A “placeholder name” is a name we use to describe a type of person with a particular characteristic. We generally use first names (“Jack” is very popular) but we can also use first names and last names to create the “placeholder”. Placeholder names are very common in informal, spoken English and you’ll hear them a lot in conversations. Here are eight British English placeholder names: Every Tom, Dick and Harry This means “anyone at all” – especially any person who isn’t distinguished or important in some way. “I don’t post personal details online. I don’t want every Tom, Dick and Harry knowing about my life.” Muggins here We use “Muggins here” when we’re describing ourselves – especially when we’ve been a bit stupid and agreed to do something extra. “So Muggins here volunteered to take the boys to football practice at 7am on Sunday…” Sweet Fanny Adams This means “nothing”. You often hear it abbreviated to “Sweet FA”. (“FA” is also an abbreviation of “f*ck all”, which is another way of saying “nothing”.) “I know sweet Fanny Adams about football.” “What did you talk about in the meeting?” “Sweet FA as usual.” Jack The Lad A “Jack the lad” is a young man who is very confident and doesn’t care about authority. “When he was younger, he was a bit of a Jack the lad.” We use the name “Jack” a lot in English to describe a type of man. Here are some examples: “Jack the Ripper” (the infamous killer) “I’m alright Jack” (an expression to mean that I’m OK so I don’t care about anyone else.) “Jack of all trades” (a person who can do lots of things, but not particularly well.) Lady Muck Lady Muck is the name we give to women who think they are very grand or important and who think they deserve special treatment. (The male equivalent is “Lord Muck”.) “Lady Muck over there thinks she’s too important to do any washing up!” Bonus: If you “muck in” in English, it means you join other people to do unpleasant tasks to complete them. “In this house, we all muck in together.” Moaning Minnie A Moaning Minnie is someone who always complains about things. “Oh stop being a Moaning Minnie! You’re going to ruin the holiday for everyone!” His Nibs We use “His” in front of titles for important men (such as “His Highness”) but “His Nibs” is a sarcastic title we use for men who think they are very important. “I need to get home to make His Nibs his dinner.” Hooray Henry This is an upper-class man who is arrogant and who behaves as if he’s superior to other people. “The restaurant was full of loud Hooray Henrys.” Thanks for watching! Please share and like if you enjoyed the video :) thanks so much ♥ ▶ Please subscribe to update new videos.

• published: 22 Oct 2019
• views: 112