parish-pump

/ˈpæɹɪʃ ˌpʌmp/

/ˈpæɹɪʃ ˌpʌmp/

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

From parish + pump, the attributive form of parish pump, alluding to its use as a place where members of a parish meet and talk to each other.

parish pump politics    parish-pump squabbles

Never avoid bars or smoke-rooms, because in the former case you miss the chance of marrying a flirt, and in the latter of having your mind improved by local parish-pump politics, and your head broken by a fool in his cups.

[1875?], Thomas Bardel Brindley, chapter I, in Hints, Humorous and Satirical, to All the World and His Wife. […], 3rd edition, London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. […], →OCLC, paragraph 7, page 6:

I now turn to the question of political progress. Ten days or so ago I was criticized in a newspaper for saying that I would confine political progress to the parish-pump level. […] I believe it right to ensure that truly responsible local government at the rural community and Municipal Council levels is firmly established and as quickly as possible.

1952 March 19 (date delivered), Victor Purcell, quoting Gerald Templer, “The Case for the Governments”, in Malaya: Communist or Free?, Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, published 1954, →OCLC, page 189:

I don't think I've voted once since the war. The issues nowadays so often seem—well, a bit parish pump.

1978, Graham Greene, chapter I, in The Human Factor, London; Sydney, N.S.W.: The Bodley Head, published 1979, →ISBN, page 14:

This study […] pays serious attention to so called parish-pump conflicts in the belief that they performed a fundamental role in shaping opinion in the countryside. The vitality of parish pump alignments had a temporal dimension, too, for it seems that the querulousness of the rural community expressed a developing perception of equilibrium and well-being.

1985, P[eter] M[ichael] Jones, “Introduction”, in Politics and Rural Society: The Southern Massif Central c. 1750–1880, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 5:

The idea of "parish-pump politics" is well known. Instead of engaging in problem solving at the community level, local politicians often think only of their own, local community, even if it is much more reasonable to cooperate with neighbouring communities and to pursue common regional interests.

2016, Michael Böcher, Max Krott, “Case Studies”, in Eduardo Fargas, editor, Science Makes the World Go Round: Successful Scientific Knowledge Transfer for the Environment, [Cham, Zug, Switzerland]: Springer Nature, →DOI, →ISBN, page 62:

(UK, often politics, dated, derogatory, figurative) Of local interest or significance only; petty, parochial.


Nightingale court

en-noun

Nightingale court (plural Nightingale courts)

Derived from the establishment of temporary hospitals to house the surplus of patients created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the first being NHS Nightingale in Canning Town, East London. Ultimately named after British nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale.

named-after

The Lowry Theatre in Manchester is to be turned into a Nightingale court as part of the Government's bid to clear a 500,000-case backlog.

2020 September 22, “Lowry Theatre lands new role as Nightingale court”, in The Daily Telegraph, page 4:

CIRENCESTER’S former magistrates court will become a ‘Nightingale Court’ to help deal with the hearing backlog. There are more than 1,000 criminal cases are waiting to be heard in Gloucestershire – a record high and a number that has more than doubled since the start of the pandemic.

2020 December 3, “‘Nightingale Court’ may open next month”, in The Gloucestershire Echo, page 5:

The Mercure Nottingham Sherwood Hotel, in Mansfield Road, has become a “Nightingale Court”, which the Ministry of Justice said will “free up the Crown Court for more jury trials.”

2021 March 25, Matt Jarram, “Hotel is ‘Nightingale Court’”, in Nottingham Evening Post, page 6:

MOST nightingale courts in England and Wales – including the one in Swansea – will be kept open for another year in a bid to cut backlogs of cases and reduce the time victims spend waiting for justice.

2023 February 20, “Nightingale court to continue”, in South Wales Evening Post, Swansea, page 8:

(UK, neologism) A temporary court in England and Wales established to deal with the backlog of legal cases brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020.


obstacle race

(chiefly UK) A race on foot through an obstacle course.


caravanist

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa) One who travels in a caravan (towed furnished vehicle).


chatterbag

(UK, dialect, informal) Synonym of chatterbox (“talkative person”).


fagless

en-adj

fagless (comparative more fagless, superlative most fagless)

more fagless (comparative)
most fagless (superlative)

She gave him the whole cigarette and he swaggered back to the group, flaunting his trophy to the fagless.

(UK, Ireland, colloquial) Without a cigarette.


UKVI

(UK, visas) Initialism of UK Visas and Immigration.


do one's sums

en-verb

do one's sums (third-person singular simple present does one's sums, present participle doing one's sums, simple past did one's sums, past participle done one's sums)

does one's sums (present singular third-person)
doing one's sums (participle present)
did one's sums (past)
done one's sums (participle past)

(UK, informal) To figure out whether one can afford to pay for something.


all-Ireland

(British, Ireland) The Republic of Ireland and the British Northern Ireland collectively.


double-jabbed

Double-jabbed adults will no longer be forced to isolate at home after coming into contact with someone with Covid, Boris Johnson has declared.

2021 May 7, Paul Waugh, “Double-Jabbed Adults Will No Longer Have To Isolate At Home After Covid ‘Contact’”, in Huffington Post UK:

The requirement for double-jabbed people to isolate after contact with a positive case is due to end on 16 August, four weeks after the majority of England's Covid rules are set to end, to allow more people to be vaccinated.

2021 July 8, Hamish Mackay, Alex Kleiderman, “Covid-19: Amber list quarantine for fully vaccinated to end on 19 July”, in BBC News:

Self-isolation will also be removed for arrivals from Amber list countries from July 19, if they have been double jabbed within a UK vaccine programme.

2021 July 13, Elsa Maishman, “Covid Scotland: Self-isolation requirement to be scrapped for double jabbed from August 9”, in The Scotsman:

It comes just days before Freedom Day, with ministers urging everyone to get double jabbed.

2021 July 14, Ellie Cambridge, “Two-thirds of British adults now double jabbed as Boris beats Freedom Day target”, in The Sun:

Graham McLeod, from Bolton, who has been staying on on France's Atlantic coast, said he would also have to isolate despite being double-jabbed.

2021 July 16, Sophie Morris, “COVID-19: Travellers frustrated at 'chaotic' government U-turn over France quarantine rule”, in Sky News:

Starting yesterday, primary schools can arrange extracurricular activities for pupils double-jabbed for more than two weeks after classes or during the other half of a school day.

2022 October 26, Lilian Cheng, Fiona Sun, Danny Mok, “Full-day primary classes to resume if 70pc double-jabbed”, in South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, page A1:

(US, UK, neologism) Of a person, having received both doses (jabs) of a COVID vaccine.


go off at a tangent

go off at a tangent (third-person singular simple present goes off at a tangent, present participle going off at a tangent, simple past went off at a tangent, past participle gone off at a tangent)

goes off at a tangent (present singular third-person)
going off at a tangent (participle present)
went off at a tangent (past)
gone off at a tangent (participle past)

go off on a tangent
go off on a tangent#English

(UK) Alternative form of go off on a tangent.


trouser leg

(British) Either of the legs of a pair of trousers.


bogie bolster wagon

en-noun

bogie bolster wagon (plural bogie bolster wagons)

(rail transport, UK) A long flat wagon mounted on two four-wheel bogies, with transverse baulks of timber (bolsters) placed at intervals on the wagon's bed to carry the load.


day return

Special cheap day return facilities have been introduced to popularise the railbuses.

1959 March, “Talking of Trains: Railbuses on the W.R.”, in Trains Illustrated, page 121:

(travel, UK) A reduced-price fare and ticket for a journey on public transport out and back in one day.


in the lap of the gods

(UK) Up to chance; Outside of one's ability to control or affect the result.


flag shagger

The flag shaggers love it. He's got them all up in arms about the IMP's policy on trade deficits and surpluses.

(UK, slang, derogatory) A fervent patriot.


bed-and-breakfast deal

bed-and-breakfast deal (plural bed-and-breakfast deals)

From the idea that one might stay in a bed and breakfast, since the trades take place on two consecutive days.

(UK, finance) The practice of selling a position on the last trading day of the year to establish a tax loss, and then repurchasing early on the first session of the new trading year, to restore the position.


bed-and-breakfast transaction

bed-and-breakfast transaction (plural bed-and-breakfast transactions)

bed-and-breakfast deal
bed-and-breakfast deal#English

(UK, finance) Synonym of bed-and-breakfast deal.


ozzie

From a pronunciation of hospital with h-dropping, + -ie.

I became most distressed when talking to a man from Liverpool who said he was going up the ozzie? I thought he was planning to examine an Australian, but it turned out he was going to the hospital.

2001, Nursing Times, Nursing Mirror, volume 97, numbers 5-8:

What a way to start the new century – in the ozzie or a police cell.

2014, Maureen Lee, The Seven Streets of Liverpool:


on the phone

(dated, UK) Connected to a telephone system or having a landline telephone in one's home.


crack the flags

en-verb

crack the flags (third-person singular simple present cracks the flags, present participle cracking the flags, simple past and past participle cracked the flags)

cracks the flags (present singular third-person)
cracking the flags (participle present)
cracked the flags (participle past)
cracked the flags (past)

See flag (“a flagstone”); the idea is that the extreme heat might cause paving-stones to split.

Early summer sunshine threatened to crack the flags outside.

1998, Julia Wild, Blue Silk Promise, page 80:

I was apprehensive, feeling butterflies, pissed, the sun cracking the flags.

2005, Andrew Porter, Suicide Squad: The Inside Story of a Football Firm:

[…] plus the sun was still cracking the flags as we headed back to Geneva.

2008, Dave Spencer, A Smudge on My Lens, page 276:

The sun's hot enough to crack the flags and there's not a cloud in sight.

2010, Maureen Lee, The House By Princes Park:

'Tis fit to crack the flags so you'll not be wantin' your brolly.

2012, Audrey Howard, There is No Parting:

(northern UK, colloquial) Of the sun or sunshine: to beat down very strongly; to be extremely hot.


a fair bit

(informal, UK) a little bit, somewhat, kind of; a good amount


lennock

en-adj

lennock (comparative more lennock, superlative most lennock)

more lennock (comparative)
most lennock (superlative)


biscuit tin

biscuit tins (plural)
biscuit-tin (alternative)

She rang under my feet like an empty Huntley and Palmer biscuit-tin kicked along a gutter; she was nothing so solid in make, and rather less pretty in shape, but I had expended enough hard work on her to make me love her.

1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 218:

(UK) A medium-sized metal container with removable lid used to store biscuits and keep them fresh.


as the gull flies

From the fact that whilst gulls fly to their source of food, their flight bypasses obstacles like rivers and terrain. Compare beeline.

It is 240 miles as the gull flies.

(UK, Ireland, idiomatic) In a straight line distance between two locations, as opposed to the road distance or over land distance.


plot armour

British standard spelling of plot armor.


railwayist

The importance of the British railways in the prosecution of the war makes it necessary to restrict the broad tolerance and even encouragement with which the railway companies in the past have viewed the enthusiasm of the railwayist.

1940 July, “Notes and News: The Appearance of Evil—A Warning to Railway Enthusiasts”, in Railway Magazine, page 418:

(rail transport, UK, dated) A railway enthusiast or railfan.


pingdemic

Blend of ping + pandemic, coined in 2021.

The Metropolitan Line was forced to close on July 17 because so many workers were self-isolating that insufficient control room staff remained to run the service.

2021 July 28, Paul Clifton, “Network News: COVID 'pingdemic' forces Metropolitan Line closure”, in RAIL, number 936, page 10:

Output in consumer-facing services fell 0.3 per cent in July, the first decline since January, mainly because of a 2.5 per cent drop in retail sales during bad weather and a spike in cases in mid-July that caused the so-called "pingdemic", after the NHS Covid-19 app ordered hundreds of thousands to self-isolate.

2021 September 11, Valentina Romei, “Recovery slows as 'pingdemic' dents growth: Delta variant”, in Financial Times, London, page 3:

To that end, testing should be used to keep society open not shut it down, which is what is happening now despite Mr Johnson's intentions. That lesson should have been learnt with the "pingdemic" last summer but apparently was not.

2022 January 5, “‘Pingdemic’ lessons: established 1855”, in The Daily Telegraph, London, page 17:

The NHS Covid-19 app behind the controversial “pingdemic” is to be shut down next month. The digital contact tracing service, which crippled businesses and forced millions of workers into quarantine, will stop working on April 27 for lack of use.

2023 March 29, “‘Pingdemic’ Covid app to be locked down forever”, in The Daily Telegraph, page 2:

(UK, informal, neologism) The rapid rise in self-isolation resulting from many people being sent advisory alerts ("pings") by the National Health Service’s COVID-19 test and trace app for mobile phones.


on the district

Midwives working on the district rarely saw women die because, on the whole, they would transfer to hospital any women with severe problems.

2013, Nicky Leap, Billie Hunter, The Midwife's Tale:

Pethidine, a synthetic opioid developed in Germany during the war, was used in 75 per cent of hospital labours by 1948. In contrast midwives working on the district were not able to offer it to their women until 1951.

2013, Tania McIntosh, A Social History of Maternity and Childbirth, page 96:

(UK, medicine, historical) Of a midwife: associated with a particular hospital, and travelling to attend patients in the nearby area.


gypsy cream

Avril helped herself to a gypsy cream.

2014, Joan Plant, The Cure Is Sometimes...:

Betty Hutch would have the tea waiting for them and Beth's mouth was watering at the prospect of a gypsy cream to have with it.

2019, Nadine Dorries, The Lovely Lane Box Set: Books 1-3:

(UK) A biscuit consisting of a soft vanilla or chocolate cream layer between two oaty biscuits.


elevener

(British, informal, dialect, dated) Synonym of elevenses (“mid-morning break for a drink or snack”).


crown witness

(UK law) A person implicated in a criminal case who turn against their accomplices by serving as a witness for the state and who may enter into a witness protection program afterwards.


buy a pup

en-verb

buy a pup (third-person singular simple present buys a pup, present participle buying a pup, simple past and past participle bought a pup)

buys a pup (present singular third-person)
buying a pup (participle present)
bought a pup (participle past)
bought a pup (past)

(UK, slang, dated) To buy something that ultimately proves to be worth nothing or less than promised.


Yankland

(slang, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, UK, sometimes derogatory) The United States.


barmskin

From Middle English barnyskyn, barym skyn.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A blacksmith's leather apron.


pitcoal

(historical, British) Coal from a pit: mineral coal mined from a mine, as opposed to charcoal or seacoal.


beanfeaster

(chiefly British) One who takes part in a beanfeast.


own brand

Near-synonym: off brand

Supermarkets are fighting national brands with own brand products.

He stared at his mother across the kitchen while she put a box of own-brand cornflakes into the press.

2018, Sally Rooney, “Two Days Later (April 2011)”, in Normal People:

factor#English:_agent, representative, reseller, distributor, etc

(UK) A brand name that is associated with or owned by a place of business (often a supermarket, or other chain) that sells products under that name, usually for less money than other brands; in many cases the manufacturing is done by other companies, who apply the label (branding) of this factor.


bogglebo

boggleboes (plural)
boggleboe (alternative)

(UK, obsolete) A bugbear (imaginary fearsome creature).

In the north country witches were sometimes called boggleboes. This was the name given to a woman from Hylton. [...] to the villagers of Hylton and the stall keepers at the market, she was known as Old Bogglebo.


emparish

emparish (third-person singular simple present emparishes, present participle emparishing, simple past and past participle emparished)

emparishes (present singular third-person)
emparishing (participle present)
emparished (participle past)
emparished (past)

Sufficient petition signatures to emparish the entire area was acquired from residents by August 2006, which the Isle of Wight Council then submitted to Government with their support.

(UK, uncommon) To create a parish for an area, in particular a civil parish.


compulsory purchase order

en-noun

compulsory purchase order (plural compulsory purchase orders)

The plans also required several Compulsory Purchase Orders to acquire nearby land.

2021 July 28, Peter Plisner, “The race to the Games has begun”, in RAIL, number 936, page 57:

(law, UK, Ireland) An order made, usually for the purchase of land required for a construction project.


makeaway

Thousands of venues are offering “makeaways” – a part-cooked takeaway that you finish off or reheat – so that you can enjoy fine dining in the comfort of your own home.

[2021 February 6, Sarah Rainey, “Bring l'amour to your door”, in Scottish Daily Mail, page 53:

Recreate your favourite meat-free dishes with these DIY ‘makeaway’ kits

2021 February 8, Kayleigh Rattle, “10 best vegan restaurant meal kits for you to make at home”, in Independent:

Even the most well thought-out Makeaway or Finish At Home menu kits come with a degree of preparation and pots and pans.

2021 May 23, Julie Scrumptious, “Crumbs up for chocolate treat; Broken up Rich Tea biscuits elevate this choccy cake to a dessert status”, in Daily Record and Sunday Mail, page 19:

Local pub group, Oakman Inns, have recently launched their exciting new “Makeaway” meal boxes, Oakman At Home. […] This year, with their pubs still closed, their award-winning Chef Director, Ross Pike, and his team have created a special three-course Mother's Day Makeaway Feast to deliver direct to your door.

2022 February 15, Jupiter International Pty, “Oakman Inns & Restaurants: When The Local Really Means Local”, in News Bites Finance:

(UK) A kit containing the ingredients for a meal, delivered by a restaurant to the diner's home for them to cook.


JBC

Joint Biosecurity Centre
w:Joint Biosecurity Centre

(UK) Initialism of Joint Biosecurity Centre.


unshagged

And as if to confirm what cycling shorts had suggested, the magazines that once determined what would make a girl shaggable now explained to me why I and most of the other sixty per cent would remain unshagged until our buns could crack the porcelain.

2003, James Birrell, The Manana Man, page 29:

(British, slang) With whom nobody has had sexual intercourse.


anotherkins

These Theologers were grand Adversaries of the Christian Religion, but they symbolize with the Principles of it at anotherkins rate than the Epicurean Exploders of Magick.

1706, Richard Brocklesby, An Explication of the Gospel-Theism and the Divinity of the Christian Religion, page 322:

(UK, regional, obsolete) Of another kind.


clayhead

It has its own local delicacy, the oatcake, a sort of heavy-duty tortilla with the texture of flannel, which exiled 'clayheads' get all tearful about […]

2008, Stuart Maconie, Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North, page 33:

She is proud to be called a 'Clayhead'—a person born in the Potteries (Stoke on Trent) and will always turn over a china cup to see where it is made.

(UK, slang, rare) A person from the Potteries region of England.


city gent

Gone, never to return, is the famous minute bell at High Barnet, the sound of which has caused generations of ' City gents ' to precipitate themselves with most undignified acceleration down the steep station slope in an endeavour to scramble aboard the 8.34 a.m. Moorgate.

1940 October, “Notes and News: The High Barnet Branch”, in Railway Magazine, page 569:

(UK, informal) A businessman working in the City of London financial district.


landed gentry

(British, historical) A largely historical social class of landowners who could live entirely from rental income, or at least owned a country estate.


wardable

His Lordship having left a ward there, the castle being wardable, the Lord Mountgarrett was put at liberty, and therehence [the Lord Lieutenant] marched to Limerick, […]

1899, Great Britain, Calendar of the State Papers Relating to Ireland ...: Apr. 1599-Feb. 1600, Public Record Office, page 134:

(UK, obsolete) Liable to the tax called castle-guard.


put some timber on

en-verb

put some timber on (third-person singular simple present puts some timber on, present participle putting some timber on, simple past and past participle put some timber on)

puts some timber on (present singular third-person)
putting some timber on (participle present)
put some timber on (participle past)
put some timber on (past)

Most of us will probably go on to have boring jobs but one day I'm probably gonna have me own company and you'll go on Facebook and tell people ya went to school with me. I'll message ya back and I'll say 'yeah I went t' school with ya and din't we have a great time', whilst all along I'll be finking 'cor, you've put some timber on.'

2015, Keith Lemon, Keith Lemon's Big One:

(UK, slang, intransitive) To put on weight; to become more heavy or obese.


shoffice

This spring, is your fancy turning towards a delightful garden room? Whether it’s a place to hang out (or hide from the family), an art studio, a gymnasium, a home office or shoffice, or even occasional accommodation for visitors, these stylish domestic add-ons have never been so popular.

2019 February 22, Jayne Dowle, A pod, a ‘shoffice’ or a garden room:

Cropping up at the bottom of gardens up and down the UK is the latest trend among the country’s home workers – the “shoffice”, an office in a shed.

2021 May 30, Joanna Partridge, Home working drives demand for ‘shoffice’ space in UK gardens:

(British, informal) A small building, located in a garden, serving as a home workspace.


mad lad

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


RASC

Royal Army Service Corps
w:Royal Army Service Corps

(UK, historical, military) Initialism of Royal Army Service Corps.


arsebiscuit

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang, vulgar) Alternative form of arse biscuit.


arse biscuit

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) A piece of dried excrement that remains attached to the hair of the anus.


too right

(informal, UK, Australia, New Zealand) Used to express complete agreement with a previous statement by the interlocutor.


combination pliers

(US, UK) A type of pliers used by linemen, electricians, and other tradesmen primarily for gripping, twisting, bending and cutting wire, cable and small metalwork components.


FCDO

w:Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

(UK) Initialism of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.


RSHE

(UK, education) Initialism of relationships, sex and health education.


dole queue

It has taken people off the dole queue, and its online jobseekers board is updated daily.

2021 September 8, “Network News: HS2 jobs boost - but skills shortage a concern”, in RAIL, number 939, page 16:

Wadebridge area railwaymen were reported in the local press as "worried", while National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) Wadebridge branch secretary W J Hambly believed "the rail closures will mean dole queues at the Labour Exchange for many".

2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 38:

unemployment benefit
unemployment benefit

(UK) Historically a queue to receive the dole (unemployment benefit), now used in reference to the number of people who are unemployed and claiming state benefit.


WVS

Women's Voluntary Services
w:Women's Voluntary Services

(UK, historical) Initialism of Women's Voluntary Services.


pantiler

From pantile + -er. Hotten suggests a derivation from the slang pantile (“hat”), because of the distinctive sugar-loaf hats worn by Puritans, or the habit of Quakers and many Dissenters of not removing their hats in a place of worship; or else from pantile (“type of roof tile”) with which the meeting-houses of Dissenters were usually covered.

(UK, religion, slang, obsolete) A preaching Dissenter.


Glasgow magistrate

en-noun

Glasgow magistrate (plural Glasgow magistrates)

Hotten states: "When George IV. visited Scotland, a wag placed some salt herrings on the iron guard of the carriage belonging to a well-known Glasgow magistrate, who made one of a deputation to receive his Majesty."


Gospel grinder

(UK, slang, obsolete) A missionary, or distributor of religious tracts.


buy the rabbit

en-verb

buy the rabbit (third-person singular simple present buys the rabbit, present participle buying the rabbit, simple past and past participle bought the rabbit)

buys the rabbit (present singular third-person)
buying the rabbit (participle present)
bought the rabbit (participle past)
bought the rabbit (past)

According to Hotten: from an old story about a man selling a cat to a foreigner as a rabbit.

This is ruffian-like, by superiority of numbers to endeavor to make honest people buy the rabbit.

1895, Horace White, Money and Banking, page 253:

(UK, slang, archaic) To get the worst of a bargain.


dinarly

dinali (alternative)
dinarlee (alternative)

Now a lot of us chaps propose to assist you to-night, as it's the last one, in getting you up a rare full house to help you and your school to some dinarly and mungarly, i.e., money and food.

1876, William Green, Charles Hindley, The life and adventures of a cheap jack, page 170:


Dirty Half Hundred

On account of their tattered and soiled appearance during the Peninsular War.

(UK, military, slang, historical) The 50th (Queen's Own) Regiment of Foot.


give it mouth

give it mouth (third-person singular simple present gives it mouth, present participle giving it mouth, simple past gave it mouth, past participle given it mouth)

gives it mouth (present singular third-person)
giving it mouth (participle present)
gave it mouth (past)
given it mouth (participle past)

"Tell us your name!" said the man. "Quick!" / "Pip, sir." / "Once more," said the man, staring at me. "Give it mouth!"

1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter I, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 4:

(UK, slang, archaic) Speak loudly; speak up.


knuller

Alteration of knoller (“one who rings a bell”), from the practice of chimney sweeps going door to door, ringing on doorbells.

(UK, obsolete) A chimney sweep who solicited work by ringing a bell.


grub and bub

Chosen for the rhyme. Note that bub ordinarily referred only to alcoholic drinks; in this phrase it is more general.

(UK, slang, archaic) Food and drink of any kind.


multee kertever

That'll be multee kertever to start the weddin' on.

Well my flying sawney hunter, I think I twigged you on the scaldrum dodge once, and just before that, you were reported to me as being scammered with some multee kertever flue fakers in a flatty ken.

1982, Sue Fabian, Mr. Punch Down Under, page 40:


shiny-floor

From the large, brightly-lit studios in which popular entertainment shows are often filmed, which tend to include well-polished or illuminated floors.

Roscoe (2013) describes the trope in talent formats as the big shiny floor moment: You have a factory of formats and each one has to be bigger and better.

2014, Annette Hill, Reality TV, page 75:

Reality television excels at connecting audiences with other people. Shiny-floor shows can connect audiences through the literal representation of live crowds at the venue, participants auditioning and performing on stage, public voting, and live Internet chat.

2016, Laurie Ouellette, A Companion to Reality Television, page 126:

In stark contrast to these 'shiny floor shows' was the very straightforward comedy panel show format, Have I Got News for You, which saw five personalities sitting on a panel in a simple set.

2016, Lucy Brown, Lyndsay Duthie, The TV Studio Production Handbook:

There is more work to be done on the istory of the spectacular as genre (in fact there is relatively little discussion of this programming in this book), particularly in understanding it as a precursor for the contemporary 'shiny floor' show, popular Saturday night TV light entertainment that ranges from the big talent shows (X Factor, ITV1, 2004–; Britain's Got Talent, ITV1, 2007–; The Voice, BBC1, 2012-), celebrity-focused light entertainment shows (Ant and Dec's Saturday Night takeaway, ITV1, 2003-; The Graham Norton Show, BBC1, 2007-), dating programmes (take Me Out, ITV1, 2007-), and the para-sports programmes that Caldwell terms 'trash spectaculars' (1995: 3) (e.g. Gladiators, ITV1, 1992-2000; Ninja Warrior UK, BBC1, 2015-).

2016, Helen Wheatley, Spectacular Television: Exploring Televisual Pleasure, page 13:

By the 1980s, there was still huge appeal for what became known as 'shiny-floor' talent shows, especially during weekend primetime. In the US, Star Search ran for 12 years in its original run, from 1983 to 1995, and as searches went, it did genuinely uncover some A-list talent, including Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Alanis Morrisette and LeAnn Rimes.

2021 September 15, Laura Martin, “How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC:

A major shiny-floor show in the US market costs more than $2 million per produced episode, sometimes significantly more.

2022, Alex Connock, Media Management and Artificial Intelligence:

(informal, of television, chiefly UK) Highly produced, extravagant, and spectacular in a tightly-controlled, somewhat formulaic way.


common recovery

en-noun

common recovery (plural common recoveries)

(UK, law, historical) A legal proceeding in England that enabled lawyers to convert an entailed estate into absolute ownership, fee simple, by means of a legal fiction.


whisterpoop

(UK, obsolete, dialectal) A blow; a wherret.


Whitleyism

From Whitley + -ism; the system was proposed by John Henry Whitley (1866–1935), British politician.

(UK, industrial relations) The system of regular formal consultative meetings between workers and employers ("Whitley councils") to deal with issues and take matters to arbitration if necessary.


MAIB

(UK, nautical) Initialism of Marine Accident Investigation Branch.


Irish cockney

(UK, slang, archaic) A person born of Irish parents in any part of the southern counties of England.


Disprin

Trademark genericization, from the brand name Disprin.


dibhole

(UK, mining) The lowest part of a mine, into which the water drains.


loaver

[…] and then they don't mind tipping the loaver (money) […]

1864, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1, page 472:


blue blanket

(UK, slang, obsolete) A rough overcoat made of coarse pilot cloth.


snide pitcher

(UK, slang, obsolete) One who puts counterfeit money into circulation.


fen nightingale

fen nightingale (plural fen nightingales)

Tom Spence is a dom fule and doesn't know a fen nightingale from a natterjack.

1934, Neil Bell, Bredon and Sons, page 15:


surplus to requirements

(UK, formal) No longer needed, redundant.

(euphemistic) Laid off; having one's employment terminated.


banking engine

Speaking of locomotive surefootedness, I was immensely impressed, on a recent journey with the down "Ulsterman" from Euston, when "Royal Scot" 4-6-0 No. 46168, The Girl Guide, cleanly lifted a well-filled 15-coach train of 471 tons tare and 500 tons gross out of the terminus without the service of any banking engine.

1953 November, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 760:

When the widening is complete, the majority of the trains from Tees-side and the North which have hitherto had to be routed via the Leeds Northern line (Ripon, Harrogate and Wetherby) will be diverted over the main line via York. This avoids the necessity to provide banking engines on the Leeds Northern route and will result in speedier transit times and the more efficient and economical use of engines and train crews.

1959 November, “Talking of Trains: Widening north of York”, in Trains Illustrated, page 518:

(rail transport, British) Synonym of banker (“type of railway locomotive”).


flat crossing

(rail transport, UK) A crossing where two railway lines cross each other on the same level.


fixed disc

(UK) Alternative spelling of fixed disk.


Keeper of the Privy Seal

Keeper of the Privy Seal (plural Keepers of the Privy Seal)

(politics, UK) Synonym of Lord Privy Seal.


tankerabogus

(UK, regional) A bogeyman; a fanciful monster used to frighten children.


anti-jabber

To me, two things are obvious. First, those of us who get the jab should not be held hostage by those who refuse it. The anti-jabbers do so at their own risk, and once we get to the point where all those who actually want the jab in Australia have received it, then it should be game on.

2021 May 23, Peter FitzSimons, “I’ve got a plan to get all the anti-jabbers to get their shots”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, informal, neologism) A person who opposes vaccination or refuses to be vaccinated (especially against COVID-19).


addlins

He din’t heve mich i t’way o addlins but it wor just enuff to get by.

(UK, Yorkshire, dialect, archaic) earnings


candlebeam

(architecture, UK, regional, archaic) A rood beam.


Cenotaph

Top Gear bosses have defended the show after it was criticised for filming scenes near the Cenotaph in central London.

2016 March 14, “Top Gear bosses defend filming near Cenotaph memorial”, in The Guardian, sourced from Press Association, →ISSN:

Never has the Cenotaph, in its 103 years of standing sentry on Whitehall, been “defended” on Armistice Day by a Port Vale fan supping a can of Stella Artois.

2023 November 11, Mark Townsend, “Far-right ‘defends’ the Cenotaph to the echo of home secretary’s words”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

(UK) A war memorial in Whitehall, London, England.


Childe

Childe Harold

(UK, historical) A term of address for the eldest son of a lord or for a candidate for knighthood.


star prisoner

Of the remaining 469 wives 256 were wives of star prisoners, and 213 wives of recidivists.

1965, Pauline Morris, Political and Economic Planning (Think tank), Prisoners and Their Families (page 73)

I was a 'Star-Prisoner', so-called because, as a 'First-Timer', I had to wear a red star on the sleeve of my prison jacket.

2010, Ron S. King, The Cuckoo's Nest, page 214:

First, you're classed as a YP (young prisoner) if you're under 21. If it's your first time in prison, they class you as a star prisoner and that separates you from the ones who have been inside before.

(UK, Ireland) A person in prison for the first time.


God's own county

(British) Nickname for Yorkshire: a county in northeast England.


S level

(UK, historical, education) A public examination taken by the most able A-level students and typically used to support university applications, particularly to Oxbridge.


quoilers

Quoilers for 4 Horses

1874, Isabella James, Memorial of Thomas Potts, Junior, page 87:

(UK, regional, obsolete) The breeching of the harness of a horse-drawn cart.


Retail Price Index

Consumer Price Index
consumer price index

(UK, economics) A measure of inflation based on the changing cost of a representative sample of retail goods and services. Calculated on a slightly different basis to the Consumer Price Index.


red hat

From the red band on the caps they wore.

(UK, military slang) A senior army officer.


brown job

From the colour of the uniform, and slang job (“thing”).

Air force personnel used to distinguish airmen (blue jobs or boys in blue) from army personnel (brown jobs or boys in brown).

2006, David W. Clark, Joe's Letters, page 38:

[…] The Navy and the R.A.F. combine and throw the Army out of the window. It passes the time...' But that evening, it wasn't the Brown Jobs that were thrown out.

(UK, air force slang, dated) A member of the army.


blue job

As Blue Jobs we had to walk behind the sweep line, probably because we would have been a liability had there been a scene. We hadn't quite reached the camp area when we heard the sound of Ray's chopper.

2014, Preller Geldenhuys, Rhodesian Air Force Operations, page 224:

(UK, air force slang, dated) A member of the air force.


Anor

(UK, law) another, used in case citations


paybob

A form book about as helpful as the old Greek oracles is thus produced and guides the odds given by the numerous illegal bookmakers who compete with the tote run by the paybobs on each ship.

1979, W. B. Harvey, Downstairs in the Royal Navy, page 60:

Sod all the Shipwrights and CPO Cooks,
Sod all the Paybobs and their bleeding books
For we're saying goodbye to them all
As back to their hammocks they crawl.

2015, Cyril Tawney, Grey Funnel Lines, page 141:


walk-in wardrobe

walk-in wardrobe (plural walk-in wardrobes)

(UK) A small room adjoining a domestic bedroom where people may dress or undress in privacy.


Sindy

From a dialectal pronunciation of Sunday

(UK, slang) The Independent on Sunday, a British newspaper published until 2016.


boot room

* (mudroom): Originally, a foyer for storing boots, between the interior and the outdoors.

(UK, architecture) British standard form of mudroom


camp-ball

(UK, obsolete) An ancient game of football, played in some parts of England.


England & Wales

England and Wales
England and Wales#English

(UK, law) Alternative form of England and Wales.


E&W

(UK, law) Abbreviation of England and Wales.


in the rattle

If you were in the rattle too often, you would be labeled a troublemaker. Once that happened, it was virtually impossible to get back into the Navy's good books, and the chances were high that they would find some way to get rid of you.

2005, Charles Gidley Wheeler, Jannaway's Mutiny:

(UK, naval, slang) Kept in confinement as a disciplinary measure.


statutory instrument

statutory instrument (plural statutory instruments)

delegated legislation
delegated legislation

(UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, law) In some common law jurisdictions, a form of delegated legislation enacted under a power derived from an act of parliament.


crown it all

en-verb

crown it all (third-person singular simple present crowns it all, present participle crowning it all, simple past and past participle crowned it all)

crowns it all (present singular third-person)
crowning it all (participle present)
crowned it all (participle past)
crowned it all (past)

A lovely crisp exhaust: a feeling of almost unlimited power combined with complete freedom of running: and, to crown it all, a most melodious and wholly American chime whistle—these were my immediate impressions as we stormed rapidly out of Göttingen, intent on winning back some of the lost time.

1960 October, P. Ransome-Wallis, “Modern motive power of the German Federal Railway: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 611:

(British) To be the final, or last-mentioned, event or occurrence in a series of particularly favourable / fortunate or unfavourable / unfortunate events.


tanning parlour

en-noun

tanning parlour (plural tanning parlours)

(UK) Alternative form of tanning parlor.


TRA

TRA (countable and uncountable, plural TRAs)

One PFI scheme was developed in an area where formal representative structures (tenant and resident associations (TRAs), tenant liaison committees (TLCs) and community forum) had failed to adapt to the growing ethnic diversity of the area.

2010, Hal Pawson, David Mullins, After Council Housing: Britain's New Social Landlords, page 237:

Just Space also provided support to Tower Hamlets Tenants Federation (THTF) to deliver a programme of events on community planning aimed at Tenants and Residents Associations (TRAs) in the borough.

2014, Robin Brown, Michael Edwards, Richard Lee, “Just Space: towards a just, sustainable London”, in Rob Imree, Loretta Lees, editors, Sustainable London: The Future of a Global City, unnumbered page:

Brandon berated the lack of 'community cohesion' in the Five Estates, yet went to great length to explain how different community groups and TRAs (Tenants and Residents Associations) could not find agreement with one another.

2017, Luna Glucksberg, “'The Blue Bit, That Was My Bedroom': Rubble, Displacement and Regeneration in Inner-City London”, in Paul Watt, Peer Smets, editors, Social Housing and Urban Renewal: A Cross-National Perspective, unnumbered page:

(UK) Initialism of tenants and residents association.


banker's ramp

The commissions paid on this transaction were high and gave rise to grumblings in Great Britain about a “banker's ramp.”

1990, Randall Bennett Woods, A Changing of the Guard: Anglo-American Relations, 1941-1946, page 409:

But over the course of the last weekend before the 1997 election, Brown concluded, 'What a release an independent Bank of England would be – a release from a “banker's ramp”!'

2020, Harold James, Making a Modern Central Bank: The Bank of England 1979–2003, page 410:

(UK, politics) An economic crisis engineered by bankers for political ends.


face like the back end of a bus

(UK, Ireland, informal, idiomatic) A very ugly face.


tosserish

en-adj

tosserish (comparative more tosserish, superlative most tosserish)

more tosserish (comparative)
most tosserish (superlative)

Clearly, there are many ways of being less tosserish in life. But, surely, one of those ways involves not farting on and on about how much your standard of living has improved since you 'cut out all the crap and left all that mess behind'.

2011, Steve Lowe, Alan McArthur, The Best Of Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Shit?:

'He is unfortunately developing tosserish elements,' she said into his ear.

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, slang, vulgar) Like a tosser (obnoxious person).


gin spinner

(UK, slang, archaic) A distiller or rectifier of gin.


bulge in the onion bag

en-noun

bulge in the onion bag (plural bulges in the onion bag)


fog signal

The layman does not realise the dreadful nightmare of running in fog, especially at night, when the safety of everyone depends on the driver hearing the fog signal detonate.

1943 November and December, T. Lovatt Williams, “Some Reminiscences of the Footplate—III”, in Railway Magazine, page 344:

The last train—a three-coach A.E.C. unit—from Belfast to Crumlin and back, was bade farewell with fog signals as it carried a capacity crowd of last-trip travellers.

1960 November, L. Hyland, “The Irish Scene”, in Trains Illustrated, page 691:

(rail transport, UK) A small explosive charge (detonator) which can be placed on a railway line in fog, to be detonated by a train passing over it as a warning signal to the driver.


girl racer

(UK) A young woman who drives recklessly fast, especially one who participates in gatherings of car-culture enthusiasts and/or in illegal street racing; female equivalent of boy racer.


pot noodle

'Just a pot noodle. Oh - and I found a tin of dog food on the tool shelf.'
Misery hissed through Lister's gritted teeth. 'Well,' he said finally. 'Pretty obvious what gets eaten last. I can't stand pot noodles.'

1990, Rob Grant, Doug Naylor, Better Than Life:


corporation bus

corporation bus (plural corporation buses)

From corporation (“municipal corporation”) + bus.

compound

(UK, informal, dated) A bus service operated by the local municipal corporation or council.


onion bag

From the resemblance to the net bags in which onions are sold.

You ponce, you slag, pop it in the onion bag.

2002, Fat Les (band), Who Invented Fish and Chips? (song)


batchy

1926, U.K. House of Commons, Report from the Select Committee on Nursing Homes (Registration), London: H.M.S.O., p. 195,
I was speaking to the matron about different cases in her home, and she said to me, to use her own expression, that this woman was “batchy”; she meant that she was mentally affected after her operation.

It’s batchy to get married at eighteen.

1962, Alan Sillitoe, Key to the Door, New York: Knopf, Part 4, Chapter 26, p. 386:

“Roll up your sleeve, Alice, and I will make you happier than you’ve ever been.”
She shook her head. “Sod off. I’ve heard of that stuff. Sends you batchy.”

1997, Maureen Jennings, chapter 11, in Except the Dying, New York: St. Martin’s Press, page 127:

(UK, slang) Of unsound mind, crazy; lacking good sense or judgment, silly.


Mary Ellen

Young and middle-aged women often caring for large families were known as 'Mary Ellens'. They dressed in a most distinctive fashion with large black shawls draped over their shoulders and fastened at the middle. The shawl formed a large pocket under each arm; often one would hold a baby, the other a bag and perhaps a little food which the Mary Ellen had managed to shoplift. Their men were known as Dicky Sams. […] Typically a Mary Ellen would hock her wedding ring for a barrow and a load of produce. […] At the end of the day she would have enough money to pay for the barrow and retrieve her ring.

2010, Tim Parker, Signalman Jones, page 18:

Luke staggered blindly down the street, almost bumping into an old woman in black with a shawl drawn close about her head and shoulders—a Mary Ellen they called them round here.

Dad had just laughed when Rose said she wouldn't mind being a Mary Ellen but Mam had tightened her mouth and sniffed.

(UK, Liverpool, historical) A working-class woman, typically dressed in a shawl, carrying one or more babies, and working as a market trader.


common sewer

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

A punning allusion to shared drains for sewage. Compare drain (“a drink”).

When men go into a 'sluicery' for a 'sensation,' a 'drain,' or a 'common sewer,' they call the glass of gin they seek, in allusion to the juniper, a 'nipper,' or, more briefly, a 'nip,' occasionally a 'bite,' and not unfrequently it turns out a 'flogger.'

(UK, slang, archaic) A communal session of drinking alcohol.


galeny

From the dairy we passed into the poultry-yard; and there I was introduced to a train of milk-white turkeys, and fowls of the same colour, a few bantams, and three galenies, Mrs. Helen's especial favourites, […]

1829, Caroline Bowles Southey, Chapters on Churchyards, page 114:

(UK, archaic, West Country) A guinea fowl.


pen licence

(UK, Australia, education) Permission to use a pen for schoolwork instead of a pencil, granted to a child whose handwriting has reached an acceptable standard.


star up

en-verb

star up (third-person singular simple present stars up, present participle starring up, simple past and past participle starred up)

stars up (present singular third-person)
starring up (participle present)
starred up (participle past)
starred up (past)

So he lost it all when he got starred up: sent to adult prison.

2011, Jonathan Trigell, Boy A, page 189:

Under 18s can occasionally be moved to the adult estate through a process known in the system as 'starring up'. Fewer than ten under 18s were moved each year between 2010 and 2012 and none in 2013.

2016, Yvonne Jewkes, Ben Crewe, Jamie Bennett, Handbook on Prisons, page 534:

(UK, transitive) To transfer (an incarcerated juvenile offender) to an adult prison earlier than the usual age of 18 or 21.


Security Service

In this section […] “intelligence service” means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service or GCHQ […]

2010, Parliament of the United Kingdom, “Other provisions about offences, section 13(6)”, in Bribery Act 2010, page 11:


Secret Intelligence Service

the Secret Intelligence Service (canonical)


closed period

(UK, television) A period of time on a Saturday during which football matches may not be broadcast (so as to avoid reduced attendance in person at other football matches that are not being televised).

(UK, television) A period of time each week that is officially dedicated to religious broadcasting.


Screws of the World

Pun with screw (“act of sexual intercourse”).

(slang, humorous, UK, historical) The News of the World, a weekly tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011, known for its focus on sensational celebrity gossip.


News of the Screws

Screws of the World
Screws of the World#English

(slang, humorous, UK, historical) Synonym of Screws of the World (“the News of the World tabloid newspaper”).


civic society

The plaque, of light-blue hue (a tone favoured by the Wiltshire market town's civic society), can be found on a nondescript structure just outside the station.

2021 December 29, Stephen Roberts, “Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chippenham (1841)”, in RAIL, number 947, page 57:

(UK) A voluntary body or society which aims to represent the needs of a local community.


break shins

break shins (third-person singular simple present breaks shins, present participle breaking shins, simple past broke shins, past participle broken shins)

breaks shins (present singular third-person)
breaking shins (participle present)
broke shins (past)
broken shins (participle past)


two-to-one

“A pawnbroker!” cried Dick, with a loud laugh; whereupon the two-to-one lady blushed up to the eyes and whispered to her friend, “How could they know us?”

1819, Felix Mac Donough, The Hermit in London; or, Sketches of English Manners, page 182:

A song I'm going to sing you, / And presently I'll bring you, / Where your conscience I hope won't sting you, / — At the sign of the Two-to-one!

1877, John Diprose, New standard song book and reciter, page 194:

(UK, slang, obsolete) The pawnbroker's sign of three balls.


running stationer

en-noun

running stationer (plural running stationers)

(UK, slang, archaic) A street hawker of books and newspapers.


Gratin

(UK, education) A course of study at secondary level in which Ancient Greek and Latin are combined into a single timetabled subject.


nob jockey

(UK, slang) Alternative spelling of knob jockey.


horse's hoof

(UK, rhyming slang) A poof, a male homosexual.


mags court

magistrates' court
magistrates' court#English

(UK, informal) Clipped compound of magistrates' court.


CAZ

(UK) Initialism of Clean Air Zone (“an area where targeted action is taken to improve air quality”).


doughnutting

From doughnut. When this method of fare evasion is used on the London Underground, the area covered by the ticket looks like a doughnut, with a hole in the middle.

2006, Carl Bro Group Ltd, FareXChange Scoping Study Final Report v1.0, section 8.6.1, Department for Transport, http://naptan.dft.gov.uk/transxchange/farexchange/FareXChange%20Scoping%20Study%20Final%20Report%20v1.0.pdf,
Particular considerations apply to circumstances such as doughnutting when fare elements do not correspond to controllable elements, so there arises the opportunity for fare evasion.

2012, WickedWolfie, reply to South West Trains. Liars? Thieves? Generally unhelpful., MoneySavingExpert Forum, https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/57775841/#Comment_57775841,
The post before you (rightly) says that overriding season tickets is a regular fare con, as is doughnutting (having tickets for the start and the end of the journey with a gap - often large - in the middle), the latter exposes the limitations of ticket gates.....

2014, scottwalds, Re: [Mega Hot tea] Penalty fares on trains, Tony's Non-League Forum, https://web.archive.org/web/20220120132212/https://www.nonleaguematters.co.uk/forum/gforum.cgi?post=561451#561451,
There is a technique known as doughnutting, where you buy a ticket covering your first and last stops, to allow you to pass through the ticket barriers at both ends.

(UK) A method of fare evasion by buying tickets only covering the beginning and the end of a journey.


breakfast milk

breakfast milk (countable and uncountable, plural breakfast milks)

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

(UK) A milk with relatively high butterfat content, typically 5% or more; especially Channel Island milk.


IHT

(taxation, UK) Initialism of inheritance tax.


make off without payment

en-verb

make off without payment (third-person singular simple present makes off without payment, present participle making off without payment, simple past and past participle made off without payment)

makes off without payment (present singular third-person)
making off without payment (participle present)
made off without payment (participle past)
made off without payment (past)

making off without payment
making off without payment

(UK, law, formal) To commit the criminal offence of making off without payment.


making off without payment

en-noun

making off without payment (uncountable)

(UK, law, formal) The criminal offence of bilking.


MOWP

making off without payment
making off without payment#English

(law, UK) Acronym of making off without payment.


cricket score

The better teams were beginning to run up cricket scores thanks to the advent of short passing, so eventually this system, shown in Figure 5-2, was introduced to counter it.

2010, Scott Murray, Football For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN:

International Rugby League winger Noel Pidding – "Football's Bradman" – piled up a cricket score, 34 points, against America yesterday.

2013, Gavin Willacy, No Helmets Required, eBook Partnership, →ISBN:

2–0 is a cricket score in Italian football.

2014, Phil Shaw, The Book of Football Quotations, Random House, →ISBN, page 508:

(British, Australia, New Zealand, sports apart from cricket) A very high score.


granarchist

Blend of gran (“grandmother”) + anarchist.

blend

The anti-live exports campaigns saw animal rights move out of the anarcho-punk ghetto and become a street movement which ranged across generations (the so-called granarchists with their eldritch scream of “Eeeevil”).

2006 May 5, “Dover And Out: They Think It's All Dover...It Is Now”, in Weekly SchNEWs, Brighton, England, page 1:

Joan used her advancing age to her advantage with the media and as one of Cambridge's wonderfully infamous 'granarchists', she staged sit-ins, hunger strikes and chained herself to #railings.

2017, "Obituary: Joan Court", Viva!Life, Spring 2017, page 33

But what if feeding pigeons reveals contours of a large-scale affective militancy among older people in the public space? When as "granarchists" they pursue their publicly condemned practice of feeding the pigeons, old women really do take on joggers, park wardens, and the like.

2020, Fahim Amir, Being and Swine: The End of Nature (As We Knew It), unnumbered page:

(UK, informal) An older woman who espouses radical or militant political views.


summer holiday

en-noun

summer holiday (countable and uncountable, plural summer holidays)

(UK, Ireland) A school break in summer between school years and the break in the school academic year.


summer holidays

(UK, Ireland) Alternative form of summer holiday.


choral scholar

(UK, Canada) A student at a university, school or church who receives a stipend or scholarship for singing in that institution's choir.


organ scholar

(UK, Canada) A student at a university, school or church who receives a stipend or scholarship for being an assistant organist at that institution.


waiting staff

waiting staff (usually uncountable, plural waiting staffs)

waiting staffs (plural)
waitstaff (alternative Canada US)
wait staff (alternative Canada US)

(UK) Collectively, staff employed to wait at tables in a restaurant.


spannered

en-adj

spannered (comparative more spannered, superlative most spannered)

more spannered (comparative)
most spannered (superlative)

Several more whiskies later, with them all now wearing matching watches, the old guys felt spannered

2018, Kathryn Austwick, The Gobs: Return of the Wrinkled Rockers:

Drugs at the label was still a huge thing, but they weren’t being done in the office any more because they were trying to protect me and it would been torture to see everyone walking around spannered.

2021 March 20, David Owens, “The lunatic drug addict who released some of the greatest records of all time”, in Wales Online:


ballgowning

Ballgowning is quite popular with many roleplayers, but others find it gets on their nerves.

(UK, live action roleplaying games) The act of roleplaying romance as part of a roleplaying game.


physrep

physreps (plural)
phys-rep (alternative uncommon)

I want a physrep for my new amulet, but I can't find anything I like.

(UK, live action roleplaying games) A prop or visible characterisation used to physically represent something that exists in a roleplaying game.


physrep

en-verb

physrep (third-person singular simple present physreps, present participle physrepping, simple past and past participle physrepped)

physreps (present singular third-person)
physrepping (participle present)
physrepped (participle past)
physrepped (past)
phys-rep (alternative uncommon)

Are you planning on physrepping that?

(UK, live action roleplaying games) To use a physrep.


physrepping

Physrepping doesn't have to be elaborate if you know how to do it effectively.

(UK, live action roleplaying games) The act of using a prop or visible characterisation to physically represent something that exists in a roleplaying game.


cuzzy

We're just cuzzies from down at the marae down the road that are trying to be proactive and look after our whenua, look after our stories, and look after the mauri of our awa, our river.

2021 January 1, “Local hapū to watch over dangerous Omanawa Falls near Tauranga”, in Stuff NZ:

(New Zealand, Bradford UK, colloquial) A close friend; mate.


head tenant

(UK, real estate, informal) Synonym of lead tenant.


lead tenant

(UK, real estate) The tenant nominated to be the primary point of contact for a managed residential joint tenancy.


nominated tenant

en-noun

nominated tenant (plural nominated tenants)

(UK, real estate) Synonym of lead tenant.


Urinal of the Planets

In allusion to the frequent rainy weather.

A writer on British slavery later explained that the denigration was deserved because Ireland's wet climate made her “The Urinal of the Planets.” (For a similar Irish slur on an Englishman, see twiss.) Ireland is perhaps the only[…]

2008, Robert Hendrickson, The Facts on File Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Facts on File:

'I thought you would have preferred to have been with them in that stinking urinal of the planets, looking for bog-oranges.' Kempe's sympathy towards the plight of the Irish was well known, and he had no sympathisers here tonight.

2015 April 18, Graham Sutherland, Conspiracy of Fate, Knowle Villa Books, →ISBN:

(obsolete, UK, thieves' cant, derogatory, rare) Ireland.


red button

Unauthorized clerks or Blue Buttons can make enquiries in the House and ask for prices but may not enter into any contract, while Red Buttons are clerks entitled to work in the Settling or checking Room.

1954, Margaret Shelly Rix, Stock Market Economics, page 17:

The third and junior category, the Settling Room clerks wear a red badge and are known as "red buttons."

1964, David Eugene Spray, The Principal Stock Exchanges of the World, page 189:

(UK, finance, historical) A clerk employed in the settling room of the stock exchange.


penguin trainer

penguin trainer (plural penguin trainers)

What the penguin trainers lacked in aerodynamic ability was more than made up in weight and strength, for it was their purpose to take all of the heavy shocks and general road work while the pilot was getting the feel of the controls.

1930, Flying Magazine, volume 1, number 1, page 36:

On its return to Hamble in 1930 the machine was equipped with twin metal floats and Mongoose engine as a penguin trainer for Air Service Training Ltd.

1965, Aubrey Joseph Jackson, Avro Aircraft Since 1908, page 184:

(UK, aviation, historical) A machine resembling an aeroplane but unable to fly, used for training pilots.


skip lorry

(British) A commercial vehicle, fitted with a hydraulic hoist, which delivers skips (for rubble, waste and general rubbish) to customers, and collects them once they have been filled for emptying at a landfill site.


UCTA

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
w:Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

(UK, law) Acronym of Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.


FSMA

w:Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

(UK, law) Acronym of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.


made-wine

(UK, taxation) An alcoholic drink made from fermentation, other than grape wine, beer, black beer, spirits or cider, for the purposes of excise tax.


Main Market

(UK, finance) The principal stock market of the London Stock Exchange.


seblet

(UK, Northamptonshire, obsolete) A basket to hold seed corn for sowing.


seblet cake

(UK, Northamptonshire, obsolete) A seedcake traditionally made as a reward for the agricultural worker who had sown the seeds.


Lloyds

Lloyds Banking Group
w:Lloyds Banking Group

(UK) Ellipsis of Lloyds Banking Group, formerly known as Lloyds TSB Group.

(UK) Ellipsis of Lloyds Bank, a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group.


Lloyd's

(UK) Ellipsis of Lloyd's of London, a British reinsurance market.


Lloyds Bank

(UK) Lloyds Bank, a British retail and commercial bank.

(UK) Ellipsis of Lloyds Banking Group, formerly known as Lloyds TSB Group, the parent company of Lloyds Bank.


collective title

collective title (plural collective titles)

(law, UK, Ireland, formerly Hong Kong) A title given to a collection of related acts (or other pieces of legislation) to facilitate citation.

Offences against the State Acts 1939–1998


Consolidated Fund Act

Consolidated Fund Act (plural Consolidated Fund Acts)

(UK, law) A stock short title used for an Act of Parliament that authorises HM Treasury to issue funds out of the consolidated fund.


Appropriation Act

Appropriation Act (plural Appropriation Acts)

(UK, law) A stock short title used for an Act of Parliament that authorises HM Treasury to issue funds out of the consolidated fund, and which also appropriates those funds for particular use.


Representation of the People Acts

Representation of the People Act#United Kingdom

Representation of the People Act
Representation of the People Act

(law, UK) A collective title for a particular collection of Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom relating to the electoral system; not merely equivalent to every Representation of the People Act.


piss-easy

(UK, Australia, slang, vulgar) Very easy.


(UK, rail transport) Initialism of High Speed 2, a branched high-speed railway under construction between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Wigan.


non-gangwayed

[...] and the introduction of standard train formations with the elimination of all trains made up of unrostered or non-gangwayed stock.

1961 January, “The North-East London electrification of the Great Eastern Line”, in Trains Illustrated, pages 17–18:

The arrival of the first Class 313 was a jaw-dropper for long-suffering commuters used to non-gangwayed Class 31 locomotive-hauled rakes of 1950s slam-door coaches, […].

2023 February 22, Howard Johnston, “Southern '313s': is the end now in sight?”, in RAIL, number 977, page 42:

(rail transport, British) Not provided with a gangway between carriages.


HMB

It has taken 22 years for experts to prove His Majesty’s Bark Endeavour, renamed Lord Sandwich, was one of 13 ships sunk in Newport Harbour in 1778.

2022, Charis Chang, “How did the HMB Endeavour end up near the coast of Rhode Island in the United States?”, in news.com.a (Usenet):

(initialism, nautical, military, UK, historical) His/Her Majesty's Bark


nawm

NHS Redress (Wales) Measure 2008 (2008 nawm 1)

(UK, law, in citation) Measure of the National Assembly for Wales; a type of legislation passed by the (then) National Assembly for Wales - now the Senedd - between 2008 and 2011; still used despite the change of name.


piss-taker

(British, slang) A person who takes the piss.


plain as Salisbury

Presumably a pun on Salisbury Plain, or perhaps in reference to the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, which can be seen at a distance.

‘Your chummage ticket,’ replied Mr. Roker; ‘you’re up to that?’
‘Not quite,’ replied Mr. Pickwick, with a smile.
‘Why,’ said Mr. Roker, ‘it’s as plain as Salisbury. You’ll have a chummage ticket upon twenty-seven in the third, and them as is in the room will be your chums.’

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “(please specify the chapter name)”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC:

If I can't show you I've come by them honestly, perhaps you'd rather not have them, though, if nicely cooked and dished up, I'll be bound they can be made to prove, as plain as Salisbury, that you've no more right to the estate — nor to the name of Kerr, for all that — than that gentleman yonder.

1893, Egerton Castle, Consequences, page 248:

(UK, simile, informal, dated) Synonym of plain as day.


mummy wars

mummy wars pl (normally plural, singular mummy war)


braffin

A variant form of bargham (“horse collar”), of which other forms include bahfam, barcom, barfing, bariham, barsham, braffam, and (with the morphemes reversed) hamburgh, from Middle English berw-ham, bergham, from Old English beorgan (“shelter”) + ham (“cover”).

One former winner hung up his braffin aged eighty-eight after seven decades of competing. His talents had improved with age.

There were many times when holes had to be dug between the sleepers that held the rails in place to allow the pony to travel, his braffin worn and scrubbed away. These tubs when derailed had to be lifted on with sheer brute strength. The taller pony was used to haul the tubs, usually in two's, three's or even four's from the flat to a much bigger landing […]

2010, Derek Hollows, Voices in the Dark: Pony Talk and Mining Tales, page 79:

(UK, regional) A horse collar, especially as used in girning.


rannigal

(UK, regional, Cumberland, archaic) A rude, unmanageable person.


poofterism

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, slang, offensive) homosexuality


lay clerk

lay clerks (plural)
layclerk (alternative)

(UK) A professional, adult singer in a church or university choir.


lay vicar

(UK) Synonym of lay clerk in certain choirs.


song man

(UK) Synonym of lay clerk in certain choirs for a male singer.


hush shop

(UK, slang, archaic) A shop that illicitly sells alcoholic drinks without a licence.


wrastler

Is not Gorice a mighty wrastler, and hath he not in his palace in Carcë the skulls and bones of ninety and nine great champions whom he hath vanquished and slain in that exercise?

1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 13:

(obsolete or UK, dialect or US, colloquial) A wrestler.


paper trade

(UK, slang, obsolete) The sale of printed song lyrics by street peddlers.


OPD

personality disorder
personality disorder#English

(UK) Initialism of offender personality disorder: applied to a pathway of services for treating criminal offenders with personality disorders.


poofterhood

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, derogatory, slang) The state of being a poofter.


hustlement

hustlement (countable and uncountable, plural hustlements)

hustlements (plural)
huslement (alternative obsolete)

From Middle English ostelment, borrowed from Old French ostillement, ultimately from Vulgar Latin *usitilium, from neuter plural *usitilia, from Latin utensilia (“utensils”).

Theye haue allso abundaunce of bed coueryngs in their houses, and of all other wollen stuffe. They haue greate store of all hustlements and implements of houshold.

1567, John Fortescue, chapter 36, in Robert Mulcaster, transl., A Learned Commendation of the Politique Lawes of Englande, London: Richard Tottel:

the minute Bodies and smallest sort of Creatures about us, which have been by them [the ancients] but sleightly and perfunctorily described, as being the disregarded pieces and huslement of the Creation

1664, Henry Power, Experimental Philosophy, London: John Martin and James Allestry, Preface:

(UK, Yorkshire, US, Virginia, law, obsolete) Miscellaneous household items; odds and ends.

(UK, Yorkshire, obsolete) A mixed gathering of persons, or things.


the great and the good

(UK, often humorous or ironic) Worthy, distinguished or important people, especially when gathered together.


airn

en-verb

airn (third-person singular simple present airns, present participle airning, simple past and past participle airned or airnt)

airns (present singular third-person)
airning (participle present)
airned (participle past)
airned (past)
airnt (participle past)
airnt (past)


arsewash

From arse + wash, possibly based on hogwash or eyewash.

I take it you people are just taking the piss and really aren't as dumb as you convey yourselves. Micro$oft great?!? Arse-wash. And turpentine.

1998 July 24, Damien Joyce, “I Think Microsoft Is Just Dandy! What's All The Fuss About?”, in comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy (Usenet), retrieved 2022-02-20:

What a load of unctuous arsewash! He may well choose to argue that the moon is made of green cheese. If he did my disagreement would hardly indicate a failure to understand his argument - it would indicate that it was a jar of mouldy old cock.

2001 October 14, Mr Q. Z. Diablo, “Does Death deter?”, in alt.activism.death-penalty (Usenet), retrieved 2022-02-20:

General rule is, if me or I works, use them. Try changing the person in the sentence.
Examples.
"They very kindly invited his sister and himself to the inuaguration"
"He himself doesn't like a heavy meal at lunchtime."
Both clearly complete arsewash.

2004 February 18, Alex, “Here's a question”, in alt.babylon5.uk (Usenet), retrieved 2022-02-20:

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang) Nonsense.


covered wagon

The advantages of the train ferry in combining through running (without double handling) with speed and relatively large loads are shown in the decision of the Swedish State Railways to build 100 large covered and 50 open wagons for working to Britain by the ferry services, although the route from Sweden to any destination in the U.K. via Zeebrugge/Harwich is comparatively circuitous; the first of the Swedish covered wagons has already run through to London.

1962 February, “Talking of Trains: British-owned ferry wagons”, in Modern Railways, page 83:

(rail transport, British) A covered goods wagon.


mis-shunt

Consequently, the coupler must be designed so that no undue damage is caused should a mis-shunt take place.

1962 February, G. Richard Parkes, “Automatic couplers in Britain and Europe”, in Modern Railways, page 131:

(rail transport, British) An incorrectly made shunting operation, possibly causing a mishap.


Instamum

She marvelled at how lucrative kids-as-content seemed to be. Instamums at Disneyland and on cruises, snaps showing improbably perfect houses filled with improbably perfect children.

2019, Sophie White, Filter This, unnumbered page:

It's little wonder that so many of us struggling with parental burnout became attracted to the rise of imperfect parenting blogs and these 'real' Instamums.

2021, Kate Baily, Mandy Manners, Dawn Nickel, Love Yourself Sober: A Self Care Guide to Alcohol-Free Living for Busy Mothers, unnumbered page:

I never planned to be an Instamum. For a long time, I wasn't sure I'd be a mum at all.

2021, Ellery Lloyd, People Like Her, unnumbered page:


gapfill

gapfill (third-person singular simple present gapfills, present participle gapfilling, simple past and past participle gapfilled)

gapfills (present singular third-person)
gapfilling (participle present)
gapfilled (participle past)
gapfilled (past)

fill in the blank
fill in the blank#English


ingrossment

en-noun

ingrossment (countable and uncountable, plural ingrossments)

(UK, historical, law) Prior to the abolition of inrollment in 1849, the act of preparing a parliamentary bill for royal assent by entering it onto a roll, incorporating any amendments.


sneeze-box

To think of Jack Dawkins—lummy Jack—the Dodger—the Artful Dodger—going abroad for a common twopenny-halfpenny sneeze-box!


pals battalion

pals battalions (plural)
Pals Battalion (alternative)
Pals battalion (alternative)

From pals + battalion, from the sense that one's pals would fight along with them.

(UK, military, historical) A group of men who were friends before being enlisted, all of whom were placed into a single battalion in order to incentivize enlistment in the British Army during World War I.


grubbing ken

It was on my tongue, as the saying is, to tell him I was not a frequenter of “grubbing kens,” but I thought better of it; it was the best policy not to offend him, as he might be useful.

1883, George Atkins Brine, The King of the Beggars, page 86:

(UK, obsolete, slang) A place where food may be procured; a workhouse or cookshop.


spinniken

From spinning ken, alluding to one form of work done there.

[…] they all three compared notes on the several workhouses they had been at. One inclined to think that the workhouses in South Wales were the best. Another thought the Yorkshire 'spinnikens' were.

1866, Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, page 184:


teakettle groom

teakettle groom (plural teakettle grooms)

(UK, slang, obsolete) A man employed in a small household, in charge of the coach, garden, and general work.


lobster box

In allusion to the soldiers' red uniforms.

(UK, slang, archaic) A barrack, or military station.


stand pad

en-verb

stand pad (third-person singular simple present stands pad, present participle standing pad, simple past and past participle stood pad)

stands pad (present singular third-person)
standing pad (participle present)
stood pad (participle past)
stood pad (past)

(UK, slang, obsolete) To beg at the roadside.


thick on the ground

en-adj

thick on the ground (comparative thicker on the ground, superlative thickest on the ground)

thicker on the ground (comparative)
thickest on the ground (superlative)

Although the Netherlands occupy only a seventh of the area of the United Kingdom, the population of 11.5 million is as thick on the ground as 890 people per square mile, whereas the comparable figure for the U.K. is 560 per square mile.

1962 March, J. M. Tolson, “The Netherlands Railways today—I: The economic development of the Netherlands Railways”, in Modern Railways, page 170:

(UK) Existing, or present, in large numbers or amounts.


gap fill

gap fills (plural)
gap-fill (alternative)
gapfill (alternative)


hinderable

hinderable (comparative more hinderable, superlative most hinderable)

more hinderable (comparative)
most hinderable (superlative)

hinderable weather

(UK, dialect, archaic) Causing hindrance or delay.


aggy

aggy (comparative more aggy, superlative most aggy)

more aggy (comparative)
most aggy (superlative)

From a clipping of aggressive, aggravating, or aggravated, combined with -y. .

But whatever you think of Bieber, the adverts are questionable for reasons other than the singer's reputation for being an aggy teenager with an unfortunate tendency to offend and irritate.

2015 January 7, Ella Alexander, “GLAMOUR debates: Justin Bieber x Calvin Klein pics”, in Glamour UK:

These encapsulate the trio at their modern finest, vocalist Maxim stalking mercilessly while Keith Flint plays the aggy child antagonizing everyone.

2018 November 11, Leigh Sanders, “The Prodigy, Arena Birmingham – review and pictures”, in Express & Star:

“Girl asap I need to get away from Tekey. Before I spit on him he's so aggy lil jealous ass."

2016, Juannikka Callaway, My Life: My Decisions, unnumbered page:

For quotations using this term, see Citations:aggy.

(chiefly African-American Vernacular and UK slang) Aggravating; annoying, irritating, obnoxious.

I got aggie like a motherfucker.

2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 191:

So he responded with two oversized hits: "Cock Back," which he calls "the aggiest gun tune ever," and "So Sure," a remarkably relaxed and tender tune […]

2010, Andrew Rice, "The Devil Inside", XLR8R, November/December 2010, page 50

I hated curriculum, I hated my tutors, I hated the people. I came to my final year and I realized like, wait... why am I getting so aggy about all this?

2015, Alex B Rowland, “Roxanne Farahmand”, in Re-bel Magazine, page 50:

Ring, ring, rin-
"What!"
"Nice to hear from you too, Spect. Why are you so aggy?"

2018, Tiffany Bolado, The Legacy of Misperception, page 102:

(chiefly African-American Vernacular and UK slang) Aggravated; aggressive, angry.


Scunny

In actuality, I could have been back home in Henry Afrika's in Scunny. Pounding music, bright flashing lights, sticky carpet.

2016, Richard Nuttall, "Oi, watch it Treacle"- The Life and Hard Times of Terry Knacker, page 108:


and no flies

[…] seized by Mr. Stompff, who, scarcely waiting to carry him out of earshot, began, “Well! you've done it up brown this time, my man, and no flies! Your pictures have woke 'em up. They're talking of nothing else. […]

1865, Temple Bar: A London Magazine for Town and Country Readers, page 513:

(UK, slang, archaic) Synonym of and no mistake.


skiv

'A sovereign,' she says. 'Make it two, and it's yours,' I says. So, after a little, she give me two skivs, and she took the bill and valked ^([sic]) away vith it.

1865, Edmund Yates, Running the Gauntlet:

(UK, slang, obsolete) A sovereign (the coin).


uncallow

en-verb

uncallow (third-person singular simple present uncallows, present participle uncallowing, simple past and past participle uncallowed)

uncallows (present singular third-person)
uncallowing (participle present)
uncallowed (participle past)
uncallowed (past)

Owners to uncallow and take off the Soil, Mould, Dirt, or Compost […]

1736, William Nelson, The Office and Authority of a Justice of Peace, volume 2:

(UK, regional, obsolete) To remove the upper stratum of earth in order to reach the bed of gravel, chalk, or other substance beneath.


clonker

Get lost, you clonker!

2012 March 10, Herbert Puchta, Günther Gerngross, Matthew Devitt, Get on Stage! Teacher's Book with DVD and Audio CD: 21 Sketches and Plays for Young Learners and Teens (Helbling Photocopiable Resources Series), Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 65:


St. Lubbock's Day

en-prop

St. Lubbock's Day (plural St. Lubbock's Days)

Named after Liberal politician and banker Sir John Lubbock, who was responsible for the Act.

(UK, humorous, historical) Any of the bank holidays officially introduced in the Bank Holidays Act 1871.


situations vacant

(UK) The section of a newspaper or magazine that lists job openings.


get one's breath back

(UK) To start breathing normally again after physical exercise.


Tesco Value

After the low-cost “Tesco Value” range (launched in 1993) of the British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer Tesco.


arrestable offence

en-noun

arrestable offence (plural arrestable offences)

From arrestable + offence. First defined and introduced in English law by the Criminal Law Act 1967 (c. 58).

(criminal law, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, historical in UK) A criminal offence such that the offender may be arrested without warrant.

Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005


trapezium rule

trapezoidal rule
trapezoidal rule#English

British standard form of trapezoidal rule.


Wogland

(UK, offensive, ethnic slur) Africa or the Indian subcontinent.


require improvement

en-verb

require improvement (third-person singular simple present requires improvement, present participle requiring improvement, simple past and past participle required improvement)

requires improvement (present singular third-person)
requiring improvement (participle present)
required improvement (participle past)
required improvement (past)

(stative, UK, meiosis) To be in a state of failing.


expeditation

en-noun

expeditation (countable and uncountable, plural expeditations)

(UK, obsolete, transitive, law, forest law) The process of expeditating.


hangment

But 'twas his grandsire was talked o', not him; and 'twould play the hangment wi' me doun here, if 'twas thought there was stories like that passin' in the George and Dragon.

1871, Sheridan Le Fanu, The Haunted Baronet:

At the same time, a question from him as to what the hangment the men had to do with what he did would have shown that his mind was becoming healthy again, and thus have relieved my anxiety, […]

1919, John Edward Patterson, The Passage of the Barque Sappho, page 243:

(UK, regional, obsolete) The devil; the dickens; mischief.


chinstrapped

Somewhere between Portland and a town called Eugene at the end of August, I am ashamed to say that I cursed at my beloved colonel, which could have resulted in a court martial for me. In my defence, I was absolutely chin-strapped after setting off at 4 a.m. that morning and cycling for ten hours straight in 25 degrees heat.

2016, Chris Graham, Five Minutes of Amazing: My Journey Through Dementia, London: Sphere, →ISBN, page 147:


town councillor

town councillor (plural town councillors)

town councillors (plural)
town councilor (alternative US)

(UK) An elected member of a town council.


on tick

(dated, informal, British) bought with an agreement to pay later

op krediet

with an understanding that money will be paid back


'Obby 'Oss

From hobby horse, with h-dropping characteristic of West Country English. Compare hoss.

(UK) A male dancer dressed as a horse who cavorts through the town pretending to capture young maidens, as part of a May Day festival in Padstow, Cornwall, England.


pain in one's arse

(Commonwealth, UK, Ireland, sometimes considered, vulgar) Synonym of pain in the ass.


bin off

en-verb

bin off (third-person singular simple present bins off, present participle binning off, simple past and past participle binned off)

bins off (present singular third-person)
binning off (participle present)
binned off (participle past)
binned off (past)

The story described the collapse of a relationship […] 'Yeah, so that was that done then, I binned it off,' he concluded, like he was discussing his latest car breaking down, or the news of a boiler packing up.

(UK, transitive, informal) To throw away, dispose of; (by extension) to get rid of, put away.


goodlike

en-adj

goodlike (comparative more goodlike, superlative most goodlike)

more goodlike (comparative)
most goodlike (superlative)

George Whitehead, who knew him, gives the following account of Robert Hayes: 'He was a very innocent loving man, a goodlike person, of a fresh comely countenance, seemed healthy, and in the prime of his strength when first imprisoned. […]

Quoted in 1833, Luke Howard, The Yorkshireman, a religious and literary journal (page 184)

(UK, dialect, archaic) well-favoured; handsome


measlings

en-noun

measlings pl (normally plural, singular measling)

measling (singular)
meslings (alternative)

Unknown, but probably via pluralia tantum Scandinavian words like Danish mæslinger (“measles”), Icelandic mislingar (“measles”) and Norwegian Nynorsk meslingar, combining the Germanic roots related to blood blisters with the suffix -ing.

‘What āals yar barn, Missis?’
‘Shoo’s gotten t’mezlings!’

1862, C. Clough Robinson, The Dialect of Leeds & Its Neighbourhood, page 358:

Measlings, measles.

1890, The New Sydenham Society's Lexicon of Medicine and the Allied Sciences, s.v.:

Measlings... Nf [i.e. Norfolk].

1970, Harold Orton et al., Survey of English Dialects, volume III, page 832:

(UK dialect) Synonym of measles: the disease caused by M. morbillivirus, the red spots caused by the disease.


gorgey

en-adj

gorgey (comparative more gorgey, superlative most gorgey)

more gorgey (comparative)
most gorgey (superlative)


petrol cap

(UK, automotive) The cap that closes a petrol tank and may be opened to refill it.


banker's order

(UK, banking) Synonym of standing order.


pub grub

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

(UK, slang) pub food; meals typically found in a pub


post-free

All in attractive folders—5/6 per set, post free.

1963 March, “Small advertisements”, in Modern Railways, unnumbered page:

(British) Supplied by post (mail) to a customer without an additional charge for postage.


daftlike

daftlike (comparative more daftlike, superlative most daftlike)

more daftlike (comparative)
most daftlike (superlative)

With that Rhoda gave a laugh among her tears, having a consciousness in her own spirit, what a daftlike thing it was to say, but for all that said it over again; and then she grew quiet for a space of time; […]

1862, Margaret Oliphant, Lilliesleaf, page 396:


knobbish

en-adjective

knobbish (comparative more knobbish, superlative most knobbish)

more knobbish (comparative)
most knobbish (superlative)

(vulgar, slang, chiefly UK, derogatory) like a knob (contemptible person); dickish


by return of post

In mercantile transactions an offer must as a rule be accepted by return of post, or at any rate by a letter posted on the day on which the offer was received.

1909, Hardinge Stanley Giffard, The Laws of England: Being a Complete Statement of the Whole Laws of England Whole, page 353:

B. Gilliat-Smith often said of Dr. Turrill that only two people ever replied to him by return of post, the two being Dr. Turrill, and his Bank Manager.

1973, Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society, page 115:

(UK) Replying in the next available mail delivery.

Osborn replied almost by return of post that he agreed with my suggestions if we could get together a competent group to do the work.

1987, Sir Frederick James Osborn, Arnold Whittick, F.J.O. - Practical Idealist: A Biography of Sir Frederic Osborn, page 76:

(UK, by extension, figuratively) Replying immediately or as soon as possible.


yellow-shouldered ladybird

en-noun

yellow-shouldered ladybird (plural yellow-shouldered ladybirds)

(UK) Apolinus lividigaster, a species of ladybird (ladybug).


programme parade

programme parade (plural programme parades)

Scottish Programme Parade

Listen to your regional Programme Parade at 8.10 a.m. daily.

[…] various vocal techniques of presentation and delivery as well as how to ad-lib assorted information from programme parades as "fill-ups" at programme junctions.

(UK, archaic or historical) A block of airtime used to list and describe the upcoming programming schedule.


coltpixie

coltpixies (plural)
coltpixy (alternative)

(UK, Hampshire, archaic, folklore) A kind of hobgoblin.


kick in the bollocks

kick in the bollocks (plural kicks in the bollocks)

kick in the balls
kick in the balls#English

(British) Alternative form of kick in the balls.


oven chip

(UK, Ireland, mostly plural) A frozen chip or fry intended to be cooked at home in an oven.


flatdom

He drove to Chillesford Mansions in the dusk of the next afternoon full of hope that was only mildly damped by the drab uniformity of West Kensington flatdom.

1930, Clifford James Wheeler Hosken, The Man in the Red Hat, page 16:

(chiefly UK) The realm or sphere of apartment buildings.


trackie bottoms

It's hard to imagine her in her downtime, slobbing around in front of Come Dine With Me in a pair of trackie bottoms, arguing over the remote control

2012, Eleanor Moran, The Last Time I Saw You:


Doughnut

Former hackers as well as government suits roam the curved corridors of “the Doughnut”, as GCHQ’s base is known.

2015 November 19, Steve Rose, “The future is round: why modern architecture turned doughnut-shaped”, in The Guardian:

(informal, UK) The head office of the GCHQ in Cheltenham, UK.


lavat'ry

I cut down trees, I eat my lunch, I go to the lavat'ry. On Wednesdays, I go shopping, and have buttered scones for tea.

1969, Monty Python, “The Lumberjack Song”:

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(British and dialectal) Pronunciation spelling of lavatory.


tip down

en-verb

tip down (third-person singular simple present tips down, present participle tipping down, simple past and past participle tipped down)

tips down (present singular third-person)
tipping down (participle present)
tipped down (participle past)
tipped down (past)


stoated

en-adj

stoated (comparative more stoated, superlative most stoated)

more stoated (comparative)
most stoated (superlative)

The day the act was passed the nation celebrated, perhaps unsurprisingly, by getting completely stoated.

2011, Pete Brown, Man Walks into a Pub, page 123:


first school

For six months in 2015, a class of 9-year-olds from a first school in rural Northumberland (29 children) planned and planted a hay meadow in a local garden […]

2017, David Leat, Enquiry and Project Based Learning, page 171:

(UK, education) In the three-tier education system, a school for children until thee age of eight or nine.


Brompton boiler

en-noun

Brompton boiler (plural Brompton boilers)

In allusion to the peculiar form of the buildings, and the fact of their being mainly composed of, and covered with, sheet iron.

(UK, slang, obsolete, historical, mostly plural) Any of the buildings comprising the Kensington Museum and School of Art.


HMP

HMP (countable and uncountable, plural HMPs)

(UK, law enforcement) Initialism of Her/His Majesty's Prison: The prefix used in the names of prisons in the United Kingdom.


HMNB

(UK, nautical, military) Initialism of Her (or His) Majesty's Naval Base; prefix used in the names of naval bases of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom.


ratheripe

(UK, dialect) A variety of apple that ripens early.


HPA

Health Protection Agency
w:Health Protection Agency

(UK, historical) Initialism of Health Protection Agency.


jolly D

'Jolly D of you, Doctor, to grace the girls' end-of-term carol service.'

2008, Richard Gordon, Doctor Gordon's Casebook, page 155:

Thanks for paying for my drink. Jolly D of you. I think you ought to be in bed.

(UK, colloquial, dated) Thoroughly decent.


Baby Deltic

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 23 locomotive.


Teddy Bear

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 14 locomotive.


Chopper

From chopper (“helicopter”), because of the distinctive beating noise of the engine.

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 20 locomotive.


Warship

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 41 locomotive, dating from the late 1950s.


Baby Warship

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 22 locomotive.


Bagpipe

In allusion to the subclass' jumper cables, which were installed on both ends to allow push-pull operation.

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 33/1 locomotive.


Slim Jim

In allusion to the subclass being 7 inches narrower, due to being constructed for use on the gauge-restricted Hastings line.

(British, rail transport) A British Rail Class 33/2 locomotive.


gauge-restricted

en-adj

gauge-restricted (not generally comparable, comparative more gauge-restricted, superlative most gauge-restricted)

more gauge-restricted (comparative)
most gauge-restricted (superlative)

a gauge-restricted line

(rail transport, UK) Having a restrictive loading gauge, limiting which rail vehicles may be used.


fourth-rate

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 50–60 guns across two gun decks, a complement of 320–420, and weighing approximately 1,000 tons burthen.


fourth-rate

fourth-rates (plural)
fourth rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A fourth-rate ship of the line.


fifth-rate

[A] great and ſtout Fleet before the Texel (and not as much as one of our Fourth or Fifth Rate-Frigats could follow them)[.]

1677, Andrew Yarranton, England's improvement by sea and land, London: R. Everingham, page 96:

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy warship in the Napoleonic Era: having 32–44 guns across one or two gun decks, a complement of 200–300, and weighing 700–1,450 tons burthen.


fifth-rate

fifth-rates (plural)
fifth rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A fifth-rate warship.


sixth-rate

The Navy classified warships by their number of cannons, and with twenty-eight, she was a sixth-rate–the lowest rank.

2023, David Grann, chapter 1, in The Wager, Doubleday:

(UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy warship in the Napoleonic Era: having 20–28 guns on one gun deck, a complement of 140–200, and weighing 340–550 tons burthen.


sixth-rate

sixth-rates (plural)
sixth rate (alternative)

(UK, military, nautical, historical) A sixth-rate warship.


CTT

capital transfer tax
capital transfer tax#English

(taxation, UK, historical) Initialism of capital transfer tax.


Magic Circle

(UK, law, informal) Collectively, the five most prestigious London-headquartered multinational law firms: Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Linklaters, and Slaughter and May.


arsehood

Thanksgiving week in the US, and list traffic slows to a dribble, but the range of topics is impressive: acrophobia, palsy, Feleki's instrument, business cards, Chomsky's politics, homonymity, the 1942 Cocoanut Grove disaster, the language of arsehood.

1992 November 30, BGRI...@ukcc.uky.edu, “Words-L Weekly Digest”, in bit.listserv.words-l (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-12:

I think I shall just have to reisng myself to arsehood.

2003 May 29, Lodestone, “[I] Pronounceable Passwords”, in alt.fan.pratchett (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-12:

No need to explain, old chap; the reason is readily apparent. You do it because you are an arse. It seems that your arsehood is widely recognised.

2003 December 9, Adam Kennedy, “Rotting flesh”, in alt.politics.british (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-12:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) The state or quality of being an arse.


ansafone

(British, New Zealand, colloquial) Alternative form of answerphone.


MoJ

Ministry of Justice
w:Ministry of Justice

(UK, government) Initialism of Ministry of Justice.


UKSC

UK Supreme Court
w:Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

(UK, law) Initialism of UK Supreme Court.


SCOTUK

Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
w:Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

(UK, law) Initialism of Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.


HoC

(UK, Canada) Initialism of House of Commons.


spunktrumpet

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

> So why did you buy a GS500, Twatty?
'cos he's a spunktrumpet :)

2009 July 12, Nige, “Changes”, in uk.rec.motorcycles (Usenet), retrieved 2022-06-14:

As many pointed out to him in replies, there is presently a relationship in place! Some of the insults:
...you are one confused bag of mince.
...you boil-in-the-bag rent-a-clown.
...YOU ARSE-CHEEKED BOLLOCK-WAGON
...you incompetent ventriloquist-dummy-faced spunktrumpet
...you reprehensible spam faced tool bag!
...you back stabbing cockwomble!
...You're an absolute wankcrumpet
...you haunted pork mannequin.
...you plonker.
...mate you're a pie
...You gigantic plumb
...Every now and then there is a mix up during circumcisions and they keep the wrong f---ing bit!

2016 July 5, Mack A. Damia, “Brexit Fallout”, in alt.usage.english (Usenet), retrieved 2022-07-16:

>Douchebag!
Spunktrumpet!
This is fun. How's the duck pond?

2019 August 19, GovShill, “[It's Official!] The Right Wing Experiment Has Failed America”, in aus.politics (Usenet), retrieved 2022-07-16:

On 4/6/2020 5:42 PM, Sygmund_F aka FUCKTARD, aka Lying Gerry Binder, aka Sigmund Froyd, aka Walt_M, aka Nurse Ratched, aka waltmitty, aka N=N+1, aka The Joker, aka Foghorn, aka Hurty McButt-Hurt, aka La Cockroach, aka Putin's Bitch, aka Chicken Little, aka Nutsack Ratfuck aka Suckman_Fucktard a communist lying blowhard troll, welfare fraudster fucknut, terrorist sympathizing, dole-bludging, anal retentive limpdick, race-baiting, Net Cop Spider, Wanker Spider, Humourless Git Spider, Control Freak Spider, racist anarchist, cry-bully, village idiot, ass-licking, sperm guzzling, cock snogging, scrotum sucking, bum banging, pig fucking, Fritz admiring, animal fondling, wank cloth, spunk trumpet, thunder cunt, waste-of-rations, spunk bubble horrenda-cunt, terrorist-supporting, spittle-flecked, mean-spirited, bigoted freak, social justice glitter-warrior, fucknugget card carrying member of the Aussie Nazi Party with a GOD complex whined:

2020 April 7, Gerrys Worst Nightmare, “OT - Tinker, Tailor, Mobster, Trump”, in alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (Usenet), retrieved 2022-07-16:

I wonder what names Henderson was called at school. He must have went^([sic]) to some real shithole to learn to behave the way he does. Unless of course he was educated at home, then it all makes sense, he will have gone through full idiot training and came through as a fully fledged spunktrumpet.

2020 May 6, max.it, “All bets are off”, in uk.sport.cricket (Usenet), retrieved 2022-07-16:

(slang, vulgar, UK, Ireland, humorous) An obnoxious or contemptible person.


BCAR

(aviation, UK) Abbreviation of British Civil Airworthiness Requirements.

British Council for Aid to Refugees
w:British Council for Aid to Refugees

(UK) Abbreviation of British Council for Aid to Refugees.


hagworm

Inherited from Middle English hagworme (“viper”), from Old Norse hǫggormr (“serpent”), from hǫgg (“stroke, blow”) + ormr (“worm, snake”). Cognate with Icelandic höggormur (“poisonous snake, serpent”), Swedish huggorm (“adder, viper”).

cog

(UK, dialectal) A common snake, such as an adder or a viper.


faglighter

faglighters (plural)
fag lighter (alternative)
fag-lighter (alternative)

I've seen the posh coolboxes that run on 12 volts from the faglighter;

2001 February 8, Andrew Marshall, “Valentine's Day”, in uk.food+drink.misc (Usenet):

(UK, colloquial) A car cigarette lighter.


air host

(UK, aviation) A male flight attendant; a steward.


fancy seeing you here

(UK, Canada) An informal greeting expressing that one did not expect to see that person at this location.

qué sorpresa verte / encontrarte aquí / acá


PQE

(UK, law) Initialism of post-qualified experience.


cat-lick

en-noun

cat-lick (countable and uncountable, plural cat-licks)