In this section I will focus on films I have seen where there's a fair amount of slang worth listing.

The slang of

 

behave - normally pron. 'bee-ave'. Meaning 'sort yourself out', 'stop being silly' etc. Can be used in an agressive manner as if to say 'stop doing that, or else'.

bent - crooked, illegal.

bet your bollocks to a barn dance - a new one to me, but as far as I can tell it is similar to 'bet your life' or 'bet your arse'.

black stuff - the Irish stout Guinness.

blagged - to steal. Example, "Who blagged that bookie's?" - who stole from / robbed the bookmakers?

bollocks - A very common swear word in the UK. It can be traced back to the 11th century and means testicles.

bookie's - an abreviation for bookmakers (betting office).

clocked - to see / be seen. e.g. "Shit, we've been clocked!".

cunt - seen as the strongest swear word in the English language. See main pages under 'C' for details.

disco biscuits - ecstacy (the drug).

drip dry 'em - could be either similar to the phrase "leaving someone out to dry" or may be a reference to cutting the throat of a victim and draining the blood (like with cattle).

funky - smelly.

goody gumdrops - a sarcastic usage of the childish phrase which is an expression of pleasure.

grainers - The only thing I can find is a reference to bullets, probably shot-gun pellets.

grand - one thousand pounds.

grasses - Informers.

Jacob's - Rhyming Slang for 'Jacob's Cream Crackers' - 'knackers' which is slang for 'testicles'.

k - a thousand pounds.

large - a thousand pounds. e.g. "Ten large to help the situation".

many different men to see about many different dogs - comes from the euphemism "see a man about a dog", meaning - to do something unspecified (normally secret).

melees - close combat, weapons such as knives etc.

Mickey Mouse - fake.

minerals - testicles. This comes from the Rhyming Slang term 'Family Jewels' (pron. "jawls") = 'balls'.

moody - stolen.

mucker - friend / mate.

mustard - good.

next time I'm climbing off your mum.... - offensive statement indicating that you've shagged their mum.

pedigree chums - Pedidree Chums is a pet food for dogs. A chum is a friend. This is a play on words - maybe with a violent undertone hinting that they will be dog food soon?

pikey - a gypsy or vagrant. This term comes from the 'Kentish' dialect word 'pike' meaning 'toll-gate'. Later in the 19th century 'a pike' was 'a road'.

porky pies - lies.

rascal - troublemaker, sometimes used as a term for a 'lovable rogue'.

shite - northern dialect version of 'shit'.

schtrops - (yiddish) useless, not worth the time.

son - a very common term of address for any male.

spurious - not real, dodgy.

taking the piss - extreemly common term for 'making fun of'.

tip-top - great condition. Archaic upper class term.

tucked up - conned, tricked.

wanker - idiot, dispicable person. Literally means to masturbate.

who took the jam out of your doughnut? - who spoilt your fun?

Yardie - Jamaican gangster.

The slang of

Alan's - short for 'Alan Whicker's', Modern Rhyming Slang for 'knickers'.

aristotle - Rhyming Slang for bottle.

(the) arsehole - to get 'the arsehole' is to be fed up or annoyed.

battle cruiser - Rhyming Slang for 'boozer' (public house/bar).

birds nest - Rhyming Slang for 'chest'.

bubble and squeak - Rhyming Slang for Greek (person). Bubble and squeak is a dish made from left-over greens/cabbage and potatoes.

Chevy Chase - Modern Rhyming Slang for 'face'.

chicken soup - meaning 'kosher' which is slang for 'honest' or 'legitimate'. Chicken soup is a popular kosher dish.

claret - slang for 'blood', from it's colour.

cozzers - police, from Hebrew 'chazer' meaning pig.

crystal - short for 'crystal clear'.

custard - short for 'custard and jelly, Modern Rhyming Slang for 'telly' which is short for 'television'.

footer - football. An alternative to the popular term 'footie'.

fury muff - rude play on words for the phrase 'fair enough' also 'hairy muff (muff is slang for vagina).

gander - to have a look, from the birds long neck.

geezer - a very common term for a man. There are many disproved origins of the word.

iron - could be short for 'iron rusted' Rhyming Slang for 'busted' (broken). (Not 100% sure about this one, but once again thanks to Karin). I relise that the usual meaning of 'iron' is 'iron hoof' = poof (this version is on the main pages).

jam rolls - Rhyming Slang for 'arseholes'.

Liza - short for Liza Minelli. Modern Rhyming Slang for 'telly' (television). Thanks to Karin.

manor - area, turf, patch.

mincer - gay man.

monkey - £500. Possibly originates from the 500 rupee note that has (had?) a monkey on it.

muppet - an idiot.

nicker - money.

nonce - a sex offender, but can be used as a general term of abuse.

north - short for 'north and south', Rhyming Slang for 'mouth'.

nuclear sub - Modern Rhyming Slang for 'pub' (public house/bar).

on the take - to accept bribes or take unknown money from a transaction.

ping pong - Rhyming Slang for 'strong'.

Robert's your fathers brother - humorous alternative to the phrase 'Bob's yer uncle' (see main site for description of phrase).

Roger - short for the Modern Rhyming Slang term 'Roger Melly' (the popular Viz cartoon character). Thanks to Karin.

sky rocket - Rhyming Slang for 'pocket'.

tiddly - short for tiddlywink, Rhyming Slang for 'drink'.

ton - a hundred pounds.

tossed up - to come up with money.

The slang of

git - popular mildly offensive word for someone you don't like. Only really used for males.

mug - a fool or victim. Originates from the fact that drinking mug's used to be made with ugly faces on them. Also for this reason 'mug' can mean 'face', i.e.. 'ugly mug'.

sacked - to 'get the sack' is to get dismissed from work.

shagging - very common mildly rude term for sexual intercourse.

tosser - to toss is to masturbate, so a tosser is someone who masturbates. Used as a fairly mild form of abuse. Often preceded by 'complete'.

twat - the vagina. Used as a term of abuse.

wanker - wanker - an old English word that is a very common term of abuse. A wanker is an idiot or an unpleasant person. From 19th century Yorkshire dialect meaning 'idiot'.

 

 

 

Top 100 British Slang

1. Tosser – Idiot
2. Cock-up – Screw up
3. Bloody – Damn
4. Give You A Bell – Call you
5. Blimey! – My Goodness
6. Wanker – Idiot
7. Gutted – Devastated
8. Bespoke – Custom Made
9. Chuffed – Proud
10. Fancy – Like
11. Sod Off – Piss off
12. Lost the Plot – Gone Crazy
13. Fortnight – Two Weeks
14. Sorted – Arranged
15. Hoover – Vaccum
16. Kip – Sleep or nap
17. Bee’s Knees – Awesome
18. Know Your Onions – Knowledgeable
19. Dodgy – Suspicious
20. Wonky – Not right
21. Wicked – Cool!
22. Whinge – Whine
23. Tad – Little bit
24. Tenner – £10
25. Fiver – £5
26. Skive – Lazy or avoid doing something
27. Toff – Upper Class Person
28. Punter – Customer/Prostitute’s Client
29. Scouser – Someone from Liverpool
30. Quid – £
31. Taking the Piss – Screwing around

32. Pissed – Drunk
33. Loo – Toilet
34. Nicked – Stolen
35. Nutter – Crazy Person
36. Knackered – Tired
37. Gobsmacked – Amazed
38. Dog’s Bollocks – Awesome
39. Chap – Male or friend
40. Bugger – Jerk
41. Bog Roll – Toilet Paper
42. Bob’s Your Uncle – There you go!
43. Anti-Clockwise – We Say Counter Clockwise
44. C of E – Church of England
45. Pants – Panties
46. Throw a Spanner in the Works – Screw up
47. Zed – We say ZZZZZZZ
48. Absobloodylootely – YES!
49. Nosh – Food
50. One Off – One time only
51. Shambles – Mess
52. Arse-over-tit – Fall over
53. Brilliant! – Great!
54. Dog’s Dinner – Dressed Nicely
55. Up for it – Willing to have sex
56. On the Pull – Looking for sex
57. Made Redundant – Fired from a job
58. Easy Peasy – Easy
59. See a Man About a Dog – Do a deal or take a dump
60. Up the Duff – Pregnant
61. DIY – Do It Yourself home improvements
62. Chat Up – Flirt
63. Fit – Hot
64. Arse – Ass
65. Strawberry Creams – Breasts
66. Shag – Screw
67. Gentleman Sausage – Penis
68. Twigs & Berries – Genitalia
69. Fanny – Vagina
70. Bollocks – Balls
71. Ponce – Poser
72. Don’t Get Your Knickers in a Twist – Don’t Get worked up
73. The Telly – Television
74. Bangers – Sausage
75. Chips – French Fries
76. Daft Cow – Idiot
77. Do – Party
78. Uni – College/University
79. Starkers – Naked
80. Smeg – From Red Dwarf
81. Bits ‘n Bobs – Various things
82. Anorak – A person weirdly interested in something
83. Shambles – bad shape/plan gone wrong
84. I’m Off to Bedfordshire – Going to bed
85. Her Majesty’s Pleasure – To be in prison
86. Horses for Courses – Won’t work for someone else
87. John Thomas – Penis
88. Plastered – Drunk
89. Meat and Two Veg – Genitalia
90. Knob Head – Idiot/Dickhead
91. Knob – Penis
92. Chav – White trash
93. It`s monkeys outside – it is very cold
94. Stag Night – Bachelor Party
95. Ace – Cool!
96. Plonker – Idiot
97. Dobber – Penis
98. BellEnd – Penis
99. Blighty – Britain
100. Rubbish – Garbage or ‘That’s crap!’

 

 

Some Irish slang

Word or phrase	Example	Meaning
Acting the maggot	He was just acting the maggot as usual	Behaving foolishly, annoyingly
Bags	He made a bags of doing it	Messy inadequate job (see hames)
Banjaxed	It was banjaxed beyond all help	Broken, can also mean tired
Bold	You are a very bold boy	Naughty
Crack, craic	We had great craic that night	Hard to translate, roughly meaning fun
Culchies	The culchies were all over the place	Rural people, usually used disparagingly by city people
Cute hoor	I always knew he was a cute hoor	Untrustworthy male person, often a politician
Desperate	The place is in a desperate state	Bad, needing attention
Drawers	Her drawers were the size of Cork	Knickers, panties
Eat the head off	I'll eat the head off her	Attack verbally
Eejit	You're a right eejit	Idiot, fool
Fair play	Fair play to you	Indicates approval of someone's actions or opinions
Feck	Feck off, fecking thing, feck-all	Polite(-ish) version of other F word
Fella	Come here young fella	Male person, also used for boyfriend
Flitters	The dog left the shirt in flitters	Tatters
Fluthered	He was fluthered again	Drunk
Foostering	Just foostering about	Not getting much done, fussing
Full shilling	He's not the full shilling	Mentally competent
Gas	We had a bit of gas that day	Fun, enjoyment
Giving out	The teacher was always giving out to the class	Scolding.
Gob	He never shuts his gob	Mouth
Gobdaw	That fella's a right gobdaw	Fool, idiot
Gom	You're just acting the gom	Fool, idiot
Guff	Don't give me any of your guff	Idle talk or excuses
Gur	He's been on gur since Saturday	Staying away from home, usually a child
Hames	You made a terrible hames of that	Messy inadequate job (see bags)
Header	Keep away from that header	Mentally unstable person
Holliers	Two weeks holliers for me	Holidays, vacation time
Holy show	You made a holy show of yourself	Spectacle
Hop	He's been on the hop since Tuesday	Playing truant from school
Horse's hoof	That's a bit of a horse's hoof I think	Spoof, exaggerated story
Hump off	Would you ever hump off?	Go away, leave me alone
Jackeens	The jackeens think they're smart	Dublin person, usually used disparagingly by culchies
Jacks	I'm just off to the jacks	Toilet, restroom
Jaded	We're all jaded after it	Tired, exhausted
Kibosh	He put the kibosh on it	Added the last straw, completely banjaxed something
Langered/Langers	We were all langers	Drunk
Letting on	I was just letting on	Pretending
Mary Hick	That dress is really Mary Hick	Unfashionable, drab
Messages	I have to get the messages	Groceries
Mooching	He's mooching again for money	Sponging, almost begging
Mot	Have you got a mot?	Girlfriend
One	Some oul' one told her	Female person
Pictures	Want to come to the pictures?	Movies, Cinema
Puck	He got a puck in the gob	Sharp blow
Puss	She'd a right puss on her	Face, usually sulky
Reddener	She took a reddener when she saw him	Blush (see Scarlet)
Reef	I'll reef him when I see him	Attack, non-verbal
Scarlet	I'm scarlet for you	Blushing, often in sympathy with a friend's reddener
Scratcher	He's always in the scratcher	Bed
Scrawbed	Her face was all scrawbed	Scratched by fingernails
Shook	He was very shook looking	Pale, ill, scared
Slagging	I'm only slagging you	Making fun of someone, generally good-naturedly
Sleeveen	She's a bit of a sleeveen	Sly person, calculating
Stocious	He was stocious this evening	Drunk

FROM AYE-RAB TO ZEBRA HEAD

Could you call a Cuban a "wet back"? What exactly is a "bog rat"? Why the hell do some call Orientals "gooks"? Where do we get the term, "red neck"? All these nagging questions and others will be answered in this article. So hold on to you ass, cause it's going to be a dumpy (and derogatory) ride...

AYE-RAB -- Anyone of Arabic descent. Popularized by the camp-singer Ray "The Streak" Stevens' song, "Ahab The Ayrab."

BEAN -- Insult implying that most Chicanos or those of Mexican origin cannot survive without beans being a part of their diet.

BEAN-EATER -- Please see "Bean".

BEANO -- Again, would you just see "Bean" already!

BLACKIE -- Diminutive term to any African or person with a dark skin color.

BOG-RAT -- Used to describe Irish country folk. The word comes from the peat-bogs of Ireland.

BOG-HOPPER -- Please see "Bog-Rat ".

BOY -- Used in the south, addressed to any black person younger than the white speaker. Sometimes used in ironic retaliation by blacks, as well.

BUCKWHEAT -- This word was used by blacks in the early 1900s as a greeting, later changed to a derogatory term due to the buffoonish Buckwheat character in the "Little Rascals" films.

CANUCK -- A Canadian. This word became in use after the 18th century cartoon character, Jonny Canuck.

CHICO -- Meaning "boy" in Spanish. A popular term in the 70s, but now seen to be of a diminutive nature.

CHINAMAN --Anyone of Chinese ancestry. Mostly used to lump all Asians together.

CHINK -- As above. It is not known, but often speculated, where this word came from.

CLOD-HOPPER -- Anyone who lives on a farm. Piles of cow dung were often called clod. In more recent (and vulgar) times, it has been replaced with SHIT-KICKER.

COLORED -- A southern term for blacks. Hardly used after the late 60s.

COON -- A black male. Starting in the 1880s, the Ku Klux Klan went on nightly raccoon hunts due to raccoons being nocturnal. Later they became the hunts and lynchings of blacks.

CRACKER -- Slang used by blacks to describe a person as "white as a cracker." Later deemed derogatory.

DAGO -- Originally used to classify any Italian, Spaniard or Portuguese, derived from the name Diego. Later used simply for Italians. Made popular by the 1950s joke, "Why does time fly in Italy? Because every time you turn around you see a day go."

DARKIE -- Patronizing term for any black person.

DINK -- In the U.S. it literally means a physically small person. In England and Canada, it's a synonym for someone who is small on a mental level. Later used during Vietnam by American soldiers to describe the natives as small, as well as stupid.

FROG -- Anyone of French ancestry. Shortened from "frog-leg eater."

FAGGOT -- A homosexual. Origin unknown.

FAG -- Why are you so damn interested in what this means?

GOOK -- A person of Oriental descent. The word originated during World War II when dealing with many Japanese and having their language sounding like "gobbledy-gook" to Western ears.

GOY -- A Yiddish term for non-Jews, originally taken from the word GOYEM.

GOYEM --A Yiddish word meaning 'cattle.'

GREASER --Anyone of certain Hispanic origins, such as Mexicans or Puerto Ricans, supposedly due to a myth of Hispanics loving grease in their hair.

GREASE-BALL -- A fucking Spic, like them guys above.

GREEK -- Anyone having anal intercourse, but most often used as a derogatory word in place of homosexual.

GRINGO -- Any white foreigner in Central or South America. Believed to be taken from pro-U.S. banners, "Green Go!" during the World Wars, but it was in fact used as far back as 70 years before the first World War.

GYPSY -- Not so much of an offensive word as it once was. The Gypsy people prefer to be called "Rom", a tribe of Egyptians who entered Europe in the 1200s.

HALF-BREED -- Anyone of a mixed racial background.

HEEB -- Anyone of Hebrew descent, but now used to describe someone as a liberal Jew.

HICK -- Anyone of a rural background, usually poor and especially white.

HILLBILLY -- Literally, anyone living in the hill country, also used to describe unwealthy white country folk.

HONKY -- Used by blacks to describe a white person with liberal leanings, shortened from "horn honking trouble maker."

INDIAN GIVER --Anyone who presents a gift, then reclaims it. Settlers claimed the Native Americans were always breaking promises and treaties.

INJUN -- A drunk Native American, used as if someone is slurring the word Indian.

JAP -- 1) Short for Japanese. 2) Acronym for Jewish American Princess.

JIGABOO -- A rural or southern black, referring to their dancing. Often mistakenly pronounced as "Chick-a-boo."

JUNGLE BUNNY -- A black person, first used as a synonym for a newly imported slave.

KYKE -- A Yiddish word meaning self-hating Jew. Now mostly used by racists for any type of Jewish person.

KRAUT -- A white German. Taken from the German's love of their cabbage dish, sauerkraut.

LIMEY -- A British sailor. Derived from Admirals giving their crew limes to prevent scurvy.

MICK -- A Scotsman or Irishman. Taken from the prefix Mc or Mac. The original word was Mack, but somehow made it's way to Mick.

NIGGER -- Most common of racial slurs, applied to anyone of dark ancestry. Derived from the word Negro.

NIP -- A person of Japanese descent. The true name of Japan is Nippon, therefore Nip being a shortened version.

OREO -- Can be taken as a black person who wants to be a white person, or a white person who wants to be black. Or of a mixed background (white and black parents). Taken from the cookie that is dark on the outside and white on the inside.

P.R. -- Initials for Puerto Rican, often used to call Puerto Ricans, "Professional Robbers".

PAKI -- One of Indian heritage, mistakenly believing all Indians come from Pakistan.

POLACK -- 1) A person of Polish descent. 2) Anyone who has a low level of intelligence, derived from the myth that the Polish were so unintelligent that they just let Hitler walk right into their country.

REDNECK -- A white rural southerner which worked outdoors. To avoid sunburn they kept their shirts on, leaving the neck exposed to reddening by the sun.

REDSKIN -- A Native American. Using paint on their faces to describe their feelings, when settlers saw attacking Native Americans wearing red face paint, the name stuck.

RUSKY -- A person of Russian ancestry. Taken from the Russian word meaning "Russian", Ruskii.

SHIT-KICKER -- See CLOD-HOPPER.

SAMBO -- A black person having buffoon-ish qualities. Taken from the story, "Little Black Sambo."

SHYSTER -- A Jewish professional who cons people. Taken from the Shakespearian character Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice."

SPADE -- A black male. Comes from the term, "black as the Ace of Spades."

SAND-NIGGER -- A person of Arabic descent.

SPIC -- Anyone of Hispanic origin. Originally used on police records to describe a suspect/victim who was a SPanish/Italian Caucasian (SP.I.C.). Now used as a short term for Hispanic.

SPOOK -- A black person. Used in the 1800s due to difficulty finding blacks in the dark (I just report this stuff, I don't make it up!).

TACO -- A person of Mexican nationality.

TOWEL-HEAD -- A person of any nationality who usually wears a turban or other head-dress.

UNCLE TOM -- A term used to describe blacks who aided whites or cooperates with whites.

WET BACK -- A derogatory term used for those of Mexican nationality who came over illegally via the Rio Grande.

WASP -- Acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, commonly changed to fit most whites by making the "p" stand for Peoples or Person.

WHITE TRASH -- Poor rural whites. Used to signify that one is a dredge of the white race.

WHITEY -- Black slang for a white person, similar to (yet opposite of) BLACKIE.

WOP -- An Italian. Originally from the acronym With Out Passport, which was a sign on Ellis Island where you would get in line if you were an immigrant.

YID -- Anyone of Yiddish descent, but now used to describe a conservative Jew (opposite of HEEB).

YELLOW -- A person of Oriental ancestry.

ZEBRA-HEAD -- A person who has 'Jungle Fever.'

 

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