Classic British insults like 'plonker' are at risk of becoming extinct

If you grew up watching Only fools and horsesyou'll be quite familiar with words like 'plonker' and 'prat', as Del Boy regularly hurled these types of insults at his brother Rodney.

But these quintessentially British words are apparently at risk of becoming extinct because they are not being passed down and used by the younger generation.

In fact, a large percentage of those under 28 say they have never heard the insults before and have no idea what they mean.

A new study has found that insults among Generation Z are now called 'put downs' and they sound more like 'you're so basic' and 'don't be a Karen' rather than 'stop being a dick'. '.

Classic as such conditions such as 'nitwit', 'git' and 'numpty' could become extinct altogether in the future as language continues to change and evolve.

Continue the investigation Perspectus Globalsaw 2,000 people surveyed and found that almost half of young people had never heard of 'cad' as an insult, which refers to an untrustworthy character – especially a man who has behaved badly without regard for women.

Meanwhile, almost six in ten of the Gen Z groups surveyed had never heard of 'birch' (which means idiotic), and a whopping 62% had never encountered 'lummox', the East Anglian term for clumsy.

Despite our disagreements with words, it seems we can all agree that we Brits have a unique style when it comes to our insults, as 72% of all ages felt this way.

Similarly, a whopping 81% felt that insulting our loved ones with backhanded displays of affection was a 'very British' thing to do, and 68% are convinced that Britain has the best insults in the world.

Maybe that's a sign that we shouldn't let this one go just yet…

Harriet Scott, CEO of Perspectus Global, said: 'Our research shows that calling someone a plonker or a prat is no longer a fashionable way to insult them. Interestingly, the research highlights the extent to which Britons find some of the more traditional swear words softer and less severe than some of today's more controversial swear words.

'It was fascinating to research thousands of old insults such as 'mooncalf', which used to mean a fool, or 'Cozener', which meant a trickster, dating back to Shakespearean England.'

This comes after Uswitch revealed that almost a quarter of young people aged 18 to 34 have it never answered a phone call.Instead, they simply ignore it when it rings and choose to text a friend family memberinstead of calling them back.

Many claim the reason they don't answer the phone is because there is too much 'pressure', with more than half assuming that if they get a call out of the blue they will receive bad news.

The only way the younger generation can chat with someone on the phone is if the conversation is scheduled in advance.

“I would never take a phone call unless I was expecting it,” says Freya Mallard, a 26-year-old comedian from Haringey. “I just wasn't sure what to expect unless we set up a time in advance to speak on the phone, and my friends are the same way.

'We just don't call spontaneously anymore, I prefer a voice note, then there is much less pressure. My mother, on the other hand, likes an unexpected phone call, no matter how I feel about it!'

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