Lost in translation: British insults facing extinction. Image: Casimiro PT / Shutterstock.com
A recent poll suggests that some beloved British insults are at risk of fading away, with many young people appearing unaware of their meanings.
The survey, which asked 2,000 individuals about their familiarity with various insults, revealed that some terms like toss pot and toe rag are falling out of usage, with over a third of respondents having never heard of them.
Among the lesser-known insults, lummox topped the list, leaving 62 per cent of people under 28 puzzled.
Similarly, terms like blighter and ninny stumped over half of young respondents.
Even classic insults like plonker from the popular TV show Only Fools and Horses are losing their impact, with a quarter of the younger generation unfamiliar with the term.
Despite their declining usage, many of these insults are relatively mild, with only one in five respondents expressing offence at being called a plonker or pillock.
Harriet Scott, CEO of Perspectus Global, noted, Language changes, evolves, and moves on. Our research shows that calling someone a plonker or a prat is no longer a fashionable way to insult them.
The list of British insults that younger people are unfamiliar with includes lummox, bampot, blighter, ninny, cad, drip, tosspot, toe rag, pillock, plonker, nitwit, prat, scallywag, git, and numpty.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our
Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Originally from Derbyshire, Anna has lived in the middle of nowhere on the Costa Blanca for 19 years. She is passionate about her animal family including four dogs and four horses, musicals and cooking.
Known as the PEOPLE’S PAPER, Euro Weekly News is the leading English language newspaper in Spain. And it’s FREE!
Covering the Costa del Sol, Costa Blanca, Almeria, Axarquia, Mallorca and beyond, EWN supports and inspires the individuals, neighbourhoods, and communities we serve, by delivering news with a social conscience. Whether it’s local news in Spain, UK news or international stories, we are proud to be the voice for the expat communities who now call Spain home.
With around half a million print readers a week and over 1.5 million web views per month, EWN has the biggest readership of any English language newspaper in Spain. The paper prints over 150 news stories a week with many hundreds more on the web – no one else even comes close.
Our publication has won numerous awards over the last 25 years including Best Free Newspaper of the Year (Premios AEEPP), Company of the Year (Costa del Sol Business Awards) and Collaboration with Foreigners honours (Mijas Town Hall). All of this comes at ZERO cost to our readers. All our print and online content always has been and always will be FREE OF CHARGE.
Sign up for personalised news
Subscribe to our Euro Weekly News alerts to get the latest stories into your inbox!
By signing up, you will create a Euro Weekly News account if you don’t already have one. Review our Privacy Policy for more information about our privacy practices.
Close
