Common Expressions

Everyday phrases and sayings that colour British speech

简介

每种语言都有一些怪怪的表达——母语者觉得再正常不过，外人却一头雾水。英式英语在这方面特别丰富，从“Bob’s your uncle（就这么简单）”这样莫名其妙的结尾，到“taking the mickey（开玩笑、调侃）”这样的轻松调侃。

这些表达就像英式对话的调味料，给谈话增添了色彩、幽默感和一种文化上的默契。能正确使用它们，说明你不只是懂英语的“词”，还懂英语的“味儿”。

很多短语的来源都特别有意思，从维多利亚时代的裙带关系到伦敦东区的押韵俚语。了解这些背景，你就能明白为什么英国人用起来那么自然，也能帮你更自信地使用这些表达。

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本章全部英语俚语（107）

• Bob's Your Uncle And there you have it; it's as simple as that
• Taking the Mickey Making fun of someone or something; teasing
• Brilliant Excellent, wonderful (British emphasis)
• No Worries It's fine, don't worry about it, you're welcome
• Fair Enough That's reasonable, I accept that
• You Know What I Mean Do you understand? (seeking confirmation)
• Easy Peasy Very easy, simple
• It's Not Rocket Science It's not that complicated or difficult
• Hang On Wait a moment; hold on
• Mind You That said; however; but consider this
• Cheers Thank you; goodbye; a toast
• Sorted Arranged, dealt with, all in order
• Spot On Exactly right, perfectly accurate
• Alright? Hello, how are you? (British greeting)
• To Be Honest Speaking frankly; actually
• Having a Laugh Joking; being ridiculous; are you serious?
• Get On With It Start or continue doing something; stop delaying
• Crack On To continue or proceed energetically; to flirt with
• Touch Wood Hoping to avoid bad luck; knocking on wood
• Fingers Crossed Hoping for good luck or a good outcome
• Lovely Jubbly Excellent, wonderful
• Cushty Great, excellent, easy
• Innit Isn't it? Right? You know?
• No Way Absolutely not; expressing disbelief
• Same Here Me too; I agree; I feel the same
• Yeah, Right Expressing sarcastic disbelief; I don't believe you
• As If! No way; that's ridiculous; I would never
• Whatever I don't care; dismissive response
• In a Nutshell In summary; in brief
• You're Welcome Response to thanks; no thanks necessary
• What the Heck Expressing surprise or confusion (mild oath)
• Bless You Said after someone sneezes; expressing kindness
• Excuse Me Polite attention-getter; apology; expressing offense
• Pardon? Sorry, what did you say?
• Get Lost Go away (rude dismissal)
• Good Luck Wishing someone fortune; sometimes sarcastic
• You Bet Certainly; yes definitely; you're welcome
• Sure Thing Certainly; definitely; you're welcome
• Let's Face It Let's be honest about the reality
• Nice One Well done; good job (sometimes sarcastic)
• It's All Good Everything is fine; no problem
• Give It a Go Try it; attempt it
• What's Up? Hello; what's happening; what's wrong
• Take Care Goodbye; look after yourself
• Hang in There Keep going; don't give up
• Sounds Good That's acceptable; I agree with that plan
• Tell Me About It I know exactly what you mean; I completely agree
• I Know, Right? I strongly agree; exactly
• Can Do Yes, I can do that; affirmative
• Don't Mention It You're welcome; no need to thank me
• Keep Me Posted Keep me informed; let me know what happens
• My Bad My mistake; I'm sorry
• No Big Deal It's not important; don't worry about it
• Speaking of Which Relating to what was just mentioned; on that topic
• On Second Thought After reconsidering; changing my mind
• That's the Spirit That's the right attitude; well done for being positive
• By the Way Incidentally; as an aside
• Give or Take Approximately; plus or minus
• Fair Dos That's fair; acknowledging fairness
• Get Real Be realistic; stop being naive
• No Offense I don't mean to offend; please don't take this badly
• Just Saying I'm just pointing this out; don't blame me
• What's the Catch? What's the hidden downside or condition?
• Say What? What did you say?; expressing disbelief
• Beats Me I don't know; I have no idea
• So to Speak In a manner of speaking; figuratively
• It Is What It Is Accept the situation as it is; nothing can be done
• For What It's Worth In case it helps; this may or may not be valuable
• At Any Rate In any case; anyway; regardless
• Not Gonna Lie To be honest; I must admit
• long and short of it the essential point
• At the end of the day Ultimately; when all is considered.
• Long story short To summarize briefly; getting to the point.
• Piece of cake Something very easy to do
• Break a leg Good luck (especially in theatre)
• Bite the bullet To endure a painful situation with courage
• Hit the nail on the head To be exactly right, to identify the precise point
• Once in a blue moon Very rarely, almost never
• Spill the beans To reveal a secret or confidential information
• Beat around the bush To avoid getting to the point, to speak indirectly
• Elephant in the room An obvious problem that everyone ignores
• When pigs fly Never; something that will never happen
• The last straw The final problem that makes a situation unbearable
• Kill two birds with one stone To accomplish two things with a single action
• Better late than never It's preferable to do something late than not at all
• Blessing in disguise Something that seems bad at first but turns out to be good
• Burn one's bridges To do something that makes it impossible to go back
• Let the cat out of the bag To reveal a secret accidentally
• Add insult to injury To make a bad situation worse by adding offense
• Back to square one Having to start again from the beginning
• Take with a pinch of salt To view something skeptically, not believe entirely
• Cry over spilt milk To waste time being upset about something that cannot be undone
• Actions speak louder than words What people do is more important than what they say
• Barking up the wrong tree Pursuing a mistaken or misguided course of action
• Curiosity killed the cat Being too inquisitive can be dangerous
• Every cloud has a silver lining Even bad situations have positive aspects
• Get the wrong end of the stick To misunderstand something completely
• Go the extra mile To make more effort than expected or required
• Speak of the devil Said when someone you were just talking about appears
• Bite off more than you can chew To take on more than you can handle
• Best of both worlds Enjoying the advantages of two different situations
• Practice what you preach To act according to your own advice or beliefs
• Tip of the iceberg Only a small visible part of a much larger problem
• Break the ice To start a conversation or ease tension in a social situation
• To cut a long story short To summarize, getting to the point without details
• No-brainer An easy decision, something obvious
• Play it by ear To decide what to do as events unfold, without a plan