26 Apr 2005

Blagging it

Here’s a quick dictionary reference for American readers who have no idea what I’m talking about – FYI these are all commonly known words in the UK:

blag v. To convince another person that all the stuff you just made up is in fact true and worthy (“Bob blagged his way through the interview and got the job.”); or to get access to a restricted area, usually by lying, cheekiness or confidence trickery (“I blagged my way backstage.”); or to get something for nothing (“Bob’s always blagging cigarettes off people.”).

cheeky adj. To be cheeky is just short of being rude. You’re being cheeky if you make a joke that you can only just get away with without getting into trouble or if it’s said tongue-in-cheek. I am in fact a cheeky monkey. I have heard it is also used to describe smoking weed in a sly or quick manner (“Hey Bob, fancy some cheeky in the basement?”).

cock-up n. v. No it’s not a complete pushup using your nether regions. To cock-up is to make a complete mess of something. “Nathan tried fixing his blog and ended up deleting Bob’s. He cocked it up completely.” The phrase “balls-up” means same thing although it’s seen as a lot less rude.

dodgy adj. Someone who exercises in illegal deals like drugs and or stolen goods (“Bob bought it off some dodgy punter in the pub”); sexually suggestive (“My boss sometimes checks me out in a dodgy way.”); or simply not quite as things should be (“Bob’s car is really dodgy. It broke down twice on the way to the pub.” or “When Bob went to the loo, things felt a bit dodgy and he knew it was the st0nes again.”).

suss v. To check out for dodginess (“I sussed Bob out. Let’s just say I wouldn’t leave him alone in a room with my sister.” “But you don’t have a sister.” “Oh yeah.”); to figure out something dodgy (“Bob thought if he put Nathan’s ciggy box back he wouldn’t notice. Unfortunately the box was empty so he got sussed.”)

taking the piss n. Making fun of someone (“Hey Bob you’re fat.” “No I’m not.” “Nah you’re right, I was just taking the piss.”) To push your luck (“Look Bob, you’re just taking the piss now. One more sick day and you’re going to lose your job.”)

tits up expl. A situation that’s gone wrong, maybe even disasterously. (“Well that blag really went tits up.”)

whinge v. To bitch, complain or whine. A whinger is partial to whinging. (“Bob stop whinging! Just hold it if it hurts.”)

wonky adj. Messed up or not working properly (“Bob has the wonkiest computer in the world. It can’t even run Windoze.”)

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