A vivid British colloquial phrase with two distinct meanings. In theatre and film, it refers to a tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-it role — just a cough and a spit's worth of screen or stage time, no lines or maybe one. In everyday British speech, it means an extremely short distance, as in 'it's just a cough and a spit away.' Both uses share the same idea: something so small it's over before it's begun. It's the kind of expression that captures British wit perfectly — humorous, understated, and immediately understood.
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UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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The village shop was a cough and a spit from the cottage, so they walked there every morning for milk.
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(UK, colloquial) A very short distance.
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(film, theatre) A minor role.
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