- Dog's dinner - If you make a
real mess of something it might be described as a real dog's dinner. A bit like
some joint Anglo-American approaches to Eastern Europe for example!
- Donkey's years - Someone said
to me the other day that they hadn't seen me for donkey's years. It means they
hadn't seen me for ages.
- Drop a clanger - When I asked
a large lady on the tube if she would like my seat since she was so
obviously pregnant, she took the seat then told me she was fat, not pregnant!
Boy did I drop a clanger. You might make a gaffe. Either way it was
horrendously embarrassing, especially as half the people on the tube had
heard me
- Duck - In and around
Leeds you will find older people might call you "duck" in the same
way that they might call you "love" or "dear" in other
places. Usually pronounced more like "dook", which rhymes with
"book".
- Duff - Anything that
is duff is useless, junk, trash. It usually means that the object doesn't do
the job it was intended for. Our last Prime Minister was pretty duff!
- Duffer - Any person
that is duff could be referred to as a duffer. The Prime Minister was a duffer.
- Dull - You would say
something that was no longer sharp was dull. We would say blunt. To us
something is dull if it is boring. It can apply to things - like a film
could be dull. It also applies to people - I can think of several people who
are dull!
- Dim - A dim person
is stupid or thick or a dim wit.
- Dishy - If someone is
a bit of a dish or a bit dishy it means they are attractive or good looking.
- DIY - This is short
for do it yourself and applies not just to the DIY stores but also to anything
that you need to do yourself. For example, if we get really bad service in a
restaurant (oh, you noticed!) then we might ask the waiter if it is a DIY
restaurant - just to wind them up.
- Do - A party. You would go
to a do if you were going to a party in the UK
- Do - If you go
into a shop and say "do you do batteries?" it means "do you sell
batteries".
- Do - If you drive
along a motorway in the wrong lane the police will do you. You could then tell
your friends that you have been done by the police. Prosecute is another word
for it!
- Doddle - Something
that is a doddle is a cinch, it's easy. Unlike ordering water in Texas with an
English accent, which is definitely not a doddle!
- Dodgy - If someone or
something is a bit dodgy, it is not to be trusted. Dodgy food should be thrown
away at home, or sent back in a restaurant. Dodgy people are best avoided. You
never know what they are up to. Dodgy goods may have been nicked. When
visiting Miami I was advised by some English chums that certain areas were a
bit dodgy and should be avoided
- Dog's bollocks - You would say
that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. I have no idea why - it
has nothing to do with hounds and nothing to do with testicles!
- ˜Cor - You'll often
hear a Brit say "cor"! It is another one of those expressions of
surprise that we seem to have so many of. It will sometimes be lengthened to
"cor blimey" or "cor love a duck", depending on where you
are. "Cor blimey" is a variation of "Gawd Blimey" or
"Gor Blimey". They are all a corruption of the oath "God Blind
Me"
- Cracking - If something
is cracking, it means it is the best. Usually said without pronouncing the last
"G". If a girl is cracking it means she is stunning.
- Crap - The same word
in both countries - but less rude here. I loved watching Brits being
interviewed on US chat shows and embarrassing the interviewer when they
said something was "total crap".
- Crikey - Another
exclamation of surprise. Some people say "Crikey Moses".
- Crusty dragon - A booger. One
of the really crispy ones.
- Daft - My Dad used
to call me a daft 'apeth which is short for a daft half penny (in old money).
It basically means stupid.
- Dear - If something
is dear it means it is expensive. I thought Texan insurance was dear.
- Dicky - Dicky rhymes
with sicky and means you feel sick.
- Diddle - To rip
someone off or to con someone is to diddle them. When you visit England, check
your change to make sure you haven't been diddled!
- Clear off! - This
expression brings back memories of being a kid and stealing apples from
people's gardens. Sometimes we would get caught and some old bloke would
come out and shout "oi clear off you lot". It basically means get
lost.
- Cobblers - I have heard
people say "what a load of cobblers" more than once. Maybe that's
because I talk so much rubbish. An equivalent would be what a load of
bollocks. It means you are talking out of your butt and has nothing to do
with any kind of dessert!
- Cock up - A cock up
means you have made a mistake. It has nothing to do with parts of the male
body.
- Cockney rhyming
slang - There are lots of words that make up cockney rhyming slang. These are
basically rhyming words like "butchers hook" which means
"look". If you are in London and you hear someone talk about a Septic
they are probably talking about you - because it's short for "Septic
tank" which equals "yank", which is our word for an American.
How do you like that! For more details there are lots of sites dedicated to
this subject, including this one.
- Codswallop - Another one I
heard a lot as a kid - usually when I was making up excuses for how the window
got broken or why my dinner was found behind the sofa. My Dad would tell me I
was talking a load of codswallop. American kids might be talking baloney under
the same circumstances.
- Cram - Before a big
exam you would be expected to cram. This simply means to study hard in the
period running up to the exam.
- Cheeky - "Eee you
cheeky monkey" was what my mother said to me all the time when I was a
kid. Cheeky means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart
arse! Generally you are considered to be a bit cheeky if you have an answer
for everything and always have the last word. My licence plate on my MX5 (Miata
in American) was CHEEKY, which most Texans thought was something to do with
bottoms - wrong!!
- Cheerio - Not a
breakfast cereal. Just a friendly way of saying goodbye. Or in the north
"tara" which is pronounced sort of like "churar".
- Cheers - This word is
obviously used when drinking with friends. However, it also has other
colloquial meanings. For example when saying goodbye you could say
"cheers", or "cheers then". It also means thank you.
Americans could use it in English pubs, but should avoid the other situations
as it sounds wrong with an American accent. Sorry!
- Cheesed off - This is a
polite way of saying you are pissed off with something.
- Chivvy along - When I'm
standing patiently in the checkout queue at Tesco I like to chivvy along
the old ladies in front of me. If only they would stop fannying around
and hurry up!
- Chuffed - You would be
chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something.
- Bugger - This is another
fairly unique word with no real American equivalent. Like bloody it has
many uses apart from the obvious dictionary one pertaining to rather unusual
sexual habits. My father was always shouting "bugger" when he was
working in the garage or garden. Usually when he hit his thumb or dropped a
nail or lost something. Today we might use the sh** or the f*** words but
bugger is still as common. The fuller version of this would be "bugger
it". It can also be used to tell someone to get lost (bugger off), or to
admit defeat (we're buggered) or if you were tired or exhausted you would be
buggered. You can also call someone a bugger. When I won £10 on the lottery my
mate called me a "lucky bugger".
- Bung - To bung
something means to throw it. For example a street trader might bung something
in for free if you pay cash right now! Or you could say "bung my car keys
over, mate".
- Bung - A bung is
also a bribe.
- Butchers - To have a
butchers at something is to have a look. This is a cockney rhyming slang word
that has become common. The reason "butchers" means a look even
though it doesn't rhyme is because it is short for "butchers hook"
and "hook" of course, does rhyme.
- C of E - The Church of
England. Our official protestant church - of which the Queen is the head.
- Chat up - To chat
someone up is to try and pick them up. If you spotted a scrummy girly in
a bar you might try to chat her up. Or a girl might try and chat up a chap!
- Bomb - If something
goes like a bomb it means it is going really well or really fast. Or you could
say an event went down like a bomb and it would mean that the people really
enjoyed it. In the US the meaning would be almost exactly the reverse.
- Bonk - Same meaning
as shag. Means to have sex. E.g. "Did you bonk him/her?".
- Botch - There are two
expressions here - to botch something up or to do a botch job. They both mean
that the work done was not of a high standard or was a clumsy patch. My Dad
used to always tell me that workmen had botched it up and that he should have
done the work properly himself.
- Bottle - Something you
have after twenty pints of lager and the curry. A lotta bottle! This means
courage. If you have a lotta bottle you have no fear.
- Brassed off - If you are
brassed off with something or someone, you are fed up. Pissed off perhaps.
- Brill - Short for
"brilliant". Used by kids to mean cool.
- Bugger all - If something
costs bugger all, it means that it costs nothing. Meaning it is cheap. If you
have bugger all, it means you have nothing.
- Bum - This is the
part of your body you sit on. Your ass! It might also be someone who is down
and out, like a tramp. You might also bum around, if you are doing
nothing in particular, just hanging out. Finally to bum something means to
scrounge it from someone.
