 A part of the forthcoming book, The Septic's Companion. A B C D E F G H I JK L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z   These are the last three beers people kinder than you bought me. Click on them to see more or buy me one. Feel guilty? Think of the children I might have, and such like. |
jacket potato n baked potato. A potato baked in its skin and usually filled with something. The term "baked potato" is well understood in the UK. jam n jelly. Sort of. What Americans call "jelly" (fruit preserve without fruity-bits in it), Brits still call "jam". What Americans call "jello", Brits call "jelly". Oh yes, and what Americans call "jam" is still "jam" in the UK. I think that's the jams pretty much covered. jammy adj lucky. Slang - often seen in the phrase "you jammy git", uttered graciously on some sort of defeat. jam-sandwich n police car. Also "jam butty". So called because they are white, with a red stripe down the middle. If you half-close your eyes, squint, stand on your head and recite the Lord's Prayer backwards, they could in some ways be seen as not dissimilar to a jam sandwich. jelly n Jell-o. Gelatinous sweet desert. The Jell-o brand doesn't exist in the UK. jiffy n very short period of time: "I'll be there in a jiffy!" and such like. The phrase comes from a time before Jiffy was a popular brand of condom. John Thomas n penis. The term derives from the name the leading man in D.H. Lawrence's novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover, who gave to his own appendage. The book was made famous by the obscenity trial it landed Penguin Books in during the 1950s. In American one can buy "John Thomas relish" to put on your lunch - this isn't commercially available in the UK. joint n large side of meat, like a Sunday roast. The Brits, like the Americans, also use the word to refer to cannabis spliffs, which means that these days you'd be unlikely to get away with referring to your "Sunday joint" without someone giggling. jolly adj 1 very: "We had a jolly good time at the zoo." 2 happy: "He seemed remarkeably jolly about the whole business." jumble sale n garage sale; yard sale. The wonderful event where people get together in order to sell the revolting tacky rubbish they've accumulated over the years. jumper n sweater. What Americans call a "jumper" (a set of overalls with a skirt instead of trousers), Brits would call a "pinafore".