British Slang

Ace

Geweldig, super, fantastich

Aggro

Problemen (afkorting voor ‘aggravation‘)

All right?

Verkorte versie van ‘Hello, how are you‘

Anti-clockwise

Tegen de klok in

Any road

Bovendien, hoe dan ook, anyway

Arse

kont

Arse about face

Iets van achter naar voren doen

Arse over elbow, Arse over tit

Voorover vallen, meestal aj je dronken bent

Arseholed

Dronken

Ass

Kont

Ezel

Au fait

Ergens bekend mee zijn

Baccy

Tabak

Bang

sexen

Barmy

gek zijn

Beastly

onaangenaam of gemeen persoon

Bees Knees
This is the polite version of the dog’s bollocks. So if you are in polite company and want to say that something was fabulous, this phrase might come in handy.

Belt up
For some reason I heard this quite a lot as a kid. It’s the British for shut up.

Bender
I used to go out on a bender quite frequently when I was at university. Luckily bender doesn’t only mean a gay man, it also means a pub crawl or a heavy drinking session.

Bespoke
We say something is bespoke if it has been created especially for someone, in the same way that you say custom. For example a computer program might be bespoken for a client, or you may order a bespoke holiday, where the travel agent creates an itinerary around your exact requirements.

Best of British
If someone says “The best of British to you” when you are visiting the UK, it simply means good luck. It is short for “best of British luck”.

Biggie
This is unusual. A biggie is what a child calls his poo! Hence the reason Wendy’s Hamburgers has never really taken off in England – who would buy “biggie fries”? Yuck – I’m sure you wouldn’t buy poo fries! The other meaning of Biggie is erection. It just gets worse!

Bite your arm off
This is not aggressive behaviour that a football fan might engage in. In fact it just means that someone is over excited to get something. For instance you might say that kids would bite your arm off for an ice cream on a sunny day.

Bladdered
This rather ugly expression is another way of saying you are drunk. The link is fairly apparent I feel!

Blast
An exclamation of surprise. You may also hear someone shout “blast it”, or even “bugger and blast”!

Blatant
We use this word a lot to mean something is really obvious.

Bleeding
An alternative to the word bloody. You’ll hear people say “bleeding hell” or “not bleeding likely” for example.

Blimey
Another exclamation of surprise. My Dad used to say “Gawd Blimey” or “Gor Blimey” or even “Cor Blimey”. It is all a corruption of the oath God Blind Me.

Blinding
If something is a blinding success – it does not mean that any eyes were poked out with sharp sticks – it means it was awesome.

Blinkered
Someone who is blinkered is narrow minded or narrow sighted – they only see one view on a subject. It comes from when horses that pulled carriages wore blinkers to stop them seeing to the side or behind them which stopped them from being startled and only let them see where they were going.

Bloody
One of the most useful swear words in English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise i.e. “bloody hell” or “bloody nora”. Something may be “bloody marvellous” or “bloody awful”. It is also used to emphasise almost anything, “you’re bloody mad”, “not bloody likely” and can also be used in the middle of other words to emphasise them. E.g. “Abso-bloody-lutely”! Americans should avoid saying “bloody” as they sound silly.

Blooming
Another alternative to the word bloody. You might hear someone say “not blooming likely” so that they don’t have to swear.

Blow me
When an English colleague of mine exclaimed “Blow Me” in front of a large American audience, he brought the house down. It is simply an exclamation of surprise, short for “Blow me down”, meaning something like I am so surprised you could knock me over just by blowing. Similar to “Well knock me down with a feather”. It is not a request for services to be performed.

Blow off
Who blew off? Means who farted? Constant source of amusement to us Brits when you guys talk about blowing people off. Conjours up all sort of bizarre images!

Blunt
If a saw or a knife is not sharp we say it is blunt. It is also the way most of us speak! In America the knife would be dull.

Bob’s your uncle
This is a well used phrase. It is added to the end of sentences a bit like and that’s it! For example if you are telling someone how to make that fabulous banoffee pie you just served them, you would tell them to boil the condensed milk for three hours, spread it onto a basic cheesecake base, slice bananas on top, add some whipped double cream, another layer of banana and Bob’s your uncle!

Bodge
We bodge things all the time here. I’m sure you do too! To do a bodge job means to do a quick and dirty. Make it look good for the next day or two and if it falls down after that – hey well we only bodged it! Applies to building, DIY, programming and most other things.

Bogey
Booger. Any variety, crusty dragons included!

Bollocks
This is a great English word with many excellent uses. Technically speaking it means testicles but is typically used to describe something that is no good (that’s bollocks) or that someone is talking rubbish (he’s talking bollocks). Surprisingly it is also used in a positive manner to describe something that is the best, in which case you would describe it as being “the dog’s bollocks”. Englishmen who live in America take great delight in ordering specialised registration plates for their cars using the letters B.O.L.L.O.X. Good eh?

Bomb
If something costs a bomb it means that it is really expensive. We say it when we see the price of insurance in the US, you could try saying it when you see how much jeans or petrol cost over here!

Bomb
If something goes like a bomb it means it is going really well or really fast. Or you could say an event went down like a bomb and it would mean that the people really enjoyed it. In the US the meaning would be almost exactly the reverse.

Bonk
Same meaning as shag. Means to have sex. E.g. “Did you bonk him/her?”.

Botch
There are two expressions here – to botch something up or to do a botch job. They both mean that the work done was not of a high standard or was a clumsy patch. My Dad used to always tell me that workmen had botched it up and that he should have done the work properly himself.

Bottle
Something you have after twenty pints of lager and a curry. A lotta bottle! This means courage. If you have a lotta bottle you have no fear.

Box your ears
Many young chaps heard their dads threaten to box their ears when I was a littlun. Generally meant a slap around the head for misbehaving. Probably illegal these days!!

Brassed off
If you are brassed off with something or someone, you are fed up. Pissed perhaps.

Brill
Short for “brilliant”. Used by kids to mean cool.

Budge up
If you want to sit down and someone is taking up too much space, you’d ask them to budge up – move and make some space.

Bugger
This is another fairly unique word with no real American equivalent. Like bloody it has many uses apart from the obvious dictionary one pertaining to rather unusual sexual habits. My father was always shouting “bugger” when he was working in the garage or garden. Usually when he hit his thumb or dropped a nail or lost something. Today we might use the sh** or the f*** words but bugger is still as common. The fuller version of this would be “bugger it”. It can also be used to tell someone to get lost (bugger off), or to admit defeat (we’re buggered) or if you were tired or exhausted you would be buggered. You can also call someone a bugger. When I won £10 on the lottery my mate called me a “lucky bugger”.

Bugger all
If something costs bugger all, it means that it costs nothing. Meaning it is cheap. If you have bugger all, it means you have nothing.

Bum
This is the part of your body you sit on. Your ass! It might also be someone who is down and out, like a tramp. You might also bum around, if you are doing nothing in particular, just hanging out. Finally to bum something means to scrounge it from someone.

Bung
To bung something means to throw it. For example a street trader might bung something in for free if you pay cash right now! Or you could say “bung my car keys over, mate”.
A bung is also a bribe.

Butchers
To have a butchers at something is to have a look. This is a cockney rhyming slang word that has become common. The reason “butchers” means a look even though it doesn’t rhyme is because it is short for “butchers hook” and “hook” of course, does rhyme.

C of E

The Church of England. Our official protestant church – of which the Queen is the head.

Chat up
To chat someone up is to try and pick them up. If you spotted a scrummy girly in a bar you might try to chat her up. Or a girl might try and chat up a chap!

Cheeky
“Eee you cheeky monkey” was what my mother said to me all the time when I was a kid. Cheeky means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart arse! Generally you are considered to be a bit cheeky if you have an answer for everything and always have the last word. My licence plate on my MX5 (Miata in American) was CHEEKY, which most Texans thought was something to do with bottoms – wrong!!

Cheerio
Not a breakfast cereal. Just a friendly way of saying goodbye. Or in the north “tara” which is pronounced sort of like “churar”.

Cheers
This word is obviously used when drinking with friends. However, it also has other colloquial meanings. For example when saying goodbye you could say “cheers”, or “cheers then”. It also means thank you. Americans could use it in English pubs, but should avoid the other situations as it sounds wrong with an American accent. Sorry!

Cheesed off
This is a polite way of saying you are pissed off with something.

Chin Wag
This is another word for a Chat. You can probably tell why!

Chinese Whispers
This a good one. It refers to the way a story gets changed as is passes from one person to the next so that the end result may be completely different from what was originally said. Sound familiar?

Chivvy along
When I’m standing patiently in the checkout queue at Tesco I like to chivvy along the old ladies in front of me. If only they would stop fannying around and hurry up!

Chuffed
You would be chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something.

Clear off!
This expression brings back memories of being a kid and stealing apples from people’s gardens. Sometimes we would get caught and some old bloke would come out and shout “oi clear off you lot”. It basically means get lost.

Cobblers
I have heard people say “what a load of cobblers” more than once. Maybe that’s because I talk so much rubbish. An equivalent would be what a load of bollocks. It means you are talking out of your butt and has nothing to do with any kind of dessert! Derived from the cockney rhyming slang where Cobblers Awls = Balls!

Cock up
A cock up means you have made a mistake. It has nothing to do with parts of the male body.

Cockney rhyming slang
There are lots of words that make up cockney rhyming slang. These are basically rhyming words like “butchers hook” which means “look”. If you are in London and you hear someone talk about a Septic they are probably talking about you – because it’s short for “Septic tank” which equals “yank”, which is our word for an American. How do you like that!

Codswallop
Another one I heard a lot as a kid – usually when I was making up excuses for how the window got broken or why my dinner was found behind the sofa. My Dad would tell me I was talking a load of codswallop. American kids might be talking baloney under the same circumstances.

Cor
You’ll often hear a Brit say “cor”! It is another one of those expressions of surprise that we seem to have so many of. It will sometimes be lengthened to “cor blimey” or “cor love a duck”, depending on where you are. “Cor blimey” is a variation of “Gawd Blimey” or “Gor Blimey”. They are all a corruption of the oath “God Blind Me”.

Cracking
If something is cracking, it means it is the best. Usually said without pronouncing the last “G”. If a girl is cracking it means she is stunning.

Cram
Before a big exam you would be expected to cram. This simply means to study hard in the period running up to the exam.

Crap
The same word in both countries – but less rude here. I loved watching Brits being interviewed on US chat shows and embarrassing the interviewer when they said something was “total crap”.

Crikey
Another exclamation of surprise. Some people say “Crikey Moses”.

Crusty dragon
A booger. One of the really crispy ones.

Daft

My Dad used to call me a daft ‘apeth which is short for a daft half penny (in old money). It basically means stupid.

Dekko
To have a look at something.

Dear
If something is dear it means it is expensive. I thought Texan insurance was dear.

Dicky
Dicky rhymes with sicky and means you feel sick.

Diddle
To rip someone off or to con someone is to diddle them. When you visit England, check your change to make sure you haven’t been diddled!

Dim
A dim person is stupid or thick or a dimwit.

Dimwit
Someone a bit on the dim side.

Dishy
If someone is a bit of a dish or a bit dishy it means they are attractive or good looking.

DIY
This is short for do it yourself and applies not just to the DIY stores but also to anything that you need to do yourself. For example, if we get really bad service in a restaurant (oh, you noticed!) then we might ask the waiter if it is a DIY restaurant – just to wind them up.

Do
A party. You would go to a do if you were going to a party in the UK.
If you go into a shop and say “do you do batteries?” it means “do you sell batteries”.
If you drive along a motorway in the wrong lane the police will do you. You could then tell your friends that you have been done by the police. Prosecute is another word for it!

Doddle
Something that is a doddle is a cinch, it’s easy. Unlike ordering water in Texas with an English accent, which is definitely not a doddle!

Dodgy
If someone or something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted. Dodgy food should be thrown away at home, or sent back in a restaurant. Dodgy people are best avoided. You never know what they are up to. Dodgy goods may have been nicked. When visiting Miami I was advised by some English chums that certain areas were a bit dodgy and should be avoided!

Dog’s bollocks
You would say that something really fantastic was the dog’s bollocks. Comes from the fact that a dog’s bollocks are so fantastic that he can’t stop licking them! Nice huh? Often shortened to just “The dog’s”.

Dog’s dinner
If you make a real mess of something it might be described as a real dog’s dinner. A bit like some joint Anglo-American approaches to Eastern Europe for example!

Donkey’s years
Someone said to me the other day that they hadn’t seen me for donkey’s years. It means they hadn’t seen me for ages.

Drop a clanger
When I asked a large lady on the tube if she would like my seat since she was so obviously pregnant, she took the seat then told me she was fat, not pregnant! Boy did I drop a clanger. You might make a gaffe. Either way it was horrendously embarrassing, especially as half the people on the tube had heard me!

Duck
In and around Leeds you will find older people might call you “duck” in the same way that they might call you “love” or “dear” in other places. Usually pronounced more like “dook”, which rhymes with “book”.

Duff
Anything that is duff is useless, junk, trash. It usually means that the object doesn’t do the job it was intended for. Our last Prime Minister was pretty duff!

Duffer
Any person that is duff could be referred to as a duffer. The Prime Minister was a duffer.

Dull
You would say something that was no longer sharp was dull. We would say blunt. To us something is dull if it is boring. It can apply to things – like a film could be dull. It also applies to people – I can think of several people who are dull!

Easy Peasy

A childish term for something very easy. You might say it’s a snap.

Engaged
When you ring someone and they are already on the phone you will get the engaged tone. In other words, they will be engaged. You would say you get the busy signal or the line is busy.

Excuse me
This is a great one! It’s what kids are taught to say when they belch in public. We are also taught to say “pardon me” if we fart out loud. Unfortunately in American “excuse me” means you are encroaching in someone’s personal space and you say “pardon me” when you don’t hear someone properly. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that actually Americans are not belching and farting all the time.

Faff

To faff is to dither or to fanny around. If we procrastinated when getting ready for bed, as kids, our Dad use tell us we were faffing around.

Fagged
If you are too lazy or tired to do something you could say “I can’t be fagged”. It means you can’t be Bothered.

Fagging
Fagging is the practice of making new boys at boarding schools into slaves for the older boys. If you are fagging for an older boy you might find yourself running his bath, cleaning his shoes or performing more undesirable tasks.

Fancy
If you fancy something then it means you desire it. There are two basic forms in common use – food and people. If you fancy a cake for example it means you like the look of it and you want to eat it. If you see someone of (hopefully) the opposite sex then you might fancy them if you liked the look of them and wanted to get to know them a little better!!!

Fanny
This is the word for a woman’s front bits! One doesn’t normally talk about anyone’s fanny as it is a bit rude. You certainly don’t have a fanny pack, or smack people on their fannys – you would get arrested for that! Careful use of this word in the UK is advised!

Fanny around
I’m always telling people to stop fannying around and get on with it. It means to procrastinate. Drives me mad!

Fiddle sticks
I have an old Aunt who is much too well mannered to swear. So when the need arises for a swear word, she will substitute “fiddle sticks”.

Filch
To filch is to steal or pilfer. The origin is apparently unknown.

Fit
Fit is a word that I have heard a lot recently – it seems to be making a comeback. A fit bird means a girl who is pretty good looking or tasty! A fit bloke would be the male equivalent.

Flog
To Flog something is to sell it. It also means to beat something with a whip, but when your wife tells you she flogged the old TV it is more likely she has sold it than beaten it (hopefully!).

Fluke
If something great happened to you by chance that would be a fluke. When I was a kid my Mum lost her engagement ring on the beach and only realised half way home. We went back to the spot and she found it in the sand. That was a fluke.

Flutter
I like to have a flutter on the horses. It means to have a bet, usually a small one by someone who is not a serious gambler.

Fortnight
Two weeks. Comes from an abbreviation of “fourteen nights”. Hence terms like “I’m off for a fortnights holiday” meaning “I am going on a two week vacation”.

Fruity
If someone is feeling fruity then they are feeling frisky. Watch out!

Full monty
Since the movie has come out of the same name I have heard some odd Texan descriptions of what the full monty means. It really has nothing to do with taking your clothes off. It just means the whole thing or going the whole way. That’s it. Clearly when applied to stripping it means not stopping at your underwear! The origins of the expression are still under discussion. There are many theories but no conclusive evidence at the moment.

Full of beans
This means to have loads of energy. It is a polite way of saying that a child is a maniac. I was often described as being full of beans as a kid and now it is my wife’s way of telling me to keep still when she is trying to get to sleep. Strangely the same expression in some parts of the US means that you are exaggerating or talking bollocks!

Gagging

Desperate, in a fat slaggy kind of a way. Not nice.

Gallivanting
The dictionary says “to gad about”, which probably doesn’t help much! It means fooling around or horseplay.

Gander
When I was a kid, my Dad often used to go off for a gander when we were visiting a new town or village. It means to look around.

Gen
Gen means information. If you have the gen then you know what is going on.

Gen up
To research a subject or to get some information.

Get lost!
Politely translated as go away, this is really a mild way of telling someone to f*** off!

Get stuffed!
Even politer way to tell someone to get lost is to tell them to get stuffed. However, this is still not a nice thing to say to someone.

Getting off
This seems to be the objective of most teenagers on a big night out. Getting off with someone means making out or snoggingh them.

Give us a bell
This simply means call me. You often hear people use the word “us” to mean “me”.

Gobsmacked
Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement.

Good value
This is short for good value for money. It means something is a good deal.

Goolies
If you have been kicked in the goolies, your eyes would be watering and you would be clutching your balls!

Gormless
A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy.

Grem
The form of gob meaning to spit something out. e.g. Did you see him grem? Yuck. Usually associated with that ghastly noise as the content of the lungs are coughed into the mouth before gremming can take place. Grem is also the word that describes the green lump that is created in the process. You might call it hacking up a hacker.

Grub
Food. Similar to nosh. I remember my Dad calling “grub’s up”, when dinner was ready as a kid. A grub is also an insect larva. Not usually eaten in England. Actually is available in some Australian restaurants!

Gutted
If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!

Haggle

To haggle is to argue or negotiate over a price. Most people that wangle stuff are usually quite good at haggling. I just learnt that in the USA you dicker over a price, particularly for used cars!

Hanky panky
or “slap and tickle” as some older folks call it – would be making out in America.

Hard
After your 20 pints of lager, the curry or the doner, your average 20 year old feels hard. Since his male organ has no chance of working at this stage, hard clearly refers to something else – it means he is ready to fight anything or anybody or to take on any bet. This is the time to make fun of drunken lads by betting them they can’t jump off the end of the pier, hang on to the back of a bus etc.

Hard lines
This is another way of saying hard luck or bad luck.

Hash
The thing you call a pound sign! Before you ask, yes it is also something you smoke – see wacky backy. Also to make a real hash of something means you really screwed it up.

Have
This one used to wind me up a treat in Texas. When we were in restaurants with friends, they would say to the waiter something like “Can I get a refill”. And the waiter would go and get them a refill. No no no – that’s completely wrong. It’s “Can I HAVE a refill”. Not GET! If you say “Can I GET a refill” in the UK, the waiter will give you a funny look and tell you where to go and GET it – yourself!

Healthy
Healthful. I’m not really sure if this is slang or whether the American use of healthful is the real alternative to the English “healthy”. We talk about a healthy lifestyle and about healthy food. I never heard anyone say smoking was “unhealthful” in the US but I suppose that must exist too!

Her Majesty’s pleasure
When visiting England, try to avoid being detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure. This means being put in prison with no release date!

Hiya
Short for hi there, this is a friendly way of saying hello.

Honking
Honking is being sick or throwing up. Presumably this is a problem in New York where there are signs on the streets that say “No Honking”.

Horses for courses
This is a common saying that means each to his own. What suits one person might be horrible for someone else. If my Dad was trying to understand why my brother had wanted to get his ear pierced he might say “Oh well, it’s horses for courses I suppose”!

How’s your father?
This is a very old term for sex which plays on our apparent British sensitivity. Rather than saying the actual “sex” word you could refer to having a bit of How’s your Father, instead – nudge, nudge, wink, wink. The sort of old fashioned saying dragged up by Austin Powers.

Hump
If you have got the hump it means you are in a mood. If you are having a hump, it means you are having sex. Care is advised when you try using these words for the first time. It could be embarrassing!

Hunky-dory
My English dictionary tells me that hunky-dory means excellent. We would generally use it to mean that everything is cool and groovy, on plan, no worries and generally going well.

I’m easy

This expression means I don’t care or it’s all the same to me. Not to be confused with how easy it is to lure the person into bed!

Jammy

If you are really lucky or flukey, you are also very jammy. It would be quite acceptable to call your friend a jammy b****rd if they won the lottery.

Jimmy
Actually short for Jimmy Riddle. i.e. I’m off for a Jimmy Riddle. This is Cockney rhyming slang for piddle!

John Thomas
Yet another word for a blokes willy! I always felt a bit sorry for people who were actually called John Thomas. What were their parents thinking?

Jolly
You hear people use this in all sorts of ways, but basically it means very. So “jolly good” would mean very good. A common exception is where you hear people say “I should jolly well think so!” which is more to emphasise the point.

Keep your pecker up

This is one way of saying keep your chin up. Use with caution as in some places your pecker is also your willy!

Khazi
Another word for the toilet. Our version of your bathroom.

Kip
A short sleep, forty winks, or a snooze. You have a kip in front of the telly on a Sunday afternoon.

Knackered
The morning after twenty pints and the curry, you’d probably feel knackered. Another way to describe it is to say you feel shagged. Basically worn out, good for nothing, tired out, knackered.

Knees up
If you’re having a knees up, you’re going to a dance or party.

Knob
Yet another word for your willy.

Knock off
To knock something off is to steal it, not to copy it!

Knock up
This means to wake someone up. Although it seems to have an altogether different meaning in the USA! At one time, in England, a chap was employed to go round the streets to wake the workers up in time to get to work. He knew where everyone lived and tapped on the bedroom windows with a long stick, and was known as a “knocker up”. He also turned off the gas street lights on his rounds. Another meaning of this phrase, that is more common these days, is to make something out of odds and ends. For example my Dad knocked up a tree house for us from some planks of wood he had in the garage, or you might knock up a meal from whatever you have hanging around in the fridge.

Knockers
Another word for breasts.

Knuckle sandwich
If somebody offers you a knuckle sandwich you’d be best to decline the offer and leave at the next convenient moment. It isn’t some British culinary delight – they’re about to thump you in the face.

Leg it

This is a way of saying run or run for it. Usually said by kids having just been caught doing something naughty. Well it was when I was a kid!

Left, right and centre
If you have been looking left, right and centre, it means you have been searching all over.

Love bite
You call them hickies – the things you do to yourself as a youngster with the vacuum cleaner attachment to make it look like someone fancies you!

Lurgy
If you have the lurgy it means you are ill, you have the Flu. Don’t go near people with the lurgy in case you get it!

Luvvly-jubbly
Clearly another way of saying lovely. Made famous by the TV show Only Fools and Horses.

-ly
These are two letters that seem to be left off words in America. I never heard anyone say something was “really nice” or “really cool”, they would say real nice and real cool. We would be sent to the back of the class for grammar like that!

Mate

Most chaps like to go to the pub with their mates. Mate means friend or chum.

Momentarily
As you come into land at an American airport and the announcement says that you will be landing momentarily, look around to see if anyone is sniggering. That will be the Brits! I never did figure out why they say this. Momentarily to us means that something will only happen for an instant – a very short space of time. So if the plane lands momentarily will there be enough time for anyone to get off? Weird!

Morish
Also spelt “moreish”, this word is used to describe desserts in my house, when a single helping is simply not enough. You need more! It applies to anything – not just desserts.

Mufti
An old army term for your “civvies”. Civilian clothes that is, rather than your uniform.

Mug
If someone is a bit of a mug, it means they are gullible. Most used car salesmen rely on a mug to show up so they can sell something!

Mush
Rhymes with “push”. Slang word for your mouth as in “shut your mush”. Also means mate as in “Alright mush?. Which means “Hi”!

Mutt’s nuts
If something is described as being “the Mutt’s” then you’ll know it is fantastic or excellent. “The Mutt’s” is short for “The Mutt’s nuts” which is clearly another way of saying the “Dog’s Bollocks”! All clear now?

Naff

If something is naff, it is basically uncool. Anoraks are naff, salad cream is also naff. You could also use it to tell someone to naff off, which is a politer way of telling them to f*** off!

Nancy boy
If someone is being pathetic you would call them a nancy or a nancy boy. It is the opposite of being hard. For example in cold weather a nancy boy would dress up in a coat, hat, gloves and scarf and a hard guy would wear a t-shirt. It’s also another word for a gay man.

Nark
If someone is in a nark, it means they are in a bad mood, or being grumpy. It’s also the word for a spy or informant. For example a coppers nark is someone who is a police informant – which you might call a stoolie or stool-pigeon. The origin is from the Romany word, nak, meaning “nose”.

Narked
In the UK you would say that someone looked narked if you thought they were in a bad mood. In the US you might say that someone was pissed. We definitely would not say that, as it would mean they were drunk!

Nesh
My Dad used to call me a nesh wimp when I was a kid and I wanted him to take me places in his car because it was too cold to go on my bike. He meant I was being pathetic or a bit of a nancy boy. He might have had a point!

Nice one!
If someone does something particularly impressive you might say “nice one”! to them. It is close the Texan good job that you hear all the time.

Nick
To nick is to steal. If you nick something you might well get nicked.

Nicked
Something that has been stolen has been nicked. Also, when a copper catches a burglar red handed he might say “you’ve been nicked”!

Nitwit
See twit.

Nookie
Nookie is the same as hanky panky. Something you do with your bird!

Nosh
Food. You would refer to food as nosh or you might be going out for a good nosh up, or meal! Either way if someone has just cooked you some nosh you might want to call it something else as it is not the nicest word to describe it.

Not my cup of tea
This is a common saying that means something is not to your liking. For example if someone asked you if you would like to go to an all night rave, they would know exactly what you meant if you told them it was not exactly your cup of tea!

Nowt
This is Yorkshire for nothing. Similarly owt is Yorkshire for anything. Hence the expression “you don’t get owt for nowt”. Roughly translated as “you never get anything for nothing” or “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

Nut
To nut someone is to head butt them. Nutting is particularly useful when at a football match.

Off colour

If someone said you were off colour they would mean that you look pale and ill! Not quite the same as something being off colour in the US!

Off your trolley
If someone tells you that you’re off your trolley, it means you have gone raving bonkers, crazy, mad!

On about
What are you on about? That’s something you may well hear when visiting the UK. It means what are you talking about?

On the job
If you are on the job, it could mean that you are hard at work, or having sex. Usually the context helps you decide which it is!

On the piss
If you are out on the piss, it means you are out to get drunk, or to get pissed.

On your bike
A very polite way of telling someone to f*** off.

One off
A one off is a special or a one time event that is never to be repeated. Like writing this book!

Owt
This is Yorkshire for anything. Similarly nowt is Yorkshire for nothing. Hence the expression “you don’t get owt for nowt”. Roughly translated as “you never get anything for nothing” or “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”.

Pants

This is quite a new expression – I have no idea where it came from. Anyway, it is now quite trendy to say that something which is total crap is “pants”. For instance you could say the last episode of a TV show was “total pants”.

Pardon me
This is very amusing for Brits in America. Most kids are taught to say “pardon me” if they fart in public or at the table etc. In America it has other meanings which take us Brits a while to figure out. I thought I was surrounded by people with flatulence problems!

Parky
Either short for Michael Parkinson, a famous chat show host, or more likely a word to describe the weather as being rather cold!

Pass
This means I don’t know and comes from the old TV show, Mastermind, where contestants were made to say “pass” if they did not know the answer to the question.

Pavement pizza
Well here the pavement is the sidewalk and a pavement pizza is a descriptive way of saying vomit. Often found outside Indian restaurants early on a Sunday morning.

Peanuts
I hated one of my summer jobs as a kid because it paid peanuts. The full expression is that if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. It is a fairly derogatory way of saying that manual labour doesn’t need to be bright and doesn’t need a lot of pay. Typically these days peanuts means something is cheap. For example we would say the petrol in the USA is peanuts or costs peanuts. Compared to our prices it is.

Pear shaped
If something has gone pear shaped it means it has become a disaster. It might be preparing a dinner party or arranging a meeting, any of these things can go completely pear shaped.

Piece of cake
I remember saying it’s a piece of cake in front of one of my American friends, who then started looking around for the cake! It means it’s a cinch!

Pinch
This means to steal something. Though when you say “steal” it is a bit more serious than pinch. A kid might pinch a cake from the kitchen. A thief would steal something during a burglary.

Pip pip
Another out-dated expression meaning goodbye. Not used any more.

Piss poor
If something is described as being “piss poor” it means it is an extremely poor attempt at something.

Piss up
A piss up is a drinking session. A visit to the pub. There is an English expression to describe someone as disorganised which says that he/she could not organise a piss up in a brewery!

Pissed
This is a great one for misunderstanding. Most people go to the pub to get pissed. In fact the object of a stag night is to get as pissed as possible. Getting pissed means getting drunk. It does not mean getting angry. That would be getting pissed off!

Pissing around
Fooling about, in the sense of messing around or making fun or just being silly. Not terribly polite.

Plastered
Another word for loaded. In other words you have had rather too much to drink down your local. It has nothing to do with being covered with plaster though anything is possible when you are plastered.

Porkies
More cockney rhyming slang. Short for “porky pies”, meaning “pork pies”. Rhymes with lies. My Mum always used to tell me I was telling porkies! And she was right!

Porridge
Doing porridge means to serve time in prison. There was also a comedy TV series called Porridge about a prisoner starring Ronnie Barker of The Two Ronnies fame.

Posh
Roughly translates as high class, though if you look at Posh Spice there are clearly exceptions to the rule! Comes from the cabins used by the upper class on early voyages from England to India. The coolest (and most expensive cabins) were Port side on the way Out and Starboard on the way Home.

Potty
This isn’t just the thing you sit a toddler on – if you are potty it means you are a little crazy, a bit of a looney, one card short of a full deck.

Pound sign
Ever wondered why Brits flounder when voicemail messages say to press the pound sign? What on earth is the British currency doing on a phone anyway? Well, it isn’t. To a Brit, the pound sign is the wiggly thing we use to denote the UK pound (or quid), in the same way you have a dollar sign.

Prat
Yet another mildly insulting name for someone. In fact, this one is a bit ruder than pillock so you probably wouldn’t say it in front of Grandma.

PTO
This is an abbreviation for “please turn over”. You will see it on forms in the UK where you would see the single word over in the USA.

Puff
If a Brit starts giggling in your local drugstore – it may be because they have just found a box of Puffs. To some of us Brits a Puff is another word for a fart. Stems from the cockney rhyming slang, to “Puff a dart”.

Pukka
This term has been revived recently by one of our popular young TV chefs. It means super or smashing, which of course is how he describes all his food.

Pull
Me and the lads used to go to the disco when we were on the pull. It means looking for birds. Of course, it works the other way round too. The ladies may also be on the pull, though probably a bit more subtly than the chaps!

Pussy
This is what we call our cat, as in “pussy cat”, or in the fairytale, Puss in Boots. So if you have a Brit neighbour who asks if you have seen their pussy – try to keep a straight face and think back the last time you saw their cat!

Put a sock in it
This is one way of telling someone to shut up. Clearly the sock needs to be put in their loud mouth!

Put paid to
This is an expression which means to put an end to something. For example you could say that rain put paid to the cricket match, meaning it stopped play.

Queer

Apart from the obvious gay link, this word used to be used a lot to mean someone looked ill. As in “You look queer”. Of course you might not say that these days in case you get either picked up, or thumped!

Quid
A pound in money is called a quid. It is the equivalent to the buck or clam in America. A five pound note is called a fiver and a ten pound note is called a tenner.

Quite
When used alone, this word means the same as absolutely!

Rat arsed

Yet another term for drunk, sloshed or plastered. You might say loaded. In the UK, loaded is a men’s magazine that covers sex and football.

Read
If someone asks you what you read at university, they mean what was your major at school.

Really
This is one of those words where you say almost the same thing as us, but just can’t be fagged to finish it off. The word is “really”, not real. You say things like it’s real hot, something’s real cool, a baby is real cute. If we said that we would be sent to the back of the class for our grammar – or lack of it!

Redundancy
If you are made redundant it means you are laid off.

Reverse the charges
When you want to ring someone up and you have no money you can call the operator and ask to reverse the charges in the UK. In the US you would call collect.

Right
I’m feeling right knackered. That would mean you were feeling very tired.

Ring
You would ring someone on the phone not call them, in the UK. Try saying “give me a ring” to the next Brit you meet. This does not work well in reverse. I asked someone in a shop to ring me up and he dragged me to the till and pulled my head across the scanner!

Roger
Same kind of problem that Randy has here, except we have people called Roger and no Randys. You will see a strange smile on the face of a Brit every time “Roger the Rabbit” is mentioned!! To roger means to have your wicked way with a lady. My Oxford English Dictionary says to copulate. You might say screw.

Round
When you hear the words “your round” in the pub, it means it is your turn to buy the drinks for everyone in the group – nothing to do with the size of your tummy! Since beers are more and more expensive these days, the art of buying the rounds has developed into ensuring you buy the first one before everyone has arrived, without being obvious!

Row
Rhymes with “cow” this means an argument. You might hear your Mum having a row with your Dad, or your neighbours might be rowing so loud you can hear them!

Rubbish
The stuff we put in the bin. Trash or garbage to you. You might also accuse someone of talking rubbish.

Rugger
This is short for “rugby”. It is a contact sport similar to your football but played in muddy fields during winter and rain. Not only that, but the players wear almost no protection!

Rumpy pumpy
Another word for hanky panky, or a bit of nookie! Something two consenting adults get up to in private! Theoretically!

Sack/sacked

If someone gets the sack it means they are fired. Then they have been sacked. I can think of a few people I’d like to sack!

Sad
This is a common word, with the same meaning as naff. Used in expressions like “you sad b***ard”.

Scrummy
This is a word that would be used to describe either some food that was particularly good (and probably sweet and fattening).

Scrumping
To go stealing – usually apples from someone elses trees!

Send-up
To send someone up is to make fun of them. Or if something is described as being a send-up it is equivalent to your take-off. Like Robin Williams does a take-off on the British accent – quite well actually!

Shag
Same as bonk but slightly less polite. At seventies parties watch the look of surprise on the Englishman’s face when an American girl asks him if he would like to shag. Best way to get a Brit to dance that I know! You can even go to shagging classes!

Shagged
Past tense of shag, but also see knackered.

Shambles
If something is a shambles it is chaotic or a real mess. It’s also a very old name for a slaughterhouse. So if you ever visit The Shambles in York, then the name does not refer to the somewhat shambolic nature of the buildings; it’s a reference to the site it’s built on – an old slaughterhouse!

Shambolic
In a state of chaos. Generally heard on the news when the government is being discussed!

Shirty
“Don’t get shirty with me young man” was what my Dad used to tell me when I was little. He was referring to my response to his telling off for doing some terrible little boy thing. Like tying my brother to the back of Mum’s car or putting my shoes in the toilet. It meant I was getting bad tempered.

Shite
This is just another way of saying shit. It is useful for times when you don’t want to be overly rude as it doesn’t sound quite as bad!

Shitfaced
If you hear someone saying that they got totally shitfaced it means they were out on the town and got steaming drunk. Normally attributed to stag nights or other silly events.

Shufti
Pronounced shooftee, this means to take a look at something, to take a butchers! It’s an old Arabic word, picked up by British soldiers during World War II, in North Africa.

Sixes and sevens
If something is all at sixes and sevens then it is in a mess, topsy turvy or somewhat haywire!

Skew-whiff
This is what you would call crooked. Like when you put a shelf up and it isn’t straight we would say it is all skew-whiff.

Skive
To skive is to evade something. When I was a kid we used to skive off school on Wednesdays instead of doing sports. We always got caught of course, presumably because the teachers used to do the same when they were fourteen!

Slag
To slag someone off, is to bad mouth them in a nasty way. Usually to their face.

Slapper
A slapper is a female who is a bit loose. A bit like a slag or a tart. Probably also translates into tramp in American.

Slash
Something a lager lout might be seen doing in the street after his curry – having a slash. Other expressions used to describe this bodily function include; siphon the python, shake the snake, wee, pee, piss, piddle and having a jimmy.

Sloshed
Yet another way to describe being drunk. Clearly we need a lot of ways to describe it since getting plastered is a national pastime.

Smarmy
Another word for a smoothy, someone who has a way with the ladies for example. Usually coupled with “git” – as in “what a smarmy git”. Not meant to be a nice expression, of course.

Smart
When we say someone is smart, we are talking about the way they are dressed – you might say they look sharp. When you say someone is smart you are talking about how intelligent or clever they are.

Smashing
If something is smashing, it means it is terrific.

Smeg
This is a rather disgusting word, popularised by the TV show, Red Dwarf. Short for smegma, the dictionary definition says it is a “sebaceous secretion from under the foreskin”. Now you know why it has taken me 3 years to add it in here. Not nice! Rather worryingly smeg is also the name of a company that makes ovens!!!

Snap
This is the name of a card game where the players turn cards at the same time and shout “snap” when they match. People also say “snap” when something someone else says has happened to them too. For example when I told somebody that my wallet was stolen on holiday, they said “snap”, meaning that theirs had too!

Snog
If you are out on the pull you will know you are succeeding if you end up snogging someone of the opposite sex (or same sex for that matter!). It would probably be referred to as making out in American, or serious kissing!

Snookered
If you are snookered it means you are up the famous creek without a paddle. It comes from the game of snooker where you are unable to hit the ball because the shot is blocked by your opponent’s ball.

Sod
This word has many uses. My father always used to say “Oh Sod!” or “Sod it!” if something went wrong and he didn’t want to swear too badly in front of the children. If someone is a sod or an “old sod” then it means they are a bit of a bastard or an old git. “Sod off” is like saying “piss off” or “get lost” & “sod you” means something like “f*** off”. It also means a chunk of lawn of course. You can usually tell the difference!

Sod all
If you are a waiter in America and you serve a family of Brits, the tip is likely to be sod all or as you would call it – nothing. Because we don’t know about tipping.

Sod’s law
This is another name for Murphy’s law – whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

Sorted
When you have fixed a problem and someone asks how it is going you might say “sorted”. It’s also popular these days to say “get it sorted” when you are telling someone to get on with the job.

Speciality
This is another one where you chaps drop your “I”. when I first saw specialty written down in the US I thought it was a mistake. But no! We love our I’s!

Spend a penny
To spend a penny is to go to the bathroom. It is a very old fashioned expression that still exists today. It comes from the fact that in ladies loos you used to operate the door by inserting an old penny.

Splash out
If you splash out on something – it means you throw your senses out the window, get out your credit card and spend far too much money. You might splash out on a new car or even on a good meal.

Squidgy
A chocolate cream cake would be squidgey. It means to be soft and, well, squidgey!

Squiffy
This means you are feeling a little drunk. Some people also use it to mean that something has gone wrong.

Starkers
Avoid being seen starkers when visiting England. It means stark naked.

Stiffy
Yet another word for erection.

Stone the crows
This is an old expression with the same meaning as “cor blimey”.

Stonker
This means something is huge. Looking at the burger you might say “blimey what a stonker”. It is also used to refer to an erection! Clearly English modesty is a myth!

Stonking
This weird word means huge. You might say “what a stonking great burger” if you were in an American burger joint.

Strop
If someone is sulking or being particularly miserable you would say they are being stroppy or that they have a strop on. I heard an old man on the train tell his wife to stop being a stroppy cow.

Stuff
A recent headline in the New Statesman read “stuff the millennium”. Using stuff in this context is a polite way of saying “f*** the millennium”. Who cares! Stuff it! You can also say “stuff him” or “stuff her” meaning they can sod off.

Suss
If you heard someone saying they had you sussed they would mean that they had you figured out! If you were going to suss out something it would mean the same thing.

Sweet fanny adams
This means nothing or sod all. It is a substitute for “sweet f*** all”. It is also shortened further to “sweet F A”.

Swotting
Swotting means to study hard, the same as cram does. Before exams we used to swot, not that it made any difference to some of us. If you swotted all the time, you would be called a swot – which is not a term of endearment!

Ta

We said “ta” as kids in Liverpool for years before we even knew it was short for thanks.

Table
We use this word in exactly the opposite way. To us a motion is tabled when it is brought to the table, or suggested for consideration. You table a motion when it is left for a later date.

Taking the biscuit
If something really takes the biscuit, it means it out-does everything else and cannot be bettered. Some places in America they said takes the cake.

Taking the mickey
See taking the piss. Variations include “taking the mick” and “taking the Michael”.

Taking the piss
One of the things Americans find hardest about the Brits is our sense of humour. It is obviously different and is mainly based on irony, sarcasm and an in-built desire to “take the piss”. This has nothing to do with urine, but simply means making fun of someone.

Talent
Talent is the same as totty. Checking out the talent means looking for the sexy young girls (or boys I suppose).

Tara
Pronounced “churar”, this is another word for cheerio or goodbye. Cilla Black, a scouse TV presenter has probably done most to promote the use of this word as she says it all the time on her programmes.

Throw a spanner in the works
This is an expression that means to wreck something.

Tickety-boo
If something is going well with no problems we would say it is tickety-boo.

Tidy
Apart from the obvious meaning of neat, tidy also means that a woman is a looker, attractive or sexy.

To
We go to school from ages 5 to 18. You might go to school from ages 5 thru 18. We don’t say thru in that context at all. If we did though, we would say “through”!

Todger
As if we don’t have enough of them already, this is yet another word for your willy, or penis.

Toodle pip
This is an old expression meaning goodbye. However, I only hear it when Americans are doing impressions of Brits as it has fallen into disuse, along with steam trains and gas lights.

Tool
Yet another word for your willy or penis. You’d think we were obsessed.

Tosser
This is another word for wanker and has exactly the same meaning and shares the same hand signal. Unfortunately my house in Texas was in Tossa Lane, which was a problem when telling older members of the family where to write to me!

Totty
If a chap is out looking for totty, he is looking for a nice girl to chat up. There is an Italian football player called Totti – which is pronounced the same. It’s really funny hearing the commentators when he gets the ball saying “it’s Totty for Italy”. It sounds like some beautiful Italian girlies have invaded the pitch.

TTFN
Short for “ta ta for now”. Which in turn means goodbye! Said by older folks and one Radio Two DJ in particular.

Twat
Another word used to insult someone who has upset you. Also means the same as fanny but is less acceptable in front of your grandmother, as this refers to parts of the female anatomy. Another use for the same word is to twat something, which would be to hit it hard. Get it right or I’ll twat you over the head!

Twee
Twee is a word you would generally hear older people say. It means dainty or quaint. A bit like the way you chaps think of England I suppose.

Twit
You twit! Not so rude as calling someone an idiot but it amounts to the same thing. Remember Monty Python’s “Twit of the Year” competition? Other versions include “nitwit”.

Two finger salute
When you see a Brit stick up two fingers at you in a V shape, he may be ordering two of something (if his palms are toward you). The other way around and it’s an insult along the lines of your one finger salute. Which, by the way, is very popular here now too!

Uni

universiteit

Wacky backy

This is the stuff in a joint, otherwise known as pot or marijuana!

Waffle
To waffle means to talk on and on about nothing. It is not something you eat. Americans often think that Brits waffle on about the weather. The truth of course is that our news reports last 60-120 seconds and the weather man is not hyped up to be some kind of superstar as he is on the TV in the US. If you want to see an example of real waffle watch the weather channel in Texas where there is nothing to talk about other than it is hot and will remain so for the next 6 months. Another example is the ladies who waffle on about anything on the Home Shopping Network. They would probably be classed as professional wafflers!

Wangle
Some people have all the luck. I know some people that can wangle anything; upgrades on planes, better rooms in hotels. You know what I mean.

Wank
This is the verb to describe the action a wanker participates in.

Wanker
This is a derogatory term used to describe someone who is a bit of a jerk. It actually means someone who masturbates and also has a hand signal that can be done with one hand at people that cannot see you shouting “wanker” at them. This is particularly useful when driving.

Watcha
Kort voor “what do you”, als in “watcha think of that”?

Waz
Pissen

Well
Woord om een ander woord te accentueren, zoals ‘erg’; erg leuk, erg eng, erg gezellig

Welly
Regenlaarzen

Whinge
Zeuren

Willy
Piemel

Wind up
Iemand voor gek zetten

Wobbler
Scene schoppen

Wonky
Iets dat wiebelt

Yakking

de oren van iemands kop kletsen

Yonks

een lange tijd

Zonked

Uitgeput

Video

Bron

Effingpot