Basic English Usage
Slang
Here we will focus on slang words and phrases you might read in the writing of people who live in Canada, Britain, or Australia.
keener = someone who is so eager or keen that they are worthy of ridicule [Canadian]
He was such a keener to get promoted that people began to make fun of him.
toonie = a $2 coin (the $1 coin has an image of a loon) [Canadian]
I'll bet you a toonie the Stanley Cup will return to Montreal next year.
corker = an outstanding person or thing [British]
The London Eye on the Thames is a real corker: it has done for London what the Eiffel Tower did for Paris.
damp squib = something that totally fails [British]
The proposal to give European citizens fewer rights than are given to British citizens will be a damp squib: no one is going to take it seriously.
dodgy = not quite right; suspicious [Australian]
Home prices in Canberra have been boosted by dodgy loan approvals.
fair go = give someone an equal chance [Australian]
Sheila wants a fair go when she applies for the scholarship.
Lesson: Slang 5
Module: Slang
Course: Basic English Usage