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Dab Hand:
Adept at something or an adept person:
"She's a dab hand at knitting
Daft:
Foolish
Davenport:
Desk
Dead:
Often used to emphasise, meaning "very" or "really": "That cake was dead good." Also Proper, Right
Dead
on:
Precise: "Your calculations were dead on."
Deaf Aid:
Hearing aid
Dear:
Expensive
Death
Duty:
Inheritance tax
Decko:
Take a look: "Take a decko at that car." Also Gander, Shufti, Squint
Demerera:
Light brown sugar crystals used in coffee or cooking
Demister:
Defogger; defroster
Dialing Code:
Area code\
Diary:
Appointment calendar
Dicey:
Risky
Diddle:
Swindle
Diddly-squat:
Nothing,
zilch: "I paid my money and got diddly-squat."
Digs:
Lodgings, usually in a private home
Dimwit:
Stupid
person
Dinky:
Very small
Dip:
Lower (your headlights)
Dirt:
Soil
Dirty Weekend:
Illicit weekend; a few days spent with one's lover
Dish:
Attractive
person, male or female.
Dishy:
Attractive. Usually applied to a person but
can be used for an inaminate object.
Diversion:
Detour
Do:
A big event such as a wedding
Do:
A ruskus, a big fuss and bother
Do:
Something nasty done to someone. "One step nearer and I'll do you,
mate."
Doctor:
To spay or neuter an animal
Doddle:
An easy task: "Work was a doddle today."
Dodge:
Business; racket
Dodgem cars:
Bumper cars
Dodgy:
Suspicious; risky
Do for:
Work for as a housekeeper, maid or char lady
Dog
end:
Cigarette butt
Dog's body or Dogsbody:
A gofer; errand boy
Dole:
Unemployment benefits
Dong:
Penis
Donkey's Years:
A very long time: "Haven't seen you in donkey's
years."
Doolally Tap:
Insane
Doorstep:
Very thick slice of bread
Doss:
Laze around
Doss
House:
Homeless shelter
Dotty:
Simple minded or amiably eccentric
Dottled:
A variation of dotty
Double Decker:
Two level bus
Double glazing:
Storm windows
Down:
If you "have a down" on
someone, you are prejudiced against him
Downs:
Hills
Draughts:
The game of checkers
Drawing
Pin:
Thumb tack
Drawing Room:
Living room
Dressing Gown:
Bath robe
Dual Carriageway:
Divided
highway
Ducks:
Generic form of address for both male and female. Could be an abbreviation of "duchess"
Duff:
Useless
Duff:
Alone: "On your duff?"
Duff up:
Beat up another person
Dummy:
Baby's
pacifier
Dustbin:
Garbage can
Dustman:
Refuse collector, garbage man
Duvet:
Down
comforter
Dynamo:
Generator
E
Earholes (ear'oles):
Ears
Earth:
Ground (electrical)
Eiderdown:
Down
comforter
Elastic Band:
Rubber band
Elastoplast:
Bandaid
Elevensies:
Mid-morning tea break
Endive:
Chicory
Engage:
Hire; employ
Engaged:
The telephone is busy
Essence:
Extract; as in Vanilla Essence
Estate
Agent:
Realtor
Estate Car:
Stationwagon
Excess:
Deductible (insurance)
Ex-directory:
Always refers to phone numbers, meaning unlisted
F
Fag:
Cigarette
Fag:
In public schools,
boys in lower forms fag for older boys in upper forms, runnng errands and performing chores
Fag or Faggot:
Homosexual
Fagged or Fagged out:
Weary
Faggot:
Dish resembling large meatballs in brown onion gravy. Also Savoury
Ducks
Faggot:
Deragatory term, usually for a woman: "She's a silly old faggot."
Fancy:
Be attracted
to
Fanny:
The female pudenda
Father Christmas:
Sant Claus
Feckless:
Ineffective
Fed
up:
Weary of; had enough of. Also Cheesed Off
Feeder:
Child's bib
Fete:
Festival
Fiddle:
Cheat
Filling Station:
Gas station
Film:
Movie
Fire Brigade:
Fire department
Fire Guard:
Fire screen
Fire Raiser:
Arsonist
First Floor:
Ground floor. 1st floor in UK is 2nd floor in USA, 2nd floor in UK is 3rd floor in USA, etc.
Fish Fingers:
Fish
sticks
Fishmonger:
Seller of fish
Fish Slice:
Spatula
Fishy:
Suspicious, dubious: "Sounds fishy to me."
Fit:
Ready: "I'm fit to go."
Fitty:
Appropriate:
"She's a fitty wife for his lordship."
Fizzy drink:
Carbonated drink
Flabbergasted:
Astonished
Flaked
or Flaked out:
Tired, or can mean to be sleeping
Flannel:
Face cloth
Flannel:
Flattery
Flannels:
Trousers made of flannel material
Flash:
Ostentatious yet stylish; expensive looking
Flasher:
One
who exposed himself
Flash Harry:
A man whose mode of dress is ostentatious beyond the bounds to good taste
Flat:
Apartment
Flex:
Electrical cord
Fliberty-jiberty:
The act of fidgeting, or a person who compulsively
fidgets
Flickers:
Car's indicators
Flick Knife:
Switchblade
Flipping:
Used to give emphasis to another word: "Not
flipping likely!" Also Bleeding, Bloody, Blooming, Frigging, Ruddy
Flog:
Sell: "I flogged it to Uncle Fred."
Flummoxed:
Confused, perplexed, stymied
Flutter:
Place a bet
Flyover:
Overpass
Fob or Fob off on:
Foist; offer something spurious as genuine
Foggiest:
Slightest, always used as a negative in a sentence: "I
don't have the foggiest (idea.)"
Food Safe:
Small cage-like box with mesh sides and a tight-fitting door, used
to store perishable food in the days before refrigeration
Football:
Game of soccer
Form:
School grade
Fortnight:
Two weeks
Frazzled:
When a person is worn out
Free Range
Eggs:
Eggs from chickens allowed to run free
French Letter:
Condom
Frig about:
Mess about
Frigging:
Expletive, used to give emphasis, meaning "very." "It's frigging unfair!" Also
Bleeding, Bloody, Bloooming, Ruddy
Fringe:
Bangs (hair)
Frock:
Woman's dress
Frowsty:
Musty
Fruiters:
Fruit stand
Fruit Machine:
One-armed bandit ; slot machine.
Fruity:
Sexy; spicy.
Full Stop:
Period (punctuation)
Fun Fair:
Carnival
G
Gab:
Chatter
Gad!:
Exclamation
Gad
about:
Rush about having fun
Gaffer:
The boss
Gallon:
Larger than the US gallon by approximately
25%
Galoshes:
Rubber boots. Also Wellingtons
Gammy:
Bad, in the sense that something is unwell: "I
have a gammy leg."
Gaol:
Jail
Gammon:
Best quality ham
Gamp:
Umbrella, from Mrs. Gamp
in Dicken's book Martin Chuzzlewit
Gander:
Take a look. Also Decko, Shufti, Squint
Gannet:
Greedy
person
Garden:
Yard; an area of lawns, flowers, shrubs and trees
Gawp:
Stare; gape
Gazump:
To raise the asking price for a house after a verbal agreement has been reached
GBH:
Grevious bodily harm
Gear Box:
Transmission
Geezer:
Slang name for a man
Gent:
Gentleman
Gents:
The
Men's room
Gen up:
Swat; study
Gerry:
A person of German nationality. Used more often among the older
generation
Get Off!:
Leave me alone! In the North it often sounds like "ger off." "Dad, tell Danny to ger off
me!"
Get stuffed:
Hard to describe but could be said to be the equivalent of "Go to Hell"
Geyser:
Hot water heater
Ginger beer:
Homosexual. From rhyming slang for queer
Ginger Hair:
Red hair
Ginger up:
Give a pep talk to
Gippy:
Queasy; unsettled: "Must have eaten something bad, I've got a gippy
stomach."
Giros:
Unemployment checks8
Girl Guide:
Girl Scout
Git:
Nasty person, usually applied to males
Give
over:
Stop it: "Mum, our Sue won't leave me alone, tell her to give over!" Also can indicate disbelief: "Give over - she
never said that!"
Glace Cherries:
Cherries preserved in a sugar syrup
Glasshouse:
Greenhouse
Glove
Box:
Glove compartment
Glue Factory:
Where horses are taken to be destroyed - glue is one of the resulting
products. Also Knacker's Yard
Gob:
A person's mouth
Gob:
To spit
Gobs:
Lots: "She had
gobs of cake a tea time."
Gob-smacked:
Open-mouthed with astonishment
Gob Stopper:
Jaw Breaker type
candy
Goggle Box:
Television set
Golden Syrup:
Golden coloured heavy syrup used in cooking
Goon:
Silly person
Goolies:
The testicles
Goosegog:
Gooseberry
Gor Blimey:
An oath, derived
from the medieval oath "God Blind Me." In some parts of the country "cor blimey" will be heard
Gormless:
Spineless
Graft:
Hard slog
Grass:
To inform on someone
Grated Potato (fried):
Hash browns
Greaseproof Paper:
Waxed
paper
Green Card:
An insurance card covering British motorists
in foreign countries.
Greengrocer:
Seller of fruit and vegetables
Grill:
Broil (food)
Grizzle:
Whine
Grotty:
Nasty, dirty and dank
Grow Bag:
Sack of potting compost.
Grub:
Food
Guard:
Train conductor
Gubbins:
Foolish person
Guide Dog:
Seeing eye dog
Gumboots:
Rubber boots. Also Wellingtons
Gurt:
Meaning large: "That's a gurt piece of pie." A peculiarity is that it
is often used with the word "big." "He's a gurt big twit."
Guvnor or Guv:
The boss
Guy:
On November
the 5th - Guy Fawkes Night - children make life-size dummies, called guys, and take them from door to door crying out "Penny
for the guy?" The use the money to purchase fireworks. See Bonfire Night
Gymkhana:
Amateur equestrian competition
Gynormous:
Huge
H
Hair Dresser:
Beautician
Hair grips:
Bobby
pins
Hair laquer:
Hair spray
Hair Slide:
Barrette
Half:
Another British eccentricity, a rough translation of this word would be "very much." "When her mum found out
she didn't half get it (into trouble)." Or "I wouldn't half like a curry right now." See Not Half
Half saved:
Simple-minded
Hall:
Entryway
Hamlet:
Small community which does not have a church. See City
Handbag:
Ladies
purse
Hang about:
Loiter
Hard cheese:
Unforunate: "You were fired? Hard cheese, mate!"
Hare:
Race, speed: "She went haring down the hill."
Hash Sign:
Pound (#) sign on a phone
Head Boy or Girl:
A title given to a boy or/and
girl considered by the school to have made the best all-round contribution to school life. Although a coveted title it merits
no special privileges.
Head Master/Mistress:
School principal
Hedgerow:
Hedge
Herbert:
Foolish man or boy
Het up:
Worked up; upset
High Street:
Main throughfare
Hire:
Rent
Hire Purchase:
System for purchasing on credit. See Never-Never
Hitler's War:
World War II. Also called the Great
War.
Hoarding:
Billboard
Hob:
Cooking element;
burner
Hoity-toity:
Stuck up; snobbish
Holiday:
Vacation
Homely:
Plain, but not necessarily
unpleasant looking
Hooter:
A person's nose
Hooter:
Car horn
Hoover:
Any brand of vacuum
cleaner
Hump:
Haul
Hump:
To have the hump is to be upset: "Shelly's got the hump about something."
Hundredweight:
Eight stone
I
Ice:
Frost a cake
Icing:
Frosting
Icing Sugar:
Confectioner's sugar
Ice Lolly:
Frozen popsicle
Identity Parade:
Police lineup
Indicators:
Car's signals
Ingrate:
An ungrateful person
In stook:
In debt
Interval:
Intermission during a performance
Ironmonger:
Hardware store
J
Jab:
Injection; immunisation
Jacket potato:
Potato
baked in its skin
Jammy:
Lucky. A person who experiences good luck which arouses envy may be called a "jammy devil."
Jelly:
Jello
Jersey:
Originally a description for
a knitted, button-up jacket but came to be slang for a sweater. Also Cardigan
Joanna:
Piano
Jock:
A
Scotsman
John Bull:
An Englishman
Johnny:
A condom
Joiner:
Carpenter
Joint:
Piece
of meat for roasting
Jolly:
Very: "The play was jolly good."
Jug:
Pitcher
Jugs or Jug Handles:
A person's ears
Jumble Sale:
Rummage sale
Jumper:
A sweater
Junk:
Trash; garbage
K
Keep Fit:
Exercise class
Kerb:
Curb (sidewalk)
Kerfuffle:
Commotion; fuss
Kharzi:
See Toilet. Also Bog, Lavatory, Loo, Privy, Throne, WC
Kiosk:
Booth, as in telephone kiosk
Kip:
Sleep or nap
Kitchen Roll:
Paper towel
Knackered:
Weary; worn out. Also Shagged, Whacked
Knacker's Yard:
See Glue Factory
Knees Up:
A dance
Knickerbocker Glory:
The
creme de la creme of ice cream sundaes, served in a very tall glass. Sadly, rarely seen nowadays
Knickers:
Women's
panties. At one time a pair of knickers resembled the knickerbockers worn by young male children. They were loose and gathered
at the knee with elastic and had a pocket for your hanky. Don't laugh - they were part of my school uniform when I went to
secondary school!
Knock:
Make fun of
Knockers:
A woman's breasts
Knocking Shop:
House of prositution
Knock up:
Wake someone up by knocking on their door. "I'll knock you up in
the morning
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