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BRITONARY The culturally sensitive international superhero's guide to Britspeak.
Many thanks to friends & foes alike in the UK whose comments helped me sort out the subtleties of speaking like a Brit. |
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| UK |
US |
| aggy, as in "I'm a bit aggy today, know what I mean?" | aggrivated, or alternately, aggrivating |
| agony aunt | advice columnist, Anne Landers type |
| alright, as in "you alright?" | a casual hello, like "how's it going?" or "what's up?" |
| anorak, as in "you look a right anorak in them pants" | UK's version of nerd or dweeb, from the favored dress wear of Britain's nebbish community |
| badge | button or pin, the kind that have smiley faces on 'em, your favorite band's name or a telling political slogan |
| bampot (Scottish) or shortened to bam, as in "Todd, you bam, how you going?" | crazy person in a nice friendly sense, like goofball |
| bang, as in "you can park bang outside" | exactly, directly, right |
| bap, as in "give us tuna salad on a bap, willya?" | roll |
| barking, as in "you're absolutely barking!" | crazy, looney, bonkers |
| barmy, as in "barmy army" | crazy in a rather harmless way, loopy |
| barmy army | England cricket supporters, although I personally think that anybody who watches cricket is crazy |
| barrister | courtroom lawyer, litigator – the one's who wear the goofy ass white wigs, see also solicitor |
| bell end , as in "he's a right bell end" | the head of the male gender, glans, used here to mean dickhead |
| bender | a homosexual male |
| bevie, as in "I'm out for a few bevies tonight" | a drink of the alcoholic nature |
| the bill, or the old bill, as in "had a run in with the old bill last night" | the UK police force, or - without the old bit - a check in a restaurant |
| bird, as in "mate 1: I fancy that bird there. mate 2: Yeah, she's fit." | chick, babe, woman of the female persuasion |
| bits and bobs, as in "there's just a few bits and bobs that need doing" | odds and ends, a few things |
| bits, as in "she walked in and there I was with all my bits hanging out" | private parts |
| bladdered, as in "Friday night? Bladdered. Saturday night? Bladdered." | plastered, wasted, shit-faced, innebriated, see also to get pissed, to get lashed |
| to blag, as in "and here's our blag of the week, from a listener in Manchester" | to connive, deceive, small-time con, usually in a clever way (The ability to blag well and creatively is quite well-respected and a bit of a national obsession here in the UK.) |
| Blighty, as in "how long you been living in Blighty then?" | a mildly dispariging term for the UK |
| bless! or oh, bless! | something that Brit women are forever saying to our baby, probably short for "bless him" - akin to, say, "oh, isn't he cute" or "oh, he's darling" |
| blimey!, as in "I didn't know you were a man. Blimey!" | exclamation of surprise, like whoa!, see also crikey! |
| bloke, as in "you the bloke what run into my car?" | guy, man, see also geezer |
| bloody, as in "shut your bloody mouth" or "bloody 'ell" or "you bloody well better have the money" | rather mild explicative, like damn |
| to blouse out, as in "he bloused out", also big girl's blouse, as in "ended up big girl's blouse, it did" | failure, inability to get the job done |
| bludge (Aussie), as in "I've founded a club de bludge", also bludger, as in "only confirmed bludgers allowed" | bludge is Aussie for doing nothing, being idle, lazing around, and bludger is one who does nothing, idles and lazes around |
| boat race or shortened to boat, as in "great body, but seen her boat?" | old Cockney rhyming slang for face |
| bob, as in "lend us a few bob, mate" | an English Pound Sterling, see also quid |
| bob's your uncle, as in "just sign on the dotted line and bob's your uncle" | means something along the lines of: "that's that", 'there you go", "it's all taken care of', or "nothing to worry about" – a suitable and oft-quoted response to this phrase is: "fanny's your aunt" (but don't ask me what that means, although the word fanny can mean a woman's honey pot) |
| bollocks! | balls, used like we'd use "shit" or "bullshit", also used in kind of a "fuck off" kind of way, see also "the dog's bollocks" |
| bottle, as in "it's not that we lack the bottle, it's just that..." (a common English complaint about whatever they happen to be losing at...) | courage, bravery |
| to bottle it or bottle out, as in "he bottled it" | to act in a cowardly manner |
| booze cruise, as in "I'm off on a booze cruise, any requests?" | an organised trip (quite popular in some sets) to the EU - usually France - with the sole purpose of buying large quantities of liquor, alternately a trip to the liquor store |
| bounder | (19th century or so) an ill-mannered sort. See also cad, rotter - I get the feeling that an 1800's Brit was a bit of a prick... |
| box, the, as in "spent the entire night in front of the box, watching rubbish" | boob tube |
| break | recess |
| brilliant, as in "that goal was brilliant" | great, fabulous |
| bubble and squeak | mashed potatoes and cabbage, and yes, the Brits actually order it by asking for bubble and squeak and nobody laughs at them |
| bugger, as in "Dave, you old bugger, how are you?" | guy, friend, dude |
| to bugger, as in "well I'll be buggered" | literally to screw, used to express surprise |
| bugger me old boots! | exclamation of surprise |
| bum bag, as in "where's that bum bug what's got my glasses in it?" | fanny pack. A fanny over here is another name for a woman's coochie or vagina. Consider yourself warned. |
| to bunk it, as in "sunday mornings, I bunk it" | to sleep in |
| busting for, as in "I'm busting for a jimmy" | to need to do something badly |
| cad | (19th century or so) an ill-mannered sort. See also bounder, rotter - I get the feeling that an 1800's Brit was a bit of a prick... |
| can't __ for toffee, as in "I can't dance for toffee" | the inability to do a particular thing |
| chap (ye olde slange) as in "how are you my dear old chap?" or more modernly, radio announcer: "he thinks he deserves to win the new 12 inch because that's the size of his chap" | modern euphamism for the dick, cock, willy, schlong, little head, love missile |
| to chat up, as in "who's that you were chatting up over there?" also chat up lines | to flirt, to come on to someone, to attempt to pick someone up using verbal wit and charm, pick up lines |
| cheeky, as in "you're a cheeky monkey, aren't you?" | smart ass, mischevious, lewd in a nice way |
| cheesed off, as in "now you've done it, I'm right cheesed off now" | pissed off, miffed, quite unhappy with the way things have developed, see narky |
| cheers!, as in when someone holds the door for you or hands you a pint, and you say "Cheers!" or "Cheers for that!" | thanks, see also ta |
| chinwag, as in "I reckon we should have a bit of a chinwag about that" | conversation, gossip session, to pull on your ear about something |
| chilly bin (Kiwi), as in "get us a Stella from the chilly bin, eh mate" | cooler, ice chest |
| to chip or chip off, as in "I'm going to chip downstairs for a fag" | to make a quick trip: to step out, pop over, run over |
| chippie, as in "I've a few mates who're chippies and brickies, so I have on occassion been to the odd strip club" | carpenter |
| chips, as in "one lamb sheesh with chips" | french fries (sheesh = shish kabob) |
| choking for (Aussie), as in "he was absolutely choking for a root" | to be desperate for |
| to be chuffed, as in "I was well chuffed when we started snogging" | to be very pleased |
| cobblers, as in "that's a load of cobblers!" | crap, hooey, nonsense, shit, see also rubbish |
| cockney rhyming slang | A constantly changing patois of dubious origins - perhaps originally a coded language of thieves - used by Cockneys, who are supposedly anyone born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary-le-bow Church in London, or more broadly, working class Londoners. The slang uses rhyming phrases such as the classic "dog and bones" for phone or "trouble and strife" for wife, a system which is further muddied by shortening the phrase, as in "get on the dog and call the trouble." If you want to do your Dick Van Dyke best to pass yourself off as a street saavy London wideboy, see www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk |
| cooker | stove, including the oven and the hob (what we'd call the burners) |
| cor!, or cor blimey! | mild euphamism for God, used as an expression of surprise |
| cosh as in "sorry mate, can't make it, I'm under the cosh here" | police baton, used here to mean under a lot of pressure |
| cotton buds as in "don't forget the cotton buds at the chemist" | Q-tips |
| cracking as in "that was a cracking good 8 iron, Jenkins!" | really good, great, fabulous |
| to not be cricket, as in "well, that's not cricket" | to play unfairly, ignore the rules, engage in behaviour unseemly for a gentleman, the sort of stuff you'd expect from a bounder, cad or rotter |
| crikey!, as in "Crikey! Didn't expect to see you here" | mild exclamation of surprise, like yikes!, see also blimey! |
| crisps, as in "I'll have a packet of crisps as well" | potato chips, not to be confused with chips, which are french fries |
| dead, as in "got it dead cheap" or "dead cool, mate" | very |
| dear, as in "ooh, that jam donut is quite dear then, isn't it" | expensive, pricey |
| defos, as in "mate 1: You going out tonight? mate 2: Defos!" | definitely |
| diary, as in "what's your diary look like next week?" | calendar, schedule, personal organiser |
| dodgy, as in "that curry looks a bit dodgy" | unsafe, dangerous, of uncertain quality |
| dog's bollocks, as in "that goal was the dog's bollocks" or simply the dogs, as in "did you see that goal? the dogs!" | really fucking good |
| done and dusted, as in "well there's that done and dusted then" | finished up |
| to get done over | to get beat up, pummeled, trounced, messed up, to get the shit kicked out of one, see also to get duffed up |
| dosh, as in "got any dosh, mate?" | cash, loot, dough, bread, money, |
| double bubble | 2 for the price 1, double your money |
| to get duffed up | to get beat up, pummeled, trounced, messed up, to get the shit kicked out of one, see also to get done over |
| dustmen | garbage men |
| fag, as when a stressed co-worker screams "I need a fag!" | cigarette |
| fair lick, to have a fair lick on, as in "that car's got a fair lick on" | to move with high speed or intensity |
| to fancy, as in "if you fancy desert, the bread pudding is scrummy" | to like, to want |
| fanny, as in "did you see her fanny?" | A rather tame euphamism for a woman's sweet honey pot, puntang, pussy, buddy, muff, bearded clam, bush, etc. And a bag worn around the waist - often by tourists - is not a fanny pack, it's a bum bag. |
| filthy, as in "there were lots of filthy birds there" | attractive, sexy, hot, see also fit |
| to filch | to steal |
| fit, as in "pfwoar! she's fit" | attractive, sexy, hot, see also filthy |
| fittie | hottie |
| flannel, as in "where's me red flannel?" or alternately "that's a load of flannel, I tell you" | washcloth, or alternately baloney |
| flapjack, as in "ooh, that's a lovely flapjack" | not a pancake, griddle cake, or anything else originally eaten by north woods lumberjacks, rather a sweet cereal bar like a cross between a granola bar and cake |
| flash, as in "that new jumper you have is quite flash, isn't it?" | snazzy, cool, keen |
| flippin', as in "you better flippin' believe it" | friggin', a nice way to say fuckin' in front of your gran |
| football, as in "do you play football, or 'soccer' as you bloody Yanks call it?" | soccer (beware of this one unless you want to be soundly ridiculed by your male Brit friends) |
| full English breakfast, as in "I'll have the full English" | fried eggs, toast, baked beans, stewed tomatoes, fried mushrooms and at least 2 kinds of fried meat, usually sausages and bacon |
| gaff, as in "my gaff, my rules" | house, place, establishment, see also manor, yard |
| to gas, as in "this is exactly what I was gassing about" | to gab, go on about |
| geezer (E. Londonish), as in "oi ye geezer, lend us a fiver?" | dude, man, cat, see also bloke, mate |
| to get on one's tits, as in "that bloke really gets on my tits" | to annoy, pester, get on one's nerves |
| geordie, as in "I can't stand Sting, that geordie bastard" | one who hails from Newcastle |
| gherkin, as in "nothing like a crunchy gherkin, eh?" | pickle, not to be confused with Britspeak for pickle, see pickle |
| ginger (with hard g's) or gingham, as in "cor!, the wife'll probably give birth to a gingham" | red head |
| git, as in "that's yer carbureator, ye stupid git" | idiot, butt head |
| goss (noun or verb), as in "ask Claire, she knows all the latest goss" | gossip |
| gravy, as in "it's all gravy" | it's all good |
| grotty, as in "are we feeling a bit grotty, then?" | grumpy, whiney, see also to whinge |
| gumpf, as in "here's a lot of old gumpf" | stuff or crap |
| gutted, as in "when she left me for that bastard, I was absolutely gutted" | devastated |
| half, as in "give us a half" | a half pint. Usually consumed by the fairer sex and occasionally by men who fear that a full pint will cause instant unconsciousness. In fact, there are gents I know who'll order a half, pour it into an empty pint glass and then hide the smaller, more effeminate glass for fear of outright mockery. |
| hard cheese, as in "well that's just hard cheese, innit?" | tough luck, too bad |
| jabs, as in "is the baby in for his jabs today?" | shots (injections) |
| jam also jam donut | jelly: the Brits lump all jams, jellies and preserves under the confectionary title of jam. Jelly to them is jello. So if you happen to ask for a jelly donut over here on the damp isle, don't be surprised if people look at you funny. |
| jelly, as in "ooh, jelly's my favourite pudding" | jello, because all jams, jellies and preserves are called jam over here |
| jimmy riddle, as in "I'm busting for a jimmy" | old cockney rhyming slang for piddle, a piss, can also be shortened to jimmy, as in "I'm off for a jimmy" |
| jug (Kiwi), as in "shall I put the jug on?" | tea pot |
| jump leads, or start leads, as in "me: Do you have any jumper cables?, clerk: What?, me: Jumper cables, you know to attach to the battery to start the car...", clerk: Oh, you mean jump leads." | jumper cables |
| jumper, as in "where'd you get that wicked jumper?" | ok, I hope I get this straight: a jumper is what we'd call a sweater or a sweatshirt, unless it has buttons, in which case it's called a cardigan |
| keks | underpants |
| to be keen, as in "I'm really keen to run the London marathon next year" | to really want to, to be excited about |
| kip (noun or verb), as in "I could use a good kip" | nap |
| kit, as in "is that Man U's new away kit then?" or "you're kitted out, eh?" | gear |
| the knowledge, as in, "I passed me knowledge 10 years ago, son, and right hard it was too" | the test one must pass to become a London cabbie, which seems to require about 2 years of driving around London on a moped with a huge map strapped to your windscreen in order to memorise the insane maze which passes for London's streets |
| lad, as in "me and the lads are off to the pub for a few pints" | one of one's boys, posse or crew. Britain is a very laddish place, where drunken, Fraternity brother-like behaviour by groups of young men is readily accepted. See also mate and lout. |
| to large it, as in "oi mate, we were larging in last night, eh?" | to party big time |
| to get lashed | to get drunk, inebriated, wasted, see also bladdered, to get pissed, to get rat arsed |
| to be laughing, as in "once you've passed the knowledge, you're laughing" | to have it made, to be worry free |
| leg over: to have a, as in "had a bit of a leg over last night" or "you haven't had a leg over since the big war" | sex, a sexual interlude |
| to leg it | to scram, leave, exit see also peg it |
| leg up, as in "I'm keen for a good leg up" | party, bash |
| local or your local, as in "what's your local then?" | neighborhood pub |
| lot, as in "what are you lot up to?" | group, gang, bunch |
| lout | punk, thug, see also hooligan, yob |
| man of the match | player of the game |
| manor, as in "this is me manor, mate" | home, see also gaff, yard |
| mate, as in "oi mate, give us a fag" | friend, pal or chum, as in "these are me mates" or more generally man, guy or dude used in a casual encounter with another male of the species, as in "Excuse me mate, which way to the Red Lion?", see also bloke, lad, geezer |
| mincer, as in "he's a bloody mincer" | a fairy, not in any kind of approving way, see also puff |
| minging, as in "bloody hell mate, she's minging" alternately minger, as in "there's only mingers in here, mate" | skanky, nasty, showing a distinct lack of attractiveness, one who possesses these qualities |
| moggie | a cat |
| mucker, as in "Todd, you old mucker, how in the Devil are you?" | (19th century or so) friend, chum, see also old boot |
| naff, as in "them trousers are naff" | stupid, cheesy |
| nappie | diaper |
| narky, as in "oye, trying to make me narky then?" | miffed, pissed off, generally angered by the goings ons, see also cheesed off |
| to nick | to steal |
| nutter, as in "that bird's a right nutter" | crazy person |
| off license or offy, as in "where's the nearest offy?" | a liquor store, licensed to sell booze in the evening |
| old boot, also old: shoe, man, horse, bean, mucker, etc. | 19 Century or so way of saying old chum or friend - which for some odd reason I think is very funny to use in conversation with the Brits I meet, often making up odd bits to go after old " " |
| on a good wicket, as in "you're on a good wicket today, eh?" | having a good run, feeling fine |
| to be on about, as in "what you on about?" | gabbing about, also used in a sort of "what's your problem?" kind of way |
| pants!, as in "say pants to poverty" (from an ad campaign for Red Nose Day - Comic Relief, March 16 - when ordinary Brits can be seen roaming the streets sporting clown noses) | crap, garbage, nonsense, see also rubbish |
| to go pear shaped, as in "it's all gone pear shaped" | to go bad, to turn out badly, to become fucked up |
| to peg it | to scram, ditch, book it, run away with the intention of eluding unwanted pursuit, see also leg it |
| pfwoar!, as in me: "pfwoar!" (mistakenly thinking I was expressing great! or excellent! in a general sense to a barmaid who'd just handed me two well poured pints) my friend: "I don't think I've ever seen her blush before.") | like the wold whistle, it conveys a none-too-subtle appreciation for one's sexiness |
| pickle, as in "pass us the pickle, eh?" | not pickles in the US sense, rather an oft-used brown condiment that's a cross between vinegar, gravy and pickled vegetable stew, Branston being the most popular brand, giving rise to "pass us the Branston, eh?" |
| to get pissed, as in "let's get really pissed" | to get drunk, hammered, loaded, see also bladdered, to get lashed, to get rat arsed |
| piece of piss, as in "that's a piece of piss" | really easy, a cake walk |
| to pip, as in "the prime minister's resolution was pipped by parliament" | to be knocked out, passed over, defeated, shut out |
| piss off! | get lost, screw you, fuck off... or thereabouts |
| piss up | a heavy drinking session |
| the inability to organise a piss up in a brewery, as in "we couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, mate" | to be organizationally challenged |
| plaster | band aid |
| plonk, as in "posh bottle of plonk you've got there" | alcohol |
| plonker | idiot, butt-face |
| pome (commonwealther's word), as in "pity the pome's" | Prisioner Of Mother England: referring to Brits in general or Aussie/Kiw/South Africani ex-pats |
| ponce, as in "fuck off, ye ponce", also poncey, as in "fuck off, ye poncey bastard", also to ponce about, as in "stop fucking poncing about" | one who is, appears to be, or is acting like a snob or a dandy (usually with effeminate overtones), one who puts on airs, is overly concerned with the niceties of social standing, uppity, once described to me as "halfway between a toff and a puff", also someone who earns his living from ladies of the evening, pimp |
| pony as in "your site design is pony" | crap, lame, nasty |
| poof, as in "do you think that maybe, deep down, I'm a poof?" | a derrogatory term for a homosexual, see also mincer, ponce and toff |
| to pop round | to stop over |
| to pop your clogs, as in "this insurance is there in case you should ever - God forbid - pop your clogs" | to keel over, die |
| poppet, as in "don't cry, my little poppet, mumsy-wumsy'll make it all better" | cutesy name for a child |
| posh, as in "you think you're quite posh, don't you? | upper crust, upscale, also the first name of the ex-Spice Girl married to England's national football side captain David Beckham |
| pukka, as in "pukka pies and chips" | genuine, outstanding, killer, from Hindu presumably |
| to pull or to be on the pull, as in "she's on the pull, lads" or "get your coat, you're pulled" | to be on the make, looking to score |
| punter, as in "the punters were well pleased with that score" | a betting man, also used generally to mean spectator, consumer, person in the crowd |
| quid, as in "40 quid for them glasses? You must be joking." | an English Pound Sterling, see also bob |
| to get rat arsed, as in "if England wins the World Cup I'll be rat arsed for a week" | drunk, plastered, shit-faced, wasted, see also bladdered, to get pissed, to get lashed |
| real ale | Scantily carbonated old skool Brit beer – akin to your Stateside micro brew – favored by codgers, coots and traditional beer anoraks like myself. Drawn out of a slim curved tapper down the pub, thus the use of "pull us a pint, luv" |
| to reckon, as in " I reckon I'll have another pint, anyone else?" | to think, believe, be of the opinion |
| refuse sack | garbage bag |
| right (brit youth speak), as in "so I says to him, right, if you're looking for trouble, right, then you've come to the right place, right" | akin to the use of like in US youth speak, see also sort of and yeah |
| to root (Aussie), as in "I'm desperate for a root, mate" | to fuck, used here to denote a fierce state of horniness |
| rotter | (19th century or so) an ill-mannered sort. See also bounder, cad - I get the feeling that an 1800's Brit was a bit of a prick... |
| round pound, as often use by market veg vendors and the like "get your b owl of best bananas here! Just one round pound for the lot!" | a single Brit Pound Sterling coin |
| row, as in "me and the missus had quite a row over that, I'll tell ye" | fight, argument |
| rubber, as in "he took the first rubber convincingly" | a unit of scoring bridge games held privately or in club bridge – winning 2 out of 3, also used as in the good old US of A to refer to a condom |
| rubbish, as in "that's a load of rubbish", also to talk rubbish | garbage, literally and figuratively, see also pants, waffle |
| to rubbish someone or something, as in "she rubbished him good" | to talk shit about someone, to trash someone |
| ruck sack | back pack |
| scouser, as in "that scouser git has it coming" | a Liverpudlian, one who hails from Liverpool |
| shandy, as in "ale shandy pint, luv" | half beer and half lemonade (which what we'd call Sprite or 7 Up) angerous to order if you're a male in the company of other males, especially if you order a half |
| shed loads , as in "we've got shed loads of old Wham! singles lying about " | shit load |
| shilling | 5 pence, not often used |
| the shops, as in "I'm just popping down the shops" | a general term for a retail establishment, used like a Midwesterner would use (nasal twang) "I'm going to the store" |
| short, as in "What? we moving on to shorts, then?" | a shot |
| side, as in "they're quite a good side" | a football team |
| skive, as in "call work and we'll skive today" | to play hookey, shirk one's duty |
| to shag, as in "fancy a shag?" | to screw, fuck |
| shit hot (Scottish), as in "that wee man is a shit hot striker" | very good, really good, fucking good |
| shufty, as in "let's have us a wee shufty, shall we?" | a look around, a nose around, a gander |
| slag or fat slag, as in "piss off, ye fat slag" | an unattractive or otherwise repulsive female - from a mining term for a leftover, unusable waste product |
| to snog, as in "fancy a snog?" | to make out |
| sod, as in "you stupid sod, I told you not to touch that" | fuckhead |
| to sod, or sod off, as in "sod off, ye great mangy arsehole" | to screw, fuck, also functions as a descriptive adjective, meaning, as in, "this sodding English weather" |
| sofa | couch, which is a rather vulger and low class way to say sofa in Britspeak |
| solicitor | the every day, keeper-of-the-contracts, variety of lawyer, this is the one to call if you get yourself into any legal trouble, see also barrister (this'll be the chap who'll actually defend you in court) |
| sort of (brit youth speak), as in, "can I get a sort of cappuccino, with sort of extra milk and one of those sort of cheese sandwiches?" | akin to the use of like in US youth speak, see also yeah and right |
| sorted, as in mate 1: "how's the knee then?" mate 2: "sorted" | taken care of, nothing to worry about, handled, polished off, see also done and dusted |
| spanner, as in "give us the spanner, yeah" | wrench |
| spiffing, as in "I say, old boot, that's absolutely spiffing news" | (19 century of so) far out, groovy, cool |
| sprog, as in "once you pop a sprog or two, there's your figure gone for sure" | baby, kiddo, little 'un, little nipper, pup as in 'pushing out a few pups' |
| stewed tomato | these soggy, skinless beasts, believe it or not, are consumed as an integral part of the "full English breakfast", along with at least 2 kinds of fried pork products, eggs, toast, baked beans and maybe even fried mushrooms |
| stick, to get stick, as in "the lads gave me terrible stick about that" | to be made fun of |
| stick mag (Kiwi), as in "huge garage, plenty of space for the stick mag collection" | porno mag, (my Kiwi chum Daryl wouldn't elaborate on the meaning of the stick bit though...) |
| stroppy, as in "don't you get stroppy with me, young lady" | bent out of shape, just shy of throwing a tantrum |
| supporter, as in "I'm a supporter of all kinds of athletics", also as a verb, as in "who do you support?" | fan |
| swede, as in "I hate swedes" | rutabaga |
| ta! | thanks, see also cheers! |
| to take away, as in "be a dear and make us a cuppa to take away" | to go, in the food sense of things |
| to take the piss, as in "are you taking the piss or what?" also to take the mickey or take the mick | to make fun of, rated PG and rated G versions |
| three line whip or full three line whip, as in "sorry mate, no lunch for me today, it's the full three line whip on this project" | a Parliamentary term, for MP's being instructed how to vote, used here as being under the gun |
| thumping, as in "he got what he deserved, a good & proper thumping" or "it was a thumping win, I'll tell you that" | an ass kicking |
| tip, as in "I'm off down the tip to drop a few things" | the dump |
| tipple, as in "what kind of tipple shall I bring?" | alcohol |
| tits up, as in "there I was tits up on the floor" | belly up |
| toff , as in "how about I knock yer teeth in for ye, ye fucking toff?" | an aristocrat, denizen of the upperclasses, can also be used to express disdain for an effeminate person or girly-boy, see also ponce and poof |
| to be toilet, as in "that match was toilet" | to really stink, to be no good, awful |
| tosh, as in "that's a load of tosh" | baloney, bull |
| track suit, as in "I can't believe you'd show up at my house in a track suit" | sweat suit or running suit, with the Brit cultural significance of usually being worn by dodgy, yobbish, low class characters |
| trainers, as in "where'd you get them wicked trainers?" | sneakers, tennis shoes |
| tuck, (noun) as in "that's some lovely tuck" and also to tuck in, as in "let's tuck in to come curry, mate" | grub, dig in |
| twee, as in "it's that twee little cottage there, up the road" | quaint, over-cute, affectedly dainty |
| twoc, a in "I twoc'd it" | steal, from "taken without owner's consent" |
| up to me eyes in muck and bullets | in a tight spot, in deep shit, or up to one's ears in something, in the thick of something, most likely comes from the big war |
| vicar: as used in the phrase "i'm off to shake hands with the vicar" | take a leak (a vicar's a priest, case you didn't saavy) – an aside: at our local weekend market I once spotted a cheese called Stinky Vicar, but to my lasting shame didn't buy it. |
| waffle or waffling, as in "what're you waffling on about?" | running or rambling on about, blabbing, talking nonsense, see also rubbish |
| wee (Scottish), as in "hey wee man, how you doing?" | small |
| whiffy as in "someone's a bit whiffy in here" | smelly, stinky, reaking |
| to whinge, as in "oh, stop your bloody whinging!" | to whine, moan, complain in an annoying fashion, see also grotty |
| white, as in "do you take your tea white?" | tea (or coffee) with milk |
| wicked, "wicked kit, mate" | cool, great (I'm not sure if the Brits stole this term from up Mass or the other way around) |
| wide | illicit or street saavy |
| wideboy, as in "you're looking the wideboy tonight, eh?" | minor criminal, or one who's got a criminal vibe going on |
| y fronts | tidy whities |
| yard, as in "pop round my yard for a party" | home (Jamaican), see also gaff, manor |
| yardie | a Jamaican gangster, or more generally, a Jamaican |
| yeah? (brit youth speak) as in "so I walk up to her, yeah?, and I says "I fancy you" just like that, yeah?, and she says right back at me, yeah?, "I fancy you as well." | akin to the use of like in US youth speak, see also right and sort of |
| yob, as in "he's just a stupid yob, he is" | young troublemaker, punk, thug |
| z | one musn't call this letter "z" or the natives will be confused, it's a "zed" |