Glossary of British terms not widely used in the United States

See also

See also main article: American and British English differences

• list of American English words not used in British English
• list of words having different meanings in British and American English

For phrases in Britain that have no equivalent in America see Britishisms.

If a word appears to be missing from this list, it is advisable to check the list of words having different meanings in British and American English, as it is possible that the word is used in both dialects.

A few of these are occasionally used in American English, such as randy and dodgy, but are regarded as Britishisms.

^*denotes expression which may be considered vulgar by some

A

abseil

rappel (to descend on a rope)

alright

general greeting (e.g. 'you alright?', 'alright?'), similar to hello or 'what's up'. This can be used as a general greeting to say hello, with the other person responding by also saying 'alright' or as in 'hello, how are you?' to which another person may reply, for example, 'fine, thanks'

afters

dessert

agony aunt

advice columnist

argie

Argentine

argie-bargie

see aggro

answerphone

answering machine

anti-clockwise

counter-clockwise

approved school

school for juvenile delinquents; reform school

arse^*

ass^* (buttocks)

[to fall] arse over elbow

(alternatively arse over tit/tip) [to fall] head over heels (physically, not metaphorically)

artic

abbreviation of 'articulated lorry'; semi-trailer truck.

at the minute

at the moment

aubergine

eggplant (can also refer to an eggplant-like colour in British or American English)

away!

come on!

aye

yes - in common current usage across the whole of the UK, excluding Wales and the southern half of England. Associated with Scotland and the north-east of England particularly in phrases like "aye laddie" and "aye lad" respectively. (In the US, "aye" is used in political contexts for voting, such as in legislative or other decision-making bodies. "Aye" is also seen in nautical contexts, including science fiction (such as Star Trek) that emulates nautical traditions. However, it is uncommon in general use).

B

balls-up^*

error, mistake, snafu (this is commonly misinterpreted as referring to the testicles, however, it is in fact an old horseman's term referring to when the hooves get packed with snow)

barmcake

see bap

bang to rights

dead to rights

banger

sausage (from sausages tending to burst during frying), old car (allusion to their tendency to backfire)

bap

soft bread roll or a sandwich made from it, in plural also used as slang for breasts.

beck

small watercourse; stream; creek. Used especially in the Lake District

bedsit (or bedsitter)

studio apartment, one-room apartment that serves as a bedroom and a living room

Belisha beacon

orange ball containing a flashing light mounted on a post at each end of a zebra crossing

berk

a mildly derogatory term for someone who's being silly. From 'Berkeley Hunt', cockney rhyming slang for cunt.

to bimble

to wander aimlessly or stroll/walk without urgency to a destination.

Birmingham spanner / Birmingham screwdriver (slang)

a hammer (Note: this is insulting to inhabitants of Birmingham)

black pudding

blood and oat sausage

[to] blag

to obtain or achieve by deception, to bluff, to scrounge, to rob, robbery, tall story, bluff, deception

blimey

An exclamation of surprise.

bloke

guy

bloody

a mild expletive, similar to damn. "Bloody" is found in American English with the standard meaning relating to blood (i.e. "bloody nose"), however its use as an expletive is rare.

boffin

scientist or engineer, geek, nerd, sometimes abbreviated to "boff"

bog, the

toilet (slang)

bog roll or bogroll

(roll of) toilet paper (slang)

bog standard

plain vanilla, completely average, no distinguishing features

bollard

a short pole in the road to stop traffic, usually concrete or metal, approximately waist high.

bollocks^* (originally ballocks)

balls^* (testicles); verbal garbage (as in "you're talking bollocks"). The somewhat similar bollix is found in American English, but without the anatomical conotations or vulgar sense, meaning 'mess up'.

bonnet

the hood of a car

boot

the trunk of a car

botter

(see bummer)

botty

(see bum)

brass monkeys ("cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey")

very cold weather

bristols^* (Cockney rhyming slang)

boobs (breasts; from (soccer team) Bristol City = titty)

brolly

umbrella

bubble and squeak

dish of cooked cabbage fried with cooked potatoes

[to] bugger off^*

[to] go away (In American English, "bug off")

building society

savings and loan association

to bull (boots, esp. military)

to polish to a high shine

bummer

homosexual (The other sense of the word, "unfortunate situation", as in "what a bummer", is used in both Britain and the United States)

bum bag

fanny pack

bodge

a poor job that just about works

to bunk off

to play truant from school

to burgle

to burglarize

the business (from "bees knees")

very good; top quality

to busk

to play live music, perform or otherwise entertain in a public place, usually in the hope of receiving small monetary contributions from spectators and passersby. (American English doesn't have an exact equivalent for the verb, but a busker would be similar to a "street musician" or "street performer".)

butty

(North England colloqualism) a buttered sandwich, often with chips (chip butty) : (Northern and Central England) a workmate, and thus an unpowered barge towed by a powered one

C

cack

faeces; nonsense (derived from a very ancient word IndoEuro "kakkos"!)

cack-handed

clumsy, left handed

candy floss

cotton candy

caravan park

trailer park

cashier

teller

cat's eye (road)

raised pavement marker with bright reflective beads - Bott's Dots are similar

central heating boiler

furnace

chancer

shark (opportunist)

chav

typically a working class person that wears designer labels (e.g., Burberry), fake gold, has to always be "in", is most likely a trouble-maker and most likely smokes. May originally have been a slur on the Roma (otherwise known as Gypsies).

central reservation

median strip

(pirate's) chest

hutch

chest of drawers

a dresser

cheers

hello, goodbye, thank-you, and what one says when raising a glass

chimney pots

smoke-stacks atop houses

chinagraph pencil

grease pencil

chippy

a shop selling fish and chips and other deep fried goods, also "chipper" in Scotland and Ireland

chips

similar to what would be called "steak fries" in the US. A thicker, more meaty, version of the American 'French fry' or European 'pomme frite'.

chuffed

proud, satisfied, pleased

clanger (to drop a clanger)

a big mistake, blunder, or faux pas

clapped out

worn out (said of an object)

clingfilm

plastic wrap, Saran wrap

cobblers

shoemakers, colloquialism 'nonsense' (usually "a load of old cobblers")

cock-up, cockup (mildly vulgar)

error, mistake, snafu

comfort break

an occasion to visit the lav (lavatory)

cooker

stove, range

cool box

cooler

to cop off with

to successfully engage the company of someone, usually of the opposite sex, for a period of time. Often used of French kissing or sometimes sex.

corn flour

corn starch

cotton

thread

counterfoil

stub

court shoes

women's smart shoes, heels are usually stilleto (although not necessarily high) and toes frequently pointed.

compere

MC (Master of Ceremonies)

cotton bud

cotton swab

counterpane

bedspread

courgette

zucchini

coving

crown molding

crikey

exclamation of surprise

crisps

chipped potatoes, potato chips

croggy

to ride pillion on a bike

current account

checking account

D

dene

valley or seaside dune

the dog's bollocks*

the bee's knees (something excellent or top quality)

a dinlo

A Portsmouth expression (possibly of Naval origin) meaning someone ridiculously stupid. Often abbreviated to a 'dinny'.

div, divvy

a fool or idiot

dodgems

fun-fair, fairground bumper cars

dole

welfare, specifically unemployment benefit

don

a professor/teacher

dosh

money

draper

cloth or clothing and dry goods seller

draughts

checkers

drawing pin

thumb tack

dual-carriage way

divided highway; indicating that there's some physical barrier or separation between the lanes going in opposite directions.

duff

a type of steamed pudding e.g plum-duff; or adjective describing something that isn't working properly or a poor choice e.g. "Don't use that bike, one of the pedals is duff.". Used as a phrasal verb: "up the duff" means to be pregnant.

dummy

a pacifier

dustbin

trash can, wastebasket

E

engaged tone

busy signal

ex-directory

unlisted (phone number)

F

faff (verb)

dither, futz, diddle, “I spent the day faffing about in my room”

fag

cigarette

fairing

a gift, particularly one given or bought at a fair (obsolete); type of cookie (biscuit) made in Cornwall

fairy cake

cupcake

fancy (verb)

attracted to (e.g. "She really fancied him.")

feck

expletive employed as an attenuated alternative to fuck (including fecker, fecking, etc.) (originally Hiberno English)

fell

mountain or high rocky outcrop (originally an upland area designated for sheep-grazing). Used especially in the Lake District

fettle

state of something, as in "My business is in fine fettle"; to fettle : to sort out, fix (e.g. "that's fettled it") (dialect word)

fixture (sports)

game or match (as on a schedule)

fizzy drink

soda or pop

flappy paddle gearbox

Formula 1-style paddle shift transmission

fortnight

a period of 14 days (and nights) or two weeks

fourpenn'orth (old-fashioned)

four cents worth (fourpenn'orth is literally "four pennies worth")

fuckwit

idiot (offensive)

full stop

period

funfair

travelling fair primarily comprised of amusement rides

G

gaff

cheap music hall or theater (obsolete); home

gaol (older spelling but not yet archaic; jail is more common)

jail

gen

(short for "intelligence") information

to get off with

(see to cop off with)

ginger

person with red hair (sometimes pronounced with hard g's and rhyming with "ringer"); also, any type of carbonated soft drink (primarily used in Scotland)

ginger group

a group that serves as an galvanizing force within a larger body

git (mildly derogatory)

scumbag, idiot, annoying person

go (noun)

try (e.g. "let me have a go"), turn in a game (e.g. "whose go is it?")

gobsmacked (adj)

utterly astonished, openmouthed

to go pear-shaped

to go West; i.e, for a process to suddenly go wrong

[to] gob

mouth, [to] spit

gogglebox

television set

googled

confused (from a cricketing term for a type of delivery bowled, the googly; predates Google.)

goon

someone strange, socially inept individual. ("He just sits there and listens, never says anything...bit of a goon if you ask me").

gormless

lacking in intelligence; with a vacant expression

ground floor

in the US, this would be the 1st floor. I.e., a building in the US with 3 floors would be labelled "1, 2 and 3" whereas in the UK, it would be "Ground, 1 and 2".

green fingers

green thumb

gutted

extremely disappointed (e.g.: "I'm gutted/I was so gutted")

H

happen, 'appen

maybe (Yorkshire dialect)

hash (#)

pound sign (#) (Note: confusion is possible, as "pound" or "pound sign" refers to the £ sign in Britain; the telephone button is usually the "hash key")

haunted fishtank

telly (uncommon)

headmaster

in the US, a principal of an educational institution.

helter-skelter

a helical slide found in fairgrounds

high street

main street

higgledy-piggledy

in disarray

hob

stove or range

holidaymaker

tourist, vacationer

holiday, hols

vacation

hooter

a klaxon

[to] hoover

vacuum [cleaner], to vacuum (In the US, Hoover is a brand name only.)

hosepipe

garden hose

how do, 'ow do

terse greeting in the north of England, shortened from formal 'How do you do?'

Hundreds-and-Thousands

sprinkles

I

inverted commas

quotation marks (Although the punctuation is different, the concept of quotation is analogous, especially since British English speakers sometimes refer to things formally (or ironically) by using the phrase "in inverted commas" in conversation; sometimes using a double-handed simultaneous forefinger and middle finger curling gesture symbolising the "" characters.)

invigilator

proctor, person who monitors an examination

J

jam sandwich

police cruiser. So called as most UK police vehicles were once white with a horizontal yellow-edged red fluorescent stripe along the entire length of their sides, giving a certain resemblance to a white bread sandwich with a coloured jam filling.

jammy (git)

lucky (person)

jumper

In the US, a sweater.

K

kecks

trousers, underpants

ken

to know (northern England and Scotland); house (e.g.: our ken = our house)

kev

equivalent to "Chav", derivative of "Kevin" - typically a working class person that wears designer labels, fake gold, has to always be "in", is most likely a trouble-maker and most likely smokes. Popularised by British comedien Harry Enfield

[to] kip

[to] sleep

knacker's yard

where superannuated livestock are sent for rendering, etc. ( = "glue factory"). Sometimes refers to the same for vehicles ( = "junkyard")

knackered

exhausted, likely from "knacker's yard" above.

knickers

panties

L

launderette

laundromat

lav

lavatory, toilet

layabout

a worthless lazy person

let-out (n.)

means to evade or avoid something

lift

elevator

loch

lake

lock-in

illegal gathering in a pub at night to drink after the pub is supposed to have stopped serving alcohol where the landlord locks in his guests to avoid being caught by police.

lolly

popsicle

loo

toilet

lorry

truck

loudhailer

bullhorn

M

mackintosh (mac)

raincoat

mains power, the mains

house electrical AC current

mangle

clothes wringer

marrow (vegetable)

squash (looks like a very large zuccini)

(the) match (football)

(the) game (soccer)

maths

math

mash

mashed/whipped potatoes

MD (managing director)

CEO (Chief Executive Officer)

merrythought

wishbone (also the commoner term in the UK)

minge^*(to rhyme with singe)

female genitals or pubic hair

minger (to rhyme with singer)

slob, someone who is unattractive

minging

dirty, rotting, smelly, unattractive etc

motorway

freeway

mong (a mildly derogatory term, from mongoloid, a now obsolete term for someone with Down's syndrome)

Lazy, idle, useless

monged out

being incapable of constructive activity due to drug use, alcohol consumption or extreme tiredness

N

naff

lame, tacky, cheap, low quality

[to] naff off (obscure slang Polari made popular by prison sitcom Porridge)

[to] shove it, get lost, go away

nappy

diaper

[to] nark

[to] irritate, (police) informer

to nash

to go (northern England)

nesh

(Northern and Central England) delicate, sensitive, cowardly (usually derogative)

nonce

paedophile, pimp, child molester, idiot

nong

(mildly derogatory) idiot, half-wit (Australian English)

nowt, owt, summat

nothing, anything, something (Yorkshire English)

nutter

a crazy or insane person. In the U.S., "nut" or "nutcase"

O

to be off

to go (e.g. "I'm off to the shop for some sweets"; "be off with you" = go away!)

off-licence, "offy"

liquor store (a shop is licenced to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises)

oi

exclamation roughly equivalent to "hey" ("Oi, you!" = "Hey you!")

on the piss^*

drinking heavily; going out for the purpose of drinking heavily: also used when referring to an object on a slight angle which should be vertical.

Noob

currently used on the net but has worked its way into everyday speech in the north of Scotland. This means newbie, someone new to a social group; derived from new boy.

P

p.c. [name]

police constable

paki

Pakistani; also applied to anyone else from South Asia; derogatory

panda car

police cruiser (analogous to US term "black & white")

parkie

park-keeper

parky

cold

pelican crossing (PEdestrian LIght-CoNtrolled)

pedestrian crossing with traffic lights operated by pedestrians

pensioner

A retiree who collects a pension

petrol (petroleum)

gasoline

pictures

the cinema

pillock (very mildly derogatory)

foolish person

piss off

usually, a light-hearted way of saying, "you're full of shit", "you don't know what you're on about" in friendly company. With people you don't know, it can be a bit more serious, as in "go away, you bother me" Whereas the former is much more jovial and not to be taken to heart, the latter would be akin to "you're really pissing me off - buzz off" in the US.

piss-up

drinking party or occasion (as in "he couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery")

pissing it down [with rain]*

raining very hard

plonker

fool

[to] ponce

[to] pimp, fop, fruit, someone with airs and graces

to ponce about/around

to act like a fop, to wander about aimlessly without achieving anything

to ponce off

to mooch, to hit up

poof/poofter (derogatory)

fag/faggot (derogatory)

postal order

money order

postcode

ZIP code

poste restante

general delivery

pot plant

potted plant (in the US, the term "pot plant" gives informal reference to a marijuana plant.)

pram (perambulator)

baby-carriage

prat (very mildly derogatory)

foolish person

press-up

push-up

pud

short for pudding, which may mean dessert or occasionally a savoury item such as yorkshire pudding or black pudding Can also be used to indicate a fool, although this is usually an informal term used between family members. (Usually good-naturedly)

pukka

legitimate, the real thing, of good quality

punch-up

fistfight

punnet

basket for fruit, usually strawberries

pushbike

bicycle

pushchair

stroller

Q

quieten

Used in the phrase "quieten down" ("quiet down" in American English)

R

randy

(also horny) horny

ranker

an enlisted soldier or airman or (more rarely) a commissioned officer who has been promoted from enlisted status ("the ranks")

rashers

bacon

remit (to have a remit)

to be assigned a task, to be responsible for; to make a payment to.

ropey

chancey; of poor quality; uncertain (see dodgy)

to reverse [the] charge[s]

to call collect

to ring someone (also to call someone)

to call someone (on the phone)

rota

A roll call or roster of names or round or rotation of duties.

roundabout (fairground ride)

carousel, merry-go-round

roundabout (in the road)

traffic circle, rotary (roundabout is used in some parts of the US, including on signs.)

row

An argument; polemic.

S

sarky

sarcastic

sarnie, sarny

sandwich

scrumpy

cloudy cider, often high in alcoholic content

scrumping

action of stealing apples from an orchard

Sellotape

Scotch tape

serviette

napkin

settee

couch, sofa

shag

have sex

shillelagh (Irish) [pronounced "shil-lay-lee"]

club, cudgel

shindig, shindy

party, dance (shindig is used in American English and would be recognised to mean party by most Americans but it is usually used ironically as of late)

shite

shit

skew-whiff

skewed, uneven, not straight

skint

out of money

skip

dumpster

to skive [off]

to sneak off, avoid work

to slag off

to diss, to badmouth

slaphead

bald man

slap-and-tickle

sexual activity

slapper

slut, skank

to snog

to make out, to kiss

sod off^*

offensive term meaning "get lost"

spack, spaz, spastic^*

idiot

spanner

wrench, idiot (colloquialism)

spawny

lucky

spiffing

very good (rare - associated with upper-class people)

spiv

an unemployed person who lives by their wits; someone who shirks work or responsibility; a slacker, a dealer in black market goods (during World War II).

spod

someone who spends too much time in internet chat rooms and discussion forums. Can also be used as a verb: to spod

squaddie

a non-commissioned soldier

squiffy

intoxicated

to squinny

A Portsmouth term meaning to whinge and whine on endlessly about nothing. Also used as a noun to refer to a person who tends to do this. But don't call someone from Portsmouth a squinny unless they are shorter than you: it's considered quite offensive if slightly humorous.

[sticking/sticky] plaster, Elastoplast

bandage (adhesive only), Band-Aid

strop

bad mood or temper

stroppy, to have a strop on

recalcitrant, in a bad mood or temper

to suss [out]

to figure out

swede

rutabaga, head

sweets, sweeties

candy (In American English sweets is often used for almost the same meaning, though it is a bit more inclusive than candy, as candy tends to be a sugar based confection whereas sweets can be chocolates or even pastries)

sweet shop

candy store

T

ta

thanks; TA also standing for thanks awfully (rare)

tailback

traffic jam

takeaway

fast food shop; takeout (food)

tannoy

loudspeaker (a proprietary brand name), PA system

tap

faucet

tarn

small mountain lake. Used especially in the Lake District

tea

dinner or supper

telly

TV

[to] throw a wobbly

[to] lose one's temper, throw a tantrum

thingy

a gadget or person whose name escapes you,

titfer

(Cockney rhyming slang) hat (from tit-for-tat)

toad-in-the-hole

batter-baked sausages, sausages baked in Yorkshire Pudding.

to-do

fuss (e.g. "what a to-do")

toff

(slang) member of the upper classes

toffee

taffy

toffee apple

an apple on a stick eaten on Bonfire Night and Hallowe'en

to toss [off]^*

to jerk off^*

tosser^*

jerk

treble

triple

trafficator

turn-signal or indicator (on a vehicle)

turf accountant

bookmaker for horse races

tuppence

two pence

twee

excessively precious, cute, or quaint

twopenn'orth/tuppenn'orth/tup'en'oth

two cents worth (tuppenn'orth is literally "two pennies worth" (or "two pence worth", depending on usage))

tyre

in the US, this is a tire.

V

verger

someone who carries the verge or other emblem of authority before a scholastic, legal, or religious dignitary in a procession; someone who takes care of the interior of a church and acts as an attendant during ceremonies

W

waistcoat

vest

wally

buffoon, fool; milder form of idiot. Now considered an old-fashioned word.

wank, wanker^*

to masturbate; one who masturbates, timewaster, now generic insult (is becoming a somewhat common saying in the United States, particularly among teenagers)

wee

verb and noun for urine and urination (also wee-wee); Scottish, Irish, and northern English for small

wellies, wellington boots

waterproof rubber boots named after the military figure.

welly

effort (e.g.: "Give it some welly" to mean 'put a bit of effort into an attempt to do something')

whinge

complain, whine

whirligig

rotary clothes line

white pudding

oat and fat sausage often eaten at breakfast, common in Ireland and Scotland

wicked (when used as slang)

great, fantastic

windscreen

in the US, a windshield on a car.

wing mirrors

the driving mirrors on the side of an automobile

wobbler, wobbly (to have or to throw)

tantrum

wonky

shaky, feeble; wrong, awry

Y

Y-fronts

Men's briefs with an inverted-Y-shaped frontal flap; originally a trademark

yob

lout (boy spelled backwards)

your man/woman (Irish)

whatshis/hername

Z

zed (letter Z)

zee in US

zebra crossing

pedestrian street crossing marked with broad white stripes

References

• Peters, Pam (2004). Template:Googleprint. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052162181X.

External links

A US Tourist's Guide To Britain (Humorous)

The British to American Translator