British Slang For Gossip (Helpful Content!)

British slang terms for gossip include common terms like “goss” or “dirt”. Sometimes “spill” is used in the sense of “spill the beans”. In modern times the word “tea” has become synonymous with gossip. You might also hear more general terms for chatter used as slang for gossip, such as “chinwag” or “natter”.

There are certainly a few terms for gossip in British slang, then.

Most of them can have slightly different implications depending on how they are used.

It can even depend on what you consider to be “gossip”.

In any case, there are some interesting stories behind these terms, so let’s find out more.

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What do the British call gossip?

The British have a few different terms for gossip that work in slightly different ways.

One very simple way to talk about gossip in British English is simply to say “goss”.

This is, naturally, just a shortened form of the word “gossip”, and is widely used across Britain.

It’s going to be understood by just about everyone, even if they don’t use the term themselves.

That said, it’s a good deal more common among the younger generations than the old, and this is where you’re most likely to hear it.

“What’s the goss after your date, then?” for example.

“Dirt” is a similar term that’s sometimes used in a somewhat jokey way.

This term is often used more broadly to mean compromising information about someone that you could use to ruin their reputation.

It can, though, simply have the sense of gossip, as it could simply be that you’re asking for “dirt” on someone because you are curious and not because you particularly want to use it against them.

“Is there dirt on him? I’m really curious!” for example.

There are other peripheral terms that you’ll often hear in the context of gossip.

“Spill” is sometimes used in the sense of “spill the beans”, i.e. “give me the gossip”.

This is obviously a broader term that has wider meaning in English and can mean someone has spoken where they should have kept quiet.

But “spill” is very often used by itself.

“Come on, spill, how was your weekend?” for example.

Similarly, the word “tea” in modern English has come to mean gossip.

This is a much more recent term and not one you’ll hear all that often from older people.

“What’s the tea, sis?” for example.

Other than these words, you may also sometimes hear the word “chinwag” used in the context of gossiping.

However, this term can also just mean any chatting and doesn’t have to be gossiping specifically.

Why do the British say “goss”?

“Goss”, as mentioned, is not particularly hard to figure out—it’s just a shortening of the word “gossip”.

The word “gossip” itself goes as far back as the 1620s where it had the sense of talking idly about the affairs of others.

While widespread adoption of the abbreviated form is fairly recent, it has probably been used to some extent for a long time.

Why do the British say “dirt”?

The term “dirt” in the sense of gossip is first attested in 1926, and was originally American in use.

It is first recorded in writing in the novels of Ernest Hemingway, so it likely predates this by some time.

When it spread to England is naturally very hard to say, although it’s plain that it was very popular as a term in American movies and dramas in the middle of the 20^th Century, so this is a good candidate for how it spread.

The sense is that gossip you might have on someone is like “dirt” on them, which you can then either use to blackmail or tell everyone about.

At the same time, you might use it just for your own purposes and because you are curious—after all, this is the nature of most gossip!

Why do the British say “spill”?

The full phrase “spill the beans” is first recorded in 1910.

The original sense, though, was not about gossip but rather about “spoiling” a situation.

If you “spilled the beans” then you simply ruined what was otherwise a nice time.

It was not until around a decade later, in 1919, that it had come to mean specifically “reveal a secret”.

Still, it had to go some way to mean “gossip”, though plainly the sense that “gossiping” is revealing secrets illuminates the term’s origin.

When it was first shortened simply to “spill” is hard to say, though it is fairly recent—perhaps only the last couple of decades.

Why do the British say “chinwag”?

The term “chinwag”, it’s important to note, more generally just means any chatter.

It’s often used just in the sense of two people having a catch-up or a conversation.

However, at least in people’s perceptions, this often involves gossip.

The term itself is first attested as far back as the 19^th Century and simply means the way the chin “wags” while you are talking.

This later came to be associated with gossip as people generally thought of a “chinwag” as something old ladies would do.

So, you’ve got many different ways to talk about gossip in British English, then.

Some of these terms definitely have more innocent senses in some cases, it’s important to remember.

But for the most part, these terms mean the kind of whispered gossip that you talk about with close friends in private settings, or when you tell someone all about something that happened to you that they’ve been waiting to hear.

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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