As a reference for US readers and others from outside the UK, I thought it might be helpful to produce a glossary of English/British slang terms and cultural references in my Yorkshire-set book A Question of Us. Some of these are specific to the north of England, others are used throughout the country. And yes, I know what you’re thinking: we Brits certainly have a lot of euphemisms for sex and drunkenness. I’m not sure what that says about us as a nation!
- A-Levels – exams taken at age 18
- afters – dessert
- all right? – greeting. Means “are you well?” but doesn’t necessarily require an answer!
- Argos – British shop where items are ordered from a catalogue
- arse over tit – head over heels
- arse – bottom
- backhander – bribe
- bagsied – staked a claim to something
- Baltic – very cold
- banging (exclamation) – great
- Bash Street – reference to The Bash Street Kids, a long-running school series in British children’s comic book The Beano
- bawdy – loud; raucous
- beanie – warm knitted hat
- bellend – an insult
- The Bill – British police drama
- bird – woman
- biscuit – cookie
- bitter – a type of beer
- Blockbusters – British quiz show
- bloke – man (informal); guy
- bloody – mild curse word
- boffed – had sex with
- (to) bollock (verb) – to tell someone off; give them a bollocking
- bollocks (exclamation) – expression of frustration. Can also mean “bullshit”, as in “talking bollocks”
- bollocks (noun) – testicles
- bonking – having sex
- boobs – breasts
- booze – alcohol
- bouncer – nightclub doorman
- boxers – boxer shorts (male underwear)
- brew up – make hot drinks
- bugger (exclamation) – mild curse word
- bugger (noun) – mild insult
- bugger all – nothing
- buggering up – screwing something up; making a mess of something
- bugger off – get lost
- bum – bottom
- butty – sandwich (northern English slang)
- cadge – scrounge; beg (northern English slang)
- can’t be arsed – can’t be bothered
- Carling – a brand of lager beer
- Carlsberg – a brand of lager beer
- (to) chat someone up – to talk to someone in a flirtatious way
- cheers – thanks. Also used as a drinking toast
- The Chippendales – male stripper act
- chips – French fries
- chuddy – chewing gum (northern English slang)
- chuffed – pleased; happy
- cig – cigarette
- cop off with – make out with
- coppering up – counting out amounts of money in small change
- copper – policeman
- Countdown – British quiz show
- cracking (exclamation) – great
- crisps – potato chips
- cuppa – cup of tea
- daft – silly; foolish
- Dear Deirdre – agony aunt column in British newspaper The Sun
- (to) deck someone – to beat them up
- dicking about – messing about
- did a bunk – ran away; split
- dim – stupid
- div/divvy – idiot
- a dive – a dump; a dirty or unpleasant place
- dogging – sex with strangers in a public place
- doing it – having sex
- do one – get lost; go, leave
- Eton – prestigious English private school for boys
- fag – cigarette
- (to) fancy someone – be attracted to them
- fanny – vagina
- fannying – messing about
- fib – a lie
- Fifteen to One – British quiz show
- fit – sexually attractive; hot
- fiver – five pounds
- (to) fob someone off – make an excuse
- GCSEs – exams taken at age 16
- geezer – man; cool person
- Gents – men’s public toilets
- get off with – make out with
- (to) get one’s end away – to have sex
- (to) get one’s leg over – to have sex
- getting you done – telling a tale on you
- git (noun) – mild insult
- give him/her one – have sex with him/her
- give over (instruction) – stop
- give up (instruction) – stop
- gob – mouth
- going off on one – displaying a fit of anger
- going out with someone – dating them
- Gold Run – a round in British quiz show Blockbusters
- hammered – drunk
- (to) have someone on – to attempt to fool someone
- head/headteacher – school principal
- heyup – hello (informal; northern English)
- hiya – hello (informal)
- HP – a brand of brown sauce
- jelly – jello
- johnny/rubber johnny – condom
- knackered – tired; exhausted
- knee-trembler – orgasm
- knickers – female underwear
- knobbing – having sex
- knob – penis
- knockers – breasts
- knockout (exclamation) – excellent
- Ladbrokes – chain of UK betting shops
- Ladies – women’s public toilets
- lad – boy
- lager – a type of beer
- lager lout – drunken, badly behaved person
- lairy – loud; raucous
- landlord/landlady – the manager of a pub
- Landlord – a brand of ale
- lass – girl
- launderette – laundromat
- leathered – drunk
- lippy – lipstick
- the local – your local pub
- loo – toilet
- love (noun) – term of endearment (northern English)
- lunchbox – slang for male genitals when covered by clothing
- Lynx Africa – a brand of deodorant
- manky – dirty or gross
- mardy – miserable; sulky (northern English slang)
- mate – friend (informal); used in a similar way to US “buddy”
- mobile/mobile phone – cellphone
- Nessie – the Loch Ness Monster
- Newky Brown – Newcastle Brown ale
- (to) nick something – to steal it
- nits – head lice eggs, common in young schoolchildren
- Nobby’s Nuts – a brand of salted peanuts
- on a promise – having a guaranteed offer of sex
- on the job – having sex
- on the pull – trying to find someone to hook up with
- Oxfam – charity that runs a chain of second-hand (thrift) shops
- pack it in (instruction) – stop it
- pants – male or female underwear
- papers – newspapers
- Penguin – brand of chocolate biscuit
- pet (noun) – term of endearment (northern English)
- pictures (as in “going to the pictures”) – cinema
- pillock – idiot
- pissed – drunk
- pisshead – drunken person
- pissing about – messing about
- Pointless – British quiz show
- poorly – sick; ill
- posh – upper-class; sophisticated
- primary – primary school (age four to eleven)
- pub crawl – a walk from pub to pub, stopping for a drink in each
- pud/pudding – dessert
- (to) pull – to successfully hook up with someone; score
- punch-up – a fight
- quid – a pound
- Rag Week – fundraising week at UK universities in which stunts and pranks are staged to raise money for charity
- randy – lustful; horny
- Reception – the first year of primary school (age four to five)
- RE – Religious Education
- Rich Tea – brand of biscuit (cookie)
- roasties – roast potatoes
- round (noun) – when you buy a drink for everyone in your group
- (to) scoff – to exhibit disbelief; also, to eat greedily
- scuffer – scruffy or low-status person (northern English slang)
- secondary – secondary school (age eleven to sixteen or eighteen)
- settee – couch
- shagging – having sex
- sixth form – the last two non-compulsory years of secondary school (age sixteen to eighteen)
- skint – short of money; poor; broke
- slag – sexually promiscuous person; slut
- slammed – drunk
- slap (noun) – make-up
- slaughtered – drunk
- smack (noun) – heroin
- smartarse – person who is smugly or ostentatiously knowledgeable; clever clogs, smarty pants
- smashed – drunk
- snog – French kiss
- snug – small, semi-enclosed area in a pub, historically used by those who didn’t want to be seen in the public bar
- sod (noun) – mild insult
- sod off – get lost
- soppy – overly sentimental
- the spit of you – the spitting image of you (i.e. looks just like you)
- squaddie – soldier
- stag do – bachelor party
- stroppy – argumentative; having an attitude
- swotting – studying hard
- swot – a studious or clever person
- taking the mickey/the Michael/the piss – mocking; making fun of someone (also “ripping the piss”)
- ta – thanks (northern English slang)
- tea – as well as the drink, in the north of England this refers to the evening meal
- telly – television
- tenner – ten pounds
- Tesco – British supermarket
- thick – stupid
- thump – punch
- Top Gear – British car review TV show
- trackie bottoms – sweatpants
- trollop – promiscuous woman
- tuppence – two pence
- twat – an insult
- University Challenge – British quiz show for teams of university students
- uni – university
- V-sign – a rude gesture made with two fingers
- wacky baccy – cannabis
- (to) wang something – to throw it
- wanker – an insult; unpleasant person or idiot
- Waterstone’s – bookshop chain
- weed – cannabis
- wendy house – children’s play house
- willy – penis
- wind-up merchant – someone who frequently mocks or teases
- (to) wind someone up – to tease or attempt to fool someone
- Wipeout – British quiz show
- Yorkshire pudding – savoury batter pudding served with a roast dinner
- Z-Cars – British police drama