What it means
Properly fed up or annoyed, usually after something’s been winding you up for ages. Same vibe as cheesed off or brassed off, just a different colour for the mood. You use it when your patience has run out and you’re ready to have a moan, whether it’s the commute, a boss chatting nonsense, or a mate being a pain. Bit old-school, but it still pops up.
Usage examples
"I’m browned off with this traffic, mate. Been sat on the M25 twenty minutes and we’ve moved about three inches. Proper doing my nut in."
"I am proper browned off with this Wi-Fi at the cafe, every time I get the work email open the connection drops, and the barista just shrugs like it is the weather doing it."
"Gran got browned off with the new shopping list app the kids set up for her, deleted it after one Friday, and went back to the paper list on the magnet in the kitchen."
"I’m getting proper browned off with this boiler, mate. Every time it gets cold, the thing packs in and starts acting precious."
"He was browned off after that meeting, kept muttering under his breath because management were chatting absolute waffle again."
Got something to say?
Edit, fix or tell us something. We review it and, if it is true, you will see it applied with your name on it.
Where it comes from
It’s an old British one with solid service roots. Browned off turns up in RAF and wider military slang around the Second World War, used for being thoroughly fed up and worn down by ongoing nonsense. After that it drifted into everyday UK speech and kept that grumbly, slightly old-school edge.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
Your vote counts
Is this real street talk or have we lost the plot? Cast your vote.