British Slang For Horny (Explained!)

The most common British slang terms for horny are “turned on” or “randy”. These are widely used in both completely earnest and less serious ways. You might also use terms like “raunchy” or “naughty” to describe horniness. Other than that you might hear the more widely used “aroused”, but “turned on” is perhaps the most common.

The British may have a reputation for their stiff upper lips and no-nonsense attitudes and sensibilities, but in reality, they are just as lively and horny as any other population on Earth.

Naturally, a lot of slang arises to account for this.

Let’s find out more.

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How do the British say horny?

The most common British expression meaning horny is “turned on”.

This is by no means exclusive to the British, but it’s almost certainly the most widely used expression meaning horny in British slang.

To be turned on simply means you’ve got your mind on sex and sex acts, that you’re ready to do the business and so on.

This one is often used in relation to a specific thing that has happened.

You might simply say “I’m really turned on right now,” but you might more likely say something like “you’re really turning me on!”

Another common and indeed more quintessentially British slang term meaning horny is “randy”.

This one is a bit old-fashioned and the kind of thing that not everyone will use in earnest.

Some certainly do, but among the younger generations, it is no doubt not as seriously used as it once was.

It can seem quaint and could even kill the mood, as it were.

It was commonly used in Mike Myers’ popular comedy film series Austin Powers, which has gone a long way to making people take it less seriously!

Nonetheless, everyone will still understand what is meant by this term.

Horny itself can have a couple of different senses, it’s worth pointing out.

It can be something you use to describe yourself when you are “in the mood”, but it can also be used to describe something that is overtly sexual or explicit.

This is where the term “raunchy” comes in.

You might describe something as “raunchy” because it’s overly “horny”. “This film is so raunchy, can we turn it off?” for example.

“Aroused” is naturally not really a slang term, but it’s often used just as commonly as some of the slang terms on this list.

Without doubt, the most likely phrase you’re going to hear in Britain for “horny”, in the sense of being sexually aroused, is “turned on”.

Where do these expressions come from, then?

Why do the British say turned on?

The term “turned on” actually has its roots in the hippy and drug culture of the 1960s.

It was something that you would originally use to describe being “turned on” in the sense of being excited or aroused by the experience of psychedelic drugs.

This is where the expression was so widely popularized, although versions of it had been in use since the early 1900s.

It’s a sort of metaphorical sense of having been “switched on” to a different mode of experience.

Indeed, being horny itself could well be called an “altered state of consciousness”, like those induced by psychedelic drugs.

Of course, to “turn on” something in the sense of machinery dates back a long way to the beginning of the 19^th Century.

Today, this phrase remains the most common way to say you’re horny in British slang.

Why do the British say randy?

Randy is another common expression meaning horny in British English.

This one is quite a bit older and has changed meanings quite a lot over the years.

The earliest recorded use we have comes from the 1690s when it simply meant someone being aggressive or boisterous.

The word itself is etymologically uncertain, perhaps deriving from the Scottish word “rand” which meant “to rave”.

By the middle of the 19^th Century, we have our first recorded use in the sense of horny.

It meant “lewd, lustful and noisily wanton”, and originally only applied to women.

It is often the case that terms for excessively sexualized people were originally applied only to women.

Randy is definitely still in use today, but it can, as I’ve said, seem quaint and old-fashioned.

This is rather unsurprising given its extremely long history.

Why do the British say raunchy?

Raunchy is another word used in British slang though generally describes something as being overly sexual rather than something you’d use to describe yourself as horny.

Originally, this term meant something that was clumsy or careless-it was often applied to things that were in bad shape.

Again, the etymological history of the word itself is uncertain.

It may be connected to the Spanish word rancho used in Mexican Spanish, which often connoted filth and animal excrement.

The earliest use we have in the sense of being very coarse or overly horny comes from 1967, and it also had the sense of “crudeness” earlier on in the 60s.

So, there are more than a few ways of saying you’re horny in British slang.

The most common are certainly the more typical slang terms like “turned on”, but you will also hear more uniquely British expressions like “randy” or “raunchy”.

Naturally, you’re only going to hear any of these terms in very specific contexts, but it pays to be ready for any one of them!

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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