It’s safe to say that Britain is home to some of the most distinctive slang in the world.
Now a study has revealed the outdated terms that Brits are desperate to reintroduce into the English language.
WordTips researchers say “bloody” tops the list as the outdated slang term Brits love most, while “sly” is the word we’d be happy to get rid of.
“Our analysis of unpopular old British slang words shows that the United Kingdom is no more real than Middle Earth,” WordTips said.
So, is your favorite slang term on the list?
It’s safe to say that Britain is home to some of the most distinctive slang in the world. In the photo: Only fools and horses
Study reveals outdated terms Brits are desperate to reintroduce into the English language
In the study, researchers set out to understand the old British slang we want to bring back, as well as the terms we’re glad are no longer popular.
The team analyzed the upvotes and downvotes for 310 notable outdated slang terms on Urban Dictionary.
“Whether Boomers are voting down these slang terms in a shameful effort to relive their glory days or Zoomers are embracing old-fashioned cool for vintage street cred, that’s for you to decide,” WordTips joked.
Their analysis revealed that “bloody” is the outdated slang word we love most, with an impressive 96.49 percent upvotes.
“Bloody is a 14th century word meaning ‘involving bloodshed’ and later ‘bloodthirsty, cruel, tainted with blood crimes,'” WordTips explained.
‘It has been “intensive swearing in Britain since at least 1676”; the lexicographer Samuel L. Johnson considered it “very vulgar.”‘
By contrast, “cunning” was found to be the least popular British slang word. “The word Geordie crafty means ‘good, pleasant or pleasant’, according to locals, but 52.62% of Urban Dictionary users would prefer to get rid of it,” WordTips said.
‘Chuffed’ is next on the list, with 96.13 percent of votes in favor, followed by ‘bugger all’ (95.03 percent), ‘bruv’ (93.88 percent), ‘sod off ‘ (92.84 percent) and ‘cortin twitcher’. ‘ (92.40 percent).
Other honorable mentions include ‘chockablock’, ‘hank marvin’ and of course the classic ‘fit’.
By contrast, “cunning” was found to be the least popular British slang word.
“The word Crafty Geordie means ‘good, pleasant or pleasant’, according to locals, but 52.62% of Urban Dictionary users would prefer to get rid of it,” WordTips said.
‘Take the Mickey’ is not far behind, as it received 37.96 percent negative votes.
“There follows a pentuplet of British words that could very well be the Hogwarts basketball team roster: Bonk, Wangle, Fancy, Dench and Mug,” WordTips joked.
‘Meaning, respectively: copulate, manipulate, desire, first and fool.’
The news comes shortly after Countdown’s Susie Dent revealed the historic words she wants to see in English again.
One of his many favorites is ‘nodcrafty’ which, despite being from the 19th century, is perfect ‘for any Zoom meeting’.
“Being clever is having the ability to nod your head like you’re really going with the flow but in reality you tuned out a long time ago,” he told MailOnline.
“I think it’s a pretty important skill.”
Another little-known word, “apricity,” describes “the most perfect feeling”: the warmth of the sun on your back on a winter day.
“There’s only one record of it in the dictionary, from 1623,” Susie explained.
‘It’s almost like a linguistic ephemera: it seems to have survived for a day and disappeared. But meteorologists are starting to use it, which is brilliant.’
Another one created in the 16th century is the ‘mumpsimus’, someone who insists that he is right despite clear evidence that he is not.
Meanwhile, the lovely Scottish term ‘hurkle-durkle’ means lying in bed or resting when one should be up.