Day 3 of Glosso’s popular evergreen advent calendar, “Baubles of Britishisms”. Each day, leading up to the quintessential British day of rest and relaxation (“Boxing Day”), you’ll open a window to the world of quirky Brit-speak.
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Got the hump.
“Don’t get me wrong, not getting work marked is irritating; assessments involve hard work, and the wait for grades is tense. In my second year, an IT failure led to the publication of my results being delayed by 24 hours. I got the hump.” — The Independent, Nov 16, 2014
Read Rudyard Kipling’s “Just So” story How the Camel Got His Hump” on Lit2Go for a possible explanation.
Also:
Brassed off: “We’re all right brassed off with the state of this nation and over the past 800 or so words…you’ll surely concur I’ve provided watertight, incontrovertible, rigorous and downright sexy proof that this revolution will work and that it needs to happen.” — Huffington Post UK, Nov 13 2104
Shirty: “I’ve always been intrigued by the relationship between physique and character (Sarko’s built-up heels and Berlusconi’s hair dye surely tell us more about them than the speeches someone has written for them) and I admit to asking the touchy question about whether Boney suffered from small-man-syndrome. Andrew Roberts’s slightly shirty response was that Napoleon was of perfectly normal height. “He was as tall as me,” he exclaimed in outrage, as if that settled it for good.” — Jeremy Paxman, Financial Times, Nov 14, 2014
Narked: “On the one hand it will be a relief to climb out and have my first glass of Sauvignon Blanc but I will be a bit narked if I am the first to be chucked out. It’s not about winning though.” — veteran British journalist Michael Buerk on being a contestant on “I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Outta Here”, as quoted in the Daily Mirror, Nov 11, 2014
In a strop: “Her manager asks if she’s unwell. She snorts, then swears, then turns her back on him, on all of us. She scrapes her chair around so she’s facing outward, like a toddler in a strop.” — Daily Mail, Nov 14, 2014
All good British words and expressions for being annoyed or mildly angry.