#1: Prat

Although Merriam-Webster is a dictionary of American English, it contains a range of words rarely heard outside Britain. Here are some of our favourites.

Definition:

a stupid or foolish person

Example:

"Everyone's feeling a bit summery this morning, with a few rays breaking out over Britain and some of you lot daring to break the 'anyone who wears sunglasses in April is a prat' rule that we just made up." – 3am.co.uk, April 6, 2011

About the word:

Prat probably comes from the 16th century slang prat meaning "buttocks." The original pratfall was a fall on the buttocks.

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