Summer may be drawing to a close but it’s fair to say that Love Island and its contestants are still in the news landscape.
A leading ITV boss has even recently suggested that men watch hit dating show Love Island to get an insight into women’s mentality and their day-to-day conversations.
With this in mind, the team at Preply has cleared things up for the curious males by providing a look back on the show’s classic catchphrases – said by both the female and male contestants.
- ‘Muggy’ – Chloe Burrows
Viewers simply cannot forget about Chloe Burrows’ iconic ‘muggy’ drop, which was directed at her current partner Toby.
To be muggy towards someone, or ‘mug them off’, refers to taking them as a fool and disrespecting them. As Chloe made it clear, she wasn’t going to let anyone treat her that way.
- ‘Getting the ick’ – Priya Gopaldas
It may have started off as smooth sailing for Priya and Brett in Season 7, but the couple definitely experienced a crash later on.
This all became clear when Priya told the girls she was ‘getting the ick’ with Brett after a few chats. To ‘get the ick’ from someone is to suddenly experience a sense of disgust or annoyance from them – and once you get the ick, you can never go back.
- ‘My type on paper’ – Priya Gopaldas
When it comes to classic Love Island catchphrases, ‘my type on paper’ is most definitely a hit and one that has been voiced by many contestants.
However, a contestant that has dropped his line many times is Season 3’s, Amber Davies. To say that someone is your ‘type of paper’ is to say that they are the ideal partner.
- ‘Tuna melt’ – Theo Campbell
You may have heard of the term ‘melt’ being echoed a few times on the show, but remember when Season 3’s Theo invented the legendary ‘tuna melt’?
A slang term directed at Jonny Mitchell, a ‘tuna melt’ refers to someone who has fully gone soft and soppy.
- ‘Salmon’ – Chris Taylor
Also on the list of Love Island food slang is ‘salmon’, used frequently by Chris Taylor in Season 5.
Chris demonstrated that the salmon is a way to jump into the pool, where you shake your body like a fish. The grafting game was strong with this one!
- ‘Do Bits Society/DBS’ – Wes Nelson
A phrase that was invented by the one and only Wes Nelson in Season 4, ‘Do Bits Society’ (or DBS) is a members-only club for Islanders who have successfully taken part in sexual contact. Naughty naughty!
- ‘It is what it is’ – Sherif Lanre
Finally, we have the iconic ‘it is what it is line’ from Sherif Lanre in Season 5.
As no one chose to step forward for him on his first day in the villa, Sherif dropped the line ‘it is what it is’, which is used to deflect embarrassment or frustration from a situation you simply cannot change.
Daniele Sacardi, a language expert at Preply, said: “It makes sense that people, who want to gain an insight into how women talk to each other when they’re in groups, would watch a show like Love Island.
“It’s common for any seemingly closed group to have its own, esoteric language – terms, ways of speaking, tonality, and for somebody that wants to integrate into that group and gain a better understanding of it, for any reason, having the opportunity to study that can be invaluable.
“However, there is an argument to suggest that, when asked why they watch Love Island by the people conducting the study, it may be the case that the young men responding simply found a convenient way to admit to watching it without having to admit to actually enjoying the show.”