British slang

About this list

The list takes slang Wiktionary marks as British. Several words look familiar to Americans and mean something else entirely, so the meanings matter more than the words.

200 words

and that

And the others; used after a name to denote the friends or social group of that person.

get in

An exclamation of joy at one's success.

do over

To beat up.

come it

To pretend.

one under

A person under a train; a person hit by a train after jumping or falling in front of it.

life off

To sentence (someone) to life imprisonment.

bad

To shell (a walnut).

bad up

To make (someone) paranoid or messed up, e.g., emotionally or from drugs.

not half

Greatly; to a considerable extent.

John

A new recruit at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

large it

To engage in or seek pleasurable activities with great enthusiasm.

go country

To take part in a county line scheme for drug distribution.

class A

Any illicit drug (e.g. cocaine, heroin) categorised as “class A” under the United Kingdom's Misuse of Drugs Act (1971).

move to

To attack; to hit.

give it the big one

To behave in an arrogant or self-important manner; to boast.

move with

To be in a clique with; to associate with.

have form

To have a criminal record.

give it large

To verbally abuse or intimidate.

dead

To kill.

on the club

Temporarily away from work, usually due to sickness, supported by sickness benefit.

give a light

To care.

bill up

To roll up a marijuana cigarette.

bit on the side

A secondary lover, a mistress.

stuff up

To make a big mistake.

good value

Someone who is friendly and easy-going.

ones

The cells located on the ground floor.

Old Bill

A police officer.

give a stuff

To care about something; to give a damn.

no-mark

An insignificant person; one who fails to make a mark.

standard

An expression of agreement.

top boy

A leader, kingpin, or boss in the drug trade or gang hierarchy.

loved-up

Under the influence of ecstasy (the drug MDMA).

sweet as

Wonderful, extremely good.

peter

A safe.

have a pop at

To attack or start a fight with something or someone.

boy in blue

A policeman.

Sunday name

The full form of one's first name, such as Stephen instead of Steve.

green army

The regular army, not including any special forces.

long arms

A person who steals things or borrows them without asking.

stick on

To charge (someone) with an offence.

spot-red

The spotted redshank.

wide boy

A man who lives by his wits, wheeling and dealing.

henry

A turd.

mad

Intensifier; to a large degree; extremely; exceedingly; very; unbelievably.

blog

To blag, to steal something; to acquire something illegally.

mad with it

Extremely drunk or intoxicated.

push along

To depart.

council pop

tap water

give someone their cards

To dismiss someone from employment; to fire or make redundant.

leg it

To run away, to flee.

route-one

Direct, basic, unsubtle, brute force.

leg over

To treat badly so as to cheat or ruin.

hand someone their cards

To dismiss someone from employment; to fire or make redundant.

bird off

To sentence (someone) to prison.

target for tonight

A girlfriend or lover.

tea fight

Synonym of bun fight (“formal tea party”).

on the nick

Engaged in theft.

bell up

To make a phone call.

bottle

To refrain from doing (something) at the last moment because of a sudden loss of courage.

bottle it

To suppress an action or expression, especially when due to lack of courage.

chat

A louse (small, parasitic insect).

nick off

To leave, especially in a hurry.

give someone a bell

To telephone someone.

on your bike

Go away.

Q-car

A high-performance car with an unassuming exterior.

green 'un

A newspaper supplement or edition concerning sport, especially football, printed on green newsprint.

neck oil

Beer or other alcoholic drink.

go down like a cup of cold sick

To be received very poorly; to be highly unpopular.

hold tight

A phrase used to shout out or show appreciation for someone, often in the context of music, especially grime or drum and bass scenes.

red hat

A senior army officer.

dumb tax

The national lottery.

harris

A dried preparation of the flowering tops or other parts of the cannabis plant used as a psychotropic drug.

Charlie

A fool.

scores

A bag of cannabis worth £20.

skill

Great, excellent.

crack out

To bring out a tool or method thought to be powerful or effective.

shell-like

The ear.

down the pan

Synonym of down the toilet: wasted; irretrievable.

grass on

To betray by informing on.

grass up

To betray by informing on.

cop it

To get into trouble; to be punished.

cop off with

To successfully engage the company of someone for a period of time.

not much cop

Not very good; unimpressive.

on the rob

Engaged in theft.

tear-up

A fight; a scrap.

bull up

To polish (boots) thoroughly; by extension, to prepare other military kit, e.g. firearms or uniforms; to clean or organize more generally.

boots

The ship in a fleet having the most junior captain.

jokes

Really good.

bang out

Completely unacceptable.

blast up

To beat up (someone).

wet and warm

Tea (the drink).

stick two fingers up

To give the V sign (a gesture of contempt or insult made by raising the index and middle fingers with the palm inwards).

get rounds

To succeed; to cook.

off one's box

Crazy; unhinged; irrational.

ton-up

fond of travelling at high speeds

Turkey teeth

Unnaturally white, straightened teeth, especially from an overseas dentist.

copper

A police officer, especially one in uniform.

pink 'un

A newspaper supplement or edition concerning sport, especially football, printed on pink newsprint.

tune

Used to show appreciation or approval of a song.

jerry

A chamber pot.

cop shop

A police station.

damn and blast

Last.

full screw

A corporal.

laughing gear

The mouth.

bobby

A police officer.

Barry boy

A man denoted by his taste for loud clothing and flashy cars.

ken

A house, especially a den of thieves.

Liverpool kiss

A headbutt.

jerry-lord

A tavernkeeper.

in bits

In a state of extreme emotion, such as hilarity or rage.

chuck up

To vomit; throw up.

egg-bound

Constipated.

real jam

Anything exceptionally good.

tommy

A British infantryman, especially one from World War I. Ellipsis of Tommy Atkins.

on the hurry up

At top speed; as fast as possible.

par off

To reject, ignore, or spurn.

up sticks

To put up the mast of a ship in preparation for sailing.

bread and honey

Money.

old sweat

An experienced soldier.

pig off

Go away; sod off.

sweet FA

Nothing.

ace

Excellent.

drum up

To prepare food or drink with improvised implements, e.g. while camping; especially, to make tea in something other than a tea kettle.

bit of homework

An attractive woman.

get one's kit off

To undress or be naked.

bleeding

extreme, outright; bloody, blasted.

piece of homework

Synonym of bit of homework (“an attractive woman”).

Tail End Charlie

The last aircraft in a formation.

jam roll

Parole.

diesel

Synonym of snakebite and black.

lamp

To hit, clout, belt, wallop.

rat pack

A ration pack.

stack it

To fall over; to topple.

what the butler saw

A story or film of titillating activity observed by voyeurism.

bleeding hell

Synonym of bloody hell.

bare navy

The situation where available food is limited to basic service rations.

power pill

A tablet of the drug ecstasy.

guilt lane

A row of confectionery, etc. near the checkout in a supermarket, intended to trigger impulse buying.

put some timber on

To put on weight; to become more heavy or obese.

spy cop

An undercover police officer tasked with infiltrating a politically active group which is deemed to pose a risk of criminal activity, so as to allow the police to monitor the group's activities on an ongoing basis.

plastic pig

The Reliant Robin, a three-wheeled fibreglass car.

spark out

Completely asleep or unconscious.

bean

Money.

extract the Michael

Synonym of take the mickey.

monkey boat

A long, narrow kind of half-decked canal boat.

olds

One's parents.

touch cloth

To be just on the point of soiling oneself.

weigh off

To sentence (a prisoner).

purple nasty

Synonym of snakebite and black.

slap

Very good, excellent, amazing.

have a monk on

To be sullen or bad-tempered.

how's your father

A whatsit; a thing which the speaker is unable or unwilling to specify more precisely.

mint

Attractive; beautiful; handsome.

jump the dock

To escape from custody during a court sitting.

toss it in

To quit doing something.

give a toss

To care.

lance-jack

A lance-corporal or lance-bombadier.

burke

To murder by suffocation.

slap-headed

Having a bald or shaven head

take the mickey

To ridicule or mock someone; to make fun of someone.

Jack the lad

An irresponsible young man, seeking personal pleasure and gratification without any regard to responsibilities; a rogue.

jam sandwich

(from the common UK colour scheme of white with a red reflective horizontal band) A police car.

para

Very drunk.

gel

A girl.

goose

Of private-hire taxi drivers, to pick up a passenger who has not booked a cab, in violation of UK licensing conditions.

mad lad

A male who engages in unusual and/or dangerous behavior, typically in a light-hearted manner.

onion bag

The goal net.

Billy no mates

A person who has few or no friends.

Johnny no mates

Synonym of Billy no mates (“a person with few or no friends”).

bent as a nine-bob note

Extremely dishonest or criminally-minded.

cop the needle

To grow annoyed.

give the elbow

To fire (an employee); to end a relationship with someone; to reject someone.

Judy

A girl or woman.

Norman no mates

Synonym of Billy no mates (“a person with few or no friends”).

cane

To destroy; to comprehensively defeat.

cane it

To go very fast.

hobby bobby

A special constable.

Nat

A member or supporter of the Scottish National Party.

bleeding heck

minced oath for bleeding hell.

pain in the bum

Someone or something very annoying.

turtles

Gloves.

mug off

To cheat, swindle, dupe (someone).

fin

a five-pound (£5) note; the sum of five pounds.

mack out

To spend time relaxing; to chill out.

work the oracle

To fabricate a suspect's verbal statement.

drummer

A housebreaker.

ball of chalk

A walk.

bunker

One who bunks off; a truant from school.

soaked

Very drunk; inebriated.

buzzing

Very happy; full of joyful excitement.

brew

A cup of tea.

merry widow

Veuve Clicquot champagne.

stitch up

To maliciously or dishonestly incriminate someone; to set up (in the sense trap or ensnare)

stitch-up

An act designed to maliciously or dishonestly incriminate someone.

Brexit tackle

A particularly forceful or dangerous tackle, especially a sliding tackle made with little regard for winning the ball or consequences for either player.

funky

Cool; great; excellent.

Rudy

A rude boy; a member of a Jamaican street gang in the 1960s and 70s.

wedge up

To barricade oneself in one's cell.

soak

A drunkard.

Benny

A stupid or dull-witted person.