Hello!

The British-ism that we’ll dissect today is “isn’t it,” or more accurately, “init.”

In both Britain and America, this particular phrase is often used to end a sentence. For example, you might sarcastically tell your friend on a rainy Manchester morning, “proper barbecue weather, init?” This is standard. This is logical. Not just because it’s a Mancunian being sarcastic or because it’s raining in Manchester, but because the “isn’t it” makes for a sensible conclusion to the phrase.

Where things get tricky is when the “isn’t it” finds itself not so logically placed in sentences. My first encounter was while discussing route-running with another receiver on my football team (yes, they play American Football in England) and he said, “I always think I’m open, init.”

I always think I’m open, isn’t it. What? Is that supposed to make sense to me?

My first impulse was to say, “No, as a matter of fact, it is not. The only thing open is the massive hole in your grammatical logic.” But, defying British custom, I let the moment pass uncommented, and merely nodded.

As I soon found out, he was not the only one ending any and all sentences with a casual “init,” and that, in fact, it’s just common slang in Britain. And like all great phrases in this day and age, “init” transcends syntax. There is no sentence that can’t be “init”-ed. So there it stands, like a gigantic middle finger to every primary school language teacher, eviscerating grammatical standards into a cool mist.

So for those of you who appreciate this particular piece of British slang, you now have a foolproof way of Britishing-up any sentence. And for those of you, like me, who appreciate their proper grammar, just smile and nod when you hear it—the moment will be over soon.

Stay tuned for more British-isms. Until next time, init!

~ Lucas