What it means
Means you’re absolutely crushed or massively disappointed, like the good news got ripped out of you and left you hollow. You’ll hear it after a cancelled plan, a brutal loss, a missed chance, or a breakup, usually with intensifiers like proper, totally, or absolutely. It’s informal, very common, and can be anything from mild sulk to genuine heartbreak, depending on the context.
Usage examples
"Was buzzing for the away day, then the coach broke down. Whole lot of us were proper gutted, ended up in a greasy spoon in Reading."
"I was absolutely gutted when the gig got cancelled an hour before doors, I had waited months for that band."
"She is proper gutted about missing the wedding, but the flights got cancelled and there was nothing she could do."
Where it comes from
The picture is brutally literal. To gut a fish is to slice it open and scoop out everything inside, leaving an empty shell. Feel that same hollow after bad news and you are gutted, scraped out and left with nothing where the hope used to be.
Other ways to say it
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