British Slang For Cool (12 Examples!)

“Cool” is one of those things that we all find ourselves needing to express, so naturally there are a great many different ways to do so.

Whether the person using the slang means that something is interesting, hip, impressive or any number of other things, there’s a word for it.

This is as true in Britain as it is anywhere else, and there are many different ways of saying something is cool.

Today, we’re going to look at a few of those terms.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

Sick

One of the most common slang phrases used in place of “cool” in Britain is “sick”.

While mostly confined to the younger generations, this one has taken hold so deeply that more or less everyone will understand what you mean by this term.

It’s used for something that’s very cool or good, and that could be a car, some clothes, a video game, a musician–just about anything! “Those new shoes are sick!” for example.

This term originates in the rock and roll scene, according to the leading theory.

Specifically, at one particular show, rock legend Alice Cooper allegedly killed a chicken live on stage–although the chicken survived.

Many described this act as “sick” in the sense that it was deranged and horrible, so the phrase was co-opted by fans of the rock scene looking to antagonize their parents and outsiders even further.

Mint

Another virtually universal slang phrase for cool in Britain is “mint”.

This one, again, will be understood by just about everyone although it’s much more commonly used by younger generations today.

That said, it’s somewhat falling out of use among the youngest generations today.

Like “sick”, it can be used for just about anything.

“That film was mint, can’t wait to go see it again,” for example.

The word has a couple of senses though they plainly feed into one another.

Originally, the term as an adjective meaning “perfect,” was often used when selling second-hand goods in perfect condition.

This use was recorded from 1887 and related to freshly minted coins.

Sometime in the 20th Century, it took on a broader meaning of “cool”.

Ace

Ace is another really common way of saying that something is cool in British slang.

This one is used across generations, by the old and the young, though is perhaps a bit more regionally specific than other terms.

There are some areas where it is less used, although these are generally the exception.

Even in these places, it will still be easily understood to mean cool. “Have you listened to their new album? It’s so ace,” for example.

Its meaning is a bit more varied than some others, as it can have the sense of “wonderful” and “perfect” in some cases.

It’s believed to derive from the practice of referring to pilots as “ace” pilots when they had downed a certain number of enemy planes, and this originated in the First World War.

Wicked

“Wicked” is another common way of saying something is cool in British slang.

Again, depending on who you’re talking to, this one might be considered a bit more dated than others on this list.

But it’s definitely still in widespread use, though not as much by the youngest generation today.

It can be used for just about anything, from music to cars to a cool trick your friend did.

“The game was wicked last night, did you watch it?” for example.

The word itself is obviously very old, deriving from at least the 12th Century.

Here, though, it of course meant wickedly evil and very bad. It went unchanged in this sense for the next 700 years or so, until it was recorded in this modern, ironic sense of “wonderful” in the 1920s.

Dope

Next, we have “dope,” a term that is more heavily associated with U.S. slang but which has nonetheless become adopted into British slang today.

This one is far from widely used, and in many parts of Britain, you may even be met with some confusion if you use this term to mean cool.

Among the younger generations, though, this term is fairly widely understood if not so widely used.

The term, in this sense, originated in the rap scene of the 1980s.

It quickly became a widely used slang phrase for cool in the U.S., and ultimately spread to Britain fairly rapidly.

That said, it had not been remotely widely used in Britain until very recently, perhaps only the last ten years or so.

Brill

“Brill” is another way of saying something is cool in British slang.

It’s more or less universal, understood by everyone if less commonly used among the younger generations today.

It’s self-explanatory and easy to understand, meaning it has endured for a long time and remains very widely used.

It’s perhaps a bit milder than some other terms, just expressing that something is cool but not amazing.

“Thanks for taking me out, that was brill,” for example.

Naturally, the word is simply a shortening of the term “brilliant”.

The word itself is at least as old as the 1680s, and given the natural tendency to abbreviate and shorten expressions like this, it’s impossible to say when this one started being used–it was doubtless not long after the word itself came into common use.

Gear

This one can have a couple of different meanings, so it’s worth being careful with how you use it.

It’s much more likely, in most cases, to have a different meaning, but nonetheless it certainly is a slang term for cool in some parts of Britain among some demographics. “That’s pretty gear, where did you get it?” for example.

It’s not clear when this versatile slang term took on this meaning.

It more commonly meant drugs in slang, and naturally the literal meaning is of equipment and apparatus.

It’s very recent, not being older than ten years or so to mean cool.

Reem

“Reem” is another slang term used in Britain to mean something is the pinnacle of cool.

Depending on whom you ask, this term might have a very specific meaning, still retaining the sense of cool but also signifying someone who is very attractive and well-dressed.

More generally, though, it simply refers to something that is very cool.

“I need to look reem for tonight,” for example.

The phrase was popularized by the TV show The Only Way is Essex, a reality show starring young attractive people who were romantically involved. It was used constantly on this show and this is where most people would point to if asked where the phrase came from.

The word itself is apparently derived from Swedish.

Bomb

“Bomb” is another common term in Britain to say something is really cool.

Given that “cool” is something generally used by young people more commonly, it’s not surprising that many slang terms from America have made their way into the British lexicon through movies and television.

“Bomb” is not the most widely used slang phrase in Britain today by any means, but it is nonetheless more common today than it was a decade ago.

“That’s so bomb,” for example.

It’s not really clear where this term originally came from. It’s more widely thought of as an American term today, but in fact it may well have been British originally.

It has a wide variety of slang applications, but as a slang phrase for something cool we can see that it originated sometime in the 50s or 60s.

Peng

“Peng” is quite regionally and demographically specific, but it has broadened in usage today.

If something is peng it can have a couple of different meanings, but “cool” is the best catch-all word to describe its overall sense.

It can mean something is really tasty, a person is really attractive, or an item is very cool. “I’ve got these peng new shoes,” for example.

The term is primarily used among black British people, particularly in parts of London.

It seems to derive from the word kushunpeng, a term used in reggae music for cannabis.

It is not much older than the last twenty years or so.

Pukka

“Pukka” is another slang term for cool used in a similar vein.

If something is “pukka,” it means it’s very good, very cool, or very interesting.

Certainly not the widest used term on this list, you may well be met with confusion if you use this word as not everyone will understand it.

Certainly, the older generations are less likely to be familiar with this term.

“Are you coming to the party tonight? Should be pukka,” for example.

The word is borrowed from Hindi, or possibly Urdu, where the word is pakka, meaning “solid”.

It took on the sense of something very cool or good as “solid” in British slang also has the sense of something very good or of high quality.

Quality

FInally we have “quality,” a common slang phrase used in the north of England to mean something is very cool.

Of course, the word itself has the literal meaning of “the standard of something,” which could be good or bad.

But this is a noun, whereas this slang sense of it is used as an adjective meaning very cool.

“That game was quality,” for example.

It’s a very recent term in this sense, not being much older than a few decades at most.

It’s hard to say with any precision as it does not appear in the written record until quite recently.

British slang is nothing if not infinitely versatile, then. It’s worth remembering, of course, that “cool” itself is among the most common slang terms used for this meaning in Britain.

In itself it works very well for most situations and there’s nowhere in Britain you won’t be understood if you use this term.

That said, you’ve also got plenty of other options for describing things as cool!

More in British Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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