If This List Seems Dodgy, Perhaps You're Just Stroppy

Although Merriam-Webster is a dictionary of American English, it contains a range of words rarely heard outside Britain. Here are more of our favourites.

Definition:

false or dishonest; causing a lack of trust or confidence

Example:

"Sadly, I am not at Glyndebourne, surrounded by hills and rolling sheep, by women in flowing dresses and men in dodgy bowties quaffing champagne and eating salmon sandwiches." - Stephen Moss, Guardian.co.uk, June 26, 2024

About the Word:

Dodgy comes from dodge, but where does dodge come from? Fittingly, no one knows: dodge has been evading explanation since the 16th century.

Definition:

angry; irritated

Example:

"Nurses getting very shirty about out-of-hours visiting. Understandable, but they could be nicer about it." - Rich Watts on Twitter, April 10, 2024

About the Word:

Shirty comes from shirt as it's used in a few expressions that may have to do with undressing in preparation for a fight. If you get someone's shirt out, you make the person lose his or her temper. And if you keep your shirt on, you manage to remain calm.

Definition:

quite pleased; delighted

Example:

"I was ecstatic and my playing partners were chuffed for me. However, my friend who lent me his clubs is claiming that half the hole in one is his!" - Tim Fox, quoted on Worldgolf.com, June 13, 2024

About the Word:

Chuffed comes from the English dialect word chuff, meaning "pleased; puffed with fat." In current usage, the fat is gone and the pleasure remains.

Definition:

hungry

Example:

"Peckish seagulls are causing carnage by ripping open rubbish sacks before binmen can collect them." - Clacton Gazette, June 17, 2024

About the Word:

Peckish has its origin in hungry birds pecking at their food.

Definition:

touchy; belligerent

Example:

"So when I resist meditating for a week or so, boy do I become stroppy and out of sorts." - comment on HuffingtonPost.com, December 12, 2024

About the Word:

Stroppy may be a shortened, altered version of obstreperous (which means "difficult to control and often noisy").

Definition:

one who is obliged to do menial work; a drudge

Example:

"From running errands to washing up, prepare to be treated like a general dogsbody. Some interns dislike being treated like serfs and quit after a few days." - Jo on GraduatesAnonymous.com, February 2, 2025

About the Word:

Sailors who were fed pease pudding - dried peas boiled in a bag - nicknamed the dish dog's body, perhaps because of its shape. Later dogsbody was a nickname applied to midshipmen, who, being junior officers, did more than their share of drudgery.

Definition:

obviously disorganized or confused

Example:

"British singer Amy Winehouse, whose career has been blighted by alcohol and drug abuse... canceled all her scheduled concerts after she was jeered by fans in Serbia recently for a shambolic performance." - Mike Collett-White, Reuters, June 21, 2024

About the Word:

Shambolic probably spun off from shambles; it first appeared in print in 1970.

Definition:

awry; wrong

Example:

"Master Jedi and purveyor of wonky syntax Yoda (Star Wars) has been known to impart wisdom of the rufty tufty variety..." - Daniel Bettridge, Guardian.co.uk, June 24, 2024

About the Word:

Wonky, which dates to 1918, probably evolved from wankle, meaning "unstable" or "unsteady." (As for the charming "rufty tufty," it generally means "rough" or "coarse.")

Photo: Barron Fujimoto / flickr

Definition:

nonsense

Example:

"You are wrong because your analysis is bollocks. Where did you get the notion that Tunisians and Egyptians have settled and accepted for the junta or old party governments?" - comment on Guardian.co.uk, February 22, 2025

About the Word:

This word is often considered vulgar in British English, so use it with caution. Bollocks comes from the Old English word for "testicles." Oddly, dog's bollocks is a slang term meaning "the best."