Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo (see euphemism). It is often used to identify with one's peers and, although it may be common among young people, it is used by people of all ages and social groups. Collins English Dictionary (3rd edition) describes slang as, "Vocabulary, idiom etc that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language". The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (1994) describes it as, "Words, phrases, and uses that are regarded as informal and are often restricted to special contexts or are peculiar to specific profession, classes etc". Jonathan Green, in his 1999 book, The Cassell Dictionary of Slang describes slang as, "A counter language, the language of the rebel, the outlaw, the despised and the marginal". Recognising that there are many definitions, he goes on to say, "Among the many descriptions of slang, one thing is common, it is a long way from mainstream English".
History and dating of British slang
The dating of slang words and phrases is exceptionally difficult due to the nature of slang. Slang, more than any other language, remains spoken and resists being recorded on paper (or for that matter any other form of medium). By the time slang has been written down, it has been in use some time and has, in some cases, become almost mainstream.
The first recorded uses of slang in Britain occurred in the 16th century in the plays of Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton and William Shakespeare. The first books containing slang also appeared around this time: Robert Copland's, The hye way to the Spytlell hous, was a dialogue in verse between Copland and the porter of St Bartholomew's hospital, which included Thieves' Cant; and in 1566, Thomas Harman's A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds was published. The Caveat contained stories of vagabond life, a description of their society and techniques, a taxonomy of rogues, and a short canting dictionary which was later reproduced in other works.
In 1698 the New Dictionary of the Canting Crew by B. E. Gent was published, which additionally included some 'civilian' slang terms. It remained the predominant work of its kind for much of the 18th century, until the arrival in 1785 of The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Captain Francis Grose which ran to more than five expanded editions. Grose's book was eventually superseded by John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary in 1859. In 1889 two multi-volumed slang dictionaries went on sale: A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant by Albert Barrere and Charles Leland, and Slang and its Analogues by John Farmer and W. E. Henley; the latter being published in seven volumes. It was later abridged to a single volume and released in 1905 as, A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English. This book provided the major part of Eric Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (1937). It was not until the 1950s that slang began to make regular appearances in books and the relatively new mediums of motion pictures and television.
Varieties and purpose of slang
There are a number of different varieties of British slang, arguably the best known of which is Rhyming slang. Chiefly associated with cockney speech spoken in the East End of London, words are replaced with a phrase which rhymes. For example: plates of meat for "feet", or twist and twirl for "girl". Often only the first word is used, so plates and twist by themselves become the colloquialisms for "feet" and "girl".
Thieves' cant or Rogues' cant was a secret language (a cant or cryptolect) which was formerly used by thieves, beggars and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries. It is commonly believed that cant was developed from Romany but the Winchester Confessions, a pamphlet published in 1616, clearly distinguishes between Gypsy and Cant words. Now mostly obsolete, it is largely relegated to the realm of literature.
Some slang was developed because of a need for secrecy, such as prison slang, believed to be derived from thieves cant, and Polari, a variety used by homosexuals in Britain and the United Kingdom. Homosexuality was a crime until 1967 and Polari has a history going back at least a hundred years. Sometimes the purpose of slang is to cause offence, insults such as wanker or gobshite for example; and sometimes the purpose is to prevent it by substituting a slang word for the offensive one, berk (rhyming slang for cunt) for example. Sometimes a Spoonerism, is employed to make taboo speech more acceptable. For example: Cupid stunt and Betty Swallocks.
Slang is also used to create an identity or sense of belonging and a number of occupations have their own slang; most notably the armed forces, referred to as Forces or Service slang; and the construction industry. A dictionary of service slang by J. L. Hunt and A. G. Pringle was published in 1943. It was reprinted in 2008. The introduction acknowledges that slang is an ever-changing language with new slang terms emerging all the time. It also recognises that some service slang has made its way into civilian use. Examples of this include the old naval terms, "Talking bilge" (nonsense) and "A loose cannon" (an unorthodox person with the potential to cause harm).
air one's dirty linen/laundry To discuss private matters in public.
all to cock (Or all a-cock) Unsatisfactory, mixed up.
all mouth and (no) trousers All talk and no action, a braggart, sexual bravado. (The inclusion or otherwise of "no" in the expression is disputed.)
all piss and wind All talk and no action. Originally the phrase was, "all wind and piss" (19th century).
anchors Brakes. "Slam on the anchors" to brake really hard.
argy-bargy An argument or confrontation.
arse 1. The buttocks. 2. Someone who acts in a manner which is incompetent or otherwise disapproved of.
arse about face Back to front.
arse around Mess around or waste time (17th century).
arsehole 1. The anus. 2. General derogatory term.
arse bandit homosexual (offensive, derogatory).
arse over tit Head over heels, to fall over or take a tumble.
ball bag Scrotum.
balls up A bungled or messed up situation. (WWI Service slang).
bang to rights Caught in the act.
bang up 1. To lock up in prison (prison slang). 2. To inject an illegal drug.
barking mad (also just
barking) completely crazy; insane.
barmy crazy or foolish.
barney a noisy quarrel or fight. Sometimes claimed to be rhyming slang (Barney Rubble, trouble) but actually dates back to 19th century.
bender 1. a drinking binge. 2. A homosexual (derogatory)
bent 1. dishonest or corrupt, 2. homosexual (mildly derogatory).
bent as a nine bob note Extremely dishonest or corrupt. A nine shilling (bob) note never existed and would therefore have to be counterfeit.
berk (also spelt burk) idiot, stupid person (from
Berkeley Hunt, Cockney rhyming slang for cunt)
Billy 1. Amphetamines (from
Billy Whizz, a British comic strip character.) 2. Friendless (Billy No-Mates)
billyo (also spelt billyoh) an intensifier. Going like billyo (travelling quickly).
bird 1. Girl, woman. 2. Prison sentence (From the rhyming slang: Bird lime)
Birmingham screwdriver A hammer.
bizzie Policeman (
Scouse).
blag As a noun, a robbery or as a verb, to rob or scrounge. Not to be confused with blague, talking nonsense.
blah (or blah blah) worthless, boring or silly talk.
blim A very small piece of Hashish, enough for one joint maybe or a decent hot tong. Also used as Traveller Slang with the word bus (Blimbus) for the shortest British coach bodies of the 60s to 80s.
blimey or sometimes 'cor blimey' (archaic). An abbreviation of 'God blind me' used as an interjection to express shock or surprise. Sometimes used to comic effect, in a deliberate reference to it being archaic usage.
Blighty (or Old Blighty) Britain, home. Used especially by British troops serving abroad or expatriates. A relic of British
India, probably from the Hindi billayati, meaning a foreign land.
bloke any man or sometimes a man in authority such as the boss.
blooming, blummin' (archaic)euphemism for
bloody. Used as an intensifier e.g. 'blooming marvelous'.
blow off To fart.
blue 1. Policeman. 2. a tory.
bobby Policeman. After
Robert Peel (Home Secretary in 1828).
bod A male person. Short for body.
bodge (also botch) To make a mess of or to fix poorly.
bog Toilet
bog off Go away (originally
RAF slang)
Bogtrotter Derogatory term for an Irishman particularly an Irish peasant.
bogroll Toilet paper.
bollocking A severe telling off.
bollocks (or ballocks) Vulgar term used for testicles. Used to describe something as useless, nonsense or having poor quality, as in "That's a load of bollocks". Is often said as a cry of frustration or annoyance. Also see "dog's bollocks".
bomb A large sum of money as in 'to make a bomb'. Also 'to go like a bomb' meaning to travel at high speed.
bonce Head, crown of the head. Also a large playing marble.
booze As a noun, an alcoholic drink; as a verb, to drink alcohol, particularly to excess.
boozer 1. a pub or bar. 2. Someone who drinks alcohol to excess.
Bo-Peep Sleep (rhyming slang).
boracicwithout money. From rhyming slang
boracic lint = skint (skinned).
bottle 1. nerve, courage. 2. Money collected by buskers or street vendors. 3. As a verb, to attack someone with a broken bottle.
bounce 1. To con someone into believing or doing something. 2. To forcibly eject someone. 3. Swagger, impudence or cockiness. 4. Of a cheque, to be refused by the bank due to lack of funds.
bouncer Someone employed to eject troublemakers or drunks.
bovver boy A youth who deliberately causes or seeks out trouble (bother).
bovver boots Heavy boots, sometimes with a steel toecap, worn by Bovver boys and used for kicking in fights.
brass 1. Money. 2. Cheek, nerve. 3. a prostitute.
Bristols The female breasts (Cockney rhyming slang, from Bristol bits = tits, or Bristol City = titty).
broke Without money. Also 'stoney broke', or just 'stoney'.
brown bread Dead (Cockney rhyming slang).
brown-tongue Sycophant, toady or someone who attempts to curry favour with another (from the idea of licking another's backside).
buff 1. Bare skin, naked as in 'in the buff'. 2. Having a lean, muscular physique (usually referring to a young man).
bugger anal sex but in slang terms can be used : 1. As a term of abuse for someone or something contemptible, difficult or unpleasant. 2. Affectionately, as in 'you silly bugger'. 3. As an exclamation of dissatisfaction, annoyance or surprise. 4. To mean tired or worn out as in 'I'm absolutely buggered'. 5. To mean frustrate, complicate or ruin completely, as in 'You've buggered that up'.
bugger about (or around) 1. To fool around or waste time. 2. To create difficulties or complications.
bugger all nothing.
bugger off go away.
bum buttocks, anus or both. Not particularly rude. 'Builders' bum' is the exposure of the buttock cleavage by an overweight working man in ill-fitting trousers.
bumf derogatory reference to official memos or paperwork. Shortened from bum fodder. Slang term for toilet roll.
bumsucker a toady, creep or someone acting in an obsequious manner.
bumfreezer any short jacket but in particular an Eton Jacket.
bung 1. a gratuity or more often a bribe., 2. Throw or pass energetically; as in, "bung it over here".
bunk 1. To leave inappropriately as in to 'bunk off' school or work. 2. To run away in suspicious circumstances as in to 'do a bunk'.
butcher's Look. Rhyming slang, butcher's hook.
cabbage 1. A stupid person or someone with no mental abilities whatever. 2. Cloth trimmed from a customer's material by a tailor. 3. Pilfer or steal.
charver or charva 1. Sexual intercourse (Polari). 2. A loose woman, someone with whom it is easy to have
sexual intercourse, an easy lay. 3. To mess up, spoil or ruin; to fuck up (from 1.).
chav, chavi or chavvy Child (from the Romany, chavi. Still in common use in rural areas). Also used in Polari since mid-19th century.
Chav Someone who is, or pretends to be of a low social standing and who dresses in a certain style, typically in "knock off" sports and designer clothing, especially Burburry. Often used as a form of derogation. Popularised by British tabloids during the 00's using the
backronym 'Council-Housed and Violent': actually comes from the Romany for child, 'chavi'.
cheers a sign of appreciation or acknowledgement, or a drinking toast.
cheesed off fed up, disgusted or angry.
chinky or chinky chonky Chinese takeaway, usually considered offensive
chippy 1. A carpenter; chip shop 2. A prostitute or promiscuous young woman.
chuff The buttocks or anus.
chuffed to be very pleased about something.
clock 1. The face. 2. To spot, notice. 3. To hit as in "clock round the earhole".
cock 1. Penis. 2. Nonsense. 3. A friend or fellow.
cockup as a noun or verb, blunder, mess up or botch.
codswallop (archaic)Nonsense.
collywobbles An upset stomach or acute feeling of nervousness.
conk The head or the nose. To strike the head or nose.
cop 1. A policeman (short for copper). 2. An arrest or to be caught out, as in 'It's a fair cop'. 3. Used with a negative to mean of little value, as in 'That's not much cop'. 4. To get, as in for example, to 'cop off with', 'cop a feel' or 'cop a load of that'.
copper A policeman.
cor blimey An exclamation of surprise. Originally from "God blind me". See also "blimey".
corker Someone or something outstanding.
corking Outstanding, excellent.
cottage A public lavatory.
cottaging Homosexual activity in a public lavatory.
crack 1. A gibe. 2. Someone who excels at something. 3. Fun or a good time. From the Irish 'craic'.
cracker Something or someone of notable ability or quality.
crackers Insane.
darbies Handcuffs.
debag To remove someone's trousers by force.
dekko Look. From the Hindi, dekho.
dick 1. Fellow. 2. Penis.
dicks Headlice or Nits. "Here comes the dick nurse" "You mean nitty nora the head explorer"
dip a pickpocket.
div idiot (prison slang) From "The Divisional room" where extra reading was taught in the northern comprehensive schools during the 70s and 80s.
do one's nut Become enraged.
doddle Something simple or easy to accomplish.
dodgy 1. Something risky, difficult or dangerous. A 'dodgy deal' for example. 2. Of low quality. "Spurs' dodgy defence had thrown away a 2-0 lead"
dog 1. A rough or unattractive woman. 2. A fellow.
dog's bollocks1. Anything obvious ("Sticks out like the dog's bollocks"). 2. Something especially good or first rate ("It's the dog's bollocks", sometimes abbreviated to, "it's the dog's").
Donkey's years (Donkey's ears) a very long time. In reference to the length of a donkey's ears. Sometimes abbreviated to, "donkey's".
Done up like a kipper 1. Beaten up. 2. Fitted up or framed. 3. Caught red-handed by the police.
doofer An unnamed object.
dosser Someone who might stay in a dosshouse.
dosshouse A cheap boarding house frequented by tramps.
duck A term of endearment used in the North of England.
duff 1. broken, not working. 2. To beat, as in 'duff up'. 3. Pregnant (up the duff).
earwig 1. To eavesdrop. 2. To twig (rhyming slang)
eating irons Cutlery.
end away to have sex (get one's end away).
fag cigarette.
fag endthe used stub of a cigarette and by extension the unpleasant and worthless loose end of any situation.
fanny female external genitalia, a woman's pudendum.
fanny adams (Usually preceded by 'sweet' and often abbreviated to F.A., S.F.A. or sweet F.A.) Nothing at all. A euphemism for fuck all.
fence Someone who deals in stolen property.
fit sexually attractive (Afro-Caribbean).
fit up A frame up.
fiver five pounds.
filth (the) The police (derogatory).
flasher Someone who indecently exposes oneself.
flick Motion picture, film. 'The flicks', the cinema.
flog Sell.
flog a dead horse 1. To continue talking about a long forgotten topic. 2. To attempt to find a solution to a problem which is unsolveable. An unhealthy combined interest in sadism, necrophilia and bestiality.
flutter (To have a flutter) To place a wager.
fly Quick witted, clever.
fork out To pay out, usually with some reluctance.
French letter Condom.
frig 1.(Taboo) To masturbate. 2. When followed by 'around' or 'about', to behave aimlessly or foolishly.
frigging 1. The act of masturbating. 2. Used as an intensifier. For example, "You frigging idiot". Considered milder than 'fucking'.
Frog Derogatory term for a Frenchman.
fuck all nothing at all
fudge packer homosexual.
fuzz (the) The police.
gaff House or flat.
gaffer Boss, foreman or employer.
gander Usually preceded by 'have a' or 'take a'. To look.
gash 1. Surplus to requirements, unnecessary. 2. Derogatory term used for female genitalia.
gassed Drunk.
geezer (informal) Man. Particularly an old one.
get Variant of git.
git incompetent, stupid, annoying, or childish person.
go down To go to prison. oral sex as in "did you go down on her?"
go spareTo become angry, frustrated, distressed, enraged.
gob 1. Mouth 2. To spit. 3. Spittle.
gobshite (Taboo) A stupid or despicable person.
gobsmacked flabbergasted, dumbfounded, astounded, speechless. Possibly either from the gesture of clapping one's hand over one's mouth in surprise, or the idea that something is as shocking as being smacked in the mouth
gogglebox Television.
gong A medal. Usually a military one.
goolies The male genitals and in particular the testicles.
grass originally London (rhyming) slang for informer.
grand £1000
grot Rubbish or dirt. hence also porn as in "grot-mags"
guff 1. Ridiculous talk. Nonsense. 2. Flatulence. Probably from the Norwegian
gufs, a puff of wind.
half-inch to steal (rhyming slang for 'pinch')
hampton Penis (rhyming slang from, Hampton Wick = prick; and Hampton Rock = cock).
handbags a harmless fight especially between two women. (from "handbags at dawn" an allusion to duelling)
hard cheese Bad luck.
helmet The glans of the penis.
henry A henry is (or was) an eighth of an ounce (as in Henry the 8th) = in weight to a decimal penny
honk Vomit.
hook it To run away quickly.
hooky or hookey 1. Something that is stolen (probably from hook = to steal). 2. Loosely used to describe anything illegal.
hooter Nose.
hump 1. To carry or heave.
idiot box Television.
inside In or into prison.
ivories 1. Teeth. 2. The keys of a piano. 3. Dice.
I'm all right, Jack A remark, often directed at another, indicating that they are selfish and that they don't care about it.
jacksy (or jacksie) The buttocks or anus.
Jack the lad A young man who is regarded as a show off and is brash or loud.
jack up Inject an illegal drug.
jag 1. A drug taking, or sometimes drinking, binge. 2. A period of uncontrolled activity.
jammy 1. Lucky. 2. Pleasant or desirable. as in "More Jam than Hartleys" when an impressive pool shot is pulled off.
jerry A chamber pot.
Jerry A German or German soldier.
jessie An effeminate man or one that is weak or afraid. (Originally Scottish slang)
jism, jissomsemen.
Jock word or term of address for a Scot.
Joe Bloggs A man who is average, typical or unremarkable.
Joe Soap An idiot, stooge or scapegoat.
Johnny Condom. Sometimes also a 'Johnny bag' or 'rubber Johnny'.
John Thomas Penis.
josser A cretin or simpleton.
jump As a noun or verb, sexual intercourse.
kip 1. Sleep, nap 2. Bed or lodging 3. Brothel (mainly Irish)
knackered 1. Exhausted, tired, 2. Broken, beyond all usefulness.
knackers vulgar name for testicles.
knees up A lively party or dance.
knob 1. Penis. 2. (of a man) To have sexual intercourse.
knobhead a stupid, irritating person.
knob jockey homosexual (to ride the penis like a jockey rides a horse).
knob-end an idiot, or tip of penis (see bell-end).
knockers Breasts.
knocking shop Brothel.
know one's onions To be well acquainted with a subject.
lady A five-pound note. Rhyming Slang, Lady Godiva-Fiver
lag 1. Convict, particularly a long serving one (an old lag).
lash 1. Urinate. 2. Alcohol.
lashed very inebriated. Also 'on the lash' meaning to go out drinking with the intent of getting drunk.
laughing gear Mouth.
louie A louie is (or was) a sixteenth of an ounce (as in Louie the 16th) = in weight to a decimal halfpence
local A public house close to one's home.
lolly money.
loo lavatory.
manky dirty, filthy. (Polari).
Manky Snatcher Maggie Thatcher
marbles Wits. As in, to lose one's marbles.
mare Woman (derogatory).
mark A suitable victim for a con or swindle.
matelot Sailor (from the French).
meat and two veg Literally a traditional meal consisting of any meat, potatoes and a second type of vegetable; euphemistically the male external genitalia. Is sometimes also used to mean something unremarkable or ordinary.
mental Crazy or insane.
Mick An Irishman (derogatory).
miffed Upset or offended.
milk run A 'safe' mission or patrol.
minge Vagina
minger Someone who smells.
minted Wealthy.
mizzle Decamp.
moggy Cat.
moke Donkey.
monged (out) Severely drunk/high. Derogatory use of archaic phrase for Downs Syndrome.
moniker or moniker Name, nickname, signature or mark.
monkey £500.
mooch Loiter or wander aimlessly, skulk.
moody gear, or story stolen property or an improbable tale.
moolah Money.
moon To expose one's backside (from Old English, mona).
moony Crazy or foolish.
muck about Waste time. Interfere with.
mucker Mate, pal. Romanichal
muck in Share a duty or workload.
mufti Civilian dress worn by someone who normally wears a military uniform. Probably from the Muslim dress, popularly worn by British officers serving in India during the 19th century. Now commonly used to refer to a non-uniform day in schools.
mug 1. Face. 2. A gullible or easily swindled person.
mug off Sell Short, Underestimate, Insult as in "Is he mugging me off?"
munter Ugly person.
mush 1. Face or mouth. 2. Familiar term of address. Probably from the Romanichal
moosh, a man.
naff Inferior or in poor taste. Also used as sentence substitute as in, for example, "Naff off!"
nark 1. As a verb or noun; spy or informer. from "Narcotics" as in the "drug squad" 2. Someone who complains a lot (an old nark). 3. Annoy or irritate.
ned (Scottish) a lout, a drunken brawling fellow, a tough. Often said to stand for Non-Educated Delinquent but this is a
backronym. More likely to come from Teddy Boys being a contraction of Edward. More recently, sometimes equated with the English
chav.
nick 1. Steal. 2. Police Station or prison. 3. To arrest. 4. health or condition, "to be in good nick"
nicked Arrested or stolen.
nicker Pound sterling.
noggin a lump of Hashish, bigger than a blim but less than a louie
nob 1. Person of high social standing. 2. Head.
nobble Disable (particularly a racehorse).
nod out To lapse into a drug induced stupour.
nonce Sex offender, most commonly a child molester. (Prison slang)
noodle Brain. as in " Use your noodle for once"
nordle Hashish codeword, now a type weed with lower THC and higher CBD
nookie or nooky Sexual intercourse.
nose rag Handkerchief.
nosh 1. Food. 2. To eat. Oral sex.
nosh up A feast or large, satisfying meal.
nugget A pound coin, as in golden nugget.
numpty Incompetent or unwise person.
nut 1. Head. 2. Eccentric person.
nutcase An insane person.
nuthouse A lunatic asylum.
nutmeg In association football, to pass the ball between an opposing player's legs.
nuts or nutty Crazy or insane.
nutter Insane person.
odds and sods Substitute for 'odds and ends'. Miscellaneous items or articles, bits and pieces.
oik Someone of a low social standing (derogatory).
off one's head (or out of one's head) Mad or delirious.
off the hook Free from obligation or danger.
off one's nut Crazy or foolish.
old bill, the old bill A policeman or the police collectively.
one's head off Loud or excessively. "I laughed my head off" or "She screamed her head off" for example.
out to lunch To doze off drunk or high and neglect a responsibility. also "Lunch Out"
packet 1. A large sum of money (earn a packet). 2. A nasty surprise (catch a packet).
paddy a fit of temper.
Paddy (capitalised) An Irishman (derogatory).
Paki (Derogatory, offensive) A Pakistani or sometimes used to loosely describe anyone or anything from the Indian sub-continent.
Paki Black High quality Hashish from Pakistan. Very very dark brown hence "black" rumoured to be opiumated.
Paki-bashing Unprovoked attacks on Pakistanis living in Britain.
paste To hit, punch or beat soundly. From a 19th-century variant of baste, meaning to beat thoroughly.
pasting A sound thrashing or heavy defeat.
penny-dreadful A cheap, sensationalist magazine.
phiz or phizog The face (from a 17th-century colloquial shortening of
physiognomy).
pickled Drunk.
pie-eyed Drunk.
pig's ear 1. Beer (Cockney rhyming slang. 2. Something that has been badly done or has been made a mess of.
pikey Pejorative term used, mainly in England to refer to travellers, gypsies or vagrants. Sometimes also used to describe people of low social class or morals. Someone less than quarter blood Romani who travels, but may have less inclination to keep to the old ways (from Lancs Romanichal oral tradition)
pillock Stupid or annoying person.
pinch 1. (noun) A robbery. 2. Sail too close to the wind (nautical slang).
pissed, pissed up Drunk.
on the piss Getting drunk, drinking alcohol.
plastered Extremely drunk.
plonker 1. Something large or substantial (mid-19th century). 2. Penis. 3. A general term of abuse (from 2.; in use since 1960s but may have been popularised by the BBC comedy series
Only Fools and Horses.)
pony £25 (18th century).
poof homosexual
porkies Lies (from the cockney rhyming slang
pork pies)
punt 1. To gamble, wager or take a chance. 2. To sell or promote.
punter 1. Customer, patron. 2. Gambler (one who takes a punt). 3. A victim in a confidence trick or swindle.
queer as a clockwork orange 1. Very odd indeed. 2. Ostentatiously homosexual.
Queer Street A difficult or odd situation (up Queer Street).
queer someone's pitch 1. Take the pitch of another street vendor, busker or similar. 2. Spoil someone else's efforts.
quim Vagina (possibly a play on the Welsh word for valley, cwm).
Richard the Third A piece of excrement (rhyming slang Richard the Third = turd).
ring Anal sphincter
ringburner 1. A curry. 2. Diarrhoea or painful defecation.
rozzer Policeman. from "Rosicrucian"
rumpy pumpy sexual intercourse, used jokingly. (Popularised by its usage in
The Black Adder and subsequent series; the suggestion of actor
Alex Norton of a Scots term.)
safe An all purpose term of approval. Popularised during the early
rave era 1988-1995.
savvy Knowledge, understanding (from the French, savoir).
scally A hooligan youth (Scouse), short for scallywag.
scarper Run away. Sometimes claimed to be rhyming slang: Scapa Flow (go).
scrubber In Britain, a promiscuous woman; in Ireland, a common or working class woman.
Scouser Someone from
Liverpool.
scrote Term of abuse, from scrotum.
see a man about a dog 1. Attend a secret deal or meeting. 2. Go to the toilet.
shag Sexual intercourse.
shagged 1. The past historic of shag. 2. Extremely tired (shagged out).
shiner Black eye.
shitehawk Someone of little worth, originally military slang.
shit-faced Drunk.
skanky Dirty, particularly of a marijuana pipe. However originally Jamaican Patois for lazy dancing or "The Rasta Swagger" as in Easy Skanking
skint Without money.
slag 1. Worthless or insignificant person. 2. Promiscuous woman or prostitute.
slag off A verbal attack. To criticise or slander.
slap-head A bald man.
slapper Promiscuous woman or prostitute.
slash Urinate,
urination.
sling one's hook Go away.
snog French kiss, or any prolonged physical intimacy without undressing or sexual contact.
sod Annoying person or thing (from sodomite).
sod off "Go away".
spawny Lucky (possibly from the Scottish game, Spawnie).
splud archaic slang - short for "God's Blood". It was used as a mild curse word. It was used to replace other words seen as blasephmy.
spunk 1.
Semen, ejaculate. 2. Courage, bravery.
steaming 1. Extremely drunk. 2. An intensifier, e.g. "You steaming gurt ninny!" 3. Extremely angry.
stuffed 1. Sexual intercourse (e.g. "get stuffed") 2. Used negatively to mean bothered, as in, "I can't be stuffed to do that!". 3. having a full belly (e.g. "I am completely stuffed, and can't eat another thing.").
tad a little bit
take the piss (out of) To mock.
take the mickey To tease or mock.
tart Commonly a prostitute or term of abuse but also used affectionately for a lover. Shortened version of sweetheart.
tenner Ten pounds.
toff Posh person
ton 1. A large unspecified amount (18th century). 2. £100 (1940s). 3. 100 MPH (1950s). 4. Any unit of 100 (1960s).
tosh Nonsense
tosser 1. Someone who masturbates (to toss off). 2. Someone the speaker doesn't like (from 1.). 3. An affectionate form of address (from 1.) e.g. "All right you old tosser!"
tosspot Drunkard or habitual drinker (from tossing pots of ale)
tube1. The London Underground (19th century. Originally 'Tuppeny tube'). 2. Penis. 3. A person (Scottish). 4. A general term of contempt (Irish, 1950s).
twagbunk off school, play truant. "You off to twag maths" Lincolnshire, Humberside probably from "to wag"
twat 1. Vagina. 2. Term of abuse (from 1.). 3. To hit hard.
wag off Skyve or play truant.
wank 1. Masturbation or to masturbate. 2. Inferior.
wanker 1. Someone who masturbates. 2. Abusive term (from 1.), someone the speaker doesn't like.
wankered 1. Very drunk. 2. Exhausted.
wanking spanner(s) Hand(s).
warts and all Including all negative characteristics (from a reported request from
Oliver Cromwell to
Peter Lely)
whizz 1. Urination. 2. Amphetamine Sulphate (also known as speed; from whizz, to move very fast).
willy Penis (
hypocorism).
willy-waving Acting in an excessively macho fashion.
wind up to tease, irritate, annoy, anger
