--- title: A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement», a lesson of the language course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole: it makes things sound SMALLER than they are. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/) / A bit nippy and not ideal: British und… # A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement Lesson 49 of the language course of Mova's primary school: 16 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/0/) — Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole: it makes things sound SMALLER than they are. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/1/) — British and Irish people are famous for it: «Bit nippy out, innit» in a howling snowstorm, «Not bad at all» about a brilliant cake, «Slight problem in the kitchen, love!» while water floods the floor. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/2/) — People play things down to stay calm, to be polite, to avoid sounding big-headed, or to make a dry joke when something has gone wrong. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/3/) — Picture the family car with a flat tyre on the motorway at night, in the rain, and Dad saying «Well. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/4/) — This is not ideal». - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/5/) — His words are small, but the danger is real: you stay in the car or behind the barrier and do what the grown-ups say. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/6/) — So with understatement, believe your eyes more than the small words: the snow, the score, the second slice of cake, the foam all over the table. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/7/) — Understatement means describing something as smaller, milder or less important than it really is, often to sound calm, polite or funny. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/10/) — «This is not ideal» can mean «this is really bad»; on a motorway, a family waits behind the barrier, away from the traffic, and does what the grown-ups say. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/11/) — «A bit of a pickle» means a tricky problem, like being locked out at dusk with the keys inside; it has nothing to do with pickles. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/12/) — «Slight problem in the kitchen, love!» shouted over a burst pipe means a big problem: someone should come and help, and the water may need turning off at the stopcock (the tap that shuts off the house's water). - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/13/) — Many British people praise by playing down, so as not to sound big-headed: «the girls did alright today» after a 5–0 cup final win means they were brilliant. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/14/) — In Scots, «dreich» means dull, grey and wet, «wee» means little and «the day» means today; «a wee bit dreich» in a storm means terrible weather, so the ferry is probably cancelled. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/16/) — In Irish and British English, «it's not a bad day for it» often means a really lovely day. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/17/) — «I'm a bit peckish» means a little hungry, but people often say it to sound polite when they are quite hungry. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/18/) — Pilots speak calmly so that nobody panics: «a little bit of bumpiness» means strong shaking (turbulence) is coming, and it is safe if you stay belted in. - ← previous: [My dad could lift a car: playground boasting](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/48-my-dad-could-lift-a-car-playground-boasting/) - next →: [Not unhappy and not half: litotes](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes/) - ↑ back to [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/)