Hello!

To continue our inspection of British-isms, today we’ll tackle the phrase, “nice one.” Like many other expressions, “nice one” is a common thing to hear in America, but means something slightly different when said by a Brit.

In America, “nice one” is often said to someone who has just made a joke. For example, if friend A is trying to make fun of friend B, and friend B snaps off a comeback that crumbles friend A’s soul into a little pile of ash, friend C (observing but not involved until this point*) might say “nice one!” to congratulate friend B for his excellent joke.

In Britain, however, “nice one” is not limited to congratulating joke-tellers; in fact, the expression is far broader in meaning. As such, my first encounter with the phrase was quite confusing. I told a friend I would meet him at his house at 7:00pm, and he responded “nice one.” I was very confused:

Did he think I was making a joke? Is 7:00pm not a good time to meet someone? Had I just stumbled upon some crucial cultural faux pas? Did I just inadvertently make a death threat to the Queen and could expect MI6 to burst through my door to arrest me at any second?

You can imagine my concern. All for naught, though, as it turns out the expression merely means something to the effect of “cool” or “good.” My friend was just affirming my plans to meet at 7:00pm. No faux pas, no death threats, I was in the clear.

As I learned that day, and as you all are now learning, the expression is an affirmation, a way of saying that what has just transpired is good and well. So, the next time someone British says “nice one” to you, you should feel great about yourself, because while you may not have delivered a soul-incinerating joke, you definitely said something good.

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

~Lucas

*Someone who sits back during an insult battle and only congratulates the good insults is the worst kind of person. Friend C should definitely not be trusted in a crisis.