Today we've got ten very British nouns so that when you come to Britain you'll understand
what people are talking about. All that is come right up after we meet another Eat Sleep Dreamer
Number one, mate. This is simply an informal way to say friend. Mate collocates with a
few different words. So for example best mate. So 'I haven't seen my best mate for ages.'
I haven't seen them for a long time. We can also have uni mate which is your friend from
university. You can have flat mate, the person that you live with or you could have work
mate. So the person that you work with. So mate is a very versatile word that we use
in different situations. Mate.
Number two, do or a do because it's a noun, a do. Now we know that do is a verb, it's
an auxiliary, we can use it in different ways. It's also, in British English, informal British
English, it's a noun and it means a party or social event. So if I said 'I'm going to
a work do tonight.' That is a work party or a social event related to my job. So you can
have a work do. We also say stag do or hen do. These are the parties that a male or female
will have before they get married. So a stag do or a hen do. So yeah do is just a generic
word to mean party or social event. Number three, loo. Loo means toilet. It's an informal
and slightly politer way to say toilet. So 'Sorry guys I just need to pop to the loo.'
Means I just need to go to the toilet. Number 4, the Old Bill. Now the Old Bill means the
police. It's a very informal slang way to say the police. Now the etymology of this,
the origin of this phrase is disputed, people say different things. But yeah it's a very
slang informal way to say the police. There used to be a TV programme when I was a child
called The Bill, like the Old Bill, taking the old bit out, the Bill. And that was all
about the police. So it was a phrase certainly used a lot. There are many different slang
words for the police but this is one of the most commonly used ones. So an example sentence
'I think we should call the Old Bill.' I think this is one of those phrases which is really
good to know. You might hear it in a tv or something like that. Whether you use it or
not, probably not. It's probably just easier to say the police but you know, if you want
to broaden your understanding of British culture and British English then yeah it's a good
phrase to know. Ah there is nothing more British than drinking a cuppa. A cuppa is a cup of
tea, ok? A cuppa, a cup of tea. So for example 'Would you like a cuppa?' That means would
you like a cup of tea?' We also use the word brew, a brew. This is usually used in the
north of England. So 'would you like a brew?' Means would you like a cup of tea? Now a brew
in American English, I know means beer. A pint of beer. And to be honest in Britain,
maybe some people would also say a brew to mean a beer but generally speaking it means
a cup of tea over here. So a cuppa or a brew. Yeah I would like a cuppa right now.
This is pretty British, bloke. Again it's informal. Pretty much all these nouns are
informal, this one, it means man. So a bloke is a man. For example 'My neighbour's a really
good bloke.' So my neighbour is a really good man, a good bloke. One it comes to money,
in British English we've got quite a few slang phrases to talk about them. So one pound is
a quid. Now quid is uncountable, so for example you would say 'The tickets cost five quid.'
So five pounds but we don't use the s because it's uncountable. Now if you are talking about
a five pound note then we call it a fiver. 'Do you have change for a fiver?' Ten pounds,
a ten pound note is a tenner. The next one is banter. Banter is playful and friendly
remarks where you are teasing people, you are making jokes with people and about people.
Generally it's seen as quite light and friendly. Some people don't like it but you know it
depends on the situation. I mean the best example for me is football. So maybe you support
one team and your friend supports another team and you make jokes or you tease the other
person about their team. Perhaps your team has just beaten the other team so you make
some jokes about that. You tease them. It's nothing too mean or too nasty. It's supposed
to be friendly, it's supposed to be light. So an example sentence 'There is always a
lot of banter in my office.' In Britain we have different words to describe where people
are from. So for example I'm from London so I'm a Londoner. Somebody from Liverpool is
a Scouser. A famous one is the Beatles 'John Lennon was a scouser.' If you are from Birmingham
you are a Brummy. If yo are from Manchester you are a Mancunian. So if you know the band
Oasis then Liam and Noel. They are Mancunians. People from Manchester. So we've got lots
of different ways to describe where people are from. A classic one is a southerner and
a northerner. So someone from the south of England is a southerner. Someone from the
north of England is a northerner. If you are from Glasgow, the city in Scotland. You are
a Glaswegian. In fact I think I should do a whole vlog about this subject because there
are so many words we use.
A slang word to mean a cigarette is a fag. There are lots of different slang words for
a cigarette but a common one is a fag. So an example sentence 'I need to go and buy
some fags.' That means I need to go and buy some cigarettes. And the final one, definitely
my favourite British food, a Sunday roast. Now I think Sunday roasts are underrated.
When people talk about British food they talk about fish and chips but the Sunday roast
is a thing of beauty, it really is. So as the name suggests we traditionally have it
on a Sunday, ok. Sunday lunch. And it's a roast meat of some kind. It could be roast
beef or roast chicken or roast lamb or whatever. You've got roast potatoes, you've got different
types of vegetables. It could be carrots or peas or brussel sprouts or whatever you want,
parsnips. You might have a Yorkshire pudding. Yorkshire pudding! You guys have got to try
a Yorkshire pudding. As you can see in the photo right here it's fluffy. It's a bit like
a pancake but kind of fluffy and so delicious. It comes from the county of Yorkshire hence
the name Yorkshire pudding. It's savoury, even though it has the word pudding, it is
savoury not sweet. And then you'll pour gravy on top, I'm getting hungry just thinking about
this. Now this was traditionally the family meal. Every Sunday the whole family would
sit around and have a Sunday roast. Perhaps that's a little bit less common these days.
It's not quite so traditional but you can definitely find a good Sunday roast in a lot
of pubs in Britain so if you visit Britain and you are here on a Sunday have a look on
Google see if you can find the best Sunday lunch near to you. Because they are worth
trying! I'm hungry, I'm very hungry right now. Eat Sleep Dreamers I hope you enjoyed
that little tour through ten very British nouns. Did you know all of them? Can you add
any more so that other Eat Sleep Dreamers can learn from you? If you can put them in
the comments below. Remember these are all slang phrases so think about the situation
you are in and whether it's appropriate to use them. if you haven't checked it out, watch
my ten very British adjectives. it's the same thing but with adjectives, what's not to like
about that? Remember to check out my Instagram account where I post daily English content
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I'll be back every Tuesday and every Friday helping you take your English to the next
level. As always guys thank you so much for joining me, I've enjoyed this one. This is
Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.