16 more British English Phrases you NEED to Know!

One minute you're learning English in the classroom, you get compliments about your grammar,

you feel confident, and then you walk into a coffee shop in the UK, you order a drink,

and the person behind the counter says something like, good shout.

And suddenly you're thinking, wait, what? What did they just say? Good shout. I'm not shouting.

If that sounds pretty confusing, well, you're not alone. Because here's the truth.

When you learn any language, what you learn in the textbooks and what native

speakers actually say in real life can sound like two completely different languages.

Now, in part one of this series, I taught you sixteen real British English phrases that

you'll hear everywhere — at work, in shops, on the telly, or in everyday conversations.

And today, in this lesson, in part two, we're going to learn sixteen more everyday

British expressions that will help you sound natural and confident in English.

And yes, these are expressions that I actually use every day.

If you want to learn even more about this lesson,

there is a free PDF that you can download in the description below.

Hello, you wonderful people, and welcome to English Right Now. My name is Roy Woodhouse,

and I am your British English teacher. I've been a teacher of English for nearly fifteen

years. In fact, I think it's getting up to sixteen. People keep telling me it's sixteen.

The reason for that is sixteen is kind of my lucky number,

which is why I'm going to teach you sixteen more phrases.

During that time, by the way, I've helped thousands of students like you

learning British English pronunciation in a modern British RP accent, and of course,

British culture — because a language is more than just words, it is culture.

And today, we're going to look at sixteen everyday British expressions that I actually use.

First up, we're going for that one that you may

have heard in the coffee shop right in the introduction — good shout.

Good shout is a brilliant phrase to show agreement.

It means good idea or yeah, that's a smart call.

For example, if somebody says, you know what, let's just catch the bus instead of driving,

somebody might say, yeah, good shout. Or, I hear there's a film

on later at seven o'clock — it's that new blockbuster. Oh yeah, good shout.

You’ll hear this everywhere — at work, between friends,

or even in the pub. In fact, especially down the pub.

Do you want a couple of drinks? Yeah. Good shout.

It's easy to use, it's short, and it makes you sound instantly more British. So,

good shout basically means good idea.

Number two — I can’t be doing with something or someone.

This one basically means I don’t have the time, patience, or energy for that.

Oh, I just can’t be doing with all this drama. Or, I just can’t be doing with him today — he’s

really annoying me. Or, oh, the traffic is a nightmare — I just can’t be doing with it today.