backgain

Alteration of back-ganging (noun), equivalent to back- + ganging.


backgain

en-adj

backgain (comparative more backgain, superlative most backgain)

more backgain (comparative)
most backgain (superlative)

Alteration of back-ganging (adjective), equivalent to back + ganging.

a backgain family

(UK dialectal, of persons) Not thriving in health or in worldly concerns.


narrow seas

(nautical, law, UK) Those seas (bodies of ocean water) which surround the British Isles, especially the English Channel.


not long

"[…] You ought to try one of these biscuits. They're good."
"I've not long had breakfast," Morgan told him.

1976, L. P. Davies, Possession, The Crime Club, →ISBN, page 138:


peer of the realm

en-noun

peer of the realm (plural peers of the realm)

(UK) Any member of the House of Lords who is not a life peer.

The proudest Peere in the Realme shall not weare a head on his shoulders vnlesse he pay me tribute.

1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vii], line 117:

All Peers of the Realm being look'd on as the King's Hereditary constant Counsellors.

1707, John Chamberlayne, Angliæ Notitia, 22nd edition, iii. iii. 276:

(UK, historical) Any member of the hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, (chiefly) of the Kingdom of England.


SLD

Statute Law Database
w:Statute Law Database

(UK, law) Initialism of Statute Law Database; the former name for legislation.gov.uk.


yarm

en-verb

yarm (third-person singular simple present yarms, present participle yarming, simple past and past participle yarmed)

yarms (present singular third-person)
yarming (participle present)
yarmed (participle past)
yarmed (past)

From Middle English ȝarmen, ȝermen, from Old English ġyrman, ġierman (“to cry, mourn, cry out, roar, lament”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *jarmijan, from Proto-Germanic *jarmijaną, *jarmōną (“to bellow, bleat”). Cognate with Scots yirm (“to whine, wail”), dialectal Danish jærme (“to lament, shriek”), dialectal Norwegian jerme (“to bleat”), dialectal Swedish jarma (“to lament, shriek”), Icelandic jarma (“to whine, complain, bleat”). Compare Albanian jerm (“to rave, be delirious”). Compare English yammer.

cog

(UK dialectal) To cry out; make a loud, unpleasant noise; shriek; yell.


colouring book

British standard spelling of coloring book.


yed

en-verb

yed (third-person singular simple present yeds, present participle yedding, simple past and past participle yedded)

yeds (present singular third-person)
yedding (participle present)
yedded (participle past)
yedded (past)

From Middle English ȝedden, ȝeddien, from Old English ġieddian (“to speak formally, discuss, speak with alliteration, recite, sing”), from ġiedd (“song, poem, saying, proverb, riddle, speech, story, tale, narrative, account, reckoning, reason”).

inh

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To magnify greatly in narration; exaggerate a tale; fib.

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To contend; wrangle.


yed

From Middle English ȝed, from Old English ġiedd (“song, poem, saying, proverb, riddle, speech, story, tale, narrative, account, reckoning, reason”).


yed

From Middle English eorþien (“to bury, dig”), from eorþe (“earth”). Influenced or conflated with Middle English eardien (“to dwell, inhabit”), from Old English eardian (“to live, dwell, be inhabitant, occupy”). More at earth.

(UK dialectal) To burrow underground, as a rabbit or mole; also said of miners.

(UK dialectal) To be associated with a place or locality.


yed

(UK dialectal) A burrow; a hole made by an animal in the ground.


fair dos

"[…] Lansley said he was disappointed I had gone public without telling him. Which is fair dos except he could have found out if he had bothered to see me […]"

2011 July 26, Jeremy Laurance quoting Sir Roger Boyle, “Sir Roger Boyle: 'It is horrific that the NHS's future is threatened'”, in Independent:


misken

en-verb

misken (third-person singular simple present miskens, present participle miskenning, simple past and past participle miskenned or miskent)

miskens (present singular third-person)
miskenning (participle present)
miskenned (participle past)
miskenned (past)
miskent (participle past)
miskent (past)

From Middle English *miskennen (suggested by miskenninge (“mistake, misinterpretation”)), from Old English *miscennan (suggested by miscennung (“a mistake or variation in pleading before a court, or a fine exacted for this mistake”)), equivalent to mis- + ken. Cognate with Scots misken (“to not know, misken”), Dutch miskennen (“to fail to recognise, ignore”), German mißkennen (“to misunderstand”), Swedish misskänna (“to misunderstand”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To mistake one for another; mistake in point of knowledge or recognition; misconceive.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To fail to know; be ignorant or unaware of; appear to be ignorant of.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To misunderstand; mistake; have the wrong idea of.

(reflexive, UK dialectal) To esteem oneself incorrectly; have a false or exaggerated opinion of oneself or one's position.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To fail to recognise or identify.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To refuse to acknowledge; disown; repudiate; pass over; ignore; disregard; neglect; overlook; disavow; disclaim; disown; deny.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To fail to mention.


clatfart

The Guild was called by some hostile husbands, who found their wives getting too independent, the "clat-fart" shop—that is, the gossip-shop.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “chapter 2”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:

Folks should do their own fuckin', then they wouldn't want to listen to a lot of clatfart about another man's.

1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Germany?]: Privately printed, →OCLC:


yedding

From Middle English eorþing (“burial, digging”), from eorþien (“to bury, dig”), from eorþe (“earth”), equivalent to earth + -ing. Possibly influenced by Middle English earding (“habitation, dwelling”), from eard (“dwelling, habitation”), from Old English eard (“native soil, native land, native country, country, province, region, place of residence, dwelling, home, dwelling place, estate, cultivated ground”). More at earth.

inh

(UK dialectal) A burrow; a mole or rabbit hole.


begeck

en-verb

begeck (third-person singular simple present begecks, present participle begecking, simple past and past participle begecked)

begecks (present singular third-person)
begecking (participle present)
begecked (participle past)
begecked (past)

From Middle Dutch begecken or Middle Low German begecken (“to deride”), equivalent to be- + geck. More at geek.

bor

(transitive, UK dialectal) To deceive; disappoint; jilt.


begeck

(transitive, UK dialectal) A disappointment; trick.


befang

en-verb

befang (third-person singular simple present befangs, present participle befanging, simple past and past participle befanged)

befangs (present singular third-person)
befanging (participle present)
befanged (participle past)
befanged (past)

From Middle English befon (past participle befangen), from Old English befōn (“to surround, clasp, include, envelop, encase, clothe, comprehend, seize, attack (at law), lay hold of, catch, ensnare, contain, receive, conceive, explain”), equivalent to be- + fang. Cognate with Dutch bevangen (“to seize”), Middle High German bevāhen (“to comprehend”).

cog

Come here an' I'll befang thee!

(transitive, UK dialectal, Yorkshire) To lay hold on; seize; grasp; catch; clutch.


faff about

en-verb

faff about (third-person singular simple present faffs about, present participle faffing about, simple past and past participle faffed about)

faffs about (present singular third-person)
faffing about (participle present)
faffed about (participle past)
faffed about (past)

She faffed about so much, she never got to eat her breakfast.

I decided to stop faffing about and get some work done.

It's a shame; not only are nuts quite ridiculously nutritious but, as anyone who's ever shelled out (sorry) for a tiny glass of pistachios in a pub will know, they're a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. But although I happen to have a soft spot for nut roast – an option often preferable to the meat that emerged from the school kitchen – it seems I'm in a cranky minority. A request for recipe recommendations was met with a polite silence on Twitter: vegetarianism, apparently, has moved on a bit. You don't see Yotam Ottolenghi faffing about with nut roasts, do you? But I'm determined to revive the fortunes of this much-maligned classic. After all, Christmas isn't Christmas without a luxury nut selection.

2011 December 15, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook the perfect nut roast”, in Guardian:

(intransitive, chiefly UK) To waste time; spend time idly.


foreway

I got a whisper of this; so by my song, I was determined to cut them all out in that, as well as I did in getting herself; but you know, I couldn't be angry, even if they had got the foreway of me in it, bekase it's an ould custom.

1852, William Carleton, Traits and stories of the Irish peasantry:

Provided that old Gilligan had not more horse sense than yourself and got the foreway of you," says I, [...]


wankstain

(UK, slang, vulgar, derogatory) Term of abuse.


gradely

en-adv

gradely (comparative more gradely, superlative most gradely)

more gradely (comparative)
most gradely (superlative)

From earlier graithly, from Middle English graythely, graydly, graitheli, graithlich, grathliche, graythelyche, from Old Norse greiðliga, equivalent to graith + -ly.

(UK, regional, obsolete) readily, speedily


small blue

(UK) A very small butterfly, Cupido minimus, of the lycaenid subfamily Polyommatinae, the blues


flyman

When driving round and about Cromer, our flyman pointed out "Poppy Land" to me.

1891, Francis Burnand, Punch, Volume 101, September 19, 1891:

Who does not know the "Copper Horse" at Windsor--that equestrian statue at the end of the Long Walk to which (and back again) the local flyman always offers to drive the tourist?

1898, George William Erskine Russell, Collections and Recollections:

She is as considerate for the flyman waiting for her on a rainy night as she would be for her father's coachman and horses, remembering that the flyman is quite as liable to catch cold as the coachman, and has fewer facilities for curing himself.

1903, Lucy H. M. Soulsby, Stray Thoughts for Girls:

Derrick gave his small portmanteau to the flyman and told him to drive there, and he himself set out walking.

The flyman touched his hat, turned the horse, and drove back as directed.

1920, Thomas Hardy, A Group of Noble Dames:

A contemporary picture in The Illustrated London News shows a steam train, and Bradshaw's times are incompatible with horse-traction, but "Medicus" stated in The Times that on February 9 the 12.45 up train was worked to the junction by "an old grey horse, in charge of Evans, the Moulsey flyman," that the trip took 20 min., and that this sort of thing was of daily occurrence.

1942 January, “Horsepower”, in Railway Magazine, page 5:

(UK, historical) Someone who drives the type of coach called a fly.


daiker

en-verb

daiker (third-person singular simple present daikers, present participle daikering, simple past and past participle daikered)

daikers (present singular third-person)
daikering (participle present)
daikered (participle past)
daikered (past)

(UK, dialect, obsolete, transitive) To deck out; to adorn.


ontake

ontake (third-person singular simple present ontakes, present participle ontaking, simple past ontook, past participle ontaken)

ontakes (present singular third-person)
ontaking (participle present)
ontook (past)
ontaken (participle past)

From Middle English ontaken, equivalent to on- + take. Compare Old English onniman (“to receive, take”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To undertake a debt.


playock

From play + -ock. Cognate with Scots playok (“toy”).

[…] I would therefore like if you will lend her a note, and ye may put half-a-crown in the hand of each of the poor weans for a playock, — for she's a proud spirit, and will bear much before she complain.

1936, John Galt, David Storrar Meldrum, William Roughead, The Works of John Galt:

(obsolete, UK dialectal) A plaything; a toy.


playstow

From Middle English *pleystow, from Old English pleġstōw, pleġestōw (“playground, gymnasium, amphitheater, a place for a play, wrestling-place”), equivalent to play + stow (“place”).

(UK dialectal) A place for play; playground.


slumpy

en-adj

slumpy (comparative slumpier, superlative slumpiest)

slumpier (comparative)
slumpiest (superlative)

So away goes lunch, and off goes you and the 'Sir,' a trampousin' and trapsein' over the wet grass agin […] and then back by another path that's slumpier than t'other, and twice as long […]

1843, Thomas Chandler Haliburton, The Attaché Or Sam Slick in England, Paris: Baudry's European Library, page 219:

[…] a large extent of rushy ground, either dry or hard, or slumpy and wet, […]

1853, George Johnston, The Botany of the Eastern Borders, I., page 250:

[…] making a rock his easy-chair, and a pair of hunting-boots his slippers; letting his dressing-gown be a woollen shirt or an india-rubber overcoat; finding his dainty, creamy-leaved books in white birch trees, or yeasty, frothy, river-rapids, and for delicate annotations making big tracts through the slumpy alluvion of the forest[…]

1869, G. M. Hoppin, “The Adirondac Lakes”, in The Broadway, London: George Routledge and Sons, page 263:

The softening of the great body of snow renders the roads slumpy and full of "Thank-ye-ma'ams," so that sleighing is not altogether a blissful experience just now.

1877, John Russell Bartlett, anonymous quotee, Providence Journal, letter from Maine, date unknown, quoted in Dictionary of Americanisms, 4th edition, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, page 611:

(UK, US, dialect) Easily broken through; boggy; marshy.


take a pew

en-verb

take a pew (third-person singular simple present takes a pew, present participle taking a pew, simple past took a pew, past participle taken a pew)

takes a pew (present singular third-person)
taking a pew (participle present)
took a pew (past)
taken a pew (participle past)

There are many ways of inviting a person to seat himself. The genial ‘take a pew’ of one's equal inspires confidence. The raucous ‘sit down in front’ of the frenzied pit, when you stand up to get a better view of the stage, is not so pleasant.

1903, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 16, in A Prefect's Uncle:

"Oh!" he said, looking round him with his chin a little in the air, "am I intruding, Turl?" . . .
"Not at all, Berryman—take a pew!"

1904, John Galsworthy, chapter 18, in The Island Pharisees:

"Come in," he said cheerily. "I'm delighted to see you. Take a pew."

1919, William Somerset Maugham, chapter 11, in Moon and Sixpence:

"Come in. Come in. Take a pew. Cigarette?"

1965, Ian Fleming, chapter 1, in The Man with the Golden Gun:

(UK, idiomatic) To take a seat; to sit down.


farden

Sir Pitt did not care, as he said, a brass fardenfor any one of them.

1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 9, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:

The young gent's been and popped all his things for the play and the drink; and I haven't myself so much as a brass farden to get a mouthful o' meat with."

Nicked the bloomin' lot 'e did--and me with not a farden to take 'ome to my brother and his missus.'

1904, E. Nesbit, The Phoenix and the Carpet:

He was off with the letters and all, and never gave me a farden for what he had or what he l'arnt off o' me.

1908, James Blyth, Edward FitzGerald and "Posh":

'If tha weant, tha weant,' he sed, soa that settles it, but awd rayther let th' bums tak away nearly ivvery stick aght o'th' haase nor awd take a farden less nor seven shillin'; that's th' lowest aw ivver will tak, an if tha doesn't buy'em at that price tha'll rue, for tha'll niver have sich a chonce ageean.'

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(UK, obsolete, Northern England, Jamaica) Pronunciation spelling of farthing.


slicken

en-adj

slicken (comparative more slicken, superlative most slicken)

more slicken (comparative)
most slicken (superlative)


Mareva injunction

en-noun

Mareva injunction (plural Mareva injunctions)

Named after the legal case Mareva Compania Naviera SA v International Bulkcarriers SA [1975] 2 Lloyd's Rep 509, decided in 1975.

(law, British, Canada) A court order which freezes assets so that a defendant to an action cannot dissipate their assets from beyond the jurisdiction of the court.


forridden

en-adj

forridden (comparative more forridden, superlative most forridden)

more forridden (comparative)
most forridden (superlative)

From for- + ridden. Compare Middle English forriden (“to ride ahead of, intercept”), from Old English forrīdan (“to intercept by riding before”).

cog

(UK dialectal) Worn out or weary from hard or excessive riding.


forspare

en-verb

forspare (third-person singular simple present forspares, present participle forsparing, simple past and past participle forspared)

forspares (present singular third-person)
forsparing (participle present)
forspared (participle past)
forspared (past)

I don't never buy no cheese, miss; I can't forspare the money for it.

1889, Eliakim Littell, Robert S. Littell, The living age: Volume 183:

(transitive, UK dialectal) To spare; do without.


fortake

fortake (third-person singular simple present fortakes, present participle fortaking, simple past fortook, past participle fortaken)

fortakes (present singular third-person)
fortaking (participle present)
fortook (past)
fortaken (participle past)
fortake (infinitive)

From Middle English fortaken, equivalent to for- + take. Cognate with dialectal Norwegian fortaka (“to assail, assault”), Swedish förta (“to deprive, take away, deaden”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To mistake; make a mistake.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To aim or deal a blow at; hit.


armth

From Middle English armthe, earmthe, from Old English iermþu, from Proto-West Germanic *armiþu (“poverty”), from *arm (“poor, arm”). Equivalent to arm (“poor”) + -th.

(UK dialectal or obsolete) Poverty; want; wretchedness; misery; calamity.


spectrum analyser

en-noun

spectrum analyser (plural spectrum analysers)

spectrum analyzer
spectrum analyzer#English


metropolitan borough

metropolitan borough (plural metropolitan boroughs)

(UK) A subdivision of a metropolitan county, having the status of a borough.


metropolitan county

metropolitan county (plural metropolitan counties)

(UK) A county-level administrative division that covers a large urban area


bootneck

(UK, slang, military) A member of the Royal Marines.


home-along

“[…]And what did the lady say then?”
“I can't mind. Please, Master Reddleman, may I go home-along now?”

1878, Thomas Hardy, The Return of the Native:

(UK, dialect, archaic) To one's home; homeward.


antichav

en-adj

antichav (comparative more antichav, superlative most antichav)

more antichav (comparative)
most antichav (superlative)

The source of the texts is http://www.chavscum.co.uk, a chav-bashing site, also selling antichav merchandise such as T-shirts with the paraphrased Trainspotting text.

2008, Karol Jakubowicz, Miklós Sükösd, Finding the right place on the map, page 274:

Take a book, and some antichav spray. I recommend War and Peace, and aqua regia.

2008, Peter Corlett, “The nerve! The sweet tooth!”, in alt.sysadmin.recovery (Usenet):


academize

en-verb

academize (third-person singular simple present academizes, present participle academizing, simple past and past participle academized)

academizes (present singular third-person)
academizing (participle present)
academized (participle past)
academized (past)

(transitive, UK, education) To convert (a school) into a publicly-run academy.


chimbley

By dissimilation of mn to ml, followed by epenthesis of b

(UK, dialect, Caribbean) Alternative form of chimney


maffled

en-adj

maffled (comparative more maffled, superlative most maffled)

more maffled (comparative)
most maffled (superlative)


soss

From Middle English sosse, sos, soos (“hounds' meat; a mess of food”), of uncertain origin. See sesspool.

(UK, dialect) Anything dirty or muddy; a dirty puddle.


soss

en-verb

soss (third-person singular simple present sosses, present participle sossing, simple past and past participle sossed)

sosses (present singular third-person)
sossing (participle present)
sossed (participle past)
sossed (past)


helpsome

en-adj

helpsome (comparative more helpsome, superlative most helpsome)

more helpsome (comparative)
most helpsome (superlative)

(UK dialectal) Marked by a readiness or a willingness to help; characteristically helpful.


helply

helply (comparative helplier or more helply, superlative helpliest or most helply)

helplier (comparative)
more helply (comparative)
helpliest (superlative)
most helply (superlative)

From Middle English helply, equivalent to help + -ly. Cognate with Middle Low German hulplik (“helply”), Middle High German helflich, helfelich (“helply”).

(UK dialectal) Aiding; assisting; ready to help; helpful.


nevvy

What signifies your sisters’ bits o’ money when they’ve got half-a-dozen nevvies and nieces to divide it among?

1860, George Eliot, chapter VI, in The Mill on the Floss, Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons:


chat-up line

Chatup lines are all well and good (or let's be honest, usually bad and awful), but for some people, the silently charming approach to flirting works better.

2022 May 24, Nancy Groves, “What Is Unspoken Rizz? 23 Tweets That Might Just Explain It To You”, in Huffington Post:

(chiefly British) Synonym of pick-up line


atgo

en-verb

atgo (third-person singular simple present atgoes, present participle atgoing, simple past atwent, past participle atgone)

atgoes (present singular third-person)
atgoing (participle present)
atwent (past)
atgone (participle past)

From Middle English atgon, from Old English ætgān (“to go away, disappear”); equivalent to at- + go.

inh

(UK dialectal) To expend; go; pass away; vanish.


banker's draft

en-noun

banker's draft (plural banker's drafts or bankers' drafts)

banker's drafts (plural)
bankers' drafts (plural)

(UK) A type of financial instrument, used similarly to a cheque to make a payment or transfer money, but drawn on funds already taken from the payer's account and held by the bank, and hence seen as more certain of being honoured than a personal cheque.


banker's draught

banker's draught (plural banker's draughts or bankers' draughts)

banker's draughts (plural)
bankers' draughts (plural)

The ſeſſions ended at the Old Bailey, when twelve convicts received ſentence of death, among whom was Samuel Burt, for the forgery of a banker's draught of 100l. who had been recommended to mercy by the jury, his conduct having evinced ſome degree of inſanity.

1786, The Annual Register, or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature, page 34:

[...] if any clerk or servant, or person employed as such, by any individual or body politic, shall fraudulently embezzle, secrete, or make away with such money, goods, bond, bill, note, banker's draught, or other valuable security, so coming into his possession, he shall be deemed to have feloniously stolen the same from his master, and shall suffer transportation for a term not exceeding fourteen years.

1814, David Hume, Supplemental Notes to Mr. Hume's Commentaries on the Law of Scotland Respecting Crimes, page 12:

[...] accept, draw, or endorse any promissory note, bill of exchange, banker's draught, cheque, dividend warrant, or other such like instrument; and any such instrument shall be signed, accepted, drawn, or endorsed by such person or persons as the board shall from time to time appoint for that purpose.

1901, Herapath's Railway Journal, page 470:

Raising his clipboard as a preacher might raise his bible, he reminded Charlie of his duty to the Crown, and demanded the monies outstanding, in full, in cash, banker's draught, or negotiable securities.

(UK) Alternative spelling of banker's draft


religious education

(UK) The teaching about various religions; also known as religious studies.


scarfer

On the Internet self-identifying Wigan hooligans claimed victory over ICF members, but the latter dismissed these claims since attacking 'scarfers' (non-hooligan supporters) was considered illegitimate.

2006, Ramn Spaaij, Understanding football hooliganism, page 152:

(UK, slang) An everyday football supporter who is not involved in hooliganism.


besharp

en-verb

besharp (third-person singular simple present besharps, present participle besharping, simple past and past participle besharped)

besharps (present singular third-person)
besharping (participle present)
besharped (participle past)
besharped (past)

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To make haste; hurry.


benow

en-adv

benow (comparative more benow, superlative most benow)

more benow (comparative)
most benow (superlative)


bergh

From Middle English bergh, from Old English beorg (“mountain, hill, mound, barrow, burial place”), from Proto-West Germanic *berg, from Proto-Germanic *bergaz (“hill, mountain”). Doublet of berg and barrow; see there for more.


umbethinking

From Middle English, equivalent to umbethink + -ing.

(UK, dialectal, obsolete) A reminder; a sudden act of reminding; a reproof or blow given unexpectedly.


umstrid

From Middle English umstridden, past participle of umstriden (“to mount (a horse)”), equivalent to um- + stride. Compare astride.


umcast

en-verb

umcast (third-person singular simple present umcasts, present participle umcasting, simple past and past participle umcast)

umcasts (present singular third-person)
umcasting (participle present)
umcast (participle past)
umcast (past)

From Middle English umcasten, umbecasten, equivalent to um- + cast.

to umcast a splice = to fasten it by a wrapping of cord


SORN

(UK, automotive) Acronym of statutory off-road notification.


OFT

Office of Fair Trading
w:Office of Fair Trading

(UK) Initialism of Office of Fair Trading.


umbeclap

umbeclap (third-person singular simple present umbeclaps, present participle umbeclapping, simple past and past participle umbeclapped)

umbeclaps (present singular third-person)
umbeclapping (participle present)
umbeclapped (participle past)
umbeclapped (past)

From Middle English umbeclappen. By surface analysis, umbe- + clap, or um- + beclap.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To embrace; enclose.


umbegrip

umbegrip (third-person singular simple present umbegrips, present participle umbegripping, simple past and past participle umbegripped)

umbegrips (present singular third-person)
umbegripping (participle present)
umbegripped (participle past)
umbegripped (past)

From Middle English umbegrippen, equivalent to umbe- + grip.

(obsolete, transitive, UK dialectal) To seize hold of.


bedirten

en-adj

bedirten (comparative more bedirten, superlative most bedirten)

more bedirten (comparative)
most bedirten (superlative)

From Middle English bedritten, past participle of bedriten (“to befoul”), equivalent to be- + dritten. More at bedrite.

(obsolete, UK dialectal) Fouled with dirt or excrement; befouled.


bedrite

en-verb

bedrite (third-person singular simple present bedrites, present participle bedriting, simple past bedrote or bedrit, past participle bedritten)

bedrites (present singular third-person)
bedriting (participle present)
bedrote (past)
bedrit (past)
bedritten (participle past)

(transitive, obsolete, UK dialectal) To befoul with ordure; bedirt.


downarg

downarg (third-person singular simple present downargs, present participle downarging, simple past and past participle downarged)

downargs (present singular third-person)
downarging (participle present)
downarged (participle past)
downarged (past)

(transitive, UK dialectal) To gainsay or contradict in an overbearing, domineering manner; browbeat; assert violently.


PEP

en-noun

PEP (countable and uncountable, plural PEPs)

(UK, finance) Initialism of personal equity plan (a former financial instrument).

politically exposed person
w:politically exposed person

(UK, countable) Initialism of politically exposed person.


bottom of the table

(UK, sports) Finishing in last place in the standings in a league or tournament.


Jacob's ladder

[…] because the left leg of her tights has exhibited symptoms of the defect in the warp known as a "Jacob's ladder."

(UK, slang, obsolete) A ladder or run in a pair of tights.


crack onto

en-verb

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

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

(slang, UK, Australia, transitive) To flirt with; to approach and speak to (someone), seeking romance, love, sex, etc.


blow me

With a look of disdain, he exclaimed: “Blow me, your shirt! Why in 'ell didn't you use mud?”

1917, Arthur Guy Empey, “Lewis Gun”, in Over the Top, G. P. Putnam's, page 44:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, dated, informal) Ellipsis of blow me tight.


overbreak

overbreak (third-person singular simple present overbreaks, present participle overbreaking, simple past overbroke, past participle overbroken)

overbreaks (present singular third-person)
overbreaking (participle present)
overbroke (past)
overbroken (participle past)

From Middle English *overbreken, from Old English oferbrecan (“to transgress, violate”), equivalent to over- + break.

der

He was never able to overbreak his rheumatism.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To get over; recover from.


overcatch

en-verb

overcatch (third-person singular simple present overcatches, present participle overcatching, simple past and past participle overcaught)

overcatches (present singular third-person)
overcatching (participle present)
overcaught (participle past)
overcaught (past)

She sent an arrow forth with mighty draught ,
That in the very dore him overcaught

1590, Edmund Spenser, “(please specify the book)”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:


lay on

lay on (third-person singular simple present lays on, present participle laying on, simple past and past participle laid on)

lays on (present singular third-person)
laying on (participle present)
laid on (participle past)
laid on (past)

(UK) To give (something) as a gift, special treat or bonus.


fleak

The uſes indeed of the forenamed Plants are ſo univerſall, and take place ſo in every affaire of Man, that if it vvere lavvfull to be a little merry in ſo ſerious a matter, a man might not unfittingly apply that verſe of the Poet [Ovid, Epistulae ex Ponto (Letters from the Black Sea), book IV, 3-35] to this ſo generall a commodity; / Omnia ſunt homini tenui pendentia filo. / That all the buſineſſes of Men do very much depend upon theſe little long fleaks or threds of Hempe and Flaxa.

1653, Henry More, “Arguments of Divine Providence Drawn from the Usefulness of Plants”, in An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God, London: […] Roger Daniel, […], →OCLC, book I, page 73:

Above that Region the Wind blew at South-weſt by South, as appeared by ſome ſmall Fleaks of Clouds coming from that Quarter.

1741 January–March, Eustachio Zanotti, “VII. A Collection of the Observations of the Remarkable Red Lights Seen in the Air on Dec. 5. 1737. Sent from Different Places to the Royal Society. [3. Description of an Aurora Borealis Observed at the Observatory of the Institute of Bononia, the Night of the ⁵⁄₁₆ of December 1737. […]]”, in T. S., transl., Philosophical Transactions. Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours, of the Ingenious, in Many Considerable Parts of the World, volume XLI, part II, number 459, London: […] T. Woodward, and C. Davis, […] ; printers to the Royal Society, published 1744, →OCLC, page 600:

(obsolete except British, dialectal) Synonym of flake

A small, light piece that is only loosely joined to something else, and which has a tendency to detach.

Plutarke alſo calleth this beaſt a meticulous and fearefull beaſt, and in this cauſe concludeth the change of his colour, not as ſome ſay, to auoyde and deceiue the beholders and to vvorke out his ovvne happineuſſe, but for meere dread and terrour. […] But I for my part doe aſſigne the true cauſe to bee in the thinneſſe of their skinne, and therefore may eaſily take impreſſion of any colour, like to a thin fleake of a horne, vvhich being layde ouer blacke, ſeemeth blacke, and ſo ouer other colours: […]

1608, Edward Topsell, “Of the Chamæleon”, in The Historie of Serpents. Or, The Second Booke of Liuing Creatures: […], London: […] William Jaggard, →OCLC, page 116:

Now, it is very demonſtrable from vvhat has been ſaid, that all ſuch Effects may be produc'd by a Prick of a Nail, a Stub, or a Fleak, when it ſticks in thoſe tender ſenſible Parts, […] [I]f there be any Fleak or Piece of Nail remaining in the Quick, vvhich may be knovvn by examining the Nail you have pull'd out, or by the continued Pain, with a conſtant Diſcharge of matter, you may introduce a Piece of dry Spunge, made in form of a Tent, vvith a Thread dravvn through the End of it: […]

1722, W[illiam] Gibson, “Of Retraits and Pricks in the Foot”, in The Farrier’s New Guide. […], 3rd edition, London: […] S. Palmer, for William Taylor, […], →OCLC, page 252:

A thin piece that is chipped or peeled off from the surface of something else.

Upon Examination, I found that they [the fat] conſiſted of regular large Laminæ: vvhich vvere eaſily ſeparable from one another, in broad Fleaks; […]

1698 April, Edw[ard] Tyson, “Carigueya, seu Marsupiale Americanum. Or, The Anatomy of an Opossum, Dissected at Gresham-College by Edvv. Tyson, […]”, in Philosophical Transactions. Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies and Labours of the Ingenious, in Many Considerable Parts of the World, volume XX, number 239, London: […] Sam[uel] Smith and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 139:

A thin piece that the flesh of some animals (such as fish) tends to break into.


knobtwat

(UK, neologism, vulgar, informal, derogatory) A stupid or contemptible person.


clown about

clown about (third-person singular simple present clowns about, present participle clowning about, simple past and past participle clowned about)

clowns about (present singular third-person)
clowning about (participle present)
clowned about (participle past)
clowned about (past)

(UK) to have fun in an irresponsible manner


overword

/ˈəʊ.və(ɹ)ˌwɜːd/

(UK, dialectal) Any word or phrase frequently repeated.

(UK, dialectal) The burden or chorus of a song.


chips with everything

It was one of the first to lead the charge to wean Glaswegians away from their "chips-with-everything" habit.

1997 May, The Rotarian, volume 170, number 5, page 24:

Mijas village has some excellent restaurants in among the 'chips with everything' establishments catering for the day trippers.

2007, Andy Symington, 'Footprint Andalucía, page 253:

For almost a century, Long's has been serving misers, minions and millionaires its classic chips with everything fast food ....

2008, Heidi McAlpin, Belfast In Your Pocket:

In the post-chips-with-everything world, here is a selection of what various companies have on the menu ....

2009 April 22, Hattie Ellis, “Are you being served?”, in The Times, London, section T2, pp. 2-3:

(UK, used attributively, usually derogatory) A basic restaurant menu, without much planning or style.


Birmingham screwdriver

en-noun

Birmingham screwdriver (plural Birmingham screwdrivers)

Humorously suggesting that people from Birmingham rely on the use of force to solve problems.

I'll be watching the fucker like a hawk with a Birmingham screwdriver to the ready should I spot anything untoward.

2003, Alex Ferrier, “Insurance Payout?”, in uk.rec.motorcycles (Usenet):

Tinkering – the Midlands, especially, had a tradition, killed off by the introduction of the MoT test, of men who built cars called 'specials', bodged with a Birmingham screwdriver from components of other cars.

2012, Jonathan Meades, Museum Without Walls, Random House, →ISBN:

“I feel like I've been walloped with a Birmingham screwdriver!”

2014, RJ Smith, Cataclysm, Storyteller Entertainment, LLC, →ISBN:


shitly

en-adv

shitly (comparative more shitly, superlative most shitly)

more shitly (comparative)
most shitly (superlative)

(vulgar, rare, chiefly UK) Terribly; extremely poorly.


foresighty

en-adj

foresighty (comparative more foresighty, superlative most foresighty)

more foresighty (comparative)
most foresighty (superlative)

From foresight + -y. Cognate with Scots foresichtie, forsichty, Dutch voorzichtig, German vorsichtig.

Wi' thoughts like these hid in her breast, Awa flew the foresighty beast, [...]

1801, James Thomson, Poems, in the Scottish dialect:

Surely, my dear lady, you are, as they say in the north, 'fearfu' foresighty.'

1856, Anna Cabot Lowell, Seed-grain for thought and discussion:

(chiefly UK dialectal) Foresighted; provident; cautious; careful.


fireworks night

en-noun

fireworks night (plural fireworks nights)


overhope

From Middle English overhope, oferhope, equivalent to over- + hope.

(UK dialectal) Hopefulness; sanguineness.


overhope

en-verb

overhope (third-person singular simple present overhopes, present participle overhoping, simple past and past participle overhoped)

overhopes (present singular third-person)
overhoping (participle present)
overhoped (participle past)
overhoped (past)

(transitive, UK dialectal) To hope constantly.


overish

en-adj

overish (comparative more overish, superlative most overish)

more overish (comparative)
most overish (superlative)

(UK dialectal) Qualmish; weak; alarmed; nervous.


shup

- That shirt looks well bad.

- Shup mate!

(UK, slang) Pronunciation spelling of shut up.


under the cosh

Having been under the cosh Swansea were enjoying a promising spell and Begovic had to deny Graham having a free header before Swansea's record signing secured victory with five minutes remaining.

2011 October 2, Aled Williams, “Swansea 2 - 0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport Wales:

(UK, informal) subjected to (figurative) pressure; under the gun


garden city

Coined in the 1890s by Ebenezer Howard (1850-1928).

(UK, urban studies) Any of several planned, self-contained communities, surrounded by "green belts", containing proportionate areas of residences, industry and agriculture.


radioflash

en-noun

radioflash (usually uncountable, plural radioflashes)

electromagnetic pulse
electromagnetic pulse


drop a brick

en-verb

drop a brick (third-person singular simple present drops a brick, present participle dropping a brick, simple past and past participle dropped a brick)

drops a brick (present singular third-person)
dropping a brick (participle present)
dropped a brick (participle past)
dropped a brick (past)

It was on one of those Tuesdays that I dropped a brick, the memory of which still haunts me after more than forty years. A very loquacious lady, whom I had never seen before, appeared to be talking through her nose. “Don't you think,” I said to one of my neighbours, by way of starting conversation, “that lady would be well advised to sound her trumpet less often?”
“You bet I do! I've not been able to get used to it these thirty years.”
And as I stared at him, horror-struck:
“Yes. I'm her husband.”

1978, Ambroise Vollard, translated by Violet M. MacDonald, Recollections of a Picture Dealer, Dover Publications, published 2003, page 28:

I remember dropping a brick when I first met her. As she at once started calling me 'Harry' in the way Americans are apt to do, the surname becoming immediately superfluous. I ventured to ask her what her Christian name was.
‘I'm not a Christian, Harry.’

1998, Harry Brewster, A Cosmopolite's Journey: Episodes from a Life, page 216:

(UK, idiomatic) To commit a faux pas, especially in speech, such as by tactlessly speaking of a subject that should not be mentioned.


neeze

neeze (third-person singular simple present neezes, present participle neezing, simple past and past participle neezed)

neezes (present singular third-person)
neezing (participle present)
neezed (participle past)
neezed (past)

From Middle English nesen, from Old English *hnēosan (“to sneeze”), from Proto-West Germanic *hneusan, from Proto-Germanic *hneusaną (“to sneeze”), from a merger of Proto-Indo-European *(s)knus- (“to sneeze”) and Proto-Indo-European *pnew- (“to gasp, pant, breathe”). See sneeze. Compare Dutch niezen, German niesen, Swedish nysa

der

(intransitive, UK dialectal or archaic) To sneeze.


pinter

(in combinations, UK, slang) The drinking of a certain number of pints of beer

“Anyway, I'd best get a shuffle on. Got to pick some milk up, you see.” “I've just been too.” Sure enough he showed the hedgehog a four-pinter.

2006, Martyn J. Pass, Dani Pass, Waiting for Red, page 262:

(in combinations, UK, slang) A container that holds a certain number of pints.

She's so ugly, an eight-pinter, I'd say.

(in combinations, UK, slang) Something that takes a certain number of pints of beer to appreciate.


Mischief Night

(UK, Canada, US) A particular night during which young people play pranks and do mischief in their neighborhoods.

(dated, originally) The night before May Day.

(UK) Mostly practiced in the North West of England, Mischief night (“missie night” in Liverpool ) is the 30th of October (the night before Halloween).

Trick Night

around New York City, Connecticut, Rhode Island

Cabbage Night

upstate New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont

especially in upstate New York, Vermont, and Bergen County, NJ

Devil's Night

Chicago, Michigan, Maryland, New Jersey, coastal New England

(US, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and especially New Jersey) The night of the 30th to the 31st of October (the night before Halloween).

Maryland; Delaware; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut; Maryland; Delaware; Massachusetts; Rhode Island; Connecticut


glucose-fructose syrup

en-noun

glucose-fructose syrup (countable and uncountable, plural glucose-fructose syrups)

High fructose corn syrup
high fructose corn syrup


what-what

(UK, dated) Used to add emphasis to, and to seek agreement with, a previous statement.


Botany Bay fever

What!—me not know my * * * Testament! Why!—it's the only * * * book you get a word of when you're nursing for Botany Bay fever.

1914, William Frend De Morgan, When Ghost Meets Ghost, page 410:

(UK, euphemistic, obsolete) Penal servitude; transportation.


misanalyse

en-verb

misanalyse (third-person singular simple present misanalyses, present participle misanalysing, simple past and past participle misanalysed)

misanalyses (present singular third-person)
misanalysing (participle present)
misanalysed (participle past)
misanalysed (past)

(chiefly UK England) Alternative form of misanalyze


queal

queal (third-person singular simple present queals, present participle quealing, simple past and past participle quealed)

queals (present singular third-person)
quealing (participle present)
quealed (participle past)
quealed (past)

From Middle English quelen, from Old English cwelan (“to die”), from Proto-West Germanic *kwelan, from Proto-Germanic *kwelaną (“to suffer”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to sting, pierce”). Related to Middle Dutch quelen, queilen. Doublet of quail.

der

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To faint away.


Botany Bay

The bay was named by explorer James Cook for the variety of plants observed near the shore.
(Worcester College): So called from its remote situation.

(UK, slang, obsolete) Worcester College, Oxford.


hold the ring

en-verb

hold the ring (third-person singular simple present holds the ring, present participle holding the ring, simple past and past participle held the ring)

holds the ring (present singular third-person)
holding the ring (participle present)
held the ring (participle past)
held the ring (past)

/ˈhəʊld ðə ˌɹɪŋ/

/ˈhɔʊld ðə ˌɹɪŋ/

/ˈhoʊld ðə ˌɹɪŋ/

Probably from keep the ring. In days past when spectators would encircle participants in a prizefight or a performance, people would be employed to maintain order among them and keep them from coming too near the participants.

Police held the ring during the protests.

In England a century earlier it had been a struggle between two warring houses, in France it was now a struggle between three: Guise, Montmorency and Bourbon, with the feeble government of Catherine de Medici vainly trying to hold the ring.

1968, J. Hurstfield, “Social Structure, Office-holding and Politics, Chiefly in Western Europe”, in R[ichard] B[ruce] Wernham, editor, The New Cambridge Modern History, volumes III (The Counter-Reformation and Price Revolution 1559–1610), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 132:

While this debate was going on in Nature another was being conduct in Archaeometry. This was between Betancourt – and his old colleague Michael – and Warren, with the English archaeometrist M. J. Aitken holding the ring.

1991, Martin [Gardiner] Bernal, “The Thera Eruption: From the Aegean to China”, in Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization, volumes II (The Archaeological and Documentary Evidence), New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, →ISBN, page 288:

It is the great powers that create international upheavals. In 1912–13 the Balkan powers fought two bitter wars among themselves, while the great powers held the ring.

2002, Martin Wight, “International Anarchy”, in Hedley Bull, Carsten Holbraad, editors, Power Politics, →ISBN, page 100:

Lieutenant-General Fry says that coalition forces will continue military operations "to separate the two sides of the sectarian conflict" but that such operations were meant to hold the ring until the politicians come up with a solution.

2006 August 31, “Holding the ring in the capital: Embedded with American troops in a volatile district, our correspondent asks how long they can prevent an all-out sectarian war”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 2016-03-06:

(chiefly British, idiomatic) To oversee a situation while attempting to remain uninvolved in it.


saught

From Middle English saughte, seihte, from Old English saht, seaht, seht (“settlement, arrangement, agreement, terms arranged between two parties by an umpire, a peace between two powers, friendship, peace”), from Proto-Germanic *sahtiz (“reproach, agreement, reconciliation”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to seek, trace”). Cognate with Old Norse sátt, sætt (“covenant, agreement, settlement, reconciliation”).

der

(UK dialectal, archaic) Reconciliation; peace; ease.


saught

en-verb

saught (third-person singular simple present saughts, present participle saughting, simple past and past participle saughted)

saughts (present singular third-person)
saughting (participle present)
saughted (participle past)
saughted (past)

(transitive, intransitive, UK dialectal) To reconcile; become reconciled.


saught

en-adj

saught (comparative more saught, superlative most saught)

more saught (comparative)
most saught (superlative)

(UK dialectal) Reconciled; agreed; at one.


wretchock

From wretch + -ock (“diminutive suffix”).

(British, dialectal) A stunted or abortive cock; the smallest of a brood of domestic birds; any puny or imperfect creature.


balter

en-verb

balter (third-person singular simple present balters, present participle baltering, simple past and past participle baltered)

balters (present singular third-person)
baltering (participle present)
baltered (participle past)
baltered (past)

From Middle English balteren, of North Germanic origin, related to Danish baltre, boltre (“to roll, tumble, gambol, romp”).

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To become tangled or matted.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To tangle; clot; mat (as in the hair).


council-housed

(UK, Ireland) Living in a council house.


manœuver

manœuver (third-person singular simple present manœuvers, present participle manœuvering, simple past and past participle manœuvered)

manœuvers (present singular third-person)
manœuvering (participle present)
manœuvered (participle past)
manœuvered (past)


council tax

en-noun

council tax (countable and uncountable, plural council taxes)

In a war of words that has broken out between Khan and Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps, the Mayor was accused of sending revenue-raising proposals to Shapps some three weeks late, giving him little choice but to extend negotiations. Khan countered this by alleging that 'unfair' conditions, such as raising council tax, are being attached to any new funding deal that would "punish Londoners" for the effect the pandemic has had on passenger numbers. He added: "These short-term deals are trapping TfL on life support rather than putting it on the path to long-term sustainability."

2022 January 12, “Network News: Further extension to Transport for London emergency funding”, in RAIL, number 948, page 8:

(UK) The taxation paid towards the local government.


council house

The modern council house, with its bathroom and electric light, is smaller than the stockbroker's villa, but it is recognizably the same kind of house, which the farm labourer’s cottage is not.

1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn:

She maintains that the internet should face similar curbs to TV because young people are increasingly living online. "It's totally different, someone at Google watching the video from the comfort of their office in San Francisco to someone from a council house in London, where this video is happening right outside their front door."

2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:

(UK, Ireland) A house built and operated by local town councils, usually of relatively low price and lived in by the working class and welfare recipients.

kunnan omistama vuokra-asunto

house built and operated by a local council


whemmel

en-verb

whemmel (third-person singular simple present whemmels, present participle whemmeling or whemmeling, simple past and past participle whemmeled or whemmeled)

whemmels (present singular third-person)
whemmeling (participle present)
whemmeled (participle past)
whemmeled (past)

A frequentative form of whelm equivalent to whelm + -le, or formed from that word by metathesis.

(British dialectal, Scotland, transitive) To engulf, to submerge.

(British dialectal, Scotland, transitive) To throw (something) over a thing so as to cover it.

(British dialectal, Scotland, transitive) To turn (something) upside down, to invert; to capsize, to overturn; (specifically) to drink a glass (of an alcoholic beverage) completely.

(British dialectal, Scotland, transitive, figuratively) To confound, to disrupt.

(British dialectal, Scotland, intransitive) To capsize; to walk clumsily; to fall over.


browsewood

(archaic, UK) Shrubs, trees, and bushes upon which animals browse.


gabel

From French gabelle, from Late Latin gabella, gabulum, gablum; of uncertain origin. Compare gavel (“tribute”).

He enables St. Peter to pay his gabel by the ministry of a fish.

1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, The Rule and Exercises of Holy Living. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Francis Ashe […], →OCLC:

(UK, law, obsolete) A rent, service, tribute, custom, tax, impost, or duty; an excise.


wetbird

From wet + bird; the chaffinch's cry was believed to foretell rain.


nonregent

(UK, universities) A master of arts whose regency has ceased.


noncontent

(UK, politics, dated or historical) Someone who gives a negative or opposing vote in the House of Lords.


nutjobber

From nut + jobber. Compare nuthacker, nutcracker.

(archaic, UK, dialect) A bird of family Sittidae; a nuthatch.


atto-metre

(British) Alternative spelling of atto-meter


yottagramme

(rare, British) Alternative spelling of yottagram


prad

Borrowed from Dutch paard (“horse”). Doublet of palfrey.

Horse Stealers, they go together always the Day before, to look over the Grounds for a good Prad or Prads […]

1754, John Poulter, The Discoveries of John Poulter, alias Baxter, Sherborne, page 39:

We had fixed our eye on a horse-dealer, and had some conversation with him about the purchase of a prad; but we could not agree, and parted, on account of a deeker, who was eyeing us closely, and I observed him speak to the jockey.

1821, David Haggart, The Life of David Haggart, written by himself while under sentence of death, London: W. and C. Tait, page 22:

'Just send somebody out to relieve my mate, will you, young man?' said the officer; 'he's in the gig, a-minding the prad. […]'

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

1893, Ernest Favenc, "Bunthorp's Decease" in Tales of the Austral Tropics, London: Osgood, MacIlvaine & Co., 1894, http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600691h.html
"Not a bad sort of a prad that brown one," he remarked; "looks a little gone in the near fore-leg."

So smooth of face, so fine of eye, so much a beautiful part of his beautiful chestnut prad.

1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter XIII, in Capricornia, New York: D. Appleton-Century, published 1943, page 212:

(UK, Australia, New Zealand, informal, dated) A horse.


sixth-former

[T]hey were baffled by tears in moustached sixth-formers, by walls of impassivity in the Lower School, by silent conspiracies which nullified the rules.

1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 37:

(UK, Australia) A pupil in the sixth form.


snotter

en-noun

snotter (countable and uncountable, plural snotters)

We had our regular rendezvous, […] where we refreshed ourselves with meat and drink, sung obscene and abominable songs […], instructed the younger members systematically in prigging (stealing,) concerted robberies, washed and valued "snotters" (handkerchiefs,) and disposed of them, besides the other practices of a nefarious and abandoned fraternity.

1849, The Ragged School Union Magazine, volumes 1-2, page 175:

You're barely breaking even with the snotters stealing handkerchiefs in the square.

2020, Ellie Jacobs, The Last Orphan: A Victorian Romance:

(UK, slang, obsolete) A pickpocket who steals handkerchiefs.


tufthunter

The earl seeing the ecclesiastic abase himself before mere rank , clearly took him for a toady and a tufthunter

(UK, slang, archaic) A hanger-on to noblemen or persons of quality, especially in English universities; a toady.


knitster

Welch KNITSTERS curse the weaving company

1775, Charles Hutton, The Diarian Miscellany:

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A woman who knits.


jerquing

(UK, archaic) The searching of a ship for undocumented goods.


rine

en-verb

rine (third-person singular simple present rines, present participle rining, simple past and past participle rined)

rines (present singular third-person)
rining (participle present)
rined (participle past)
rined (past)

From Middle English rinen, from Old English hrīnan, from Proto-West Germanic *hrīnan, from Proto-Germanic *hrīnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *krey- (“to strip, touch”).

der

(transitive, UK dialectal) To concern; affect.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To pertain to; fall to.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To tend to a certain effect or outcome.


rine

From Middle English rune, from Old English ryne (“a course, run, running, orbit, a flow, flux, period of time, cycle, luster, expanse, extent”), from Proto-Germanic *runiz (“course”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to cause to move, grow”). Cognate with German Ronne (“a channel”), Icelandic ryne (“a flow, stream”). See runnel.


whisket

(UK, dialect) A basket; especially, a straw provender basket.


duddery

(archaic, UK) A place where rags are bought and kept for sale.


jemminess

its fort shall be either convenience or jemminess, or a proper mixture of both

1757, Fulke Greville, Maxims, characters, and reflections, critical, satirical:

(UK, slang, archaic) Alternative spelling of gemminess


dreave

en-verb

dreave (third-person singular simple present dreaves, present participle dreaving, simple past and past participle dreft or dreaved)

dreaves (present singular third-person)
dreaving (participle present)
dreft (participle past)
dreft (past)
dreaved (participle past)
dreaved (past)

From Middle English dreven, from Old English drǣfan (“to drive, drive out, expel”), from Proto-Germanic *draibijaną (“to cause to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰreybʰ- (“to drive, push”). Cognate with Icelandic dreifa (“to spread out, disperse”). More at drive.

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To drive; drive out; drive away; expel.


dreave

From Middle English draf, from Old English drāf (“a drove, herd”). More at drove.

(UK dialectal) A crowd or throng of people.

(UK dialectal, Scotland) The yearly herring fishing.

(UK dialectal, Scotland) A shoal of fish; a catch.


whewer

Century, Wright's English Dialect Dictionary and the 1933 OED take it to be from whew (“(to make) a shrill whistling sound like the cry of a plover”) + -er, and early cites also call the bird the "whistling widgeon".

Peckards 3—broadbills 5—whewers 2

1634, Althorp MS. in Simpkinson, Washingtons (1860), page xxiii

Boscas, aliis Anas Fistularis … the Whewer, or Whistling Widgeon.

With the Fish I have put up in a Box some Water Fowl, viz. a Pocker, a Smew, three Sheldins, a Widgeon, and a Whewer; which two last are Male and Female of the same kind.

1718 [1674], John Ray, Francis Willughby, Philosophical Letters Between the Late Learned Mr. Ray and Several of His Ingenious Correspondents, Natives and Foreigners: To which are Added Those of Francis Willughby Esq, page 21:

Widgeons are common in Cambridgeshire, the Isle of Ely, &c. where the male is called the widgeon, and the female, the whewer. They feed upon wild periwinkles, grass, weeds, &c. which grow at the bottom of rivers and lakes. Their flesh has a very delicious taste, not inferior to teal, or wild ducks.

1806, Thomas Smith, The Naturalist's Cabinet: Containing Interesting Sketches of Natural History; Illustrative of the Natures, Dispositions, Manners, and Habits of All the Most Remarkable Quadrupeds, Birds, Fishes, Amphibia, Reptiles, &c. in the Known World, page 217:

the choicer fowl of mallard and widgeon (locally "whewers"), both in the Humber and the Tees, the former species being, of course, resident in the county.

1908, Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic News, page 172:

Mareca penelope
Mareca penelope#Translingual

(UK, dialect) whew duck, Eurasian wigeon, wigeon (Mareca penelope).


kittlish

en-adj

kittlish (comparative more kittlish, superlative most kittlish)

more kittlish (comparative)
most kittlish (superlative)


waggie

(UK, dialect) The pied wagtail, a small passerine bird, Motacilla alba yarrellii, a subspecies of the white wagtail, found in Britain and Ireland.


wandy

wandy (comparative more wandy, superlative most wandy)

more wandy (comparative)
most wandy (superlative)

His wandy circlet with his bladed bands

1880, Sidney Lanier, “On a Palmetto”, in Poems:

(UK, dialect) Long and flexible, like a wand; wandlike


vinny

vinny (comparative more vinny, superlative most vinny)

more vinny (comparative)
most vinny (superlative)

From Middle English *vinny, *finny, from Old English fyniġ (“mouldy”); related to vinew.

vinny cheese


arsehead

Blackadder: Meet the new Member of Parliament for Danny-on-the-Wold.
Prince George: But he's an absolute arsehead!

1987, Blackadder the Third: Dish and Dishonesty:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar, derogatory, slang) An idiotic or undesirable person.


have a pop at

en-verb

have a pop at (third-person singular simple present has a pop at, present participle having a pop at, simple past and past participle had a pop at)

has a pop at (present singular third-person)
having a pop at (participle present)
had a pop at (participle past)
had a pop at (past)

I called this guy gay, and then he had a pop at me.

For quotations using this term, see Citations:have a pop at.

(UK, slang, transitive) To attack or start a fight with something or someone.


wrongous

en-adj

wrongous (comparative more wrongous, superlative most wrongous)

more wrongous (comparative)
most wrongous (superlative)

From Middle English wrongous, for earlier wrongwis, wrangwis, from Old English wrongwīs, wrangwīs (“wrongous, rough, uneven”), equivalent to wrong + -ous (see also wrongwise). Cognate with Swedish vrångvis (“wrong, iniquitous”). See wrong, and compare righteous.

It’s my opinion that the creature Dougal will have a good action of wrongous imprisonment and damages again him, under the Act seventeen hundred and one, and I’ll see the creature righted.

1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter III, in Rob Roy. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, page 61:

If the prisoner is detained an unreasonable time, he would have an action for wrongous imprisonment.

1879, James Paterson, Reports of Scotch Appeals in the House of Lords:

(UK dialectal, Scotland, especially law) Wrongful; not right; unjust; illegal.


MCAT

(UK, slang, uncountable) the drug mephedrone.


bunny wunny

(UK, childish or endearing) A bunny; a rabbit.


fishy wishy

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


grinding frame

Any frame for supporting a grinding apparatus.

(UK, archaic) A machine for grinding the teeth of card clothing used on a carding machine


knacky

knacky (comparative more knacky, superlative most knacky)

more knacky (comparative)
most knacky (superlative)

I spak about to your highness, and a weel clinkit commodity it seems to me to be: he's a bit knacky clever body, that same Willie Dunbar

1830, Alexander Campbell, Perkin Warbeck:

(UK, dialect) Having a knack; cunning; crafty.


trender

(UK, dialect, obsolete) One who cleans the filth from wool.


nunu

(childish, slang, UK) A vulva or vagina.


woolhall

(UK, historical) A trade market in the wool districts.


twinter

(UK, dialect, obsolete) An animal two winters old.


barth

unk

Etymology unknown.

In tempest[…]Warme barth, vnder hedge, is a sucker to beast.

1573, Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandrie:

(UK, obsolete, dialect) A place of shelter for cattle.


onstead

With loss of original w-, due to Scandinavian una (“to reside, dwell”), from *wonstead, from won (“to reside, dwell”) + stead. More at wone, stead.
Alternatively, possibly a corruption of homestead.

The farm onsteads on many properties are old, and afford too little accommodation

1737, Mr David Wilson, “on the Present State of the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire”, in Prize-essays and Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland:

The onstead, which is nearly the same as when inhabited by the poet, lies about seven miles from the town, on the right hand side of the road, surrounded by a few trees.

1828, Robert Chambers, The Picture of Scotland, volume 1, page 232:

We then did a house at Mowhaugh, and a farm-house at Stodrig, and a part of an onstead. I did the wrightwork of a house at Bemersyde, and an onstead at Butchercote.

1875, Rev. John Thomson, Life and Times of William Thomson:

(UK, Scotland, dialect, archaic) A single farmhouse; a steading.


maungy

en-adj

maungy (comparative more maungy, superlative most maungy)

more maungy (comparative)
most maungy (superlative)

Get thisen to bed, thee maungy little tyke, Aw've tell'd thee time an agean!

(British, Yorkshire, especially of a child) Sulky, bad-tempered, or peevish.


lofe

en-verb

lofe (third-person singular simple present lofes, present participle lofing, simple past and past participle lofed)

lofes (present singular third-person)
lofing (participle present)
lofed (participle past)
lofed (past)

Inherited from Middle English loven (“to praise, set a price on”), from Old English lofian (“to praise, exalt, appraise, value, set a price on”), from Proto-West Germanic *lobōn, from Proto-Germanic *lubōną (“to praise, vow”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“to love, like”).
Cognate with Scots loave (“to offer at a price”), North Frisian lowe (“to vow, swear”), Dutch loven (“to praise, bless, commend”), German loben (“to praise, laud, commend”), Icelandic lofa (“to promise, praise, allow”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal or obsolete) To praise; commend.


pigs in the parlour

Before 1968, what little coverage there was of Irish affairs was of the traditional 'pigs in the parlour' kind.

1986, Yonah Alexander, Alan O'Day, Ireland's terrorist dilemma, page 111:

(Ireland, UK) An allegory for a backward rural society.


swashy

en-adj

swashy (comparative more swashy, superlative most swashy)

more swashy (comparative)
most swashy (superlative)


faddle

en-verb

faddle (third-person singular simple present faddles, present participle faddling, simple past and past participle faddled)

faddles (present singular third-person)
faddling (participle present)
faddled (participle past)
faddled (past)

Even then, when nurse is ready to take baby out for a walk, properly wrapped up, faddling Mamma comes to examine, if not a little corner remains to be closed to the air.

1893, Sebastian Kneipp, My Water-cure Tested for Than 35 Years and Published for the Cure of Diseases and the Preservation of Health, page 26:

“The last year she spent faddling at Aunt Mai's […] I am not sure this is necessary to her happiness, this faddling after other people. Now, to faddle after folk, who don't want you, is madness . . . but to faddle after those that do is very good employment. Now […] you are the very person for her, for she dotes on you […]”

1950, Cecil Woodham-Smith, quoting Mary Elizabeth Mohl, Florence Nightingale 1820-1910, page 435:

She was doing no good in church all put about and faddling after Blackie.

1974, Sydney John Watson, The Cottage Countess: An Historical Romance, page 44:


stonebrash

en-noun

stonebrash (countable and uncountable, plural stonebrashes)

(archaic, UK) A subsoil made up of small stones or finely broken rock.


daddock

Compare dialectal English dad (“large piece”), and see -ock.

We crushed the flowers to dust again, And leaped the daddock pile, And hunted, with a careless rein, The foe in savage style.

1866, Isaac B. Rich, Gazelle: A True Tale of the Great Rebellion, and Other Poems, page 137:

and you have not enough Of fairness left to tempt a truant hand To pluck you from the daddock in the clough, And give your spirit to the summer land

The partridge drums upon the hill, a daddock old and battered, While, now and then, an oriole lights up a scarlet gleam.

1890, Emma Rood Tuttle, From Soul to Soul, page 198:

Delicate sensitiveness will turn away in fear and disgust as some mouldering daddock is removed, and lizards, sloes, darting beetles, and plodding snails are dazed by the light.

1892, Hudson Tuttle, The Convent of the Sacred Heart, page 4:

Christendom's favouring renegades was of the greatest service to the Hebrew race, for it helped Judaism to despumate her ills and diseases; every tree has its daddock. The blackmailing Jewish apostates were the daddock of Israel.

1898, Gustav Pearlson, Twelve Centuries of Jewish Persecution, page 234:

(UK, dialect) The rotten body of a tree.


killigrew

(UK, Scotland, dialect, archaic) A bird, the red-billed chough.


fleetings

As soon as the whey is exhausted of its cream , about two quarts of butter-milk is poured into it , which again breaks into what are called fleetings or flit milk

1813, H. Holland, General View of the Agriculture of Cheshire:

(UK, dialect) A mixture of buttermilk and boiling whey; curds.


bushelage

bushelage (usually uncountable, plural bushelages)

(UK, archaic) A duty payable on goods by the bushel.


reverse ferret

The term originates from Kelvin MacKenzie's time at the The Sun. His preferred description of the role of journalists when it came to public figures was to "stick a ferret up their trousers". This meant making their lives uncomfortable, and was based on the northern sport of ferret-legging. However, when it became clear that the tide of public opinion had turned against the paper's line, MacKenzie would burst from his office shouting "Reverse Ferret!"

(UK media) A sudden volte-face in an organisation's editorial line on a certain issue, especially one without acknowledgment of the previous position.


scrubstone

(archaic, UK, dialect) A form of calciferous sandstone.


snape

en-verb

snape (third-person singular simple present snapes, present participle snaping, simple past and past participle snaped)

snapes (present singular third-person)
snaping (participle present)
snaped (participle past)
snaped (past)

Origin obscure. Perhaps from snape, a dialectal variant of sneap (“to nip, bite, pinch”). More at sneap.

It had to be accurately cut and trimmed, and its upper edge scored to suit the snaping of every beam end.

2000, William L. Crothers, The American-built Clipper Ship, 1850-1856, International Marine, page 265:

(nautical, shipbuilding) To bevel the end of a timber to fit against an inclined surface.


formedon

From Old French [Term?], from Latin [Term?], so called because the plaintiff claimed “by the form of the gift”: per formam doni.

So, if Lands be given to Father and Son, and to the heirs of their two bodies begotten, the remainder over in fee, and afterwards the Father dieth without any Iſſue but the Son, and afterwards the Son dieth without Iſſue, and a Stranger abateth, he in the remainder ſhall have one Formedon in the remainder, although the Eſtate tails were ſeveral, […]

1680, Edward Coke, “Mich. 7 Jacobi. In the Common Pleas. Buckmere’s Case.”, in The Reports of Sir Edward Coke, Kt. […], 2nd edition, London: […] H. Twyford, […], →OCLC, part VI, pages 570–571:

(British, law, historical) A writ of right for a tenant in tail in case of a discontinuance of the estate tail.


ingross

ingross (third-person singular simple present ingrosses, present participle ingrossing, simple past and past participle ingrossed)

ingrosses (present singular third-person)
ingrossing (participle present)
ingrossed (participle past)
ingrossed (past)

(UK, historical, law) Prior to the abolition of inrollment in 1849, to engross a Parliamentary bill prior to royal assent by preparing it on a roll, incorporating any amendments.


fightwite

(UK, historical, law) In Medieval Britain, a fine imposed on someone for disturbing the peace with a fight or quarrel.


dolly shop

(pawn shop): After the 19th-century practice of using a black doll to mark out their shops.

(UK, obsolete) An unlicensed pawn shop where rags, old junk, and like items are bought and sold.

(UK, obsolete) A sweetshop furnished with the gambling device called a dolly.


goundy

en-adj

goundy (comparative goundier or more goundy, superlative goundiest or most goundy)

goundier (comparative)
more goundy (comparative)
goundiest (superlative)
most goundy (superlative)

From Middle English goundy, gundy, from Old English gundiġ (“goundy, mattery”), equivalent to gound + -y. More at gound.

(UK dialectal) Gummy or mattery, as in sore eyes.


gound

From Middle English gounde, gownde, from Old English gund (“matter, pus, poison”), from Proto-West Germanic *gund, from Proto-Germanic *gundaz (“sore, boil”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰendʰ- (“ulcer, sore, abscess, boil”). Cognate with Old High German gunt (“purulent matter”), dialectal Norwegian gund (“the scab of an ulcer”).

cog

Typical terms invented to fill this vacuum include sleepies, eye-snot, and bed-boogers. The correct word, however, is gound. "Collin was never one to dillydally in the morning: by the time he had rubbed the gound out of his eyes he was usually on his third Manhattan."

2002, Peter Novobatzky, Ammon Shea, Depraved and Insulting English:

Your eyes get dried mucus in them while you sleep. The stuff is sometimes called bed-boogers or eye-snot, but to be accurate, it is "gound".

2004, Bart King, Chris Sabatino, The Big Book of Boy Stuff:

Your eyes have their own goo, too. You know that crud in the corners of your eyes when you first wake up? It's a type of rheum called gound. When you're awake, you blink away the gound.

2016, Darla Duhaime, Gross Body Stuff, page 16:

While you sleep, however, your rheum bundles detritus such as dust, blood cells, skin cells, and mucus into gound, the gummy yellow-y stuff sometimes known as “sleep” […]

2017, Carol Ann Rinzler, Spare Parts: In Praise of Your Appendix and Other Unappreciated Organs:

(UK dialectal) Mucus produced by the eyes during sleep.

(UK dialectal) Gummy matter in sore eyes.


in a pig's arse

"My wife and I have asked a crowd of craps
To come and waste their time and ours: perhaps You'd care to join us?"
"In a pig's arse, friend."

(idiomatic, vulgar, UK) Absolutely not; under no circumstances.


mackly

en-adj

mackly (comparative more mackly, superlative most mackly)

more mackly (comparative)
most mackly (superlative)

From Middle English makli, from make (“easy”, adj), from Old Norse makr (“easy”), from Proto-Germanic *makaz (“comfortable, suitable”), from Proto-Indo-European *mag- (“to knead, press”), equivalent to make + -ly. Cognate with Old English macalīc (“convenient”), Scots makly, Middle Low German gemaclīch, Middle High German gemechlīche (“easily”) (German gemächlich (“gently”)), Dutch makkelijk (“easy”).

cog

(UK dialectal) Seemly; comely; good-looking.


eathlins

en-adv

eathlins (comparative more eathlins, superlative most eathlins)

more eathlins (comparative)
most eathlins (superlative)


eathful

en-adj

eathful (comparative more eathful, superlative most eathful)

more eathful (comparative)
most eathful (superlative)


eathy

eathy (comparative eathier or more eathy, superlative eathiest or most eathy)

eathier (comparative)
more eathy (comparative)
eathiest (superlative)
most eathy (superlative)


eathly

en-adv

eathly (comparative more eathly, superlative most eathly)

more eathly (comparative)
most eathly (superlative)

From Middle English eaðelice, eaþelic, eðeliche, eþeliche, from Old English ēaþelīce, ēþelīce, īeþelīce; equivalent to eath + -ly.

Herewith the golden book gan open fair,
And eathly! I might read their names, that next
Went to the King […]

1829, originally 1593, George Peele, Alexander Dyce, The Works of George Peele: The Honour of the Garter:

(UK dialectal) In an eath or easy manner; easily; readily.


onding

(UK dialectal) A heavy, continuous fall of rain or snow; a downpour.


eath-kent

en-adj

eath-kent (comparative more eath-kent, superlative most eath-kent)

more eath-kent (comparative)
most eath-kent (superlative)

From eath (“easily”) + kent (“known”). More at eath, ken.


liss

From Middle English lis, lisse, lysse, from Old English liss, līs, līþs (“grace, favor, love, kindness, mercy, joy, peace, rest, remission, forgiveness, alleviation, salvation”), from Proto-Germanic *linþisjō (“rest”), from Proto-Indo-European *lent- (“bendsome, resilient”). Cognate with Danish lise (“solace, relief”), Swedish lisa (“solace, relief”). Related to Old English līþe (“lithe, soft, gentle, meek, mild, serene, benign, gracious, pleasant, sweet”). See lithe.

cog

(obsolete, UK dialectal) A respite from pain.


liss

en-verb

liss (third-person singular simple present lisses, present participle lissing, simple past and past participle lissed)

lisses (present singular third-person)
lissing (participle present)
lissed (participle past)
lissed (past)

From Middle English lissen, lyssen, from Old English lissan (“to subdue”), from Old English liss. Cognate with Swedish lisa (“to soften, weaken”). See above.

(obsolete, UK dialectal) To cease; stop.


portmote

From Middle English portemot, portemote, portmot, portmote; equivalent to port + mote; compare Anglo-Latin portimōtus.

And in England it hath always been held, that the king is lord of the whole shore, and particularly is the guardian of the ports and havens, which are the inlets and gates of the realm: and therefore, so early as the reign of king John, we find ships seised by the king's officers for putting in at a place that was not a legal port. These legal ports were undoubtedly at first assigned by the crown; since to each of them a court of portmote is incident, the jurisdiction of which must flow from the royal authority: the great ports of the sea are also referred to, as well known and established, by statute 4 Hen. IV. c. 20. which prohibits the landing elsewhere under pain of confiscation: and the statute 1 Eliz. c. 11. recites that the franchise of landing and discharging had been frequently granted by the crown.

1771, William, Sir Blackstone, “Of the King's Prerogative”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, volume 1, page 264:

(law, obsolete, UK) A court, or mote, held in a port town.


socager

(law, historical, UK) A tenant by socage.


vicontiel

From Anglo-Norman vicontiel, from Middle French visconte (“viscount”) + -iel. Equivalent to viscount + -ial.

Vicontiel writs were those that were triable in the sheriff, or county, court.

It is in the election of the party injured by a trespass, to sue out a writ of trespass that is returnable, or one that is not. The latter writ is called a vicontiel writ; because the matter therein complained of is to be determined before the sheriff ...

1798, Henry Gwillim, A New Abridgment of the Law in Seven Volumes: 6: 5th edition, page 554:

(law, UK, obsolete) Of or pertaining to the viscount or sheriff of a county.


firetail

(UK, dialect, dated) The common redstart.


thrusher

(UK, obsolete, dialect) The song thrush.


virger

(UK, Ireland) Alternative form of verger


gemmy

en-adj

gemmy (comparative gemmier, superlative gemmiest)

gemmier (comparative)
gemmiest (superlative)

(UK, informal, dated) Spruce; smart; jemmy.


foundationer

(UK) One who derives support from the funds or foundation of a college or school.


open-arse

From Middle English open-ers, from Old English openears, corresponding to open + arse, ‘with allusion to the large cavity at the end of the fruit between the persistent calyx lobes’ – OED3.

In several of our counties the same fruit is called an open arse; another of those unluckily belotted travesties of a very properly-expressed original phrase [...].

1837, John Bellenden Kerr, An Essay on the Archaeology of our Popular Phrases and Nursery Rhymes, vol II.1:

On a second reading, prompted by the reproaches of several friends and scholars, I conclude that the pun on medlar, slangily known as ‘an open-arse’, and poperin pear, shape-resembling penis and scrotum, is so forcibly obvious that ‘an open et-caetera’ must here mean ‘an open arse’.

1968, Eric Partridge, Shakespeare's Bawdy, Routledge, published 2002, page 129:


double first

(UK, Ireland) A first-class degree in both classics and mathematics.

Chess-playing requires complete abstraction, and Nigel, though he was a double-first, occasionally lost a game from a lapse in that condensed attention that secures triumph

1880, [Benjamin Disraeli], Endymion […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC:

(UK, Ireland) One who achieves such a degree.


nanpie

An' twea 'r three Nanpies chatt'rin' owre her head.

1800, Thomas Browne, Poems on Several Occasions, page 160:

T'jerney wer lead'd forrard teah wi' an immense amount o' pleazure; in fakt, ivvery number i' t' nine gat theresense run up ta t' heeist pitch o' joyful expecktashun, fer all yan o' t' lot had a soart o' misgivin', becos he sed hede seen fer three da's hand runnin' nine Nanpies, whitch wer a bad sine, he sed—

1874, Nattie Nydds, T'Nidderdill Olminac, an'ivverybody's Kalinder fer 1875, page 172:

The unusual appearance of nanpies in a place is said to be ominous.

1901, Eliza Gutch, Examples of Printed Folk-lore Concerning the North Riding:

You see, he kept all nations o' wild birds an' wild animals down at his house; he'd linnets an' nanpies i' cages, and an ark full o' pricky-back urchins.

2022, F. W. Moorman, More Tales of the Ridings:


vicontiels

(UK, law, obsolete) Things belonging to the sheriff, especially farms (also called "vicontiel rents") for which the sheriff used to pay rent to the king.


fuffy

fuffy (comparative more fuffy, superlative most fuffy)

more fuffy (comparative)
most fuffy (superlative)


ungive

en-verb

ungive (third-person singular simple present ungives, present participle ungiving, simple past ungave, past participle ungiven)

ungives (present singular third-person)
ungiving (participle present)
ungave (past)
ungiven (participle past)

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To melt; thaw.


moonwort

(now US, UK regional) Lunaria annua (greater moonwort); also known as honesty and annual honesty.


gliff

Compare Middle English glyffen (“to give a glancing look; to become startled or frightened”).

cog

(UK, Scotland, dialect) A transient glance.

(UK, Scotland, dialect) An unexpected view of something that startles one.

(UK, Scotland, dialect) A sudden fright.

[W]ill ye come out and speak just a gliff to ane that has mony thanks to gi'e ye?— […] Wad ye but come out a gliff, man, or but say ye're listening?— […]

1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter IX, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 207:


gliff

en-verb

gliff (third-person singular simple present gliffs, present participle gliffing, simple past and past participle gliffed)

gliffs (present singular third-person)
gliffing (participle present)
gliffed (participle past)
gliffed (past)

(UK, Scotland, dialect, transitive) To glimpse.


wheen

From Middle English *wheen, quhein (also hwan, hwon, quhon), from Old English hwēne, hwǣne (“somewhat, a little”), instrumental form of hwōn (“little, few, a little, trifle, somewhat, a little while”).

(UK dialectal) A little; a small number.

I have six terriers at hame, forbye twa couple of slow-hunds, five grews, and a wheen other dogs.

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:

She never seemed to want for siller; the house was as bright as a new preen, the yaird better delved than the manse garden; and there was routh of fowls and doos about the small steading, forbye a wheen sheep and milk-kye in the fields.

1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:

(UK dialectal, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Mid-Ulster) A quantity; a goodly number.


knight marshal

ye must understand, that sir Adrian Poinings, being knight marshall vpon his returne into England, was otherwise emploied

1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC:

(UK, historical) An officer in the royal household, responsible for maintaining order in the royal court.


rangle

rangle (third-person singular simple present rangles, present participle rangling, simple past and past participle rangled)

rangles (present singular third-person)
rangling (participle present)
rangled (participle past)
rangled (past)

From range + -le (frequentative suffix).

And such as knowe the luring voice of him that feedes them still: / And neuer rangle farre abroade against the keepers will…

1567, Catherine Bates, quoting George Turberville, Epitaphes, Epigrams, Songs and Sonets, fols. 14v–15v, quoted in Masculinity and the Hunt: Wyatt to Spenser, Oxford UP, published 2013, page 157:

She bath’d her blade in blood up to the hilt, / And with the ſame their bodies all ſhe mangled, / All that abode her blowes, their bloud was ſpilt, / They ſcaped beſt that here and thither ranged,^([sic]) / Or thoſe whoſe horſes overthrown at tilt, / Lay with their maſters on the earth intangled.

1591, Ludovico Ariosto, translated by Sir John Harington, Orlando Furioso, London: G. Miller, translation of original in Italian, published 1634, book XIX, stanza 56, page 150:

The rangling rage that held from home Ulisses all too long, / Made chast Penelope complaine of him that did her wrong.

1594, Henry Willobie, edited by Charles Hughes, Willobie His Avisa, London: Sherratt and Hughes, published 1904, page 138:

(obsolete, UK, intransitive) To range about in an irregular manner.


loanland

en-noun

loanland (usually uncountable, plural loanlands)

(law, UK, obsolete) Land that has been granted temporarily, without any loss of ownership.


folkland

folkland (countable and uncountable, plural folklands)

From Old English folcland. Equivalent to folk + land.

The folkland, the national fund, was administered and conveyed conjointly by the king and the witan.

1889, Hannis Taylor, The Origin and Growth of the English Constitution:

(law, historical, UK) Land held in villeinage, being distributed among the folk, or people, at the pleasure of the lord of the manor, and taken back at his discretion.


belirt

en-verb

belirt (third-person singular simple present belirts, present participle belirting, simple past and past participle belirted)

belirts (present singular third-person)
belirting (participle present)
belirted (participle past)
belirted (past)

From Middle English belirten, bilurten, from Old English belyrtan (“to deceive”), equivalent to be- + lirt. Cognate with Scots belirt (“to jilt, beguile, deceive”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal, obsolete) To deceive; beguile.

(transitive, UK dialectal, obsolete) To cheat; befool.


mainor

From Anglo-Norman meinoure, Old French manuevre. See maneuver and French main (“hand”).

(law, UK, obsolete) The act or fact, especially of theft.

for the future one credible Witness proveing the Fact, and supported by probable Circumstances, or the Mainor being upon Search or otherwise found with or upon the Malefactor[…]

1821, Anthony Mills, The Ancient Ordinances and Statute Laws of the Isle of Man:

(law, UK, obsolete) A stolen article found on the person of the thief.


lirk

en-verb

lirk (third-person singular simple present lirks, present participle lirking, simple past and past participle lirked)

lirks (present singular third-person)
lirking (participle present)
lirked (participle past)
lirked (past)

From Middle English lyrken, from Old Norse lerka (“to plait, fold, bind, lace up tightly, chastise”), related to Old Norse lurkr (“cudgel, club”) (see Proto-Celtic *lorgā).

der

(transitive, UK dialectal) To crease; rumple; cause to hang in loose folds.

(intransitive, UK dialectal, Scotland) To become creased or wrinkled.


lirk

From Middle English lerke, from the verb. See above.

(transitive, UK dialectal) A crease; rumple; fold.

(transitive, UK dialectal, Scotland) A fold in the skin; a wrinkle.


lirt

en-verb

lirt (third-person singular simple present lirts, present participle lirting, simple past and past participle lirted)

lirts (present singular third-person)
lirting (participle present)
lirted (participle past)
lirted (past)

From Middle English lirten, lurten (“to cheat”), from Old English *lyrtan (found only in belyrtan (“to deceive”)), from Proto-West Germanic *lurtijan (“to deceive”), from Proto-Indo-European *lerd- (“to bend, crook”). Cognate with Scots lirt (“to cheat, deceive, delude”), Middle High German lürzen (“to deceive”), Middle High German lerz, lurz, lorz (“left, left-handed”), Old English lort, lyrt (“crooked”).

cog

(transitive, UK dialectal) To deceive; beguile.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To cheat; befool.


lirt

Origin obscure. Perhaps alteration of lirk (“to jerk”).

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To walk or move in a quick, lively, or pert manner.

(intransitive, UK dialectal) To gambol; frisk.


sell someone a pup

en-verb

sell someone a pup (third-person singular simple present sells someone a pup, present participle selling someone a pup, simple past and past participle sold someone a pup)

sells someone a pup (present singular third-person)
selling someone a pup (participle present)
sold someone a pup (participle past)
sold someone a pup (past)

From an old swindle, where one would be sold a bag purportedly containing a piglet, but actually containing a puppy. Compare pig in a poke.

“Yes,” I agreed, “you undoubtedly sold him a pup. Precious mug he must have been to let you. But I suppose, as it was Saturday night, he was pretty busy.”

1931, R. Austin Freeman, Pontifax, Son and Thorndyke, published 2003, page 31:

I don't know who sold him the gold prospectus, but whoever did, sold him a pup.

2004, Henry De Vere Stacpoole, “Glued”, in The Slayer and Other Tales from the Pulps, page 99:

The document[…] reveals how Churchill complained that Duff had “sold him a pup” and let him think that “this place is a real bomb-proof shelter”.

2009 July 20, Arifa Akbar, “Churchill felt he was ‘sold a pup’ of a bomb shelter, letter reveals”, in The Independent:

Online dog lovers sold a pup [title]

2009 July 31, “Online dog lovers sold a pup”, in Sydney Morning Herald:

It hurt Henrietta to think that there was any area in which her husband did not excel, but if he had been anyone else she would have concluded that the dealer had sold him a pup.

2011, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Dynasty 22: The Mirage:

(UK) To sell something of little worth, pretending that it is something else of greater value.


wilsome

en-adj

wilsome (comparative more wilsome, superlative most wilsome)

more wilsome (comparative)
most wilsome (superlative)

From Middle English wilsom, equivalent to will (“desire”) + -some.

(UK dialectal) Willful; obstinate; stubborn.

(UK dialectal) Loved; desirable; amiable.


wilsome

From Middle English wilsum, wilsom, wildsom, probably after Old Norse villusamr (“erroneous, false”), equivalent to will (“wild”) + -some. Cognate with Scots wilsum (“treacherous, wandering”).


gurts

(UK, dialect, West Country, Devon, dated) groats; hulled grain


ullet

Compare Old French hullote, English howlet.

(archaic, UK) The tawny owl, Strix aluco.


social landlord

en-noun

social landlord (plural social landlords)

(chiefly UK) An agent or agency that provides social housing.


ary

A modification of e'er a, for ever a. Compare nary.


gurt

From Middle English girt, gert, a metathetic variant of gret (“great”). More at great.

Then I opens the cupboard door and I sees a gurt big spider looking up at me.

Zo ′e bought a slap-up rod and tackle, and, ev coose, a darn gurt book vull o′ vlies — talk′d about ketchin′ whackin′ trout, and me — ap a salmon the fust time.

1842, The Sportsman, Volume VI: January to June, page 103:

“That was the word,” said Farmer Forder. “Hav′n pocketed the tuppunce, the chap as show′d off the clock opened the case, and let me zee the works of ′un, and wonderful works they was : wheels within wheels, and all sorts o′ crinkum-crankums, like a gurt puzzle.[…]”

1845, Douglas Jerrold, editor, Shilling Magazine, Volume II: July to December, page 416:

“Well, Tom, where did those birds settle?”
“Down there, sir, under that gurt oak-tree.”
Not a bird, however, was to be found.

1884, John Coker Egerton, Sussex Folk and Sussex Ways: Stray Studies in the Wealden Formation of Human Nature, page 27:

(UK dialect, West Country) Pronunciation spelling of great.


tosspiece

From toss + piece; perhaps in reference to tosser and ringpiece?

Shut up, you tosspiece!

Indeed, during April 2008, a rumour that Glazer had died was discussed on the messageboard, and most fans seemed to celebrate this idea. For instance, F.C. United fan stated, 'Fuck the capitalist tosspiece, DIE IN PAIN!!!!' (24 April 2008) which served to illustrate some of the anger felt toward Glazer.

2011, P. Millward, The Global Football League: Transnational Networks, Social Movements and Sport in the New Media Age:

(UK, vulgar, slang, rare) An undesirable person; used as an insult.


subreader

When his lordship was reader, he made him his subreader, which shewed him to the society, and to men of his profession

1819, Roger North, The Life of the Right Honourable Francis North:

(law, UK, archaic) An under reader in the inns of court, who reads the texts of law the reader is to discourse upon.


gesling

"This here's t'furst year uz geese's hed geslins sin we gate em."


go potty

en-verb

go potty (third-person singular simple present goes potty, present participle going potty, simple past went potty, past participle gone potty)

goes potty (present singular third-person)
going potty (participle present)
went potty (past)
gone potty (participle past)

From British use of potty as slang for insane, probably under influence from petty.

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


velverd

(UK, dialect, archaic, rare, West Country, Wiltshire) A bird, the fieldfare.


eldning

From Middle English elning, elnung, from Old English ellnung, elnung (“encouragement, comfort, consolation, emulation, hot emulation, zeal, envy”), from elnian (“to emulate, endeavor to be equal, be zealous, strive with zeal after another, make strong, strengthen, comfort oneself, gain strength”) (compare Old English ellen (“zeal, strength, power, vigor, valor, courage, fortitude, strife, contention”)), equivalent to elne + -ing. Cognate with Scots eldning (“jealousy”).

cog

(rare, obsolete, UK, Scotland, dialectal) Envy; jealousy; suspicion.


unketh

en-adj

unketh (comparative more unketh, superlative most unketh)

more unketh (comparative)
most unketh (superlative)


head

EN-AU ck1 couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.ogg

En-au-couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.ogg

Presents an example of a minimally simple project that the person or group described is presumed unable to accomplish.

“Deladrieux should have stayed an accountant,” Murphy sighed. “He's got three people working for him but they're just administrative clerks, pencil-pushers, they couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery. That's what you get when you assign engineering jobs to non-engineers.[…]”

2006, G. C. Lemans, Chantier: A tribute to the world's engineers and their partners in life, page 60:

'It'll be a sad day when the British leave. You lot couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery without the Queen, God bless her'.

2023 January 28, Martin Thiebaut, The Nomad Letters, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN:

But, a tip for everyone reading this, don't use Visa Machine, as it couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery! And I should know, as I have had three breweries and I can!

2018 December 11, Ian Rogers, London to Magadan, Troubador Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 47:

(UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, vulgar, slang, idiomatic) Is unable even to organise a project that requires no planning; is incompetent.

couldn't organise a bun fight in a bakery


bejape

en-verb

bejape (third-person singular simple present bejapes, present participle bejaping, simple past and past participle bejaped)

bejapes (present singular third-person)
bejaping (participle present)
bejaped (participle past)
bejaped (past)

From Middle English bejapen, bijapen, equivalent to be- + jape. Cognate with Scots bejaip (“to befool”).

(transitive, rare, UK dialectal) To play a trick on; trick or befool.


behope

behope (third-person singular simple present behopes, present participle behoping, simple past and past participle behoped)

behopes (present singular third-person)
behoping (participle present)
behoped (participle past)
behoped (past)


befangled

en-adj

befangled (comparative more befangled, superlative most befangled)

more befangled (comparative)
most befangled (superlative)

(UK dialectal) Smartly dressed or decorated; bedizened.


bedaff

en-verb

bedaff (third-person singular simple present bedaffs, present participle bedaffing, simple past bedaffed, past participle bedaffed or bedaft)

bedaffs (present singular third-person)
bedaffing (participle present)
bedaffed (past)
bedaffed (participle past)
bedaft (participle past)

From Middle English bedaffen, bidaffen, equivalent to be- + daff.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To confound or stupefy.


beglammer

beglammer (third-person singular simple present beglammers, present participle beglammering, simple past and past participle beglammered)

beglammers (present singular third-person)
beglammering (participle present)
beglammered (participle past)
beglammered (past)

From be- + glammer, Scottish variant of glamour (“to bewitch”), equivalent to be- + glamour.

(transitive, UK dialectal, Scotland) To bewitch; deceive; hoodwink.


bedole

bedole (third-person singular simple present bedoles, present participle bedoling, simple past and past participle bedoled)

bedoles (present singular third-person)
bedoling (participle present)
bedoled (participle past)
bedoled (past)

From be- + dole, from Middle English dollen, variant of dullen (“to make dull”), equivalent to be- + dull.

(transitive, UK dialectal) To stupefy with pain or grief.


bedone

en-adj

bedone (comparative more bedone, superlative most bedone)

more bedone (comparative)
most bedone (superlative)


fouth

Variant of fulth, from Middle English fulthe; equivalent to full + -th.

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Abundance; plenty.


fouth

fouth (comparative more fouth, superlative most fouth)

more fouth (comparative)
most fouth (superlative)

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) Abundant; copious; plenteous.


bedrip

From Middle English bedrip, from Old English bedrīp (“compulsory service rendered to a landowner at harvest time, the reaping of corn on request”), from a compound of bed (“prayer, supplication, religious ordinance, service”) + rīp (“reaping, harvest”). More at bead, reap.


dizen

en-verb

dizen (third-person singular simple present dizens, present participle dizening, simple past and past participle dizened)

dizens (present singular third-person)
dizening (participle present)
dizened (participle past)
dizened (past)

From dialectal dize (“to put tow on a distaff”), from Middle English *disen, from Old English *disan, *disian, from *dise, *disen (“bunch of flax on a distaff”), from Proto-Germanic *disanō (“distaff”), of unknown origin, equivalent to dize + -en. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Diezene (“bundle of flax, distaff”), Middle Low German dise, disene (“distaff”).

cog

I tell you, these Englishwomen have either no life at all in them, or they're nothing but animal life. 'Gad, how they dizen themselves! They've no other use for their fingers. The wealth of this country's frightful!'

1871, George Meredith, chapter XXXIX, in The Adventures of Harry Richmond:

(transitive, UK dialectal) To dress showily; adorn; dress out.


candroy

(UK, dialect) A machine for spreading out cotton cloths to prepare them for printing.