thwite

en-verb

thwite (third-person singular simple present thwites, present participle thwiting, simple past and past participle thwited)

thwites (present singular third-person)
thwiting (participle present)
thwited (participle past)
thwited (past)

From Middle English thwiten, from Old English þwītan (“to cut, cut off”), from Proto-Germanic *þwītaną (“to split”). See whittle, thwittle, and compare thwaite (“a piece of land”), doit (“small coin, small amount, bit”).

Other shot forth theyr Boltes, and wyth theyr Prouerbes proceedyng from their malicious Mouthes thwited the pore Women at their pleasure.

1580, William Painter, “Two Gentlewomen of Venice”, in Joseph Jacobs, editor, The Palace of Pleasure, volume 3, Tome II, London: David Nutt in the Strand, published 1890, page 145 of 56–57:

I knowe one of your crew who would not sweare for no good, and vsed ordinarilie to pray with his mé in his chamber, and yet beeing at a Knights house, where hee had good entertaynemét, they prayed so hartilie amongst them, that for conscience sake they faire thwited me of a valence of a bedde, and caried that & a piece of plate with them to the value of twentie nobles at the least.

1601, Certaine Questions by way of Conference betwixt a Chauncelor and a Kinswoman of his concerning Churching of Women, page 32:

Now then: this great storme, we see is past, and ouerblowne: and this terrible accusation, is much like to a Sampsons post, thwited to a pudding pricke, as the Prouerbe is. Well now: what more? We must not yet so go away. […]

1602, Roger Marbecke, A Defence of tabacco: with a friendly answer to the late printed booke called Worke for chimny-sweepers, &c., London: Richard Field for Thomas Man, page 1602:

The Iewes say, it was his Nic-name, or name of disgrace; that in scorne they called him so. For that, all his credit (forsooth) came, by casting a stone, and hitting Goliah, by chance, right in the fore-head: and so, they thwited him with that name. They gave it him, in scorne: but he bare it, in earnest.

1611 March 24, Lancelot Andrewes, “A Sermon Preached Before the Kings Maiestie at White-Hall on the XXIV. of March, A.D. MDCXI. being Easter Day, and being also the day of the Beginning of His Majestie's most Gracious Reigne”, in XCVI. Sermons, 2nd edition, Richard Badger, published 1732, page 442:

(obsolete, UK) To cut or clip with a knife; to whittle.


cagmag

en-noun

cagmag (countable and uncountable, plural cagmags)

when a man pays for the price of a good wholesome dinner, and finds that all the dishes are filled with cagmag, it is no particular satisfaction to him to know that he is not forced to touch a second morsel

1837, William Rae Wilson, Notes Abroad and Rhapsodies at Home:

(UK, dialect, by extension, uncountable) Coarse, bad food of any kind.


shram

en-verb

shram (third-person singular simple present shrams, present participle shramming, simple past and past participle shrammed)

shrams (present singular third-person)
shramming (participle present)
shrammed (participle past)
shrammed (past)

the shramming cold

(UK, dialect, dated) To cause to shrink or shrivel with cold; to numb.


rossel

After lining the parietes , or walls of the belly , it is reflected from them , giving covering to the different viscera , and their rossels.

1842, William MORTIMER, A Manual of Anatomy, with the elements of Physiology and Pathology, etc. Second edition, page 175:

(obsolete, UK, dialect) Light land; rosland.


foggage

en-noun

foggage (countable and uncountable, plural foggages)

(UK, archaic) Dead or decaying grass remaining on land through the winter.


eyre

From Middle English eire, from Old French erre (“journey, march, way”), from Latin iter, itineris (“a going, way”), from the root of ire (“to go”). Compare errant, itinerant, issue.

The fact that the Surrey veredicta are uncancelled, and indeed their very survival, can doubtless be explained by the suspension of the eyre in June 1294, when consideration of the crown pleas had barely begun;

1982, Public Record Office Handbooks, page 35:

None of the original veredicta survive for this eyre, but one of the best surviving examples, and the only one so far to be printed, comes from the Wiltshire eyre which began in the southern eyre circuit at Wilton on the same day as the 1281 Derbyshire eyre began at Derb, and which provides a valuable insight into the nature and contents of the lost Derbyshire veredicta.

2000, Aileen Hopkinson, editor, The Rolls of the 1281 Derbyshire Eyre, Derbyshire Record Society, →ISBN, page xvi:

(UK, law, historical) A journey taken by certain Medieval English itinerant judges (justices in eyre)


Jersey cream

(UK) A type of biscuit with two slices of shortbread joined with vanilla frosting.


titularise

en-verb

titularise (third-person singular simple present titularises, present participle titularising, simple past and past participle titularised)

titularises (present singular third-person)
titularising (participle present)
titularised (participle past)
titularised (past)

(British) Alternative spelling of titularize.


fairy lights

en-noun

fairy lights pl (normally plural, singular fairy light)

Through the trees ahead came odd strains from the dance band in the Casino, and now I could see many twinkling fairy lights and detect moving figures.

1930, Sax Rohmer, The Day the World Ended, published 1969, page i. 13:

I managed to put quite a lot of small baubles on the top of the tree that way and helped drape the long string of fairy lights around it, […]

2010, Trisha Ashley, Twelve Days of Christmas, HarperCollins, →ISBN:

A constant, slightly defocused, dinner party with relaxed glamorous friends, carrying on just outside the kitchen door, under the fairy lights.

2023 September 23, Tim Hayward, “Not so easy does it”, in FT Weekend, Life & Arts, page 19:

(UK, Ireland) Small electric lights on a strand which are used decoratively, especially on Christmas trees.


Ally Pally

(UK, informal) Alexandra Palace, located in Muswell Hill, Greater London.


raftering

raftering (countable and uncountable, plural rafterings)

It is nearly the same thing on stubble land as raftering is on grass land.

1849, John Marius Wilson, The Rural Cyclopedia:

It is open to doubt whether there is any great advantage, but as it is customary in the districts where raftering is practised to use a primitive scuffler called a Brewer's drag, which is made without any means of adjusting the separate tines, ...

1891, Walter James Malden, Tillage, page 47:

Raftering is another excellent process.

1908, Charles Edward Green, D. Young, Encyclopædia of Agriculture:

(UK) The practice by which land is raftered (turning the grass side of each furrow upon an unploughed ridge).


down-share

(UK) A breastplough used in paring off turf on downs.


holk

holks (plural)
howk (alternative Northern-England Scotland)
houk (alternative Northern-England Scotland)

From Middle English holk, from Old English holc, holoc (“hole, cavity”), from Proto-West Germanic *holuk, from Proto-Germanic *hulukaz (“a hollow”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover, hide”). Equivalent to hole + -ock (diminutive ending).
Cognate with Low German holke, hölke (“small hole”), German Holk (“a type of flat-bottomed barge”), Swedish holk (“nest, birdhouse”), dialectal Norwegian holk, hylke (“wooden barrel, cask”), Icelandic hólkur (“hollow cylinder or tube”). Related to hulk.


holk

en-verb

holk (third-person singular simple present holks, present participle holking, simple past and past participle holked)

holks (present singular third-person)
holking (participle present)
holked (participle past)
holked (past)
howk (alternative Northern-England Scotland)
houk (alternative Northern-England Scotland)

From Middle English holken, from Old English *holcian (attested in āholcian, āhlocian (“to dig out”), from Proto-West Germanic *holukōn, derived from the noun above. Cognate with Middle Low German holken, hȫlken (“to hollow out”), German Low German uthöhlken (“to hollow out”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To dig out; make hollow; hollow out.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To dig; dig into; pierce; penetrate; investigate; poke.

The Sessioune perceiving gryt perell through the burieing of people in the kirkyaird of thair perroche kirk and within the kirk itself by raising of grene graivis and holking under the kirk vall undermynding of the samyne ordanis fra this furth that na persone presume to mak graivis within the precinct thairof or yit to burie any persone within the boundis of the samine.

1908, Aberdeen University Studies, volume 35, University of Aberdeen, page 96:

(transitive, UK dialectal) To dig up; excavate.


elt

en-verb

elt (third-person singular simple present elts, present participle elting, simple past and past participle elted)

elts (present singular third-person)
elting (participle present)
elted (participle past)
elted (past)

From Middle English elten (“to mold, knead, work”), from Old Norse elta (“to chase, hunt, knead”), from Proto-Germanic *alatjaną (“to drive, force, move”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive, move, go”). Cognate with Danish ælte (“to knead”), Swedish älta (“to dwell upon, brood, stir, knead”), Norwegian elte (“to knead”), Norwegian elta (“to pursue, plod”), Icelandic elta (“to chase”).

cog

Du's eltin dat creature to death, boy!?

Sh. 1908 Jak. (1928), Dictionary of the Scot Language

(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To injure (anything) by rough handling; handle roughly.

Whin shü cam oot an fann me dere Wi peenie fairlins eltit.

Sh. 1891 J. Burgess Rasmie's Büddie 22, Dictionary of the Scot Language

Mi böts ir a' eltit wi' glaar.

Sh.11 1950, Dictionary of the Scot Language

He was elt(er)ed wi' gutters fae head to foot.

Cai.3 1950, Dictionary of the Scot Language

(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To begrime; soil with mud; daub; smear.

(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To work persistently or laboriously; be occupied in working (e.g. in the earth, rake among dirt, etc.).

(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To meddle; interfere.

(transitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To knead dough; stir dough previously kneaded to a proper consistency before baking.

(intransitive, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To become soft; become moist, as damp earth.


stith

en-adj

stith (comparative more stith, superlative most stith)

more stith (comparative)
most stith (superlative)

From Middle English stith (“steady, strong, cruel”), from Old English stīþ (“hard, cruel”), from Proto-West Germanic *stinþ, from Proto-Germanic *stinþaz. Compare also Old Frisian stīth, Middle Low German stīde, Middle Dutch stīde, Old Norse stinnr, Danish stind, Swedish stinn.

inh

(UK, dialect, obsolete) strong; stiff; rigid


optimisable

(British) Alternative spelling of optimizable.


witwall

witwalls (plural)
whitewall (alternative)
witwal (alternative)

Akin to German Wittewal, Wiedewall. Compare wittol.

great spotted woodpecker
great spotted woodpecker

(obsolete, UK, dialect) The great spotted woodpecker.


Marysole

(UK, archaic) A large British fluke, or flounder (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis)


SOCO

scenes of crime officer
w:scenes of crime officer

(UK, law enforcement) Acronym of scenes of crime officer.


wardcorn

And that the aforesaid Abbess and convent and their successors, and all tenants, residents, and non-residents, and other residents aforesaid, […] be quit through our entire realm of England of all pannage, lestage, […] and of treasure to be drawn away, and of wardpeny, wardcorne, averpeny, hundredpeny, […] and of all such custom

1842, George Oliver, Ecclesiastical Antiquities in Devon, page 100:

and from a rent called wardcorn one quarter, three bushels of barley worth fifteen shillings per year, at the value of five pence the bushel.

1989, George Feairheller Deiser, Year Books of Richard II - Volume 12, page 68:

The additional payment of grain as ‘wardcorn’ is a local peculiarity, and refers to some ancient military responsibilty^([sic]) upon the vill[agers].

2002, Mark Bailey, The English manor, c.1200-c.1500, page 226:

(UK, law, obsolete) A payment of corn to be offered in commutation of military service.


rily

en-adj

rily (comparative more rily, superlative most rily)

more rily (comparative)
most rily (superlative)

(dated, UK, dialect or US, colloquial) roily; turbulent


doucker

(UK, dialect) Any of a number of swimming birds that dive underwater:


mathmo

This year's Honesty Prize goes to the natural sciences supervisor, who replied to a question with, "Don't ask me, I'm not a mathmo."

1986, University of Cambridge. Archimedeans, Eureka: Issues 46-50:

I'm currently a third year mathmo at Cambridge […]

2003, Sally Clough, “Teacher Training - opinions please”, in alt.uk.a-levels (Usenet):

Historians mingled with mathmos, medics with geographers. It was beautiful.

2007, C. N. Barton, The Cambridge Diaries: A Tale of Friendship, Love And Economics, page 134:

(UK, slang, chiefly Cambridge University) A mathematician.


puffin crossing

en-noun

puffin crossing (plural puffin crossings)

Short for pedestrian user-friendly intelligent crossing.

(UK) A kind of pedestrian crossing with the lights controlling the pedestrians on the near side of the road, rather than on the opposite side, and with sensors to detect the presence of pedestrians.


nutty slack

Mr. Nabarro asked the Minister of Fuel and Power the calorific value of nutty slack currently being marketed to domestic consumers, ration-free, by the National Coal Board, compared with normal house coals; what quantity of nutty slack is to be available, in total, during the present coal-winter; the market response to date; how much nutty slack it is estimated will be sold this winter; and whether nutty slack is to be a permanent, ration-free feature of our domestic fuel economy.

1953 February 2, Gerald Nabarro, Member of Parliament for Kidderminster, “Nutty Slack”, in Parliamentary Debates (Hansard): House of Commons Official Report (House of Commons of the United Kingdom), volume 510, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, →ISSN, →OCLC, columns 1460–1461:

(British, historical) A cheap fuel consisting of slack (“coal dust”) and nuts (“small lumps of coal”); unlike other solid fuels it was not rationed during the period after World War II.


disgavel

en-verb

disgavel (third-person singular simple present disgavels, present participle disgavelling, simple past and past participle disgavelled)

disgavels (present singular third-person)
disgavelling (participle present)
disgavelled (participle past)
disgavelled (past)

(UK, law, transitive) To deprive of that principal quality of gavelkind tenure by which lands descend equally among all the sons of the tenant


thrave

thrave (third-person singular simple present thraves, present participle thraving, simple past and past participle thraved)

thraves (present singular third-person)
thraving (participle present)
thraved (participle past)
thraved (past)

From Middle English thraven, from Old English þrafian (“to press; urge; compel; rebuke; argue; contend”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrabōn, from Proto-Germanic *þrabōną (“to press; drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *trep- (“to scamper; trample; quake; tread”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian troawje, droawje (“to trot”), West Frisian drave (“to trot”), Dutch draven (“to lope; trot”), German traben (“to trot”), Swedish trava (“to trot”), Icelandic þrefa (“to wrangle; dispute”).

der

(transitive, UK, dialectal) To urge; compel; importune.


thrave

thraves (plural)
threave (alternative)
threve (alternative)

From Middle English thrave, threve, thrafe, from Old Norse þrefi (“a bunch or handful of sheaves”), related to Old Norse þrifa (“to grasp”). Cognate with Swedish trave, Danish trave.

A daimen icker in a thrave / 'S a sma' request;

(UK, dialect, obsolete) Twenty-four (or in some places, twelve) sheaves of wheat; a shock, or stook.

c. 16th century, Lansdowne manuscript
The worst of a thrave.

He sends forth thraves of ballads to the sale.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) Two dozen, or similar indefinite number; a bunch; a throng.


gloar

en-verb

gloar (third-person singular simple present gloars, present participle gloaring, simple past and past participle gloared)

gloars (present singular third-person)
gloaring (participle present)
gloared (participle past)
gloared (past)

OD. gloeren, glueren, gluyeren. Compare glower.

(obsolete, UK, intransitive) To glare or stare.


hog's pudding

en-noun

hog's pudding (countable and uncountable, plural hogs' puddings)

(UK, Cornwall, Devon) A kind of spicy sausage containing suet, bread, oatmeal, or barley.


hantle

hantles (plural)
hantel (alternative)
hauntle (alternative)
hontle (alternative)
hancle (alternative)
hankle (alternative)
hantill (alternative)

Of obscure origin. Perhaps from Middle English *antel, *antæl, from Old English *antæl, *andtæl, equivalent to and- + tale (“number”); or more likely of North Germanic origin, related to Swedish antal, Danish antal (“a number, multitude”), Dutch aantal (“a number, a great many”), and German Anzahl (“a number, quantity, multitude”). The addition of initial h is believed to be due to influence from Middle English handfull (“handful”).

cog

An Irish creature, Erbert Ellison was the name, ran the place for the trustees, he said, but if you might believe all the stories you heard he ran a hantle more silver into his own pouch than he ran into theirs.

1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 15:

(Scotland, northern UK) A considerable number or quantity; a great many; a great deal.


Liverpool kiss

en-noun

Liverpool kiss (plural Liverpool kisses)

Liverpool kisses (plural)
Liverpool Kiss (alternative)

From Liverpool (“city in England”) + kiss.

1957, Gerald Kersh, Fowler′s End, 2006, The Olympia Press, page 42,
“This Irisher give ′im a Liverpool Kiss. You know what it is, a Liverpool Kiss? Make a quick grab for the lapels o′ the coat, an′ pull somebody forward. At the same time bunt ′im in the face miv the top o′ your ′ead an′ kick ′im in the balls miv your knee. Naturally ′e falls forward. While ′e′s falling, punch ′im in the jaw miv all your might so he gradually falls dahn senseless. Then, at your leisure, kick ′im in the ′ead. Naturally I don′t want you should do such things.... […] ″

1992, Bryce Courtenay, Tandia, Volume 1, 2010, ReadHowYouWant, page 157,
There wasn′t room to throw a punch so, grabbing the man by the lapels of his coat, he gave him a Liverpool kiss, his forehead smashing into his assailant′s face connecting with the edge of his brow and the base of his nose.

Hamblyn flew into a rage and butted Alec in the face. The old Liverpool kiss!

1998, Jock Barnes, Never a White Flag: The Memoirs of Jock Barnes, page 146:

He often told people about the woman who had given him a Liverpool kiss.
‘What′s a Liverpool kiss?’ asked one unsuspecting drinking companion.
‘This,’ said Beer, butting him.

2001, Vaughan Tucker, Grubby the Eighth Dwarf, page 24:

Who would have thought you′d be reading about the classic Liverpool kiss in a game of squash. Poor old Anthony Hill never expected to read about it let alone be the victim of one.
Pakistani squash player Mir Zaman Gul knocked Hill unconscious with his cowardly headbutt in a squash tournament.

2006, Stephen Hagan, Australia′s Blackest Sporting Moments: The Top 100, page 354:

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, slang) A headbutt.


whiting-mop

...his silence must be, that though he beare and understand himselfe wronged, yet he must be as dumbe as a Gudgeon or a Whiting mop: and though his mouth be shut...

1869 [1620], John Taylor, Works of John Taylor the Water-Poet, The Spenser Society, "Taylors Travels to Prague in Bohemia", page 99:

Chartley. Fear not, girl. Though I revel abroad o' days, I'll be with thee to bring o' nights, my little whiting mop.

1996 [1638], Thomas Heywood, edited by Paul Merchant, Three Marriage Plays, Manchester University Press, The Wise Woman of Hogsdon, act I, scene II, page 48:

Bustopha. [Reading.] The thund'ring seas whose wat'ry fire
Washes the whiting-mops,
The gentle whale, whose feet so fell
Flies o'er the mountains' tops—

1813 [1647], John Fletcher, The Works of Beaumont and Fletcher, volume Thirteen, Edinburgh: John Ballantyne and Co., Doig and Stirling, w:The Maid in the Mill, act II, scene I, page 199:

Mistress Birdlime. I see bashful lovers, and young bullocks, are knocked down at a blow. Come, come, drink this draught of cinnamon-water, and pluck up your spirits; up with 'em, up with 'em. Do you hear? the whiting mop has nibbled.

1830 [1604], Thomas Dekker, John Webster, The Works of John Webster, volume III, London: William Pickering, Westward Ho, act II, scene II, page 37:

Camillo. If 'twere a fish-day, though you like it not, I could say I have a stomach, and would content myself With this pretty whiting-mop.

1813 [1633], Philip Massinger, edited by W. Gifford, The Plays, 2nd edition, volume IV, London: G. & W. Nicol et al., The Guardian, act IV, scene II, page 207:

The mightiest Whales are but his Play-fellows: Sharks are bis best Familiars, but (the more His grief) his pretty Whiting Mop's on shore...

1641, Thomas Jordan, Pictures of Passions, Fancies, & Affectations, Poetically Deciphered in variety of Characters., London: Robert Wood, A Sea-man.:

(UK, obsolete) A pretty girl; a young or innocent woman.


at a loose end

Once the schools break up for the holidays, children across the country are at a loose end and instances of kids doing stupid things on the railway become far too common.

2021 August 25, Stefanie Foster, “Comment: A dumb way to die”, in RAIL, number 938, page 3:


off-the-peg

Modern mothers seem not to have time to make dollies' wardrobes from scraps of this and that. As most of their own clothes are bought off the peg, not many scraps are available, and indeed many of them cannot sew.

1971, Gwen White, Antique Toys And Their Background, page 211:

(of clothing, UK, Ireland) ready-made in a range of standard sizes (not tailor-made)


peart

en-adj

peart (comparative pearter, superlative peartest)

pearter (comparative)
peartest (superlative)

1586, William Warner, Albion's England, Booke VI, Chapter XXXI, 1810, The Works of the English Poets, from Chaucer to Cowper, Volume IV, page 579,
There was a tricksie girle, I wot, // Albeit clad in gray, / As peart as bird, as straite as boult, // As fresh as flower in May.

I smiled; and she went on to say I looked a little more peart; maybe I would not be such a slow coach after all.

1856, Alice Carey, Married, not Mated; Or, How they lived at Woodside and Throckmorton Hall, page 109:

"[…]No young man could 'a' ben more peart and alive than that, Dotty."

1893, Lynde Palmer, A Question of Honour, page 88:

"Yore pa don't hold to card playin' but you needs to have quiet and rest. I'm pleased to see Annie's up to playin'. Baby looks a little more peart this mornin' too."

1979, Marguerite Noble, Filaree: A Novel of an American Life, published 1985, page 109:


gliddery

gliddery (comparative more gliddery, superlative most gliddery)

more gliddery (comparative)
most gliddery (superlative)

Shingle, slates, and gliddery stones.

1864, Richard Doddridge Blackmore, Clara Vaughan:

[…]at last we bump alongside the little quay, and climb out on the wet, gliddery stones.

1908, Henry van Dyke Jr., Out-of-Doors in The Holy Land:


croggy

"I could give you a croggy on me bike, Tam. I know a real quick route between Goldwell and Whitehorse."

2004, Helen Cross, My Summer of Love, page 142:

I was always with me dad. He'd give us a croggy down there.

2005, Richard Bean, Harvest, Royal Court Theatre, page 126:

And we went to a school where some girls would shag you for a bag of chips and a croggy home.

(UK, chiefly Northumbria, East Midlands) A ride on the handlebars or crossbar of a bicycle.


Dixonian

From Dixon + -ian. From the BBC drama series Dixon of Dock Green.

This was as true in 1974 when Regan first appeared as it is to police dramas in the twenty-first century. Notwithstanding his abrasive, recusant stance, Regan still stood for many of the core Dixonian values championed twenty years earlier.

2003, Frank Leishman, Paul Mason, Policing and the Media: Facts, Fictions and Factions, page 75:

However, 'nuisance or anti-social behaviour' is a source of grave unhappiness to millions. It is also the very thing that the old Dixonian police force was very good at controlling, discouraging and preventing.

2003, Peter Hitchens, A Brief History of Crime, page 99:

We have presented a model of policing to the public, a Dixonian model, which is oversimplified. It is about bobbies on the beat and their front police station counter.

2008 November 17, Ken Jones, Evidence to the Communities and Local Government Committee, page 61:

(UK) Pertaining to a traditional form of local policing, focused on officers walking the beat.


(UK, Ireland, taxation) The end-of-year tax certificate given to each employee by their employer.


Robertsman

Robertsmen (plural)
Roberdsman (alternative)

From Robert + -s- + -man, perhaps from Robin Hood.

(UK, obsolete) A bold robber, or night thief.


squab chick

(UK, dialect) A young chicken before it is fully fledged.


Shagaluf

Blend of shag + Magaluf. So called because it is a popular holiday destination for British tourists looking for casual sex.

"When you go into Shagaluf on Wednesday," explain the jolly 18-30 reps, "you'll see a big red erection. No, it's not Steve with his trousers down. It's BCM's."

1995 August 20, Anna Blundy, “Lust and vomit”, in Scotland on Sunday, page 16:

Perhaps Sky will bring slappers Sarah and Louise back for a Spanish tour series, called Are You Being Serviced? They could be man-on in Mahon, shameless in Shagaluf – sorry Magaluf.

1997 August 27, Garry Bushell, “Bushell on the Box: Why does big big talent get very little chance?”, in The Sun, page 11:

(UK, vulgar slang) The Majorcan resort town of Magaluf.


shab

en-noun

shab (countable and uncountable, plural shabs)

From Middle English shabbe, schabbe, from Old English sċeabb, from Proto-West Germanic *skabb, from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz. Doublet of scab.


shab

en-verb

shab (third-person singular simple present shabs, present participle shabbing, simple past and past participle shabbed)

shabs (present singular third-person)
shabbing (participle present)
shabbed (participle past)
shabbed (past)

(obsolete, UK, dialect) To play mean tricks; to act shabbily.


penk

Now for the Minnow, or Penk: he is not easily found and caught till March, or in April, for then he appears first in the river,[…].

1676, Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton, “The Compleat Angler”, in James Rennie, editor, The Complete Angler; Or, Contemplative Man's Recreation, published 1833, page 98:


staith

staiths (plural)
stathe (alternative)
staithe (alternative)

From Old Norse stǫð, from Proto-Germanic *staþwō.

The high banks of the rivers of North East England have led to the shipment of coal from staiths by the simple process of shooting it down gravity spouts from bottom-door wagons.

1945 January and February, T. F. Cameron, “Dock Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 10:

The coal staiths of the North-East coast—for example at Blyth (Northumberland) and at Dunston-on-Tyne—are impressive installations. The staiths are in fact jetties or piers built up to a high level above the rivers. Loaded wagons are propelled on to them and the contents are then quickly discharged through chutes down to the waiting colliers below.

1959 May, R. A. Savill, “The coal traffic of the North Eastern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 273:

[…] gravity had earlier been harnessed to provide part of the pull for trains of coal wagons heading for staiths for loading on schooners […]

1995, James E. Vance, The North American Railroad: Its Origin, Evolution, and Geography, Johns Hopkins University Press:

(UK, dialect) A landing place; an elevated staging upon a wharf for discharging coal, etc., as from railway cars into vessels.


post-captain

post-captains (plural)
post captain (alternative)
postcaptain (alternative)

From both the action of taking or making post (“occupying an established military position”) and the practice of posting (“publicly announcing”) the names of such officers in the London Gazette.

The general principle which governs the navies of the old world is... when the Post is attained, then promotion is by inheritance... If a Post Captain in the English navy lives long enough, he is certain of being an Admiral, though not before he is sixty years of age... Hence it is manifest that the public interest no more requires the new grade of Admiral to be added to the navy, than it does the bestowing of orders of nobility on all the diplomatic agents, who represent the United States at the different courts of Europe.

1836 March 17, 'Candor', "The Navy", Army and Navy Chronicle, Vol. II, No. 11, p. 173

(UK military, informal, obsolete) A captain of the 18th or 19th-century Royal Navy in command of a vessel, with his subsequent promotions almost always determined by seniority rather than merit or ability.


seedcod

From seed + cod. See cod (“bag, pouch”).

(UK, obsolete) a basket or bag for carrying seeds.


mithridatise

mithridatise (third-person singular simple present mithridatises, present participle mithridatising, simple past and past participle mithridatised)

mithridatises (present singular third-person)
mithridatising (participle present)
mithridatised (participle past)
mithridatised (past)

From Mithridates + -ise, in reference to Mithridates VI of Pontus.

(UK) Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of mithridatize.


ploughbote

plowbote (alternative)
plough-bote (alternative)

(UK, law, historical) Wood or timber allowed to a tenant for the repair of instruments of husbandry.


private member's bill

en-noun

private member's bill (plural private member's bills)

(law, British, Canada, Australia) A proposed law introduced by a member of a legislature who is not acting on behalf of the executive government.

私人條例草案 /私人条例草案

proposed law introduced by a member who is not acting on behalf of the executive


member's bill

private member's bill
private member's bill


scringe

Any teenager who, like myself, has ever got the gooseflesh at the flush and scringe of Hopkins's assonances and alliterations proves this upon his or her pulses .

[…] to the scringe of bedsprings as the old landlady shook herself awake and reached for her false teeth,

1994, Briege Duffaud, Nothing Like Beirut, page 41:

But Bill would have none of this: it grated upon his sensibility, like the scringe of chalk upon a slate in the schoolroom, or like our collie dog at home in Garvaghey, who, when Aunt Freda played the piano, would raise his noble nose and howl derisively.

2014, John Montague, The Pear is Ripe: A Memoir:

(dialect, UK and US) The act or sound of scratching or scraping.

Well, on that June day I embraced her with a slight scringe, and, seating her in my armchair, threw myself down upon the floor, out of reach of her arms, with my hands clasped around my knees.

1859 March, “My "Intimate Enemy"”, in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, volume 18, number 106, page 511:

Take courage, brother: you are making better progress than we are, for I cannot even get a scringe.

1882, Richard Brodhead Westbrook, The Bible, Whence and what?, page 228:

A scringe of pain brought the German back to the present .


scringe

en-verb

scringe (third-person singular simple present scringes, present participle scringing, simple past and past participle scringed)

scringes (present singular third-person)
scringing (participle present)
scringed (participle past)
scringed (past)

It made me scringe to hear her, Sir, " said she, adding, with a change of tone, " but I must scringe for myself yet; for , oh dear! how can I talk about other people's sins, and I such a sinner!

1854 December, “Real Scenes of Gipsy Life”, in The Two-penny post:

Yes, if you put your hand on him he might scringe around a little .

1907, Supreme Court Appellate Division, page 94:

It allus made him scringe to have me speak of the Banty woman in the tone I used when I wanted to make him scringe, and I had a notion that flauntin ' his full name wouldn't soothe him much;

1914, Robert Alexander Wason, Happy Hawkins in the Panhandle, page 369:

But scringe from him, an' as Shakespeare says, clad in a little brief authority, that houn' dawg'll bite you when you ain't a-watchin' out.

1926, Rose Wilder Lane, Hill-Billy, page 15:

(dialect, UK and US, intransitive) To cringe or shrink.

When a boy sharpens his slate-pencil with a knife, he says it makes his teeth 'scringe'.

1893, English Dialect Society, Publications - Volume 36, page 40:

Knee joints were beginning to scringe.

2010, Bernard MacLaverty, Matters of Life & Death, page 56:

All her life Gert Kavanaugh had had to scringe and scrape to make ends meet while Marta May — a spoiled brat if Gert had ever seen one — had been the darling of the countryside.

(dialect, UK and US, intransitive) To scrape.


gamgee

From Gamgee Tissue, a surgical dressing containing cotton wool, invented by Dr. Joseph Sampson Gamgee in Birmingham, England, in 1880.


slam-door

At the time of the termination of the franchise, CSE was also part-way through a programme of introducing new trains to replace 622 of its oldest trains including its 558 slam-door vehicles.

2005, Great Britain, The South Eastern Passenger Rail Franchise, National Audit Office:

And as for slam-door trains, you can bet there will be some teenagers growing up soon who just stand there with the door closed and have no idea why the train has moved off without letting them out...

2009, Benedict le Vay, Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide, page 258:

First Great Western trains are often characterized by this curious air of panic. It's a combination of the company's attempts to repair its dreadful reputation for punctuality, and the 1970s slam-door carriages.

2010, Matthew Engel, Eleven Minutes Late: A Train Journey to the Soul of Britain:

For long-suffering suburban passengers, 1970 represented a milestone as the beginning of the demise of the slam-door multiple unit.

2020 April 8, Howard Johnston, “East-ended? When the ECML was at risk”, in Rail, page 68:

(UK, rail transport) Applied to an older kind of passenger train with heavy doors, opened from the inside by reaching out of the window to the handle on the outside.


pikelin

(UK, dialect) A light, thin cake or muffin; a pikelet.


indictable offence

en-noun

indictable offence (plural indictable offences)

(law, British, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong) An offence which can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is a prima facie case to answer or by a grand jury, in contrast to a summary offence.


if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys

/ɪf ˌjuː peɪ ˈpiːnʌts ˌjuː ɡɛt ˈmʌŋkiːz/

En-us-if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.oga

A reference to peanuts (“especially of a salary: a very small or insufficient amount”) (originally US slang dating to the mid 20th century) and monkey (“a person of minimal intelligence, idiot”), with a humorous allusion to the fact that monkeys are fond of nuts.

good work ain't cheap, cheap work ain't good

(British, informal) Offering a low payment or salary will not attract skilled workers or employees.

offering a low payment or salary will not attract skilled workers or employees

viiden markan suutari tekee kuuden markan vahingon

αν βάζεις τον κώλο σου να σου κάνει δουλειά, σκατά δουλειά θα κάνει (an vázeis ton kólo sou na sou kánei douleiá, skatá douleiá tha kánei, literally “if you put your ass to work for you, it will do shitty work”)

ton kólo vázeis mágeira, skatá tha mageirépsei

τον κώλο βάζεις μάγειρα, σκατά θα μαγειρέψει


a fuck sight

Withnail: I tell you I've a fuck sight more talent than half the rubbish that gets on television.

(UK, Ireland, colloquial, vulgar, uncountable) A large amount; a lot.


a fuck sight

(UK, Ireland, colloquial, vulgar) A lot; a great deal.


Camberwell carrot

Camberwell carrot (plural Camberwell carrots)

Coined in the film Withnail and I (1987), in reference to the shape of a carrot and the district of Camberwell in south London, England.

He then patted the Steinway piano as he passed it and then put her Ladyship to bed. He then rolled himself a one-foot long Camberwell carrot, grabbed a bottle of Krug, and spent the evening at leisure[…]

2005, Neil Gentleman-Hobbs, Lord Golden-Showers "Entrepreneur?", page 182:

“I could go for a Camberwell carrot right now,” Andy slurred from his armchair.

2010, Darren Smith, Burning Indigo, page 264:


YP

YP (countable and uncountable, plural YPs)

First it was an adult mixed prison, then a female borstal. Now it's a long-term secure jail for YPs, mostly lifers.

2011, Charles Bronson, Loonyology: The Autobiography of Britain's Most Notorious Prisoner:

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.


pram face

pram faces (plural)
pram-face (alternative)
pramface (alternative)

From pram + face, coined by the gossip website Popbitch.

The average pram face dreams of selling their sordid story to the tabloids. From the early age of 5 when most little children dream of being a princess or an astronaut - your geordie chav Michelle is already daydreaming of getting her tits out in the news of the world for more money thatn she could earn in 20 lifetimes with her meagre talent alone.

2004 July 31, steeler, “Re: BB5 - Michelle interview”, in uk.media.tv.misc (Usenet):

Simian hoodies and their pram face bints, they seem to be everywhere now.

2006 October 18, Evil Noodle, “Re:Is there a psychic way to kill a person that lives beyond visual range? :)”, in uk.rec.psychic (Usenet):

What we've seen in the past 10 years, with the chavs and the pram faces and the Popbitch sneering (Oh hilarious! Poor person matches bag with baby!) and Little Britain and Catherine Tate and their sidesplitting yeah-but-no-but poor people, is a complete reversal of this convention, in favour of the frankly less sophisticated: "See that person who's already down? Let's go and kick him."

2007 August 1, Zoe Williams, “Welcome back, Sloane Rangers. We need you”, in The Guardian:

As I fuss with pouring myself tea, I surreptitiously watch Meredith, safely ensconced on my sofa, her long, white locks severely pinned back into a pram-face bun, her brown eyes soft and unchallenging, her mouth a thin, pink line that parts frequently to receive tea and pieces of biscuit.

2008, Dorothy Koomson, Goodnight, Beautiful:

(UK, slang, offensive) A poor teenage mother, or someone perceived as looking like one.


shit all

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, slang, vulgar) nothing at all or very little.


frighten the piss out of

en-verb

frighten the piss out of (third-person singular simple present frightens the piss out of, present participle frightening the piss out of, simple past and past participle frightened the piss out of)

frightens the piss out of (present singular third-person)
frightening the piss out of (participle present)
frightened the piss out of (participle past)
frightened the piss out of (past)

(UK, slang, vulgar) To frighten thoroughly; to terrify.


give someone a bell

give someone a bell (third-person singular simple present gives someone a bell, present participle giving someone a bell, simple past gave someone a bell, past participle given someone a bell)

gives someone a bell (present singular third-person)
giving someone a bell (participle present)
gave someone a bell (past)
given someone a bell (participle past)

From the use of a bell in older phones to produce a ringing sound. Compare Dutch bellen (“to telephone”).


get to fuck

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) Go away!; Fuck off!

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, slang) Expression of disagreement and/or disbelief.


socome

the Tenants by their Cuſtome, muſt grinde their Corne at no mill , but at the Lords Mill, belonging to the Mannor, and this is commonly called Socome

1588, Valentine Leigh, The moste profitable and commendable science of surveying:

(UK, law, obsolete) A custom of tenants to grind corn at the lord's mill.


plate-glass university

en-noun

plate-glass university (plural plate-glass universities)

plate-glass universities (plural)
plate glass university (alternative)

Modelled on red brick university, from the use of plate glass in modern architecture. Coined by British barrister Michael Beloff in 1970.

coin

The new “red-bricks” of Hull, Exeter and Leicester were followed in the 60s by mass expansion as the “plate-glass universities”, such as Warwick, York and Sussex, came into being.

2014 October 12, Julian Coman, “Have England's universities been privatised by stealth?”, in The Observer, →ISSN:

Keele is historically important as the first ‘Plate Glass University’, but also for the vague carelessness of its planning and architecture, which made it a cautionary example, leading to the much more coherent masterplanning and landscaping at the Universities of Sussex (p. 238), Essex (p. 190), York (p. 394), East Anglia (p. 198) and Stirling (p. 508).

2022, Owen Hatherley, Modern Buildings in Britain: A Gazetteer, Penguin UK, →ISBN:

(UK) Any of several universities founded in the United Kingdom in the 1960s in the era of the Robbins Report on higher education.


likam

likams (plural)
leccam (alternative)
lekame (alternative)
lecam (alternative)
likame (alternative)
licame (alternative)
lichame (alternative)

From Middle English likam, licam, licame, lichame, from Old English līchama (“body”), from Proto-West Germanic *līkahamō, from Proto-Germanic *līkahamô, equivalent to like (“body”) + hame (“covering, case”).
In Old English, līchama was the general term for "body," while līċ had come to mean a dead body specifically. Cognate with Scots lekame (“body”), West Frisian lichem (“body”), Dutch lichaam (“body”), German Leichnam (“body, corpse”), Danish legeme (“body”), Swedish lekamen (“body”), Icelandic líkami (“body”).

(obsolete or UK dialectal) The human body.


get one's arse in gear

en-verb

get one's arse in gear (third-person singular simple present gets one's arse in gear, present participle getting one's arse in gear, simple past and past participle got one's arse in gear)

gets one's arse in gear (present singular third-person)
getting one's arse in gear (participle present)
got one's arse in gear (participle past)
got one's arse in gear (past)

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, slang) To start performing a task effectively or start behaving better in general; to shape up.


sart

From Middle English sart, from Old French sart, from Medieval Latin sarrītum (“to hoe”).

And the syte of an olde mylne with a littel sart that lyes betwixt the mylne and the Ellers with other land in Arthington and all the water within his fee for helping and sustayneing of the said nownree

1859, John Jones, quoting Monasticon Anglicanum, volume 1, c. 1450, The History and Antiquities of Harewood, in the County of York, page 223:

(UK, obsolete) An assart, or clearing; land cleared for agriculture.


huey

(UK, slang, obsolete, tramps' slang) A town or village.


skellum

From Danish skælm, from Middle Low German; cognate to German Schelm.

Dr. Creeton, [Robert Creighton] the Scotchman, […] ripped up Hugh Peters (calling him the execrable skellum), his preaching and stirring up the maids of the city to bring in their bodkins and thimbles.

O Tam! had'st thou but been sae wise,
As taen thy ain wife Kate's advice!
She tauld thee weel thou was a skellum,
A blethering, blustering, drunken blellum;
That frae November till October,
Ae market-day thou was na sober.

1791, Robert Burns, Tam O' Shanter, lines 17–22:


sponge bag

sponge bags (plural)
sponge-bag (alternative)
spongebag (alternative)

(UK, Australia) A bag for carrying toiletries, as when travelling.

In every hotel in Ireland sits a military man with […] a loud commanding voice, & spongebag coat & red slippers.

Below her a small boat puttered quietly at the landing stage, and the chef appeared, in his sponge bag trousers and his white jacket, to tale the day's delivery of fresh perch.

1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 36:

(chiefly UK) Designating clothing (especially trousers) with a fine, faint black-and-white check pattern.


stee

From Middle English stee, ste, sty, stie, sti, stegh, stiȝe (“ladder”), from Old Norse stegi, stigi (“ladder, step, steep ascent”), from Proto-Germanic *stigiz (“an ascent, climb”). Cognate with Old English stiġe (“ascent or descent”), German Stiege (“staircase”). See stair, sty, stile.


tweague

This puts the young Gentlewoman into ſuch a Tweague, that ſhe can do nothing all Day, nor ſleep at Night, for dreaming of the conjuring Man: And in the Morning, leaves for Devotion, to conſult Taurus and Gemini: and finds her Sweet-heart ſo accurately deſcribed, as if he had conſulted with the Devil, or her Maid, inſtead of the Twins.

1710, Ned Ward, The Whole Pleasures of Matrimony, London: Tho. Norris, page 18:

I fancy this put the Old Fellow in a rare Tweag.

1712, John Arbuthnot, John Bull Still in His Senses, London: John Morphew, page 25:

You're in a devilish Tweague, for fear of losing your Gallant, are ye?

1715, Charles Molloy, The Perplex'd Couple: Or, Mistake Upon Mistake., London: W. Meares; J. Brown, page 61:

I wish, sir, you had now and then something to do with my under-strappers, to see what a tweague and a taking you would be in, when you wanted to come at a fact, at the roundabout way the b——'s will take to give it to you,—just as I am doing now, you will say.

1844, John Heneage Jesse, George Selwyn and His Contemporaries, volume 4, London: Richard Bentley, page 12:

(obsolete, UK dialectal) Doubt, perplexity; a troubled or distressed condition.


EIS

Enterprise Investment Scheme
w:Enterprise Investment Scheme

(finance, UK) Initialism of Enterprise Investment Scheme.


old banger

Mark: What? This old banger?
Sophie: Right, yeah. But it's not an old banger, is it Mark? It's a brand new Beamer.


beleap

en-verb

beleap (third-person singular simple present beleaps, present participle beleaping, simple past and past participle beleapt or beleaped)

beleaps (present singular third-person)
beleaping (participle present)
beleapt (participle past)
beleapt (past)
beleaped (participle past)
beleaped (past)
beleip (alternative)
byleip (alternative)

(ambitransitive, UK dialectal) To leap upon; cover.


high cross

(Ireland, UK) a large free-standing Celtic cross made of stone and often richly decorated.


natural wastage

Of the total labour force now threatened with redundancy, of course, a proportion will be covered by natural wastage, so that the number eventually thrown out of railway work will be well below 19,000.

1962 October, “Talking of Trains: B.R. works staff cut by a third”, in Modern Railways, page 221:

From just over 476,500 employees in 1962, by 1973 the total was just over 250,000. Much of this was achieved via 'natural wastage' - controlling recruitment closely and not replacing staff as they retired.

2023 March 22, Mike Esbester, “Staff, the public and industry will suffer”, in RAIL, number 979, page 39:

(British, business) Decrease of workforce caused by non-replacement of retiring or voluntarily resigning employees and not by deliberate layoffs.


red sauce

en-noun

red sauce (countable and uncountable, plural red sauces)

(Ireland, British dialectal) Tomato ketchup.


chuck a sickie

en-verb

chuck a sickie (third-person singular simple present chucks a sickie, present participle chucking a sickie, simple past and past participle chucked a sickie)

chucks a sickie (present singular third-person)
chucking a sickie (participle present)
chucked a sickie (participle past)
chucked a sickie (past)

A more slangy variant of throw a sickie.

2010, Veechi Curtis, Lynley Averis, Bookkeeping For Dummies, Australian & New Zealand Edition, page 180,
For example, if an employee chucks a sickie, you need to check that they have enough sick leave available.

2010, Eve Brenac-Mooney, Kaleidoscope, Ebrem, Australia, 2012 EPUB edition, unnumbered page,
I wished I could chuck a sickie, but it was only my second day at Forest Glen, so that was out of the question.

“Fuck it,” I say flippantly. “I′ll chuck a sickie.”
A mischievous grin works its way into her features. “Sounds brilliant,” she muses. “I′ve been trying to convince you to use up some of your sick leave for ages now. What an odd change of heart. Are you sure you are feeling normal?”

(slang, UK, Australia, New Zealand) To take a day off from work feigning ill health.

whakangehengehe

to feign illness so to take time off work


measter

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(obsolete, UK) Pronunciation spelling of master.


foind

foind (third-person singular simple present foinds, present participle foinding, simple past and past participle found)

foinds (present singular third-person)
foinding (participle present)
found (participle past)
found (past)

(obsolete, UK) Pronunciation spelling of find.


rolly

From roll + -y. Compare older roly-poly.

His rolly had gone out and he stuck his head down to light the doff off the gas and burnt his left eyebrow as the cooker had one of those rare spats,

2005, Daithidh MacEochaidh, Travels with Chinaski, page 13:

He came and sat down and took a rolly from Julian.[…] ‘That way madness lies,’ said my father, flicking the end of the rolly into an empty mug.

2014, Abbie Ross, Hippie Dinners, page 232:

(slang, chiefly UK) Alternative form of rollie (“cigarette rolled by hand”).


snead

w:Webster's Dictionary#Webster's New International Dictionary 1909


theave

theaves (plural)
thaive (alternative)
thave (alternative)

Inherited from Middle English theve (“young ewe”), from Old English *þeofu, from Proto-West Germanic *þebu.

inh+

The ewes by them-selfe, the share-hogges and theyues by them selfe

1523, Anthony Fitzherbert, Boke of Husbandry:

Comprising eleven calved and in-calf cows and heifers, three barren cows, […] fifteen in-lamb ewes and theaves, […] yearling draught colt and filly, pony, yearling fummel, mare ass in-foal to a pony, two waggons, […]

1843 March 3, “To Be Sold by Auction, By B. Cheatle & Son”, in Leicester Journal, and Midland Counties General Advertiser, volume 92, number 4895, Leicester: James Jackson, page 2:

A dorring drush in the caddled yew. / A seance o' theaves beneath the woak.

2022, PJ Harvey, Orlam, Picador, page 265:

(UK, dialect) A ewe lamb of a specific age; in some areas, applied to lambs in their the first or second year (before they have had lambs themselves), in others to lambs in their third year, before their second shearing.


goods wagon

(UK) A railway wagon for carrying freight.


box social

(UK, historical) A Victorian social event for young people.


overdoss

en-verb

overdoss (third-person singular simple present overdosses, present participle overdossing, simple past and past participle overdossed)

overdosses (present singular third-person)
overdossing (participle present)
overdossed (participle past)
overdossed (past)

[…] my next memory is of awakening to look out of the window, seeing the puke stained glass and realizing to my horror that it was light outside. We were experiencing what is commonly known in the bashing world as 'overdossing'.

1996, he...@uk.pipeline.com, “Overnight to the West Country.”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

ISTR There was a story in Rail Enthusiast back in about 1982 concerning a bloke who overdossed on some unit heading into Shrewsbury, and woke up in a shed surrounded by old kettles.

1999, -=SteveH=-, “Strategic Reserve.”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

And if I had a fiver everytime^([sic]) I 'overdossed' as a result of rover brain on the early 80's East coast overnights, I could afford to buy the bloody railway.

2010, darkprince66, “Have You Ever Caught The Wrong Train or Missed Your Stop”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

(intransitive, UK, slang, trainspotting) To oversleep, thus missing the intended railway stop.


GDS

Government Digital Service
w:Government Digital Service

(UK) Initialism of Government Digital Service.


misteous

en-adj

misteous (comparative more misteous, superlative most misteous)

more misteous (comparative)
most misteous (superlative)

Availing themselves of the propensity of the populace to credit mystery, the avidity with which prophetical rumours are circulated, and the exaggerations of ignorance and terror, certain "misteous propheseis of Merlyne," […]

1801, John Leyden, The complaynt of Scotland:

(UK dialectal, Scotland) Misty; obscure; vague.


snathe

en-verb

snathe (third-person singular simple present snathes, present participle snathing, simple past and past participle snathed)

snathes (present singular third-person)
snathing (participle present)
snathed (participle past)
snathed (past)

From Old English snǣdan (“to slice”), from Proto-Germanic *snaidijaną.


smitt

Compare German Schmitz (“a stain”), schmitzen (“to besmear”). See smite (transitive verb).

This is the finest of the Clayey-Ore : and, thus made up into Balls, they use this also for marking of Sheep, and call it Smitt.

1729, John Woodward, An Attempt Towards a Natural History of the Fossils of England:

(UK) Fine clay or ochre made up into balls, used for marking sheep.


chud

(UK, New Zealand, youth slang) Chewing gum.


sonsy

en-adj

sonsy (comparative more sonsy, superlative most sonsy)

more sonsy (comparative)
most sonsy (superlative)
soncie (alternative)
soncy (alternative)
sonsie (alternative)

From Scots, from Scottish Gaelic sonasach.

[…]as black a Jacobite as the auld leaven can make him; but a sonsy, merry companion, that none of us think it worth while to break wi' for all his brags and his clavers.

1824, Sir Walter Scott, chapter 10, in Redgauntlet:

The housemaid at the boarding-house where we have stayed since we left Heathstock is a fat, sonsy, good-natured girl, perfectly ignorant and stupid, but she has not been long in the colony, and seems willing to learn.

1866 January 10, Mary Anne Barker, “Letter VI”, in Station Life in New Zealand, London: Macmillan & co, published 1870, page 44:

(UK, Scotland) lucky; fortunate; thriving; plump


stonegall

(UK, archaic, dialect) Alternative form of staniel.


swarve

en-verb

swarve (third-person singular simple present swarves, present participle swarving, simple past and past participle swarved)

swarves (present singular third-person)
swarving (participle present)
swarved (participle past)
swarved (past)

I holde it meet that there were onelye sewerties taken of them , and one bounde for another , wherbye , if anye shall swarve , his sewerties shall for safegarde of ther bandes bringe hyme in , or seeke to serve upon him

1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […], →OCLC; republished as A View of the State of Ireland […] (Ancient Irish Histories), Dublin: […] Society of Stationers, […] Hibernia Press, […] [b]y John Morrison, 1809, →OCLC:

Feede your eyes (quod you) the reason from my wisdom swarveth, / I stared on you both, and yet my belly starveth.


inborrow

inborrow (third-person singular simple present inborrows, present participle inborrowing, simple past and past participle inborrowed)

inborrows (present singular third-person)
inborrowing (participle present)
inborrowed (participle past)
inborrowed (past)
inborgh (alternative)

From Middle English inborȝ (“bail”), from Old English inborh (“bail, security in cases of theft, a security required in cases where property had been stolen”), from in- + borh, borg (“a security, pledge, loan, bail; payment”), equivalent to in- + borrow. Related to Old English borgian (“to borrow; lend; be surety for”). More at borrow.

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal, Scotland, obsolete) To redeem or buy back from pawn; resume a pledge by restoring the money that has been lent on it.


sham Abraham

en-verb

sham Abraham (third-person singular simple present shams Abraham, present participle shamming Abraham, simple past and past participle shammed Abraham)

shams Abraham (present singular third-person)
shamming Abraham (participle present)
shammed Abraham (participle past)
shammed Abraham (past)
sham Abram (alternative)

/ʃæm ˈeɪ.bɹəˌhæm/

First use appears c. 1752. From sham + Abraham man (“a beggar who pretends to be ill”)

The boatswain found me, as he said, an obstinate fellow: he swore that I understood my business perfectly well, but that I shammed Abraham merely to be idle.

1759, Oliver Goldsmith, The Works of Oliver Goldsmith, volume 3, published 1835, The Citizen of the World, Letter CXIX, page 331:

Matthew, sceptic and scoffer, had already failed to subscribe a prompt belief in that pain about the heart: he had muttered some words, amongst which the phrase "shamming Abraham" had been very distinctly audible; […]

1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], “Martin’s Tactics”, in Shirley. A Tale. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 219–220:

(idiomatic, obsolete, UK, thieves' cant) To pretend sickness or insanity.


deaf aid

Gene Hunt: Oi, he said stop right there, deaf aid!

2006, Life on Mars, Series 1, Episode 2:

(UK, offensive) A person wearing a hearing aid.


give me strength

Ellipsis of God give me strength, a subjunctive expression.

(colloquial, chiefly UK) Exclamation of long-suffering dismay or disgust.


selly

en-adj

selly (comparative sellier or more selly, superlative selliest or most selly)

sellier (comparative)
more selly (comparative)
selliest (superlative)
most selly (superlative)
silly (alternative)
sillie (alternative)

From Middle English selly, selly, sellich, from Old English sellīċ, seldlīċ (“rare, strange, wondrous”), from Proto-West Germanic *seldalīk, from Proto-Germanic *seldalīkaz, equivalent to seld + -ly.
Cognate with Scots selly, silly (“approved, good, worthy”), Old Saxon seldlīk (“rare, wonderful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌺𐍃 (sildaleiks, “wonderful”).

cog

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Rare; wonderful; admirable


selly

His brother was […] selly sick and sore unsound.

1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “(please specify the chapter)”, in [Le Morte Darthur], (please specify the book number), [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, Le Morte Darthur […], London: David Nutt, […], 1889, →OCLC:

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Wonderfully, wondrously.


selly

sellies (plural)
silly (alternative)
sillie (alternative)

The line is a masterstroke of noncommitment, for the event is a "selly" in the sight of some unidentified readers.

1995, Robert J. Blanch, Julian N. Wasserman, From Pearl to Gawain:

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A marvel; wonder; something wonderful or rare


canonicalise

en-verb

canonicalise (third-person singular simple present canonicalises, present participle canonicalising, simple past and past participle canonicalised)

canonicalises (present singular third-person)
canonicalising (participle present)
canonicalised (participle past)
canonicalised (past)

(transitive, computing, UK) Alternative form of canonicalize.


GCR

Great Central Railway
w:Great Central Railway

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of Great Central Railway.

(education, UK, rare) Initialism of Graduate Common Room (in certain British universities).


NRM

en-noun

NRM (countable and uncountable, plural NRMs)

National Railway Museum
w:National Railway Museum

(UK, rail transport) Initialism of National Railway Museum.


scotale

The bailiff or sub-bailiff that had or held the 'scotale' often began by stealing or extorting sheaves of corn from the men of the neighbourhood. From these he brews his beer, and expects them from whose corn it has been brewed to come and drink it, and to pay for the drinking of it.

1910, Year Books of Edward II, volume 5:

The almost enforced feasting reminds one of the analogous custom of the scotale.

1910, Paul Vinogradoff ·, Oxford Studies in Social and Legal History - Volume 2, page 32:

The king's council in 1220 ordered all sheriffs to prevent the observance of scotale and to make proclamation that henceforth no one make either greater or lesser scotale.

1968, William Alfred Morris, The Medieval English Sheriff to 1300, page 277:

(UK, historical) An enforced bout of drinking, in which a lord, forester, sheriff, or beadle required all men, on pain of punishment, to purchase or contribute to a gathering for drinking.


dog bone spanner

dog bone spanner (plural dog bone spanners)

(UK) A traditional double-ended bicycle spanner with a selection of usually 10 sizes—five on each end—arranged in a ball form.


anenst

He lives anenst the church.

He shall have a bel, that's Abel; / And by it standing one whose name is Dee, / In a rug gown, there's D, and Rug, that's drug: / And right anenst him a dog snarling er, / There's Drugger, Abel Drugger. That's his sign. / And here's now mystery and hieroglyphic!

c. 1610, Ben Jonson, “The Alchemist”, in William Gifford, editor, The Works of Ben Jonson, volume 4, published 1816, page 88:

He said nothing anenst this particular.

(UK, Scotland, obsolete) About; concerning; anent.


call time

en-verb

call time (third-person singular simple present calls time, present participle calling time, simple past and past participle called time)

calls time (present singular third-person)
calling time (participle present)
called time (participle past)
called time (past)

Let's have another pint quickly, before the landlord calls time.

(UK) To announce the closing of a pub for the day.

The boxer is ready to call time on his long career.

"I'll be on my way. Hope your friend comes around all right. Going to call time on him sharp?"
"I should say not!" said the other. "I'll give him half an hour at least. If Jimmy is alive on earth he'll be here by that time. So long, officer."

As Frank had said to me two years earlier, when he was forced at last to reach for the Blu Tack and a felt-tip pen and call time on his own little shop: “It hurts. Aye.”

2020 September 1, Tom Lamont, “The butcher's shop that lasted 300 years (give or take)”, in The Guardian:


main road

Living near the main road means you hear a lot of traffic noise.

The highway to the East Coast which ran through the borough of Ebbfield had always been a main road and even now, despite the vast garages, the pylons and the gaily painted factory glasshouses which had sprung up beside it, there still remained an occasional trace of past cultures.

1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 7, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

(Northeastern US, UK) A major urban road, off which lead many smaller streets, many of them cul-de-sacs.


salt horse

en-noun

salt horse (countable and uncountable, plural salt horses)

From the fact that horse meat was considered especially unappetizing and rarely eaten, but that the meat had been so heavily salted and dried that it could just be horse meat passed off as beef.

(countable, UK, naval) A naval officer or rating whose training and experience have qualified him as a seaman rather than in any specialised trade.


kitchen sink

The noun is derived from kitchen + sink. Sense 2.1 (“miscellaneous item or miscellany”) is probably from everything but the kitchen sink.
The adjective is derived from the noun. Sense 1 (“of or pertaining to a realist style of painting characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors of urban working-class people”) was coined by the British art critic David Sylvester (1924–2001) in a December 1954 article entitled “The Kitchen Sink”: see the quotation.
The verb is a back-formation from kitchen-sinking (noun), which is derived from the noun.

back-formation

The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes.

A sink in a kitchen used for washing crockery, cutlery, utensils, food, etc., and disposing of waste.


kitchen sink

It is evident that neither objectivity nor abstraction is the aim of the young painters of the kitchen-sink school.

1954 December, David Sylvester, “The Kitchen Sink”, in Stephen Spender, Irving Kristol, editors, Encounter, London: Encounter Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 62, column 2:

[T]here are a number of instances of [John] Berger promoting the four artists known as the Beaux Arts Quartet, or the Kitchen Sink painters—John Bratby, Jack Smith, Edward Middleditch and Derrick Greaves.

2004 autumn, Adrian Clark, “Two British Art Patrons of the 1940s and 1950s: Sir Colin Anderson and Peter Watson”, in The British Art Journal, volume V, number 2, London: Art Journals, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, page 74, column 1:

The home and domesticity were the main subjects of "kitchen sink" painting, a short-lived style of realism active in London between 1952 and 1957. The four artists typically associated with this genre are Jack Smith, Edward Middleditch, Derrick Greaves, and John Bratby. […] In the histories of post-war British art, it remains widely unchallenged that these four men are the only "kitchen sink" artists. Their works from the 1950s are considered as central in discourses of post-war representations of the home and labour, with critics and historians often locating "kitchen sink" painting's legacy as a precursor to British pop art's focus on everyday domestic objects.

2019 May 31, Abi Shapiro, “The Kitchen Sink Too”, in British Art Studies, number 12, London: Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art; New Haven, Conn.: Yale Center for British Art, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-01-29:

(painting) Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century realist style of painting in Britain characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors such as kitchens in the homes of urban working-class people; also, of or pertaining to an artist or group of artists painting in this style.

Kitchen Sink -tyylinen

of or pertaining to a realist style of painting characterized by scenes of dull or untidy domestic interiors of urban working-class people; of or pertaining to an artist or group of artists painting in this style

(by extension, drama, fiction, film, television, originally derogatory) Of or pertaining to a mid-20th-century (especially 1950s–1960s) genre of drama, fiction, etc., in Britain depicting the harsh lives of working-class people; also, of or pertaining to a film, novel, play, etc., of this genre.

työväestön arkielämää käsittelevä

of or pertaining to a genre of drama, fiction, etc., depicting the harsh lives of working-class people; of or pertaining to a film, novel, play, etc., of this genre


measling

en-noun

measling (countable and uncountable, plural measlings)

Unknown, but probably via Scandinavian forms such as Swedish mässlingen (“pustules, measles”), Danish mæslinger (“measles”), Icelandic mislingar (“measles”), etc. combining the Germanic roots related to blood blisters with the suffix -ing. In reference to delamination, possibly a separate derivation from measle + -ing under influence from the dialectical name for the disease.

cog

(UK dialect) Synonym of measle: the disease caused by M. morbillivirus, a red spot caused by the disease.


slammerkin

slammerkins (plural)
slamkin (alternative)
slammakin (alternative)

As for her other lover, Mr Ricketts, he very shortly after her premature death sought comfort for himself in the arms of a vulgar, huge, coarse Irish slammerkin, Miss Prendergast.

1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 400

(colloquial, now rare, UK, dialect) A slut; an untidy or slatternly woman.


bed blocker

bed blockers (plural)
bed-blocker (alternative)
bedblocker (alternative)

A 72-year-old "bed blocker" was yesterday ordered to vacate the hospital bed he has refused to leave for three years, despite being in good health.

2006 March 7, Jacqueline Maley, “Court evicts NHS 'bed blocker'”, in The Guardian, UK, retrieved 2012-12-02:

There will also be a fee charged to a "bed blocker"—someone fit for discharge from an acute hospital but reluctant to go until a nursing home place is provided.

2008 October 10, Eilish O'Regan, “Plan aims to ease cost of nursing home care”, in Irish Independent, retrieved 2012-12-02:

Dimitra was slapped with a hospital bill worth $18,238, for taking up an acute car bed for too long. . . . "Maria's mother was desperately ill and needed hospital care and she was treated like a bed blocker."

2012 February 21, “Ontario woman on crusade to demand hospital accountability”, in Global News Toronto, Canada, retrieved 2012-12-02:

(chiefly UK, idiomatic, derogatory, medicine, public policy) An elderly hospitalized person who is too infirm to return home but not sufficiently ill to necessitate continued hospitalization, creating a situation in which his or her hospital stay is prolonged while authorities or relatives search for a suitable placement amid the scarce resources of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.


fratchy

en-adj

fratchy (comparative fratchier, superlative fratchiest)

fratchier (comparative)
fratchiest (superlative)

The Laird heels Danny when he heeds not you. He'll be just biddable when Danny's there, while he's fratchy as a lugged bear when left to you.

(UK, informal) Irritable or argumentative.


smeeth

en-verb

smeeth (third-person singular simple present smeeths, present participle smeething, simple past and past participle smeethed)

smeeths (present singular third-person)
smeething (participle present)
smeethed (participle past)
smeethed (past)

A polishing, Smeething or hiking

1586, Ambrogio Calepino, Dictionarium Latinum:


Castle

en-proper noun

Castle (countable and uncountable, plural Castles)

en:Castle (disambiguation)
en:Castle (surname)

(UK, rail transport) Castle class, a class of steam locomotives used on the GWR

(UK, Durham University slang) University College, Durham, a constituent college located in Durham Castle


London particular

en-noun

London particular (countable and uncountable, plural London particulars)

Applied to the soup in a reversal of the idiom pea-soup fog.

(UK, dated) A spell of smog over the city of London, England.


PTI

(military training, UK) Initialism of Physical Training Instructor.

public transport interchange
public transport interchange#English

(UK, Hong Kong, transport) Initialism of public transport interchange


chaffwax

chaffwaxes (plural)
chafewax (alternative)

(UK, law, historical) A chancery officer who fitted wax for sealing writs and other documents.


smudger

Smudger An old term for a photographer, one that alludes to dodgy developing.

2004, Ray Puxley, Britslang: An Uncensored A-Z of the People's Language, Including Rhyming Slang, Robson, published 2004, page 456:


pip-pip

Imitative of a short, high sound made by a bicycle or car horn.

"In that case," said Archie, relieved, "cheerio, good luck, pip-pip, toodle-oo, and good-bye-ee! I'll be shifting!"

1921, P. G. Wodehouse, Indiscretions of Archie, ch. XIII:


ack emma

(British, military) a.m.; in the morning


moralisation

moralisation (countable and uncountable, plural moralisations)

British standard spelling of moralization.


flag gun

Major Lawrence returned answer, 'that the English colours were carried on the flag gun of their artillery, which if Mons. D'Aotenil would look out for, he might thence discover where the English were posted ; and that, although he was as unwilling as himself to spill European blood, yet if any shots came that way he should certainly return them.'

1814, Edward Wedlake Brayley, The Beauties of England and Wales: or Original Delineations, Topographical, Historical, and Descriptive, of Each County, volume 10, London, page 717:

Centuries ago the largest gun in an artillery train carried the equivalent of today's Queen's Colour and it was known as the “Colour” or “Flag Gun”.

2009 August 1, Christopher Jobson, Looking Forward, Looking Back: Customs and Traditions of the Australian Army, Big Sky Publishing, →ISBN, →OL, page 55:

(UK) A gun in an artillery train bearing a flag.


come it

en-verb

come it (third-person singular simple present comes it, present participle coming it, simple past came it, past participle come it)

comes it (present singular third-person)
coming it (participle present)
came it (past)
come it (participle past)

Don't come it with me!

(UK, slang, obsolete) To proceed at a great rate.

(UK, slang, obsolete) To inform or disclose.

(UK, slang, obsolete) To show signs of fear.


neist

From Middle English nest, neste, from Old English nēst, nēist, variants of Old English nīehst (“nearest, next”). More at next.


neist

The bonniest lass that ye meet neist,
 Gie her a kiss an' a' that


wido

"Oh, nonsense! You don't suppose we're house-breakers, do you?" said Jack, impatiently.
"No, not I," said the man; "I'm wido."

(UK, slang, obsolete) Aware of what is going on; fly, alert.


neshen

neshen (third-person singular simple present neshens, present participle neshening, simple past and past participle neshened)

neshens (present singular third-person)
neshening (participle present)
neshened (participle past)
neshened (past)

(transitive, UK dialectal) To make tender or soft; mollify.


strong flour

en-noun

strong flour (countable and uncountable, plural strong flours)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A wheat flour with a high gluten content, which produces bread with high rising, and long lasting properties.


train operating company

train operating company (plural train operating companies)

The DfT has remained committed to Driver Controlled Operation with the elimination of guards, and expects train operating companies to work in this mode when new vehicles are introduced.

2019 November 6, “Industry Insider: Blame the policymakers”, in Rail, page 76:

(UK, rail transport) A company that operates passenger trains on the mainline railway network in Great Britain under franchise or license from the Government.


freight operating company

freight operating company (plural freight operating companies)

(UK, rail transport) A company that runs freight trains on the national railway network in Great Britain under license from the government.


bester

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

[…] "bouncers and besters," who cheat by laying wagers […]

1853, The Scripture Readers' Journal, page 15:

(UK, slang, archaic) A fraudulent bookmaker.


Bradbury

So named as banknotes had the signature of Sir John Bradbury, secretary to the Treasury c.1914.

"And the contents of my cigarette-case are half a dozen gaspers, and a ten-bob Bradbury patched together with stamp paper!"

"Well, the price of a drink will do as well. If you've got a Bradbury about you I could do with it, for there's nothing coming my way." Tom Linden took a pound note from his desk.

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

(UK, slang) A British banknote issued during WW I in denominations of £1 or 10 shillings.


Chats

I think it is a libel, for I have yet to learn that West Country sailor-men are fonder of their victuals than those from 'Pompey' (Portsmouth), or 'Chats' (Chatham), or than Scotsmen, Irishmen, or Welshmen.

1918, Chambers's Journal, volume 95, page 393:

He leaned half his body out of the carriage window as we slowly pulled over the timber baulks of the rebuilt bridges, and shouted 'Up the workers!' until a Petty Officer in the next compartment also leaned out and told him, 'Shit in it, you bloody Bolshie, or I'll have your cap as soon as we get to Chats.'
[…] Once inside the prison-like walls of Chatham barracks we were all marched into the drafting office […]

1997, Tristan Jones, Heart of Oak, page 132:


absolute unit

Compounded of British colloquial senses of absolute (“utter, complete”) + unit (“physically large person”). Attested from the 2010s.

compound

Liverpool BMX president Neil Cameron said, despite the name, [Kama Kazi] is a "lovely bloke", "great with the kids" and also an "absolute unit".

2006 February 15, “Sticky Beak”, in Liverpool Leader, Factiva:LIVLEA0020060215e22f00005:

(slang, UK, Australia, chiefly Internet, humorous) An exceptionally large or stout person.


skintness

(colloquial, UK) The quality of being skint (i.e., without money, penniless, poor, impecunious, broke).


whitret

whitrets (plural)
futret (alternative)
whitterick (alternative)
whittret (alternative)

We maun off like whittrets before the whole clanjamfray be doun upon us.

1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

But even so he was gey slow to get on with the courting and just hung around Kirsty like a futret round a trap with a bit of meat in it, not sure if the meat was worth the risk […].

1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 21:

(Scotland, UK dialect) A weasel or stoat.


statutory authority

en-noun

statutory authority (plural statutory authorities)

(Australia, New Zealand, UK, law) A body set up by law which is authorised to enforce legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state.


tankie

From tank + -ie.
Senses 1 and 2 were named for the tanks used by the Soviet Union against uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

Central Intelligence Agency
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia

[W]e also desired to shock the staid older party members and the tankies. The tankies and softliners differed as to what sort of magazine Challenge should be.

1985, Terry Bushell, “Softliners and Tankies”, in Marriage of Inconvenience: An Anglo-Soviet Alliance, London: André Deutsch, →ISBN, page 10:

Stephen Well, read the Morning Star and keep up with the tankies. / Max The tankies … How the years roll by. Dubcek is back. Russia agrees to withdraw its garrisons. Czechoslovakia takes her knickers off to welcome capitalism. And all that remains of August '68 is a derisive nickname for the only real Communists left in the Communist Party. I'm exactly as old as the October Revolution …

2006, Tom Stoppard, Rock 'n' Roll, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN:

[T]he tankies, those members of the British Communist Party who unquestioningly followed Moscow's line, up to and beyond supporting Soviet tanks rumbling through the streets of Budapest and Prague, […]

2007, Tribune, volume 71, London: Tribune Publications, →OCLC:

(UK, politics, slang, historical) A member of the Communist Party of Great Britain who supported the Soviet Union's policy of crushing revolts in Hungary in the 1950s and Czechoslovakia in the 1960s by sending tanks into those countries.


Lord-Lieutenant

(UK) An official appointed to a ceremonial county by the reigning British monarch to be responsible for the organisation of all official Royal visits to their county.


ceremonial county

ceremonial county (plural ceremonial counties)

(UK) A definitive geographic region, not generally having direct administrative functions, but having an appointed Lord-Lieutenant. Similar to a traditional county.


DLA

Disability Living Allowance
w:Disability Living Allowance

(UK) Initialism of Disability Living Allowance.


Toby mush

He has a 'Toby mush' or assistant who collects tolls for the Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough (District) Council who control the general market, also called the pannier market, which I understand is a profitable business.

1994, George Evans, Shropshire's Wonderful Markets, →ISBN, page 85:

According to market mythology, the Toby Mush who went from stall to stall in policemen's boots, with a clinking leather rent-collector's bag on his shoulder, deciding who who got to stand where at Stockport, was afflicted with a blind eye and a bent right arm, so many backhanders did he take possession of on market days.

2010, Howard Jacobson, The Mighty Walzer, →ISBN, page 82:

(UK) An assistant to a Toby on a street market.


pritch

From Middle English pricche, priche, from Old English priċe (“point; prick; stitch; spot”), from Proto-Germanic *prikiz. See prick.

inh

The least word uttered awry, the least conceit taken or pritch, the breaking in of a cow into their grounds, yea, sheep or pigs is enough to make suits, and they will be revenged.

(UK, dialect or obsolete) pique; offence


shirl

en-verb

shirl (third-person singular simple present shirls, present participle shirling, simple past and past participle shirled)

shirls (present singular third-person)
shirling (participle present)
shirled (participle past)
shirled (past)

=Oxford English Dictionary
Henry Bradley

Apparently related to German dialectal schurren, to slide upon ice.

Lacking skates, she shirled across the frozen river to the far bank.

My girls are good shirlers—an exercise you have not heard of in the South. Shirling is neither sliding nor skating, but a sort of intermediate motion, performed in the common clogs of this country, which have irons on them like horse-shoes.

1856 [1826], Robert Southey, edited by John Wood Warter, Selections from the Letters of Robert Southey, volume III, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, Letter of January 25, 1826, page 525:

Ther's a grand shirl on t' pond.

1898 May 17, “Lakeland Words”, in Penrith Observer:

PEAT-MULL—Peats an' turves were formerly used fer elden, an' at boddom o' t' stack wad be a lot o' smo 'at hed shirled doon. This was co'ed peet-mull.

1898, B. Kirkby, “Lakeland Words and Sayings”, in Lakeland Words: A Collection of Dialect Words and Phrases, as used in Cumberland and Westmorland, with Illustrative Sentences in the North Westmorland Dialect, page 112:

(archaic, UK, dialect, intransitive) To slide.


witherweight

witherweights (plural)
wither weight (alternative)
wother weight (alternative)
widder wecht (alternative)
wodderweght (alternative)

From wither- (“counter-”) + weight. Compare Middle English witherweȝen (“to counter-weight, counter-balance”).

cog

It is good to have a speciall care that gifts come not in the ballance with grace; for that is too gross a wither-weight. Lay by the painted case when you weigh the jewell; […]

He puts it ay so upon their hand that he gives them it with a wother weight; […]

So, upon the whole, you judge that the balance preponderates on our side just now ?" " I should think sae, Sire, when sic a clod as this castle of Roxburgh is thrown into the bucket. It is nae witherweight this for the end of a weigh-bauk.

1822, James Hogg, The three perils of man; or, War, women, and witchcraft - Page 317:

(UK dialectal, Scotland) A counterbalancing weight; counterweight.


up a gum tree

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-up a gum tree.wav

(idiomatic, UK, Australia) In a difficult situation; in a predicament.


scaddle

en-adj

scaddle (comparative more scaddle, superlative most scaddle)

more scaddle (comparative)
most scaddle (superlative)
skaddle (alternative)

From Middle English scathel (“harmful”), from Old English *sceaþol, from Proto-Germanic *skaþulaz (“harmful”), equivalent to scathe + -el. Cognate with Old High German scadel (“injurious, harmful”), Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌰𐌸𐌿𐌻𐍃 (skaþuls, “injurious, wicked”).

cog

(UK, dialectal or obsolete) Wild, mischievous, thievish.

(UK, dialectal or obsolete, chiefly of animals) Timid, nervous, skittish.


scathely

en-adj

scathely (comparative more scathely, superlative most scathely)

more scathely (comparative)
most scathely (superlative)
skaithly (alternative)

From Middle English skathlye, equivalent to scathe + -ly. Compare Middle English skathely (adverb).

(British, dialectal, Scotland) Harmful; scatheful.


scathy

scathy (comparative more scathy, superlative most scathy)

more scathy (comparative)
most scathy (superlative)

From Middle English scathi, from Old English *scaþiġ, sċeaþiġ (“injurious”), equivalent to scathe + -y.

(UK, dialect, archaic) Mischievous; vicious; dangerous.


scathand

scathand (comparative more scathand, superlative most scathand)

more scathand (comparative)
most scathand (superlative)
scatheand (alternative)
scaithand (alternative)
skathand (alternative)
skaithand (alternative)

From Middle English skathand, scathende, from Old English sceaþiende, present participle of sceaþian (“to scathe”), equivalent to scathe + -and.

(UK dialectal, chiefly Scotland) Harmful; scathing.


leeftail

leeftail (comparative more leeftail, superlative most leeftail)

more leeftail (comparative)
most leeftail (superlative)
leftal (alternative)
lieftel (alternative)
leavetail (alternative)

From Middle English *leftal, *lieftele, from Old English lēoftǣl, lēoftǣle (“kind, lovable, loving, dear, grateful, agreeable”), equivalent to lief + tell.

Markets hes been terrable laa this lang time, hardly worth gangin teea; but it wur Size, en wur a varra lieftel market, an et wur a wunder.

1839, Ann Coward Wheeler, Dialogues, poems, songs, and ballads:

(UK dialectal, obsolete) High in demand; quickly sold.


autobuffet

PRR Unveils New Auto-Buffet Coach

1954 January 16, “Vending Machines”, in Billboard, page 71:

At Waterloo, at 1 a.m., an attendant was available to give change for the autobuffet (the machine for change was out of order), […] The autobuffet at Paddington was doing good business at 2 a.m., but again the change machine was out of order.

1963, Research Institute for Consumer Affairs (London, England), Essays & enquiries (issues 1-12, page 22)

I can't remember now where I saw an autobuffet sign quite recently.

2009, Roy Badami, “Re: Oh for an integrated railway”, in uk.railway (Usenet):

(dated, UK, rare) A railway vending machine selling food items.


rackle

en-noun

rackle (countable and uncountable, plural rackles)

From Middle English rakyl (“chain”), apparently related to Old Frisian rakels (“chain”), French racle ("the iron ring of a door" (from a Germanic source)), and also Middle English rakente, from Old English racente (“chain, fetter”). More at rackan.

gloss

(countable, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) A chain.

(uncountable, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Noisy talk.


rackle

en-verb

rackle (third-person singular simple present rackles, present participle rackling, simple past and past participle rackled)

rackles (present singular third-person)
rackling (participle present)
rackled (participle past)
rackled (past)
rakkill (alternative)

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To talk noisily; rattle on.


rackan

rackans (plural)
racon (alternative)
rackin (alternative)
racken (alternative)
reckan (alternative)
recon (alternative)
reckin (alternative)
reckon (alternative)

From Middle English rakente, from Old English racente (“chain, fetter”) and Old Norse rekendi (“chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *rakintǭ (“fetter”), from Proto-Indo-European *reǵ- (“to bind”). Cognate with Old High German rahhenza (“chain”). See also rackle.

(UK dialectal, Northern England) A chain or bar drilled with holes to accommodate pot-hooks from which cooking vessels can be suspended over a fire; a pot-hook.


shorling

a Statute made in the Third Year of the Reign of King Edward the Fourth, as relates to the buying or shipping of Wools or Wool-fells, Morling or Shorling, by Aliens or Strangers within the Realm

a. 1480, a statute, (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(UK, dialect, obsolete) The skin of a sheep after the fleece is shorn off, as distinct from the morling, or skin taken from the dead sheep.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A sheep of the first year's shearing.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A person who is shorn; a shaveling.

(UK, dialect, obsolete, by extension, derogatory) A priest.


strickless

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A strickle (rod used to level grain etc. when being measured).


birt

birts (plural)
bret (alternative)
brut (alternative)
burt (alternative)

From Middle English byrte; compare French bertonneau and English bret, burt.

(UK, dialect, archaic) A fish of the turbot kind; the brill.


spacky

en-adj

spacky (comparative spackier, superlative spackiest)

spackier (comparative)
spackiest (superlative)

From spack + -y, ultimately from spastic.

(UK, Ireland, slang) incompetent or physically uncoordinated


litster

From Middle English litestere, from liten (“to dye”) (from Old Norse litr) + -stere (see -ster).

But it was the woolen industry that provided the elder Smibert with a livelihood, for as a litster he spent his days dyeing wool, which was then woven into cloth.

1995, Richard H. Saunders, John Smibert: Colonial America's First Portrait Painter, Yale University Press, →ISBN, pages 1–2:

Other women ran businesses that required reliance on a network of suppliers, sometimes of raw materials. Isobel Provand in the Canongate was a litster.

2002, Margaret H. B. Sanderson, A Kindly Place?: Living in Sixteenth-Century Scotland, Tuckwell Press, published 2002, →ISBN, page 122:

The smell of the tanners' and the litsters' work still hung in the night air, although they had long since gone to their weary beds.

2008, Shona Maclean, The Redemption of Alexander Seaton, Penguin Canada, published 2010, →ISBN:


row back

en-verb

row back (third-person singular simple present rows back, present participle rowing back, simple past and past participle rowed back)

rows back (present singular third-person)
rowing back (participle present)
rowed back (participle past)
rowed back (past)

Indeed, part of the problem was that Armstrong was rowing back on so much previous behaviour and years of aggressive lambasting of reporters, officials and team-mates who had claimed he was doping. "I don't forgive Lance Armstrong, who lied to me in two interviews. And I suspect most of America won't, either," Kurtz wrote.

2013 January 19, Paul Harris, “Lance Armstrong faces multi-million dollar legal challenges after confession”, in The Guardian:

Labour has rowed back from a plan for new rolling stock to be procured and owned in the public sector - with the party's rail spokesman saying it is not a priority.

2022 October 5, “Network News: Private sector's role in a publicly-owned railway”, in RAIL, number 967, page 16:

Speaking to the Guardian in one of his first campaign interviews, Timmermans said the UK government was one of the countries rowing back on green pledges.

2023 October 10, Senay Boztas, “Frans Timmermans urges European left to unite against right’s climate backlash”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(UK, idiomatic) To change or revise a previous opinion or decision.


chemical cosh

(UK) The sedation of a person with chemicals or medication, especially where sedation is unnecessary.


brathly

en-adv

brathly (comparative brathlier or more brathly, superlative brathliest or most brathly)

brathlier (comparative)
more brathly (comparative)
brathliest (superlative)
most brathly (superlative)
braithly (alternative)

From Middle English brathly, brothly, braithly, equivalent to brath + -ly. Cognate with Icelandic bráðleg (“quickly, soon”).

(UK dialectal) Hastily; violently; fiercely; with fury.


nancy boy

(Commonwealth, UK, Ireland) Alternative spelling of nancyboy.


temse

temses (plural)
tems (alternative)
tempse (alternative)

From Middle English temse (“a sieve”) and temsen (“to sieve”), both from Old English temsian, temesian (“to sieve; strain; sift”).
Compare also French tamis, Dutch teems, North Frisian tems, Danish dialectal tems (“sieve”), German dialectal Zims (“sieve”). Compare also tamine. Doublet of tamis.

Stone your apricots , coddle them , and rub them through a temse

1777, Elizabeth Marshall, The Young Ladies' Guide in the Art of Cookery:


skart

(UK, dialect) Alternative form of scarf (“cormorant”).


Enders

(UK, informal, television) EastEnders, a long-running British soap opera set in the East End of London.


Deano

To many, Deano is a figure of fun: a low-brow, low-status provincial man with bad taste and too much sway over the nation’s cultural life. But the more I read about him online, whether on Reddit, Urban Dictionary, Twitter or YouTube, the more I realise his was not a life to be mocked but cheered — and even envied. Deano owns his home, gets back from work early, and has enough disposable income for new furniture and nice food.

2023 April 21, Tom McHague, “The political power of Deano”, in Unherd:

The possibility that Deano might be petty bourgeois rather than working class or middle class was not entertained, but it is precisely the sprawling lower middle class – and not the working class or established middle class – that dominates the new-build commuter belt, the places Duncan Weldon dubbed “Barratt Britain”: the new, dystopian British version of American white picket fence suburbia.

2023 August 31, Dan Evans, “Deano is Britain’s most misunderstood man”, in New Statesman:

(UK, slang) An archetypal young lower middle class British man living in a newbuild housing estate, stereotyped as culturally unsophisticated, lavish with money, heavily indebted and conservative-leaning.


tranty

en-adj

tranty (comparative trantier or more tranty, superlative trantiest or most tranty)

trantier (comparative)
more tranty (comparative)
trantiest (superlative)
most tranty (superlative)
trantie (alternative)

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) (used in reference to children) Intelligent, advanced, or forward for one's age; precocious.


clunge

en-noun

clunge (countable and uncountable, plural clunges)

A nonsense word in a rant by McBlane (actor Joseph Brady) in the third series of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin as "ap yer clunge!" ("up your clunge"). Probably invented by writer David Nobbs to mean "arse".
Popularised by British television series The Inbetweeners (from 2008).

For quotations using this term, see Citations:clunge.

(UK, vulgar, slang, chiefly Internet) Vulva or vagina.

(UK, vulgar, slang, chiefly Internet, originally but now rare) Arse.


knocker-up

knocker-ups (plural)
knocker-upper (alternative)
knocker up (alternative)

... And Capper was a very important man. He was the knocker-up in the village of Polkingthorpe Brig — that is to say, he got up early every morning and went round with his pole, tapping on the bedroom windows and waking up the people in time for them to get to work... Old Capper got his long pole with the trident of wire at the end and lifting it so that the wire rested against the upstairs window pane, began twirling and twisting the pole in the palms of his hands so that the wire clacked and clattered fit to wake the soundest sleeper... So they stood round old Capper, who had one of the few watches in the village...

1942, Eric Knight, The Flying Yorkshireman, Benediction Classics, →ISBN:

He [Driver Carruthers] started on the L.N.W.R. in 1907 as a knocker-up for four years, then became a cleaner, fireman, and finally a driver.

1945 May and June, “Top Link Drivers”, in Railway Magazine, page 159:

One of these characters, Mary Anne Smith, became a beloved presence — along with her trusty pea shooter — around London’s East End in the 1930s. John Topham, who snapped photos of Smith in action, remembers “every morning but Sunday she would rise at three to ‘knock up’ local workers—using a pea shooter. She charged sixpence a week and her nearest competition was an old man three miles away who did the same job using a fishing rod to tap on upstairs windows.” Smith was known for the rapping, clacking sound of her peas against windows and doors. In the children’s book Mary Smith, she’s depicted as waking up everyone from fishmongers to the mayor.

2019, Paula Mejia, Remembering the "Knocker-Ups" Hired to Wake Workers With Pea Shooters. Rise and shine! https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-did-people-use-before-alarm-clocks:

(British, historical) A person whose job was to go from house to house in the early morning and wake up workers by tapping on the bedroom window with a long pole or similarly convenient implement.


shilfa

And the birds! not the gray sparrows you see here, but shilfas and bullfinches and yellow-yeldrings.

1866, Alexander Smith, Alfred Hagart's Household, page 20:


sea pike

Belone belone
Belone belone#Translingual

(UK, Ireland) The garfish or needlefish, Belone belone.


old-farrant

en-adj

old-farrant (comparative more old-farrant, superlative most old-farrant)

more old-farrant (comparative)
most old-farrant (superlative)
old-farrand (alternative)
old-farant (alternative)

Whiles he came home: weary old-farrant face Pale from the midnight candle;

1866, Robert Williams Buchanan, Idyls and Legends of Inverburn, page 41:

"Ye'd best stand asoide; Ride your old-farrant face behind yon ellum, Hear all, and see your Parish judge the nobs!"

They sought and searched as for hid treasure; and she was precious in many hearts, the playful little chatterbox with her old-farrant ways, and her bonnie smile!

1911, The Expository Times, volume 22, page 210:

[…] and stately clocks made in the town a hundred years ago, and quaint old-farrant lamps and cogeys and sand-glasses that apologized […]

1913, James Matthew Barrie, Tommy and Grizel, page 298:

(UK dialect) Old or old-fashioned; (of children) precocious, already as shrewd as someone old.


shagaholic

From shag (“to have sexual intercourse with”) + -aholic.

suffix

You young 'uns might not believe this, but Michael Caine burst on to the screen as a bona fide sex symbol thanks to Alfie, about a Cockney shagaholic who made the most of the Swinging '60s.

1999 June 29, “Pianist Steve Koven and the Steve Koven Trio perform at the Downtown Jazz Festival”, in Toronto Star:

Myers may still be having fun with his shagaholic spy, as well as the rest of the characters he plays, but he's the only one still laughing.

2002 December 12, Alison Kerr, “Videos”, in The Herald, Glasgow:

"I suppose in some ways I was a shagaholic," [Roger Daltrey] says, chewing on a fig from a fruit platter. "I just liked female company on the road."

2008 December 7, David Segal, “The Kennedy Center Honors: Roger Daltrey & Pete Townshend”, in The Washington Post:

(UK, slang) A person who is addicted to sex.