British Slang For Delicious (20 Examples!)

Britain is renowned for many things, but it’s probably fair to say that British food isn’t internationally recognized for being all that great.

This reputation, though, is certainly unfair as Britain has some of the best food in the world without a doubt.

While British cuisine has done a lot to incorporate international foods into its menu, it still retains its own unique character.

With that in mind, the British have come up with a wide variety of ways of saying that something is delicious.

Let’s look at a few of them.

Delish

Starting off with a simple one first, we have “delish”.

This is used throughout Britain and is unlikely not to be understood by anyone.

It’s a simple way of saying that the food you’re eating or the drink you’re drinking is really nice and tasty, in a simple, non-exaggerated way that still communicates just how good the food is.

“This pie is really delish,” for example.

Naturally, the term is a simple shortening of the word delicious.

In terms of when it started being used, we can see that it was used in print as early as the 1920s.

It may well long predate this, but it’s very hard to say with any certainty.

Scrumptious

Next we have “scrumptious”, a term which you may well be familiar with even if you live outside Britain.

It’s a very common informal slang term to use when something is really delicious, though it can also be used in other contexts.

However, even when used in a non-food related way, it still metaphorically relates to the eating of good food.

“Her cookies are just scrumptious, you have to try one,” for example.

The term originated in the U.S., though it’s now very common in Britain as well.

Scholars cannot agree on a single origin, though—it may be a colloquial form of “sumptuous”.

Others think it is ultimately related to shrimp in some way.

We just don’t know for sure, though it was in use by the early 19^th Century.

Scrummy

Another very similar to term to scrumptious is scrummy, a slang term used in British English for when something is very tasty.

This could be used in a variety of contexts, from sweet little treats to large, savory dishes.

It naturally comes from scrummy and is simply a shortening of that longer term, often used by children.

“I need something scrummy, I’m starving,” for example.

It was first used in the mid-19^th Century, so not all that long after scrumptious itself became popular.

Yummy

A simple one next, we have “yummy”.

Again, this one is used virtually throughout the English-speaking world, though is a good deal more common in Britain than it is elsewhere.

The sense is very simple, if something is yummy this simply means it’s very nice and tasty.

This is mainly reserved for use in food though there are some other areas of speech where it’s applied.

Again, though, there’s that metaphorical connection to food in its other uses. “Pesto is so yummy, it’s my favorite,” for example.

This one also seems to derive from the 19^th Century.

The earliest record we have comes from 1899, where it was simply baby talk, and may come from the earlier “yum-yum” which was a more general exclamation of pleasure recorded in 1878.

Nummy

Another form of yummy is “nummy”.

This one is less commonly used but it’s also much more specific to Britain—you really won’t hear this one much outside of the U.K.

The sense is mostly the same although this isn’t really something an adult would use.

Children might describe something as nummy, often simply because it’s easier for them to form a N sound than a Y sound.

“This birthday cake is so nummy,” for example.

Given that this one is more or less exclusively a childish phrase, it’s very hard to say when it first started being used.

It most likely simply arose as a childish alteration of “yummy” after this phrase was first used in the 19^th Century.

Fit for a king/queen

Next, we have the expression that, when food is very delicious, it is “fit for a king/queen”.

This can be used in a couple of other areas such as clothing or even something like hotel rooms.

Most commonly, though, it is used to talk about a big, delicious meal that would be good enough for a king or a queen.

“This buffet is fit for a king,” for example.

Naturally, this one is quite old.

Though Britain still has royalty, this idiom came about apparently sometime in the 18^th Century.

People began to have more awareness of how kings and queens lived around this time, but beyond that, we don’t really know when or where specifically it arose.

Moreish

This one is quite a specific term but still ultimately means that something is delicious—perhaps even too delicious!

If something is moreish, it means that you literally always want to eat more of it as you are eating it.

There are a variety of snacks like this, particularly salty snacks, which just make you want to keep coming back.

“Get those away from me before I eat them all—they’re so moreish!” for example.

This term is much older than you might expect. In a dictionary from 1690 of English and Dutch words, it’s recorded as meaning very delicious food.

In fact, the dictionary in question specifically refers to pancakes!

It has survived largely unchanged through all those centuries and probably more.

To die for

Another, slightly exaggerative way of saying that something is delicious in British slang is to say that something is “to die for”.

This one was originally American in origin and many may associate it more strongly with American slang, but it has fully taken hold in Britain as well and is an almost fancy and hyperbolic way of saying something is delicious.

“These canapés are to die for,” for example.

Though you might expect to hear this said in an early 20^th Century period drama, the term actually only originated in the last twenty or thirty years.

Our earliest written examples date from the late 20^th Century, and it is thought to be American-Jewish in origin.

Lip-smacking

Next we have “lip-smacking”, a common expression across Britain meaning that something is very delicious.

Literally, when you eat it, you smack your lips with delight at the taste.

This one isn’t quite as commonly used as others, and is more common among older generations.

Nonetheless, it’s universally understood in Britain. “That chicken is lip-smackingly good,” for example.

The term likely derives from the old Middle English sense of smac which meant “taste”, so strangely it related not to the sound but simply to another word meaning taste, originally.

Over the course of the centuries it has stayed the same in form but its implication has altered to the sound of lip smacking.

Lush

Next we have “lush”, which is probably one of the more recent entries on this list.

Lush is obviously a word which means something which is very luxurious and opulent, though this usually relates to things like furnishings or homes.

More recently among younger generations, it has come to mean something is very delicious.

“These burgers are so lush,” for example.

The word itself ultimately also derives from a Middle English root.

It’s generally thought to be, and even used as, a shortened form of “luscious”.

In fact, it actually comes from the entirely separate word from Middle English, lusch, which meant soft or tender.

Luscious

With all that said, sometimes the word “luscious” itself is applied to food and used as a slang term for delicious.

Some might not even consider this term to be slang or informal, it is so ingrained into the language.

However, in the last half a century or so, the meaning of this word has shifted somewhat.

It’s less associated with food now, and so the sense of “delicious” has become the informal way to use it.

“This is such a luscious spread,” for example.

Sapid

Next we have “sapid”, a less commonly but still widely used adjective meaning that something has a very strong and delicious taste.

It is a somewhat old fashioned term, and not everyone will understand what you mean when you use it.

Nonetheless, it remains widely used among certain parts of the population.

“This tea is strong, it’s really sapid,” for example.

This one derives all the way from Latin, where sapere meant “to taste”, and by the early 17^th Century, this had come to mean “delicious” in English.

Gustful

Another somewhat archaic one but which is definitely still widely used in Britain is “gustful”.

The root “gust” has a lot of varied meanings and a great many of them relate to taste and can be used in a variety of ways.

But to say something is “gustful” means it’s very delicious.

“They have such gustful food at that pub,” for example.

This term also derives from Latin. Gustus in Latin means “to taste,” as well as sapere.

This has come down through the centuries to mean related to food in many different ways.

The particular “gustful” sense seems to derive from the 17^th Century.

Stellar

There are many contexts in which you might call something “stellar” in British slang.

Essentially, it just means something is of excellent standard, usually in the sense that it is the best of the best.

This is perhaps most often applied to really good food and meals, though.

“Have you tried the soup? It’s stellar!” for example.

Another borrowed term from Latin, stella is the ultimate root which simply means “star”.

This eventually became stellaris in Late Latin, and then in the 17^th Century was adopted into English in the altered form “stellar”.

Toothful

Next we have “toothful”, which is a more archaic but still somewhat used slang term for delicious in British slang.

It can have a couple of meanings, and perhaps the more common meaning is more the sense of “small bite or mouthful”.

For many, though, to say something is “toothful” simply means to say it’s very delicious.

This one is more common in the south of England than anywhere else.

“We’ve got a toothful meal prepared for you,” for example.

The term was originally used as an informal measurement in Victorian England.

Usually, though, you would only have a toothful of something that was very delicious—thus, the terms were more or less interchangeable.

Mouthwatering

Mouthwatering is another universally used slang term in the English speaking world to mean delicious.

Often, though, this term is used for the anticipation of something delicious, as much as for the actual eating of the food itself.

Something very delicious makes your mouth water when you anticipate eating it, though of course people also simply use it to mean something they’ve already eaten is delicious.

“Those dates are mouth-wateringly good,” for example.

Obviously, this term is quite literal, since people do produce more saliva in anticipation of food.

The same is true of many other animals.

Our first written example comes from 1822, and is clearly just a compound of mouth and water.

It may be much older than that, but it’s hard to say with any certainty.

Out of this world

Another way of saying something is extremely delicious in British slang is to say that it is “out of this world”.

The sense, again, is quite intuitive and this one is used in a variety of ways and throughout the English speaking world.

If something is out of this world it is unbelievably delicious, beyond what this world would normally offer.

“The wings are out of this world,” for example.

This term made its way to Britain from American sometime in the 1930s.

This was around the time when people were beginning to get excited about the prospect of outer space and when science fiction was becoming a popular genre, so this is where the term originally comes from.

Nosh

Next we have “nosh”, which might have a broader meaning depending on who you talk to.

For some, nosh could just mean any food.

For others, though, and perhaps the majority of people, “nosh” is reserved only for when food is really tasty and delicious.

You wouldn’t call any old food nosh.

This is definitely one used primarily among the younger generations, and more in the north of England than elsewhere. “There’s gonna be some great nosh at mine tonight,” for example.

The term is first recorded way back in the 1950s, and it comes from the Yidish word nashn, meaning “to nibble.”

The sense has changed subtly over the years, originally having been a verb related to eating to having now become a noun for the food itself.

Scran

Another, very similar word to nosh is “scran”.

This one is, you might say, an equivalent term which is just used more predominantly in other parts of the country.

That said, given the spread of terms through the internet in the modern world, both terms are used by many people in opposite ends of the country.

Scran can just mean food, in the same way, but others will only use it for really delicious food. “My local football ground always has the best scran,” for example.

This word originated in Scotland in the 19^th Century.

Originally it referred to scraps of food that one would get through begging.

Since then it has taken on a different meaning and spread throughout Britain.

Chef’s kiss

Finally we have “chef’s kiss”, another popular expression used in many English speaking countries.

Despite the obvious culinary associations, chef’s kiss can relate to a lot of areas of life.

It can, in general, just mean that something is perfect.

More specifically, though, it does tend to relate to food and refers to a dish that is just perfect.

“The fish is just chef’s kiss tonight!” for example.

The phrase originally comes from the stereotype that chef’s would kiss their fingers after tasting their food and finding it to be perfect.

While people write this term down as much as they speak it, they may often actually do the action rather than saying the words.

This came into popular use originally around the middle of the 20^th Century.

There are more than a few ways of expressing how pleased you are with your food in British slang, then.

From the simplest and most obvious to the stranger and more archaic, there are plenty of slang terms in Britain for the delicious food you’ll find there.

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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