meaning: beautiful; attractive

Spend more than five minutes around any British woman over the age of 40, and you are very likely to hear the word “lovely.” This extremely popular word conveys a feeling of affection or approval on behalf of the speaker towards an object or person, and it’s perhaps best summed up in the phrase, “that’s a lovely cup of tea.” However, the word is more popular amongst older generations, and even more so amongst older women. For instance, the following exchange is definitely happening right now on the streets of Oxford:

• Woman #1: “Ohhh look at that lovely young man by the bus stop!”
• Woman #2: “Right! And look how lovely his shoes are!”
• Woman #1: “Yes! They’re lovely!”

However, be careful because British people are famously over-polite, and the innate fear of being rude is so ingrained within our national psyche that most Brits are terribly afraid of registering their dislike at anything. So whether it’s bad service, undercooked food or crap weather, if we want to keep up appearances and not offend the company we’re with, then rather than expressing our disappointment or disgust at something we’re far more likely to say “Oh it’s lovely!” when asked for our opinion. If you want to blend in and “do as the British do,” then you’ve also got to master the art of hiding your disappointment like a true Brit.

• Excited child returning home from school: “Look mummy, I drew a picture of the family!”
• Mum: “Oh that’s lovely dear. Let’s hang it on the fridge right away.”