Thanks to TV, movies, and a few too many dodgy impressions, people around the world think Brits wander around saying things like “jolly good” and “pip pip.” The truth is, most of those phrases haven’t been said in decades, if ever. Some sound charming, others … Read more
British English is full of everyday expressions that sound perfectly normal to locals but leave Americans either confused, amused, or wildly misinterpreting the situation. From odd turns of phrase to casual slang, these are the kinds of things you might hear in daily conversation that … Read more
“Bob’s your uncle” is a common British expression which means something like “and that’s done”, or “and there it is”. It is an everyday expression which is used as a kind of marker of satisfaction with a job or something that you’ve done. The result … Read more
To be “as thick as two short planks” means simply to be very stupid. It’s a common British expression used to describe a person. It’s a fairly recent expression, not seeming to go back much further in time than the 1970s. It’s not as popular … Read more
If someone has “bigger fish to fry”, it means that they have more important things they need to be attending to. It may be used when someone has been asked to do something they don’t have time to do—because they have “bigger fish to fry”. … Read more
To be “as thick as thieves” means to be very close friends. Two people who are inseparably close, who share lots of secrets together. This is not to be confused with the common British use of “thick” to mean stupid. The phrase was originally a … Read more
ELO is a rating system used in zero-sum games. It is a means of calculating the relative skill of players, and is used in everything from chess to sports to Overwatch and Fortnite. The rating is represented by a number and changes with every game … Read more
AOE stands for “area of effect” in gaming. This refers to certain attacks or abilities which cover a wide area of the game environment, rather than being targeted at a particular enemy. It is used to describe spells, explosive weapons, or just about anything which … Read more
BMF can mean a few things in texting, but most commonly means “be my friend”. It can also be used to mean “bad mother****er”, a usage popularized by Tarantino’s cult classic Pulp Fiction from 1994. Alternatively, it can mean “be mine forever” in texting. These … Read more
Hz stands for “Hertz”, and refers to the refresh rate of your PC’ monitor, TV, or other display. This means how many times per second your monitor is able to generate a new image. High refresh rate monitors, at 144Hz, for example, refresh an image … Read more