“Mad As a Box of Frogs” and Other English Expressions
Posted on 11 February 2010
I lived in London for two years and I’m not gonna lie, there were a lot of things I didn’t like about the place: the gloomy weather, the 3:30 p.m. winter sunsets, the congested (and overpriced) public transport, rampant petty theft, chavs, the cost of living, substandard customer service…
Hey, I said a lot didn’t I?
But there are a lot of things I don’t like about most places.
If there’s one thing I learned in my years as a nomad it’s that wherever you go, the pros and cons—however different in nature—pretty much even out. Duh, right? It only took me six years and lot of heartache to realize that.
But that’s another post for another time.
On to what I loved about England: my friends, free healthcare, Newcastle accents, socially acceptable pub lunches any day of the week, the architecture, the tabloids, four weeks’ vacation, Madchester, did I mention the pub lunches?
And then there were the fantastic expressions. Much like my across-the-pond friendships and vitamin D deficiency, these linguistic gems will stay with me for a long time to come.
Here are just a few favorites:
“Throw a wobbly”: to throw a tantrum
I threw both. And then some.
“A face like a bag of smashed crabs”: an extremely unattractive person
I couldn’t find anything online to verify the origin (or validity) of this expression. I’m left wondering whether or not my friends made it up, then convinced me it was ubiquitous as some cruel joke. Still, the imagery is priceless.
“Mad as a box of frogs”: used to describe a crazy person
Picture a box. Full of frogs. Nuff said.
“Spagbol” (pronounced, “spag bowl”): spaghetti with meat sauce
Let’s face it: sometimes, spaghetti bolognaise is a mouthful. So the English shortened it. And now it sounds like a national dish on par with spotted dick or faggots. Think that’s funny? We eat Spaghettios and Rice-A-Roni.
“WAGS”: an acronym referring to the wives and girlfriends of football (soccer) players.
This one’s just fun to say.
“Bum Bag”: fanny pack
Given what fanny means in England, ours is sillier than theirs.
“Wronguns”: troublemakers; hooligans; see also Dan Brain and Gemma Goldfingle
Remember those friends I was telling you about?
Missing England,
T
17 responses to “Mad As a Box of Frogs” and Other English Expressions
This just in from Gemma Goldfingle:
“Face like a bulldog chewing a wasp”
Thanks Gem Gem. You never cease to amaze me. x
Nice english expression!
First heard it months ago from a colleague of mine from Birmingham.
Nice blog BTW!
Name’s Ricardo.
Some from Swindon, Wilts:-
..she looks like somebody set her face on fire and put it out with an axe.
.. face like a bag of spanners
..She’s got Summer Teeth; some are over here and some are over here
..You couldn’t punch clay that ugly
Or one from the states (Eddie Murphy) She looks like she fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
(I am no George Clooney myself!)
a face like a bulldog licking piss off a stinging nettle
There is also “A face like a smacked arse” for someone who is miserable!
Bus stop eyes, one here and one round the corner
Could eat an apple through a letterbox
for people with a large overbite
Asking an aggressive woman “where’s George” as in George and the dragon
Nice weather for ducks – raining
Who got you ready – when someone looks smart
Do you like hospital food – retaliating remark to someone being offensive
You can do that in prison – when someone is being overly controlling or unreasonable
Got out the wrong side of bed – when someone is being moody
You couldn’t bend wire that shape.
How can anybody be so ugly and not be in pain? – self explanatory
You keep him talking, I’ll go and get help – said to a pal while chatting to someone who isn’t really all there
You’re a bit Dagenham!
When you want to say someone is almost crazy.
More of a southern Essex saying, on the train route that ends at Fenchurch Street, Dagenham is one stop short of Barking (barking mad = crazy).
I always thought feeling “as fat as a butchers dog” was a great saying, apparently its not even a saying, it should be
the phrase is… “as FIT as a butcher’s dog” referring to the fact it would have plentiful supply of meat.
how about … as mad as a bag of cats!
Another one for you:
‘Bet she walks away from a fair pile’ (of shxte)
Phrase to describe an overweight lass
‘Shes got one eye looking at you, and one eye looking for you’
Here she comes, arse to follow (If she has a big arse)