Hey guys welcome to today's lesson. Did you know that Britain has over a hundred different
ways to describe the word drunk in English? Of course getting drunk is not something to
be proud of but expressing that you or someone else had a bit too much to drink doesn't have
to sound like you've done the worst thing in the world, does it? The British do love
their alcohol and are famous for it around the world. Going down to the pub, known as
a bar in other countries to have a few pints, meaning beers is part of British culture and
a way of socializing after a hard day's work or relaxing and letting your hair down over
the weekend. While other countries may have one day to celebrate their country's abiding
love for alcohol, the British have three yesterday, today and tomorrow. Therefore it's not surprising
to know that the people of the UK have various amusing ways to express “being drunk”
in English. So why should you always just use the word drunk when the English have come
up with so many fascinating ways to say the same. I'm Nysha, your English coach and you're
watching me on your favourite channel to learn English Let's Talk. Today I'm going to share
with you 13 rather unique and funny words and phrases you can learn, which the Brits
used to describe the interest in getting drunk and actually being very, very drunk so come
on guys let's get started. The first one is a British phrase used to set the mood for
a night out of drinking and the phrase is, “ON THE LASH”. On the lash, an expression
used to state that someone wants to go out on a drinking spree and drink heavily on a
night out. So in Britain if friends are planning to go out on a drinking spree, they could
say to you, and if they want to ask you to join them, this is what they could say to
you, “hey we're planning to go out on the lash tonight, do you want to join us? So that's
the phrase to use, on the lash. Now if you're on the lash as you start having a drink and
then another while socializing it with friends and having a good time, at this point you'd
probably start to experience the next word which is, “TIPSY”. Tipsy, which means
to be slightly drunk. For those who drink and enjoy drinking, feeling tipsy is a start
of a very happy-high. On the other hand, perhaps you're someone who has never had any alcohol
before, so imagine then if someone you know says to you, “you know I can't believe in
this day and age there are people like you who don't drink, like seriously you've never
had any alcohol before? And you say, “no, I haven't.” So they say right today you're
gonna have some beers with me my friend, and you try to politely get out of the situation
but your friend is adamant, that you have to keep him or her company and you have to
try drinking. So you very reluctantly agree okay come on let's try it and after two beers
you start giggling and smiling more than usual, your head starts spinning and you start to
feel a little light-headed, and guess what? What you're experiencing is ‘being tipsy’.
I'm feeling a bit tipsy after those beers… meaning slightly drunk. Same for those who
don't drink very often and suddenly if you drink alcohol after a really, really long
time, the alcohol can really make you feel tipsy, so in such situations how would you
use the term tipsy in a sentence? You could say, “I drank a glass of wine after a really
long time I think it's been six months and it really suddenly hit me, making me feel
quite tipsy.” The next expression is related to a shopping trolley, yes you heard me correctly,
I did say ‘a trolley’. When we hear the word trolley we think of a supermarket trolley
which we push up and down aisles to put our groceries into, right? But how is the word
trolley in any way connected to being drunk? See the Brits are extremely innovative and
have come up with the expression, “OFF YOUR TROLLEY” to mean that someone is drunk.
Even though it has nothing to do with trolleys at all. It's a figurative way of saying the
person is so drunk, they are behaving strange and doing things they wouldn't otherwise do
if they were sober. “Do you remember anything you did last night?” “You were completely
off your trolley mate.” That's a fun expression you can use next time you're talking about
someone being absolutely drunk. Moving on to the next expression, “PISSED”. In America,
the word ‘pissed’ means to be angry or annoyed at someone. But in Britain the word
pissed is a very common way to express being drunk. “We were out on the lash last night
and I got completely pissed out of my head.” “They went to the pub and got completely
pissed and got back home at 3:00 a.m.” Next we have a rather posh word used mainly by
the sophisticated upper-class to mean drunk, the word is, “INEBRIATED”. You never think
this word means to be drunk, did you? It's almost too nice to mean that but the joke
is in the difference between how ridiculous people can look and sound when they have had
too much alcohol and using very formal language that doesn't fit this behaviour. So if you
want to use an impressive word, to impress someone to say drunk go ahead and use the
word inebriated. “By the end of the night we were all in a pretty inebriated state.”
Now coming back to some less posh purely informal British slang terms for being drunk we have
the next expression, “OUT OF IT.” To be out of it means that not only are you drunk
but you're also finding it hard to concentrate or focus and you are really unaware of what
is happening around you. Let's have a look at an example sentence, “You know I don't
remember much about last night's party, know what time I got home, I was totally out of
it.” Moving on to a rather interesting phrase used by the British which brings me to the
next expression, “TO HAVE YOUR BEER GOGGLES”. To have your beer goggles on, this expression
to have your beer goggles on refers to a person who can't seem to see clearly and truthfully
the reality because they're so intoxicated by alcohol. Often used when you find something
or someone rather attractive when that isn't the case in reality. Look at an example sentence,
imagine this scenario… you're sitting outside a bar with a rather pissed friend and she
says, “Look that's my hot ex sitting there… Sam, I'm just gonna go run and hug him.”
And you look across and sorry but he is a shabby looking guy and he looks nothing like
your friends ex Sam, so you'd say, “Sorry, you know just ignore her please and you'd
say to your inebriated friend, “Darling you've got your beer goggles on” or you
could say to her, “that's your beer goggles talking, come on let's get you home.” Such
fun ways to replace the word being drunk, isn't it? Next we have the word “LEGLESS”.
This term hints at the fact that people often find it hard to walk or use their legs when
they have had too much drink. Of course in that state your legs would be all wobbly and
you'd find it pretty difficult to walk straight, wouldn't you? So how would you use this word
in a sentence? Let's have a look, “I was completely legless last night, my cousin had
to accompany me home.” Now I drank so much, couldn't get home so my cousin accompanied
me home, I was totally legless. To follow we have another British slang word to mean
very drunk and the word is, “SOZZLED”. “Two glasses of wine is my limit, anymore
and I get sozzled.” Anymore and I get drunk, but you don't want to say drunk, do you? So
you say any more than two glasses and I get sozzled, so I'm not gonna have any more. And
lastly, I'm gonna team up the last four words which are chiefly British slang words which
all mean the very same thing, to be extremely and utterly drunk. You can use any of these
words to mean just that, very, very drunk. Here we go “BLADDERED”. “He was so bladdered
and aggressive the police had to keep him locked up until he sobered up.” “SMASHED”.
“The group of teenagers were loud and completely smashed out of their heads, so the restaurant
manager immediately asked them to leave the restaurant. “PLASTERED”. “I was so plastered
yesterday, yet I vaguely remember dancing my heart out to my favourite song, did I do
that?” “Or was I actually plastered”. And lastly, the final word on the list which
can be usually used to express getting drunk or beyond drunk because of a bad day or week
and you feel you just need to have a drink or a couple of drinks to ease your mood and
relieve you from all the stress that's going on in your life, the word is, “WASTED”,
and how could you use this word? You could say, “Man my boss screamed at me today in
front of everyone, I failed my driving test and on my way home can you believe it, someone
stole my wallet… can today get any worse?” “I'm gonna get totally wasted tonight, are
you joining me?” “I want to get wasted, just drink my sorrows away”, you get the
gist, right? So there you have it guys, you've just learned 13 amusing ways the Brits use
to say “drunk” in English. Try using any of these phrases or words the next time you
want to say, ‘drunk’ and make speaking English a lot more fun. I hope you enjoy today's
lesson, if you did, write to me in the comment section below and let me know which were your
favourite phrases or words from today's lesson and come on try to use them in a sentence.
Life doesn't have to be serious all the time and nor does your English. It's important
that learning should also be fun, so keep practicing your English guys because as they