British slang for a silly, stupid, or annoying person; a fool.
Rhyming slang from London, short for 'Berkeley Hunt' which rhymed with another word. It emerged in early-to-mid 20th century British speech as informal London working-class slang, where words were often replaced by rhyming phrases.
Rhyming slang was created by London working-class people partly to confuse police and authorities—they'd say one word but mean another through a rhyme. 'Berk' is one of the few rhyming slang words that survived into modern English!
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