British Phrases They Don't Teach in School

I thought so. = to confirm that what you thought was true is true / you say this when you discover that what you thought was correct is confirmed to be right / it can be said with annoyance at not being believed in the first place

• John: It says here that Mexico is in North America, not South America

  • Mary (annoyed): I thought so. I said it was last night, but nobody believed me.

• Gilly: I saw Susie last night and she told me she quit her job.

  • Paul: I thought so. I saw her car at the house all day last week, so I thought she must have walked out of her job.

. . . . . . . . . .

It's chucking it down! / It's bucketing down. = It's raining very hard (heavily).

• I wish I had my brolly (umbrella); it's chucking it down.

• The heavens have opened. It's chucking it down!

• It's bucketing down. I think I'll wait until the rain has stopped.

. . . . . . . . . .

It's spitting. = It's raining lightly. / It's just starting to rain (very lightly).

• It's only spitting at the moment, but it'll be chucking it down in 5 minutes.

• I don't need my brolly; it's just spitting.

• It's barely raining. It's spitting a little bit.

. . . . . . . . . .

Don't hold your breath! = It's going to take a long time. / It will take a long time to happen or never happen. (Also: I'm not holding my breath. He's not holding his breath.)

• The manager said we'll get a refund soon, but don't hold your breath.

• He said he'll get back to me tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath. He never calls me back.

• The electrician said he'd be here by 1 pm, but I won't hold my breath.

. . . . . . . . . .

to have a blast = to have a great time / to really enjoy oneself

• The party was great; we had a blast!

• I'm having a blast on holiday.

• When my friends and I get together we always have a blast.

. . . . . . . . . .

smashing = (adjective) excellent / wonderful

• We had a smashing time at the restaurant last night. It was an absolute blast!

• You look smashing!

• He's done a smashing job with the garden!

• The project was a smashing success.

. . . . . . . . . .

a shambles = a disorganised mess / a state of total disorder / to be in (a) shambles

• The service in this place is a complete shambles. Utter chaos!

• What's happening here? It's a shambles. Get your act together!

• We are in a right shambles at the moment since the supplier went out of business.

• What a shambles! Clean up this mess right now!

. . . . . . . . . .

touch base = briefly make or renew contact with someone / get in contact

• Hello Susan, I just wanted to touch base with you as we haven't spoken for a while.

• Can you touch base with the client to make sure he's still able to make the meeting next week?

• Let's touch base in a few weeks to check on progress.

• My mum touches base with me every day.

. . . . . . . . . .

(if / when) push comes to shove = when a situation reaches a critical point and you must make a decision on how to progress / when all the easy answers to a problem have not worked, and something else must be tried

• I don't know if I'll have much time to deliver it today. Push comes to shove, I'll come over after dinner.

• Only two people were there to help me when push came to shove.

• If push comes to shove, I can use some of my savings to pay for the holiday.

. . . . . . . . . .

bog-standard (adjective) = having no special or interesting qualities / completely ordinary / having no frills

• This hotel is your bog-standard. It's nothing special. It has the basics.

• I don't want the bog-standard. Let's give them some bells and whistles (attractive additional features).

• I'm fine with the bog-standard version. I don't need any luxuries or extras.

. . . . . . . . . .

to give someone a bell = call / phone / ring someone

to give someone a tinkle = call / phone / ring someone

get on the blower = give someone a call

• Give him (her / me / us / them) a bell. You've got his phone number, haven't you?

• Give me a tinkle later.

• Get on the blower to them.

. . . . . . . . . .

to spend a penny = to go to the toilet

to go to the loo = to go to the toilet

Nature calls. = I need to go to the toilet.

• I need to spend a penny. Can we find the toilets?

• I must go to the loo. I hope there's one close by.

• Nature calls. I wonder where the loo is.

. . . . . . . . . .

(to give someone a) heads up = to warn / inform someone beforehand

• Heads up! The boss is coming.

• He gave us the heads up that the clients were on their way.

• I just want to give you a heads-up that the company is going to be doing random evaluations.

• We were all floored because they didn't give us a heads-up about the new procedures.

. . . . . . . . . .

Look smart! = Hurry up! / Be quick!

Look sharp! = Hurry up! / Be quick!

Look lively! = Hurry up! / Be quick!

• Look sharp! We're going to be late.

• Come on. Look smart! The train is going to leave without us.

• You'll have to look lively if you don't want to be late for work.

. . . . . . . . . .

Bob's your uncle! = It's as simple as that! / It's ready. / It's done. / Easy as pie. / Piece of cake. / And, there you have it! / Job's a good 'un. (another expression I use a lot)

Say this after you have explained some process to say "And, there it is!", "And, there you have it." or "That's done (easily)".

It is said to show someone that the process is easy to do. It is also said to show someone that the activity will work out well.

• Put the ingredients into the cake tin, put it in the oven, and Bob's your uncle!

• Just fill out the information, press "send" and Bob's your uncle!

• Create a PowerPoint, practice your presentation and Bob's your uncle! You'll do a great job.

. . . . . . . . . .

Done and dusted! = It is completed / (successfully) finished. It has been decided (so we don't need to speak about it anymore.)

It is often accompanied by a slap of the palms of the hands as you move them up and down.

Here, Sponge Bob is saying "Done and Done!", but we would say "Done and dusted!" in the UK while slapping our hands together.

• What a great workout. It's done and dusted. Now, I can focus on other things.

• The project should be done and dusted by the end of the month.

• I'm glad I finished the shopping. Done and dusted!

. . . . . . . . . .