Fans of the show are familiar with words like "snakey", pied" and "muggy", but how many other Brits understand what the contestants on Love Island are talking about?
Whether you’ve been avidly following it or avoiding it at all costs, Love Island has been this summer's dominant TV show. But with many Brits left confused by contestants' use of phrases like “salty”, “muggy” and “snakey” to express themselves, new YouGov Omnibus research finds out how many Britons actually understand Love Island lingo.
Buzzin' - 48% understand it
Dictionary definition: a low, vibrating, humming sound, as of bees, machinery, or people talking.
Love Island definition: being extremely happy or excited. Example: “Liv just asked me to be her boyfriend, I’m absolutely buzzin’”.
Okay, you might have heard this in your everyday life as half (48%) of Brits know the meaning of this term as used on Love Island. A further 7% interpret it as a busy or lively atmosphere.
My type on paper - 30% understand it
Dictionary definition: in theory rather than in reality.
Love Island definition: someone you fancy. Example: You are 100% my type on paper, so I just think it'd be good for us to get to know each other a bit better.
Again, this isn’t exclusive to the villa and three in ten (30%) know that it refers to someone whose personality, appearance or physique is exactly the sort of person they'd usually fancy. Another 7% understand the phrase to mean someone you’re attracted to in theory, but not in practice.
Melt - 14% understand it
Dictionary definition: to become liquefied by warmth or heat, as ice, snow, butter, or metal.
Love Island definition: 1. An insult describing a person who has fallen for someone and gone soft. Example: “I can’t believe how much I fancy him, I’m acting like such a melt” 2. A wimp, a loser. Example: “Jonny is literally a tuna melt.”
Only 14% of our Brits even came close to getting this one right: 10% believe it means an idiot or a wimp, and 4% think it has something to do with fancying or liking somebody. Seven in ten (70%) simply didn’t know, and another 3% go back to their GCSE physics class and reckon it refers to the process of turning something from a solid state to a liquid.
Salty - 13% understand it
Dictionary definition: tasting of or containing salt.
Love Island definition: Someone who’s bitter, easily annoyed, or highly argumentative. As used in the sentence: “Amber’s so salty, she’s screaming at Kem for throwing a pillow at her.”
Two-thirds (67%) didn’t know what it means, but those who did guess were pretty uniform in assuming that it isn’t a compliment. Just 13% of respondents correctly said that ‘salty’ means being bitter or argumentative, with another 7% believing it describes a bad person.
Grafting - 9% understand it
Dictionary definition: Botany. To insert (a graft) into a tree or other plant; insert a scion of (one plant) into another plant. Surgery. To transplant (a portion of living tissue, as of skin or bone) as a graft.
Love Island definition: To put a lot of effort into getting to know or flirting with a person. As used in the sentence: “Theo’s really going to have to graft with Tyla after what he said last night.”
Over half (52%) define "grafting" to describe working hard. However, the Love Island definition is specifically about putting in work to impress or flirt with someone and only 9% used this definition. Four in ten (39%) don’t know.
Muggy - 5% understand it
Dictionary definition: (of the atmosphere, weather, etc.) oppressively humid; damp and close.
Love Island definition: Someone who’s playing you, or taking you for a fool/mug. Example: “Muggy Mike just stole the girl I’m seeing”.
One in five (22%) Brits think ‘muggy’ could only refer to cloudy and humid weather and a further 5% assume that ‘muggy’ refers to someone hot. But this is Love Island, and that would be far too simple.
Only 5% correctly defined this term as someone who’s being two-faced or just an unsavoury character in general. As you might imagine, on a show like Love Island, it’s a term that’s used very regularly. Over six in ten (63%) didn’t dare to venture a guess on this one.
Shade - 13% understand it
Dictionary definition: a place or an area of comparative darkness, as one sheltered from the sun.
Love Island definition: Saying something disrespectful about somebody, often in a sneaky or backhanded manner. Example: “Chris threw some serious shade at Mike back there”.
Continuing the weather theme, 11% think ‘shade’ just refers to staying out of the sun. In reality ‘throwing shade’ or ‘being shady’ is all about disrespecting someone. Just 13% of Brits got this one right, while 71% didn’t know.
Pied - 12% understand it
Dictionary definition: a baked food having a filling of fruit, meat, pudding, etc., prepared in a pastry-lined pan or dish and often topped with a pastry crust.
Love Island definition: To abruptly or rudely dump somebody, often in favour of somebody else. Example: “Olivia pied off Sam as soon as Chris entered the villa - ouch".
In the villa, being ‘pied’ means being unceremoniously dumped. Only 12% of Brits got this one right, with a further 14% thinking the word referred to being drunk, while 70% have no clue at all. A few (1%) had high ambitions for contestants' linguistic abilities and assumed that ‘pied’ referred to the French word for foot.
Stick it on 'em - 12% understand it
Dictionary definition: none.
Love Island definition: engaging in intimate behaviour with someone. Example: “Jamie stuck it on Camilla last night”.
This term divides Britain, with 13% thinking that “sticking it on” someone means hitting them and another 7% believing that it means blaming somebody. One in eight (12%) correctly stated that it means making a move on somebody.
Snakey - 36% understand it
Dictionary definition: any of numerous limbless, scaly, elongate reptiles of the suborder Serpentes, comprising venomous and non-venomous species inhabiting tropical and temperate areas.
Love Island definition: Being devious or underhand; manipulating the people around you in order to get your way. Example: “Jonny’s just plain lying to Camilla, he’s being so snakey at the moment”.
There’s a pretty clear biblical allusion in this one, helping 36% of Brits work out that being ‘snakey’ is all about slyness in order to get what you want.
The ick - 3% understand it
Dictionary definition: none.
Love Island definition: the discomfort felt upon contact with a romantic partner you are no longer attracted to. Example: Things were going really well with Sam, but now I've caught the ick, I just don't think I can kiss him.
While "the ick" is quite common within the Love Island villa, 83% of Brits have no idea what it means, while only 3% correctly define the word.
Cracking on - 15% understand it
Dictionary definition: To begin moving or working.
Love Island definition: Making a concerted effort to start a romantic relationship with someone. Example: “I can’t believe that snake Jonny is cracking on with Tyla when he’s just pied off Camilla. What an utter mug".
This is a very common term for getting a move on with something and 41% of Brits gave this definition. However, in the villa it means something much more specific - to get to work... on someone else. Around one in seven (15%) know it refers to getting to better know a person you are interested in, flirting with them, and, occasionally, to want to spend some alone time with them.
Photos: ITV
