london.localmean.com/butters
butters
BUT-uhz · /ˈbʌt.əz/
Local meaning
Unattractive or unpleasant to look at, usually as a blunt and potentially hurtful judgement.
In UK slang, “butters” describes a person or appearance as ugly or unattractive. It overlaps with “clapped”, but “butters” is most directly an appearance judgement, while “clapped” may also be used more broadly for something looking ruined, poor, or worn out in some groups.
Examples in context
- I look butters in that old passport photo.
- They called the outfit butters, but everyone else liked it.
- Calling a stranger butters is needlessly personal.
How it is used
The word normally stays in the same form: speakers say someone “looks butters”, not “a butters person”. It is often used in teasing, but the insult can still cause harm.
Insulting, teasing, self-deprecating, or dismissive.
Banter, appearance talk, photographs, fashion comments, and social media.
Only informal relationships where the effect of the insult is understood.
It directly attacks appearance and can reinforce bullying, body-shaming, colourism, or other prejudices.
Spelling and scope
UK slang recorded in major dictionaries and associated with London and wider youth speech; not unique to MLE or one community.
Common search forms stay discoverable without claiming that every London community uses one spelling.
Common patterns
- looks butters
- proper butters
- bare butters
- that photo is butters
Read next
All words →Evidence and further reading
Sources support the definition, history, or usage layer. Local review remains welcome.
- butters — English meaningCambridge Dictionary
Documents the UK slang adjective meaning unattractive or ugly.
- Using social media to infer the diffusion of an urban contact dialect: A case study of Multicultural London EnglishJournal of Sociolinguistics
Peer-reviewed study of the wider diffusion of MLE-associated vocabulary, with a documented list of 75 lexical items.
- Multicultural London EnglishCambridge University Press
Research overview of MLE as an urban contact variety used across ethnic backgrounds.