for Britain

prepositional phrase

Very well or for a long time.

Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. UKidiomaticVery well or for a long time.

    But Alan can sleep for Britain. He was unwakeable.

    2014 February 13, Paul Allen, Grinning At The Edge: A Biography of Alan Ayckbourn, A&C Black, →ISBN
    5 more examples

    'Jake, you were out for the count, sleeping for Britain, while your little sister – who was relying on you to look after her – was terrified at being left alone.'

    2011 April 30, Jane Moore, The Second Wives Club: a fast-paced, witty and wonderfully funny romantic comedy you won’t be able to stop reading..., Random House, →ISBN, page 24

    'God, I thought we'd never get away from the old bat, only got talking about the sleepover, and she was all ears, chats for Britain old Gwen does.'

    2012 September 18, Suraiya Khan, Someone to Watch over Me, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 81

    'You'd be good,' Geri said. 'You've got the looks, and you could talk for Britain.' Adèle laughed. 'I was always getting in trouble for gabbing in your lessons, wasn't I?'

    2012 December 1, Margaret Murphy, Dying Embers, Hachette UK, →ISBN

    Michelle is lovely but she talks for Britain. I wanted to shout 'Shut the fuck up Michelle!'

    2013 May 31, Ruth Briddon, Being Sarah Chilton: (A Guide for All Mums When the sh*t Hits the Fan), Simon and Schuster, →ISBN

    "That's for sure. Well, let's hope they're hungry." He could sense Janie lightening up as she went back into the kitchen. " When aren't they?" she said. "You know them – they can eat for Britain.[…]"

    2025 January 28, Paul A. Mendelson, The Makings of Emily Jensen: Tales of Birth, Death and the Weird Stuff In-Between, Book Guild Publishing, →ISBN

    Synonyms: for England, for Ireland, for Scotland, for Wales

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see for, Britain.

Synonyms & antonyms

prepositional phraseVery well or for a long time.

Origin

Suggests that if there was a world championship for the given action, the person under discussion could compete on the national team.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

for Britain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20Britain

MLA

“for Britain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20Britain. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “for Britain,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/for%20Britain.

Source: for Britain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.