British Slang For Weird (12 Examples!)

To be weird is not always a bad thing.

It can carry a fairly vast array of subtly different connotations depending on the context and the person using it, and so out of this arises also an equally vast lexicon of slang terms to describe certain kinds of weirdness.

Britain may be famous for its eccentricities, but the reality is perhaps even weirder than many imagine.

Today, we’re going to look at some of the ways that the British refer to weirdness in slang.

Let’s get started.

In This Article

Oddball

Starting off with a classic British slang term for weird, first we have “oddball”.

This is a term that you would use exclusively for a weird person, not an event or thing.

It can also have varying degrees of meaning, from both a simple strange person to an extremely mad or eccentric individual.

It’s generally a fairly polite term, but you still want to be careful using it. “He’s a nice guy but a bit of an oddball,” for example.

This term was first used in the early 1940s, and seems to have been a modification of the American term “screwball”, which meant an eccentric person and was originally a baseball term.

When precisely it became oddball is not entirely clear, though.

Odd bod

Following on from that, another common British expression meaning weird is “odd bod”.

This is essentially just a modification of “oddball”.

Again, this one is fairly polite and tends to be something meant in an endearing way, but one you should really only use with people you know.

“You’re an odd bod but I do love you,” for example.

Bonkers

Next we have bonkers, one which you’ve certainly heard used if you’ve ever watched a film starring a British person written by a non-British person.

“Bonkers” is a universally understood British slang term meaning strange, bizarre, crazy or weird.

Though again this term is not unkind or meant in a mean way, it is quite an exaggerated expression meaning something is very weird.

“The new design on that house is bonkers,” for example.

Like a lot of similar terms, this word seems to have originally referred to intoxication.

In the early 20^th Century, if you were “bonkers”, you were slightly drunk or light-headed.

Over the course of the century the word broadened to mean weird more generally.

Daft

Another quintessentially British piece of slang for weird, next we have “daft”.

This one can have other meanings, as it might mean something more like “stupid” in many contexts.

However, at the same time, it can certainly mean something is weird or strange, perhaps in the sense of not being done properly.

“Why has he arranged the folders like this? It’s so daft,” for example.

This one has a very long history.

The original Middle English term defte meant simply gentle and having good manners—though it could also mean dull and boorish.

Eventually, it came to mean something more like meek and mild, and from there ultimately became a way to describe someone or something weird.

Uncanny

This one is perhaps not strictly a slang term, but it is used in a variety of ways differing from its dictionary definition.

It means a certain kind of weird, something you can’t quite put your finger on, something which just doesn’t seem quite right.

In British slang it could be used to describe something really strange or just something a bit odd. “That portrait is a bit uncanny, isn’t it?” for example.

To be “canny” meant to be shrewd and have good judgment.

The word “uncanny” has many associations now, but the slang sense of weird simply comes out of the opposite of this sense of having good judgment—though now it can just mean any kind of weirdness.

Yampy

This one is quite regionally specific and not one you’ll hear much outside of the English midlands.

To be yampy is simply to be mad or crazy, whether that’s to a serious or mild extent.

Its meanings can be broader, too, depending on the context—it might be used to describe someone who is mad, for a mad or crazy event, or a foolish or stupid person.

“That kid is yampy, he needs to get his act together at school,” for example.

The term doesn’t seem to date back much further than the 1960s in this context.

We are unfortunately not sure of the origin, though, or how it came to be.

It may relate to the Indian white yam which is sometimes called a yampy—we just aren’t sure.

Glaik

Another rare and highly regional slang term, next we have the term “glaik”.

This is pretty explicitly derogatory and one that is not very commonly used nowadays.

It can, again, have somewhat varied meanings.

It most commonly refers to an eccentric or slightly mad person, though it can also refer to someone stupid or foolish.

“That old glaik is waiting outside the doors, can we go the other way?” for example.

It’s not clear where this one came from, although there may a clue in the region it is used.

It is mostly specific to Tyneside, which is in the north of England.

In Scottish, “glaik” means a flash of light, so it may derive from this in the sense of being stark or surprisingly weird.

Daggy

Next we have “daggy”, which is not very common but is used in parts of England to mean someone who is messy, scruffy and a bit strange.

Again, this one certainly borders on derogatory, so you want to be careful with its use.

It often relates to clothes, and by extension the person wearing them.

If someone is “daggy”, it often means they dress in a strange, eccentric, or scruffy way.

“He’s looking a bit daggy today,” for example.

It seems to have originated back in the 19^th Century, where it eventually spread to Australia where it became a lot more common than it is in Britain today.

It possibly originally referred to scruffy clothes because “dag” was the excrement that would get stuck in sheep’s wool.

Lovely!

Nutter

Another very common British slang expression for weird or weird person is “nutter”.

Someone who is weird or crazy is a nutter, and again there could be varied senses in which its used.

It could be for someone who is just a bit odd and unique, all the way up to someone who is violently mad.

Context is very important here!

“He’s such a nutter when he’s had a drink,” for example.

Unfortunately, the origin of this term is not as fun or light-hearted as its modern sense.

A nutter was originally someone who gathered nuts, and in the 1950s it came to mean a “crazy person” who might stay in a “nuttery”—a psychiatric hospital.

Weirdo

This one is very clear and simple, to the point and thus very commonly used.

A weirdo is a strange person, and again this one can be used in a wide variety of contexts.

Mostly it’s just a simple expression meaning someone who is a bit strange, and nothing more intense than that. It could, though, be used in a derogatory way.

“He’s a weirdo, I don’t want to talk to him,” for example.

This one seems to originate from the 1950s as well, possibly arising from the similar Scottish term weirdie—although this just meant a young man with a big beard and long hair.

Queer fish

“Queer” is a word steeped in an enormous amount of social history, so it’s another one you certainly want to be careful with.

Its original sense was of something weird or strange—eventually, it became a slur for gay people.

Then, the gay community and LGBT community as a whole reclaimed the term as their own to stop it from being used against them.

Some archaic slang terms survive from their original use, such as “queer fish” which simply means a strange person.

It seems to have originated in the early 20^th Century, although much more than this is quite difficult to say.

Rum

Finally we have rum, a rather archaic term meaning weird but not one that has fallen completely out of use.

In the 19^th Century, the term “rum” came to be more or less a stand in pre-modifier for the word strange.

A person could be rum, a place could be rum—anything strange could be a rum thing. “He’s certainly a rum man, that one,” for example.

We aren’t really sure of the origin of this one, though it may have derived from both the drink and the fact that sailors drank it.

Sailors and pirates were considered a bit strange, though we can never really know for sure if that was where the term came from.

You are not short of slang terms, then, in British English, to refer to someone or something that is weird.

There are many colorful ways to say that something is weird, some a great deal more polite than others!

You always want to be careful using slang terms like this in a language you’re not all that familiar with, as different people might take them in different ways.

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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