Adult|Welcome|Who wants to be a millionaire: Slang|Upper-Intermediate

Origins of the word knickers:

From 1866, it was used in reference to loose-fitting pants for men worn buckled or buttoned at the waist and knees, shortening of knickerbockers

By 1882, it was used as «short, loose-fitting undergarment for women»

Origins of the word fit:

The word «fit» has been used within the sporting world to describe being in a healthy physical condition since at least the mid-19th Century according to the Oxford English Dictionary. But it was not long afterwards that it began to also denote a good-looking or desirable person. Only in 1884 in Henry Hawley Smart’s horseracing novel From Post to Finish, one of the characters says: «I want my girl to look as fit as any of them.»

Origins of the phrase Taking the mickey:

This phrase is not new; the full phrase is «to take the Mickey (out of someone)».

Britons have been using this figure of speech for decades, if not centuries. A «Mickey», of course, is a «Mick»: a racist term for an Irishman (so nicknamed because so many Irish surnames begin with Mc- or Mac-). It is a common stereotype, in both the UK and the USA, that Irishmen have bad tempers, like to argue, and make good boxers. So, to «take the Mickey (out of someone)» means to take the fight, the vigor, the emotion, the self-importance out of them, by mocking them, usually in a very subtle way.

Origins of the word legless:

The adjective legless is used as a slang term to describe someone who is extremely drunk, particularly someone who can no longer stand or walk. The earliest example we can find of this usage is from a 1975 song by Andy Fairweather-Low, «Wide Eyed and Legless»:

But the rhythm of the glass

Is stronger than the rhythm of night

Wide-eyed and legless

I’ve gone and done it again

Origins of the phrase bangers and mash:

The term «bangers» is attributed (in common usage in the UK) to the fact that sausages made during World War I, when there were meat shortages, were made with such a high water content that they were more liable to pop under high heat when cooked.

Origins of the phrase spot on:

The origin is military. It started being used in its slang sense after the World War II. It means right on the spot, originated from dead centre on a target.

Origins of the phrase screw up:

In World War II, the particle up used in combination with a verb made an impact on slang. Louse up, ball up, gum up, mess up, foul up were among the less offensive forms meaning «to botch, to make a mistake, to err repeatedly.» Screw up, in this sense, is first found in a December 1942 issue of Yank, and was further popularized in the 1951 «Catcher in the Rye», the famed novel by J. D. Salinger: «Boy, it really screws up my sex life something awful.» The verb is both transitive (screw up my sex life) and intransitive (I really screwed up).

Cockney slang is a rhyming dialect that was formulated in London in the early 19th century. But we thought we would test your players to see if they can think and speak like a true Londoner.

I’m so confused right now.

I’m terrible at rhyming.

Apples and pears—

Shares?

Stockholder shares?

Stairs.

So «apples and pears» means stairs? This is nuts!

Dog and bone?

Scone. Okay.

Tone.

Phone. Yeah!

Find me a phone? YES!!

Oh, phone? Okay, thank you! Okay, now I get it. Go ahead.

Pots and dishes? Uhm …

Missus?

Ach, pots and fishes, I don’t know!

Pots and dishes? Wishes? Yes!

Oh, pots and wishes! Dang it! All right.

Bread and honey? Running?

Bunny.

Money.

Yep! The guy said yeah.

I don’t really understand the game yet.

Tom Foolery. Uhm.

Uhm, jewelry!

Two in a row! I’m good luck, actually — It’s me…

Yeah, he actually just helped me — this is why we, you know, huddle together.

Go at them, Go at them, Go—

A pig’s ear? A pig’s ear. Pig’s ear.

Beer! HA-HA!

Beer. YEAH!

Beer? Most definitely!

I don’t know — Drinking a beer!