do a Reggie Perrin

en-verb

do a Reggie Perrin (third-person singular simple present does a Reggie Perrin, present participle doing a Reggie Perrin, simple past did a Reggie Perrin, past participle done a Reggie Perrin)

does a Reggie Perrin (present singular third-person)
doing a Reggie Perrin (participle present)
did a Reggie Perrin (past)
done a Reggie Perrin (participle past)

From the name of the main character in the British sitcom The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, who faked his own suicide.

1998, "Whispering Bob", "There must be more to life than this!", uk.local.southwest, Usenet,
Anyway, I went to Weymouth Yesterday, and sat on the beach thinking I could do a Reggie Perrin, so I took off all my clothes, and ran into the sea. I had planned to fake my own death, but for those of you who don't know, Weymouth's beach is a tad shallow, and is so for a considerable distance, well I ran as far as I could before my gonads rested in my throat cos of the cold and decided...THERE HAS TO BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2003, Anthony Hulse, Insanity Never Sleeps, Mediaworld PR Ltd, →ISBN, page 20,
“Bloody hell, can’t you do a Reggie Perrin luv? Leave your clothes on Redcar beach and when I receive the dosh I’ll meet you in Australia?”

2007, Anthony Rosen, An UnOrdinary Life: Memoirs of Anthony Rosen, Roundtuit Publishing, →ISBN, page 135,
Following a mental breakdown in 1973, he did a “Reggie Perrin”, but was arrested in mistake for Lord Lucan (the peer wanted for murder) in Australia on Christmas Eve 1974.

(British, slang) To fake one's own suicide.


NEET

→ Italian: NEET

→ Japanese: ニート (nīto)

Abbreviation of not in education, employment, or training, originally British government jargon, first attested in the late 1990s. Currently, outside of Britain is largely due to its use in Japanese — especially from anime-related culture — which spread globally online.

abbrev

Studies have shown that NEETs are usually between the ages of 18 to 40 years and may be the victims of family breakdown and mental illness, lack of discipline also contributes to the problem.

2006, Suvendrini Kakuchi, “Turning to 'NEETS' to Cover Labour Shortages”, in Inter Press Service, archived from the original on 2006-12-27:

The NEET population in 2003, according to a Ministry of Health and Labor estimate last September, was 520,000.

(chiefly UK or Internet slang) A person not in employment, education, or training.

ni-ni

person not in employment, education or training

ei työssä eikä koulutuksessa eikä asevelvollisuutta suorittamassa


minnow

minnows (plural)
minnie (alternative)
minny (alternative)
minow (alternative)
menow (alternative)
menoe (alternative)

The noun is derived from Late Middle English menew, menowe (“small fish; (specifically) common minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus); or stickleback (possibly the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus)”), from Old English *mynwe, an oblique form of *mynu, a variant of myne (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-West Germanic *muniwu (“minnow; small fish”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“small”). Possibly influenced by Anglo-Norman menu (“small”) and Old French menu (“small”), and English minim (“anything very minute; applied to animalcula and the like”).
The adjective and verb are derived from the noun.
Cognates
* Middle Low German mone, möne (Dutch meun, West Frisian meun)
* Old High German muniwa, munuwa, munewa (modern German Münne (“minnow”))
* Latin mēna (“small sea-fish”)

cog

In quiet, sheltered places, where the water is clear but does not run too swiftly, the ‘minnie,’ as the stickleback is locally called, makes its nest by the bank. […] On these fibres the ova are deposited, and they are then either purposely partly covered with sand by the minnie, or else the particles that are brought down by the current gather over the bundle of fibres and conceal it, excepting one small spot.

1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter XIX, in Wild Life in a Southern County […], London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 356:

(British, regional) Synonym of stickleback (family Gasterosteidae).


blink

en-noun

blink (countable and uncountable, plural blinks)

From Middle English blynken, blenken, from Old English blincan (suggested by causative verb blenċan (“to deceive”); > English blench), from Proto-Germanic *blinkaną, a variant of *blīkaną (“to gleam, shine”).
Cognate with Dutch blinken (“to glitter, shine”), German blinken (“to flash, blink”), Danish blinke (“to flash, twinkle, wink, blink”), Swedish blinka (“to flash, blink, twinkle, wink, blink”). Related to blank, blick, blike, bleak.

cog

Not a blink of light was there.

1835, William Wordsworth, Address from the Spirit of Cockermouth Castle:

this man vanished away […]as he had been a blink of the sun

1808 February 22, Walter Scott, “(please specify the introduction or canto number, or chapter name)”, in Marmion; a Tale of Flodden Field, Edinburgh: […] J[ames] Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Company, […]; London: William Miller, and John Murray, →OCLC:


lie-in

Since I didn't have to go to work, I decided to have a lie-in.

‘But the only thing I need now is a taxi and a bed to lie in.’ ‘Yeah, go on home, Frankie. Sleep it off, have a lie-in, forget the bloody woman. […]’

2009, K. O. Dahl, The Fourth Man: A Thriller, Minotaur Books, →ISBN, page 59:

(UK) A period spent lying in bed for longer than usual after one has woken up.


optic

optics (plural)
optick (alternative)
optique (alternative)

Borrowed from Middle French optique or Medieval Latin opticus, from Ancient Greek ὀπτῐκός (optĭkós, “of or for sight”), from ὀπτός (optós, “visible”) + -ῐκός (-ĭkós, “-ic”, adjectival suffix).

af

They were neatly lined up on three shelves between the optics of martini, vodka, whisky and gin.

They pulled up two bar stools and looked around the room as the barman relieved the whisky optic of its contents.

(trademark in UK) A measuring device with a small window, attached to an upside-down bottle, used to dispense alcoholic drinks in a bar.


optician

(UK) A person trained and skilled in examining and testing the eyes for defects, in order to prescribe corrective lenses or treatment; an optometrist.


toodeloo

→ Dutch: toedeloe

Unknown. Possibly from French à tout à l'heure (“see you later”, literally “until shortly”) or from toot.

der

toodle-oo (alternative)
toodaloo (alternative)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated) goodbye, farewell, see you soon


Ordnance Survey

So called because in earlier days the survey was carried out under the direction of the Master-general of the Ordnance.

Ordnance Survey
Ordnance Survey Ireland
Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

(British) Originally the branch of government that produced maps for the military, now a civilian organisation that produces maps worldwide.


ya

From Middle English ya, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”). More at yea.

yaa (alternative)
yaw (alternative)
yah (alternative)
yha (alternative)

'Ya, wilt thou!' said Wallace, 'then tak thee that, […]'

Ya, auld man, ye ken fine ye wad like me.

Ya, bur 'ee did, […]

(UK dialectal, West Country, Northern England, Scotland) yea; yes


Queen's Counsel

head

Queen's Counsel (plural Queen's Counsel or Queen's Counsels, abbreviation QC)

Queen's Counsel (plural)
Queen's Counsels (plural)
QC (abbreviation)

Archibald was one of two Queen’s Counsels on Tortola, a distinguished title that permitted attorneys to be seated at the lead defense table when arguing a case before the court.

2003, Lisa Pulitzer, Murder in Paradise: The Mystery Surrounding the Murder of American Lois Livingston McMillen, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Paperbacks, →ISBN, page 166:

Barr’s three Queen’s Counsel absorbed Kawashima as they pored over reports from both sides.

2020, Brian Deer, “Unblinded”, in The Doctor Who Fooled the World: Andrew Wakefield’s War on Vaccines, Brunswick, Vic.: Scribe Publications, →ISBN:

(UK, Canada, New Zealand, occasionally Australia) An honorific status officially conferred on senior or meritorious barristers (and occasionally other kinds of lawyer) during the reign of a queen.

(UK, historical) A barrister or advocate appointed by the Crown during the reign of a queen.


gasp

From Middle English gaspen, gayspen (“to gape, outbreathe”), related to and likely derived from Old Norse geispa (“to yawn”) or its descendant Danish gispe, which may be related to gapa (“to gape”).

I'm popping out for a gasp.

(British, slang): A draw or drag on a cigarette (or gasper).


dekko

Borrowed from Hindustani देखो / دیکھو (dekho), imperative of देखना / دیکھنا (dekhnā, “to see, to look”).

But now there was a listlessness about her, not the listlessness of the cat Augustus but more that of the female in the picture in the Louvre, of whom Jeeves, on the occasion when he lugged me there to take a dekko at her, said that here was the head upon which all the ends of the world are come.

1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter XII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:

Phipps went on: “One of our chaps, out on a reccy over the Bulgarian front, thought he saw something in the snow. Something fishy. He dropped down to have a dekko and nearly had kittens. What d'you think? Jerry's got a mass of stuff there—tanks, guns, lorries, every sort of heavy armament. All camouflaged. White.”

2011 [1965], Olivia Manning, Friends And Heroes (The Balkan Trilogy), Random House, →ISBN:


Sam

(UK, informal) Synonym of Dicky Sam (“a man from Liverpool”)


innit

Innit dolphins are a type of whale?

You were dissing my girl, innit?

(British, informal) Used as a replacement for any other negative tag question, irrespective of person, number, or verb. May precede the statement.

I like pop music, innit.

discourse marker
discourse marker#English

(British, informal) Used as a discourse marker.


kipper

From Old English cypera (“male salmon”), perhaps related to Old English coper (“reddish-brown metal”) (see copper), on resemblance of color. Another theory connects it to kip (“sharp, hooked lower jaw of the male salmon in breeding season”), from Middle English kippen (“to seize, snatch”), but OED doubts this.

inh

As she was only crawling along I aimed my first ‘kipper’ just a fraction ahead of her bows.

I evaluate its firing power at eighteen torpedoes—I think kipper is a distressing piece of naval slang—in thirty minutes.

'Fancy running the risk of getting a kipper [a torpedo] to go with his grub.'


kipper

Short form of UKIP + -er, influenced by kipper, the type of fish.

(UK, informal, humorous, often with capital) A member or supporter of UKIP (UK Independence Party).


kipper

en-adj

kipper (comparative more kipper, superlative most kipper)

more kipper (comparative)
most kipper (superlative)

Perhaps akin to Old Norse kjapt (“briskly; impetuously”), kippa ("to snatch; pull; jerk" > Middle English kippen (“to seize”)), kipra (“to wrinkle; draw tightly”), Norwegian kjapp (“fast; brisk”), Dutch kippen (“to seize; catch; grip”). More at kip.

gloss

"to snatch; pull; jerk" > Middle English <i class="Latn mention" lang="enm">kippen</i> (“to seize”)

Thus he goes on, from morn till eve, from season to season, year in and year out, semingly impervious to the weather, being altogether too kipper and grievous to be taken with anything worse than a ' snivelly cold . '

1900, Harvey Buxon, Our Remarkable Fledger, page 180:

There's others won't come up so kipper if they daon't easy orf a bit.

1929, Geoffrey Dell Eaton, Senator George W. Norris, General William Mitchell, Don C.Seltz, Elisabeth W. Smith, Plain Talk - Volume 5, page 63:

Nay—heaw—so—Tummus; goo theaw an smeawtch Seroh o' Rutchot's iv yo bin so kipper.

2014, John Collier, Tim Bobbin's Tummus and Meary:


kitbag

kitbags (plural)
kit bag (alternative)
kit-bag (alternative)

Besides, whilst he had been in hospital, practically the whole of his equipment had disappeared from his kitbag – including Sylvia's two pair of sheets! – and he had no money with which to get more.

1925, Ford Madox Ford, No More Parades (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 371:

Others have abandoned their vehicles and have set off back towards the Russian border on foot, lugging their weapons and kitbags, videos suggest.

2022 March 4, Luke Harding, “Demoralised Russian soldiers tell of anger at being ‘duped’ into war”, in The Guardian:

(military, UK) A large cylindrical holdall.


knickers

en-noun

knickers pl (plural only, attributive knicker)

The debate here is not over whether raising £26,000 (and counting) for our troops is a wonderful thing – it unarguably is – but over whether, whenever times are tough and money must be found, our default reaction as women should be to take off our knickers to help out?

2010 April 24, Sali Hughes, “Calendar girls galore”, in The Guardian:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Women's underpants.


knickers

(UK, Ireland, colloquial) A mild exclamation of annoyance.


knitting

knitting (countable and uncountable, plural knittings)

From Middle English knyttynge; equivalent to knit + -ing.

Fair point. Instead of tearing down the knitting and using diesel, tear down the knitting and use turbines.

2002 April 26, David Stevenson, “Re: Diesel vs Electric”, in uk.railway (Usenet), retrieved 2018-04-10, message-ID <B8EF5604.1C7F1%hoagy@cix.co.uk>:

It also helps, if: [...] the knitting is aligned with the track below, or rather vice versa, something else that went after 1996.

2007 October 19, "Capt. Deltic", “Re: GNER knitting down (again)”, in uk.railway (Usenet), retrieved 2018-04-10, message-ID <1192811754.580518.56340@e34g2000pro.googlegroups.com>:

My suggestion would be to electrify the uphill bits only, in each direction, and to use diesel traction when coming down the other side. Massive savings on posts and knitting for a start.

2016 December 9, Andrew Clarke, “Re: Great Western Railway warns of slower journeys on new trains”, in uk.railway (Usenet), retrieved 2018-04-10, message-ID <111f6d4a-e880-4b12-89f3-04250296ea7d@googlegroups.com>:

(rail transport, informal, UK) overhead electrification wires, OHLE


clodhopper

Compound of clod + hopper (agentive form of the verb hop). Perhaps affected by analogy with grasshopper. Attested in the sense of "peasant" since the seventeenth century; the extended sense of "boot" or "shoe" dates from the nineteenth century.

All guess-work exploits shrivel up a good yard, or sometimes two, when brought to the measure, and the champion of the county dwindles into a clumsy clod-hopper.

1826 August, P.H. Clias, “Gymnastics”, in Blackwood's Magazine, volume XX, number CXV:


wem

wems (plural)
weam (alternative Scotland)
weem (alternative Scotland)
wame (alternative Scotland)
wan (alternative Scotland)

From Middle English wem, wemme, from Old English wamm (“stain, spot, scar, disgrace, defect, defilement, sin, evil, crime, injury, loss, hurt, misfortune”), from Proto-Germanic *wammaz (“stain, spot”), from Proto-Indo-European *wemh₁- (“to spew, vomit”). Cognate with Icelandic vamm (“loss, damage”), Latin vomō (“vomit”, verb) (whence English vomit), Ancient Greek ἐμέω (eméō, “I spew”) (English emesis), Lithuanian vemti (“to vomit”), Sanskrit वमति (vamati, “to vomit”). The sense development would be "vomit" > "stain", "fault".

der

"It is even so," he added, as he gazed on the Sub-Prior with astonishment; "neither wem nor wound — not so much as a rent in his frock!"

1822, sir Walter Scott (bart [novels, collected]), Historical romances of the author of Waverley, page 513

The lawe of the lord is without wem, and conuertith soulis : the witnessyng of the lord is feithful, and gyueth wisdom to litle children.

1846, William Maskell, Monumenta ritualia Ecclesiae Anglicanae, page 8:

That "whole art" consisted in putting together about six strophes of poesy so that the words and the tune should be welded together without joint and without wem.

1934, Ezra Pound, ABC of reading, page 39:

[…] but it is a perfect illustration of the vision which haunted Blake all his days,—the vision of Paradise, an earthly Paradise in which there is neither wem nor wrinkle, which basks in the radiance of its own innocence.

1936, Blanche Mary Kelly, The Well of English:

(UK dialectal) A spot, stain, or mark; (by extension) a (moral) blemish or fault.


yah

An alternative pronunciation, equivalent of yeah and yes.

Yah, we did go along but it turned out the wedding was a load of nonsense.

(US, UK, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia) Yes.


yah

From the pronunciation of “yes” which such people use.

(British, informal) An upper-class person, especially a Sloane Ranger.


yellow card

→ Japanese: イエローカード (ierōkādo)

→ Korean: 옐로카드 (yellokadeu)

/ˈjɛl.əʊ ˌkɑːd/

(medicine, UK) a form to record safety concerns and adverse reactions to medicinal drugs.


bum bag

There is no queue at Burger King in Gibraltar. To lure customers, they give you a free plastic bum bag with every Whopper Meal.

1995, Vitali Vitaliev, Little is the Light: Nostalgic Travels in the Mini-States of Europe, page 226:

Don′t confuse money belts with bum bags. A bum bag is a larger and an altogether more ostentatious item; it′s worn over your clothes and can usually hold a small camera as well as sunscreen and sunglasses. As a security item the bum bag is useless and may as well be inscribed with flashing lights announcing “Valuable items inside, help yourself”.

2003, Lesley Reader, Lucy Ridout, First-Time Asia, page 230:

Berichon: I proceeded to pull the pistol out of the bum bag. I flicked the safety switch off the pistol and I fired upon the police officer.

2007, Poul Anderson, Shocking Australian True Crime Stories, unnumbered page:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A small pouch attached to a belt that is worn on the outside of clothing around the waist and used for holding small personal items.


casualty

en-noun

casualty (countable and uncountable, plural casualties)

casualties (plural)
casuality (alternative obsolete)

From casual, from Middle French casuel, from Medieval Latin casualitas and Late Latin cāsuālis (“happening by chance”), from Latin cāsus (“event”) (English case), from cadere (“to fall”). Originally meaning “a chance event” (compare casual, as in “casual encounter”), it developed a negative meaning as “an unfortunate event”, especially the loss of a person.

der

casualty department
casualty department#English

(British) Clipping of casualty department: the accident and emergency department of a hospital providing immediate treatment.


full monty

en-noun

full monty (countable and uncountable, plural full monties)

Unknown. First appeared in print in 1980s, but probably existed before that. The most common theory for its origin is that a purchase (especially that of a full three-piece suit) from Montague Maurice Burton (1885–1952), founder of Burton Menswear, was known as a "full Monty". According to the OED, this etymology is "perhaps the most plausible". The nudity definition comes via the movie The Full Monty, in which it is used as a euphemism for removing all one's clothes when stripping.

I thought he was only going to buy the basic kit, but he bought the full monty.

(British, colloquial, countable) Everything; the whole package.

It is just as well the letter was tightly sealed, because there were photographs in it showing me and others in Full Monty. That is to say we were all buck naked.

2002, Gene Amole, The Last Chapter: Gene Amole on Dying, Big Earth Publishing, →ISBN, page 153:


full monty

Becoming male strippers and appearing full monty provides the connection.

2008, George McClendon, Heaven's Call to Earthy Spirituality, Dog Ear Publishing, →ISBN, page 63:

Her breasts were always a surprise to men the first time she went full monty. Because she was so tall and slim and athletic, they probably expected pancakes.

2009, Sandra Hill, Viking Heat, Penguin, →ISBN:

“And she went full monty on film and everything has gone pear shaped for her.”

2012, Eric Jerome Dickey, An Accidental Affair, Penguin, →ISBN:


knock up

en-verb

knock up (third-person singular simple present knocks up, present participle knocking up, simple past and past participle knocked up)

knocks up (present singular third-person)
knocking up (participle present)
knocked up (participle past)
knocked up (past)

However, by dint of beating about a little in the dark, and now and then knocking up a peaceable inhabitant to inquire the way, we at last came to something which there was no mistaking.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 15”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:

“Very sorry to knock you up, Watson,” said he, “but it's the common lot this morning. Mrs. Hudson has been knocked up, she retorted upon me, and I on you.”

1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Speckled Band, page 1:

‘I didn't knock you up when I came in,’ Peregrine said. ‘There seemed no point. It was getting light. I just thought I’d leave the note to wake me at seven. And oddly enough I did sleep. Heavily.’

1966, Ngaio Marsh, Death at the Dolphin, page 160:

(British) To awaken (someone) as by knocking at the door; rouse; call; summon; also, to go door-to-door on election day to persuade a candidate's supporters to go to the polling station and vote. See also knocker up.


on the blink

Presumably from an appliance with poor electrical connection blinking from intermittent connection.

My toaster is on the blink, making either charcoal or cold bread.

I'm so tired, I haven't slept a wink / I'm so tired, my mind is on the blink

1968, “I'm So Tired”, in John Lennon (lyrics), The Beatles, performed by the Beatles:

(UK, Australia, informal) functioning erratically, malfunctioning; not working or not working well. Usually refers to a mechanical or electrical device.

kaputt sein

to be malfunctioning (device), the state of being out of order


walkabout

Deverbal from walk about; the Australian aboriginal word wokabat is also derived therefrom.

While the world altered dramatically during the course of her reign, the monarchy did too, though rather more imperceptibly: the walkabouts that increasingly characterised royal appearances, the pop concerts at Buckingham Palace, the throwing open of the royal palaces to visitors – even the paying of income tax, and royal podcasts – would have been inconceivable as innovations at the time Elizabeth came to the throne.

September 8 2022, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian:

(British) A public stroll by some celebrity to meet a group of people informally.


wallet

From Middle English walet (“bag, knapsack”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from an assumed Old Northern French *walet (“roll; bag; knapsack”), from Proto-Germanic *wal- (“to roll”). More at walk, well, wallow.

der

The thief stole all the money and credit cards out of the old man's wallet.

Master leathercrafter does handcrafted wallets, belts, purses, handbags etc., supporting self and helpers. Good enough to carve fantst art and portraits into leather.

1987 August 15, Robert Benitez, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 5, page 14:

(US, UK) A small case, often flat and often made of leather, for keeping money (especially paper money), credit cards, etc.


warehouseman

(UK, obsolete) One who keeps a wholesale shop for woollen goods.


banter

en-verb

banter (third-person singular simple present banters, present participle bantering, simple past and past participle bantered)

banters (present singular third-person)
bantering (participle present)
bantered (participle past)
bantered (past)

1670s as verb, 1680s as noun. The origin is unknown, possibly from London street slang; ostensibly as *bant + -er (frequentative suffix). Possibly an Anglo-Gaelicism from the Irish bean (“woman”), so that "banter" means "talk of women."

unk

unknown

(UK, dialect) To haggle; cheapen the price.


top shelf

* (US: best, or high quality): Possibly from the higher quality, thus more expensive, thus less often used liquors being stored on the less accessible top shelf behind a wet bar.
* (British: material with adult content): Such material is often stored on the top shelf in a newsagent's shop, where it is both less visible and harder to reach without being seen.

Most of the band used to buy Autotrader to read on the various bus and plane journeys, but Barry would always turn up with a copy of Underwear Unlimited or some other seedy little top-shelf mag.

2008, Rick Wakeman, Martin Roach, Grumpy Old Rock Star, →ISBN, page 83:

(British, idiomatic) Describing books, magazines, or movies that have adult content or softcore pornography.


sheriff

sheriffs (plural)
sherriff (alternative obsolete)
shrieve (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English shirreve, from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour that has cognates in other languages including Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, etc.

(British, except Scotland) (High Sheriff) An official of a shire or county office, responsible for carrying out court orders, law enforcement and other duties.


steeplechase

Compound of steeple + chase, from horse races in 18th century Ireland in which orientation of the course was by reference to a church steeple.

(chiefly British, equestrianism) A horse race, either across open country, or over an obstacle course.


yeoman

From Middle English yoman, yeman, from Old English *ġēamann, from Proto-West Germanic *gauwjamann (compare Old Frisian gāman (“villager”), Middle Dutch goymann (“arbiter”)), compound of Proto-West Germanic *gawi (“shire, district”) (compare Old English -ġē, -ġēa (“district, region”) (in ælġē, Sūþriġēa), West Frisian gea, goa, Dutch gouw, German Gau) + *mann (“man”).

m+

(UK) An official providing honorable service in a royal or high noble household, ranking between a squire and a page. Especially, a yeoman of the guard, a member of a ceremonial bodyguard to the UK monarch (not to be confused with a Yeoman Warder).


takeover

takeovers (plural)
take-over (alternative)

(economics, UK) The acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.


washing day

(historical, UK) Synonym of Monday, from the custom of doing laundry on that day of the week.


washing

en-noun

washing (countable and uncountable, plural washings)

From Middle English waschynge, weschynge, from Old English *weasċing, *wæsċing (attested in weasċingweġ), from Proto-West Germanic *waskingu, equivalent to wash + -ing. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Waaskenge (“washing”), West Frisian wasking (“washing”), Dutch wassing (“washing”), German Waschung (“washing”).

My mother used to do the washing on a Monday

[…] Hazel telling about how she liked a good woodpile, especially when she used to take in washing to earn a little extra. She needed a goodly pile to fuel her washtubs.

2013, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 1st edition, Milkweed Editions, →ISBN, page 74:

(uncountable, chiefly British, New Zealand, Australia) Clothing, bedlinen or soft furnishings that have been, are currently being, or are to be washed; laundry.

լվացք

textiles that have been or are to be washed

laundry

articles that have been or are to be washed


washing-up

I’ll do the washing-up if you put it all away.

(British) The act of washing dishes etc; dishwashing.


grundle

(UK, dialect) A holloway; a kind of ancient road or track.


streak

en-verb

streak (third-person singular simple present streaks, present participle streaking, simple past and past participle streaked)

streaks (present singular third-person)
streaking (participle present)
streaked (participle past)
streaked (past)

From Middle English streke, from Old English strica, from Proto-Germanic *strikiz, from Proto-Indo-European *streyg- (“line”). Related to North Frisian strijck, Old Saxon striki, Middle Low German streke, Low German streek, Danish streg, Swedish streck, Norwegian Bokmål strek, Icelandic stryk, strykr, Dutch streek, Afrikaans streek, Old High German strih, German Strich, Gothic 𐍃𐍄𐍂𐌹𐌺𐍃 (striks).

(obsolete, UK, Scotland) To stretch; to extend; hence, to lay out, as a dead body.


fanning

[…] he found himself facing these four grim coves, big as bull-beef, demanders by trade and ready to give him a fanning, which they did, advising him to keep out of the Professor's way in future and never to speak with any from Idle Jack's family again. Within fifteen minutes, Carmichael had three broken ribs, a broken arm, a cracked cheekbone, a badly swollen eye, and was minus five teeth.


washout

en-noun

washout (countable and uncountable, plural washouts)

washouts (plural)
wash-out (alternative)

huuhtoutuminen

erosion of a relatively soft surface by a sudden gush of water; channel produced by this action

(British, air force slang) A destroyed aeroplane.

(British, originally air force slang) A trainee who drops out of a training programme.


room for a pony

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-room for a pony.wav

From the British television comedy series, Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995), wherein social climber Hyacinth Bucket constantly and variously describes her sister Violet, who married well, as “the one with the […] and room for a pony”.

Eventually he fell in love, and by age twenty was living in a gay couple, complete with house, garden, swimming pool, and room for a pony.

1996, Gary W. Dowsett, Practicing Desire: Homosexual Sex in the Era of AIDS, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 264:

“ […] In the back yard, we have a screened terrace, a swimming pool, a swing set and room for a pony.” His grin was boyish as she, too, smiled at the oblique reference to the popular British comedy ‘Keeping up Appearances’.

2002, E. T. Rishe, Timeless Acres, iUniverse, 978-0-595-25068-4, page 47

One craves the excitement of being right downtown, while the other wants an up-county farmette with a swimming pool and room for a pony.

2006, Patricia Kennedy, The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate: Buying, Selling and Making Money, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 5:

(chiefly British, humorous) minimum trappings of the minor landed gentry


water closet

water closets (plural)
water-closet (alternative)
watercloset (alternative)

→ French: water-closet


gerrymander

en-verb

gerrymander (third-person singular simple present gerrymanders, present participle gerrymandering, simple past and past participle gerrymandered)

gerrymanders (present singular third-person)
gerrymandering (participle present)
gerrymandered (participle past)
gerrymandered (past)
Gerrymander (alternative obsolete)

/ˈdʒɛɹiˌmændə/

/ˈd͡ʒɛɹiˌmændɚ/

Elkanah Tisdale
Nathan Hale (journalist)
gerrymandering

Blend of Gerry + salamander (named after Elbridge Gerry), from the similarity in shape to a salamander of an electoral district created when Gerry was the governor of Massachusetts. Coined by editors of the Boston Gazette 26 March 1812, in text likely written by Nathan Hale and Benjamin and John Russell, and accompanying a cartoon by Elkanah Tisdale.

coin

Westminster City Council has been accused by the District Auditor of using public money to gerrymander marginal wards for the 1990 Borough elections. The strategy of attempting to 'gentrify' eight key wards, selling off council homes and hostels for the homeless to move out potential Labour voters and attract in more Conservative voters, was in conflict with the council's statutory duty to homeless people

2000, Hugo de Burgh, Investigative Journalism: Context and Practice, Psychology Press, →ISBN, page 207:

Fermanagh Council even went so far as to create the new village of Donagh in an attempt to move Catholics out of Newtownbutler, four miles away, so unionists could gerrymander a majority.

2022 December 1, Trevor Birney, Quinn, Merrion Press, →ISBN:

(transitive, derogatory, by extension, chiefly UK and Ireland) To deliberately bring in voters of one's own party or displace voters of another party from a voting district in such a way as to give an unfair advantage to one party in an election.


crusty

From Middle English, equivalent to crust + -y.

(chiefly British, informal) A tramp or homeless young person with poor cleanliness.

The Spirals are part of the crossover between the rave scene and the ‘crusty’ subculture—crusties being squat-dwelling anarcho-hippy-punk types named after their matted dreadlocks and post-apocalyptic garb.

1998, Simon Reynolds, Energy Flash, Soft Skull Press, published 2012, →ISBN, page 135:

Many of them, dressed in raggedy black combat gear, with haircuts that matched and mismatched punk, Rasta and Native American styles - a look which would later be codified as 'crustie' - began to join the travellers on the road. This influx from the cities changed the travelling scene, and after the Battle of the Beanfield, sections of the downcast and disillusioned travelling community began to seek oblivion through Special Brew superlager or even heroin as the dream of rural liberation turned sour.

2010, Matthew Collin, Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House, page 202:

The predictable complaints began as soon as Extinction Rebellion launched its fortnight of protest in London, part of an international campaign of civil disobedience in as many as 60 cities worldwide. Politicians have moaned that the police are being too passive, and Boris Johnson, Britain’s prime minister, labelled the protesters – who include a former Metropolitan police detective – “uncooperative crusties”.

2019 October 10, “The Guardian view on the Extinction Rebellion protests: of course they’re an inconvenience”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly UK and Ireland, informal) A member of an urban subculture with roots in punk and grebo, characterized by antiestablishment attitudes and an unkempt appearance.


tramline

tramlines (plural)
tram line (alternative)

(tennis, British) Either of the two pairs of sidelines marked on a tennis court which mark the outside of the singles and doubles playing areas.


sward

en-noun

sward (countable and uncountable, plural swards)

swards (plural)
swarth (alternative)
swart (alternative)
swerd (alternative)

The noun is derived from Middle English sward (“rind; skin; calloused skin; leather strap; sod, turf”) [and other forms], from Old English sweard, swearð (“rind; skin”), from Proto-Germanic *swarduz (“rind; tough skin; turf”); further etymology unknown.
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

sard, sart, sarth, sarthe, suerd, swad, swarde, swarffe, swarth, swarthe, swerd, swerde, sworde, sworte

inh

(countable, obsolete except British, dialectal) The rind of bacon or pork; also, the outer covering or skin of something.


gubbins

Ante 1553. From gobbon (“piece, portion, slice”), from Old French gobon, gobet (“piece”). Cognate with English gobony (“line of alternating squares”).

cog

I had to memorise so much dialogue that never makes it into the movie so I always have a plethora of extra gubbins I can't remember.

2017 summer, Milla Jovovich, “My Movie Masterming: Resident Evil Special”, in Empire, number 337, page 135:

(British, informal) Assorted stuff, especially if of little value; tat.


gubbins

"Silly gubbins," she said. "You told me twice, and I was interested even the second time. […]"

1916, Edward Frederic Benson, David Blaize, page 146:


fettle

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-fettle.wav

From Late Middle English fetlen (“(verb) to bestow; to fix, prepare, put in place; to prepare (oneself) for battle, gird up; to shape; to be about to, or to ready (oneself) to stay; (adjective) shaped (well or poorly)”) [and other forms], which possibly:
* from Old English fetel (“belt, girdle, fettle”), from Proto-Germanic *fatilaz, further etymology unknown; or
* from Old English fetian (“to fetch”), from Proto-Germanic *fatōną, *fatjaną (“to fetch”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot”).
Compare Old English ġefetelsod (“provided with a belt; trimmed, polished, ornamented”).

nb...

fatelen, fetel, fetele, fetelen, fetle, fettel, fettil, fetyl, fitelen


scram

en-verb

scram (third-person singular simple present scrams, present participle scramming, simple past and past participle scrammed)

scrams (present singular third-person)
scramming (participle present)
scrammed (participle past)
scrammed (past)

Probably either:
* a clipping of scramble by apocope; or
* from dialectal German schramm, the imperative singular form of schrammen (“to scratch, scrape”), from Late Middle High German schramm, schramme (“a graze, scratch”); further etymology unknown.

What are you kids doing on my lawn? Scram!

Maybe when he found that Chet's jalopy was gone, he felt he'd better scram, and forgot the coat and hat.

1927, Franklin W. Dixon [pseudonym; Leslie McFarlane], “Rival Detectives”, in The Tower Treasure (The Hardy Boys; 1), New York, N.Y.: Grosset & Dunlap, published 1987 (2006 printing), →ISBN:

The boy who was playing glowered at the intruder and growled. "Well, scram Kibitzer; scram."

1935, Harry Carr, “So This is Los Angeles”, in Los Angeles, City of Dreams, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton-Century Company, →OCLC, page 241:

"Come on!" barked Harry. "Scram!"

1935 February 23, J. Lane Linklater, “The Signal: A Short Short Story”, in Fulton Oursler, editor, Liberty, volume 12, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Liberty Publishing, →OCLC, page 35, column 2:

Jus' go on like we was gonna buck barley the rest of our lives, then all of a sudden some day we'll go get our pay an' scram outta here.

1937, John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 1994, →ISBN:

"You scram out of here!" she admonished me fiercely. "Get out, or I'll scream so loud I'll wake the whole house up! You—you Peeping Tom!"

1943, Hans Natonek, “The Affair of the Semi-private Bathroom”, in Barthold Fles, transl., edited by Sugden Tilley, In Search of Myself, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, part 2 (The Year before the Decision), page 89:

One day he packs in here with a new convertible, tells me he's moving out and scrams. Never give me a dime.

1950, Mickey Spillane, My Gun is Quick, New York, N.Y.: Signet, New American Library, published 2014, →ISBN:

George was going to Haiti and he knew Lee would feel that the one man who took an interest in him was scramming out the door.

1988, Don DeLillo, Libra, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 2006, →ISBN:

[T]wo vampires had picked up the guy who needed a new face, and they scrammed.

2005 July, MaryJanice Davidson, chapter 28, in Undead and Unappreciated (Berkley Sensation), mass-market edition, New York, N.Y.: Berkley Books, published December 2005, →ISBN, page 225:

(intransitive, originally US, often imperative) To leave in a hurry; to go away.


scram

The verb is a variant of dialectal English scramb (“to pull or rake together with the hands; to gather a handful of something from the ground; to scratch with the claws or nails; to pull down violently; to tear off; to maul about; a handful of something from the ground”), possibly related to Dutch schrammen (“to graze, scratch”) and German schrammen (“to scratch, scrape”); see etymology 1.
The noun is derived from the verb.

Just west of this pit is another one, which has been nearly worked out; but three men are scramming about five tons per day in it.

1880, “Marquette Iron District”, in Annual Report of the Commissioner of Mineral Statistics of the State of Michigan, for 1879, Lansing, Mich.: W. S. George & Co., […], →OCLC, page 167:

Recently, Capt. Oliver, [...] set a couple of experienced miners to work scramming in this underground pit, when it was soon discovered that what the former mining captain had conceived to be a regular foot-wall, was, in fact, a thin shale of rock, which hid from view what now appears to be a very large body of clean blue ore.

1882, A. P. Swineford, “The Cyclops Mine”, in Annual Review of the Iron Mining and Other Industries of the Upper Peninsula for the Year Ending Dec. 31, 1881, [Marquette, Mich.]: Mining Journal, →OCLC, page 141:

(transitive, US, mining, archaic) To mine for ore on a small scale, especially from mines previously been worked on where most of the ore is believed to have been removed.


scram

[page 64] Many of these old openings still afford places where ore is mined. A man can start in almost anywhere and fine ore. There is a great deal of this "scramming" done at the Jackson. Quite a proportion of the annual product comes in this way. Not unfrequently one of these "scrams" leads to the finding of a large deposit of ore. [...] [page 67] South from the east part of the Incline pit they have a scram of good ore which furnished a small product.

1887, Cha[rle]s D. Lawton, “The Jackson Iron Co.”; “The Cleveland Mining Co.”, in Mines and Mineral Statistics, Lansing, Mich.: Thorp & Godfrey, […], →OCLC, pages 64 and 67:

There are numbered workings running to about 20, representing small pits and scrams, sometimes worked by contract by "scrammers."

1891, N[ewton] H[orace] Winchell, H[orace] V[aughn] Winchell, “The Chandler Mine”, in The Iron Ores of Minnesota, […] (Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota Bulletin; no. 6), Minneapolis, Minn.: Harrison & Smith, […], →OCLC, part II (Methods of Exploration and Mining, and Descriptions of the Various Mines), page 196:

(US, mining, archaic) A mine previously worked on where most of the ore is believed to have been removed, but which is still being mined on a small scale.


Pancake Day

(chiefly British and Ireland) Shrove Tuesday, when pancakes are traditionally made; in some traditions the day for pancake races for charity.


stour

stours (plural)
stoor (alternative)
stoore (alternative)
stoure (alternative)
stowr (alternative)
stuir (alternative)
stur (alternative)
sture (alternative)
sturry (alternative)

From Middle English store, stoor, stour (“tall, powerful”), from Old English stōr (“tall, great, mighty, strong”), from Proto-West Germanic *stōr, from Proto-Germanic *stōraz, *stōrijaz (“great, big, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *stā-r-, *stō-r- (“steadfast, firm; standing tall; big, bulky”).
Cognates
Akin to Scots stour (“tall, large, great, stout”), Saterland Frisian stor (“great, many”), Danish, Swedish and Norwegian stor (“large, great”), Icelandic stórr (“large, tall”), Polish stary (“old, ancient”), Albanian stër- (“big, huge”). Compare also stoor, steer, stately.

cog

(UK dialectal, Ulster) A blowing or deposit of dust; dust in motion or at rest; dust in general.


torpid

In our first year I had seen him coming away from Blackwell's clutching a great textbook of chemistry with an air of anticipatory delight, and also on the river as cox of one of the Lincoln torpids.

1978, R. V. Jones, chapter 4, in Most Secret War: British Scientific Intelligence 1939-1945, London: Hamish Hamilton, page 37:

(UK, Oxford University slang) An inferior racing boat, or one who rows in such a boat.


designate

Borrowed from Latin dēsignātus, perfect passive participle of designō, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of design.

King designate

1619, George Buck, The History of King Richard the Third:

(UK) Used after a role title to indicate that the person has been selected but has yet to take up the role.


bollock

From Middle English ballok, from Old English bealluc (“testicle”, literally “little ball”). By surface analysis, ball + -ock.

inh

You've got a bollock hanging out of your shorts.

(British, Ireland, vulgar, chiefly in the plural) A testicle.


bollock

en-verb

bollock (third-person singular simple present bollocks, present participle bollocking, simple past and past participle bollocked)

bollocks (present singular third-person)
bollocking (participle present)
bollocked (participle past)
bollocked (past)
ballock (alternative)

The boss bollocked me for coming in late.

The goalkeeper gave his defenders a bollocking when they made a mistake.

(British, transitive, vulgar, slang) To reprimand severely and grossly.


hitch

hitch (third-person singular simple present hitches, present participle hitching, simple past and past participle hitched)

hitches (present singular third-person)
hitching (participle present)
hitched (participle past)
hitched (past)

Probably from Middle English hicchen, hytchen, icchen (“to move; to move as with a jerk”), of obscure origin. Lacks cognates in other languages. Compare itch, hike.

Stolen[…]A brown Gelding[…]all his paces, and hitches a little in his pace.

(intransitive, UK) To strike the legs together in going, as horses; to interfere.


tuck

en-noun

tuck (countable and uncountable, plural tucks)

From Middle English tuken, touken (“to torment, to stretch (cloth)”), from Old English tūcian (“to torment, vex”) and Middle Dutch tucken (“to tuck”), both from Proto-Germanic *teuh-, *teug- (“to draw, pull”) (compare also *tukkōną), from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Akin to Old High German zucchen (“to snatch, tug”), zuchôn (“to jerk”), German Low German tuken (“to tug, pluck, grab and pull towards”), Old English tēon (“to draw, pull, train”). Doublet of touch.

cog

(British, dated, school slang, India, uncountable) Food, especially snack food.


spunk

en-noun

spunk (usually uncountable, plural spunks)

→ Irish: sponc

1530, blend of spark + funk (obsolete, “spark”).
Funk (“spark, touchwood”) is from Middle English funke, fonke (“spark”), from Old English *funca (“spark”), from Proto-West Germanic *funkō, from Proto-Germanic *funkô (“spark”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)peng- (“to shine”), and is akin to Middle Low German funke, fanke (“spark”), Middle Dutch vonke (“spark”), Old High German funcho, funko (“spark”), German Funke (“spark”).

der

We are welcomed by 20 year old spunks, as we make a last valiant attempt with our bodies - gasp, gasp - and try to get back in shape.

2005, Sue Austin, Women′s Aggressive Fantasies: A Post-Jungian Exploration of Self-Hatred, Love and Agency, UK: Routledge, page 166:

(countable, UK, Australia, New Zealand, slang) An attractive person (normally male).

Curse the blasted, jelly-boned swines[...] the sniveling, dribbling, dithering palsied pulse-less lot that make up England today. They've got white of egg in their veins, and their spunk is that watery it's a marvel they can breed.

1912, D.H. Lawrence, letter to Edward Garnett, 3 July 1912:

Between spunk-stained sheet and odorous whim
 Camera eye-flick-shudder within

1980, “In the Flat Field”, in In the Flat Field, performed by Bauhaus:

It was runny stuff and, as she felt Brain loosen his hold on the drawstrings, Cackle's spunk dripped onto the shelf of her chin.

2007, Debra Hyde, “Kidnapped”, in Violet Blue, editor, Lust: Erotic Fantasies for Women, ReadHowYouWant, published 2010, page 188:

(uncountable, chiefly UK, vulgar, slang) Semen.


birra

All the screaming in the night that gets in your head and it's not like you're getting your end away no more neither cause she's too shagged for fancy knickers and a birra cut and thrust, now that you've got the kid.

(UK, dialect, informal) Contraction of bit of.


knock-on

(chiefly UK) Resulting as an indirect effect.


rosser

(UK, slang) Alternative form of rozzer (“police officer”).


engaged

/ɪnˈɡeɪd͡ʒd/

/ɛnˈɡeɪd͡ʒd/

I tried calling, but she (or her phone) was engaged.

(British) (of a telephone) Already involved in a telephone call when a third party calls.


dort

From Middle English dort (found in compound cankerdort), of unknown origin.

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A sulky or sullen mood; the sulks.


about-turn

about-turns (plural)
about turn (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-about-turn.wav

From the imperative phrase used in the military.

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

(British, military) A turn of 180 degrees, typically in a military formation.


rattle

en-verb

rattle (third-person singular simple present rattles, present participle rattling, simple past and past participle rattled)

rattles (present singular third-person)
rattling (participle present)
rattled (participle past)
rattled (past)

From Middle English ratelen, of uncertain origin; perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch ratelen or of native origin related to Old English hratele, hrætele (“a plant known for its rustling or rattling sound”), ultimately imitative. The noun (c. 1500) is from the verb.

unc

uncertain

(UK, slang) To experience withdrawal from drugs.


punt

en-verb

punt (third-person singular simple present punts, present participle punting, simple past and past participle punted)

punts (present singular third-person)
punting (participle present)
punted (participle past)
punted (past)

Borrowed from French pointe or Spanish punto (“point”). Doublet of point, pointe, ponto, puncto, punctum, and punto.

doublet

She heard […] of his punting at gaming tables.

1854, Arthur Pendennis [pseudonym; William Makepeace Thackeray], The Newcomes: Memoirs of a Most Respectable Family, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], →OCLC:

Whether you want to gamble on a horse race, bet on which player will score first in a game of football, have a punt on a particular tennis player winning a grand slam event, you are buying a chance, a chance which is measured in terms of probability, ‘the odds’.

2004, John Buglear, “Is it worth the risk? – introducing probability”, in Quantitative methods for business: the A-Z of QM, →ISBN, page 339:

Eriksson's men still worth a punt

2006 June 23, Dan Roebuck, “Eriksson's men still worth a punt”, in The Guardian:

Australians have a reputation for being keen to bet on two flies climbing up a wall and today young ones often take a casual classroom punt

2009 November 3, Sarah Collerton, “Cup punt not child's play”, in ABC News:

(Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, UK) To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally


greengrocer

/ˈɡɹinˌɡɹəʊs.ə(ɹ)/

(chiefly British, Commonwealth, Ireland) A person who sells fresh vegetables and fruit, normally from a relatively small shop.


sod off

en-verb

sod off (third-person singular simple present sods off, present participle sodding off, simple past and past participle sodded off)

sods off (present singular third-person)
sodding off (participle present)
sodded off (participle past)
sodded off (past)

Why don't you just sod off and leave me alone?

He was here a minute ago but now he's sodded off.

(UK, Ireland, idiomatic, vulgar, colloquial, dismissal) Go away.


gribble

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-gribble.wav

The study also reveals that Wigan likely calls excess batter bits ‘Scraps’ or ‘Bits’, compared to the south west and east of the UK who are more likely to order ‘Gribbles’ or ‘Scrumps’.

[2020 September 4, Ben Butler, “REVEALED: UK’s brutal verdict on these Wigan chip-shop favourites”, in Wigan Today:

Margaret also played her part in filling our hungry mouths by working at the local fish and chip shop in the village and by bringing home all the leftovers which we devoured ravenously—gribbles, the odd faggot etc. etc.—delicious.

2023, Sheila M. Hutchings, Humble Beginnings, →ISBN:

Went to a Chippy as a Kid.
Me "do you have Pigs Feet?"
Lass Behind Counter "Yes I do".
Me "Well give us a bag of GRIBBLES then Porky!!!"

2023 August 17, Pssstu2021, “What does everyone call these from the chippy?”, in Reddit, r/CasualUK:

(UK, Devon, in the plural) A piece of deep-fried batter left over from frying fish, sometimes sold with chips.


flag day

(British, Ireland) A day on which a registered charity raises money, usually by selling small lapel flags.


runt

The OED classifies this word as "of obscure origin". Some see a connection to Middle Dutch runt (“ox”), but the OED considers this to be unlikely.

unk

obscure

Neither young poles nor old runts are durable

1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XVI.]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:

(obsolete, UK, dialect) A hardened stem or stalk of a plant.


weighbridge

/ˈweɪbɹɪd͡ʒ/

(UK) a platform, flush with the roadway, having a mechanism for weighing vehicles, wagons, livestock, etc.


certificate

→ Punjabi: ਸਰਟੀਫਿਕੇਟ (sarṭīphikeṭ)

→ Welsh: stifficet

General Certificate of Secondary Education

The film is certificate 15.

(British, Ireland) A motion picture age rating.


pill

en-verb

pill (third-person singular simple present pills, present participle pilling, simple past and past participle pilled)

pills (present singular third-person)
pilling (participle present)
pilled (participle past)
pilled (past)

* From Middle English pille (also pillem), a borrowing from Middle Low German pille or Middle Dutch pille (whence Dutch pil), probably from Latin pila, pilula.
* (persuade or convince): Generalized from red pill.

“I pilled him because he is a liar,” said Thackeray. “He calls himself 'ill' when he isn't.”

1907, Arthur Griffiths, Clubs and Clubmen, page 260:

(transitive, UK, slang, dated) To blackball (a potential club member).


pill

From Middle English *pill, *pyll, from Old English pyll (“a pool, pill”), from Proto-Germanic *pullijaz (“small pool, ditch, creek”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *pullaz (“pool, stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *bl̥nos (“bog, marsh”). Cognate with Old English pull (“pool, creek”), Scots poll (“slow moving stream, creek, inlet”), Icelandic pollur (“pond, pool, puddle”). More at pool.

cog

Portishead, lying west-north-west of Bristol, on the Severn, had a small port from medieval times on its pill, or inlet, and began to develop as a seaside resort early in the nineteenth century, when it was served by steam packets from Bristol.

1955 June, C. L. Mowat, “The Bristol & Portishead Pier & Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 371:

(now UK regional) An inlet on the coast; a small tidal pool or bay.


curriculum vitae

en-noun

curriculum vitae (plural curricula vitae or (hypercorrect) curricula vitarum)

curricula vitae (plural)
curricula vitarum (hypercorrect plural)
curriculum vitæ (alternative)

From Latin curriculum (“course”) + vītae, genitive of vīta (“life”).

curriculum vitae

written account of one's education, accomplishments, etc.

མི་ཚེའི་ལོ་རྒྱུས་མདོར་སྡུས (mi tshe'i lo rgyus mdor sdus, literally “abridged history of a human life”)

(British) A written account of one's life comprising one's education, accomplishments, work experience, publications, etc.; especially, one used to apply for a job.


uncommon

‘Is Suffolk your county, sir?’ asked William.
‘Yes,’ I said, with some importance. ‘Suffolk’s my county.’
‘I’m told the dumplings is uncommon fine down there,’ said William.

1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

'The Squire's pretty springe, considering his weight,' said Mr Macey, 'and he stamps uncommon well.'

1861, George Eliot, Silas Marner, London: Penguin Books, published 1967, page 159:

(archaic, UK, dialect) Exceedingly, exceptionally.


sledge

Dialectal Dutch sleedse, from Middle Dutch sleedse, from the root of sled.

Aged wore out Coal-Horses, which after some time Wrought you will have, may serve turn for Sledge-Horses.

1708, F. C. [possibly F. Conyers], Compleat Collier: Or, The Whole Art of Sinking, Getting, and Working, Coal-mines about Sunderland and New-Castle:

Ty'd upon the Sledge, a Papist and a Protestant in front, being two very disparate and antipathetick Companions, was a very ridiculous Science of Cruelty, even worst than Death it self (says he).

1716, Myles Davies, Athenae Britannicae: Or, A Critical History of the Oxford and Cambridge Writers And Writings...Part I [the full title stretches for 70 words] reporting a passage in "Nicholas Sanders's Seditious Pamphlet" De Schismate Anglicano, &c (1585)

There are also Winter Paralympic Games with Alpine and Nordic events, as well as sledge hockey - a form of ice hockey using a seated sledge.

2006, Richard Higgins, Peter Brukner, Bryan English, editors, Essential Sports Medicine:

For anyone who can recall their schooldays, when you used to get snow every winter, flying down hills on a polythene bag the thickness of an atom, and a lovely old sledge your Grandpa made for you (the only Christmas it DIDN'T snow),...

2006, Pete Draper, Deconstructing the Elements With 3ds Max: Create Natural Fire, Earth, Air and Water Without Plug-Ins:


rafter

en-verb

rafter (third-person singular simple present rafters, present participle raftering, simple past and past participle raftered)

rafters (present singular third-person)
raftering (participle present)
raftered (participle past)
raftered (past)

From Old English ræfter, of Germanic origin, related to the origin of raft.

/ˈɹɑːftə(ɹ)/

(UK, agriculture) To plough so as to turn the grass side of each furrow upon an unploughed ridge; to ridge.


Wellington boots

en-noun

Wellington boots pl (normally plural, singular Wellington boot)

Wellington boot (singular)
Wellingtons (alternative)
wellingtons (alternative)

Named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, who wore and popularised a similar style of boot, if not made of rubber.

named-after

(British) Waterproof rubber boots, intended to be worn in wet or muddy conditions. Short forms: wellies (singular welly or wellie)


crèche

Unadapted borrowing from French crèche (“manger”), from Frankish *krippija, *kribbija, from Proto-Germanic *kribjǭ. Doublet of crib.

ubor

They drop their two-year-old off at the crèche in the morning before they go to work.

If you leave the kids in the creche for one morning on your week's holiday, and they are OK with that, then it's fine.

2012, Roni Jay, The 10 Most Important Things You Can Do For Your Children:


shire

→ Icelandic: skíri

The noun is derived from Middle English schire (“region, shire, county”) [and other forms], from Old English sċīr (“administrative region under an alderman and sheriff, shire; district under a governor or official; status of an official, office”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *skīru (“district; status of an official, office”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Latin cūra (“care, concern; administration, charge, management; command, office”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed; to see”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

chyer, schere, schire, schyr, schyre, scīr, sheere, sher, shir, shyr, shyre, sir, ssire

inh

Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.

I thanke his grace he hath appointed him, / Chiefe colonell of all thoſe companies / Muſtred in London, and the ſhires about, / To ſerue his highneſſe in thoſe warres of France: […]

1599 (first performance; published 1600), Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 10:

But thus I do conjecture it to be, That at the firſt Unitining^([sic – meaning Uniting?]) of the Heptarchy of the Saxons, and the Shiring out of the Kingdom, it vvas divided into Shires, and the Shires again into Hundreds, as it fell out, in ſome more, in ſome leſs: VVhich Shires (as I have ſaid) the King gave to ſuch as he pleaſed, and to their Heirs, to hold of him by an Earls Fee.

a. 1604 (date written), Sampson Erdeswicke, edited by Simon Degge, A Survey of Staffordshire. […], London: […] E[dmund] Curll, […], published 1717, →OCLC, page 211:

In August, 1642, the sword was at length drawn; and soon, in almost every shire of the kingdom, two hostile factions appeared in arms against each other.

1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 113:

Mrs. Heywood tells me that there are many Catholics among the lower classes in Lancashire and Cheshire,—probably the descendants of retainers of the old Catholic nobility and gentry, who are more numerous in these shires than in other parts of England.

1854 November 14 (date written), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Passages from the English Note-books of Nathaniel Hawthorne, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., published 1870, →OCLC, page 139:

As through the wild green hills of Wyre / The train ran, changing sky and shire, / […] / My hand lay empty on my knee. / Aching on my knee it lay: / That morning half a shire away / So many an honest fellow's fist / Had wellnigh wrung it from the wrist.

1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] XXXVII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 53:

The early history of the shire is hard to trace. Already in the ninth century it seems to have been the core administrative division within Wessex. Originally each shire was overseen by an ealdorman, who was charged with raising levies and perhaps also overseeing the local court (though the evidence is scant on the latter point). At the heart of the shire lay the local assembly (the ‘shire court’), at which such business was conducted.

2016, Levi Roach, “Birth and Childhood: The Court of King Edgar, c. 966×9–75”, in Æthelred the Unready, New Haven, Conn., London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 26:

(chiefly historical) An administrative area or district between about the 5th to the 11th century, subdivided into hundreds or wapentakes and jointly governed by an ealdorman and a sheriff; also, a present-day area corresponding to such a historical district; a county; especially (England), a county having a name ending in -shire.

гра́фство

administrative area or district subdivided into hundreds or wapentakes and jointly governed by an ealdorman and a sheriff; present-day area corresponding to such a historical district; administrative area or district in other countries — see also county

You, my love, are a little paragon—positively a little jewel—You have more brains than half the shire— […]

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Arcadian Simplicity”, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 94:

(by extension) The people living in a shire (sense 1.1) considered collectively.

kreivikunta

people living in a shire considered collectively

When are you coming back to the shire?

(by extension, informal) The general area in which a person comes from or lives.


lek

en-verb

lek (third-person singular simple present leks, present participle lekking, simple past and past participle lekked)

leks (present singular third-person)
lekking (participle present)
lekked (participle past)
lekked (past)

From Germanic roots meaning "play". In the biology sense, it comes specifically from Swedish lek (“child's play”), by means of Swedish leka (“to play”). The verb is first attested in English in 1871 and the noun at least as early as 1867.

T’lads is lekkin i t’park.

(UK, dialect, Yorkshire, colloquial) To play.


thru

American English
Merriam-Webster
Middle English

Modern use originated in American English as a phonetic and simplified spelling of through around 1839. The spelling had previously been one of several used in Middle English.

(UK, rare, regional or dialectal) Eye dialect spelling of through.


trounce

trounce (third-person singular simple present trounces, present participle trouncing, simple past and past participle trounced)

trounces (present singular third-person)
trouncing (participle present)
trounced (participle past)
trounced (past)

The origin of the verb is unknown; it is perhaps related to Old French troncer, troncher, troncir, tronchir (“to cut; to cut a piece from; to retrench”), from Old French tronce, tronche (“stump; piece of wood”). However, the English and Old French words differ in meaning.
The noun is derived from the verb.

Slept hard till 8 o'clock, then waked by Mr. Clerke's being come to consult me about Field's business, which we did by calling him up to my bedside, and he says we shall trounce him.

1663 March 6 (date written; Gregorian calendar), Samuel Pepys, Mynors Bright, transcriber, “February 24th, 1662–1663”, in Henry B[enjamin] Wheatley, editor, The Diary of Samuel Pepys […], volume III, London: George Bell & Sons […]; Cambridge: Deighton Bell & Co., published 1893, →OCLC, page 52:

Whereupon Mr. Weaver did threaten them, and (to uſe his own Expreſſion) would cauſe them to be trounced, taking down their Names. And the Grand Jury broke up without acting.

1702 March 3, “The Prosecution and Tryal of Col. Nicholas Bayard, in the Province of New-York, for High Treason, Anno 170¹⁄₂”, in [Thomas Salmon], editor, A Compleat Collection of State-Tryals, and Proceedings upon Impeachment for High Treason, and Other Crimes and Misdemeanours; […] In Four Volumes, volume IV, London: Printed for Timothy Goodwin, […]; John Walthoe […]; Benj[amin] Tooke […]; John Darby […]; Jacob Tonson […]; and John Walthoe Jun. […], published 1719, →OCLC, page 556, column 1:

And I have yet to graſp you left a Claw, / I'll trounce you, Sir, I'll hamper you with Law; / Witneſs I have of all that has been Spoken, / I'll bring an Action, for your Contract broken; / For Damages ſuſtain'd, I'll make you rue, / In Doctor's-Commons play the Devil too.

1737, [Robert] Drury, The Rival Milliners: Or, The Humours of Covent Garden. […], London: Printed for G. Spavan, […], →OCLC, act II, scene xii, page 41:

[A]s an ensign, stationed at Minorca, he [Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine] was enthusiastic in his sympathy for General [John] Mostyn, when that Governor was trounced in an action for false imprisonment and other illegal treatment brought against him in the Common Pleas by Fabrigas.

1867, John Cordy Jeaffreson, “‘The Devil’s Own’”, in A Book about Lawyers. … In Two Volumes, 2nd revised edition, volume I, London: Hurst and Blackett, publishers, successors to Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 84:

(transitive, British, regional) To punish by bringing a lawsuit against; to sue.

aanklagen

to punish by bringing a lawsuit against — see also sue


whiz

en-noun

whiz (countable and uncountable, plural whizzes)

whizzes (plural)
whizz (alternative British)
wiz (alternative)
wizz (alternative)

Onomatopoeic. Compare huzz, hizz, hiss. In some noun senses perhaps derived from wizard.

And I don't quite understand just what this feeling is / But that's okay cause we're all sorted out for E's and wizz

1995, “Sorted For E’s and Wizz”, in Jarvis Cocker (lyrics), Different Class, performed by Pulp:

This type of pickpocket, it should be noted, is passing from the scene; most class cannons now operating are old-timers. “The only youngsters I see breaking in on the whiz are jigs, and they are coining a bebop lingo that is something. […]

2003, David W. Maurer, Whiz Mob, page 40:


cubicle

From Late Middle English cubicle, from Latin cubiculum (“bedroom”). Doublet of cubiculum.

With more urinals than cubicles, men - unlike women - rarely queue, a Royal Society for Public Health report says.

2019 May 23, “Two female loos for every male one, experts recommend”, in BBC News, retrieved 2019-08-14:

The toilets will have weight-sensitive floors to make sure only one person is using each cubicle at a time.

2019 August 16, “Anti-sex toilets will soak users with water jets and sound alarm”, in Planet Rock, retrieved 2019-08-17:

(UK, Australia) A small enclosure in a public toilet for individual use.

kabina

a small enclosure in a public toilet for individual use


wick

From earlier Middle English wik, wich (“village, hamlet, town”); from Old English wīc (“dwelling place, abode”); Germanic borrowing from Latin vīcus (“village, estate”) (see vicinity).
It came to mean “dairy farm” around the 13th or 14th century; for instance, Gatwick (“Goat-farm”). Cognates include Old High German wîch, wih (“village”), German Weichbild (“municipal area”), Dutch wijk (“quarter, district”), Old Frisian wik, Old Saxon wic (“village”), as well as Ancient Greek οἶκος (oîkos, “house”), whence English eco-. Doublet of vicus and -wich.

inh

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-wick.wav

(British, dialect, chiefly East Anglia and Essex) A farm, especially a dairy farm.


wick

en-adj

wick (comparative wicker or more wick, superlative wickest or most wick)

wicker (comparative)
more wick (comparative)
wickest (superlative)
most wick (superlative)

Inherited from Northern Middle English whyk (southern quyk), from Old English cwic (“alive”); similar to an archaic meaning of quick (“endowed with life; having a high degree of vigor, energy, or activity”), and quicken (“come to life”), to which it is related.

doublet

as wick as an eel

T' wickest young chap at ivver Ah seen.

He's a strange wick bairn alus runnin' aboot.

I'll skin ye wick! (skin you alive)

I thowt they was dead last back end but they're wick enif noo.

"Are you afraid of going across the churchyard in the dark?" "Lor' bless yer noä miss! It isn't dead uns I'm scar'd on, it's wick uns."

I'll swop wi' him my poor deead^([sic]) horse for his wick,[…]

1860, “The Yorkshire Horsedealer”, in Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England:

(British, dialect, derogatory, chiefly Yorkshire) Alive; lively; full of life; active; bustling; nimble; quick.

(British, dialect, derogatory, chiefly Yorkshire, of inanimate objects) resistant to being put to use, stiff, stubborn (as for example a rope or a screw).


wick

(British, obsolete, dialect, chiefly Yorkshire) Liveliness; life.

Fed close? Why, it's eaten into t' hard wick. (spoken of a pasture which has been fed very close)

(British, dialect, chiefly Yorkshire) The growing part of a plant nearest to the roots.

(British, dialect, chiefly Yorkshire, horticulture) (Usually plural) The parts of weed roots that remain viable in the ground after inadequate digging prior to cultivation.

(British, dialect, chiefly Yorkshire) A maggot.


physiotherapist

From physio- + therapist or physiotherapy + -ist.

(British, Commonwealth, Ireland) A therapist who treats physical injury or dysfunction, usually with exercise.


piece of piss

Rollerblading is a piece of piss if you know how to roller-skate.

(vulgar, British, New Zealand, Australian slang) Something easy to achieve.


wrong 'un

wrong 'uns (plural)
wrong'un (alternative)

We might not have had that much to pinch, but they'd still have your brass candlesticks off the mantelpiece. There's always wrong 'uns, in every walk of life, who'll have whatever you've got from under your nose.

2000, Gilda O'Neill, My East End: Memories of Life in Cockney London:

Some reasons why Naseem Hamed might have been stripped of his MBE for speeding, where acknowledged wrong 'uns Jeffrey Archer, Shirley Porter and Mark Thatcher kept their honours.

(UK, derogatory, slang) A dishonest or disreputable person; a crook or rogue.


pink 'un

When you see a man with whiskers of that cut and the "Pink 'un" protruding out of his pocket, you can always draw him by a bet.

1892, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle:

(slang, chiefly British) A newspaper supplement or edition concerning sport, especially football, printed on pink newsprint.


green 'un

(slang, chiefly British) A newspaper supplement or edition concerning sport, especially football, printed on green newsprint.


windcheater

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-windcheater.wav

(chiefly British) A heavy weatherproof jacket


anorak

→ Greek: άνορακ (ánorak)

* Borrowed from Greenlandic annoraaq.
* (person with obsessive interest): Originally referring to train spotters (because they would wear anoraks while looking out for trains).

He has described himself as the uber-geek, an anorak's anorak, a standard bearer for fellow Star Trekkies everywhere, and his air of bland, amiable bafflement has served him remarkably well in a string of TV and film roles.

2007 February 15, Maev Kennedy, “I used to say he was England's answer to John Cusack. Now I think he's England's answer to Jack Lemmon”, in The Guardian:

(UK, slang) A person with an unusual or obsessive interest in a niche subject, especially trains.


winding

en-noun

winding (countable and uncountable, plural windings)

The noun is derived from Middle English winding, windinge, wyndynge (“directional change, curve, turn; bend of the leg at the knee; meandering course of a river; act of turning and twisting; twisting of things (especially thread) together; wrapping of a cloth around something; wattling of a structure; wattle(s); ornamentation with interwoven patterns; hoisting of something”) [and other forms], and then partly:
* from winden, wynden (“to go, move; to move forcefully or suddenly; to direct, guide, lead; to go along a meandering or twisting course; to move in a circular pattern, revolve, turn; to move restlessly, toss and turn; to wriggle free; to move with a turning or twisting motion, bend, turn, twist; to form or mould (something) in one’s hands; to mix together; to cover; to clothe, dress; to wrap (a baby, a corpse, etc.); to encircle, surround; to bind; to interlace; to winch; (figurative) to conceal, disguise; to embroil, involve”) + -ing, -inge (suffix forming gerund nouns, and the present participle forms of verbs).; and
* from Old English windung (“woven object”), from windan (“to twist, wind; to circle, curl, eddy, spiral”) (from Proto-Germanic *windaną (“to wind; to wrap”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn; to wind”)) + -ung (suffix forming nouns denoting a verbal action or something involved in a verbal action).
The adjective is derived from the verb.
The English word is analysable as wind (“to turn coils of (a cord, etc.) around something; to encircle, enfold, entwist, wrap; to travel in a way that is not straight”) + -ing (suffix forming present participial adjectives and verbs, and nouns denoting an action or the embodiment of an action).

suffix

(British, nautical) The act or process of turning a boat or ship in a certain direction.


chemist

chemists (plural)
chimist (alternative obsolete)
chymist (alternative obsolete)

First attested 1562, borrowed from French chimiste, from Medieval Latin chimista, from earlier alchimista (literally “alchemist”), from Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ), from article al- + Ancient Greek χυμεία (khumeía, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “fluid”), from χυμός (khumós, “juice”), from χέω (khéō, “I pour”). As a synonym for pharmacy, a metonymous use of the proprietor to stand for their shop.

der

الْكِيمِيَاء

Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)

(chiefly British, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana) Synonym of pharmacist.

(chiefly British, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) Synonym of pharmacy, especially as a standalone shop or general store.


windscreen

Oh no! A vandal has just smashed our windscreen! Susan, can you go and call the insurance company?

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A transparent screen made of glass, located at the front of a vehicle in order to protect its occupants from the wind and weather.


windscreen wiper

en-noun

windscreen wiper (plural windscreen wipers)

(automobiles, British, Australia, New Zealand) A device used to clear rain and dirt from a windscreen; normally a pivoting arm with a rubber blade; a windshield wiper.


bell-end

bell-ends (plural)
bellend (alternative)
bell end (alternative)

(UK, Ireland, slang, vulgar) The glans penis.

I don't care who he is: he's acting like a bell-end.

is that onion badgies, you meant. or perhaps you are referring to that infamous collection of bellends, known as w.b.a. (win bugger all). it seems they are doing quite well, although they are playing against part-timers. quit

1992 September 28, A. Dowson, “Re: West Bromwich Albion”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet), retrieved 2017-08-03, message-ID <92272.160610ADOWSON@ESTEC.BITNET>:

(UK, Ireland, slang, offensive, vulgar) A stupid or contemptible person.


toss off

en-verb

toss off (third-person singular simple present tosses off, present participle tossing off, simple past and past participle tossed off)

tosses off (present singular third-person)
tossing off (participle present)
tossed off (participle past)
tossed off (past)

(British, vulgar, slang, ambitransitive) To masturbate.


flip

What the flip just happened?

Impossible. He's dining out and coming on here after. He can't be reached. / Oh, flip!

1967, Peter Shaffer, Black comedy, including White lies: two plays:

"Oh flip, don't come near this place," she said. It was dangerous. The Catholics had banners up on the Garvaghy Road saying, 'No Protestants here'.

2000, Susan McKay, Northern Protestants:

(UK, euphemistic, colloquial) Used to express annoyance, especially when the speaker has made an error.


flip

en-adj

flip (comparative flipper, superlative flippest)

flipper (comparative)
flippest (superlative)

I hate to be flip, but perhaps we could steal a Christmas tree.

(UK, informal) Having the quality of playfulness, or lacking seriousness of purpose.


hulk

en-verb

hulk (third-person singular simple present hulks, present participle hulking, simple past and past participle hulked)

hulks (present singular third-person)
hulking (participle present)
hulked (participle past)
hulked (past)

A variant of holk (“to dig out, hollow out, make hollow; to dig up, excavate; to dig into, investigate”), from Middle English holken (“to dig out, hollow out; to dig up, excavate”) (compare holk (“a hollow; body cavity”)), perhaps from Middle Low German hȫlken (“to hollow out, gouge”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hulaz (“hollow”, adjective); further etymology uncertain, perhaps either from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”), or *ḱewh₁- (“to swell; to be strong”). Compare also Old English āhlocian (“to dig out”).

der

And with this ſwaſhing blow, do you ſwear Prince; / I could hulk your Grace, and hang you up croſs-legg'd, / Like a Hare at a Poulters, and do this with this wiper.

c. 1608–1610, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “Philaster: Or, Love Lies a Bleeding”, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies. […], [part 1], London: […] J[ohn] Macock [and H. Hills], for John Martyn, Henry Herringman, and Richard Marriot, published 1679, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i, page 37, column 2:

(transitive, obsolete except British, dialectal) To remove the entrails of; to disembowel.


endorse

en-verb

endorse (third-person singular simple present endorses, present participle endorsing, simple past and past participle endorsed)

endorses (present singular third-person)
endorsing (participle present)
endorsed (participle past)
endorsed (past)
indorse (alternative rare)
endoce (alternative obsolete)

Alteration influenced by Medieval Latin indorsare of Middle English endosse, from Old French endosser (“to put on the back”), from Latin dossum, alternative form of dorsum (“back”), from which also dorsal (“of the back”). That is, the ‘r’ was dropped in Latin dossum, which developed into Old French and then Middle English endosse, and then the ‘r’ was re-introduced into English via the Medieval Latin indorsare, which had retained the ‘r’. Note that the alternative spelling indorse also uses the initial ‘i’ from Latin (in-, rather than en-), but this form is now rare.

der

The court endorsed his driving record with three penalty points for the drink-driving.

On 25th January, 1968, Mrs. Weston was convicted by the Sheffield Magistrates of driving without due care and attention. She was fined £10 and her driving licence was endorsed.

(transitive, UK, law) To add penalty points to one's driving licence as a result of a road traffic offence.


twitter

en-noun

twitter (countable and uncountable, plural twitters)

From Middle English twitren, twiteren, from Old English *twiterian, from Proto-West Germanic *twitwiʀōn, from Proto-Germanic *twitwizōną (“to chirp; twitter”). Cognate with Low German twitteren (“to twitter”), German zwitzern, zwitschern (“to twitter”). Compare also Dutch kwetteren (“to twitter”), Danish kvidre (“to twitter”), Swedish kvittra (“to twitter”), dialectal Swedish tittra (“to twitter”).

inh

(countable, informal or British, regional) Chiefly in the form in a twitter: a state of excitement or nervousness; a twit.


somewhat

Two of the coaches are still on the site of the line; one, a first class observation coach carrying the S.R. number 6991, is at Snapper Halt, where it still stands, in fair condition but somewhat weatherbeaten […]

1942 September and October, “Notes and News: Lynton & Barnstaple Stock”, in Railway Magazine, page 309:


compost

en-noun

compost (countable and uncountable, plural composts)

From Middle English compost, from Old Northern French compost (“mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" also "condiment”), from Latin compositus (“composed”), from componere. Doublet of compote, which was taken from modern French, composite, and kompot.

der

Once the seed tray is filled with compost, insert the seeds spaced 3 cm apart from one another.

[T]he term 'compost' is commonly used to mean the material used to fill pots, seed trays and containers.

Royal Horticultural Society, Organic matter: what is it?, retrieved 2021-03-29:

(UK) A medium in which one can cultivate plants.


bumptious

en-adj

bumptious (comparative more bumptious, superlative most bumptious)

more bumptious (comparative)
most bumptious (superlative)

Probably from bump, on the pattern of words like fractious or presumptious.

1887, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Study in Scarlet”, in Beeton’s Christmas Annual, London; New York, N.Y.: Ward, Lock & Co., part I (Being a reprint from the reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D., […]), chapter II (The Science of Deduction), page 14:

From another point of view, it was a place without a soul. The well-to-do had hearts of stone; the rich were brutally bumptious; the Press, the Municipality, all the public men, were ridiculously, vaingloriously self-satisfied.

1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

She could stand it no longer. It was full of prying old women, she said, who stared in one's face, and of bumptious young men who trod on one's toes.

1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando: A Biography, London: The Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished as Orlando: A Biography (eBook no. 0200331h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, July 2015:

No doubt of it, Edmund was at grips with that bumptious little hairy dog. They were going it at the very top note of sadistic fury, screaming and snip-snapping in such a lightning mixture of black and white murder that the eye could not follow it.

1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 140:

(UK) Obtrusively pushy; self-important; self-assertive to a pretentious extreme.


apophthegm

apophthegms (plural)
apothegm (alternative)

First attested 1553, from Ancient Greek ἀπόφθεγμα (apóphthegma), from ἀποφθέγγομαι (apophthéngomai, “I plainly speak my mind”), from ἀπό (apó, “from”) + φθέγγομαι (phthéngomai, “I speak loudly”).


winkle-picker

winkle-pickers (plural)
winklepicker (alternative)
winkle picker (alternative)

[The girl] informed me that […] I had no right to wander at will upon the winkle-beds! Her brother, said she, was the watcher over this particular part of the Whitstable fishing-ground, beyond which he was the champion winkle-picker of the neighbourhood!

1908, W. Percival Westell, chapter 6, in The Story of the Sea and the Seashore, London: Robert Culley, page 199:

The most inveterate beachcomber and by far the speediest winkle picker in the village was ‘Euan, the son of Euan, the son of Euan’, the Gaelic pronunciation of whose name approximated to a long drawn-out yawn.

1961, Lillian Beckwith, “Beachcombing”, in The Sea for Breakfast, London: Arrow Books, published 1968, page 75:

the first piece of writing he had ever done [was] a starkly rhymed description of his boyhood as a winkle-picker on the Welsh coast

1967, Richard Condon, chapter 1, in The Ecstasy Business, New York: Dial, page 7:

Annie-John, the winkle picker, in men’s boots and a man’s overcoat went by with an empty bucket.

2011, Dermot Healy, chapter 46, in Long Time, No See,, London: Faber and Faber, page 424:

(UK, Ireland) A person who harvests periwinkles (a kind of sea snail) to be eaten.


yobbo

yobbos (plural)
yobboes (plural)
yabbo (alternative)

Yeah, but you heard what Blake said. We wouldn't stand a chance against Pike's mob. They're a right bunch of yobbos.

1966 September 24, Brian Hayles, “The Smugglers, episode 3” (14:11 from the start), in Doctor Who, season 4, episode 3, spoken by Ben Jackson (Michael Craze), via BBC:

He stared at them with eyes dull with fatigue, and let out a long sigh. “Trouble, trouble” he replied wearily. “Skinheads and yobboes fighting the coloureds".

1986, Emily Roberts, A Shiver of Fear, page 5:

We're not catering to the yobbos. We'd rather have a smaller crowd of nice people that are really into the game than a whole mass of uncouth people

1992, Brian Pronger, The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex, page 191:

A wanker fights inequality / And for people’s rights / A wanker fights class prejudice / A yobbo just fights

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, slang) A yob.


witness box

The same dingy court room, […]; the royal arms above it [the bench] and the little witness box to one side, where so many honest poor people are bullied

1910, Henry Lawson, The Rising of the Court:

There's no lie Jenny Prask wouldn't tell to force Joan into the witness box.

1920, A. E. W. Mason, “chapter XXXI”, in The Summons:

(chiefly British) A witness stand in a courtroom.

證人席 /证人席

place where a witness gives evidence in a courtroom


wobbly

(colloquial, chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A wobbler; a fit of rage; a tantrum.


backslang

en-noun

backslang (countable and uncountable, plural backslangs)

backslangs (plural)
back slang (alternative)
back-slang (alternative)

(linguistics) A form of slang composed of words whose spelling or sound is reversed.


denizen

From Middle English denisein, from Old French denzein, from deinz (“within”) + -ein, from Late Latin dē intus (“from within”), whence French dans.

1548, Edward Hall, The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre and Yorke, London, The xiiii yere,
Then by commaundement wer all Fre[n]chemen and Scottes imprisoned and the goodes seazed, and all suche as were denizens were commaunded to shewe their letters patentes […]

A denizen is a kind of middle state, between an alien and a natural-born subject, and partakes of both.

1765, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, Book 1, Chapter X, p. 374

1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, p. xlv,
All free persons were authorized and permitted to transport themselves, their families, and goods […] to Jamaica, from any part of the British dominions; and their children born in Jamaica were declared free denizens of England, entitled to the same privileges as free born subjects of England.

Though born in Iceland, he became a denizen of Britain after leaving Oxford.

(British, historical) A person with rights between those of naturalized citizen and resident alien (roughly permanent resident), obtained through letters patent.

натурализиран чужденец

(UK) a citizen naturalized through letters patent


denizen

en-verb

denizen (third-person singular simple present denizens, present participle denizening, simple past and past participle denizened)

denizens (present singular third-person)
denizening (participle present)
denizened (participle past)
denizened (past)

He was denizened to Ireland after fleeing his home country.

[The Horse-Chessnut] was first brought from Constantinople to Vienna, thence into Italy, and so France; but to Ʋs from the Levant more immediately, and flourishes so well, and grows so goodly a Tree in compe[te]nt time, that by this alone, we might have ample encouragement to Denizen other strangers amongst us.

1664, J[ohn] E[velyn], “. Chapter CHAPTER 7, “OF THE CHESNUT,”.”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 42:

And, soon as Denizen’d, they domineer.

1693, John Dryden (translator), The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis, London: Jacob Tonson, The Third Satyr, p. 38, Poor Refugies at first, they purchase here

(transitive, British, historical) To grant rights of citizenship to; to naturalize.


public house

Those of us who care for the nation's defence have been astonished to hear that confidential documents have been left in a public house.

1990, House of Cards, season 1, episode 1:

(UK, formal) A pub; a British bar or tavern, often selling food and sometimes lodging; an inn.


sesh

Empty lager bottles […] signified that Hans and Fritz also knew the joys of a desert sesh.

1944, George Netherwood, Desert Squadron, Cairo: R. Schindler, page 119:

Impulse buys one Saturday afternoon, after a lunchtime sesh in the Ox[…]

1999, Ian Rankin, Black and Blue, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 39:

(UK, Ireland, informal) A period of sustained social drinking or recreational drug taking.


dependant

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-dependant.wav

UK and Commonwealth standard spelling of dependent.


dodge

en-adj

dodge (comparative more dodge, superlative most dodge)

more dodge (comparative)
most dodge (superlative)

Likely from dialectal dodge, dod, dodd (“to jog, trudge along, totter", also "to jerk, jig”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from unrecorded Middle English *dodden, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dud- (“to move”), related to Old English dydrian, dyderian (“to delude, deceive”), Middle English dideren (“to tremble, quake, shiver”), English dodder, Norwegian dudra (“to tremble”).


pink pound

(UK) The business generated by providing goods and services to the gay community.


word of honour

British standard spelling of word of honor.


rustication

en-noun

rustication (countable and uncountable, plural rustications)

(UK, military) The process of posting a person or relocating a unit from London (or a command HQ) to elsewhere in the country.


workhouse

workhouses (plural)
work house (alternative)

From Middle English werkhous, from Old English weorchūs (“workshop, place of manufacture”), from Proto-Germanic *werkahūsą, equivalent to work + house.

inh

Among other public buildings in a certain town which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, it boasts of one which is common to most towns, great or small, to wit, a workhouse; and in this workhouse was born, […] the item of mortality whose name is prefixed to the head of this chapter.

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], chapter I, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC:

"I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." / "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve.[…]"

1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, →OCLC:

(British, historical) An institution for homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied were required to work.


workhouse

en-verb

workhouse (third-person singular simple present workhouses, present participle workhousing, simple past and past participle workhoused)

workhouses (present singular third-person)
workhousing (participle present)
workhoused (participle past)
workhoused (past)
work house (alternative)

(British, transitive, historical) To place (a person) in the workhouse (institution for the poor).


doggy

en-noun

doggy (countable and uncountable, plural doggies)

The Torpedo Officer and I were on the lower bridge and we each had a doggy, a young midshipman […]

2008, Iain Ballantyne, HMS Rodney: The Famous Ships of the Royal Navy Series:

(countable, military, UK, informal) A junior temporarily assigned to do minor duties for a senior; a gofer.


wrangler

During all this excursion, she condescended to say civil things to him: she quoted Italian and French poetry to the poor bewildered lad, and persisted that he was a fine scholar, and was perfectly sure he would gain a gold medal, and be a Senior Wrangler.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter XXXIV, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

(UK, education, Cambridge University) A student who has completed the third year of the mathematical tripos with first-class honours.


writ

writ (countable and uncountable, plural writs)

From Middle English writ, from Old English writ and ġewrit (“writing”), from Proto-Germanic *writą (“fissure, writing”), from Proto-Indo-European *wrey-, *wrī- (“to scratch, carve, ingrave”). Cognate with Scots writ (“writ, writing, handwriting”), Icelandic rit (“writing, writ, literary work, publication”).

cog

(countable, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK) A document ordering that an election be conducted.

(countable, UK) An order issued by the House of Lords summoning peers to the Chamber.


thorough

thoroughs (plural)
thoro (alternative informal)

From Middle English thoruȝ, þoruȝ, from Old English þuruh, a byform of Old English þurh, whence comes English through. The adjective derives from the preposition and adverb. The word developed a syllabic form in cases where the word was fully stressed: when it was used as an adverb, adjective, or noun, and less commonly when used as a preposition.

The Ignorance and Idleness of the Plowman, who either goes so shallow, or plows his Thoroughs so wide, or misses Part of the Ground.

1733, William Ellis, Chiltern And Vale Farming Explained:

(UK, dialect) A furrow between two ridges, to drain off the surface water.


decorator

/ˈdɛkəˌɹeɪtə(ɹ)/

/ˈdɛkəˌɹeɪtɚ/

(British) Painter and wallpaperer of buildings.


gruel

en-noun

gruel (countable and uncountable, plural gruels)

From Middle English gruel, gruwel, greuel, growel (“meal or flour made from beans, lentils, etc.”), from Old French gruel (“coarse meal; > French gruau”), from Medieval Latin grutellum, diminutive of Medieval Latin grutum (“flour; meal”), from a Germanic source, likely Old English grūt (“meal; grout”) or perhaps Frankish *grūt; both from Proto-Germanic *grūtiz (“ground material; grit”). Compare Dutch gruit, Middle Low German grūt, Middle High German grūz, German Grütze (“grout”). Related also to English groats, grit.

der

coarse meal; > French <i class="Latn mention" lang="fr">gruau</i>


gruel

en-verb

gruel (third-person singular simple present gruels, present participle gruelling or grueling, simple past and past participle gruelled or grueled)

gruels (present singular third-person)
gruelling (participle present)
grueling (participle present)
gruelled (participle past)
gruelled (past)
grueled (participle past)
grueled (past)


wend

From Middle English wenden, from Old English wendan (“to turn, change, translate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wandijan, from Proto-Germanic *wandijaną (“to turn”), causative of *windaną (“to wind”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn, wind, braid”).
Cognate with Dutch wenden (“to turn”), German wenden (“to turn, reverse”), Danish vende (“to turn”), Norwegian Bokmål vende (“to turn”), Norwegian Nynorsk venda (“to turn”), Swedish vända (“to turn, turn over, veer, direct”), Icelandic venda (“to wend, turn, change”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wandjan, “to cause to turn”). Related to wind (Etymology 2).

cog

(obsolete, UK, law) A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit


bleeding

You are a bleeding liar. Truth is of no interest to you at all.

1999, Paul Milne, “Why Kari Kauffman Is A Bald Faced Liar” in comp.software.year-2000

"You are a bleeding idiot sometimes, but I love you and", Harry hands him the first gift Severus ever gave him and says, "One hundred and sixteen."

2004, DrusillaDax, “Battlefields”, in Sensus Fanfiction Archive, retrieved 2014-10-08:

(UK, slang, intensifier) extreme, outright; bloody, blasted.


bleeding

His car's motor is bleeding smoking down the motorway.

It turns out he was too bleeding cheap to ever drain the oil.

It does highlight some of the difficulties, but does not dare state the bleeding obvious, which is that neither are likely to play a major part in delivering a decarbonised agenda on the railways – […].

2021 April 7, Christian Wolmar, “Electrification is a given... but comfort matters as well”, in RAIL, number 928, page 47:

(British, slang) used as an intensifier: Extremely.


tug

(UK, slang) A foundationer or colleger at Eton.


ware

From Middle English wor (in sewor) from Old English wār (“seaweed”), ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *wīraz; compare wire. Cognate with Scots wair (“seaweed”), Dutch wier (“seaweed”), Middle Dutch wier (“seaweed”).

On many of the farms in East Lothian, from 100 to 120 Imperial acres are annually manured with sea-ware; and when I mention that 30 double-cart loads are spread on 1 acre, you may conceive the labour incurred in carting from 3000 to 3600 loads during a short season; for it is only in winter that the ware is cast ashore by storms,[…]

1844, Henry Stephens, The book of the farm, page 1238:

The said farm, having been possessed […] in the deed of 12th July 1794, with the privilege of taking ware from the sea-shore for the use of the farm, and having been let by them to a tenant in 1804, with "liberty of the droven sea-ware, along with the other tenants of the Elie barony, for manuring the farm," […]

1861 April 25, “William Baird, Appellant, v. William Ranken Fortune, Respondent”, in The Scottish Jurist: Being Reports of Cases Decided in the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and in the House of Lords on Appeal from Scotland, page 437:

Each ware-strand, or beach where drift-weed comes to land, is set apart for a certain number of tenants on the estate to which it belongs, and each 'brook of ware' as it comes ashore is divided among these tenants, usually in proportion to their rents.

1896, Charles James Longman, Longman's Magazine, page 34:

(obsolete, UK, dialect) Seaweed; drift seaweed; seawrack.


winceyette

en-noun

winceyette (countable and uncountable, plural winceyettes)

(British) A soft cotton flannelette material with a raised brushed surface (a nap), on both sides.


vegetable marrow

vegetable marrow (plural vegetable marrows)