Xem mẫu
- 427
Appendix II.I
Canadian: Five horses backed in ten doubles, ten trebles, five four-horse accumula-
tors, and one five-horse accumulator (26 bets).
Heinz (57 varieties): Name used in Britain for any kind of multiple mixture: a
mongrel dog might be a Heinz hound, etc. Six horses backed in 15 doubles, 20
trebles, 15 four-horse and six five-horse accumulators, and one six-horse accumu-
lator (57 bets).
H. Food Names
Food names are very puzzling and of butchers’ terms only a few labels of specific
cuts of meat are included. There are a good many that would baffle an American
shopper: rump steak is top round steak or round steak; best end is rack of lamb; a
baron is a double sirloin; silverside is top round (rolled and tied with string); mince
is chopped meat. It seems worse at the fish store (fishmonger’s): one can hear of
brill (similar to a small turbot), coalfish, also called coley and saithe (black cod),
witch (resembling lemon sole), John Dory (a flat fish with a big head), huss, also
called dogfish, rig, and robin huss (similar to a small conger eel), and other strange
species, to say nothing of unfamiliar seafoods like winkles and prawns. At the bak-
ery one finds all kinds of goodies with alien names. Many are entries in the book;
purchase by sight and smell.
I. Botanical and Zoological Names
Botanical and zoological (especially avian) names present special difficulties,
whether they are British names for shared species or simply names for those that
do not include the United States in their habitats. There are exclusively British
geological terms as well. British apple trees bear fruit called Beauty of Bath, Cox,
and queening. In the floral department, wild or cultivated, one finds the cuckoobud,
buttercress, kingcup, St. Anthony’s turnip, blister-flower, horse gold, butter rose, butter
daisy, or gold cup; a fair collection of synonyms for the modest buttercup. More-
over, cuckoobud is not to be confused with the British cuckooflower, a form of wild
mustard with white or lilac flowers, and itself synonymous (in Britain) with lady’s
smock and milkmaid (actually the cardamine pratensis), or with the cuckoopint (also
known, collectively, as lords and ladies), which Americans call jack-in-the-pulpit, or
with cuckoospit, the foamy mass in which various insects lay their eggs, often seen
on Queen Anne’s lace, which the British call wild carrot; and cuckoospit itself is usu-
ally known in America as frogspit. British orange balsam flowers, also known there
as swingboats because the flowers are shaped rather like the carnival boats on some
of the giant swings, are known as jewelweed or touch-me-not in America; reed mace is
the United States broad-leaved cattail. Daffodils are daffodils in both countries, but
are sometimes called Lent lilies by the British because of their time of blooming.
Butterbar, wild rhubarb, and bog rhubarb are British synonyms for American batter-
dock or umbrella leaves. Still in the flora division, wainscot is the British name for a
superior type of oak imported from the Baltic region especially for wainscoting. To
go entomological for a moment, the common British butterfly known there as the
Camberwell beauty is our old friend the mourning cloak in America. With respect to
avian terminology: a butterbump is a bittern; a moorhen is a gallinule; the tree creeper
is the brown creeper; windhovers are kestrels. For devotees of the earth sciences we
find beck and burn for brook, rig or rigg for ridge, wold for an open tract of uncul-
tivated land, moss for swamp, nick for a small valley or water-cut gorge, sea-fret for
thick fog, and carr for a dense thicket. Some of these terms are regional, some may
be classified as dialect, some are assuredly standard, many will be strange even to
British ears, but you never know when you’re going to run into them.
- 428 British English A to Zed
J. Britain, Briton, British, English, etc.
Except in more or less official contexts, the inhabitants of the British Isles tend to
think and speak of themselves as English, Scottish, Welsh or Irish first and Brit-
ish second. In How to Be an Alien (André Deutsch, London, 1946), George Mikes
told us that an alien may become British, but never English. By British, he means
a naturalized subject of Great Britain; by English, he means English in culture,
outlook, heart, and spirit. In a letter to The Times (London) on August 25, 1982, the
distinction is made quite emphatically:
Race and Crime
From Mr D.K. Clarebrough
Sir, Dr Sandra Wallman (August 20) writes that “black people living in Brixton
. . . are English by objective right as well as subjective preference.” British they
may be but English surely not. If I’m wrong, who then are the black or coloured
people I see cheering West Indies, India or Pakistan, when they play the England
cricket team on an English ground?
We have a multiracial, multicultural and multinational society.
Yours faithfully,
DENIS CLAREBROUGH
Southwood House,
Hilltop Road,
Dronfield,
Sheffield.
August 20.
The word Briton sounds historical or literary to them, and Britisher sounds like
an Americanism. The Concise Oxford Dictionary says Britisher is the U.S. term for
a British subject “as distinct from an American citizen” and goes on to say that it
is “apparently of American origin but disclaimed by U.S. writers.” Britain is used
in Great Britain, of course, but English people are more likely to refer to it as Eng-
land. To an older generation of the inhabitants of Britain, and still more, perhaps,
to those of the white Commonwealth countries, the term British covers, as well,
the former dominions, colonies, etc., at least those settled from the British Isles.
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland may still remain the official
term for the country, and for alphabetical seating at the United Nations, it is listed
as U.K.—in convenient proximity to the U.S. Historically, it is Great Britain, to
distinguish it from Brittany in France. Briticism or Britishism is a term traced back
to 1883 and is handy for distinguishing British idiom from the American, but in
distinction to, e.g., French, the term would be Anglicism. A final oenological note:
English wine is made from English grapes, grown on English vines. British wine
(also called ‘made wine’) is fermented in Britain from foreign grape-concentrate.
Never confuse the two: the English Vineyards Association (EVA) would never
forgive you.
As to the inhabitants of Scotland: the variants are Scotch, Scots, and Scottish.
According to Fowler (A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, 2nd edition revised
by Sir Ernest Gowers, Oxford, 1965), Scottish is closest to the original form, Scotch
was the English contraction, and Scots the one adopted in Scotland. The cur-
rent favorite in Scotland is Scottish, next, Scots, with Scotch being more or less
discarded. England has gone along with this, but in certain stock phrases, Scotch
has been retained in both places and the rest of the English-speaking world,
thus: Scotch whiskey (whisky in Britain), broth, tweed, egg, woodcock, mist, ter-
rier, pine, beef; and Scotch House is a famous London shop dispensing Scottish
textiles and apparel. The English call the dialect spoken in Scotland Scotch; the
- 429
Appendix II.K
Scots usually call it Scots, and the dialect of the Lowlands Lallans, a corruption of
Lowlands.
K. Cricket Terms
For the benefit of any Americans who may develop an interest in the English
national sport, cricket, there follows a glossary that appeared in a cricket periodi-
cal published by The Sun (London, 1972). The definitions are couched in crick-
etese and in turn need defining and translation in many cases:
beamer: a delivery that goes through head high to the batsman without bouncing
after leaving the bowler’s hand.
blob: one of various words used to denote an innings where the batsman has
failed to score.
bosie: the Australian name for the googly, the ball that goes from off to leg
instead of turning from the leg as with a normal leg break.
bouncer: has the same end product as a beamer in that the delivery goes through
about head high to the batsman but is achieved by pitching short of a length.
boundary: four runs.
castle: the stumps.
century: 100 runs.
cherry: the ball, particularly when new and shiny.
Chinaman: this is bowled by a left-arm spin bowler who makes the ball turn into
the right-handed batsman rather than the normal left arm spin delivery, which
turns away from the right hander.
Chinese Cut: this refers to the snick off the inside or bottom edge of the bat
whereby the ball goes down the leg side close to the wicket instead of towards
a third man as the batsman intended.
cutter: a fast spinning delivery that moves quickly off the wicket when it pitches.
Can be either off-cutter or leg-cutter.
drag: describes the action of the fast bowler when dragging his back foot along
the ground in his delivery stride.
duck: no score.
finger spinner: a bowler who uses his fingers in order to impart spin on the ball,
thereby making it change direction when it pitches. A right-handed finger
spinner is an off spin bowler, making the ball move in from the off side.
flipper: a delivery from a leg break bowler which has top spin, making it hurry
through quickly and straighten when it pitches.
gate: the gap between bat and pad when a batsman is playing a stroke.
googly: the more common term to describe a bosie, also known as “wrong’ un.”
hob: the stumps as in castle.
inswinger: a ball that swings through the air from the off side to leg.
king pair: falling first ball each innings of a two innings match.
length: the area in which the ball should pitch for a perfect delivery to prevent a
batsman playing backward or forward with safety.
long hop: a short-of-2-length delivery that comes through at a nice height for a
batsman to hit, generally on the leg side.
Nelson: all the ones as in 111. Considered unlucky for a batsman or a side to be
on that figure. Double Nelson is 222.
nightwatchman: a lower order batsman who goes to the wicket just before close
of play to save a recognised batsman from having to bat and possibly losing his
wicket in the few remaining minutes.
outswinger: a ball that swings through the air toward the off side.
- 430 British English A to Zed
pair: signifies a batsman failing to score in both innings of a match.
sticky dog or wicket: a wicket on which the ball turns viciously as the wicket
dries out under hot sun after being affected by the rain. It is not often that a
true “sticky dog” is found in England but they have been known in Australia,
notably in Brisbane.
ton: a century.
wrist spinner: a bowler who uses his wrist to spin the ball, making it come out of
the back of his hand as with a leg break.
Yorker: an overhand delivery that pitches near the batting crease and goes that
under the bat as the batsman starts to play his stroke generally moving for-
ward.
L. Connotative Place-Names
The use of connotative place-names occurs in every language. The French author
placing a character on the rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, the German writing of
the Kurfürstendamm, the Italian locating a scene on the Via Veneto or the Piazza
San Marco are all using place-names to create a backdrop, an atmosphere. As for
the English, the following might well perplex an American reader unfamiliar
with Britain and British life:
Albany. A most exclusive apartment house (block of flats) in London, whose occu-
pants always include many distinguished names.
Belgravia. A fashionable district of London. Its name is used metaphorically to
mean the very wealthy.
Blackpool. A seaside resort in West Lancashire, in northwest England, known for
its appeal to working people.
Bloomsbury. A London district known as an intellectual center. The ‘Bloomsbury
Group’ of artists, writers and intellectuals generally flourished there in the
early 1920’s and gave this place-name its cachet, implying quality with a hint
of preciosity.
Bow Bells. Literally, the bells of Bow Church in the City of London (a section of
London housing, inter alia, the financial district). This place-name most fre-
quently occurs in the expression within the sound of Bow Bells, which means ‘in
the City of London.’ One born within the sound of Bow Bells is said to be a true
cockney.
Bow Street. Famed in British detective stories as the address of the principal Lon-
don police court.
Brighton. A Victorian seaside resort, noted for massive hotels, endless rows of
middle-class boardinghouses, the Prince Regent’s ‘Pavilion,’ an antiques sec-
tion known as ‘the Lanes,’ and other divertissements.
(The) British Museum. Often shortened to ‘The B.M.’ Recently remodeled. Britain’s
great library, museum, and depository of priceless collections in history, art,
archeology, etc.
Carnaby Street. A street in the Soho section of London, studded with apparel
shops catering to the young with-it crowd in its heyday during the 1960s. The
caché has long since migrated to other areas.
Chelsea. A London district, formerly a center of the smart Bohemian set but now
inhabited mostly by wealthy people seeking a livelier atmosphere than that of
Belgravia or Mayfair—and somewhat cheaper real estate.
(The) City. Short for the City of London. See Bow Bells (above) and (the) City in the
alphabetical text.
- 431
Appendix II.L
(The) Connaught. An elegant hotel full of ancient glory and still going strong.
Covent Garden. A London district that once housed London’s vast, tumultuous
vegetable and flower market, now removed to another part of the city, but still
the location of street entertainers, shops, and the long-established theater bear-
ing its name, famous for opera and ballet.
Earl’s Court. One of London’s major venues for trade and consumer fairs, con-
certs, and sporting events. (See White City, below.) The Earl’s Court section of
London is known for its proliferation of ‘bed-sitters,’ tiny one-room housing
units cut out of once great mansions.
(The) East End. A poor section of London, which includes the docks. Becoming
fashionable.
Eaton Square, Eaton Place. Very fashionable streets in Belgravia, London.
(The) Embankment. Road along the north bank of the Thames. Hotel rooms,
offices, etc. that overlook it are most desirable, but another connotation arises
from the fact that it is the sleeping place of derelicts and tramps.
Eton, Harrow. Leading and venerable public schools (i.e., private schools) for ages
thirteen to eighteen, whose playing-fields breed ‘the future leaders of England,’
according to Tory gospel.
Golders Green. A section of north London much favored by middle-class Jews.
Hampstead. An exclusive area of London formerly popular with artists, writers,
and intellectuals; now too expensive for all but the most successful.
Harley Street. A London street where many doctors have private consulting
rooms. Because these doctors are often the most expensive in London, the
term Harley Street is almost synonymous with private medicine as used by the
wealthiest of the wealthy. Some of the doctors engage only in private practice,
but many are also consultants in NHS hospitals. Note: the term Harley Street in
this sense refers to the street itself and to others in the surrounding area, espe-
cially Wimpole Street and Devonshire Place.
Harrods. A universal department store offering just about everything from
antiques to food, all at noncompetitive prices.
Harrow. See Eton.
Hyde Park. One of London’s many beautiful parks. In one corner (the legendary
Speaker’s Corner), speakers are permitted to address the public on just about
any subject, with the emphasis generally against the Establishment.
Kensington Gardens. Another of London’s famous parks, formerly part of Hyde
Park and forming part of the same expanse of green space; the boundary
between the two is indistinct.
Knightsbridge. London area offering elegant shopping, etc.
Lord’s. Short for Lord’s Cricket Ground, the most famous of all cricket fields
(‘grounds’), home of the M.C.C. (Marylebone Cricket Club), the body that con-
trols and is the arbiter of all things relating to cricket.
Marks & Spencer. A chain store selling wearing apparel, food and drink, and home-
wares; long known for its competitive prices and high quality, especially in areas
such as knitwear and underwear. The name is often shortened to M & S, but its
most popular form is Marks & Sparks, a sobriquet both jocular and affectionate.
Notting Hill Gate. A socially and economically diverse area in West London, long
characterized by a mixture of rich, middle-class, and poor populations and
with a large proportion of residents of Afro-Caribbean descent. Increasingly
popular with affluent members of the media and other professions, it is now
almost synonymous with a certain kind of metropolitan chic.
(The) Old Bailey. The chief criminal court of London.
(The) Old Vic. London’s famous old repertory theater, known for its productions
of Shakespeare. The scene has in large part shifted to the National Theatre, but
- 432 British English A to Zed
the Old Vic still carries on. It has been refurbished and now enjoys a sparkling
façade and elegant interior.
(The) Oval. London’s other cricket ground. See Lord’s.
Oxford Street. London’s shopping street devoted to the needs of all people, hard
to navigate on foot because of the crowds.
(The) Palladium. London’s leading vaudeville house (music-hall), scene of gen-
erations of memorable variety.
Park Lane. An elegant avenue bordering Hyde Park, location of many great hotels
and superior shops.
Piccadilly. London’s historic main thoroughfare, with elegant shops and hotels.
Portobello Road. Scene of the historic flea market, a center for relatively inexpen-
sive antiques.
Regent Street. London’s most elegant shopping street.
Rotten Row. A fashionable equestrian track in Hyde Park, London. The name has
been attributed to a number of derivations, the favorite of which is route du roi,
the old route of the royal procession from the palace at Westminster to the royal
hunting preserve. Others go back to the 18th century word, rotan, meaning
‘wheeled vehicle’ and derived from rota, Latin for wheel.
Royal Festival Hall. One of London’s great concert halls.
Royal Fortnum & Mason. Often shortened to Fortnum’s. A department store of
great elegance, with a famous tearoom.
Sadler’s Wells. A theater, the original location of the ballet company that bore its
name and is now the Royal Ballet; still active as a dance center and as a venue
for musical and theatrical performances of various types.
Savile Row. A London street, center of elegant bespoke (i.e., custom) tailoring for
men.
(The) Savoy. One of London’s oldest and most expensive hotels.
(The) Serpentine. A lake in Hyde Park, where people love to row.
(The) Tate Gallery. Almost invariably shortened to ‘the Tate.’ Now officially called
Tate Britain, and housing the national collection of British art along with
modern art from other countries. The national center for contemporary art
has moved to Tate Modern, in a converted power station on the bank of the
Thames.
(The) Victoria and Albert Museum. Usually shortened to ‘The V. & A.’ The national
museum for the decorative and applied arts, housing a huge and diverse col-
lection including ceramics, furniture, and photography among many other
categories of work.
Wembley Stadium. Always called ‘Wembley’; a great football (i.e., soccer) field.
(The) West End. A part of London noted as the center of theater and chic restau-
rant life.
White City. Indoor sports arena in West London.
Wimbledon. A district in South London, home to the All-England Lawn Tennis
and Croquet Club, where the annual Lawn Tennis Championships are played.
Winchester. A public school (i.e., private school), one of the oldest, with some of the
highest academic standards.
- Index
Note: This index lists American words, terms, and expressions followed by their Brit-
ish equivalents, which are listed alphabetically in the book; boldface listings indicate
sections on specialized terms and discussions of British usage.
aisle; gangway
act as chief prosecuting
Note: This index lists
attorney; lead for the
American words, terms, alcohol, denatured;
Crown
and expressions followed methylated spirit
act disrespectfully toward;
by their British equivalents, alcohol, methyl; white spirit
take the mickey out of
which are listed alcohol, someone who drinks
act in a friendly manner
alphabetically in the book; too much; boozer
towards (someone); show
boldface listings indicate alcohol, to take in excess;
friendly to (someone)
sections on specialized cane it
action for a declaratory
terms and discussions of alcoholic beverage, flavored;
judgment; friendly action
British usage. Alcopop
act of sexual intercourse; alcoholic beverages, license to
Seeing-to sell for consumption off the
A ad; advert premises; off licence
A (B, C, etc.); alpha (beta, add on; throw out alcoholic drink; bevvy
gamma, etc.) adhesive tape; sticky tape alcoholic drink, small; dram
abandon; abandonment adjourn; rise alcoholic drink, to have an;
abandon; leave in the lurch adjourn Parliament; count out bend the elbow
abbreviations 415 the house ale and stout mixed; half-
able seaman; rating adjustable reading lamp; and-half
about; -ish angelpoise lamp alert; on the spot
above market value; over the adjusted for inflation; index-
alfalfa; lucerne (lucern)
odds linked
all aboard!; close the doors,
abrupt change; turn-about adjuster; assessor
please!
absentee ballot; postal vote administration; government
all-around; all-round
absent-minded; scatty admitted to the bar; called to
all decked out; (in) full fig
absolutely; bang the bar
all dolled up; dressed to the
absolutely; quite adoption of metric system;
nines
absolutely sound; one metrification (metrication)
all dolled up; like a dog’s
hundred percent copper- advance; sub
dinner
bottomed advantage; pull
all expenses paid; fully found
absorbent cotton; cotton wool adversary; adversarial
alley; snicket
absorbing; riveting affair; palaver
alley; street
abuse; slang affair; show
alley; twitten
accept the charge; pay for affirmative action; positive
allocated line; spare line
the call discrimination
allowance; table money
access road; slip road afternoon tea; set tea
all set?; fit?
accident spot; black spot agate; bonce
all set; nailed on
acclimate; acclimatize ages; moons
almond taffy; hardbake
accommodations; ages; yonks
almost; nearly
accommodation aggravation; aggro
alongside; at the side of
according to best usage; aggressiveness; aggro
also-rans; ruck
according to Cocker agitate; fuss
alternately; turn and turn
account book; washing-book agree; accept
about
accusation; threap agree to; agree
aluminum; aluminium
ace of spades; old mossyface airfield; aerodrome
alumna; old girl
ack-ack; archies airfield; tarmac
alumnus; old boy
airs; side
across the street; over the road
aisle; corridor
act; come amateurish; prentice
433
- 434 British English, A to Zed
ambulance chaser; accident arrest, justified; fair cop B
tout arrested; done
babble; chattermag
American English 408–415 arson; fire-raising
baby carriage; perambulator
among; amongst arty; twee
baby carriage; pram
AM radio; Medium wave arugula; rocket
baby carriage; pushcart
(radio) as a matter of fact; actually
baby coat; matinee coat
amusement park; funfair as bright as a button; as
baby pacifier; comforter
anchorman; linkman bright as a new penny
baby pacifier; dummy
And how!; Rather! as dead as a doornail; as dead
babysitter; baby-watcher
. . . and salad; . . . salad as mutton
babysitter; sitter-in
anger, display of; wobbly as easy as pie; as easy as kiss
babysitter, full-time; nanny
angry (get sore); go spare your hand
Bachelor of Medicine; MB
annex; mediatize as follows; as under
backdrop; drop-scene
annoyed; shirty as it turned out; in the event
back in civies; bowler-hatted
annoying; awkward askew; skew-whiff
back kitchen; scullery
Annual Meeting as nice as pie; as nice as
back of car seat; squab
of Shareholders ninepence
backpack; rucksack
(Stockholders); Annual as of; as from
backside; fanny
General Meeting ass; arse
backside; situpon
annuals; bedding plant ass-backwards; arsy-tarsy
backstop; long stop
annulment; nullity ass-freezer; bum-freezer
back to business; back to our
another drink; (the) other assistant maid; tweeny
muttons
half assistant professor; senior
backwards; arsy-versy
answering machine; lecturer
bacon; streaky bacon
answerphone assisted living; sheltered
bacon, Canadian; back bacon
antenna; aerial accommodation
bacon, lean; griskin
anxious; in a state ass-kisser; clawback
bacon, oyster wrapped in;
any odd job?; bob-a-job? associate professor; reader
angel on horseback
anything goes; all in as soon as; directly
bacon, prune wrapped in;
anywhere near; within assortment; mixed bag
devil on horseback
kicking distance of astonished; gobsmacked
bacon, slice of; rasher
apartment; flat as you were; carry on
bacon, strip of; rasher
apartment; set at a disadvantage; balls to the
bad, extremely; diabolical
apartment, one-room; bed- walls
bad egg; bad hat
sitter at bat; on strike
bad end; sticky finish
appetizers; starters at full speed; flat out
bad form; not on
applaud; clap at hand; to hand
bad form; off
appointment to look at; order athletic letter; cap
badger’s burrow; set
to view at home; indoors
bad-tempered; liverish
appraise; value at one’s disposal; in hand
bad-tempered; stroppy
apprentice, law; devil at one’s disposal; in one’s gift
bad-tempered old woman;
appropriation bill; supply bill at the market; best offer
boot
approximately; query attic; loft
(be) baffled; go spare
apron; pinny attractive, very; dishy
bagful; shopping-bag
architect, licensed; chartered automatic airplane pilot;
baggage; luggage
surveyor George
baggage car; van
area surrounding; surround Automobile Association;
baked; cooked
argument, heated; ding-dong A.A.
baked potato; jacket potato
arm of the law; limb of the automobile horn; hooter
bakery; bakehouse
law automotive terms 422–423
baking powder; rising
armpit; oxter autopsy; post-mortem
powder
army engineer; sapper available; to hand
baking powder biscuit; scone
army stew; gippo average; bog-standard
bald man; slap-head
around; about a week from . . . ; . . .week
(have a) ball; (have a) rave-up
around; round awful; shocking
ballot counter and inspector;
arouser; knocker-up awfully; frightfully
scrutineer
arrange; organize awning (shop); sun-blind
ball-point pen; biro
arrange for; lay on (go) AWOL; (go) spare
balls; ballocks
arrest; detain aye; content
balls; goolies
arrest; take in charge aye; placet
- 435
Index
bean (head); loaf believe; Adam and Eve
balmy; barmy
baloney!; all my eye and Betty bean pole; pea-stick bell-bottoms; flares
Martin! be a nuisance (put out); put bellhop; buttons
baloney; codswallop about bellhop; hotel page
baloney!; rats! (be) a prostitute; (be) on the bellhop; page
Band-Aid; Elastoplast game bell pepper; green pepper
Band-Aid; plaster (be) a prostitute; (be) on the bellyful; sickener
bang (hit); bash knock belt highway; circular road
bangs; fringe beat; give (someone) gyp beltway; ring-road (ringway)
bang-up; slap-up beat; manor bender; blind
bank; camber beat; shot about bend over backwards; fall
bank check; banker’s draft beat; whacked over backwards
banked; superelevated be a television addict; have benefice; living
bank loan; overdraft square eyes be on (someone’s) side; play
bankroll; sheaf beating; seeing-to for (someone’s) side
bankruptcy, go into; put up beat it!; cut away! be quick; look slippy!
the shutters beat it; hook it be reading; have a read
banned; warned off beat it; leg it beside; at the side of
bar, neighborhood; local beat (someone) up; duff Best Before End; BBE
bar, study for the; eat one’s (someone) up best man; supporter
terms beat up; clapper-claw best wishes; all the best
Bar Association; Law Society beauty parlor; hairdresser’s bet one’s bottom dollar on;
barber shop; hairdresser’s be a wise guy; come the acid put one’s shirt on
(a) bargain; snip be baffled; go spare betray; do the dirty on
bargains, biggest; keenest be bumped off (get killed); betray a cause or trust; sell
prices get the chop the pass
barge; keel become; gone betting, pari-mutuel; tote
barrel 417
become (go); come over betting
barrel cuff; single cuff
bed; kip bettor; punter
barrette; slide
bedbug; bug bewilder; maze
bartender; barman
(a) bed of roses; beer and bib, child’s; feeder
bartender’s assistant; pot-boy
skittles bid; call
baseboard; skirting (skirting-
be down on; have a down on bid; go
board)
been disconnected; ceased Big Dipper; Charles’s Wain
basin; dock
to exist Big Dipper; Great Bear
basket-shaped boat; coracle
beep; pip Big Dipper; Plough
bassinet, portable; carry-cot
beer; pint big fib; oner
bastard; basket
beer, lousy; swipes biggest bargains; keenest
bastard; by-blow
(the) bee’s knees; dog’s prices
bastard; sod
bollocks bike; push-bike
bath, sponge; bed bath
beet(s); beetroot bill; account
bath, sponge; blanket bath
be fired (get the gate); get the bill; note
bathe; bath
chop billboard; hoarding
bathing suit; bathing costume
before you can say ‘Jack billfold; notecase
bathing suit; swimming
Robinson’; as soon as look billfold; pocketbook
costume
at you billiard parlor; billiard-saloon
bathrobe; dressing gown
before you can say ‘Jack billion 419–422
bathroom, use a; spend a
Robinson’; as soon as say billion; million
penny
knife bill of lading; consignment
bathroom, use of the; wash
(be) found out; (be) blown note
bathtub; bath
be fresh to; cheek billy; baton
(baseball) batter; batsman
befuddled; fogged billy; truncheon
battery; accumulator
befuddled; tosticated binder clip; bulldog clip
bawl out; bollick
begin; come on to binge; razzle
bawl (someone) out; tear a
beginning (head); top bit; screw
strip off (someone)
(be) had; (be) done bit; spot
beach; sea
beach pebbles; shingle behind; behindhand bitchy; narky
beak (nose); conk be jumpy; get the wind up bite the hand that feeds one;
be all one can do; take (one) be laying for; have a rod in quarrel with one’s bread
all (one’s) time pickle for and butter
- 436 British English, A to Zed
biting; shrewd bookie; turf accountant bread strips; soldiers
biting cold; as cold as charity bookie’s joint; (The) Corner break; sit-down
biting cold; monkey-freezing bookmaker; commission break in; chip in
bits and pieces; odds and agent break in; run in
sods bookstore; book seller break things off; part brass
blabbermouth; pedlar bookworm; mug rags
blab on and on; chunter boor; bounder bribe; bung
blackball; pip boost; kiss of life bribe; dab in the hand
blackberry; bramble boot, large; beetle-crusher bribe; dropsy
blackjack; cosh boots, rubber; Welliboots bricklayer; brickie (bricky)
blackjack; pontoon boots, rubber; Wellingtons bridge, removable; denture
black magic; devilry booty; pewter bridle trail; gallop
Black or regular?; Black or booze, shot of; finger briefed; clued up
white? boozer; battle cruiser brigadier general; brigadier
blacktop; macadam border; frontier bring; fetch
blacktop; tarmac bore; bind bring; make
black woolen cloth; boring; long bring charges against
broadcloth boss; gaffer (someone); have (someone)
blender; liquidizer boss; governor up
blend word; portmanteau bosun; Spithead nightingale bring (pull) it off; have it off
blind drunk; pissed botanical names 427 bring (someone) up to date;
blinders; blinkers botch job; charley put (someone) in the
blinker; winker bother; moider picture
block (of stock); tranche bothered; arsed brisk; parky
blood; claret bottom; inside (of a bus) brisk; rattling
blouse; top bouillon cube; stock cube Britain 428–429
blow; staggerer bounder; chucker-out British 428–429
blow (squander); blue bowel movement; motion British betting terms
blow one’s top; do one’s nut bowlegged; bandy-legged 426–427
blowtorch; blowlamp bowl over; knock acock British English 408–415
blowtorch; brazing lamp bowl over; pull up British National Party; BNP
blowtorch; thermic lance bow to (someone); give Briton 428–429
blow up at (someone); blow (someone) best broad; Judy
(someone) up box; case broadcloth; poplin
blue-black plum; damson box cutter; stanley knife Broadway; West End
blue-collar; cloth-cap box office; pay-box broil; grill
(the) blues; hip boy, fair-haired; blue-eyed broiler; grill
blue streak; nineteen to the boy broke; stony
dozen boycott; black broken sizes; broken ranges
bluff; fluff bracelets; darbies broken sizes; odd sizes
board; join bracket; band brokerage firm; broking firm
boarder; P.G. bracket; slice brood of pheasants; nide
boat, basket-shaped; coracle bracket; tranche brook; beck
boat pole; quant brakeman; brakesman brothel; knocking shop
bobby pin; hair grip brakeman; guard brush aside; put by
bobby pin; kirby grip brass knuckles; knuckle brush (something) off; play
bodyguard; minder duster (something) to leg
bomb (a target); prang brass tacks; put-to brush up on; brush up
bond; loan share (loan stock) bravery, cited for; mentioned brutal killer; butcher
boner; howler in dispatches buccaneer; filibuster
bone to pick; crow to pick brawl; dust-up buck; jib
bone up; gen up bread, whole wheat; brown (a) buck; bradbury
boo; barrack bread Buckingham Palace; Buck
booboo; bloomer bread, whole wheat; House
booboo, make a; drop a brick wholemeal bread buckle under; lie down under
boob tube; goggle-box bread-and-butter letter; buddy; butty
booby prize; wooden spoon Collins buddy; mate
boodle; pot bread and cheese; buffet; fork supper
booger; bogey (bogy) ploughman’s lunch buffet; sideboard
boogieman; bogeyman bread box; bread bin bug; beetle
- 437
Index
car muffler; silencer
bug; insect butt; stump
carnival slide; helter-skelter
bug (someone); get on butter, sweet; fresh butter
carom; cannon
(someone’s wick) butterflies in the stomach;
carpenter; chippy
build; throw out collywobbles
carpenter; joiner
building; house butt in; chip in
carpenter’s level; spirit level
building, large; block buttocks; bum
carpet pad; underlay
building inspector; surveyor buzz saw; circular saw
carpet tack; tin tack
building permit; planning bye-bye; ta-ta
carryall; holdall
permission by-pass; ring-road (ringway)
car signals; indicators
building supply firm;
car wrecker; car breaker
builder’s merchant
C
case; sus out
built to order; purpose-built
cabbage, young; spring cash; encash
bulb; teat
greens cast-iron; copper-bottomed
bull; cock
cabinet, kitchen; cupboard castles in the air; moonshine
bulletin board; notice board
cabinet member; minister castrate; doctor
bulletin board; station
caboose; brake-van cat; mog (moggy, moggie)
calendar
caboose; guard’s van catalogue; calendar
bulletproof; bandit-proof
cad; rotter cat-boarding kennel; cattery
bullhorn; loud hailer
cadge; mump catch; snag
bum; yobbo
Caesarean; Caesar catch (in a mistake); catch out
bumbershoot; brolly
café; caff catch hell; get one’s head in
bum check; dud cheque
cake, small spongy; muffin one’s hand
bum check; stumer
calling party; caller catch hell; get the stick
bump; off-load
call 911; call 999 catch on; take on
bump; ramp
call off; cry off catch on (to); twig
(be) bumped off (get killed);
call out; give (someone) a catch on to; tumble to
get the chop
shout catch up with (someone);
bumper; buffer
call (someone) out; give catch (someone) up
bumper; fender
(someone) out cat food; cat’s-meat
bumper cars; Dodgem cars
campaign stroll; walkabout cathedral head; dean
bumper to bumper; nose to
campus; college grounds catkins; lambs’ tails
tail
campus; court catnip; catmint
bumpkin; joskin
campus; quad cattle gate; kissing gate
bun; bap
can; bum cattle guard; cattle grid
bunch; lot
can; tin cattleman; stock-breeder
bunch; shopping-bag
can (privy); jakes caught napping; caught on
bureau; chest of drawers
Canadian bacon; back bacon the hop
bureaucrat, pompous; bumble
candidacy; candidature caught napping; caught on
burglary; raid
candidates, group of final; the wrong foot
burlap; hessian
shortlist cauliflower ear; thick ear
burn; brew up
candle; tolly ceiling electric fan; punka(h)
burn one’s bridges; burn
candy; sweets cent; bean
one’s boats
candy store; confectioner’s centennial; centenary
bury the hatchet; sink
candy store; sweet-shop centerboard; sliding keel
differences
canine distemper; distemper certified mail; recorded
bus, inter-city; coach
canker sore; ulcer delivery
bus conductress; clippie
canned pressed beef; corned certified public accountant;
bus fare zone limit; fare stage
beef chartered accountant
business; custom
canned spiel; potted lecture chain store; multiple shops
business; palaver
cant terms 424–425 chambermaid; housemaid
(do) business; trade
cap and gown; academicals chamber pot; commode
business suit; lounge suit
captain; skipper chamber pot; thunder-mug
bust; damp squib
car; carriage chamois; leather
bust; frost
car; waggon (wagon) chamois; wash leather
busy; engaged
caravan; convoy champagne; bubbly
busybody; nosey-parker
cardigan; cardie champagne; champers
but; bar
care; mind chance; earthly
butcher shop; family butcher
cargo; freight chance; show
butt; end
car hood; bonnet change; chop
butt; snout
- 438 British English, A to Zed
change pocket; ticket pocket chip in; pay one’s shot closing time!; time!
chaotic; shambolic chocolate candy; Malteser cloth, black woolen;
chapel; bethel chocolate sprinkles; chocolate broadcloth
character; blighter vermicelli cloth, green woolen; Kendal
character; bod chop; cutlet green
charge; book chopped meat; mince cloth, type of; wincey
charge; put down chow; tack cloth, white cotton; calico
charge account; account chow; toke clothespin; clothes-peg
charter member; foundation Christmas carolers; waits clothespole; clothes-prop
member church aisle; aisle cloture; closure
(a) chat; confab Church of England; C. of E. cloture; guillotine
chatter; natter church officer; clerk cloverleaf; spaghetti junction
chatterbox; chattermag cigarette; fag clumsy; cack-handed
cheap; trumpery cigarette, cheap; gasper clutter; lumber
cheap cigarette; gasper cigarette butt; dog-end coach; carriage
cheap fruit cake; schoolboy cigarette paper; skin coal, scrap; dross
cake cigar store; tobacconist’s shop coal freighter; collier
cheaply; on the cheap cilantro; coriander coarse invective; billingsgate
cheap novel; shocker cinch; doddle cockroach; black-beetle
cheap red wine; red biddy cinch; snip coconut, shredded; dessicated
cheap train fare; APEX fare (a) cinch; easy meat coconut
cheap wine; plonk Circle; Circus coddle; wrap in cotton wool
cheat; do the dirty on circulation; general post coed(ucational); mixed
cheated; dished circumlocution; coffee break, morning;
check; bill circumbendibus elevenses
check; cheque circumstances; circs coffee stand, street; coffee-
check; register cited for bravery; mentioned stall
check; tick in dispatches (a) coin of low value; copper
check; vet citizen; subject collar button; collar stud
checkers; draughts city editor; news editor collect call; transferred charge
checking account; current city hall; guildhall call
account city limits; city boundary college department; faculty
checking account; running city limits; town boundary college graduate; graduate
account civilian life; Civvy Street college monitor; proctor
check off; tick off clamp; cramp college servant; gyp
checkroom; left luggage office clapboard; weather-board college servant; skip
check up; buck up class; form college teacher; don
cheek; cause class; street collision; crash
cheers!; bung-ho! class distinctions 413 come across; stump up
cheesecake; maid of honour classified ad; small ad comedy team; cross-talk
cheesecloth; butter-muslin cleaning lady; char comedians
cheesecloth; muslin cleaning woman; daily come on!; get out of it!
cheese it!; nix! woman come on!; give over!
cheezit!; cave! cleaning woman; Mrs Mop come on!; play up!
chewy candy; stickjaw (Mopp) come out on top; come top
chicken; funky clean up; clear up come to a lot; come expensive
chicken, young; chicken clean up; turn out come up roses; come up
chicken wire; wire netting clearance items; bunches trumps
chicory; endive clear up; fine down comforter; eiderdown
chief counsel; leader clerk; assistant comfort station; public
chief prosecuting attorney, act clipping; cutting convenience
as; lead for the Crown close; level comic, humorous; comic
child beating; child-battering close; shut coming along; in train
children’s traffic guide; closed season; close season coming attractions; dreadful
lollipop man (woman, lady) closed truck; van warning
child’s bib; feeder close haircut; short back and commencement; degree day
chilly; parky sides commit an error; misfield
chimney corner; ingle-nook close order drill; square- committee; working party
Chin up!; Keep your pecker bashing common; coarse
up! closet; cupboard common herd; ruck
- 439
Index
common-room; combination- convertible top; hood cover with a large quantity;
room conveyor belt, rotating; dollop
common stock; ordinary carousel cover with soil; earth
shares cook book; cookery book covey of game birds; brown
commotion; kerfuffle (cooked) oatmeal; porridge cowhand; cattleman
commutation ticket; season cookie; biscuit cow pie; cow pat
ticket cool; fab Coxey’s army; Fred Karno’s
commuting town; dormitory cool; gear army
compact, lady’s flat; flapjack cool; kinky cracked; crackers
company picnic; bean-feast cooler; cool box cracker; biscuit
(the) competition; (the) cop; bobby cram; sap
opposition cop; bogey (bogy) cram; swot
complaint; query cop; rozzer crammed together; chock-a-
complete; full out cop; slop block
compound nouns 409 (the) cops; (the) Old Bill crammer; grinder
concede; agree copy editor; sub-editor cram school; crammer’s
concerned; bothered copy paper, thin; flimsy crane fly; daddy-longlegs
concert master; leader corn; maize crank; starting handle
condemnation; compulsory corn; sweetcorn crank; wind
purchase corned beef; salt beef crankcase; sump
conductor; guard cornerstone; foundation-stone crap (nonsense); balls
cone; cornet corn meal; Indian meal crash land (an aircraft); prang
confidence game; confidence corn starch; cornflour crazed; up the pole
trick Coronation Street; Corry crazy; mental
confined to quarters; confined corporate charter; crazy; round the bend
to barracks memorandum and articles crazy about; mad on
confine to quarters; gate of association crazy bone; funny bone
confused; knocked off corporation; company creek; fleet
confused; muddle (in a) corporation; limited company creel; corf
confused; skimble-scamble correspondence course; postal crepe-soled shoes; brothel-
(skimble-skamble) course creepers
conglomerate; group of corridor; passage crew cut; close crop
companies cost estimate; bill of quantity crib; cot
congratulate; felicitate costs; costings cricket team; eleven
conk out; pack up costume; livery cricket terms 429–430
connect; put through (on cot, folding; camp bed crimes of violence; malicious
telephone) cottage, one-room; bothy mounding
connected; through cotton, absorbent; cotton wool criminal court judge; recorder
conscientious objector; cotton candy; candy-floss criticize; slag off
conchy cotton swab; cotton bud croak; snuff it
consent decree; agreed verdict couch; divan crone; faggot
Conservative Jew; Reform couch; settee crooked; bent
Jew councilman; councillor crooked(ly); skew-whiff
conservatory (music school); counsel (legal); consultant crosswalk; pedestrian
conservatoire counterclockwise; anti- crossing
consider (someone) to be; clockwise crotch; crutch
write (someone) down as counterclockwise; withershins crouton; sippet
construction; construe (widdershins) crow; humble pie
construction worker; navvy counterfeit; forged crow, red-legged; chough
contact; make one’s number counterfeiter; coiner crowd; shoal
with courage; bottle cruddy; grotty
contemptible; bloody court sessions; assizes cruise; crawl
contemptible; fiddling court stenographer; cruise for a pickup; gutter-
contract; private treaty shorthand writer crawl
contractor; lumper cover; mark crummy; scrotty
control room; listening room coverage; cover crummy; tinpot
conveniences; amenities coverall; boiler suit crunch; put-to
conveniences; offices coverall; overall crush; spif(f)licate
conversant; au fait covered approach to (a) crusher; one in the eye
convertible top; drop-head doorway; porch crystal; glass
- 440 British English, A to Zed
dead broke; skint desist; pack it in
cubbyhole; cubby
dead drunk; up the pole desperate for sex; gagging
cuff link; sleeve link
dead-end residential area; for it
cunt; fanny
close desperate straits, in; past
cup; beaker
dead-end street; cul-de-sac praying for
cupcake; fairy cake
deadline; time-limit despicable person; tosser
cup of tea; cuppa
deaf; cloth-eared despicable person; wanker
curling iron; curling tongs
deal; do dessert; afters
currant cookie; garibaldi
dealer; monger dessert; pudding
currency 413, 416–417
dealer in stocks; stockjobber dessert; sweet
curriculum vitae; CV
dean; doyen destroy; perish
curtain material; soft
dean; head detail; second
furnishings
Dear . . . ; My dear . . . detect; catch out
curve; bend
decal; transfer detour; diversion
custard sauce; custard
decamp; shoot the crow dial tone; dialling tone
custodian; keeper
decarbonize; decoke (the) diamond industry;
custody; wardship
(a) decent person; good egg Hatton Garden
custom made; bespoke
(decimal) point; spot diaper; nappy
cut-and-dried;
deck; pack diaphragm; cap
straightforward
declare; go diarrhea; gippy tummy
cutaway; tailcoat
declare insolvent; hammer Dibs on . . . !; bags I!
cut down to size; debag
deduction; allowance dicks; busies
cutie; popsie
deduction; relief die laughing; fall about
deduction from wages; laughing
D
stoppage diet; bant
dad; governor deed, unilateral; deed-poll diet; slim
dainty; dinky deep-dish pie; pie dig up; rake up
dam; barrage definite article 409 (a) dime a dozen; two (ten) a
dam; weir defroster; demister penny
damages; compensation degree below 32° F; degree dime novel; penny dreadful
dame; bird of frost dime novel; shilling shocker
dame; broad degree removed; remove diner; pull-up
damn!; bother dejected; chap-fallen dining car; restaurant car
damnable; ruddy delay; hold-up dinner roll; bread roll
damned; bally delighted; chuffed diplomat; diplomatist
damned; bleeding delightful; absolutely sweet directional signal; trafficator
damned; blind delivery by (refrigerated directional signal; winker
damned; blinking truck); chilled distribution director; producer
damned; bloody delivery man; roundsman dirt floor; earth floor (earthen
damned; blooming dell; dingle floor)
damned; dashed demonstration; demo dirt road; unpaved road/
damned; flaming den; snuggery track
damned; flipping denatured alcohol; dirty (indecent); rude
damned!; jiggered methylated spirit disagreeable; nasty
damned; rattling dentist’s office; surgery disappear; (do a) runner
damned good; clinking dentist’s office hours; surgery disappear; go missing
damn it!; blast! depart; flit disappointed, very; gutted
dandruff; scurf department store; disbar; strike off
Danish; Chelsea bun departmental store discard; cast
darts, the game of; arrows deposit slip; credit slip discharge; demob
dates 414 deposit slip; paying-in slip discount; concession
daylight saving time; summer deprecate oneself; cry discounter; bill broker
time stinking fish disgruntled; choked
day nursery; crèche depreciation; writing down disgruntled; chuffed
day’s route; country round deputy churchwarden; disgusted; chocker
day’s schedule of doctor sidesman dish (desirable woman);
(dentist); surgery derby (hat); bowler crumpet
dazed; knocked off desert; leave in the lurch dish made of leftovers;
dead; dead-alive desirable residence; Des. res. resurrection pie
dead; flat desirable woman; crumpet dishonest; bent
- 441
Index
dishonorable discharge; domestic employment dresser; chest of drawers
dismissal with disgrace agency; registry dressing-down; wigging
dishpan; washing-up bowl domestic monopoly; sheltered dressing-room; changing-
dishrag; wash-cloth trade room
dish towel; tea-towel done dirt; hard done by drink (a beer); neck
dish towel; washing-up cloth done in; whacked drink, another; (the) other
disinfect; stove up Do Not Enter; No Entry half
dislike; down don’t exaggerate!; draw it drip; weed
dislodge; unharbour mild! drive; hoy
dismissal; sack Don’t let it bother you!; Not drive; motor
dismissal with bonus; golden to worry! drive (someone) crazy; drive
handshake Don’t mention it!; Pleasure! (someone) up the wall
dismount; alight don’t talk nonsense; Go to drive (someone) nuts; send
display of anger or Bath! (someone) spare
nervousness; wobbly doorman; porter driver’s license; driving
display one’s credentials; set doorman, uniformed, and the license
out one’s stall like; commissionaire driver’s rest area; lay-by
(a) dispute; argy-bargy door-to-door salesman; driver’s seat; driving seat
dispute (row); bother doorstep salesman drive shaft; cardan shaft
district; constituency door-to-door salesman; drive shaft; propeller shaft
disturb; put (someone) off knocker drive to distraction; do (one’s)
dither; faff dope; berk head in
dither; kerfuffle dope; jobbernowl driveway; drive
dither; way dope; juggins drizzle; mizzle
dive; night-cellar dope; nit drone on and on; jaw-jaw
divided highway; dual dope; poop drop; slide
carriageway dopey; dozy (dozey) drop dead; drop down dead
dividend; divi (divvy) dormitory; hall of residence drudgery; donkey-work
divide up; divvy up dormitory (house); college drug on the market; drug in
divinity school; theological do the dishes; wash up the market
college double; large drugs, to take in excess;
dizzy spell; giddy fit double boiler; double cane it
dizzy spell; turn saucepan drugstore; chemist’s shop
(do) business; trade double dealer; twicer drumming up trade; huggery
do/done 413 double digits; double figures drunk; bevvied up
dock; wharf double portion; double drunk; bladdered
doctor; medic double whole note; breve drunk; elephant’s
doctor, resident; registrar dough; oof drunk; hammered
doctor covering for another; dough; rhino drunk; lean
locum dough; (the) ready drunk; pissed
doctor’s office; surgery dough (money); brass drunk, very; paralytic
doctor’s office hours; surgery dough (money); dibs dry goods; Manchester
dodge; jink dough (money); lolly dry goods store; draper’s
do (someone) dirt; do dough (money); £ s.d. shop
(someone) down doughnut; ring doughnut dry ice; hot ice
do (someone) dirt; do down at the heels; down at dry measure 417
(someone) in the eye heel dub; rabbit
doesn’t hold a candle to; (is) (be) down on; have a down dud; damp squib
not a patch on on duds; dunnage
(a) dog’s age; donkey’s years down shift; change down due date; quarter-day
dog tag; identity disc downtown; town centre dues; subscription
do (someone) in; do draft; call-up dull; subfusc
(someone) up drafting room; drawing office dull and stupid; thick
do (someone) in; scupper drag; fag dumb; wet
Do It Yourself; DIY drag; grind dumbwaiter; service lift
doll up; tart up drain; run-away dummy bomb; proxy bomb
domestic; inland dram; tot dump; tip
domestic; internal dress; frock (the) dumps; (the) hump
domestic abuse; wife- dressed to kill; dressed to the Dumpster; skip
battering nines Dumpster; skivvy-bin
- 442 British English, A to Zed
dune; dene endive; chicory exemption; relief
duplicate; roneo endless discussion; jaw-jaw exhaust; fag
dust balls; slut’s wool engineer; engine driver exhaust; knock up
engineer’s platform; footplate exhausted; all in
English 428–429 exhausted; hammered
E
English; side exhaust fan; extractor fan
early in the picture; early on English; spin exhibition game; friendly
earn; knock up English Channel; Silver Streak exhibitor; renter
easement; wayleave English horn; cor anglais Exit; Way Out
easy; cushy engrave; dye stamp expel; sack
easy does it!; steady on! engraving; copperplate expel; send down
easy pickings; money for jam printing expel temporarily from
eat high off the hog; live like a enlist; take the shilling university; rusticate
fighting cock enlisted men; other ranks expenses; outgoings
eat like a pig; pig it enormously; thumping expensive; pricey (pricy)
eats; tuck entail; attract expensive suburb; gin and
eccentric; cranky enter university; go up Jaguar belt
(an) edible green plumlike enthusiastic; mustard-keen expert, especially in science;
fruit; greengage enthusiastic about; keen on boffin
editor in chief; chief editor entitled to the use of; free of explain the situation to
eel, small; grig entrance; entry (someone); put (someone)
eel trap; buck entrants; intake in the picture
effective date; tax point eraser; rubber express; fast
effeminate male; nancy boy ER department; accident and extension cord; flex
eggplant; aubergine emergency extension courses; extra-
egg roll; pancake roll erect penis; stiffie mural studies
egg roll; spring roll escalator; moving stairway extension school; college of
eggs from uncooped hens; escritoire; davenport further education
free-range eggs estate or farm manager; bailiff extortionate rent; rack-rent
eiderdown quilt; duvet Europe, mainland; (the) extra; gash
eighth note; quaver Continent extra measure; long pull
elastic knit fabric; stockinet evading the question; extra measure; pull
(the) elder; major ducking and diving extra salary allowance;
elect; return even; level weighting
election, special; by-election even; square extremely bad; diabolical
or bye-election even money; evens extremely lazy; bone-idle
election day; polling-day even Stephen; honours even extremely slow; dead slow
electrical outlet; socket even Stephen; level pegging extreme side seat; slip
electrical socket; point everything but the kitchen exult riotously; maffick
electric cord; flex sink; everything that opens eye glasses; spectacles
electric heater; electric fire and shuts
electrician’s tape; insulating everything’s A-OK; Bristol
F
tape fashion
electric tricycle; invalid fabulous; snorting
everything’s hunky-dory;
carriage face; Chevy
everything in the garden’s
elementary school; primary face; mug
lovely
school face annihilation; (be) on a
everything thrown in; all in
elevator; lift hiding to nothing
excelsior; wood-wool
11 honors; four honors face cloth; flannel
except; bar
elimination contest; knock- fact-finding board; court of
excise tax; purchase tax
out inquiry
excise tax; V.A.T.
embarrassing, painfully; factor
exclamation point;
Cringe-making factory; works
exclamation mark
emcee; compère factory whistle; hooter
excursion bus; charabanc
emergency room; casualty faddish; trendy
excursionist; tripper
ward fagged; spun
executive; director
employ; engage faintest; foggiest
(the) Executive Committee;
employee in charge of fair; fête
(the) Executive
supplies; storekeeper fair enough; fair do’s
executive vice president;
empty; peckish fairground; funfair
managing director
- 443
Index
figure out; sus out flank; skirt
fair-haired boy; blue-eyed
figures of speech 412–414 flashlight; torch
boy
filet; fillet flashy; flash
fair with occasional showers;
fill; make up flat; puncture
bright periods
fill; stop flat broke; (in) Carey Street
fake; duff
fill; top up flat cakes; dampers
fall; slide
fillers; balaam flatter; flannel
(be the) fall guy; carry the can
fill in; gen up flattery; flannel
fall on one’s face; come a
fill out; fill in flatulent; windy
purler
financial district; (the) City flavored alcoholic beverage;
fall on one’s face; put up a
financial editor; City editor Alcopop
black
financial terms 417 flextime; flexitime
family fruit and vegetable
fine; champion flirt; carry on
garden; kitchen garden
fine!; lovely! flood; spate
fanatic puritan; wowser
fine; sconce floor; pair
fanny pack; bumbag
fine comb; toothcomb floor lamp; standard lamp
farm, residence; home-farm
fine gravel; grit floor space; carpet area
farmhand; agricultural
finely granulated sugar; floorwalker; shop-walker
labourer
caster sugar flophouse; casual ward
farm machinery; dead stock
fingerprints; dabs flophouse; doss-house
farm or estate manager; bailiff
finicky; dainty flout; drive a coach and
farmstead; steading
finish; pack it in horses through
farsighted; long-sighted
finish; put paid to flunk; plough
fascinating; riveting
finished; done and dusted flustered; in a tizzy
fashionable; trendy
fink; scug fly; flies
fashion show; dress show
fire; sack flying bomb; doodle-bug
fastback; slant-tailed
firecracker; banger fogy; buffer
fasten; pop
(be) fired (get the gate); get
fat and squat; fubsy fold; put down
father; pater the chop fold; put the shutters up
fat produced by meat during fire department; fire brigade folding cot; camp bed
cooking; dripping folding seat; tip-up seat
firehouse; fire station
fatty; podge fondle; nurse
fire insurance company; fire
faucet; tap food (grub); bait
office
favored; tipped food cupboard; meat-safe
fireman’s platform; footplate
favorite (in horse racing); pot food names 427
fireplace implements; fire-
food supplier; caterer
fed up; chocker irons
fool; goat
fee(s); dues fire screen; fire-guard
fool, goddamned; b.f.
feeding; feed fire starter; fire lighter
fool; juggins
feel below par; feeling not fireworks display; Brock’s
fool; muggins
quite the thing benefit
fool; plonker
feel like; feel first balcony; dress circle
fool; twat
feet; plates (of meat) first-class mail; letter post
(a) fool; wally
fellow; bean first name; Christian name
fool around; rag
fellow; chap first rate; tip-top
foolish person; pillock
fellow; cove fish, fresh; wet fish
foolish person; wanker
female pubic hair; minge fish, small carplike; roach
foot (far end); bottom
fender; wing fish and chip shop; chippy
football; footy
fern, large; bracken fish and seafood; fish
for (used for); in aid of
few in number; thin on the fish for small eels; sniggle
ford; watersplash
fish sticks; fish fingers
ground
foreman; charge-hand
fish store; fishmonger’s
fey; airy-fairy
forest riding-path; ride
fish story; fishing story
fiasco; (a) nonsense
for free (gratis); buckshee
fish tank; stew
fiasco; lash-up
for sale; under offer
five; fiver
fiasco (washout); sucks
for that matter; for the matter
$500, £500; monkey
fib; taradiddle (tarradiddle)
fix; nobble of that
fiberglass; glass fibre
fixed; straightened out 40th wedding anniversary;
field; ground
fixtures; fitments ruby anniversary
fielder; fieldsman
fixtures; fittings fortuitous; chance-come
field hockey; hockey
flair; panache fortune; bomb
fifth wheel; gooseberry
- 444 British English, A to Zed
genuine; pukka
forward; redirect fuss; carry on
German shepherd dog;
foul line; crease fuss; faff
Alsatian
foul up; bugger fuss; kerfuffle
get along with; get on with
(be) found out; (be) blown futile; fiddling
get a move on; look smart!
Four Corners; Four Wents F. W. Woolworth & Co.;
get anywhere with; get much
4-F; C3 Woolies
change out of
foursome; fourball
frame house; wooden house get a rise out of; take a rise
G
frame-up; fit-up out of
gabble; waffle
frank; rude get a rise out of; take the rise
gaffe, make a; drop a clanger
free; gash out of
gag; rag
free-for-all; Donnybrook get away with it; slime
(a) gag; funniosity
freight; carriage get a word in edgewise; put
gain; rise
freight; goods one’s hoof in
gain; win
freight elevator; hoist get back on; get one’s own
galley; caboose
freighter; cargo boat back on
gallon 418
French cuff; double cuff get (someone’s) back up; put
gallows tree; gallows
french fried potatoes; chips (someone’s) back up
galoshes; snowboots
fresh fish; wet fish get by; rub along
gamble; flutter
freshman; fresher get down to brass tacks; come
gamble; game
(be) fresh to; cheek to the horses
game; gammy
friends and relations; kith get even with; get upsides
game; match
and kin with
game birds, covey of; brown
fright; guy get forty winks; have a doss
(the) game of darts; arrows
frills; tatt get going; get one’s skates on
gander; shufty
fringe benefits; perks get going!; get on with it!
gander (glance); dekko
fritter away one’s time; tatt get going; get stuck in
gander (look-see); recce
frog; rose get going; get weaving
gang foreman; ganger
from the word go; from the get going; pull one’s socks up
garbage; gash
off
get in (someone’s) hair; get
garbage bin on wheels;
front desk; reception
up (someone’s) nose
wheelie bin
front yard; forecourt
get killed (be bumped off);
garbage can; dustbin
frozen food; frosted food
get the chop
garbage dump; refuse tip
fruit and vegetable pushcart
get lost!; cheese off!
garbage heap; midden
vendor; costermonger
Get lost!; On your bike!
garbage man; dustman
fruit and vegetable pushcart
get lost!; piss off
garbage truck; dustcart
vendor; pearly
get moving; push along
garden, family fruit and
fruit and vegetable store;
get (someone) out; dismiss
vegetable; kitchen garden
greengrocer’s
get out of an automobile;
garden area, small rented;
fruit basket; chip
debus
allotment
fruit basket, small; punnet
get (someone) riled up; get
garters; suspenders
fruit cake, cheap; schoolboy
across (someone)
gasoline; petrol
cake
get settled; smooth
gas pedal; accelerator
fruit course at end of meal;
get smashed; go for six
gate; barrier
dessert
get some shuteye; put one’s
gate; push
fruit-seller; fruiterer
head down
gaudy; twopence coloured
fry; fry-up
get something going; put up
gauge; bore
fuck; shag
the hare
gear; clobber
full approval; full marks
get somewhat tight; have one
gear; traps
full of pep; cracking
over the eight
gearshift; gear-lever
full-time babysitter; nanny
get sore (angry); go spare
gee!; coo!
fully informed; in the picture
get the best of; get the better
gee!; cor!
fun; all the fun of the fair
of
geezer; josser
fund-raising campaign;
get the better of; score off
gelatin-type dessert; jelly
appeal
get the gate (be fired); get the
general delivery; poste
funeral director; undertaker
chop
restante
funny; jokes
get things started; open the
general election, have a; go to
funny (peculiar); rum
bowling
the country
fur hat, tall; busby
get this!; wait for it!
generator; dynamo
furnish; issue
- 445
Index
get (something) under way; going on; coming government official; politician
have (something) put in going on; rising Government Printing Office;
hand going over; stonk Her Majesty’s Stationery
get-up; clobber going places; on the up and up Office
getup; rig-out going too far; (a) bit thick government publication;
get working; crack on (with) going too far; over the top Paper
giant supermarket; hyper- go into bankruptcy; put up governor; supremo
market the shutters go wrong; go pear-shaped
gift (present); prezzy goldbrick; scrimshank grab; snaffle
giggle in an annoying goldbrick; skive grab bag; lucky-dip
manner; titter gondola car; open goods- grade; class
gill 418–419 waggon grade; form
gimpy; dot and go one gondola car; truck grade; standard
gin; mother’s ruin good and bad; good in parts grade (hill); gradient
gin; squareface good at; hot on grade crossing; level crossing
gin and tonic; G&T goodbye!; cheers! grade school; elementary
gingersnap; ginger biscuit good eats; scoff school
(ginger-nut) good God!; ‘strewth! graduate; come down
gin mill; gin-stop Good heavens!; Crikey! graduate; pass out
girdle; belt good heavens!; stone the graduate; post-graduate
girdle; roll-on crows! graduate from; leave
girlfriend; ball and chain good shot!; shooting! graft; backhander
girlfriend; bint (a) good sport; worth a good grain; corn
Girl Scout; Girl Guide deal of anybody’s time grass shoulder; verge
give; bung good stuff; good value gratis (for free); buckshee
give a hoot; care a pin (a) good talking-to; ear- gravel; beach
give (someone) hell; give bashing gravel, fine; grit
(someone) fits good thing; good job gravy boat; sauce-boat
give (someone) hell; give goof; boob great!; lovely!
(someone) stick goof off; dodge the column great; rare
to give (someone) hell; have goof off; mike great; ripping
(someone’s) guts for goof off; slack great; top-hole
garters goof off; swing it great; topping
give (someone) his pink slip goof off; swing the lead great!; whacko!
or his walking papers; give goofy; bonkers great fun; all the fun of the
(someone) his cards go on strike/to stop work; fair
give (someone) the hook; down tools Greek; double Dutch
give (someone) the bird gooseberry; goosegog greenhouse; glasshouse
giving services for board and goose egg; duck green plumlike fruit;
lodging; au pair gooseneck lamp; flexible greengage
glance (gander); dekko (table) lamp green thumb; green fingers
gloomy; dull goose pimples; chicken-flesh Greenwich mean time; G.
gloomy Gus; dismal Jimmy goose pimples; goosebumps M. T.
gloomy Gus; Jeremiah gosh!; coo! green woolen cloth; Kendal
glum; liverish gosh!; cor! green
glutton; stodge gosh; I say! griddle; girdle
gluttonous; greedy go steady; walk out Grievous Bodily Harm; GBH
go (become); come over go the limit; make all the grind; aesthete
go AWOL; go spare running grind; kibble
gob; whack go to bed early; have an early grind; mug
go-between; linkman night grind; sap
goddamned; bleeding go to the dogs; go to the bad grit; sand
goddamned; bloody go to the races; go racing ground; earth
goddamned fool; b.f. government bonds; gilts group; lot
God help us!; save the mark! government employee; civil group; set
God’s country; blighty servant group of final candidates;
God willing; D. V.; W. P. Government Insurance shortlist
gofer; dog’s body System; National Insurance grub; tack
go first; bat first government lottery bond; grub; toke
go first; take first knock Premium Bond grub (food); bait
- 446 British English, A to Zed
hard up; (in) Queer Street headboard; bed-board
grudge match; needle match
hardware; fixings head cheese; brawn
gruesome; curly
hardware dealer; ironmonger headfirst; neck and crop
guard; keeper
harum scarum; rackety headlight; headlamp
guck; jollop
hat (derby); bowler headliner; topliner
guest book; visitors’ book
hat, slouch; trilby headliner; top of the bill
guest room; spare room
hat, tall fur; busby head nurse; charge-nurse
gullible person; mug
hat check girl; cloakroom head over heels; arse over tip
gum; chewing gum
attendant headphones; cans
gun, soft; fat rascal
(have a) ball; (have a) rave-up head shrinker; trick cyclist
gurgle; guggle
have a general election; go to health inspector; health
guy; bean
the country visitor
guy; beggar
have an affair; have it off heaping; heaped
guy; bloke
have an alcoholic drink, to; hearing aid; deaf-aid
guy; chap
bend the elbow heart’s content; top on one’s
guy; cove
have a screw loose; have a bent
guy; johnny
slate loose heated argument; ding-dong
guy; stick
have (someone) at one’s heater; fire
gym suit; gym slip (gym
mercy; have (someone) on heater, electric; electric fire
tunic)
toast heaven; Land of the Leal
gypsy; gyppo (gyp)
have (something) going; have (peanut) heaven; gods
(something) on heavy; double
H
(to) have had it; (to) have had heavy cream; double cream
haberdashery; draper’s shop one’s chips heavy favorite; long odds on
(be) had; (be) done have high hopes; fancy one’s heavy food; stodge
hairpin; hair grip chances heavy goods vehicle; HGV
hairs, short; curlies have it easy; have jam on it heavy linen; dowlas
hair spray; lacquer have (something) lined up; heavy muslin; dowlas
half a minute (right away); have (something) in one’s heavy work; rough
half a tick eye hedge clippings; brash
half-cocked; at half-cock have no use for; have no hedge of shrubs bordering a
halfnote; minim time for field; hedgerow
half past; half have plenty to do; have held for questioning; assisting
ham; gammon enough on one’s plate the police
hamburger; beefburger have sexual intercourse; go hell; bean
hamburger; Wimpy to bed hell; rocket
hand (someone) a line; chat have sexual intercourse with; hell-raiser; rip
up bonk hell-raiser; tearaway
handball; fives have the inside edge help wanted; situations
handbill; broadsheet have your cake and eat it; vacant
handle; manhandle too; have the penny and help wanted; vacancies
handwriting; hand the bun hem and haw; hum and ha
handyman; odd man having achieved one’s goal; (hereditary) knight; baronet
hang around; mouch (mooch) home and dry here’s how!; cheers!
hang out; cotch having a liquor license; hesitate; jib
hang up; put the ‘phone licenced het up; in a flap
down having a telephone; on the het up; strung up
hanky-panky; jiggery-pokery telephone hey! hello!; hi!
happy as a clam; happy as a having made a start; off the hey! (what’s going on?);
sandboy mark hullo!
hard; shrewd hawker; cheapjack hi!; watcher!
hard-boiled; hard-baked hawthorn; may hideaway; bolt-hole
hard boiled; hard-cooked hayseed; chaw-bacon hideaway; hidey-hole
hard cider; cider haystack; rick hiding place; hide
hard labor; hard head; crumpet hierarchy; totem
head (bean); loaf highbrow; Bloomsbury
hard liquor; spirits
head (beginning); top (in the) highest rank; (at the)
hard-luck guy; lame duck
head (noodle); conk top of the tree
hard sauce; brandy-butter
head (noodle); napper high gear; top gear
hard sauce; rum-butter
head (noodle); noddle high rise; multi-storey
hard up; in low water
nguon tai.lieu . vn
