Over Spring Break I visited the land of tea and posh accents. It was everything you could imagine it to be and I ate my weight in shortbread and scones. One of my favorite things about London however, was the funny phrases I heard from the locals, my tour guide, and others. Those phrases mixed with the adorable accents made it even better.
Here are the 10 phrases that some of the Brits said to me and that I overheard while my time across the pond.
"Fly monkeys, fly!"
This was said to my group by our tour guide. She would always say this as she sent us to do something on our own. Whether it was taking the Tube by ourselves, or breaking for lunch for an hour, this is one of the sayings she would use. It was bittersweet to hear her say it at the airport as she dropped us off.
"You're looking at me like I'm one sandwich short of a picnic."
Another tour guide said this to us a few times as he discussed the history of London.
"Come here my little puddings."
Our tour guide would say this to us when she wanted us to gather around and listen.
"Gather around my little dumplings."
Another saying by a different tour guide when he was about to tell us something.
"You saucy bunch of colonials."
This was said to us as we discussed the history of England and how the Americans broke away from Britain. The Brits are a little bit bitter about it even now.
"Come here my little potato dumplings."
Another saying from the tour guide when she was gathering us around.
"Tut..."
This is the sound that the Brits make when you do something that annoys them. Things such as walking on the wrong side of the road, stopping on a bridge to take a photo, taking too long to get on the tube, etc. Sometimes tourists see how many tsk's they can get from the locals.
"We don't talk about the B-word."
The B-Word is Brexit if you didn't know. It's pretty divided with different opinions over there and it's best to just not mention it.
"It's the London way!"
This was said by another tour guide that we passed. He was explaining to the group that if people are rude to you, that it's fine, it's just how London works.
