Daft as a brush, and other very British sayings

[GypsyRoseGarden]

Reading another thread, a poster mentioned “daft as a brush” which made me smile - it’s so very British - expressive but not vindictive

Another saying I like is “completely trollied” for so very drunk that they can’t walk straight

What are your favorite very British sayings ?

This one is really old : as bent as a nine bob note. It meant crooked as in a dishonest person. I was reminded of this saying when Gene Hunt said it but the writer got it wrong and Gene said 'as bent as a ten bob note' which wouldn't be crooked because there actually were ten bob notes. The whole point is that there were never nine bob notes.

It's not really a favourite but it's one you wouldn't understand unless you knew what it meant - it's no skin off my nose.

One I do like is willy nilly.

Willy nilly is a corruption of 'Will he nill he?' which I suppose means 'will he or won't he?' ie haphazard.

Thick as a plank (idiot)
Making a pigs ear of it (fucking something up)

You’ll have your work cut out for you - something to do with sewing I believe

I know where willy nilly comes from but it's a just a phrase I like and it doesn't translate exactly as per its original usage.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Thick as mince

Daft ha’p’orth (daft halfpennyworth) meaning silly child. Affectionately, not in a nasty or derogatory way.

‘Well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs.’
Meaning Well I never.
Don’t know where it came from, but I like it.

Going around the Wrekin
(A random hill in Shropshire causing people to take a longer route around it)

Up and down like a bride's nightie

An American I knew at university really struggled with the difference between "bollocks" and "the dogs bollocks"

I wouldn't touch it / him / her with someone's else's barge pole.

Window shopping , unless you actually want new Windows for your house it doesn't make a lot of sense.

Sods / Murphy's law

She / he is a right filbertygibert ( def not spelt right )

Teaching your grandmother to suck eggs.

As children we were often threatened with a 'larruping'.

Fur lined ocean going fuck up ! always one of my favourites heard it first on Grand Designs !

A lot of old slang and sayings have moved on some however there are more modern versions that come along
Its all gone a bit Pete Tong! is another likeable one

"Flying low" for an open trouser zip
"Sweating cobs" think these are suppose to be cobblestones??
My personal favourite "as cackhanded as a bull handling a musket" one is a bit clumsy 😄

Hold your horses..always met with confusion by my toddler who states he didn't have any horses.

Meet yourself coming back on the way there.........racing about making a fuss and getting nothing done
Teasy as an adder...........someones tetchy
Rough as a badgers arse ........... hungover or feeling a bit off.

these are fabulous
never heard of the black one tho - seems lots of people have
I have a new appreciation for anyone learning to speak English - these sayings can't make it very easy for them

Cold enough for a fur-lined walking stick.

I don’t know if I’m on this earth or Fuller’s.

Mad as a fish in a bush.

Got your face in a knot.

All fur coat and no knickers.

I didn't realise just how many of these there are (and how many I used) until I was the only British person in an office.

Oh, and "the wind will change and your face will stick".

@Pieceofpurplesky - interesting! My Mum uses Tilly Mint as a term of endearment (" now then Tilly Mint") I never knew where it came from.

@CaptainMyCaptain

A French friend said she had 'flies in her leg' and was amused when I told her we called it 'pins and needles'.

I think the French version is "avoir des fourmis dans les jambes" which is ants. And then we say to have ants in your pants to mean fidgety.