Slang & Idioms Starting with "B"

257 entries

• Babe Romantic partner, attractive person (affectionate/admiring).
• Babes Affectionate term, often between female friends (British).
• Back to square one Having to start again from the beginning
• Back to the drawing board To start again after a failed attempt.
• Back to the grind Returning to hard, routine work
• Backseat driver Someone who gives unwanted advice, especially about driving.
• Bacon and eggs Legs.
• Bacon Sarnie Bacon sandwich
• Baffies Slippers (Scottish).
• Bailout Financial rescue
• Bairn Child (Geordie/Scottish).
• Ballon d'Or Award for world's best player.
• Ballpark figure A rough estimate or approximate number.
• Balls-up A complete mess or serious mistake.
• Balmy Pleasantly warm
• Baltic Extremely cold (Scouse/Northern).
• Bampot Idiot, fool, crazy person (Scottish).
• bandwidth capacity to handle more work
• Bang On Exactly right, precisely correct
• Bang to rights Caught with undeniable evidence of guilt.
• bang up lock up in prison cell
• Banger An old, noisy car in poor condition.
• Banger Sausage
• Bangers Sausages (British)
• Bank on To rely or depend on something happening
• Banter Playful teasing and witty conversation
• Bar stool A high seat at the bar; the position of regulars.
• Bare fancy Really attracted to, like a lot (British youth slang).
• Barking up the wrong tree Pursuing a mistaken or misguided course of action
• Barmy British slang meaning crazy, foolish, or silly.
• Barnet Hair (Cockney rhyming slang).
• Barnets Hairs (plural/different usage from Barnet).
• Barney Trouble; argument.
• Barracks Military housing building for troops
• Based Authentic; not caring what others think; admirably bold.
• Bash A party or attempt at something
• Basha A makeshift shelter; any sleeping quarters
• Basic Unoriginal, mainstream, lacking individuality
• Bastard Originally illegitimate child; now a general insult or term for difficulty.
• Bathroom American term for toilet room; room with bath.
• Batting a thousand Having a perfect record; succeeding every time.
• Battle stations Positions for combat; state of high readiness
• Be reyt It'll be alright, don't worry (Yorkshire reassurance).
• Be Seeing You I'll see you later (farewell).
• Bean Counter Accountant (derogatory)
• Beanpole A very tall, thin person.
• Beat Tired or exhausted (American).
• Beat around the bush To avoid getting to the point, to speak indirectly
• Beats Me I don't know; I have no idea
• Beau Boyfriend, male admirer (slightly old-fashioned).
• Beaut Excellent, beautiful, wonderful
• bed rest staying in bed to recover
• Bed rest Doctor's orders to stay in bed to recover.
• Bedside manner A doctor's way of interacting with patients; their interpersonal skills.
• Bedsit A single rented room serving as bedroom and living room
• Beer belly A protruding stomach, stereotypically from drinking beer.
• Beer garden An outdoor seating area at a pub.
• Bees and honey Money.
• Behind bars In prison.
• Beige flag A quirk or trait in a person that's neither good (green) nor bad (red), just ...
• Being sick Vomiting (British); being ill generally.
• Bell The signal for last orders; the end of service.
• Bellend A stupid or contemptible person (British vulgar)
• Below stairs The servants' domain; working as a servant
• Below the belt Unfair or unsporting; a mean or underhanded action.
• Bench warmer A substitute player who rarely gets to play.
• Benching Keeping someone as backup option without commitment (modern dating).
• Bent Corrupt; criminal; dishonest.
• Berk A foolish person (British)
• Beside Oneself Overwhelmed with emotion, unable to control feelings
• Beside Yourself Overwhelmed with emotion, unable to control feelings
• besotted foolishly infatuated
• Best of both worlds Enjoying the advantages of two different situations
• Bet Okay; I agree; it's a deal.
• Bet your bottom dollar To be absolutely certain about something
• beta test version / weak person (slang)
• better half spouse or partner
• Better late than never It's preferable to do something late than not at all
• Bevvy An alcoholic drink (British/Irish)
• Bezzy Best friend (Scouse abbreviation).
• BFFR Be f***ing for real; expression of disbelief or demand for seriousness.
• Biccy Biscuit
• Biffy A toilet (Canadian/American slang)
• Bifter Cigarette (Scouse).
• Big yikes Expression of extreme cringe, embarrassment, or concern.
• Bigger fish to fry More important things to deal with; higher priorities.
• Billet Lodging for soldiers; a comfortable position
• Bin A trash can or garbage container.
• Binge-watch To watch multiple episodes of a TV show in one sitting.
• Binned off Rejected, broken up with (British slang).
• Biopsy Medical procedure to remove tissue for examination.
• bird prison sentence
• Bird Girlfriend, woman (British informal).
• Birdbrain A stupid person; someone with a tiny brain.
• Birds of a feather People with similar interests or characteristics; like-minded people.
• Biro Ballpoint pen
• Biscuit A cookie (British)
• Bite off more than you can chew To take on more than you can handle
• Bite the bullet To endure a painful situation with courage
• Bite the dust To fail, die, or be defeated.
• Biting Cold Extremely cold.
• Bits and bobs Miscellaneous small items (British)
• Bitter Resentful, holding a grudge
• Bitter A type of British ale with a slightly bitter taste
• Bitter Very cold (biting cold)
• Bitter Cold Extremely cold and unpleasant.
• black and blue badly bruised
• Black Market Illegal trade
• Black out To faint or lose consciousness briefly.
• Black pudding A blood sausage made with pork blood and oatmeal (British)
• Black sheep The outcast or disreputable member of a group or family.
• Bladdered Extremely drunk; very heavily intoxicated.
• Blag To steal or obtain through trickery; also an armed robbery.
• Bless Expression of affection or sympathy (British)
• Bless You Said after someone sneezes; expressing kindness
• Blessing in disguise Something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good
• Blether Chat, talk nonsense, gossip (Scottish).
• Blighter A person (often with mild disapproval) (British)
• Blighty Britain; home (military slang)
• Blimey British exclamation of surprise; equivalent to 'wow' or 'gosh.'
• Blinking British euphemism for 'bloody' or stronger words.
• Blitz Intensive attack or effort; the WWII bombing of Britain
• Blockhead A stupid person; someone with a wooden head.
• Bloke Man, guy
• Blood donor Person who gives blood for medical use.
• Bloods Blood tests.
• Bloody A mild British swear word used for emphasis; damn.
• Blooming British euphemism for 'bloody'; mild intensifier.
• Blotto Extremely drunk; unconscious from drink.
• Blow To spend money quickly or wastefully
• Blow it To ruin an opportunity or fail when success was possible.
• Blow One's Top To suddenly lose your temper explosively
• Blowing a gale Extremely windy
• Blowing a Hoolie Extremely windy.
• Blue Sad or depressed
• Blue blood Aristocratic or noble ancestry
• Blue-collar Manual labor work; working class
• Blustery Very windy with gusts
• Boat race Face.
• Bob One shilling (historical); still used idiomatically
• Bob's Your Uncle And there you have it; it's as simple as that
• Bodge Do a poor repair job
• Bods People, workers
• Boffin Expert, scientist
• Bog British slang for toilet.
• Bog paper Toilet paper
• Bog roll British slang for toilet paper.
• bog standard completely ordinary
• Bog-standard Basic, ordinary, with no special features
• Bogan Australian slang for an unsophisticated person; similar to redneck.
• Bollocks Testicles; nonsense; an expression of frustration.
• Bomb To fail spectacularly (American); to succeed brilliantly (British).
• Bonce Head (British slang).
• Bonehead A stupid person or stupid mistake
• Bonkers Crazy, mad, insane
• Bonnet Hood (of a car)
• Bonnie Beautiful, pretty, attractive (Scottish).
• Boot Trunk (of a car)
• Boots on the ground Ground troops deployed; people physically present
• Booze Alcohol; to drink alcohol.
• Bored to Tears Extremely bored, tediously uninterested
• Born with a silver spoon Born into wealth and privilege
• Boss Excellent, great (Scouse/Liverpool slang).
• bot automated account or program
• Bottle Arse; also courage.
• Bottled it Choked under pressure; lost nerve at crucial moment.
• Bottom burp Childish euphemism for fart.
• Bottom Line Final profit/loss; essential point
• Botty Bottom/bum (childish term)
• Bought it / Buying it Died; was killed
• Boujee Pretentiously upscale, fancy, high-class
• Bouncing back Recovering quickly from illness or setback.
• Bowl a googly To deceive or confuse someone with an unexpected move.
• Bowled over Extremely impressed or surprised.
• Box-to-box Midfielder who covers entire pitch, defending and attacking.
• Brace Two goals by one player in a match.
• Braces Suspenders for trousers
• Brahms Drunk (pissed).
• Brainrot Internet content that corrupts your mind; or the state of having consumed too...
• Brass Money (Northern British)
• Brass monkey weather Extremely cold weather
• Brass monkeys Extremely cold (British)
• Brass tacks Facts (also used idiomatically).
• Brassed off Fed up, annoyed
• Brassic Broke, having no money
• Braw Fine, excellent, good-looking (Scottish).
• Bray Hit, beat, strike (Yorkshire).
• Bread Money
• Bread Money.
• Bread and butter Basic income or livelihood; core business
• Breadcake Bread roll (Yorkshire/Sheffield).
• Breadcrumbing Sending occasional flirty messages without real intention (modern dating).
• Breadwinner Main household earner
• Break a leg Good luck (especially in theatre)
• Break the ice To start a conversation or ease tension in a social situation
• Break wind Polite euphemism for farting.
• Brekkie Breakfast (British/Australian)
• Brew A cup of tea (British/Northern English)
• Brew up Make tea; also a tank catching fire (military)
• Bricking It Extremely scared or nervous
• Bricks and mortar Daughter.
• Brief Pre-mission information session
• Bright and breezy Pleasant weather with sunshine and a light wind; also describes a cheerful, l...
• Bright and early Very early in the morning
• Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Alert, energetic, and enthusiastic.
• Brightening Up Clearing, becoming sunny.
• Brilliant Excellent, wonderful (British emphasis)
• bring a bottle bring alcohol to a party
• Bristols Breasts.
• Broke Having no money
• Broken-Hearted Devastated by grief, loss, or romantic rejection
• Brolly An umbrella
• Brown bread Dead.
• Brown-nose To flatter someone in authority excessively
• Brown-noser Someone who flatters people in authority excessively
• Bruv Brother (term of address)
• Bubble Greek (person).
• Bubble and squeak Fried leftover vegetables, especially potato and cabbage (British)
• Buck A dollar (American)
• Bucketing Down Raining very heavily.
• Buddy Friend (American)
• Buff Attractive, muscular (British slang)
• Buffoon A ridiculous, foolish person; someone who acts the clown.
• bug software error or defect
• Bug someone To annoy or bother someone persistently.
• Bugger A mild expletive or term for a person (British/Australian)
• buggy pushchair for older babies
• Builder's bum Exposed buttock crack (British humor)
• Builder's tea Strong tea with milk and usually sugar (British)
• Built like a brick outhouse Very solidly built; muscular and sturdy.
• Bull in a china shop A clumsy person in a delicate situation; someone causing accidental damage.
• Bulldog Clip Binder clip
• Bulled up Polished to high shine; prepared for inspection
• Bullshit Nonsense; lies; something untrue or insincere.
• Bummed Disappointed or dejected
• Bundle of Nerves Extremely anxious, nervous, or stressed
• Bung A bribe or illicit payment
• Bunk off To skip school or work without permission (British)
• Burke British slang for a stupid person; also spelled 'berk.'
• Burn one's bridges To do something that makes it impossible to go back
• Burning the midnight oil Working late into the night
• burning up having a high fever
• Burnout Mental and physical exhaustion from overwork
• Burnt out Completely exhausted from overwork or prolonged stress.
• Bursting Desperately needing to urinate.
• Bushed Very tired or exhausted.
• Bussin' Extremely good, especially food.
• Busting American/Australian variant of desperately needing toilet.
• Busy bee A very busy, hard-working person.
• Busybody A nosy person who interferes in others' affairs.
• Busywork Pointless tasks done just to appear busy
• Butcher's Look.
• Butterflies in the Stomach Nervous excitement or anticipation
• Butterflies in your stomach Nervous feeling; anxious excitement.
• Butty A sandwich, especially a filled roll (British/Northern)
• Buzzing Feeling excited and full of energy
• By the Way Incidentally; as an aside