I like this one.... Aussie kiss Noun. Cunnilingus, from the fact that it's the same a French Kiss, but given down under. Jamie
Rubbish bin - trash can Rubber - eraser fag - cigarette knock you up - knock on your door, wake you up or... alight v adj -ing disembark. Many American tourists are confronted with this word quite rapidly after reaching the UK, because on the London Underground the pre-recorded message says such things as: this is Baker Street - alight here for Madame Tusauds. Madame Tusauds is a cheesy attraction and best avoided. anyroad interj very much an equivalent of "anyway". If you think about it, "any road" pretty much means "any way", erm, anyway. bagsie v stake a claim for something in the same way that Americans would claim "dibbs" or "call" it. I bagsie the front seat or Bagsie first shot on the dodgems!. It's a rather childlike sentiment; you would be less likely to hear I bagsie being Financial Director. It doesn't seem ridiculously far-fetched that it's derived from "bags I", with the "bag" meaning to catch something. But hey, who can tell. barney n an argument. This is certainly rhyming slang, but there are two possible options. It could either be "Barney Rubble" = "trouble" (Barney Rubble is a character in the cartoon "The Flintstones"), or "Barn Owl" = "row". The latter is marginally more likely as "trouble" could be many things other than a fight, but the former is a more popular explanation. Pick one. bash on interj press on regardless - to keep struggling in the face of adversity. Nothing to do with hitting people, whilst in the US "bashing on" someone means picking on them. blag v wheedle something for free: I managed to blag a ride to work. Perhaps if I sat for a bit longer I'd think up a better example. Likely derived from the French "blague", meaning a tall story. Americans use "mooch" and "moocher" in the same context. bleeding adj similar to "bloody", this is an expletive really only used by Cockneys (i.e. in London). Consequently, the trailing "g" is unlikely ever to have been enunciated. blimey expl a nice mild expletive, in terms of rudeness on a par with "wow" or "my goodness". It was originally part of the phrase "cor blimey", which was likely a contraction of "god blind me", which was in turn an abbreviated version of "may god blind me if it is not so". There has been little evidence of god blinding users of the word, whether what they were saying was true or not. The original phrase "cor blimey" is still used but rarely. blinding adj a currently popular slang term meaning something akin to "brilliant" or "great". You'd use it to describe the goal that your football team just scored, or your favourite Stevie Wonder song. Though if you even had a favourite Stevie Wonder song, there's a good chance you're unfamiliar with current slang. blinking adj a lesser equivalent to "bloody". Slightly old-fashioned but still in widespread use. bobbins adj useless junk. It's quite recent slang, but rather charming: Did your grandmother leave you anything good? / Nope, just a complete load of ancient bobbins. One possibly etymology lies in the north of England (particularly the Lancashire and Manchester areas), which used to be supported extensively by cotton mills. As the industrial revolution drew to a close, the mills closed down and there was a surfeit of largely worthless milling machinery floating around. During that time the phrase "twas werth nout but bobbins" sprung up, and from there we're left only with "bobbins". Bob's your uncle expl "there you have it!" or perhaps "tada!". It's a little antiquated these days but by no means out of use. To give it a context, you would be more likely to hear: and then fold it back again, once over itself like that and Bob's your uncle - an origami swan! rather than keep going with the chemotherapy and with any luck, Bob's your uncle!. bodge v to make a bit of a haphazard job of something n something that was cobbled together in this fashion. A "bodger" was originally a craftsman who worked on a green-wood laithe, but this information is of almost no use at all because the word "bodger" still rather implies that he was "bodging" something. bog standard n the basic version of something. So your "bog standard" Volkswagen Golf would be one that doesn't have electric windows, power steering or opposable thumbs. Well nowadays a bog standard Golf probably does have two thirds of those things. What Brits refer to as bog standard, some Americans would call "plain vanilla" or just "vanilla", a use of this word that doesn't exist in the UK outside of investment banking. There's no particular reason to believe that the term has anything to do with the other British use of the word "bog" to mean a toilet. bonny Scot. adj beautiful. A little antiquated. You'd be much more likely to hear: "Deirdrie's new granddaughter is awfully bonny!" than you would: "Bobby's stolen a bonny new shooter, we're going to go out this evening and do the chip shop over". brass monkeys adj very cold: "I'd put on a coat - it's brass monkeys out there!". Comes from the phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey". brill adj popular abbreviation for "brilliant". Well, popular amongst 1980s adolescents. brilliant adj something particularly good: "I had a brilliant holiday"; "what a brilliant night out". It's a little bit childish - you'd be less likely to refer to a "brilliant board meeting" or a "brilliant shag". Sometimes abbreviated to "brill". The usual meanings ("gifted" or "luminescent") are common to both the US and the UK. brown bread 1 n wholemeal bread. The sort of bread your mother insisted on you eating. 2 adjdead. Cockney rhyming slang - "brown bread" / "dead": "Did you ever hear back from that long-lost auntie of yours?" / "Nah, mate, I think she's brown bread". bugger all n nothing: "I can't be bothered even advertising the thing - it's worth bugger all anyway". bumf n copious amounts of paperwork or literature: "you would not believe the bloody stack of bumf that came with my new video-recorder". Possibly derived from the army and a contraction of the phrase "bum fodder", meaning toilet paper. burgle v break into somewhere and nick stuff. Americans have the hilarious word "burglarize" meaning the same thing, and perhaps might refer to the event as burglarization. Or perhaps not. busk v sit in the street playing an instrument and hoping people will give you money for it. See also "waster". butcher's n look: "hey, give me a butchers at that". It's Cockney Rhyming slang - butcher's hook / look. car boot sale n a merry event where people get together in a field and sell the rubbish from their attic, under the secret impression that some part of it might turn out to be splendidly valuable. Not entirely dissimilar to a jumble sale. The term stems no doubt from the fact that this is normally carried out using the boot of your car as a headquarters. This sort of nonsense is now largely replaced by eBay, where you can sell the 1950s engraved brass Hitler moustache replica your father was awarded for twenty years' service in in the post office without actually having to meet the freak who bought it. cheerio expl goodbye. A fairly old-fashioned and light-hearted term. The breakfast cereal "Cheerios" does not exist in the UK. cheers expl traditionally used as a toast, but has become a substitute for "thank you" in informal conversation. chivvy v hurry someone along with something. If you want an example, you can have something like: "I was pretty sure I'd be up until 1am daydreaming instead of doing my homework, but my mum chivvied me on with it and I was done fairly early." chock-a-block adj closely packed together. You might use the phrase to describe your dating schedule or your attic, unless you are unforgivably ugly and you live in a flat, in which case you'd have to think up something else to use it on. These examples are provided as-is, they don't necessarily work for everyone. It's possible that the word has a quite dark (no pun intended) origin - it apparently referred to the area where black slaves were once lined up on blocks to be sold. It's also possible that it's a maritime referring to when a block and tackle were jammed against each other to stop the load moving. chuffed adj generally happy with life. You can also get away with saying you are "unchuffed" or "dischuffed" if something gets your back up. Make sure you only use this word in the correct tense and familiarise yourself with the meaning of the word "chuff" too. codswallop n an antiquated but superb word meaning "nonsense". The etymology leads us to an English gentleman named Hiram Codd, who in 1872 came up with the idea of putting a marble and a small rubber ring just inside the necks of bottles in order to keep fizzy beer ("wallop" in Old English) fizzy. The idea was the the pressure of the fizz would push the marble against the ring, thereby sealing the bottle airtight. Unfortunately, the thing wasn't nearly as natty as he'd hoped and "codd's wallop" slid into the language first as a disparaging comment about flat beer and eventually as a general term of abuse. concessions n discounts you might get on things if you've been there before, are a student, are over sixty or such like. Brits do not use the US definition (in which they are snacks you buy during a film or sporting event). cor expl ooh! Once a part of the phrase "cor blimey", this is now used on its own to mean something like "ooh!". And here was you thinking that was some sort of typo. cor blimey expl a rather older-fashioned term of surprise, which has mostly migrated these days into just "blimey" or, more rarely, "cor". crack n really spelled "craic" but pronounced "crack". A Gaelic (Irish) word describing fun and frolics to be had with other people - the craic might be what makes a particular pub fun, or a particular wedding bearable. crikey expl a general (very British) expression of surprise. It's a rather elderly word and a little esoteric these days - you can most imagine it being used in a context something like: "crikey, Eustace - it looks like Cambridge are going to win after all!" It may be derived from "Christ kill me". It also may not. cropper n only really used in the phrase "come a cropper", which is used in a context like: "your uncle Arthur came a cropper on his motorcycle one evening after a few beers", and means something particularly bad has happened to the person in question. Mostly likely they died. crumbs expl a general expression of surprise - much akin to something like "god", or "bloody hell". But naturally without the ghastly use of our saviour's name in vain or any swearing. It's quite alright to use in polite company, though perhaps a little antiquated. More likely to be heard in a context like: "crumbs, that's more expensive than Harrods" rather than: "crumbs, I just dropped the smack out the window". damp n wet rot. You might hear it in a phrase such as: "Bob's moved out of his house as it's been practically destroyed by damp". dear adj as well as all the usual meanings, "dear" means "expensive" to a Brit. It is a little bit antiquated, but still in pretty widespread use. diddle v minor swindle. A colleague might diddle you out of getting the best seats at the game; you'd be less likely to tell of when your grandparents were diddled out of their fortune, leaving them peniless beggars working the streets for cash. Brits do not use the term "diddling" to refer to onanism. doddle n something very easy. You might hear Michael Schumacher use the word to describe Formula One, but you wouldn't hear Brian Blessed using it to describe Mount Everest. dog's bollocks n See under "bollocks". I'm not writing it twice. dog's breakfast nsomething which has been made a complete mess of: "When we finally got his tax return through it turned out it was a dog's breakfast" Why the dog should have any worse breakfast than the rest of us, I have no idea. dog's dinner n Marginally more common variant of "dog's breakfast". dole n welfare. An allocation of money that the government gives to unemployed people, ostensibly to help them eat and clothe themselves during their fervent search for gainful employment but really for buying fags and lager. double-barreled adj a surname which consists of two hyphenated names, such as "rhys-jones" or "fox-kelton". faff v pussyfoot. To bumble about doing things that aren't quite relevant to the task in hand. You'll often find it used when men are complaining about women faffing around trying on different sets of clothes before going out, using up valuable drinking time. flag adj adj -ing become tired; wane: I was doing fine until the last lap and then I started to flag. flog n sell. Has an air of poor credibility to it - a bloke in the pub might "flog" you a dodgy car stereo, but you're less likely to find Marks and Spencer announcing in the press that from next week they'll be flogging a new ladieswear range. Americans might use "hawk" instead. Instead of the word, not instead of ladieswear. Brits share the more conventional meaning of this word (to beat viciously). fluke n rather fortunate chance win. You might use it to describe the time your little sister beat you at darts. Well, unless your sister was a champion darts player or something. These examples are based upon my own family. flutter v a brief, low-stake foray into gambling. Many people "have a flutter" on the Grand National horse race once a year, or the odd boxing match. Anything more regular, and it's just straight "gambling". fortnight n two weeks. The word is in very common usage in the UK - it does exist in the US but is not in common use. full monty, the n the works; the whole shebang. Since the 1997 film of the same name the phrase has tended to mean "completely naked" if not put in a context. give over expl "give me a break": "When are you going to stop watching telly and get your homework done?" / "Jesus mum, give over". glass v the act of breaking a glass and shoving the bottom of it into someone's face, thereby causing some degree of distress. Popular amongst pikeys. gobshite Scot. n 1 bullshit. Intended to refer to the metaphorical shite that is coming out of your gob:"Jimmy said he was in the Olympic ski team but to be honest I think it's all gobshite" 2 the person who is emitting said matter: "I wouldn't believe anything Anne says, she's a wee gobshite". gobsmacked adj surprised; taken aback. grizzle n grumble or moan, much like "whinging". Often used to refer to grumpy babies. gutted adj having had a huge disappointment. You might use it to describe your state of health after your football team were beaten eight nill and you dropped your car keys in a pond. haver v Scot. Pron. "hay-ver". ramble incoherently.The word is in common usage, and features in the Proclaimers' song I'm Gonna Be (500 miles). having kittens expl extremely nervous. For some reason. higgledy-piggledy adj in disarray; jumbled up. You might use it to describe the garden shed you built when you got home from the pub. The term is a little antiquated but still in use. hire v rent. Americans rent rental-cars; Brits hire hire-cars. In the UK, the word extends to any other objects you might borrow for a short period of time - bicycles, bulldozers, hookers and such like. Americans will only ever use the word "hire" in connection with hiring a person to perform a task, not a machine. hum n unusually bad smell, perhaps somewhat associated with rottenness. Is rottenness a word? Who knows. ickle n very small - much like itty-bitty/itsy-bitsy. Usually be seen in use regarding "sweet" things: "what an ickle puppy!" rather than: "dad - I've just had an ickle accident in your car". innit expl isn't it. A very London-centric contraction with nasal pronounciation obligatory: "Well, the traffic's always this bad at this time of night, innit guvnor". jammy adj lucky. Slang - often seen in the phrase "you jammy git", uttered graciously on some sort of defeat. jolly adj 1 very: "We had a jolly good time at the zoo." 2 happy: "He seemed remarkeably jolly about the whole business." kerfuffle n big fuss; rumpus. The word "fuffle" (meaning to dishevel) arrived in Scottish English in the 16th century; the word gained a "car-" in the 19th, to arrive in the 20th with its current spelling. kip n sleep:"I'm just off home for an hour for some kip". It's a Dutch word meaning a rather run-down place to sleep. knackered adj very tired; beat. It has a slightly more dodgy meaning as it technically describes being exhausted after sex. You can get away with it in everyday conversation but bear in mind that everyone knows the true meaning too. The "knacker's yard" was once a place where old horses were converted into glue. Where the sexual connotations came from is anyone's guess. knock about n sport practise: "Jimmy and I are taking the football to the park for a knockabout". knock up v bang upon someone's door, generally to get them out of bed:"ok, g'night - can you knock me up in the morning, as otherwise I doubt I'll wake up in time to get the bus". In US English, "knocking someone up" means getting them pregnant. Although most Brits will feign innocence, they do know the US connotations of the phrase and it adds greatly to the enjoyment of using it. Both Brits and Americans share the term "knocking off", to mean murdering someone. lie-in n the act of staying in bed longer than you normally would. Very similar to "sleeping in", though it implies something a little more deliberate. "Sorry, I was having a lie-in" would be as good an excuse for being late for work as "sorry, I couldn't be arsed getting up". mind v watch out for: "mind the gap"; "mind your head whilst going down the stairs". momentarily adj for a moment. Not to be confused with the US definition, "in a moment". I was alerted to this by a Brit who heard a station announcement in Chicago that his train would be "stopping momentarily at platform 6". moreish adj provoking of further consumption. I once wrote that you'd never find this word in a dictionary, but I had to change when someone pointed out to me that it was in the OED. I hate you all. It means something (usually food) which leads you to want more - Jaffa Cakes, Jelly Babies or dry roasted peanuts would be some good personal examples. It's rather light-hearted; you wouldn't go around describing heroin as moreish, whether it is or not. natter n engage in idle banter, to chatter: "I thought she was busy getting ready to go out to dinner, but it turns out she'd spent the whole afternoon nattering to her mates". natty adj great; handy; cool: "I found this natty little device for stopping cables falling down the back of my desk". nick v 1 steal. Something you buy from a dodgy bloke over a pint has quite probably been nicked. In a strange paradox, if a person is described as "nicked", it means they've been arrested and if a person is in "the nick", they're in prison. 2 condition. Commonly used in the phrase "in good nick", the word "nick" refers to the sort of state of repair something is in: "Think I'll buy that car; it seems in pretty nice nick". niggle n, adj nagging problem. You might hear it in a context like: "He seemed okay, but I had a niggling doubt." nip 1 v quickly go and do something, very similar to "pop": "I'm just going to nip out for a minute". 2 n chill: "there's a bit of a a nip in the air"; "it's a bit nippy today". And yes, the Brits do also use it to derogatorily refer to Japanese people, so the Pearl Harbour "nip in the air" jokes have probably been covered already. nowt n nothing. Used in northern England. Much like "owt", and no doubt derived from something similar. och expl Scot a general word of exclamation. Very Scottish. Groundskeep Willie Scottish. Used in a context like: "Och, you're joking me!" oi expl pron "oy", as in "boy"hey. General noise used to attract someone's attention. I can't really believe that an American being accosted with "oi" will be sitting there wondering whether that word means "faucet" or "yard", but I wouldn't like to feel this dictionary was too highbrow for complete blithering halfwits to use on holiday. one-off n something that only happens once. You might use it if you were selling your artwork or attempting to apologise for an affair with your secretary. owt n nothing. Rather northern-English: "Whatcha looking at me for? I didn't do owt!". It's recognised throughout the UK but it's a little unusual to use it. pear-shaped adj gone wrong. Usually it's meant in a rather jovial sense, in a similar way to the American expression "out of kilter" or "off kilter":"Well, I was supposed to have a civilised dinner with my mates but we had a few drinks and it all went a bit pear-shaped". You would be less likely to see: "Well, she went in for the operation but the transplant organ's been rejected and the doctor says it's all gone a bit pear-shaped". possible derivations involve glass-blowing or hot-air ballooning. Separately. peculiar adj unique: "these street signs are peculiar to Birmingham". Because Brits also share the more conventional meaning (unusual), it does slightly imply that. If street signs can really be that unusual. Also applies to things other than street signs. phut adj pron. "fuht" gone- Something which has breathed its last, expired. It is an ex-something: "we ended up stuck watching BBC2 because the television remote control had gone phut". pig's ear n a mess; a poor job: "we paid the guy from down the road to come and finish painting the fence, but he made a complete pig's ear of it". Probably comes from the phrase "you can't make a sow's purse from a pig's ear". pinch v steal. A contributor of mine told me that her father got anything but the reaction he expected when in New Orleans he asked a friend if he could pinch their date for a dance. The Brits do not share the American usage of "pinch", to mean arresting someone. pong n bad smell. My maths teacher at school, Mr Benzies, also taught my uncle, who was fifteen or so years older than me. My uncle told me that in his day Mr Benzies was known unanimously as "Pongo Benzies" because "wherever he goes, the pong goes". If you're reading this, Mr Benzies, please remember that I'm just relating what my uncle said, and I didn't necessarily actually call you that, or try and get the rest of the year to call you it too. porkies n lies. From Cockney rhyming slang "pork pies" / "lies". post n, v mail. Brits don't mail things, they "post" them. Their mail is delivered by a postman (one word). And, umm, he works for an organisation called the "Royal Mail". You thought this was going to be simple, didn't you. pukka expl the genuine article; good stuff: "I was a bit dubious when they were selling Levis for twenty quid, but I reckon they're pukka". It is derived from the Hindi word "pakka", meaning "substantial", and made it to the UK via the Colonies. queue n, v, pron. "cue" line. This doesn't really help the definition at all, as a line could be any number of things. A pencil line? A railway line? A line of Charlie? A line dancer? As a result of this potentially dangerous confusion, a word was developed by some British word-scientists to separate this particular line from all the others. A "queue" is a line of people. To queue is to be one of those queueing in the queue; The word means "tail" in French, and is used in the same context. Americans do in fact use the word, but only in the "you're third in the queue!" type telephone call waiting systems. reckon adv believe. It's still perfectly acceptable in the UK to say "I reckon" this, that or the other. Iin the US it's regarded as somewhat old-fashioned. revise v study: "I can't go out tonight, my mum says I've got to stay home revising". All the other meanings of the word remain the same. ropey adj iffy; anything which isn't in as good as state as it might be. It might be you with a hangover; your ex-girlfriend or the car you bought from someone in the pub last week: "I can't come into work today - I'm feeling a bit ropey" or: "we took a look over the plans but to be honest they looked a bit ropey". rubbish n trash; garbage. Everyday waste. samey adj similar: "We looked at ten flats that afternoon but they were all just a bit samey". scarper v run away. Usually from the scene of some sort of unpleasant incident in which you were a part: "I saw some kids out the window writing all over my car in spray paint but by the time I got there they'd scarpered". It may be derived from the Cockney rhyming slang "Scappa Flow / go". Scappa Flow is a large harbour on an island north of Scotland where the British naval fleet was kept during World War One. All this extra information provided free of charge. schtum adj pron. "shtoom" silent. Only really used in the context "keep schtum", meaning "keep your mouth shut" in the UK. It is derived from the German adjective "stumm", meaning being either unable or unwilling to speak. scupper v obstruct something; put a spanner in the works: "we were planning on having a party but then my folks arrived home early and scuppered that". The term derives from seafaring, where the scupper is a drain designed to allow water to flow overboard from the deck. To be "scuppered" is to be hit by a wave large enough to knock you into this drain. Of course, it could also derive from the more obvious seafaring source where "scuppering" something is sinking it, but hey. I make a lot of these up on the spot. sexy adj cool. In the US, "sexy" really does just mean "sexually appealing". In the UK (and elsewhere) it just means something along the lines of "cool", and can be applied not only to people of the opposite sex but equally easily to cars, MP3 players or an attractive hat. shambolic adj in complete disarray, unorganised; in shambles. You might use it to refer to your aunt Gertrude's octogenarian hairdo or the Russian army's method of ending hostage situations. If I was ever to give one piece of advice to someone wanting independence for their part of the USSR or keen to highlight a particular cause to the Russian government, I'd suggest not taking hostages. If you do so, the Russians give you a couple of days of negotiations, throw in a bit of food so you feel you've got your money's worth and then on about day three they massacre you and all of your hostages using some devastating new method they're trying for the first time. shattered adj extremely tired; emotionally devastated. You could be shattered by the death of your dear mother or a good invigorating jog. Experiencing both simultaneously would leave you shattered in two different ways at once, and probably reasonably angry. Can there really be a God if the world contains this much suffering? No, probably not. shimmy n, v deft evasive manoeuvre: "the bull went straight for him but Mike shimmied out of the way". shirty adj testy; irritable. May derive from a time when people used to take off their shirts to fight and so "getting shirty" meant that you were preparing to thrash a rotten scoundrel to within an inch of his pitiful life. skint adj the position of having no money: "Dave refused to give me any petrol money - was moaning on the whole time about how skint he was". skive v, n play hookie: "we've got chemistry this afternoon but I'm just going to skive as I can't be arsed". Differs from "playing hookie" in that it may also be used as a noun: "our team meetings are basically a complete skive". smashing adj great. Contrary to appearances, something which is "smashing" is a good thing rather than a bad one: "mum, I had a smashing time playing football in the park!". It may be derived from the Gaelic phrase "is math sin", which means "that's good". sorted adj sorted-out: "You've got it? Great. Sorted". I am ninety-nine percent sure that this originated in a drugs context, a view only strengthened by the existence of a Pulp song "Sorted for 'E's and Whiz". spare adj at wits end; mad: "I've been trying to get this working all morning and it's driving me spare!". squiffy adj pear-shaped. Pretty much anything that's gone wrong. steady on expl whoa; hold your horses. Almost always followed by an exclamation mark: "OK, that does it, I'm resigning!" / "Steady on!". sterling adj good/great: "That main course was sterling stuff". stodgy adj sticky; reluctant to change. Could apply equally easily to people ("Everyone else was very eager except Bob, who was being decidedly stodgy about it") or substances ("the soup looked nice but it turned out to be stodgy as hell"). straight away expl right now: "Once you buy our fine credit card, you can start to make purchases with it straight away". suss 1 v figure out: "I was going to try and put it back without him noticing but he sussed". 2 adj dodgy; suspicious: "I really wasn't interested in buying that car... the whole deal seemed a bit suss". swizz n a small-scale swindle or con. If you opened your eight-pack of KitKats and there were only seven, you might mutter "that's a bloody swizz". If you discovered that your cleaning lady had been making out large cheques to herself over a ten year period, you'd be inclined to use stronger wording. ta expl thank you. Often regarded as a little slovenly. It may be derived from the Scandinavian "tak", meaning much the same thing. table v put it forward for discussion: "I'd like to table this for discussion at the end of the meeting". To Americans, "table" means to put aside. Somehow these got separated, much like "momentarily". taking the mickey expl essentially a more polite version of "taking the piss". Your grandmother would be much more likely to use this variant. tick n 1 check; check-mark. One of those little (usually handwritten) marks people put next to things to show that they're correct. Not the X (that's for wrong answers), the other one. 2 a very short space of time, very much equivalent to "sec": "Try and hold it on for the moment, I'll be back in a tick once I've phoned an ambulance". No doubt derived from clock noises. tight adj 1 drunk: "my mother-in-law seemed rather nice the first time I met her, but I could swear she was tight". 2 miserly. I'm too tired to think of an example phrase, you'll have to make your own up. tip n place in great disarray: "Your flat is a complete tip!". Derived I think from the British term "rubbish tip", where one goes to tip rubbish. The Brits do share the more universal meaning (a gratuity). titchy adj very small. Perhaps slightly childish, but in common use in the UK: "well, the food was very nice, but the helpings were titchy!". toodle-pip expl goodbye; cheerio. Rather old-fashioned. Also toodle-oo. This may be derived from English soldiers attempting to pronounce "a tout à l'heure" ("see you later") in French during the First World War. Perhaps "toodle-pip" is some sort of derivation of that involving the French word "pipe", which is slang for a blow-job. Whilst this fact is true, the derivation idea is something I've just made up off the top of my head right now. tosh adj rubbish; nonsense: "Katie's new boyfriend was going on about how he works in high finance somewhere - personally, I think it's all a load of tosh". twee adj kitsch. Old ladies' front rooms, tartan cloth jackets and pleasant little sleepy retirement towns are twee. Maralyn Manson, drive-by-shootings and herpes are not. twig v catch on; realise that something is up: "Bob just poured the contents of the ashtray into Fred's pint but he's so pissed I doubt he'll twig". It may come from the Gaelic word "tig", meaning "understand". waffle n, v banal or rambling conversation. You might describe your CEO's yearly speech to the employees as nothing more than "waffle", and likewise you could accuse him of "waffling". Brits do describe those cross-hatched baked batter things as "waffles", but they don't really eat them all that much. wee 1 adj Scot. small: "That's an awfully wee car - are you sure you'll all fit in it?". In a loose sense it could also be interpreted as meaning "cute" in the "cute and cuddly" sense. You could tell someone they had a "nice wee dog", but might meet with more curious glances if you used it in a more serious scenario e.g. "well, Mrs. Brown, I'm sad to tell you that you have a wee tumour on your cerebral cortex". 2 v urinate: "Back in a minute, I'm going to have a wee". what's up? expl "what's wrong?". While this means something akin to "hello" in the US, Brits use it to mean "what's wrong with you?". whinge v whine: "Ah, quit whinging, for heaven's sake!". whinger someone particularly partial to whinging. whip round n passing the hat. A collection of money - usually a somewhat impromptu and informal one. You might have a whip round for Big Mike's bus-fare home but you probably wouldn't have one for his triple heart bypass. Unless you were using it as an attempt to bring a spot of humour to an otherwise morbid situation in the sort of way my wife doesn't like me trying to do. wicked adj cool; awesome: "Jim's got a wicked new car stereo". wizard adj cool; awesome: "Wow! That's wizard!". A bit eighties. I have to emphasise here that just because words are in the dictionary doesn't mean to say I use them on a regular basis. As far as I'm concerned it has a similar aura to "Bitchin'!". wobbly n Used in the same way as "wobbler". wonky adj not quite right. You might say "My plans for the evening went a bit wonky"; you would not say "I'm sorry to tell you, Mr. Jones, but your wife's cardiac operation has gone a bit wonky". The American English word "wonk" (an expert in some particular subject) is not used in the UK. wooly adj ill-defined; vague: "We gave up halfway through his presentation... it all seemed a bit wooly". wotcher expl howdy; hey there. A form of greeting, rather more familiar to Victorian schoolboys than anyone more contemporary. Harks back to a time when "cock" meant something like "mate", but nowadays marching into a bar and greeting someone with "wotcher, cock!" is unlikely to make you more popular. yonks n a long time; ages. Not a specific length of time at all; it could be minutes or decades: "Where have you been? I've been waiting here for yonks!" or: "Met a friend from school the other day who I haven't seen for yonks."
my favorite is how "knock you up" means to knock on your door.. if someone asked if they could knock me up, i'd probably kill them.
lol no1 says half of them words.."toodle pip" "bobbins" lol... if you hear any1 say that you have my permission to slap them ha!!
Most annoying thing i find with US England is the word PANTS. US PANTS = TROUSERS UK PANTS = UNDER PANTS Can cause a lot of confusion, so if a girls, take off the trousers before the pants :wink:
