"Taking the p" really has two meanings - a light and a darker one. It can mean simply to mock in a friendly way - but can also be said (with some anger) to suggest that someone is going beyond the acceptable norms.
A good example would be from the days before pretty much everyone had a mobile/cell phone. Someone starting a new job might be told that they can make the occasional private phone call but not to "take the piss". Something like a 2 minute call to your partner to say you would get something for dinner tonight on the way home would be acceptable, while taking the piss would be a one hour private call or ringing a relative in Australia.
@@hughtube5154 I was once told that the origin comes from Thames barges doing exactly what the phrase says - transporting the p to be used in the dyeing process. The operators would use a euphemism to describe their cargo...hence "No you're not, you're taking the p...". Nice if true, but who knows? 😄
@@brianparker663 don't they still use wee when making tweed? Or was it felt? Or a particular type of hat, possibly a felt or tweed hat? Whichever, apparently X product needs a bit of urine to get it on its way.
My step mother who is Norwegian loves the british culture, and when working with British colleagues (my dad and step mother live and work in Norway) on a new project she unintentionally said "I have a cunning plan" and they laughed and she started laughing after realising what she said.
Colloquial idioms are always fun, but they rarely translate directly... Gino's 'if my grandma had wheels she'd be a bike' is my favourite example...!!!
RUclips would be taking the piss if they demonetised this video. They’d be as daft as a brush! Actually, you gave a pretty good explanation of ‘taking the piss’. Good video Alanna.
Us oldies say " are you shot away? " for are you daft. I also like " thick as two short planks" I think the reason we have such diverse sayings is we can draw on: Celtic, Angles, Saxons, jutes, Latin, Roman, French, and Germanic languages. We really are a mongrel nation. 🇬🇧🇨🇦💜😀🖖
I think a good way to describe both uses of taking the piss are as follows, when it’s friends and it’s banter it’s just like having a laugh, don’t make fun etc, the other way to describe it’s use is to apply it to any situation or scenario where someone is pushing the boundaries of what’s reasonable 👍. We’re a very eloquent articulate bunch on the quiet 😂
@@chrisharris5497 I agree and that can apply to a lot of things said in the UK. They can have two (or more) meanings and who they are said to is just as important as how they are said.
Alanna, you'll always be a Canadian, but you are picking up more & more Britishisms! As always, thank you for your take on another peek into the British way of life. Have a great week.
A variant of "popping out to" is "popping in to", such as in "I'm going to pop in to town for..." or "I'm popping in to Tesco later", etc. And although I've lived here all my life I've honestly never heard "risk it for a biscuit" before, but I know what phrase I'm going to overuse for the next few weeks now. Thanks for the vid Alanna!
Taking the piss basically breaks down to "are you trying to make a fool out of me?" Either by them taking the piss out of you (mocking you) or in the aforementioned example an overpriced food item, the restaurant taking you for a fool into thinking you'd pay such a price
Risk it for a biscuit is one of my well used phrases lol. You can also use "are you taking the piss?" with an aggressive tone to start a fight with someone. Also have you noticed that no british person can leave a social situation without slapping their thigh and going "right!" and then not actually leaving for another 10 mins lol.
I've worked with a young American lady for some time who's been here years too and , like you , British phrases now roll off her tongue so naturally... except she still says Bathroom after 9 years 😅
@@AdventuresAndNaps I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned "Taking the Mickey" - which my brother and I used to say when we were kids. Our parents wouldn't have approved of us using the word "piss" as it was considered too rude. "Taking the Mick" was a shorter variant... then people would also vary it with "Taking the Michael". The adult version under discussion here has also often been varied to "Extracting the urine".
Thanks Alana. If I need to be cheered up all I need to do is tune in to one of your little 'lectures'. I know you can't possibly be so cheerful and smiley all the time but I do appreciate your sharing some of it here!
Hi Alana Risk it for a biscuit is taken from an advert in the 70s for a biscuit called a Swisskit so the original slogan was "ill risk it for a Swisskit " Love your content
Hi Alanna, love all the UK sayings. If you offer a shout here in Australia, you are offering to pay for someone's food or drink, which is especially popular in pubs, clubs and even restaurants. Saying that you will shout someone lunch means you are buying lunch for them. Hence, people here would be most interested in someone giving them a shout!!! LOL. Here are some Aussie sayings you may like. If we completely succeed at anything, we are "home and hosed". If we are very well off financially, we are "riding on a pig's back". If something is "karked" or "stuffed, that means it is broken. If we say "we are going down the road", we are more likely going shopping. Saying that we want to "see a man about a dog", means we are heading to the restroom. If we are very tired or exhausted, we say we are "konked out" or worse still "we are knackered". I actually prefer the first one!!! Anyway, taker care and all the best. Rob.
A shout has a double meaning in the UK, it means the same thing in the UK as in Oz is shouting a round, but it's also used as in if you're going down the pub give us a shout
The origins of "I'll risk it for a biscuit", comes from a 70s TV ad for chocolate coated cereal bar called a "Swisskit",. The original catchphrase was "Would you risk it for a Swisskit?
i admire the effort you put in to understanding us better. we are a strange people but welcoming. also with taking the piss, it can be used in a multitude of scenarios. for example if your bus is late and you are going to be late for work you could say" oh this takes the piss this does". or if you went to a chippy and they gave you a very small portion of chips you could say " your taking the piss there mate".
It’s lovely that you’re talking about British sayings and they are interesting, amusing and sometimes hinting at the risque. The phrase to “risk it for a biscuit” goes back, even to my youth, and I’m 75. It was a little amusing rhyming phrase so it was never “risking” because ‘risk it’ and ‘biscuit’ were the words that rhymed. It actually started off as a music hall theatre type of comedic encounter between two people, with a saucy question and answer joke as in, Q. Are you willing for a shilling? ….A. I’ll risk it for a biscuit!
The "are you taking the piss" in the south and especially London would be "you're having a laugh" but having would probably be reduced to "avin", one that I like is along the line of "cup of tea?" the reply to questions of that nature and in particular while in a pub and you are asked if you would like a drink? "it'd be rude not to", this can be mockingly claiming to be forcing yourself to have a drink or yet another drink, but also thinking "I thought you would never ask" you don't say this one out loud but the "it'd be rude not to" is said in a way that leaves the person asking in no doubt what you are implying, it's one of those where it's said among friends and those who you want to let know that you have reached a point where you are close enough to use sarcasm without fear of being misunderstood and thought to be complaining. This is a really good video as ever, you take the seemingly trivial and show it for what it actually is, thank you for this :)
In Canada, I use "I'll give you a shout" sometimes, but I only ever hear "good shout" from Brits. I'll have to try out "risk it for a biscuit" and see what kind of reaction I get. I sometimes say "popping by" or "I'll pop by your office". We do have a couple Canadian phrases/expressions, but they're usually hockey related ("keep your stick on the ice").
Risk it for a biscuit I'm pretty sure comes from a 70s chocolate bar advert that went 'Risk it for a Swisskit' Not sure why I remember the ad (we didn't even have a telly) but I think it involved skiing. The chocolate bar was kind of like a health bar but covered in chocolate.
I remember the phrase as "I'll risk it for a Swisskit", which was a chocolate covered "wheat, nuts and raisin" bar from the 1970s. They used the slogan in their TV ads, whenever the protagonist was required to do something dangerous, that's what he'd reply as his "payment" for taking the dare.
I only realised how much we use give me a shout on discord and on your streams now that you pointed it out! It comes up so much lol, great video! Hope it does well!
I’d be interested in you doing a video about what ‘British’ things that you have found yourself saying or doing when you go back to Canada on holiday/vacation which surprises your Canadian friends and family.
Meanwhile in the Alanna household: OH to Alanna "I popped to the shop and bought tea, do you fancy a cuppa?" Alanna to OH "You taking the piss? Not on your nelly! oh,go on then, I'll risk it for a biscuit"
I work for an international company and I was corresponding with a colleague in Nigeria. I made a comments in an e-mail to the effect that “we won’t take that idea forward because its a bit daft”. My Nigerian colleague had a melt down - she said she had never been so shocked in her life and never would have thought to see the word “daft” used by someone in a business correspondence. She was going to report it to HR. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with the word “daft” in English and I recommended that she look it up. Although I was quite calm and stayed clam during the exchange, I was really pissed off with her. She eventually came back to me and acknowledged that she had it wrong and “daft” meant something different, and presumably really bad, in Nigeria. She wouldn’t explain further. It just goes to show that some British words or phrases dont always travel well.
I visited my parents recently and my elderly mother said to my dad that she was going to 'draw the curtains' (close the drapes in Canadian?) and 'put the big light on' . I'm British and even I don't know what the 'big light' is! 🤣
I am British and say both 'draw the curtains' and the 'big light', However I have never heard the phrase 'risk it for a biscuit'. I emigrated to Australia over a decade ago, maybe it is a new phrase??
@@AdventuresAndNaps" are you taking the piss? " Is when someone is doing something that in your eyes is stupid or totally unreasonable that they must be joking . Another saying ( well it was sometime back ) that is similar to " taking the piss " is when someone is either complaining about something or explaining how to do something but they go into minute / miniscule detail that you tell them to stop " nit picking " ( nits are of course very small head lice lol ) , but not sure I would say this in work but it can be used if a friend or works colleague asked " what was that all about ? " after talking to someone and your reply is " oh they are just nit picking about...... "
Hiya. You could also say "my shout" when you want to/it's your turn to buy the round in a pub. Regarding 'taking the piss', however, look up the Alum industry around Whitby in the 19th century. Alum manufacture needs copious amounts of urine and once local supplies were easily exhausted, it was collected in and brought by ship from London. The next bit is only Legend, but I like it. Nobody liked admitting what their liquid cargo was, so, when asked, the answer would be "wine for the Abbey". Most seamen already knew this was a fib and would rebut this answer with "no it isn't, you're taking the piss." Stay safe. All the best to you.
"I'll risk it for a Swisskit" came from a 70`s advert for a muesli chocolate bar, if i remember right, one was a skier apprehensive about doing a run till someone waved a Swisskit at him , and he said, "I'll risk it for a Swisskit"..I`m sure there were more in the campaign but that's the only one i remember .
I’m Canadian, but only first generation (mom is British, dad is Swiss) so it’s interesting to watch this video from here in Canada. So many of these phrases are ones I grew up with that I would hear from my mom and my grandparents, and as a kid growing up mostly in Canada, it was strange to hear Canadian phrases from other kids and their parents that I would never hear at home lol For example, now, my husband says “snacky S#@t, and I constantly tell him he’s wrong, as CLEARLY, they’re “picky bits” 🤣🤣 Love the Channel!! Cheers from northern Alberta!
In Cornwall we use the word "Dreckly" (slang for directly) as in "Yeah I'll do it Dreckly" or "I'll be their Dreckly" meaning essentially, I'll do it at some point, when I can be arsed, may never do it in fact.
GREAT selection 😂 adore risk it for a biscuit and never knew popping to the shops was English. TTP is when you feel you are being exploited / taken advantage of oi you TTP cut it out. It's not fair play!!! Ooh fancy a cuppa I'm gonna put the kettle on after that 🤣 x
'Risk it for a biscuit' is almost certainly derived for the advert containing the expression 'I'll risk it for a Swisskit'. That was the first expression of this form I heard, back in the 70s. I'm not advertising, as the Swisskit (a sort of muesli bar) no longer exists. It was rubbish. Oddly, one can also be 'pissed off', which is the UK equivalent of North American 'pissed', which, of course means drunk over here.
The common British phrase that means "Could I borrow a cigarette?" is EXTREMELY offensive to North Americans (so much so that I daren't even type it here).
Great video, do love our use of language & sayings. Personally I always go with risk it for a chocolate biscuit but personal preference. To me taking the piss is something that is seen to be a wind up/joke, as in surely that's not true? Right? Or to to be having a laugh along with someone at their expense but on the full understanding & expectation of getting the same done to you at some point. At least that's how I like to use it
I had a Welsh friend who was being teased by a mutual friend, and she expressed her annoyance with a variant of the 'p' phrase: "Stop taking the pan!" You'll have to imagine the accent, but in any case it was interesting to have such a demonstration of a regional variation on a familiar colourfully metaphorical phrase. On that note: "risking it for a biscuit" is a new one to me - is it common parlance down there in Kent? Whether or not it is, you have managed to get one up on me, Alanna! (Ooh, there's another colloquial phrase for you...)
I am a chatty person in general, probably too outgoing and gregarious in many situations. At an event in Florida the couple next to me probably in their 60s I struck up a conversation with them about the topic of the event. At some point though and I’m glad that I had my online British TV consumption/training, the wife asked me “are you chatting me up?”… I’m not sure any of my American friends would know what that meant but I found it to be strange and maybe I’m just too friendly.
We use "cuppa" to mean tea and "brew" to be either tea or coffee in our house. There's also "pop the kettle on" so you might hear "I'm gonna pop the kettle on, anyone fancy a brew?" to which everyone else is expected to reply with their preference, but if someone asks "fancy a cuppa?" and you want coffee you would have to specify, if you just agreed then it would be assumed that you want tea
I think "risk it for a biscuit" came from a TV advert originally if my memory serves me well. Before going to the shops I usually need to "pop to the loo" to be on the safe side. "Taking the piss" can also be expressed as "extracting the urine" if you're being posh.
I am born and bred in the UK and I have neither used nor heard the expressions 'risk it for a biscuit' or 'are you daft'! Now I'm from the grim Mad Max-esque wastelands that are the North 😆so perhaps it's a Kent / Southern thing? Whatever, the video made me laugh so that's an uptick from me, keep them coming!
Never in my 60 years in N. E. England have I heard; “Are you daft?” “Risk it for a biscuit”, yes but it was more of a 90’s thing. I’m surprised Alana didn’t mention; “ Suck it and see”; a very British expression I think.
Pop to the Shops is a board game for small children. So it’s a phrase that probably wasn’t all that common but has been taught to children all over the U.K. for the last twenty years.
Never heard "risk it for a biscuit" and I live in Kent, 60plus years, now extracting the urine and going for a Jimmy Riddle are two examples of the use of piss. Daft as a brush is quite useful to describe someone I know.
one i say that gets a laugh is when in response of someone thinking i'm going to do something dangerous or silly is 'of course not i'm daft not stupid' 😄
Some of these we do use here. I can "pop over for a minute," or "pop out to the store." Yes, store, not shops, bit we still pop! Daft I certainly heard, although I did have a Scottish teacher growing up, so he might have influenced his students. We certainly used it though! Give you a shout usually means I will contact you later. I grew up in BC though, and I know language there is subtly different from that in Ontario.
"Taking the piss" relies on the idea of someone expecting you to accept something that is wrong or unreasonable, usually with the implication that they expect you not to notice.
Here's one for you Alana. If you're in a pub with your mates and it's your turn to buy a round you could say ' my shout ' Great video as usual. Thank you
I've had, "taken the piss" said to my face exactly once in my life. I loved it. Because he was absolutely correct (and he was a Brit I had only met that day and never saw again, afaik).
I discovered your channel yesterday and I enjoy your content, thank you. Have you done a video on rhyming slang? Your channel is well worth a thumbs up and a subscription with all notifications, thank you, all the best, 😁👍👍👍👊✌️. PS, For me taking the piss is when someone for instance is taking liberties or you know something is wrong like you said charging out of order prices, ect.
Similar to "Risk it for a biscuit" is the even more obscure "Do it for a Chewitt", referencing a type of sweet that I don't even know if they still make them any more!
"Taking the p" really has two meanings - a light and a darker one. It can mean simply to mock in a friendly way - but can also be said (with some anger) to suggest that someone is going beyond the acceptable norms.
A good example would be from the days before pretty much everyone had a mobile/cell phone. Someone starting a new job might be told that they can make the occasional private phone call but not to "take the piss". Something like a 2 minute call to your partner to say you would get something for dinner tonight on the way home would be acceptable, while taking the piss would be a one hour private call or ringing a relative in Australia.
You could also work in a urinary clinic collecting samples.
@@hughtube5154 I was once told that the origin comes from Thames barges doing exactly what the phrase says - transporting the p to be used in the dyeing process. The operators would use a euphemism to describe their cargo...hence "No you're not, you're taking the p...". Nice if true, but who knows? 😄
Two versions:
1. Engaging in banter, gently mocking
2. Crossed a line, gone beyond the pale.
@@brianparker663 don't they still use wee when making tweed? Or was it felt? Or a particular type of hat, possibly a felt or tweed hat? Whichever, apparently X product needs a bit of urine to get it on its way.
Swisskit chocolate bars had the slogan, "I'll risk it for a Swisskit" in a 70's TV advert which cemented this phrase in to British culture.
I remember that advert ! ( Monty python Eric Idle?)
I was going to say the same thing. As a Brit I don't remember ever hearing "risk it for a biscuit" but yes, definitely "risk it for a Swisskit".
My step mother who is Norwegian loves the british culture, and when working with British colleagues (my dad and step mother live and work in Norway) on a new project she unintentionally said "I have a cunning plan" and they laughed and she started laughing after realising what she said.
Did she go to Foxford University?
Indeed
Watching too much Blackadder
Colloquial idioms are always fun, but they rarely translate directly... Gino's 'if my grandma had wheels she'd be a bike' is my favourite example...!!!
RUclips would be taking the piss if they demonetised this video. They’d be as daft as a brush! Actually, you gave a pretty good explanation of ‘taking the piss’. Good video Alanna.
Growing up in Kent in a drafty house with no cental heating, a common phrase was "put the wood in the hole", meaning shut the door. Still use it now.
Us oldies say " are you shot away? " for are you daft. I also like " thick as two short planks"
I think the reason we have such diverse sayings is we can draw on:
Celtic, Angles, Saxons, jutes, Latin, Roman, French, and Germanic languages.
We really are a mongrel nation. 🇬🇧🇨🇦💜😀🖖
I think a good way to describe both uses of taking the piss are as follows, when it’s friends and it’s banter it’s just like having a laugh, don’t make fun etc, the other way to describe it’s use is to apply it to any situation or scenario where someone is pushing the boundaries of what’s reasonable 👍. We’re a very eloquent articulate bunch on the quiet 😂
Great explanation!!
@@AdventuresAndNaps Why thank you very much young lady 👍 😊. It’s the sea air, I’m a Margate lad now lol
Extracting the urine (taking the piss) dafty duck .. Cover yir ears ffffffff. Lol🦆✌️🦌🌹
@@chrisharris5497 I agree and that can apply to a lot of things said in the UK. They can have two (or more) meanings and who they are said to is just as important as how they are said.
I thought risk it for the biscuit was a Texas saying! I’m gobsmacked to hear that it’s British!
A good video would be you explaining your mum’s reaction/understanding of you using these phrases when she next visits.
"Kettle's on" is usually sufficient to ask someone if they want a cuppa, or just let them know they're getting one anyway!
Alanna, you'll always be a Canadian, but you are picking up more & more Britishisms!
As always, thank you for your take on another peek into the British way of life. Have a great week.
Thanks so much!!
"Shout" can also mean an Emergency Callout especially for those in the various emergency services. As in "A Shout for Help"
A variant of "popping out to" is "popping in to", such as in "I'm going to pop in to town for..." or "I'm popping in to Tesco later", etc. And although I've lived here all my life I've honestly never heard "risk it for a biscuit" before, but I know what phrase I'm going to overuse for the next few weeks now.
Thanks for the vid Alanna!
Yay thank you!! Enjoy a new phrase to say!
Taking the piss basically breaks down to "are you trying to make a fool out of me?" Either by them taking the piss out of you (mocking you) or in the aforementioned example an overpriced food item, the restaurant taking you for a fool into thinking you'd pay such a price
Still coming up with quality content after (5?) years. Good job, Alanna.
Risk it for a biscuit is one of my well used phrases lol. You can also use "are you taking the piss?" with an aggressive tone to start a fight with someone. Also have you noticed that no british person can leave a social situation without slapping their thigh and going "right!" and then not actually leaving for another 10 mins lol.
I've worked with a young American lady for some time who's been here years too and , like you , British phrases now roll off her tongue so naturally... except she still says Bathroom after 9 years 😅
Respect for your attempts to explain "Taking The Piss" 👍
🙏🏻
@@AdventuresAndNaps I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned "Taking the Mickey" - which my brother and I used to say when we were kids. Our parents wouldn't have approved of us using the word "piss" as it was considered too rude. "Taking the Mick" was a shorter variant... then people would also vary it with "Taking the Michael". The adult version under discussion here has also often been varied to "Extracting the urine".
Cockney rhyming slang taking the Micheal bliss.
I remember 'Risk it for a Swisskit ' very well ( AD slogan ) ...swiftly followed by 'Are you willing for a Shilling ? '
I've heard "I bet she's willing for a shilling" used in a suggestive way!
I think a Swisskit was a white chocolate bar of some sort
I'm originally from Yorkshire and if I remember correctly a shout is a round of drinks. "Whos shout is it"
Fancy a cuppa could be "Fancy a brew?" Depending on which part of the country you're from.
Bloody Northerner!
Yes, it's more a northern saying than a southern one, judging by my in-laws.
Yeah, this is quite a southern orientated video
@@williammidgley3905 She lives in Kent, I believe.
Which is always a good shout!
Absolutely marvellous Alanna you are really fitting in to the British way of life Excellent keep up the good work ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks Alana. If I need to be cheered up all I need to do is tune in to one of your little 'lectures'. I know you can't possibly be so cheerful and smiley all the time but I do appreciate your sharing some of it here!
My nephew’s Canadian girlfriend loves the word ‘knackered’! She finds it so useful and amusing at the same time!
The expressions are always so interesting and you do a great job explaining them to us ! Thanks for another fun video Alanna ! 😀
Thank you! 😃
Hi Alana Risk it for a biscuit is taken from an advert in the 70s for a biscuit called a Swisskit so the original slogan was "ill risk it for a Swisskit "
Love your content
Hi Alanna, love all the UK sayings. If you offer a shout here in Australia, you are offering to pay for someone's food or drink, which is especially popular in pubs, clubs and even restaurants. Saying that you will shout someone lunch means you are buying lunch for them. Hence, people here would be most interested in someone giving them a shout!!! LOL. Here are some Aussie sayings you may like. If we completely succeed at anything, we are "home and hosed". If we are very well off financially, we are "riding on a pig's back". If something is "karked" or "stuffed, that means it is broken. If we say "we are going down the road", we are more likely going shopping. Saying that we want to "see a man about a dog", means we are heading to the restroom. If we are very tired or exhausted, we say we are "konked out" or worse still "we are knackered". I actually prefer the first one!!! Anyway, taker care and all the best. Rob.
A shout has a double meaning in the UK, it means the same thing in the UK as in Oz is shouting a round, but it's also used as in if you're going down the pub give us a shout
Riding on a pig’s back reminds me of “living high on the hog” meaning living very comfortably
Interesting!! That could be exactly where the saying came from.
The origins of "I'll risk it for a biscuit", comes from a 70s TV ad for chocolate coated cereal bar called a "Swisskit",. The original catchphrase was "Would you risk it for a Swisskit?
“Go on then” sounds best when preceded by an “ooo” 😂
i admire the effort you put in to understanding us better. we are a strange people but welcoming. also with taking the piss, it can be used in a multitude of scenarios. for example if your bus is late and you are going to be late for work you could say" oh this takes the piss this does". or if you went to a chippy and they gave you a very small portion of chips you could say " your taking the piss there mate".
One I've picked up from work, "on it like a car bonnet!" Used when you've done, or you're doing something so on the ball that it gets praised!
Hey Alanna. Nice one and I do love these dives into things we say over here. It's great to get a sort of(but not really) outsiders perspective.
Wow i got a lot of information because of you.
THANK YOU SO MUCH
It’s lovely that you’re talking about British sayings and they are interesting, amusing and sometimes hinting at the risque. The phrase to “risk it for a biscuit” goes back, even to my youth, and I’m 75. It was a little amusing rhyming phrase so it was never “risking” because ‘risk it’ and ‘biscuit’ were the words that rhymed. It actually started off as a music hall theatre type of comedic encounter between two people, with a saucy question and answer joke as in, Q. Are you willing for a shilling? ….A. I’ll risk it for a biscuit!
And again Alanna, your vid makes me smile, laugh.. generally makes me feel good...and I'm NOT taking the piss.
Many thanks.
Thanks so much!!
The "are you taking the piss" in the south and especially London would be "you're having a laugh" but having would probably be reduced to "avin", one that I like is along the line of "cup of tea?" the reply to questions of that nature and in particular while in a pub and you are asked if you would like a drink? "it'd be rude not to", this can be mockingly claiming to be forcing yourself to have a drink or yet another drink, but also thinking "I thought you would never ask" you don't say this one out loud but the "it'd be rude not to" is said in a way that leaves the person asking in no doubt what you are implying, it's one of those where it's said among friends and those who you want to let know that you have reached a point where you are close enough to use sarcasm without fear of being misunderstood and thought to be complaining.
This is a really good video as ever, you take the seemingly trivial and show it for what it actually is, thank you for this :)
Great, fun stuff again, Alana. Cheers from the Pacific West coast of Canada.
In Canada, I use "I'll give you a shout" sometimes, but I only ever hear "good shout" from Brits.
I'll have to try out "risk it for a biscuit" and see what kind of reaction I get.
I sometimes say "popping by" or "I'll pop by your office".
We do have a couple Canadian phrases/expressions, but they're usually hockey related ("keep your stick on the ice").
Risk it for a biscuit I'm pretty sure comes from a 70s chocolate bar advert that went 'Risk it for a Swisskit' Not sure why I remember the ad (we didn't even have a telly) but I think it involved skiing. The chocolate bar was kind of like a health bar but covered in chocolate.
I remember the phrase as "I'll risk it for a Swisskit", which was a chocolate covered "wheat, nuts and raisin" bar from the 1970s. They used the slogan in their TV ads, whenever the protagonist was required to do something dangerous, that's what he'd reply as his "payment" for taking the dare.
Yes, Swisskit...not biscuit, made by Sharps
I only realised how much we use give me a shout on discord and on your streams now that you pointed it out! It comes up so much lol, great video! Hope it does well!
😂 Thanks so much pal!
"Aw'right ma, put the bloody kettle on, and make me a cuppa before I pop to the shops!" - Alanna, confusing her mother, probably…
😂
The saying started out as an advert for chocolate and muesli bar called a Swisskit. "Would you risk it for a Swisskit?".
Thanks!
Wow thank you so much!!!! ☺️
Fantastic video! I love it!!!
"Go On Then" is often followed up with the sarcastic "You twisted my arm." An everyday example of dry British humour.
My favourite is “it’s absolutely leggin it down!” meaning rainy…
Very funny video and mentioned lots of phrases I use without giving them a second thought. Thanks.
I’d be interested in you doing a video about what ‘British’ things that you have found yourself saying or doing when you go back to Canada on holiday/vacation which surprises your Canadian friends and family.
Thanks Alanna..Good show ..😃😃
Glad you enjoyed it!
Meanwhile in the Alanna household:
OH to Alanna "I popped to the shop and bought tea, do you fancy a cuppa?"
Alanna to OH "You taking the piss? Not on your nelly! oh,go on then, I'll risk it for a biscuit"
Throwing one's toys out the pram to describe someone who's losing it or throwing a wobbly.
Should have made air quotes as a drinking game. Good video as always Alanna
😂 Thank you!
😂
I work for an international company and I was corresponding with a colleague in Nigeria. I made a comments in an e-mail to the effect that “we won’t take that idea forward because its a bit daft”. My Nigerian colleague had a melt down - she said she had never been so shocked in her life and never would have thought to see the word “daft” used by someone in a business correspondence. She was going to report it to HR. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with the word “daft” in English and I recommended that she look it up. Although I was quite calm and stayed clam during the exchange, I was really pissed off with her. She eventually came back to me and acknowledged that she had it wrong and “daft” meant something different, and presumably really bad, in Nigeria. She wouldn’t explain further. It just goes to show that some British words or phrases dont always travel well.
They might also ask if you fancy a brew which could refer to either tea or coffee.or if you are in a pub it could refer to a pint.
I visited my parents recently and my elderly mother said to my dad that she was going to 'draw the curtains' (close the drapes in Canadian?) and 'put the big light on' . I'm British and even I don't know what the 'big light' is! 🤣
I've heard the curtains one but not the big light! Wonder what that is 😂
@@AdventuresAndNaps The big light is the main ( normally ceiling ) light. As opposed to a standard or table lamp
I am British and say both 'draw the curtains' and the 'big light', However I have never heard the phrase 'risk it for a biscuit'. I emigrated to Australia over a decade ago, maybe it is a new phrase??
‘ The big light ‘ in our house was the 60W light in the middle of the room which threw a dull glow over some of the room . . . . .
@@AdventuresAndNaps" are you taking the piss? " Is when someone is doing something that in your eyes is stupid or totally unreasonable that they must be joking .
Another saying ( well it was sometime back ) that is similar to " taking the piss " is when someone is either complaining about something or explaining how to do something but they go into minute / miniscule detail that you tell them to stop " nit picking " ( nits are of course very small head lice lol ) , but not sure I would say this in work but it can be used if a friend or works colleague asked " what was that all about ? " after talking to someone and your reply is " oh they are just nit picking about...... "
I’m going to go around work tomorrow saying all of these phrases 😎 Cheers, Alanna!
😂 incredible, love it!
Hiya. You could also say "my shout" when you want to/it's your turn to buy the round in a pub.
Regarding 'taking the piss', however, look up the Alum industry around Whitby in the 19th century. Alum manufacture needs copious amounts of urine and once local supplies were easily exhausted, it was collected in and brought by ship from London. The next bit is only Legend, but I like it.
Nobody liked admitting what their liquid cargo was, so, when asked, the answer would be "wine for the Abbey". Most seamen already knew this was a fib and would rebut this answer with "no it isn't, you're taking the piss."
Stay safe. All the best to you.
Correct. 😀
Great video as always Alanna. 🙂
Thank you! 😃
"I'll risk it for a Swisskit" came from a 70`s advert for a muesli chocolate bar, if i remember right, one was a skier apprehensive about doing a run till someone waved a Swisskit at him , and he said, "I'll risk it for a Swisskit"..I`m sure there were more in the campaign but that's the only one i remember .
I'd never noticed that "go on, then" wasn't used in the US and Canada. Neat :D
where I grew up in Langholm, popping to the shops was "going for the messages" they were delivered on a message bike wwhich had a basket on the front.
Risk it for a biscuit was a popular 70’s advert for swisskit. I think it was a Swiss bar
"Risk it for a biscuit" is fantastic!!🤣
😂🍪
A lot of tea is DRUNK Elena!
It was originally "Risk it for a Swisskit", which was a TV advert for a chocolate bar. It was one of those products that was like eating broken glass!
And with the taste of sawdust!
I don't remember that ad, but I do remember "Avalanche!!!!. No, 'ave a Swisskit"
Actually - I remember that the 'Swisskit' advert was a wordplay on the already-established 'Biscuit' saying under discussion here.
Never heard of it
I’m Canadian, but only first generation (mom is British, dad is Swiss) so it’s interesting to watch this video from here in Canada.
So many of these phrases are ones I grew up with that I would hear from my mom and my grandparents, and as a kid growing up mostly in Canada, it was strange to hear Canadian phrases from other kids and their parents that I would never hear at home lol
For example, now, my husband says “snacky S#@t, and I constantly tell him he’s wrong, as CLEARLY, they’re “picky bits” 🤣🤣
Love the Channel!!
Cheers from northern Alberta!
In Cornwall we use the word "Dreckly" (slang for directly) as in "Yeah I'll do it Dreckly" or "I'll be their Dreckly" meaning essentially, I'll do it at some point, when I can be arsed, may never do it in fact.
Incredible!! I've heard some Cornwall-type slang before in videos and it went completely over my head lol
GREAT selection 😂 adore risk it for a biscuit and never knew popping to the shops was English. TTP is when you feel you are being exploited / taken advantage of oi you TTP cut it out. It's not fair play!!! Ooh fancy a cuppa I'm gonna put the kettle on after that 🤣 x
Classic Alanna. Always doing an odd number list....Or rating. I love that you do this, never stop 😀
Thank you! Will do!
@@AdventuresAndNaps l also like that some people don't understand it 😂
'Risk it for a biscuit' is almost certainly derived for the advert containing the expression 'I'll risk it for a Swisskit'. That was the first expression of this form I heard, back in the 70s. I'm not advertising, as the Swisskit (a sort of muesli bar) no longer exists. It was rubbish. Oddly, one can also be 'pissed off', which is the UK equivalent of North American 'pissed', which, of course means drunk over here.
The common British phrase that means "Could I borrow a cigarette?" is EXTREMELY offensive to North Americans (so much so that I daren't even type it here).
These are fun! I feel like i have heard "daft" i a movie even thought I am from Michigan and I wish I remembered which one.....
Great video, do love our use of language & sayings. Personally I always go with risk it for a chocolate biscuit but personal preference. To me taking the piss is something that is seen to be a wind up/joke, as in surely that's not true? Right? Or to to be having a laugh along with someone at their expense but on the full understanding & expectation of getting the same done to you at some point. At least that's how I like to use it
Cheers Ash for the explanation!! 🙏🏻
I had a Welsh friend who was being teased by a mutual friend, and she expressed her annoyance with a variant of the 'p' phrase: "Stop taking the pan!" You'll have to imagine the accent, but in any case it was interesting to have such a demonstration of a regional variation on a familiar colourfully metaphorical phrase.
On that note: "risking it for a biscuit" is a new one to me - is it common parlance down there in Kent? Whether or not it is, you have managed to get one up on me, Alanna! (Ooh, there's another colloquial phrase for you...)
I am a chatty person in general, probably too outgoing and gregarious in many situations. At an event in Florida the couple next to me probably in their 60s I struck up a conversation with them about the topic of the event. At some point though and I’m glad that I had my online British TV consumption/training, the wife asked me “are you chatting me up?”… I’m not sure any of my American friends would know what that meant but I found it to be strange and maybe I’m just too friendly.
That takes the biscuit!
I think these phrases sound cute coming from a Canadian. And I offer my sister a cuppa coffee cos we do t drink tea 😱 Great vid as always
We use "cuppa" to mean tea and "brew" to be either tea or coffee in our house. There's also "pop the kettle on" so you might hear "I'm gonna pop the kettle on, anyone fancy a brew?" to which everyone else is expected to reply with their preference, but if someone asks "fancy a cuppa?" and you want coffee you would have to specify, if you just agreed then it would be assumed that you want tea
I think "risk it for a biscuit" came from a TV advert originally if my memory serves me well. Before going to the shops I usually need to "pop to the loo" to be on the safe side. "Taking the piss" can also be expressed as "extracting the urine" if you're being posh.
Brilliant x
I am born and bred in the UK and I have neither used nor heard the expressions 'risk it for a biscuit' or 'are you daft'! Now I'm from the grim Mad Max-esque wastelands that are the North 😆so perhaps it's a Kent / Southern thing? Whatever, the video made me laugh so that's an uptick from me, keep them coming!
I haven't heard "risk it for a biscuit" since the 90s, and "are you daft" may have been replaced by Ron Weasley's "are you mental?"
Never in my 60 years in N. E. England have I heard; “Are you daft?” “Risk it for a biscuit”, yes but it was more of a 90’s thing. I’m surprised Alana didn’t mention; “ Suck it and see”; a very British expression I think.
I’m a Mancunian & we use “Risk it for a biscuit”.
Round my area, you're not just risking it for any old biscuit, you risk it for a chocolate biscuit!
Pop to the Shops is a board game for small children. So it’s a phrase that probably wasn’t all that common but has been taught to children all over the U.K. for the last twenty years.
Never heard "risk it for a biscuit" and I live in Kent, 60plus years, now extracting the urine and going for a Jimmy Riddle are two examples of the use of piss. Daft as a brush is quite useful to describe someone I know.
I come from Kent, 70 yo and I can’t believe you’ve never heard ‘risk it for a biscuit’! Daft as a brush is very common.
I’m a Kentish man and never heard risk it for a biscuit,you must be a woman of Kent 10:28
I’m 51 and from Sussex but living in Essex,”Risk it for a biscuit “ is common and I use it quite often.
Originally it was 'risk it for a Swisskit', from a 70's advert for a muesli bar.
It's cooling off a lot here in the USA, and my tea consumption has increased as the temperatures have decreased!
Your explanation of taking the piss was proper taking the piss.
That just about explains it 😂👍🏻
one i say that gets a laugh is when in response of someone thinking i'm going to do something dangerous or silly is 'of course not i'm daft not stupid' 😄
Some of these we do use here. I can "pop over for a minute," or "pop out to the store." Yes, store, not shops, bit we still pop! Daft I certainly heard, although I did have a Scottish teacher growing up, so he might have influenced his students. We certainly used it though! Give you a shout usually means I will contact you later. I grew up in BC though, and I know language there is subtly different from that in Ontario.
"Taking the piss" relies on the idea of someone expecting you to accept something that is wrong or unreasonable, usually with the implication that they expect you not to notice.
Popping alternative - wind up at work - "Thanks for popping in....."
The original slogan was "I'll risk it for a Swisskit" - which was some kind of short-lived biscuit product in the 70s I think.
Great video Alanna! Well done on all the explanations.
Thanks so much!!
Here's one for you Alana.
If you're in a pub with your mates and it's your turn to buy a round you could say ' my shout '
Great video as usual. Thank you
I've had, "taken the piss" said to my face exactly once in my life.
I loved it.
Because he was absolutely correct
(and he was a Brit I had only met that day and never saw again, afaik).
I discovered your channel yesterday and I enjoy your content, thank you. Have you done a video on rhyming slang? Your channel is well worth a thumbs up and a subscription with all notifications, thank you, all the best, 😁👍👍👍👊✌️. PS, For me taking the piss is when someone for instance is taking liberties or you know something is wrong like you said charging out of order prices, ect.
Similar to "Risk it for a biscuit" is the even more obscure "Do it for a Chewitt", referencing a type of sweet that I don't even know if they still make them any more!
Yes they do 🙃
I like "Are your ears painted on?" when someone really isn't listening to what you're asking them.