British-Yankee Vocabulary
Disprove the notion that the average person's vocabulary stops growing at 25. Make them think you're a local by trying these out on your next Britain trip...
- advert = advertisement
- afters = dessert
- anticlockwise = counterclockwise
- aubergine = eggplant
- banger = sausage
- bangers and mash = sausage and mashed potatoes
- bank holiday = legal holiday
- bap = small roll
- bespoke = custom-made
- billion = a thousand of our billions (a million million)
- biro = ballpoint pen
- biscuit = cookie
- black pudding = sausage made from dried blood
- bloody = damn
- blow off = fart
- bobby = policeman ("the Bill" is more common)
- Bob's your uncle = there you go (with a shrug), naturally
- boffin = nerd, geek
- bolshy = argumentative
- bomb = success or failure
- bonnet = car hood
- boot = car trunk
- braces = suspenders
- bridle way = path for walkers, bikers, and horse riders
- brilliant = cool
- brolly = umbrella
- bubble and squeak = cabbage and potatoes fried together
- bum = butt
- candy floss = cotton candy
- caravan = trailer
- car boot sale = temporary flea market, often for charity
- car park = parking lot
- casualty = emergency room
- cat's eyes = road reflectors
- ceilidh (KAY-lee) = informal evening of song and folk fun (Scottish and Irish)
- cheap and cheerful = budget but adequate
- cheap and nasty = cheap and bad quality
- cheers = good-bye or thanks; also a toast
- chemist = pharmacist
- chicory = endive
- chippie = fish-and-chip shop; carpenter
- chips = French fries
- chock-a-block = jam-packed
- chuffed = pleased
- cider = alcoholic apple cider
- clearway = road where you can't stop
- coach = long-distance bus
- concession = discounted admission
- cos = romaine lettuce
- cotton buds = Q-tips
- courgette = zucchini
- craic (pronounced "crack") = fun, good conversation (Irish and spreading to England)
- crisps = potato chips
- cuppa = cup of tea
- dear = expensive
- dicey = iffy, risky
- digestives = round graham cookies
- dinner = lunch or dinner
- diversion = detour
- donkey's years = ages, long time
- draughts = checkers
- draw = marijuana
- dual carriageway = divided highway (four lanes)
- dummy = baby pacifier
- elevenses = coffee-and-biscuits break before lunch
- elvers = baby eels
- face flannel = washcloth
- fag = cigarette
- fagged = exhausted
- faggot = meatball
- fancy = to like, to be attracted to (a person)
- fanny = vagina
- fell = hill or high plain (Lake District)
- first floor = second floor
- fizzy drink = pop or soda
- flutter = a bet
- football = soccer
- force = waterfall (Lake District)
- fortnight = two weeks
- fringe = hair bangs
- Frogs = French people (not very polite!)
- fruit machine = slot machine, often found in pubs
- full Monty = whole shebang; everything
- gallery = balcony
- gammon = ham
- gangway = aisle
- gaol = jail (same pronunciation)
- gateau (or gateaux) = cake
- geezer = "dude" (slang for young man)
- give way = yield
- glen = narrow valley (Scotland)
- goods wagon = freight truck
- green fingers = green thumbs
- half eight = 8:30 (not 7:30)
- heath = open treeless land
- hen night = bachelorette party
- holiday = vacation
- homely = homey or cozy
- hoover = vacuum cleaner
- ice lolly = Popsicle
- interval = intermission
- ironmonger = hardware store
- ish = more or less
- jacket potato = baked potato
- jelly = Jell-O
- Joe Bloggs = John Q. Public
- jumble sale = rummage sale
- jumper = sweater
- just a tick = just a second
- kipper = smoked herring
- knackered = exhausted (Cockney: cream crackered)
- knickers = ladies' panties
- knocking shop = brothel
- knock up = wake up or visit (old-fashioned)
- ladybird = ladybug
- lady fingers = flat, spongy cookie
- lady's finger = okra
- lager = light, fizzy beer
- left luggage = baggage check
- lemon squash = lemonade, not fizzy
- lemonade = lemon-lime pop, fizzy
- let = rent
- licenced = restaurant authorized to sell alcohol
- listed = protected historic building
- loo = toilet or bathroom
- lorry = truck
- mac = mackintosh raincoat
- mangetout = snow peas
- mate = buddy (boy or girl)
- mean = stingy
- mental = wild, memorable
- mews = former stables converted to two-story rowhouses (London)
- mobile (MOH-bile) = cell phone
- moggie = cat
- motorway = freeway
- naff = dorky
- napkin = sanitary pad
- nappy = diaper
- natter = talk on and on
- neep = Scottish for turnip
- newsagent = corner store
- nought = zero
- noughts & crosses = tic-tac-toe
- off license = liquor store
- on offer = on sale
- panto, pantomine = fairy-tale play performed at Christmas (silly but fun)
- pants = underwear, briefs
- pasty (PASS-tee) = crusted savory (usually meat) pie, from Cornwall
- pavement = sidewalk
- pear-shaped = messed up, gone wrong
- petrol = gas
- pillar box = mailbox
- pissed (rude), paralytic, bevvied, wellied, popped up, trollied, ratted, rat-arsed, pissed as a newt = drunk
- pitch = playing field
- plaster = Band-Aid
- publican = pub manager (old-fashioned)
- public school = private "prep" school (e.g., Eton)
- pudding = dessert in general
- pull, to be on the = looking for love
- punter = customer, especially in gambling
- put a sock in it = shut up
- queue = line
- queue up = line up
- quid = pound (money, worth about $2)
- randy = horny
- rasher = slice of bacon
- redundant, made = laid off
- Remembrance Day = Veterans' Day
- return ticket = round trip
- ring up = call (telephone)
- roundabout = traffic circle
- rubber = eraser
- rubbish = bad
- sausage roll = sausage wrapped in a flaky pastry
- Scotch egg = hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat
- self-catering = accomodation with kitchen
- sellotape = Scotch tape
- services = freeway rest area
- serviette = napkin
- setee = couch
- shag = intercourse (cruder than in the US)
- shandy = lager and 7-Up
- silencer = car muffler
- single ticket = one-way ticket
- skip = Dumpster
- sleeping policeman = speed bumps
- smalls = underwear
- snogging = kissing, making out
- sod = mildly offensive insult
- sod it, sod off = screw it, screw off
- soda = soda water (not pop)
- solicitor = lawyer
- spanner = wrench
- spend a penny = urinate
- stag night = bachelor party
- starkers = buck naked
- starters = appetizers
- state school = public school
- sticking plaster = Band-Aid
- sticky tape = Scotch tape
- stone = 14 pounds (weight)
- stroppy = bad-tempered
- subway = underground walkway
- suet = fat from animal rendering (sometimes used in cooking)
- sultanas = golden raisins
- surgical spirit = rubbing alcohol
- suspenders = garters
- suss out = figure out
- swede = rutabaga
- ta = thank you
- take the mickey = tease
- tatty = worn out or tacky
- taxi rank = taxi stand
- telly = TV
- tenement = stone apartment house (not necessarly a slum)
- tenner = £10 bill
- theatre = live stage
- tick = a check mark
- tight as a fish's bum = cheapskate (watertight)
- tights = panty hose
- tin = can
- tip = public dump
- tipper lorry = dump truck
- top hole = first rate
- top up = refill a drink
- torch = flashlight
- towel, press-on = panty liner
- towpath = path along a river
- trainers = sneakers
- trousers = pants
- Tube = subway
- twee = quaint, cute
- twitcher = bird watcher
- Underground = subway
- verge = grassy edge of road
- verger = church official
- way out = exit
- wee (adj) = small
- wee (verg) = urinate
- Wellingtons, wellies = rubber boots
- whacked = exhausted
- whinge (rhymes with hinge) = whine
- wind up = tease, irritate
- witter on = gab and gab
- yob = hooligan
- zebra crossing = crosswalk
- zed = the letter "z"