British English has many words that make eagerness sound slightly suspect.
Keen: Eager. “He’s very keen” can be a gentle warning.
Trying too hard: Making an effort that others can see, and that therefore fails.
A bit much: Too enthusiastic, too friendly or too loud for the situation.
Full-on: Intense in a way that tires other people.
Smarmy: Friendly or flattering in an insincere way.
Salesy: Sounding like someone who is trying to sell something.
In the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses, broadcast from 1981 to 2003, Derek “Del Boy” Trotter is a South London market trader willing to sell anything to anyone. He trades under the name Trotters Independent Traders, from a three-wheeled van. One of his catchphrases is “This time next year we’ll be millionaires.”
In 2004, the show was voted Britain’s Best Sitcom in a BBC poll.
The BBC sketch show The Fast Show, broadcast from 1994 to 1997, included two tailors, Ken and Kenneth. They pester customers with remarks about his clothes and his private life. Their catchphrase is “Suit you, sir!”
On 1 April 1992, eight days before a general election, the Labour Party held a rally at Sheffield Arena for 10,000 members. The party leader, Neil Kinnock, took the podium and shouted a phrase four times. It was generally reported as “We’re all right!” Kinnock later said it was “Well all right!”, in the manner of a rock singer.
Commentators thought the rally came over as triumphalist. Labour’s internal polls suggested it had little effect. The Conservatives won the election, and the footage is still shown as an example of overconfident campaigning.
In April 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown posted a video statement on YouTube. The Register reported that his words and his smile “appeared to be consistently out of synch.”
Comedians and commentators mocked the video. The Spectator wrote that he “beams as if he’s playing Santa at a kiddies party.”
In 2003, the journalist David Margolick interviewed Prime Minister Tony Blair for Vanity Fair. When Margolick asked Blair about praying with President George W. Bush, Blair’s director of communications, Alastair Campbell, cut in: “We don’t do God.”
Jane Austen wrote the novel that became Pride and Prejudice between October 1796 and August 1797. Its first title was First Impressions. It was published in 1813.
At first, the charming officer Wickham becomes a favorite with the ladies, including Elizabeth Bennet, while the proud Mr. Darcy offends everyone. The novel slowly reverses both impressions.
The British sandwich chain Pret A Manger rewards its staff for cheerful service. A mystery shopper visits every shop each week, and if the visit goes well, the whole team earns a bonus. In 2013, its chief executive, Clive Schlee, described his store visits: “The first thing I look at is whether the staff are touching each other. Are they smiling, reacting to each other, happy, engaged?”
The same year, the chain was accused in the British press of demanding “emotional labour.” Its own list of behaviors it did not want included doing things “only for show.”
Ipsos regularly asks Britons which professions they trust to tell the truth. In the 2024 edition, only 18 percent trusted advertising executives, the third lowest score after politicians and government ministers. Nurses came first, with 94 percent.
In the 2025 edition, advertising executives, government ministers, politicians and social media influencers were again the least trusted. Nurses were again the most trusted.
In the BBC comedy The Office, first broadcast in 2001, Ricky Gervais plays David Brent, the manager of a paper company’s branch office in Slough. Brent wants to be seen as a funny man and a great boss. The British Comedy Guide notes that he “genuinely believes that he is popular.”