Jennifer Jane Pope's Britionary

Adam's Ale	water
ale	forerunner of beer, brewed without hops. Still popular, especially in northern and rural pubs and "real ale" pubs in many cities elsewhere.
allotment	small patches of ground in urban areas, rented out to residents by local authorities for the purpose of growing vegetables and flowers.
almonds (almond rocks)	socks. Cockney rhyming slang.
'arris (harris)	Slang term for one's backside (ie: I kicked him in his 'arris.) Basically a phonetic corruption of the word "arse", so a half-hearted attempt at being polite!
arvo	afternoon (Australian)
banged up	locked up - usually in jail or a police cell and a reference to the banging of cell doors.
barm pot (barmy)	foolish or mad.
barnet	hair - Cockney rhyming slang: Barnet Fair = hair.
bashing the bishop	male masturbation (navy slang).
beer tokens	slang term for money, most usually applied for smaller sums received for doing odd jobs outside a person's normal work field, frequently paid "cash-in-hand" and not declared for tax purposes.
bent	dishonest. Favourite expression is "Bent as a nine bob note." This refers to nine shillings in pre-decimal money and a nine shilling note was never printed, let alone circulated. This same expression can also be used to intimate that someone is gay.
Bill, The (Old)	Slang term for police. Several of these in Britain - slang terms, that is, as well as policemen!
bizzies (busies)	Liverpool (Scouse) slang for police.
blag	to steal, trick, lie, etc
blag (a, noun)	a blag is the term used by police and villains to describe a robbery - usually an armed robbery or raid.
blighter	unscrupulous person, a cad, or bounder. Probably from the word "blight", the potato blight being particularly prevalent in Britain (especially Ireland) in centuries past.
bob	old shilling (twelve pennies) in pre-decimal money. (See also Appendix II - old money).
bobby	slang term for policeman (after Sir Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan police in 19th century England.)
bog(s)	lavatory (usually gents).
bonce	head
bonkers	mad, acting stupidly or irresponsibly
boot (of car)	trunk in US
bonnet (of car)	The hood in US
braces	used for holding up trousers. Referred to as suspenders in USA. (See "suspender (belt)" below.)
bottle	courage, daring, bravado - sometimes foolishly.
brick	reliable, trustworthy person.
brief	nickname in underworld slang for a lawyer. (See Appendix III, below.)
bristols (Bristol Cities)	Breasts. Cockney rhyming slang - Bristol Cities = titties (Bristol City is the name of one of the two soccer clubs in the port of Bristol. For those who are interested, the other team is Bristol Rovers.
bubble	From Cockney rhyming slang: Bubble and squeak = Greek (person)
bubble and squeak	bubble and squeak is an English favourite, a fry-up of leftover vegetables.
bug rake	hair comb
bumper (of car)	fender in US
bung	bribe, or "backhander", illicit payment made, usually to an official or person in influential position, in return for favour, information, or influence (winning of official contracts, etc). The word "bung" is also used, colloquially, to mean "throw", as in "bung me over that pencil", so the use of bung to mean graft probably stems from that. To "bung up" means to clog, or block, from the proper definition of the word as a stopper in a bottle or cask.
bun in the oven	pregnant, e.g.: "She's got a bun in the oven."
busies	See "bizzies" (above)
butcher's (hook)	Cockney rhyming slang: "Take (have) a butcher's (hook)" = "Take (have) a look." Used generally in the shortened form, "butcher's", but occasionally heard used as "butcher's hook" in entirety.
caravanette	small mobile home or RV.
chemist (shop)	The approximate equivalent of the US drug store, includes a pharmacy for the dispensing of prescription drugs and medication.
china (my old ..)	friend, mate. Cockney rhyming slang: China plate = mate.
chippy (chippie)	carpenter/general woodworker
chippy	fish and chip shop
chips	French fried potatoes (except that traditional English chips bought from the Chippy leave French fries standing, but then I'm a Brit, so very biased.)
chook	chicken. (Australian)
chopper	penis (slang).
chops/choppers	"choppers" is a term still used to describe teeth, especially false teeth and the term "chops" refers to the mouth, cheeks and jaw area, as in: "She gave him a right smack round the chops", meaning a slap or punch to the lower facial area.
chuck	term of endearment or affection, Lancashire in origin. Pronounced "chook", but not to be confused with chickens!
chunder (verb)	to be sick, vomit. (Australian).
cloth ears	intimating that someone is deliberately pretending not to hear something. "Oi, cloth-ears, didn't you hear me tell you to wash that car down?"
Cockney	East Londoner, born within the sound of Bow Bells. (Or now anywhere within those environs.)
cocky	over confident, brash.
coldie	cooled can of drink, preferably alcoholic and more usually lager (Australian).
collared	caught. To "collar" a criminal in police jargon is to arrest him.
conk	nose
Cor blimey	expression of surprise - contraction of old expression "God Blind Me!"
cove	largely out of fashion now, refers to a male, as in: "He's a strange cove". Dating back to the 16th century, it is thought perhaps to come from the Romany, cofe or kova, meaning man.
cream crackered	totally exhausted - "cream crackered" = knackered. Cockney rhyming slang. See knackers below.
crim	criminal (noun) (possibly imported from Australia)
crisps	potato chips
crook	poorly, unwell, ill - usually used to describe mild ailments .(Australian)
crumpet	slang - attractive female
cushty (kushty)	good ... said to come from the Romany. Kushty bok = good luck
dag	(Australian) unworthy, untrustworthy, unpleasant person (corr. of dog).
daisies (daisy roots)	boots. Cockney rhyming slang.
dial	face (of person). Slang.
dibbles	slang. Police - usually lower ranking officers.
dicky dirt	shirt. Cockney rhyming slang.
dinlo (dinnie)	foolish or backward person.
dinner jacket	tuxedo. Sometimes referred to in England as a DJ, not to be confused with a disc jockey!
divvy	slang (from Romany) - stupid, idiotic, thoughtless.
dob (in)	(Australian) To dob in - to tell tales on, put blame on someone.
dog (dog and bone)	telephone. Cockney rhyming slang.
doolaly	mentally unbalanced, mad. Slang term derived from the Indian town of Deolaly, near Bombay, where soldiers waited to be shipped home. It symbolises boredom, but later there was a hospital built at Deolaly for shell shock victims.
doughnut	foolish or silly person.
dork	idiot.
drongo	(Australian) stupid or dull-witted person
dunny	(Australian) lavatory.
estate car	station wagon.
faff (verb)	to dither.
fanny	vagina (not backside, as in USA)
fanny about	prevaricate, dither, waste time.
fag	cigarette
fag	(in the old English Public Schools system, fags were younger boys who were detailed to run errands and do menial tasks for the senior boys. Still in use in one or two schools, but mostly now only seen and heard in period novels.)
floors (of buildings)	In the UK, the first storey of a building is called the Ground Floor, then first floor, second floor, etc, whereas in the USA the first storey is called the first floor. Therefore, the second floor of a building in England would be the third floor in the USA.
florin	largely obsolete term. Two shilling coin in pre-decimal money. (SeeAppendix II, below)
FOS	very large ("Fuck Off Sized!")
frog	road. Cockney rhyming slang. Frog and toad = road.
gander (take a)	slang. To take a look.
garter	frilled tie (now elasticated usually) for fastening around the thigh to hold up a stocking. A garter belt is generally known as a suspender belt in UK.
gas	to chatter or gossip
gas-bag	overly verbose person or habitual gossip
geezer	colloquial - a man.
giro (giro day)	Now used almost colloquially to describe a lot of state benefit payments - a bank giro order is sent to unemployed people and those on state benefits and they can either deposit in their bank account or cah over the counter of a specified post office. People refer to their "giro day", as the day when their money comes in the post.
grockle	term used by locals to describe holidaymakers to their town or city.
grot, grotty	unpleasant looking - grot would apply to anything worthless and ugly.
hack it	manage to do it. "Yes, it's difficult, but I think I can hack it."
half a crown	two shillings and sixpence in pre-decimal money, sometimes referred to as "two and six" or "two and a tanner". See tanner below. (See also Appendix II - old money).
hampton	penis. Cockney rhyming slang - Hampton Wick = prick, or dick. (Hampton Wick is an area of London).
handbag	Referred to as a ladies' purse in US. Usually ten times as large on the inside as it appears from the outside. The idea for Dr Who's Tardis was taken from this phenomenum of nature! Contents vary and should be approached with extreme caution and suspicion.
hooter	nose
hussy	brazen or loose woman.
"I'll go to the foot of our stairs!"	Expression of surprise or amazement.
Irish screwdriver	hammer.
Jack and Jill	hill. Cockney rhyming slang: Jack and Jill = hill. Also used to refer to the till in a shop.
jacks	five pounds (money)
jacksie (jaxie, jaxy)	back side, buttocks, bottom.
jam jar	car. Cockney rhyming slang.
jimmy (riddle)	to urinate. Cockney rhyming slang: Jimmy Riddle = piddle. See piddle, below.
kecks	underpants (can be male or female, but more usually male).
khazi (carzey)	lavatory. Either from Italian, or thought also to be from Hindi.
kite	look. Take a kite = take a look.
kiting	obtaining money by deception, using stolen cheques in retail outlets (now also sometimes used to include credit card fraud in shops).
knackers	testicles.
knackered	totally exhausted. See knackers yard below.
knackers yard	slaughter house, usually for broken down or worn out old horses.
knocked up	pregnant (generally pregnant without intent)
ladder	run (as in stockings or tights (pantyhose)
ladette	modern slang - girl who acts with a "laddish" attitude - drinking, smoking, swearing, etc.
lag (old lag)	habitual criminal with prison record.
leak (take a .. )	urinate.
leg it	make a run for it.
leg over	slang - having sexual intercourse.
loopy	slightly mad, illogical.
lughole	ear
malt .	unflattering term for a female.
mince pies (minces)	eyes. Cockney rhyming slang.
Mother's Ruin	gin. Expression first used in Victorian times, referring to the belief that the consumption of large quantities of gin brought on spontaneous abortions in the early stages of pregnancy.
moody	suspicious, not genuine - "a moody deal" - deal in which one of the parties is likely to be cheated in some way or other.
mucker	close friend or workmate (military slang.)
muggins	fall guy. Drawer of the short straw - usually used by someone to describe his/her self, as in, "Muggins here will have to do it, I suppose?"
muller (verb)	to murder, or to beat so badly as to leave very near to death. Underworld slang.
mung	to rummage through an assortment of items, possessions, generally in a careless manner.
nadgers	testicles
nail laquer	nail polish
nob	posh or aristocratic. probably a corruption of the Indian term nawab (a ruler or high dignitary), first contracted to nabob.
nosh	food - generally plain and wholesome fare. To nosh = to eat, sometimes indecorously.
offie	see "off licence", below.
off licence	store for the sale of intoxicating liquor to be drunk off the premises
off one's rocker	mad, talking or acting stupidly.
on your bike	slang - get on your bike = get out of here and quickly.
pavement	sidewalk
pee (piddle)	to urinate. See Jimmy (Riddle) above, and piddle, below.
pen and ink	stink. Cockney rhyming slang: Pen and ink = stink. Can be shortened as in: "It doesn't half pen in here."
petrol	gasolene
piddle	to urinate. Interestingly, the term piddle, also used to describe urinating, originally meant " a small stream" and there are still towns in Dorset - Piddlehampton and Piddletrenthide, which have recently changed back froma former change of name, when Victorian prudery saw them called Puddlehampton, etc.
pissed	drunk
pissed off	considerably annoyed and probably frustrated by it
plates	feet. Cockney rhyming slang: Plates of meat = feet.
plod (Mr Plod)	slang term for policeman
plonker	penis, or stupid person. To act like a plonker is to act stupidly.
police ranks	British police ranks vary from their US counterparts incredibly. For the benefit of one or two writers I know like to set crime stories in Britain, there is a separate appendix at the end of this glossary.
pony	Cockney rhyming slang: Pony and trap = crap. This can be used when "crap" refers either to something being worthless, or the act of going to the lavatory.
porky (porkies)	Cockney rhyming slang. Pork(y) pie = lie (untruth). Telling porkies = lying.
prat(t)	idiot, someone acting stupidly.
pudding club (in the)	being pregnant, eg: "She's in the pudding club."
purse (ladies)	referred to in the US as a pocketbook sometimes. Small receptacle for holding money and loose change, possibly keys and other small items. Often carried in a handbag, which is referred to as a purse in US.
quids in	making a profit on a deal, generally a profit guaranteed well before the completion of a transaction. (quid = slang name for pound sterling).
rag and bone man	see totter below.
ratted (rat-arsed)	completely drunk.
razzle (go on the)	go on a drinking spree, usually in a crowd.
rosie/rosie lee	tea. Cockney rhyming slang.
rub-a-dub (dub)	pub. Cockney rhyming slang.
Ruby (Murray)	curry. Cockney rhyming slang - "Ruby Murray" = curry. For those who don't know, Ruby Murray was a famous singer in the 1950s and early 60s. The expression is now generally contracted to just "ruby".
Scouse (scouser)	Native of Liverpool, Merseyside.
scrote	police colloquialism for villain or very low-life person (from scrotum)
scuffers	police
senior service (the)	The Royal Navy, the first of the armed services be be formally established in England.
shufty (take a ..)	Take/have a shufty = take a look.
shag	sexual intercourse
sheila	(Australian) term used to refer to a female, usually young and pretty, but not necessarily so.
shirty	bad tempered.
sickie	unofficial day or days off for sickness, the nature of any illness concerned being dubious, if it actually exists at all.
skaggy	rough looking (often used to refer to untidy or greasy hair. Not to be confused with Skeggy, which is an affectionate abbreviation for the East Coast holiday resort of Skegness, Lincolnshire.
skin and blister	sister. Cockney rhyming slang.
skive	to avoid work, duties, or responsibilities. To skive off = take unofficial leave of absence. Skiver = someone who doesn't like working.
sky (sky rocket)	pocket. Cockney rhyming slang. Sky rocket = pocket.
slag	colloquial police term for a villain (also a woman of very easy virtue).
slapper	woman of easy morals.
sling your hook	get out, quickly.
smackers	pounds sterling. eg twenty smackers = �20. Slang (ie to pound = to smack).
snotty	being snotty - having pretensions and ideas above one's station. Stan-offish, or superior air, usually not justified.
snout	police informer - usually paid for his information.
snout	cigarettes or tobacco - term most frequently used in prisons and among former prisoners.
SP (to give the)	London slang - To give the SP (short for starting price) actually means to give someone the full run down on a situation.
spend a penny	go to the toilet to urinate.
squaddie	slang - soldier - lower ranker.
squire	Slang term used to refer to a man: "S'cuse me, squire, can you tell me ..." etc, very much a London/Cockney expression. Historically, a squire was the personal servant of a knight at arms and later was used to refer to a local landowner, as in the Squire of the Manor. This description is still in use in some rural areas today, but whether the "Squire" is actually entitled to be called so is often a matter for conjecture.
stiffy	male erection.
stone the crows	expression of surprise or disbelief.
strides	trousers
stroke (pull a)	get away with trickery, work a scam.
stroll on!	expression of surprise or disbelief.
suspender (belt)	garter belt, for holding up stockings. Generally four vertical (elasticated) extensions, individually referred to as suspenders.
syrup	wig. Cockney rhyming slang: Syrup of figs = wig.
tanner	sixpenny coin in pre-decimal money. (See also Appendix II - old money).
tap	faucet
tap/tap up	to approach someone, usually for a loan or favour. eg: "I'll go and see George and see if I can tap him for a fiver."
tasty	capable of looking after one's self in a fight, a good fighter or hard man. Example - "A tasty geezer." (See "geezer" above.) Can also be used to describe an attractive female.
tat	worthless or shabby goods, also general detritus of living accommodation.
tea-leaf	thief. Cockney rhyming slang.
thick	stupid. e.g.: "He's thick as two short planks."
tight	relatively drunk.
tight (wad)	mean person where money is concerned.
tinny (tinnie)	(Australian) - term used to refer to any can holding alcohol (usually lager). A tinnie taken from the fridge (it should never be opened warm by an self-respecting drinker) is referred to as a coldie.
titfer	hat. Often used to refer to a somewhat ostentatious hat.
todger	penis
toe-rag	see tow rag
tonker	penis
tosser	term of abuse - tosser = wanker.
toss pot	see "tosser" above.
totter (noun)	a trader dealing in other people's rubbish for salvage. Once known as a "rag and bone" man, the rags being recycled, often to produce paper and old bones being ground down to make bone meal fertiliser.
totty	attractive female, usually young and single, but not necessarily.
tow-rag	an unpleasant, nasty, person. In the days of horse drawn barges on Britain's canal system, the tow rope from the barge to the horse on the tow path was greased to prevent water penetrating its fibres. The canal water was often quite stagnant and full of all manner of strange organisms, so by the end of the day the rope was an unpleasant sight and required cleaning off. The bargee performed this operation using a tow rag, any old piece of cloth or sacking, which in turn soon became a particularly unpleasant thing to handle. This term often appears written, even in newspapers and some dictionaries, as toe-rag, which is completely wrong, which gives cause to wonder just who you can trust these days!
trice (in a trice)	quickly, in a short time. To "trice" or "tryce" is to lash up a sail, taken from the old Dutch, where "tryce", or "tryse" means a short pull (and presumably "tricing" a sail was done in such a way that the trice cord could be quickly released to allow the sail to drop). So, "in a trice" means "in a short pull" - or short time.
trolleys	trousers
trouble and strife	wife. Cockney rhyming slang.
tuck/tucker	food. Old public school terminology.
tuck shop	Originally a public school reference. The Tuck Shop was either in the school grounds or just outside and was "sanctioned" by the school for the pupils to use it to buy sweets etc.
tuppeny ha'penny	cheap, worthless. (See also Appendix II - old money).
tweenie	A maid with general duties, combining chamber maiding with kitchen maid duties, etc. She was a "tweenie" or "between floors" maid.
uppers	on your uppers - down on your luck (severely so).
up the spout	slang - pregnant.
wally	silly person, lacking in common sense. Historically, a wally was a young man who dressed well and was often seen about town in fashionable circles, but then the Regency rakes started to act in public in such a way that the name fell into disrepute.
whistle	suit (usually gent's suit). Cockney rhyming slang: Whistle and flute = suit.

UNIFORMED POLICE	CID
(W)PC - (Woman) Police Constable	(W)DC - (Woman) Detective Constable
(Woman) Sergeant	(W)DS - (Woman) Detective Sergeant
Inspector	DI - Detective Inspector
Chief Inspector	DCI - Detective Chief Inspector
Superintendent	Detective Superintendent
Chief Superintendent	Detective Chief Superintendent