A Question of Us: English slang glossary!

by mjbaker | 17 Jul 2019 | A Question of Us

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