e.g. "He pooh pooh'd my idea !"
pools, the a weekly betting game based on the outcome
of soccer matches; run by Vernons and
Littlewoods (and possibly others)
pratt an insult
e.g. "you stupid pratt !"
preggers pregnant
pudding dessert
pull a bird meet a woman; pick up a girl
quite often shortened to 'pull'
e.g. "Did you pull ?"
pull a fast one to fool or swindle somebody
pull a pint hand pump beer into a glass
pull a stroke to outsmart
pull the other one I don't believe you
short form of "pull the other one, it has
bells on"
pull your pud to masterbate
pumps running shoes
punter a customer
purse a ladies wallet
put a sock in it to be quiet
put the anchors on to apply the brakes; to slow down
put the boot in to beat somebody up
put the kibosh on to put a stop to something
put the wind up to scare
Queer Street where you are if you don't have
any money
quiff a fancy hairstyle
randy horny
rave up a good party
readies cash
ropey flaky or dodgey
rozzer policeman
rug a wig; a toupee
rubbed the wrong way to upset somebody
salt a sailor
same to you with brass usually said in response to a derogatory
knobs on !! remark
sarnie a sandwich
scab a strike breaker
scallywag a mischevious person
scarper to run away fast, possibly avoiding
punishment
Scouser a native of Liverpool (see also Liverpudlian)
scrap a fight
scrubber a cheap or loose woman
shag to copulate
shake a leg to get a move on
shall I be mother ? shall I pour the tea ?
sheckels money
silly arse a foolish person
skivvy a domestic servant
slash to urinate
e.g. "I'm going for a slash."
smalls underwear
smart alec a clever person
snifter a drink of spirit
snog to kiss
snuff it to die
sod derogatory remark, derived from sodomy
soldiers bread cut into thin strips for dipping into
a boiled egg
so stick that in your usually said after a derogatory remark
pipe and smoke it !
sozzled drunk
spam a rather tasteless form of tinned meat
spanner a wrench
sparky an electrician
splice the main-brace to drink
spread a good meal; a feast
sprog a young child or baby, could also
mean illegitimate
spud a potato
squiffed drunk
stewed drunk
strides trousers, pants
subway an underpass
a pedestrian walkway beneath a road
swag stolen money; a thief's plunder
swing the lead a malingerer
swizz a swindle or cheat
swot somebody who studies
ta thankyou
Taffy a Welshman
ta muchly thankyou very much
Tandy Radio Shack
take French leave to leave without permission
taking the piss making fun of
tea leaf thief
terminus the end of the bus route
the smoke London
three sheets in the wind drunk
Tic Tac Man a bookmakers signaller
ticker the heart
tights pantyhose
"Time gentlemen please !" Usually said as the pub is closing,
so as to request that the patrons
finish their drinks.
tip a mess
e.g. "Your room is a tip !"
toff a posh person
tomato sauce ketchup
Tommy Rot nonsense
top sad extremely bad
torch flashlight
tosser see wanker
toss pot one who drinks too much
trainers running shoes
trollop not a nice girl
trousers pants
tube London Underground
tuck in schools it means cake, crisps,
sweets etc.
turf accountant betting shop owner
turn-ups trouser cuffs
turps turpentine
under the weather ill; sick
unmentionables underwear
vest a man's undershirt
wag a joker
wagging it to play truant
wallflower a woman who does not dance
wanger penis
wanker infers that the subject masturbates
weed a weak person
welly wanging the art of throwing wellington boots
white elephant a valuable, but useless article
willies, the nerves
willow a cricket bat
willy penis
wings fenders of a car
Winkle Pickers shoes with pointed toes
wireless a radio
wishy washy feeble; stupid
VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Charlie Gillett, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 2nd ed., newly illustrated and expanded (1996),
Chapman, Robert L. American Slang. HarperPerennial, 1987. Abridged edition of the New Dictionary of American Slang (Harper, 1986).
The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, Third Edition Copyright © 1994, Columbia University Press.
Dictionary of contemporary slang - Tony Thorne.
Published by Bloomsbury / London. 1997.
The Encarta World English Dictionary, published by St. Martin's Press. 1999
Flexner, Stuart Berg, and Anne H. Soukhanov. Speaking Freely: A Guided Tour of American English from Plymouth Rock to Silicon Valley. Oxford University Press, 1997.
Greil Marcus, Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century (1989),
Jon Savage, England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock (1991)
Lighter, Jonathan E.; J. Ball; and J. O'Connor, eds. Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. Random House, 1994 .
Mark Hale, HeadBangers: The Worldwide Megabook of Heavy Metal Bands (1993)
Mark Slobin, Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West (1993)
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th Edition © 1985, Britannica Corporation
The Oxford dictionary of modern slang - John Ayto / John Simpson.Published by Oxford University Press. 1992.
Partridge, Eric. Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Macmillan, 1985. A classic, with 7,500 entries; first published in 1937.
Peter van der Merwe, Origins of the