless, inferior
• Janky Poor quality, broken, unreliable
• Boujee Pretentiously upscale, fancy, high-class
• Wonky Crooked, unstable, not quite right
• bang on exactly right
• spot on exactly correct
• naff unfashionable or tacky
• bog standard completely ordinary
• mental crazy or extreme
• Run of the mill Ordinary, average, nothing special.
• Gobsmacked Utterly astonished, shocked into silence
• Jammy Lucky, especially undeservedly so
• Naff Unfashionable, tacky, or lacking in style
• Mingy Mean, stingy, or inadequately small
• Manky Dirty, unpleasant, or of poor quality
• Dicey Risky, uncertain, potentially dangerous
• Grotty Unpleasant, dirty, run-down
• Bang on Exactly right, perfectly accurate
• Potty Slightly crazy or obsessed
• Ace Excellent, fantastic
• Cushy Easy and comfortable, requiring little effort
• Lush Gorgeous, lovely, or luxurious
• Peng Very attractive, excellent, or high quality
• Shattered Extremely tired, exhausted
• Skint Having no money, broke
• Minted Very rich, wealthy
• Bog-standard Basic, ordinary, with no special features
• Bonkers Crazy, mad, insane
• Shambolic Completely disorganized, chaotic
• Doddle Something very easy to do
• Iffy Doubtful, suspicious, or uncertain
• Shoddy Of poor quality, badly made
• Wonky Crooked, unstable, or not quite right
• Tatty Worn, shabby, or in poor condition
• Cracking Excellent, very good
• Dishy Very attractive, especially of a man
• Nippy Unpleasantly cold; also quick and agile
• Twee Excessively or affectedly quaint, pretty, or sentimental
• Grubby Dirty, grimy, or unpleasant
• Dinky Small and cute; in US, disappointingly small
• Gammy Bad, injured, or not working properly (of a limb)
• Swish Impressively stylish, smart, or luxurious
• Poky Small and cramped (of a room or space)
• Bog Standard Completely ordinary, basic
• Naff Unfashionable, tacky
• Twee Excessively cute in a cloying way
• Gobby Loud-mouthed, talking too much
• Manky Dirty, disgusting
• Grotty Unpleasant, dirty, shabby
• Dodgy Suspicious, unreliable, risky
• Jammy Lucky, especially undeservedly
• Cheeky Impudent but charming, boldly playful
• Mint Excellent, perfect
• Minging Disgusting, ugly, smelly
• Cracking Excellent, very good
• Rough Around the Edges Unpolished but fundamentally good
• Diamond in the Rough Hidden potential beneath unpolished exterior
• Down to Earth Practical, sensible, unpretentious
• Straight Shooter Honest, direct person
• No-Nonsense Practical and serious
• Happy-Go-Lucky Carefree and cheerful
• Wet Blanket Killjoy, spoils others' fun
• Wallflower Shy person on the sidelines
• Old Hand Experienced and skilled person
• High Maintenance Requires lots of attention
• Low-Key Understated; or secretly/somewhat
• Salt of the Earth Very good, honest person
• Shrinking Violet Excessively shy person
• Dark Horse Person with hidden talents
• Tough Cookie Resilient, determined person
• Loose Cannon Unpredictable person who may cause damage
• Couch Potato Lazy person watching too much TV
• Jack of All Trades Skilled in many different tasks
• Penny Pincher Very frugal, stingy
• People Person Good at interacting with others
• Go-Getter Ambitious, energetic person
• Stick in the Mud Resists change or new ideas
• Life of the Party Most entertaining person at gathering