Describing Things

Words for people, situations, and quality

はじめに

イギリス人には、ぴったりの形容語を見つけるセンスがあります。ただ「悪い」とか「怪しい」じゃなくて「dodgy」——何がどう問題なのか具体的に言わなくても、信用できない感じを絶妙に伝える便利な言葉です。

こういう形容語には、カジュアルな見た目の裏にモラルや実用的な判断が込められていることが多いんです。「dodgy」は「corrupt（腐敗した）」よりソフトだけど、意味はしっかり伝わる。直接的な非難を避けつつ判断を伝える——とてもイギリス的ですよね。

この章では、人・状況・物を、イギリス英語らしいニュアンスと控えめさで表現する語彙を学びます。少ない言葉で多くを語る技術を身につけましょう。

テーマ

この章の英語スラング一覧（84）

• 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
• Bang On Exactly right, precisely correct
• Rough Unwell, difficult, or shabby
• Handy Useful, convenient, skilled with hands
• 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
• naff unfashionable or tacky
• bog standard completely ordinary
• Run of the mill Ordinary, average, nothing special.
• Jammy Lucky, especially undeservedly so
• Mingy Mean, stingy, or inadequately small
• Manky Dirty, unpleasant, or of poor quality
• Dicey Risky, uncertain, potentially dangerous
• Potty Slightly crazy or obsessed
• Ace Excellent, fantastic
• Cushy Easy and comfortable, requiring little effort
• Lush Gorgeous, lovely, or luxurious
• Shattered Extremely tired, exhausted
• 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
• Shoddy Of poor quality, badly made
• 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)
• Gobby Loud-mouthed, talking too much
• 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
• Old Hand Experienced and skilled person
• High Maintenance Requires lots of attention
• Shrinking Violet Excessively shy person
• Tough Cookie Resilient, determined person
• Loose Cannon Unpredictable person who may cause damage
• Jack of All Trades Skilled in many different tasks
• People Person Good at interacting with others
• Go-Getter Ambitious, energetic person
• Stick in the Mud Resists change or new ideas