the.com/bloke
A man, but only if you'd trust him to hold your pint.
means A casual, friendly British term for a man — ordinary, unpretentious, no airs attached.
from Of uncertain origin, first turning up in English slang in the early 1800s. One guess links it to Shelta or Irish Traveller cant, another to a Hindi word for 'man,' possibly carried home by soldiers — but no theory has solid proof, so etymologists mostly shrug and call it slang from the London underworld that simply stuck.
- origin
- Possibly from Shelta, old Irish traveller slang
- register
- British, casual, never used in anger
- contrast
- Less posh than gentleman, less rude than bastard
- usage
- Works as insult only with good or random in front