Describing Things

Words for people, situations, and quality

소개

영국인들은 딱 맞는 묘사 단어를 찾는 데 천부적인 감각이 있어요. 뭔가가 단순히 "나쁘다"거나 "의심스럽다"가 아니라 "dodgy"인 거예요——정확히 뭐가 문제인지 말하지 않아도 "믿을 수 없다"는 느낌을 전달하는 엄청 유용한 단어죠.

이런 묘사 단어들은 가벼워 보이는 겉모습 아래에 도덕적이거나 실용적인 판단을 담고 있을 때가 많아요. "dodgy"라고 하면 "corrupt(부패한)"이라고 하는 것보다 부드럽지만, 의미는 확실히 전달돼요. 비난하지 않으면서 판단을 전하는 이 간접적인 방식이 정말 영국적이에요.

이 챕터에서는 사람, 상황, 사물을 영국 영어다운 뉘앙스와 절제로 묘사하는 어휘를 배워요. 적은 말로 많은 것을 표현하는 기술을 익혀봅시다.

테마

이 챕터의 모든 영어 슬랭 (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