Slang & Idioms Starting with "G"

135 entries

• G'day An Australian greeting meaning 'Good day' or 'Hello'
• G&T Gin and tonic; a classic British cocktail.
• Gadgie Man, bloke, person (Geordie).
• Gaffer The manager of a football team; the boss.
• Galah Australian insult meaning a fool or idiot; from the noisy pink bird.
• Game of two halves Match where performance changed dramatically between halves.
• Game plan A strategy or plan of action.
• Gammon Cured ham, typically thick-cut (British)
• Gammon Nonsense; also racist/sexist person (modern).
• Gammy Bad, injured, or not working properly (of a limb)
• Gan Go (Geordie).
• Gap yah Gap year (mocking upper-class pronunciation)
• Garden Yard (British)
• Garibaldi Currant biscuit
• Garrison Military post or the troops stationed there
• Gaslight To manipulate someone into questioning their own reality or sanity.
• Gatekeep To control access to a community, knowledge, or resources; keeping things exc...
• gear stick gear shift
• Geddon Hello, get on with it (Cornwall/Devon greeting/encouragement).
• Geek An enthusiast or obsessive about something
• Geezer Man (British); old man (American)
• Gegenpressing Immediate pressing to win ball back after losing it.
• Gem A wonderful person or thing
• Genteel Affectedly refined or respectable
• Gents British term for men's toilet.
• Germans Hands.
• Get away with murder To escape punishment for bad behavior.
• get cold feet become nervous about commitment
• Get down to brass tacks To focus on the essential, practical details
• Get Lost Go away (rude dismissal)
• Get off with To kiss or become romantically involved with someone (British)
• Get on like a house on fire To get along extremely well immediately
• Get On With It Start or continue doing something; stop delaying
• Get Real Be realistic; stop being naive
• Get stuck in To start working on something with enthusiasm (British)
• Get the wrong end of the stick To misunderstand something completely
• Get Your Knickers in a Twist Become overly upset or agitated about something
• Get-together A casual social gathering
• Getting ideas Aspiring above one's expected position
• ghost suddenly stop responding to someone
• Ghost (someone) To suddenly cut off all communication with someone.
• Ghosted Being suddenly ignored without explanation, especially in dating.
• Ghosting Cutting off all communication without explanation (modern dating).
• Giant-killing Underdog beating much bigger team.
• Giddy Excitedly happy, light-headed with joy
• Ginger Queer (gay); also engineer.
• Ginnel Narrow alley or passage between buildings (Yorkshire).
• Gippy tummy An upset stomach, especially from foreign travel.
• Girlboss A woman who is ambitious and successful; now often used ironically.
• Git An unpleasant or annoying person (British)
• give a wide berth stay far away from
• Give It a Go Try it; attempt it
• Give it a shot To try something; to make an attempt.
• Give or Take Approximately; plus or minus
• Give/ask quarter Show/request mercy
• given the all-clear declared free of illness or risk
• glass ceiling invisible barrier to advancement
• glitch minor malfunction or error
• Glorious Beautiful weather.
• Glow up A positive transformation in appearance, confidence, or life circumstances.
• Go Simple euphemism for using the toilet.
• Go down a storm To be extremely well-received or popular.
• go downhill deteriorate in health
• Go Dutch Split the bill equally
• Go pear-shaped To go wrong or fail (British).
• go private use private healthcare instead of NHS
• Go Spare To become extremely angry or agitated
• go the distance complete something despite difficulty
• Go the extra mile To make more effort than expected or required
• Go tits up To fail completely or go badly wrong.
• Go to the toilet Standard British phrase for using toilet facilities.
• Go viral To spread rapidly and widely on the internet.
• Go-Getter Ambitious, energetic person
• Goal kick Kick from 6-yard box when attack puts ball out.
• Goal line End boundary of pitch where goals are.
• Gob Mouth (British slang).
• Gobby Loud-mouthed, talking too much
• Gobshite British/Irish insult for someone who talks nonsense; a loudmouth.
• Gobsmacked Utterly astonished or amazed
• God forbids Kids (children).
• Gofer Errand runner
• Going down a treat Being received very well; being enjoyed
• going gangbusters proceeding with great energy and success
• Going rate The current standard price or fee
• Going steady In an exclusive relationship, dating seriously (traditional).
• Golden Boot Award for top scorer in competition.
• Golden handshake A generous severance package when leaving a job
• Golden Parachute Executive severance package
• Golly Euphemism for 'God'; old-fashioned exclamation of surprise.
• gone bust failed financially
• gone pear-shaped gone wrong
• Good job Well done (American)
• Good Luck Wishing someone fortune; sometimes sarcastic
• Good on ya An Australian expression meaning 'Well done' or 'Good for you'
• Good sport Someone who accepts defeat gracefully or goes along with things cheerfully.
• Goodnight Farewell for the evening/night.
• Gooseberry An unwanted extra person with a couple (British)
• Gorgeous Beautiful, attractive (also term of address).
• Gorgeous Weather Beautiful weather.
• Gormless Stupid, lacking sense or initiative (Yorkshire origin).
• Gosh Euphemism for 'God'; mild exclamation of surprise.
• Goss Gossip (British/Australian)
• Gossip Casual talk about other people; to spread rumors
• GP General Practitioner, family doctor (British).
• Gradely Fine, excellent, proper (Yorkshire/Lancashire).
• Graft Work hard to attract someone romantically (British dating slang).
• Grafting Actively pursuing someone romantically with effort (British dating slang).
• Grafting Working hard
• Grammar school Selective state secondary school (UK)
• Grand Fine, okay, good (Irish)
• Grand One thousand pounds/dollars
• Grass An informer; to inform on someone to authorities.
• Graveyard shift A late-night or overnight work shift
• Greasy spoon A cheap café serving basic fried food
• Green around the gills Looking nauseous or seasick; appearing unwell.
• Green flag A positive sign in a person or relationship; opposite of a red flag.
• Green with Envy Extremely jealous or envious of someone
• Green-Eyed Monster Jealousy personified as a creature
• Gregory Neck.
• Gridlock A complete traffic standstill where nothing can move.
• Grim Unpleasant, harsh, depressing
• Grockle Tourist, holidaymaker (Devon/Dorset).
• Groggy Weak and unsteady; feeling dazed.
• Grotty Dirty, unpleasant, or of poor quality
• Grub Food (informal)
• Grubby Dirty, grimy, or unpleasant
• Grumpy Bad-tempered, irritable
• Gung-ho Extremely enthusiastic and eager, especially for action
• Gurt lush Really lovely, very nice (West Country).
• Gutted Extremely disappointed or upset
• Gutted for You Feeling sympathetic disappointment on someone's behalf
• Guv Boss, sir
• Gyatt Exclamation of attraction, particularly regarding someone's figure.
• Gyp Pain or trouble; something causing discomfort.
• Gypsy's kiss Cockney rhyming slang for piss (urination).