A
A&E, casualty: ER
A-Z: Map of London
After Eight: delicious chocolate mint
Aggro: aggressiveness
Alcopops: sweet drinks that are surprisingly high in alcohol content.
Ant and Dec: smirking presenters of I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here
Ass: a donkey
Arse: ass
ASBO: Anti-Social Behaviour Order. Given to badly behaved people. About to be abolished by new British government.
Asda – Cheap supermarket.
Athletics squad: track team
Aubergine: Eggplant
B
Balaclava: Ski mask
Baps: Hamburger buns. Or sometimes breasts.
Benefits: Welfare
Bin: garbage can
Birmingham: city in the middle of England
Biscuits: cookies
Bollocks: literally testicles. Means rubbish.
Boozer: a public house, or pub is a place to go for a drink. You have to be 18 before you can buy alcohol.
Bottle: Courage, e.g. ”They got no bottle” No bottle = no courage.
Braces: Suspenders
Bruce Forsyth: ancient presenter of Strictly Come Dancing.
Bugger: Literally sodomist. Just a mild expletive.
Bum: ass
Bum bag: Fanny pack
C
CV: resume
Candyfloss: cotton candy
Canteen: cafeteria
Caravan: Camper
Car park: parking lot
Cash point, ‘Hole in the Wall’: ATM
CBeebies: Children’s television channel
Cellar: Basement
Charity shop: thrift shop
Chav: British word for ‘working class person that I despise, even if I am working class myself’
Chemist: pharmacist or drugstore
Chequebook: check book
Chip butty: A sandwich filled with fries
Chuffed: pleased
Citizenship: civics
Coriander: cilantro
Cotton: thread
Crisps: chips
D
Daft, thick: Stupid
Diversion: Detour
Drawing pin: Tack
Dressing gowns: robes
Dummy: Pacifier
Dustbin: garbage/trash can
Duvet: Comforter
E
Estate – A council estate is an area of social housing provided by the local government. You can also have an estate of private housing
Eurostar: train from London to France. It goes through the Eurotunnel, which goes under the sea.
F
Fanny: girls’ bits
Fag: cigarette
Fag end: cigarette butt
Fairy lights: Christmas lights
Flannel: washcloth. Or talk designed to mislead (‘He gave me a load of flannel’)
Flat: apartment
Football: soccer. The national sport, alongside cricket and rugby. The top league is called the Premier League and top teams include Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal (‘the Gunners’), Tottenham Hotspur (‘Spurs’) and Liverpool.
Fringe: bangs (hairstyle)
Fry up: lots of fried food altogether on one plate – sausage, bacon, egg, tomato, mushrooms
Full stop: period
G
GBH: Grievous Bodily Harm. One step down from attempted murder.
GP: family doctor
Gammon: ham
Garden: yard
Gherkin: pickle
Girls Aloud: Girl band. Featuring Cheryl Cole former X Factor judge.
Git: Rude word for someone you don’t like
“Grass me up”: tell the police about me.
Goosepimples: Goose bumps
H
Hair slide: barrette
Hanky: Kleenex is the nearest, according to my American friends, but we’d call Kleenex ’tissues’ and a hanky is a cloth handkerchief.
Headteacher: principal
Heavies: big scary thugs
High-rise: tall block of public sector apartments
High street: Main street
Hire: rent
Hob: stovetop
I
Ice lolly : popsicle
I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here: reality show in which various Z-list celebrities camp out in the jungle and are tortured for public entertainment.
K
Knickers: panties
L
Lidl: Discount supermarket
Loo: toilet
Lucozade: revolting sugary drink they give you when you are ill.
M
Marks and Spencer: shop which sells mostly clothes but also expensive food.
Mates: friends
Metropolitan Police: the police force which covers London. Also known as the Met. Headquarters are Scotland Yard, or The Yard.
Minger: Ugly girl. Pronounced to rhyme with singer, not ginger.
Mobile (phone): cell phone
N
Naff: poor quality and a bit stupid
Newsagents: place to buy newspapers, magazines, cigarettes (aka fags) and candy…which we call sweets
Nightie: Nightdress
O
Off Licence: package store
Open University: university which lets anyone study by mail.
Oxfam: thrift shop
Oyster Card: a pre-paid card used to travel on buses and the underground in London.
P
PE kit: things you wear for sport
Pants: underpants. Or if you say something is pants, it’s rubbish
Pavement: sidewalk
Petrol: gas
Petrol bomb: A very basic explosive device.
Poofter: homophobic insult
Porridge: hot oatmeal
Post: mail
Poxy: bad
Pram-face: Rude name for teenage mother
Prat: stupid person
PSHE – personal, social and health education. Where they teach you about puberty.
Q
Queuing: waiting in line
R
Radio Four: BBC radio station which mainly features middle class presenters and announcers.
Reception: Pre-K
Rubbish bin: garbage/trash can
Rubbish tip: garbage dump
S
Scallions: spring onions
School: Find out more about the British School system here
Semi: a semi-detached house, i.e. two houses stuck together.
Shag: to have sex
Slapper: derogatory name for a promiscuous girl.
Smarties: multi-coloured candy, chocolate discs with hard sugar coating
Snappy Snaps: Chain of photo-processing shops
Snog: kiss +++
Solicitor: a kind of lawyer
Soppy: silly, girly, sentimental
Stella: Stella Artois,a popular brand of beer
‘Stop and search’: Power allowing police to search people they suspect may be about to commit a crime. It is often criticised as racist, because more black people are stopped and searched than white ones.
Strictly Come Dancing: UK version of Dancing with the Stars generally known in the UK as Strictly.
Stroppy: moody, obstinate
Sweets: candy
T
Taps: Faucets
Tea: might be a meal you have in the evening. Or could be the drink - which is generally drunk with added milk.
Telly: television.
Tesco: Supermarket. Slightly more expensive than Asda
Tossers: literally masturbators. Means idiots.
Towie: Stands for The Only Way is Essex. Hit ‘scripted reality’ TV show.
Trainers: running shoes.
Trousers: pants
Tumble dryer: clothes dryer
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