Small note : Rhyming slang, for those who have no idea, is when a rhyming phrase is substituted for a word, then the first word of the phrase is used instead. You never say the full phrase in conversation. It was invented, like thieves' cant, with the express purpose of being impenetrable to the outsider. Originated in East London, which is why it's known as Cockney, spread from there. A lot of the time the word enters popular slang without people knowing the original rhyme. The most popular example is 'Apples and pears - stairs', though I've personally never heard that one used in normal conversation. A better one might be 'blowing a raspberry', which is used to mean when you purse your lips and make a rude noise. Raspberry Tart - Fart. Savvy?
| Ain't | 'Haven't' or 'am not'. Really. It's exactly the same word. Just slightly mutated and processed through several dialects. Examples : 'I ain't got a clue.' 'I ain't a wanker.' Small point. When used as 'am not', you can also add an extra 'no' into the sentence instead of 'a'. I ain't no wanker.' |
| All mouth and no trousers | bark worse than bite, but slightly more derogatory. |
| Argy-bargy | mild argument or fight. Normal use is a 'a bit of an argy-bargy' |
| Arse | bum. Correct pronunciation and spelling of the american 'ass'. Much more satisfying to say, too. Can also be used as a very mild swearword, as can 'bum'. |
| Arsing about | messing around. |
| Ass | donkey. Calling someone an ass means they've the common sense of a donkey. Or possibly less, since most donkeys are cunning little sods. |
| Balderdash | Nonsense. Never used outside costume drama, and even then only by people with unfeasibly large moustaches. Preferably in the army or with a fair bit of money. |
| Batty boy | gay. It's Jamaican, and it's not really complimentary. |
| Bawdy | a phrase applied to sex comedies and anything smutty with lots of humour. V. long tradition in Britain, dating back to at least Chaucer in written prose. |
| Belt | not only does this keep your trousers up, it can also mean to hit someone, rather hard. |
| Belt up | verb, used to tell someone to shut up. |
| Bint | female. not complimentary. |
| Blazer | suit jacket, but only *ever* referred to as this when it's part of a school uniform or part of a boating (rowing) outfit. Which automatically means you probably went to public school anyway. The rest of the time it's a jacket. |
| Bloody | This is not actually the universal swear word/emphasiser in the UK. We have others. Comes from the old swearing 'By God's blood!'. See Chaucer for variations - I know there's another swear word that comes from this kind of thing, but I can't remember what it is. |
| Bloomers | type of clothing. Refers to either the unfeasibly long knickers women used to wear but also the very baggy trousers worn in the twenties, also by women. |
| Bollocks | your balls. General swear word. To talk bollocks is to talk shit. |
| Bonnet | hood of the car. And yes, that weird hat-thing from the 19th century. |
| Boot | not only footwear, but the trunk of your car. |
| Braces | holds your trousers up. You call 'em suspenders. (also refers to what orthodontists put on your teeth to keep them straight. Metal ones are commonly referred to as traintracks). Suspenders here refers to the things you use to keep socks and stockings up. |
| Brassed off | annoyed. Except this was only used in the north, and only very rarely then. Rather old-fashioned. |
| Bugger | sodomisation. Penis, meet arsehole. Mild swear word. |
| Bugger This For a Lark | (also see 'bugger this for a game of soldiers', 'sod this for a lark' and 'sod this for a game of soldiers') - Fuck this, I don't want to play anymore or take part in this. |
| Builder's Bum | refers to the absolutely *delightful* sight of jeans riding down so low at the back you see the owner's crack. No prizes for guessing where it comes from. |
| Cadge, to cadge | borrow, beg. As in 'Ere, mate, c'n I cadge a fag off yeh?' - 'Can I borrow a cigarette?' |
| Camp | as in 'camp as a row of tents'. Highly effeminate behaviour, mostly associated with gay men and gay icons. See Graham Norton, Julian Clary, Kenneth Williams, Are You Being Served?. |
| Chat up, to | flirting, or talking in a way to get something out of someone, often by flirting slightly. Mostly used when someone has a definite aim in mind rather than doing it idly. |
| Cheers | Not just a drinking salute. This also means thankyou, is an acknowledgement of your presence, and be used as a greeting or to signal the end of something. Do not underestimate how many times we can use it in one conversation. |
| Chips | potatoes in chipped form. Oh, all right. Fries. But chunkier and probably with more potato. |
| Chit | small, insignificant - normally used to mean 'piece of paper' or 'bill/receipt'. What someone hands you to tell you how much money they're owed after a job, or the document that tells you their orders. In Victorian/Edwardian times, it was also used to refer to a girl. As in 'a chit of a girl'. Slightly babyish and meaning you weren't big enough to handle something. Has not been used since WW1 outside of anything but Dickens. |
| Copper, Pig, Bobby, Old Bill, The Bill, Fuzz | Our wonderful policing constabulary. |
| Cop | shortened version of copper, also verb - to take notice of. 'Cop a look'. also can mean 'any good?' As in 'Any cop?' Much cop?' |
| CID | Criminal Investigation Department, the detectives section of the police. Most popular translation is 'Coppers In Disguise'. |
| Crisps | You call 'em chips. They are 'crisped'. Therefore crisps. Duh. |
| Cunt | this just isn't as offensive as it is in the states. Occasionally pronounced 'Caaaant' in british gangster films, where we like to use it as often as possible. Still can't use it on tv pre-watershed, though. |
| Cuppa | cup of tea. |
| Dickhead | idiot, twit. |
| Dodgy | not right, questionable. |
| Dog's Bollocks | Something described as being this is, in fact, good. Surpassingly so. |
| Fag | Normally refers to a cigarette, as it's short for 'faggot' - the things we used to start fires with. Faggots also refers to the fatty meat you can buy at the butchers. Yes, it can also mean homosexual, but it's not often used to mean that. Practically never. There's also the practice of 'fagging' at public schools (believed to have died out at some point around WW2 - younger boys (fags) assigned to be the prefect's dogsbody. |
| Fag-end | cigarette butt, really awful place/part of a place. |
| Fanny | front bottom. (okay, cunt) Please don't use this to refer to someone's arse, you'll just get giggled at. To fanny about is to mess about. |
| Football | Americans call it soccer. The rest of the world doesn't. We outnumber you. |
| Fuzz, the | yet another word for our wonderful policing constabulary. |
| Garage | not only a place to keep your car or get it repaired, but also the petrol/gas station, shop and a type of music that's a combo of rap, dance, reggae and r'n'b. |
| Getting a leg over | sex, or possibly power over someone. Stick to the sex meaning, as the power meaning is very delicate in usage. |
| Getting off | Anything from kissing to sex to coming. |
| Getting your end away | sex |
| Git | Idiot, wanker. Only *ever* applied to the male of the species. |
| Goddamit/Goddamn/Goddamned | No-one uses this in Britain. If you ever hear it, it'll be used ironically and said in a very bad American accent. So don't. |
| Goss | gossip. |
| Grub | Food |
| Guv | short for 'guv'nor' (phonetic writing of governor), which is used to refer to someone of higher status, often the manager. Guv, however, is mostly used as a term of address rather than referring to someone. |
| Having a butcher's | Having a look. Rhyming slang, 'butcher's hook'. |
| Hooligan | someone who engages in destructive behaviour, normally towards public or someone else's property, also likely to involve stealing and getting into fights. Normally takes things too far and resorts to violence. A sub-genus of this is the football hooligan, known for wanton destructive behaviour when following their team overseas for matches. Another word for these people are 'morons'. Also used by old people to describe young persons involved in behaviour not decorous enough for their tastes, normally prefaced by the word 'young'. |
| Innit | Confirmation, similar to 'like' or 'y'know'. 'It's sorted, innit?' (short for isn't it) |
| Knackered | tired, over-wrought, dead. Comes from the word we use for killing horses. A knacker is the person who kills the horses, thus the phrase 'bound for the knacker's yard' when something or someone is on its last legs. |
| Knickers | Panties. Ye gods, can you sound any more childish? |
| Lass | young female, but fairly old fashioned in the south, mostly used in the north/Wales/Cornwall/Scotland. |
| Lark, to Lark | to mess about or have a good time. To have a lark or go on a lark is to go off and mess about. The whole point is to be completely unproductive to society, though hopefully without any major damage. A common whine heard after an accident is 'we were only larking about' or 'it was just a lark'. |
| Lift | elevator. |
| Lolly | sweet on a stick, normally hard-boiled. Short for lollipop. Ice lolly is what you call an ice pop. Also money. |
| Loo | toilet. The word toilet also refers to the bathroom. Comes from the French 'Gardez loo (l'eau)' which is what they used to shout when throwing the contents of the bedpan into the gutter in the street. |
| Loony | Mad, nutter |
| Lorry | Truck |
| Luv, ducks, dearie | endearment. The only people who use it anywhere nearly as much as American tv thinks we do are little old ladies in greasy spoon cafés. however, it is used. |
| Luvvie | Actor that uses the words 'love' and 'darling' a lot, often mid-upper class and highly respected, often belongs to the RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company). Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Richard Attenborough, Simon Callow. |
| Moody, in a mood | sulky, out of sorts, in a bit of a temper. |
| Nick, to nick | to steal, or to be caught (varies due to situation) - used as a noun it means prison. Possibly one of the most classic phrases in The Sweeney (70s cop show) was 'Get your trousers on, you're nicked.', used when they busted in on a suspect when he was sleeping. |
| Not that bad | praise. |
| Nut, to nut | hit someone or something with your head. A Glasgow Kiss is to nut someone forehead to forehead, rather forcibly, often done when about six inches apart and holding onto the front of opponent's shirt for better aim. Move often voted most likely to render opponent insensible or incapable of retaliating for a period of time. |
| Nutter | Weirdo, insane. As in 'That bloke's a nutter!' |
| Pants | underwear. They're *underwear*. Not trousers. Also mild swearword. |
| Pete Tong | Famous DJ. Has become the latest rhyming slang for 'wrong'. 'It's all gone a bit Pete Tong...' |
| Pillock | yet another word for idiot, mostly used for the male of the species. Amazing how many of these there are.... |
| Plasters | small sticky bandage-like thing you put on cuts. Brand name here is Elastoplast, in the USA it's Band-Aid. |
| Ponce, to ponce | Derogatory for posh or chinless wonder. Also overtly flash or expensive. Someone who's not hard in the slightest. However, not often used to mean gay, but it can mean effeminate. And apparently slang at one time for pimping. |
| Poof | gay bloke, someone a little light in the loafers. It is not. Spelled. POUF. Got it? |
| Pouf | the word spelt like this means a well-padded footstool. |
| Pulling, to pull | Normally involves snogging, it's the act of having 'got' someone for the night/evening/whatever. As in 'Get your coat, luv, you've pulled.' (Note : Not a good idea. Huge turn off.) |
| Quid | pound sterling. To be 'quids in' is to be in there with a better-than-usual chance. |
| Rock, stick of | long stick of hard-boiled, slightly chewy sweet with a thin brightly coloured outer layer (normally pink, can be any other colour, though preferably neon in its intensity) and a white inner layer, with the name of the place it comes from in red lettering all the way through. Mostly found in seaside towns, often brought back as rather crap presents for other members of family. |
| Silencer | muffler on engines |
| Silly Moo | Twit. (female) But gentler, often used as an endearment. |
| Slag | slut |
| Slapper | Like slut. Only not as harsh. Often refers to clothes. |
| Slash | to take a piss. Yes, it also means cutting. (and in fanfic, gaygaygay) |
| Sloshed | drunk |
| Smashing | old fashioned, a bit upper class way to say 'good'. Often used slightly sarcastically, and you may hear the phrase 'Smashing Super Wow' in this context. You may also hear the phrase 'jolly hockeysticks!' applied in the same tone, as it has a severe association with boarding school stories. |
| Snap | The same, 'same here'. Anyone who says this is normally referring to the card game where you say 'snap' when you put a card down that matches the previous. They are not acknowledging a bitchy comment. (if doing that you're more likely to hear 'miaow') |
| Snogging | Kissing. With tongues. Occasionally groping. |
| Snookered | out-smarted, defeated, drunk. Refers to the point in a game of snooker (think more complex version of pool) when your opponent can't make a move without getting a fault. |
| Sodding, Sod | mild swear word. We do use the words 'fuck' and bugger' and 'your mother was a hamster' occasionally, too. Translates as 'bit of earth' for the noun (think Good King Wenceslas - 'Heat was in the very sod that the saint had prin-ted') and it's short for sodomising, for the verb. Yes, buggery is alive and well in the English language. |
| Sorted | sorted out, good. |
| Spare, to go | to blow one's top. |
| Stroppy, in a strop | annoyed, short tempered. To have a strop is to go off on someone. |
| Sweet F.A., Sweet Fanny Adams | yep, we know most translate this as 'Sweet Fuck All', which is what it basically means, thinking the Fanny Adams bit is the polite version. Fanny Adams is the original version. History of the phrase : Saturday, August 24th 1867, a little girl called Fanny Adams was murdered and dismembered in Alton, Hampshire, by solicitor's clerk Frederick Baker, and he distributed the bits around the countryside. This coincided with the introduction of tinned meat into the Navy, and one of the sailors took a look at the mess inside and pronounced it as looking like 'Sweet Fanny Adams', basically a mish-mash that looked like nothing in particular. |
| Swot | sort of like your nerd. The brainy ones, but with a faint hint of disdain as though they're doing it for approval. To swot is to revise. |
| Tart | Slapper. Also a word for slut, or hooker. Used to mean sweet, took on the connotation of being a bit sharp, then became an insult. |
| Telly | short for television |
| Tights | you call 'em pantyhose or nylons. Stockings that join at the top. Superman wears them, as do women, Merry Men in old Robin Hood films, actors in old productions of really bad Shakespeare, and drag queens. Some of these are interchangeable. |
| Torch | flashlight, large piece of wood/bundle of reeds dipped in tallow with one end on fire to provide light. |
| Tosser, Wanker (-ing) | masturbating male person. Means 'sad' or idiot'. |
| Trousers | what americans call pants. |
| Trews | trousers. |
| Tuck, to tuck in | food, normally sweets and crisps purchased from the tuck shop at break time at school. To tuck in is to start eating. |
| Twat, to twat | Stronger version of twit. Not actually that rude. Though yes, it does mean fanny. I think. All those using 'twat' as a verb are referring to hitting or completely flattening someone. See Red Dwarf for correct usage. |
| Vest | sleeveless t-shirt. Wifebeaters or tank tops to you. See Bruce Willis in Die Hard. |
| Waistcoat | goes over your shirt, often worn with a suit. Think it's known as a vest over the pond. |
| Wanker, to wank, have a wank | idiot, tosser, mild insult. Refers to the male of the species. To masturbate. |
| Wimp | Weakling, coward. Equivalent of the american 'pussy'. |