People have been sharing some very British exaggerations – 19 favourites
People talk about British understatement, and that’s definitely a thing – for example “You’ve caught the sun” often means the person concerned looks like they went five rounds with a magma monster and lost every one of them.
However, the opposite is also true, and VeryBritishProblems had the perfect example.
What’s a very British exaggeration?
I’ll go first:
“Blackpool illuminations” = one bright light being on in a room, somewhat unnecessarily.
— VeryBritishProblems (@SoVeryBritish) May 22, 2024
These examples were all very familiar to us. Let us know if you have any more.
1.
"It's like bleedin Piccadilly Circus in here!!"
If the phone rings once, and there's an unexpected knock at the door https://t.co/AISznRCO80
— Trace Monte Darlo (@SwindyMiller) May 22, 2024
2.
"Thinks he's Lewis Hamilton"
– describing a Taxi driver going 2mph above the speed limit
— Liam Hayne (@LiamHayneX) May 22, 2024
3.
Bloody hell what you got in here bricks. When something weighs a bit.
— Paddy McGough (@paddymcgough) May 22, 2024
4.
"It's bloody boiling in here"
– when the heating is 1 degree too high
— Liam Hayne (@LiamHayneX) May 22, 2024
5.
Off work with a cold…
“I’m literally dying”— DB (@dbdegn) May 22, 2024
6.
It's like spaghetti junction down there. pic.twitter.com/OupesMdH1Q
— GenX Woman (@GenxAnecdotes) May 22, 2024
7.
'Has the tide gone out' – when you make a cup of tea that's half a centimetre lower than normal
— Frank Shallot (@SoTiredzzz) May 22, 2024
8.
Facts.
Also: “Were you born in a barn?” = door to the living room left slightly ajar. https://t.co/6tO1gmyw7A
— Dr Lucy Chalice Author (@LucyChalice) May 22, 2024
9.
You could get a double decker bus through that [actually very small] gap in the traffic
— Derek Lancaster (@DerekL03) May 22, 2024
10.
"he can't possibly work here/be a doctor/have passed his driving test! he's like, 12!" – twelve. it's always twelve.
— Madi; fighting myself to stay alive ♡ (@_madi_faith) May 22, 2024
11.
“Nearly had my eye out” when a completely blunt object lands about 10 feet away.
— Duncan Watson (@TonyTonyCurrie) May 22, 2024
12.
"It's like fort knox!" One lock..
— Ness (@chocolatewig) May 22, 2024
13.
My mother in law used to say of a messy room ‘it’s like the Wreck of the Hesperas’ ♀️
— Lynn Pearce (@winklepin) May 22, 2024
14.
Marie Celeste – office floor with a few people out for lunch.
— Katherine Pathak (@KatherinePathak) May 22, 2024
15.
I name one bird in the garden that my dad doesn't know…
"Oooo, ark at Bill Oddie here."
— Jack Griffin (@CrispyCurry) May 22, 2024
16.
I’ll be 5 minutes = me still in bed not showered or dressed yet and having to do a 20 mile journey https://t.co/d9tYNCaE0L
— Danny (@dannyshwing92) May 22, 2024
17.
“I almost fell off my chair” reaction to hearing something mildly surprising
— Mandy (@Mandyv1875) May 22, 2024
18.
“It’s blowing a gale in here” = one small window marginally open.
— Breakaway (@McCourt2010) May 22, 2024
19.
My Dad was full of exaggerations but the funniest for me was , it’s a straight road , you can’t go wrong . When giving people directions. Even London to Scotland , he would still say it
— sally hicks (@sallyh1959) May 22, 2024
Finally, we couldn’t resist sharing this perfect example of understatement.
The opposite but ‘quite poorly’ for someone who’s literally dying.
— Sian Harries – @sianharries.bsky.social (@sianharries_) May 22, 2024
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Source VeryBritishProblems Image Pixabay
