Glossary of British terms not widely used in the United States
Appearance
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.
U
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
X
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)