The ‘Too Hot to Handle’ Dictionary: Geezer, Banter, Gaff, and More

Netflix’s string of high-concept reality shows continues with Too Hot to Handle, the latest in a trend of increasingly attention-grabbing binges that began with The Circle and continued with Love is Blind. This new reality show follows a fluctuating group of a dozen-ish sexy singles as they mingle and flirt but—and this is the test—never hook up. If they so much as kiss, money is deducted from their overall prize pot of $100,000. Full-blown sex is definitely out of the question, and so is self-gratification. This is a dating show that’s all talk and hopefully no action (don’t worry, voyeurs, because the rules get broken plenty of times).

Unlike The Circle and Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle is a truly international affair. Hot bodies from all over America, England, Ireland, Canada, and Australia were all shipped to Mexico for a sweaty good time. While they may all be from different places, they all speak the same language of Instagram, dating apps. But what about English?

Turns out, English doesn’t sound a lot like English when you drop in lots of international slang. Suddenly girls in the gaff are looking for a geezer who’s fit with good banter and they can’t be arsed to crack on with someone being muggy, you know what I mean? No, you don’t—unless you’ve already binged a bunch of the UK’s Love Island.

If you’re confused as to why so many hot young women want to date cranky old men (tip: geezer doesn’t mean geezer in the UK), then this guide is for you. Keep this handy while you’re bingeing and maybe you’ll even start to work in some of these words into your vernacular. Ready? Crack on!

Arsed – A more vulgar way of saying “I can’t be bothered”
Example: “I’ll speak to you in a bit. I can’t be arsed.”—Kori (episode 7)

Banter – Playful back-and-forth dialogue that’s witty and charged
Examples: “It’s what she and you guys describe as ‘banter.'”—Bryce (e6)
“Fit, nice body, got to have banter.”—Kori (e6)
“Banter is a word that we hear a lot around here.”—Matthew/Jesus (e6)
“Other than banter, I just take the piss.”—Kori (e6)
“I need someone that’s gonna give me banter and make me feel sexy.”—Chloe (e6)
“He has great ‘banter.'”—Francesca (e7)

Bants – see “banter” above
Examples: “We’ve had top bants, a few drinks.”—David (e2)
“He’s got a shit chat and no bants.”—David (e6)

Bickies – Short for biscuits, which is definitely being used euphemistically
Example: “Go in, son, get those bickies. Have a nibble. Taste that apple pie.”—Harry (e5)

Bin – What they call garbage cans in the UK, so “binning” someone is slang for metaphorically tossing them in the garbage
Example: “Back home, I would’ve done a few naughty things with him, and then binned him.”—Chloe (e2)

Bird – The UK equivalent of calling a sexually attractive woman a “babe” or a “chick” with all the same reductive connotations
Examples: “The gaff is sick. The birds are looking fit.”—Kori (e6)
“The fittest bird’s interested in me.”—Kori (e7)

Chat – Flirtatious talk, similar to banter
Examples: “He’s got a shit chat and no bants.”—David (e6)
“I thought I’d show you around, see what your chat’s all about. You say you’ve got chat.”—Chloe (e6)

Cheeky – A bit flirty, a bit saucy
Example: “I think I’m quite cheeky, and I’m a bit of a cockatoo.”—Harry (e1)

Cockatoo – Typically in Australia, this means a member of a gang that’s been posted as a lookout, but Harry probably doesn’t mean that? Maybe this is the Australian version of peacock (meaning flashy and vain)?
Example: “I think I’m quite cheeky, and I’m a bit of a cockatoo.”—Harry (e1)

Crack on – Let’s get things moving! Let’s give it another go!
Examples: “I would’ve appreciated if you’d just said, ‘Hey, bro,’ like… ‘I know it’s a shit time, but I really want to crack on with Frankie.'”—Harry (e5)
“And if we are gonna give this another crack, we have to promise each other a couple things.”—Harry (e6)

Crikey – An Australian exclamation that’s a derivative of shouting “Christ!”
Example: “You just say one word, like, super loud at a bar, ‘Crikey.’ And then, boom, girls come over.”—Harry (e1)

Fancy – To be romantically attracted to or interested in
Examples: “You’ve known that I fancied Rhonda from when I come in, right?”—David (e4)
“I can tell that he fancies the pants off ya.”—Nicole (e6)

Feck – A milder version of the expletive “fuck” that’s used in Ireland
Example: “Feck’s sake.”—Nicole (e5)

Fit – British slang for hot, attractive, sexy, etc. and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with physical fitness, unless you find muscles hot/attractive/sexy
Examples: “The gaff is sick. The birds are looking fit.”—Kori (e6)
“The boys are so fit.”—Lydia (e6)
“Fit, nice body, got to have banter.”—Kori (e6)
“The fittest bird’s interested in me.”—Kori (e7)

Gaff – A house or home, so in this case the Casa Tau luxury resort
Example: “The gaff is sick. The birds are looking fit.”—Kori (e6)

Geezer – In the US this means a cranky old man; in the UK, however, this means a masculine, kinda bro-y dude!
Examples: “He’s not my usual type, but his personality is definitely worth getting to know more. Just in case he is a geezer in disguise.”—Chloe (e5)
“I want a geezer, but he could be a geezer in disguise, and I might just have to see past that.”—Chloe (e6)
“A bit of a geezer?”—David (e6)

Getting on – Getting along
Example: “Obviously, we’re getting on.”—Kori (e6)

Innit – An even shorter way of saying “Isn’t it?” or, in the case blow, “didn’t I?”
Example: “At the end of the day, I saved some people some money, innit?”—Kori (e7)

Muggy – Someone tricking, fooling, deceiving you
Examples: “I feel completely mugged off, Kori, to be honest.”—Chloe (e7)
“If you wanna see it as muggy, it’s muggy.”—Kori (e7)

Nan – A grandmother
Example: “I’m sure I can keep my legs closed for 100K. If I’m tempted, I’ll be like, ‘Think of your nan!'”—Chloe (e1)

Palapa – Not slang, just what Lana calls the place where she rats on the singles; it’s an open-sided structure with a thatched roof
Example: “Now, I must ask you to make your way to the palapa.”—Lana (e1)

Pitch – Ground that’s been marked off and ready to play soccer, cricket, or hockey on—so, like, a field
Example: “Might be playing on the same pitch, but different leagues, bro.”—Kelz (e5)

Possum – A term of endearment in Australia, kinda like “honey” or “babe” but inspired by those beady-eyed critters
Examples: “What up, you naughty little possum?”—Harry (e1)
“I’m a rule breaker. Francesca’s a naughty little possum.”—Harry (e2)

Proper dead – A way of conveying straight up, no BS intensity
Example: “Imagine if it was, like, proper dead sex, as well.”—Chloe (e2)

Rocket – Francesca guessed right, as it means a hot woman
Example: “Rocket. Know what that means? You’re like, rocket. Out of this world.”—Kori (e7)

Rough and ready – Unpolished, unrefined, etc.
Example: “Guys in Essex are a bit rough and ready.”—Chloe (e5)

Shag – To have sexual intercourse with; and as silly as this word sounds to Americans, it was once considered pretty vulgar in the UK
Examples: “Dating a guy in the outside world, it’d just be a shag.”—Chloe (e2)
“I’m dreaming about shagging everyone in the house.”—Chloe (e5)

Snaked – To betray or stab in the back
Example: “If you think I’ve snaked you, that’s something that’s with you.”—Kelz (e5)

Taking the piss – To tease, make fun of, or joke around with
Examples: “Lana, you’re really taking the piss.”—Harry (e2)
“Other than banter, I just take the piss.”—Kori (e6)

Stream Too Hot to Handle on Netflix