Copy of `Effing Pot - London slang glossary`

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Effing Pot - London slang glossary Category: History and Culture Date & country: 22/09/2013, UK Words: 234

Nookie
Nookie is the same as hanky panky. Something you do with your bird!

Nosh
Food. You would refer to food as nosh or you might be going out for a good nosh up, or meal! Either way if someone has just cooked you some nosh you might want to call it something else as it is not the nicest word to describe it.

Not my cup of tea
This is a common saying that means something is not to your liking. For example if someone asked you if you would like to go to an all night rave, they would know exactly what you meant if you told them it was not exactly your cup of tea!

Nesh
My Dad used to call me a nesh wimp when I was a kid and I wanted him to take me places in his car because it was too cold to go on my bike. He meant I was being pathetic or a bit of a nancy boy. He might have had a point!

Nick
To nick is to steal. If you nick something you might well get nicked.

Nitwit
See twit.

Nancy boy
If someone is being pathetic you would call them a nancy or a nancy boy. It is the opposite of being hard. For example in cold weather a nancy boy would dress up in a coat, hat, gloves and scarf and a hard guy would wear a t-shirt. It's also another word for a gay man.

Nark
If someone is in a nark, it means they are in a bad mood, or being grumpy. It's also the word for a spy or informant. For example a coppers nark is someone who is a police informant

Narked
In the UK you would say that someone looked narked if you thought they were in a bad mood. In the US you might say that someone was pissed. We definitely would not say that, as it would mean they were drunk!

Mug
If someone is a bit of a mug, it means they are gullible. Most used car salesmen rely on a mug to show up so they can sell something!

Naff
If something is naff, it is basically uncool. Anoraks are naff, salad cream is also naff. You could also use it to tell someone to naff off, which is a politer way of telling them to f*** off!

Love bite
You call them hickies

Lurgy
If you have the lurgy it means you are ill, you have the Flu. Don't go near people with the lurgy in case you get it!

Luvvly-jubbly
Clearly another way of saying lovely. Made famous by the TV show Only Fools and Horses.

Mate
Most chaps like to go to the pub with their mates. Mate means friend or chum.

Momentarily
As you come into land at an American airport and the announcement says that you will be landing momentarily, look around to see if anyone is sniggering. That will be the Brits! I never did figure out why they say this. Momentarily to us means that something will only happen for an instant

Knockers
Another word for breasts.

Knuckle sandwich
If somebody offers you a knuckle sandwich you'd be best to decline the offer and leave at the next convenient moment. It isn't some British culinary delight

Left, right and centre
If you have been looking left, right and centre, it means you have been searching all over.

Leg it
This is a way of saying run or run for it. Usually said by kids having just been caught doing something naughty. Well it was when I was a kid!

Knackered
The morning after twenty pints and the curry, you'd probably feel knackered. Another way to describe it is to say you feel shagged. Basically worn out, good for nothing, tired out, knackered.

Knees up
If you're having a knees up, you're going to a dance or party.

Knob
Yet another word for your willy.

Knock off
To knock something off is to steal it, not to copy it!

Jimmy
Actually short for Jimmy Riddle. i.e. I'm off for a Jimmy Riddle. This is Cockney rhyming slang for piddle!

John Thomas
Yet another word for a blokes willy! I always felt a bit sorry for people who were actually called John Thomas. What were their parents thinking?

Keep your pecker up
This is one way of saying keep your chin up. Use with caution as in some places your pecker is also your willy!

Khazi
Another word for the toilet. Our version of your bathroom.

Kip
A short sleep, forty winks, or a snooze. You have a kip in front of the telly on a Sunday afternoon.

Hunky-dory
My English dictionary tells me that hunky-dory means excellent. We would generally use it to mean that everything is cool and groovy, on plan, no worries and generally going well.

Irony/sarcasm
The cornerstones of British humour. This is one of the biggest differences between the nations. The sense of humour simply doesn't translate too well.

Jammy
If you are really lucky or flukey, you are also very jammy. It would be quite acceptable to call your friend a jammy b****rd if they won the lottery.

Hard lines
This is another way of saying hard luck or bad luck.

Hash
The thing you call a pound sign! Before you ask, yes it is also something you smoke

Her Majesty's pleasure
When visiting England, try to avoid being detained at Her Majesty's pleasure. This means being put in prison with no release date!

Hiya
Short for hi there, this is a friendly way of saying hello.

Hump
If you have got the hump it means you are in a mood. If you are having a hump, it means you are having sex. Care is advised when you try using these words for the first time. It could be embarrassing!

Hanky panky
Hanky panky

Hard
After your 20 pints of lager, the curry or the doner, your average 20 year old feels hard. Since his male organ has no chance of working at this stage, hard clearly refers to something else

Gutted
If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!

Haggle
To haggle is to argue or negotiate over a price. Most people that wangle stuff are usually quite good at haggling. I just learnt that in the USA you dicker over a price, particularly for used cars!

Gormless
A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy.

Grem
The form of gob meaning to spit something out. e.g. Did you see him grem? Yuck. Usually associated with that ghastly noise as the content of the lungs are coughed into the mouth before gremming can take place. Grem is also the word that describes the green lump that is created in the process. You might call it hacking up a hacker.

Gobsmacked
Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement.

Good value
This is short for good value for money. It means something is a good deal.

Goolies
If you have been kicked in the goolies, your eyes would be watering and you would be clutching your balls!

Gen
Gen means information. If you have the gen then you know what is going on.

Gen up
To research a subject or to get some information.

Get lost!
Politely translated as go away, this is really a mild way of telling someone to f*** off!

Get stuffed!
Even politer way to tell someone to get lost is to tell them to get stuffed. However, this is still not a nice thing to say to someone.

Getting off
This seems to be the objective of most teenagers on a big night out. Getting off with someone means making out or snoggingh them.

Gander
When I was a kid, my Dad often used to go off for a gander when we were visiting a new town or village. It means to look around.

Gagging
Desperate, in a fat slaggy kind of a way. Not nice.

Fruity
If someone is feeling fruity then they are feeling frisky. Watch out!

Full monty
Since the movie has come out of the same name I have heard some odd Texan descriptions of what the full monty means. It really has nothing to do with taking your clothes off. It just means the whole thing or going the whole way. That's it. Clearly when applied to stripping it means not stopping at your underwear! The origins of the expression are still under discussion. There are many theories but no conclusive evidence at the moment.

Full of beans
This means to have loads of energy. It is a polite way of saying that a child is a maniac. I was often described as being full of beans as a kid and now it is my wife's way of telling me to keep still when she is trying to get to sleep. Strangely the same expression in some parts of the US means that you are exaggerating or talking bollocks!

Fluke
If something great happened to you by chance that would be a fluke. When I was a kid my Mum lost her engagement ring on the beach and only realised half way home. We went back to the spot and she found it in the sand. That was a fluke.

Flutter
I like to have a flutter on the horses. It means to have a bet, usually a small one by someone who is not a serious gambler.

Fanny around
I'm always telling people to stop fannying around and get on with it. It means to procrastinate. Drives me mad!

Filch
To filch is to steal or pilfer. The origin is apparently unknown.

Fit
Fit is a word that I have heard a lot recently

Flog
To Flog something is to sell it. It also means to beat something with a whip, but when your wife tells you she flogged the old TV it is more likely she has sold it than beaten it (hopefully!).

Fagging
Fagging is the practice of making new boys at boarding schools into slaves for the older boys. If you are fagging for an older boy you might find yourself running his bath, cleaning his shoes or performing more undesirable tasks.

Fancy
If you fancy something then it means you desire it. There are two basic forms in common use

Fanny
This is the word for a woman's front bits! One doesn't normally talk about anyone's fanny as it is a bit rude. You certainly don't have a fanny pack, or smack people on their fannys

Duffer
Any person that is duff could be referred to as a duffer. The Prime Minister was a duffer.

Easy Peasy
A childish term for something very easy. You might say it's a snap.

Engaged
When you ring someone and they are already on the phone you will get the engaged tone. In other words, they will be engaged. You would say you get the busy signal or the line is busy.

Faff
To faff is to dither or to fanny around. If we procrastinated when getting ready for bed, as kids, our Dad use tell us we were faffing around.

Drop a clanger
When I asked a large lady on the tube if she would like my seat since she was so obviously pregnant, she took the seat then told me she was fat, not pregnant! Boy did I drop a clanger. You might make a gaffe. Either way it was horrendously embarrassing, especially as half the people on the tube had heard me!

Duff
Anything that is duff is useless, junk, trash. It usually means that the object doesn't do the job it was intended for. Our last Prime Minister was pretty duff!

Dodgy
If someone or something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted. Dodgy food should be thrown away at home, or sent back in a restaurant. Dodgy people are best avoided. You never know what they are up to. Dodgy goods may have been nicked. When visiting Miami I was advised by some English chums that certain areas were a bit dodgy and should be avoided!

Dog's dinner
If you make a real mess of something it might be described as a real dog's dinner. A bit like some joint Anglo-American approaches to Eastern Europe for example!

Donkey's years
Someone said to me the other day that they hadn't seen me for donkey's years. It means they hadn't seen me for ages.

Do
A party. You would go to a do if you were going to a party in the UK.

Do
If you drive along a motorway in the wrong lane the police will do you. You could then tell your friends that you have been done by the police. Prosecute is another word for it!

Doddle
Something that is a doddle is a cinch, it's easy. Unlike ordering water in Texas with an English accent, which is definitely not a doddle!

Dicky
Dicky rhymes with sicky and means you feel sick.

Diddle
To rip someone off or to con someone is to diddle them. When you visit England, check your change to make sure you haven't been diddled!

Dim
A dim person is stupid or thick or a dimwit. Dimwit

Dishy
If someone is a bit of a dish or a bit dishy it means they are attractive or good looking.

DIY
This is short for do it yourself and applies not just to the DIY stores but also to anything that you need to do yourself. For example, if we get really bad service in a restaurant (oh, you noticed!) then we might ask the waiter if it is a DIY restaurant

Crap
The same word in both countries

Crusty dragon
A booger. One of the really crispy ones.

Daft
My Dad used to call me a daft 'apeth which is short for a daft half penny (in old money). It basically means stupid.

Dear
If something is dear it means it is expensive. I thought Texan insurance was dear.

Dekko
To have a look at something.

Chuffed
You would be chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something.

Cock up
A cock up means you have made a mistake. It has nothing to do with parts of the male body.

Codswallop
Another one I heard a lot as a kid

Cram
Before a big exam you would be expected to cram. This simply means to study hard in the period running up to the exam.

Cheesed off
This is a polite way of saying you are pissed off with something.

Chin Wag
This is another word for a Chat. You can probably tell why!

Chinese Whispers
This a good one. It refers to the way a story gets changed as is passes from one person to the next so that the end result may be completely different from what was originally said. Sound familiar?

Chivvy along
When I'm standing patiently in the checkout queue at Tesco I like to chivvy along the old ladies in front of me. If only they would stop fannying around and hurry up!

Cheeky
Eee you cheeky monkey was what my mother said to me all the time when I was a kid. Cheeky means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart arse! Generally you are considered to be a bit cheeky if you have an answer for everything and always have the last word. My licence plate on my MX5 (Miata in American) was CHEEKY, which most Texans thought was something to do with bottoms

Bum
This is the part of your body you sit on. Your ass! It might also be someone who is down and out, like a tramp. You might also bum around, if you are doing nothing in particular, just hanging out. Finally to bum something means to scrounge it from someone.

Bung
A bung is also a bribe.

Chat up
To chat someone up is to try and pick them up. If you spotted a scrummy girly in a bar you might try to chat her up. Or a girl might try and chat up a chap!

Box your ears
Many young chaps heard their dads threaten to box their ears when I was a littlun. Generally meant a slap around the head for misbehaving. Probably illegal these days!!