The English-to-American Dictionary

A guide to British slang, and a part of the forthcoming book, The Septic's Companion.

Pages last updated 08 May 2008. Total hits
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As a Scot who's spent some time in the USA working and on holiday, I seem ideally suited to put together a big list of British words which mean little or nothing to an international audience. So here it is.As well as reading the dictionary from this main index, you may want to visit:

Although I'm Scottish, I'm afraid I don't know any Gaelic. If you're interested in me in general (not in a dirty way), you might like to take a look at the rest of my homepage. I make no real effort to research the validity of things people have mailed me - if I reckon it makes sense, I'll stick it up here. A little knowledge is a wonderful thing.
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My local beer cost is about $4.50, just in case you were wondering. Come on guys, I'm getting thirsty here.

The picture to the left (or above, I don't know) is of my most recent pint, drunk on 26 Feb in Whistler, BC, Canada and courtesy of Justin Peterson. Click on it to see the others.

Alphabetical Index

  • A is for: abseil, aerial, afters, AGA, agony aunt, alight, aluminium, anaesthetist, anorak, answerphone, anti-clockwise, anyroad, arse, arsehole, artic, articulated lorry, aubergine and autumn
  • B is for: bagsie, bairn, baked potato, bangers, bank holiday, bap, barmpot, barmy, barnet, barney, barrister, bash on, beavering, Belisha Beacons, bell end, bender, berk, bespoke, bevvy, big end, billion, bin, bint, bird, Biro, biscuit, bitter, blag, bleeding, blighter, Blighty, blimey, blinding, blinking, bloke, bloody, blooming, blow off, blower, bob, Bob’s your uncle, bobbie, bobbins, bodge, boff, boffin, bog, bog standard, bogie, bogroll, boiler, bollard, bollocks, bolshie, bolt-hole, bomb, bonk, bonnet, bonny, boot, boozer, bottle, bounder, box, Boxing Day, braces, brew, brick, brill, brilliant, brolly, brush, bubble and squeak, bubtion, bugger, bum, bumf, burgle, busk, butcher’s and butty
  • C is for: cack, cack-handed, camp, camper van, candy floss, car boot sale, car park, caravan, cardie, carrier bag, casual, cat’s eyes, central reservation, chancer, chap, charva, chav, cheeky, cheerio, cheers, chemist, chippy, chips, chivvy on, chock-a-block, chocolate drops, Christmas cracker, chuff, chuffed, cider, clap, clobber, close, coach, cobblers, cockney, cock-up, codswallop, colleague, college, collywobbles, concessions, cooker, cop off, copper, cor, cor blimey, cot, cotton buds, cotton wool, council house, courgette, court shoes, cowboy, craic, creche, crikey, crisps, cropper, crumbs, crumpet, current account, curtains, cushions, custard, cutlery and CV
  • D is for: daddy long-legs, dado, daft, dago, damp, damper, dapper, dear, demister, deplane, dickhead, diddle, digestive, dinner, divvy, do, doddle, dodgem, dodgy, dog’s bollocks, dog’s breakfast, dog’s dinner, dog-end, dogsbody, dole, dosh, doss, double-barreled, dozy, draught, draughts, drawing-pin, dressing gown, dual carriageway, dummy, Durex, dustbin, dustman, duvet, Dux and dynamo
  • E is for: Ecosse, eejit, Elastoplast, elevenses, engaged, enplane, entrée, estate agent and estate car
  • F is for: faff, fag, faggot, fairy lights, fancy, fancy dress, fanny, film, filth, fit, fizzy drink, flag, flannel, flat, flatmate, floater, flog, fluke, flutter, football, footpath, fortnight, fringe, frog, fry-up, full monty, the and full stop
  • G is for: gaffe, gaffer, gaffer tape, G-clamp, gear lever, gearbox, geezer, Geordie, get off, giddy, git, give over, give way, glass, gob, gobshite, gobsmacked, googly, Gordon Bennett, gormless, grammar, grass, green fingers, grizzle, grotty, guff, Guinea, gutted, guv'nor and gyp
  • H is for: haggis, haha, handbrake, hand-luggage, hard, hard shoulder, haver, having kittens, head boy, hen-night, higgledy-piggledy, high tea, high-street, hill-walking, hire, hob, hockey, holiday, hood, hoover, how's your father and hum
  • I is for: icing sugar, ickle, indicator, innit, interval and ironmonger
  • J is for: jacket potato, jam, jammy, jam-sandwich, jelly, jiffy, John Thomas, joint, jolly, jumble sale and jumper
  • K is for: kagoul, kecks, kerb, kerfuffle, khasi, kip, Kirby grip, kit, kitchen roll, Kiwi, knackered, knees-up, knickers, knob, knock about and knock up
  • L is for: lad, ladder, ladybird, lairy, lay-by, Left Luggage, leg over, lemonade, lie-in, lift, light, lodger, lolly, loo, lorry, L-plates, lurgy, luv and luvvie
  • M is for: Mac, mad, manky, manual gearbox, Marmite, marrow, mate, maths, mean, mews, mileometer, mince pie, mind, minge, minger, mobile phone, moggy, Mole grip, molly-coddled, momentarily, moose, moreish, motor, motorway, multi-storey car park, mum, munter and muppet
  • N is for: naff, nancy, nappy, narked, nativity, natter, natty, navvy, nearside, ned, nick, niggle, nip, nippy, nob, nonce, nosey parker, nosh, nought, noughts and crosses, nowt, number plate, numpty and nutter
  • O is for: och, off-licence, offside, oi, omnibus, one, one-off and owt
  • P is for: P.A., pantomine, pants, parafin, parky, pastille, pasty, Patience, pavement, pear-shaped, pecker, peckish, peculiar, Pelican crossing, pensioner, Perspex, petrol, phone box, phut, pickle, piece, pig's ear, pikey, pillock, pinch, pint, pips, pish, piss-artist, pissed, pitch, plaster, Plod, plonker, plus-fours, po-faced, polo-neck, polythene, ponce, pong, poof, poofter, porkies, Portakabin, posh, post, postgraduate, pot noodle, potholing, potplant, potty, poxy, pram, prang, prat, prawn, prefect, prep school, presenter, pub, public school, pudding, pukka, pull, pump, puncture, punter, purse and pushchair
  • Q is for: quay, queue, quid and quim
  • R is for: railway, randy, rat-arsed, rawl plug, razz, reckon, registration, return ticket, reverse charges, revise, ride, ring, rocket, rodger, romp, ropey, roundabout, row, rozzer, rubber, rubbish and rucksack
  • S is for: sack, salad cream, saloon, samey, sarnie, scarper, school, schtum, scone, scotch, Scotch Egg, Scouser, scrap, scrote, scrubber, scrummy, Scrumpy, scupper, Sellotape, septic, serviette, sexy, shag, shambolic, shandy, shark, shat, shattered, Shilling, shimmy, shirt-lifter, shirty, shite, shop, sick, skallywag, skanky, skinfull, skint, skip, skirting board, skive, slag, slapper, slash, sleeper, sleeping policeman, slip-road, smashing, smeg, Snakes and Ladders, snog, sod, soldiers, solicitor, Solitaire, sorted, spanner, spare, speedo, spotted dick, sprog, spunk, squash, squiffy, stabilisers, stag night, starter, steady on, sterling, sticking plaster, stockings, stodgy, stone, straight away, stroppy, subway, sultana, sun cream, supper, suspenders, suss, sweet, swift half, swimming costume, swizz and swot
  • T is for: ta, table, tackle, take-away, taking the mickey, taking the piss, tannoy, Tarmac, tart, tartan, tater, tea, tea-break, tea-towel, telly, terrestrial television, tetchy, tick, tidy, tight, tights, till, tip, Tippex, tipple, titchy, todger, toe-rag, toff, tomato sauce, toodle-pip, torch, tosh, toss, totty, trailer tent, trainers, trainspotter, tram, tramp, treacle, trilby, trolley, trolley dolly, trolleyed, trollop, trousers, truncheon, Tube, tuck shop, twat, twee, twig, twit, two up, two down, twonk and tyre
  • U is for: underground, underlay and university
  • V is for: verge, vest and video
  • W is for: waffle, waistcoat, wally, wank, washing up, waster, wazzack, WC, wean, wee, wellies, wellingtons, welly, what's up?, whinge, whip round, wholemeal flour, wicked, willie, windscreen, wing, wizard, wobbler, wobbly, wonky, woofter, wooly and wotcher
  • Y is for: Yank, Yardies, Y-fronts, yobbo and yonks
  • Z is for: zebra crossing, zed and Zimmer

    Category Index

    I've had a shot at putting everything into these little categories (note that all the same words are also available in the alphabetical index below):

    There are currently 688 words in the dictionary. At the time of publishing I have dealt with 4166 e-mails and feedback forms, and have (ahem) 2451 messages containing suggestions that I still haven't got around to replying to.

    This text is all copyright (C) Chris Rae, Sep 1997-May 2008. Feel free to distribute it in other ways but please leave the copyright.