anorakish

en-adj

anorakish (comparative more anorakish, superlative most anorakish)

more anorakish (comparative)
most anorakish (superlative)

Joining a 'computer group' may sound incredibly anorakish but you'll probably find that most of the other members are bearably human!

1999, Phil Race, Steven Higgins, Nick Packard, 500 ICT Tips for Primary Teachers:

College readers of Tolkien's work had a tenacity and anorakish single-mindedness matched only by the Trekkies who would soon follow.

2003, Gary Valentine Lachman, Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius:

2006, The Times (London, September 2), "Only the togas have changed"
The son of a Midlands printer, Harris as a teenager developed an interest in politics as anorakish as other boys’ obsessions with football or pop ...

Now I make this point not just to add a sort of anorakish-footnote to the debate, but so that the episcopate that we are discussing comes a little more clearly into focus for us, in connection to many of the issues that have already been touched upon.

2006, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, (July 8)

The right hon. Lady gave me the facial impression that she thought my point was narrow, anorakish or even—perish the thought—tendentious.

2006, John Bercow, Member of Parliament (UK), floor debate in the House of Commons, Hansard (June 5)

(British, informal) Obsessively absorbed in a subject, especially an unusual or obscure subject.


lay-by

(UK, Philippines) A paved area at the side of a highway designated for drivers to stop in, for emergency parking, or where vehicles can wait, with larger lay-bys possibly having facilities like food vendors or public telephones.

(UK) A railroad siding; a second, short railroad track just to the side of a railroad track, connected with the main track by a switch and used for unloading, bypassing, etc.


mack

“Nothing very special, sir. He had a mack or coat over his arm, and a trilby hat. He wore a tweed suit, sir, I think.”

1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 13, in Well Tackled!:


stirk

From Middle English stirk, sterke, styrke, from Old English stīrc, stȳrc, stȳric, stīorc (“calf, a stirk, a young bullock or a heifer”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiurik, from Proto-Germanic *stiurikaz (“bullock”), diminutive of Proto-Germanic *steuraz (“steer”), equivalent to steer + -ock. Cognate with Middle Low German sterke (“stirk”), Middle Dutch stierick ("stirk"; compare Modern Dutch sterke (“young cow”)), German Sterk, Stärke, Stark (“stirk”). More at steer.

gloss

"stirk"; compare Modern Dutch <i class="Latn mention" lang="nl">sterke</i> (“young cow”)

But beware of MacPhadraick, my son; for when he called himself the friend of your father, he better loved the most worthless stirk in his herd, than he did the life-blood of MacTavish Mhor.

1827, [Walter Scott], chapter XI, in Chronicles of the Canongate; […], volume I (The Highland Widow), Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 197:

Comprising eleven calved and in-calf cows and heifers, three barren cows, four fat cows and heifers, two sturks and three yearlings; fifteen in-lamb ewes and theaves, […]

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

he could stop a running stirk by the horns, so strong he was in the wrist-bones.

1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 20:

(British, Scotland, dialectal, dated) A yearling cow; a young bullock or heifer.


bull ring

(military slang, obsolete, chiefly British) A corral wherein horses are exercised and riders trained.


protectorate

/pɹəˈtɛktəɹɪt/

From protector + -ate (forms nouns denoting rank or office, a system ruled by people of such office).

af

(UK, historical) Government by a protector; especially, The Protectorate: government of England, Scotland, and Ireland between 1653 and 1659 under the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth Oliver Cromwell, later his son Richard Cromwell.

(UK, historical) The office or position of the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth.


DS

en-noun

DS (countable and uncountable, plural DSs or DSes)

Appendix:Glossary of British army acronyms and expressions#English

(slang, UK) Initialism of directing staff.


chalk and cheese

Attested in variant form since 1393. The surface of some cheeses, particularly unaged ones, resembles the surface of chalk: white, crumbling, but in substance cheese is much softer than chalk. It is interesting to note that lime chalk and cottage cheese forms a glue-like material used in the restoration of ancient half-timbered houses, perhaps suggesting an alternative original meaning.

(British, New Zealand, idiomatic) Said of things that are very different, though possibly superficially alike.


yardman

I asked the grizzled rustic who appeared to be in sole occupation of the farm buildings, and who was, in fact, the yardman, if he knew whereabouts I should find the [hunting] party. He said something I did not understand, but I followed his pointing arm. […] The yardman, with his lantern, was helping to back ponies into traps. Motor-engines murmured. […]

1930, Adrian Bell, Corduroy, Faber and Faber:

A worker in any of several types of yard, as:

(UK, historical) A farm worker assigned to the farmyard of a large farm, working at hostler duties (harnessing and hitching teams), loading and unloading wagons, feeding, and so on.


petrol station

(UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong) A filling station, gas station; a facility selling fuel for road motor vehicles


bombardier

Borrowed from Middle French bombardier, from Old French bombarder (“a stone throwing engine”), equivalent to bombard + -er.

der

Wikipedia: Bombardier (Bdr) and Lance Bombardier (LBdr or L/Bdr) are British Army ranks used in the Royal Artillery and Royal Horse Artillery instead of (respectively) Corporal and Lance Corporal. In the Canadian Forces, the Artillery Branch uses the ranks of Master Bombardier and Bombardier instead of Master Corporal and Corporal.

non-commissioned officer
non-commissioned officer

(Canada, British) A non-commissioned officer rank in artillery, equivalent to corporal. Abbreviated Bdr.


finals

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, sports) A contest that narrows a field of contestants (finalists) to ranked positions, usually in numbered places (1st place/prize, 2nd place/prize, etc.) or a winner and numbered runners-up (1st runner-up, etc.).


screwed

en-adj

screwed (comparative more screwed, superlative most screwed)

more screwed (comparative)
most screwed (superlative)

From screw + -ed.
* The modern sense of screwed originates in the mid-1600s with a sense of to screw as a means of "exerting pressure or coercion", probably in reference to instruments of torture (e.g. thumbscrews). It quickly gained a wider general sense of "in a bind; in unfortunate inescapable circumstances". When the verb screw gained a sexual connotation in the early 1700s, it joined the long-lasting association of sexual imagery as a metaphor for domination, leading to screwed gaining synonyms like fucked and shagged. On a more general note, this is a prime example of the frequent tendency for verb participles to evolve into participial adjectives.
* The sense meaning "intoxicated" is from the early 1800s, and is associated with the term screwy, and the idiom to have a screw loose.

screwed, blued and tattooed / screwed, glued and tattooed

"[…] Did you know that my husband came home intoxicated?"
Mrs. Brown laughed.
"Oh, not so bad as that, surely! Only a little 'screwed.' George was 'quisby,' too. But then its Christmas, you know."

Besides they were dreadfully afraid that Freddy Malins might turn up screwed. They would not wish for worlds that any of Mary Jane's pupils should see him under the influence[…]

1904–1907 (date written), James Joyce, “The Dead”, in Dubliners, London: Grant Richards, published June 1914, →OCLC:


cops

It is almost needless to say, that the true point of draught should be exactly in the centre notch of the cops[…]

1807, The complete farmer: or, a general dictionary of husbandry:

(UK, dialect) The connecting crook of a harrow.


E number

I finger Padre Pio paperweights and Our Lady of Knock sticks of rock that are packed with more e-numbers than could be safe at one sitting.

2003, Deirdre Brennan, Maighread Medbh, Nuala Ni Chonchuir, Divas!:

...how long it took corpses to go off these days, because everyone was so full of E-numbers and preservatives.

(British, Ireland, informal) Any such additive, often regarded as undesirable.


give out

en-verb

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

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

Cognate with German ausgeben (“spend, pay, output”).

You shouldn't give out to your brother like that.

He was always giving out about the weather.

(intransitive, Ireland, UK, idiomatic) To complain, sulk, chastise.


nutty

en-adj

nutty (comparative nuttier, superlative nuttiest)

nuttier (comparative)
nuttiest (superlative)

Skinner's friendship with his nutty pals seemed to have come to a sudden end.

1932, Frank Richards, “The Complete Outsider”, in The Magnet:

(UK, Ireland, dated) Extravagantly fashionable.


fastness

en-noun

fastness (countable and uncountable, plural fastnesses)

(Received Pronunciation; trap–bath split) -ɑːstnəs

From Middle English fastnes, fastnesse (“immovableness, stability; firmness, solidness; secure attachment; constancy; obstinacy; something giving firmness or strength; of sleep: soundness; of a wound: healing; assurance, confirmation”) [and other forms], from Old English fæstnes (“fastness, firmness, stability; resolution; tenacity; vigour; firmament; fortification”) [and other forms], from fæst (“firm, stable; constant”) (from Proto-Germanic *fastuz (“firm, fixed; secure”); see further at that entry) + -nes (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a quality or state). The English word may be analysed as fast + -ness.

nb...

(Late Old English) fesnes, (Old English) fæstnis, fæstnys

inh

(countable) Something that is fast, or that causes someone or something to be fast (in various senses).

(obsolete except British, regional) Something used to fasten or tie; a fastener or fastening.


Harvest Festival

en-noun

Harvest Festival (plural Harvest Festivals)

(UK) church festival celebrating the harvest, held at the end of September or the beginning of October


trekker

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

(UK, historical, World War II) A person who spent the night in a rural area, rather than his home, during bombing raids.


rah

I didn't need to make a mental note not to follow their advice: like every other pretentious foreigner from the gap year rahs to the retired yoga addicts, I had no intention of stepping into a shopping centre. I was going to discover the real India.

2012, Helen Pidd, Letter from India: it's no easy matter being a woman looking for a decent drink in Delhi: The Guardian:

(UK, informal, derogatory) A young adult (often a student) who behaves in a stereotypically upper class manner; especially when associated with undeserved privilege or a lack of self-awareness.


rah

en-adj

rah (comparative more rah, superlative most rah)

more rah (comparative)
most rah (superlative)

The June 2020 protest at which the Bristol slave-trader and philanthropist's statue was brought down was a BLM protest. But none of the defendants were black. Rather, as you can tell from their names (including Milo Ponsford and Sage Willoughby) they were almost comically typical of a certain rah, right-on Bristol type.

2022 January 9, Douglas Murray, “Boris Johnson has utterly failed to back up his anti-woke rhetoric with action”, in Chris Evans, editor, The Daily Telegraph, London: Telegraph Media Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-12-25:


boon

From Middle English boon (“prayer”), from Old Norse bón (“prayer, petition”), from Proto-Germanic *bōniz (“supplication”), influenced by boon (“good, favorable”, adj). Doublet of ben; see there for more.

(British, dialectal) An unpaid service due by a tenant to his lord.


give over

en-verb

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

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

Give over with your nonsense, will you!

While he was declaring the truth, a constable came in with his great staff, and bid him give over, and come down: but William Penn held on, declaring truth in the power of God.

1681, George Fox, A journal or historical account of the life, travels, sufferings, […], published 1831, page 247:

Amelia, I wish you would give over with your reading and your information, it's not for ladies to be literary; people don't like it, you silly thing!

1890, Mary Taylor, Janet Murray, Miss Miles: Or a Tale of Yorkshire Life 60 Years Ago, page 212:

She was getting very heavy, and could run but slowly. Once, in the pursuit of a rabbit, which she ordinarily would have caught with ease, she gave over and lay down and rested.

1906 May–October, Jack London, White Fang, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC:

My mother told him to give over and let me alone, and said she was sure it would be a lovely suit, and that Aunt Jack would never buy poor material, but stuff that would last forever.

1962, Brendan Behan, Brendan Behan's island: an Irish sketch-book, page 151:

According to Homer, the rest of the Trojan army drew away from Troy pretending to retreat and give over with the siege in order to confuse the Trojans.

2005, Anatoly T. Fomenko, History: Fiction Or Science?, page 245:

"Get yourself seen to, Isaac. For God's sake. Before it's too late," Sarah would chastise him. / "Och, Sarah, would you give over with your bargeing. It's just a wee cough. It'll get better itself."

2009, Eugene McEldowney, The Faloorie Man, page 143:

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, Ireland, intransitive) To give up; abandon; stop.


lusk

en-adj

lusk (comparative more lusk, superlative most lusk)

more lusk (comparative)
most lusk (superlative)

From Middle English *lusk, from Old Norse lǫskr (“weak, idle”), from Proto-Germanic *laskwaz (“sluggish, dull, lazy”), from Proto-Indo-European *lēyd- (“to let, subside”). Cognate with Middle Dutch lasch (“flabby, loose”), Middle Low German lasch, las (“tired, dull”). Doublet of lush.


chi-ike

I lifted my lamps and saw BILLY. We did a good chi-ike, you bet!
“Watcher, BILLY, old buster!” says I,[…]

2006, Edwin James Milliken, edited by Patricia Marks, The ′Arry Ballads: An Annotated Collection of the Verse Letters by Punch Editor E.J. Milliken, page 95:

(UK, obsolete) A hearty, often light-heartedly sarcastic, greeting.


chi-ike

en-verb

chi-ike (third-person singular simple present chi-ikes, present participle chi-iking, simple past and past participle chi-iked)

chi-ikes (present singular third-person)
chi-iking (participle present)
chi-iked (participle past)
chi-iked (past)

Uncle Frank wouldn′t have liked it, and I knew how the chaps would laugh and chi-ike me for chumming up with a silly old Chinky.

1924, “Causeway”, in Neville Braybrooke, editor, The Wind and the Rain, page 21:

Round about us windows began to bang upwards; a policeman on the corner looked away, pretending not to hear; a couple of tarts started to chi-ike us and then shut up suddenly.

1939, Nicholas Monsarrat, This Is the Schoolroom, published 2000, page 8:


molybdenum disulphide

molybdenum disulfide
molybdenum disulfide#English

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of molybdenum disulfide


sulphur nitride

en-noun

sulphur nitride (plural sulphur nitrides)

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of sulfur nitride


tetrasulphur tetranitride

tetrasulfur tetranitride
tetrasulfur tetranitride#English

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of tetrasulfur tetranitride


carbonisation

carbonisation (countable and uncountable, plural carbonisations)

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of carbonization


drummer

Bennett's central figure, Ray, is first and foremost a serial "drummer" (housebreaker in crim-speak), and only secondly a human being, […]

1999, Theatre Record, volume 19, numbers 17-20:


aerated

en-adj

aerated (comparative more aerated, superlative most aerated)

more aerated (comparative)
most aerated (superlative)

Linda Meeks put her head round the door. ‘I heard you shouting, Carly. You all right?’ ‘Of course I’m all right. I just got a bit aerated.’

1999, Ruth Rendell, Harm done, Hutchinson, page 342:

BTW why are you so aerated about it? Is there never a space for your second car?

2006 March 13, R. Mark Clayton, “Re: Bad neighbours!”, in alt.uk.law (Usenet), retrieved 2015-10-19:

I do not see why players get so aerated over this: do they really want to win at this game unfairly?

2007 January 15, David Stevenson, “Re: logical alternative?”, in rec.games.bridge (Usenet), retrieved 2015-10-19:

I was risk averse at the best of times and due to Malcolm's infamous temper – and we are talking about the man who got so aerated over some missing sales figures that he actually passed out – I had taken it as my mission at work to eliminate risk completely.

2011, Allie Spencer, Summer Loving, page 9:

Stupid thing for me to get so aerated about.

2015, Marguerite Kaye, The Soldier's Dark Secret, page 48:


footfall

en-noun

footfall (countable and uncountable, plural footfalls)

From foot (“part of the human leg below the ankle”) + fall (“act of moving to a lower position under the effect of gravity”, noun).

compound

This stir of change and these perpetual echoes of the moving footfall, haunt the land. Men move eternally, still chasing Fortune; and, fortune found, still wander.

1883, Robert Louis Stevenson, “In the Valley. III. Napa Wine.”, in The Silverado Squatters, London: Chatto and Windus, […], →OCLC, page 46:

With high-street stores desperate to increase footfall and buck the financial downturn, retailers have started issuing discount vouchers.

2008 December 9, “Bargains galore in battle of the high street”, in The Scotsman, Edinburgh: The Scotsman Publications, JPIMedia Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2009-08-23:

John Betjeman enjoyed travelling on the line and said that, when he retired, he'd like to be the station master at Blake Hall, which was the stop before Ongar until it (Blake Hall) was closed permanently in 1981, its passenger footfall being down to six a day, or twelve, depending on whether you're counting passengers or feet.

2012, Andrew Martin, “New Works”, in Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, page 209:

(uncountable, originally and chiefly British) The number of pedestrians going into or passing through a place (especially a commercial venue such as a shop) during a specified time period; also, the pedestrians in a particular place regarded collectively; foot traffic.

jalankulkijamäärä

number of pedestrians going into or passing through a place during a specified time period; pedestrians in a particular place regarded collectively


haemic

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of hemic


haemogenic

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of hemogenic


pismire

From Middle English pissemyre, equivalent to piss + mire (“ant”). So called due to the smell of anthills. Compare English pissant, Old Frisian pisimme, Dutch pismiere, Swedish pissmyra.

Why looke you, I am whipt and ſcourg'd with rods,
 Netled, and ſtung with piſmires, when I heare
 Of this vile polititian, Bullingbrooke,

c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

Much there is not of wonder in the confused Houses of Pismires, though much in their busie life and actions […]

1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society, published 2007, page 189:

We are scurrying emmets or pismires with our sad little comedies.

1993, Anthony Burgess, A Dead Man in Deptford:


cal

(mining, archaic, UK, dialect, Cornwall) wolfram, an ore of tungsten.


leastways

“My advice, or, leastways, I should say, my orders, is,” said the fattest man of the party, “that we 'mediately go home again.”

1838, Boz [pseudonym; Charles Dickens], “Looks after Oliver, and Proceeds with His Adventures”, in Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 137:

[…]so that I couldn't help telling her, sir, that in our country, leastways in Virginia (they say the Yankees are very pert), young people don't speak of their elders so.

1857–1859, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, chapter XXXIV, in The Virginians. A Tale of the Last Century, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1858–1859, →OCLC:

‘Cook-housekeeper jobs don’t grow on trees,’ went on the woman, ‘leastways not where you can keep a youngster with you.’

1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 32:

“I was lucky, just an arm (lost in combat), and the hope of a life, a normal man’s life, leastways”

2018 February 11, Colin Dexter, Russell Lewis, 01:20:14 from the start, in Endeavour(Cartouche), season 5, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by Gordon the usher(uncredited):


hatstand

* hat + stand
* (crazy, insane): From the "Roger Irrelevant" strip in the Viz comic, where this was one of Roger's absurd non sequiturs.

I'm sure the Brunel-designed stone-built structure would have had a hatstand for his trademark stovepipe. I can picture him rocking up there of a morning and lobbing it nonchalantly onto the hatstand.

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

(UK) A device used to store hats upon, consisting of a vertical pole with a sturdy base to prevent toppling, and an array of pegs to hold the hats.


hatstand

en-adj

hatstand (comparative more hatstand, superlative most hatstand)

more hatstand (comparative)
most hatstand (superlative)

Chris Merriman is 43, comes from Rugby and is totally hatstand. Here's proof: Fave planet? "The Milky Way."

1988 December, Your Sinclair, number 36, page 118:

"I'd have to be totally hatstand to do that! She'll recognize me."

2011, D. Leonard Freeston, The Sixth Extinction, page 282:


jacks

As soon as Barry swung the machete at his head, Vince snapped the PSF knife out of his pocket with his right hand and the jacks from his pocket with his left.

(UK, rhyming slang) Heroin tablets (from "jacks and jills" = pills)


sawney

en-noun

sawney (countable and uncountable, plural sawneys)

(fool, idiot): From Sawney, a Scots variant of the personal name Sandy.

Tyrrell, another boy, confirmed their testimony, and said, on one occasion, when they had stolen a heart, liver, and lights, the prisoner said, "go out, one or two of you, and see if you can get a bit of sawney!" (meaning a bit of bacon).

A man came in as she spoke, and drawing a large piece of bacon from his pocket, flung it down upon the counter.
'How much d'ye want for it?' said the lodging-house keeper, weighing it with his eyes.
'Sixpence.'
'Sixpence for a bit of sawney! (thieved bacon). We can't give more than fourpence in this shop, my buffer.'

1861, The old Roman well, volume 1, page 62:

(UK, slang, obsolete, uncountable) Bacon.


porta-potty

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

Blend of portable + potty, from the commercial name Porta Potti. Equivalent to porta- (“portable”) + potty.

So let’s talk about infrastructure tonight, and let’s begin with dams, because dams are amazing. They’re the most powerful device we have for holding back liquid aside from the idea of using a porta-potty. “I’ll wait. I’ll just wait forever. I cannot go in there.”

2015 Mar, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Jeff Maurer, Ben Silva, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss, Seena Vali, Julie Weiner, “Infrastructure”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 2, episode 4, John Oliver (actor), Warner Bros. Television, via HBO:

A portable toilet, (in UK, particularly) a chemical toilet comprising only the fixture rather than an entire enclosure.


replevy

en-verb

replevy (third-person singular simple present replevies, present participle replevying, simple past and past participle replevied)

replevies (present singular third-person)
replevying (participle present)
replevied (participle past)
replevied (past)

Old French replevir (“recover”), from re- + plevir (probably from a Germanic source which also gave pledge).

I humbly crave your Majestie / It to replevie , and my Sonne reprive

1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:


lollipop man

They were out of the park gates and about to cross the road now. The lollipop man smiled at Jess, who smiled shyly back.

2005, Helen Oyeyemi, The Icarus Girl, Bloomsbury, page 176:

school crossing attendant
school crossing attendant

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) A male school crossing attendant.

klaarover

a male school crossing attendant — see also lollipop lady, crossing guard, school crossing attendant


byre

From Middle English bire, bier, byr, from Old English bȳre.

It was here in the kitchen, in the passage,
In the mews in the harn in the byre in the market-place [...]

1935, T.S. Eliot, Murder in the Cathedral, Part II:

’Children crawled over each other like little grey worms in the gutters,’ he said. ‘The only red things about them were their buttocks and they were raw. Their faces looked as if snails had slimed on them and their mothers were like great sick beasts whose byres had never been cleared.[…]’

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

The visitors came up the narrow road through the forest from the south; they filled the spare-rooms, they bunked out in cow byres and barns.

1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, page 9 (2001 Perennial Edition)

(chiefly British) A barn, especially one used for keeping cattle in.

حَظِيرَة

a barn, especially one used for keeping cattle


rax

rax (third-person singular simple present raxes, present participle raxing, simple past and past participle raxed)

raxes (present singular third-person)
raxing (participle present)
raxed (participle past)
raxed (past)

From Middle English raxen, rasken (“to stretch oneself”), from Old English raxan, racsan (“to stretch oneself after sleep”), probably alteration, with formative s, of Old English rǣċan, ræċċan, reċċan (“to stretch, extend”), from Proto-Germanic *rakjaną (“to stretch”), from Proto-Indo-European *reǵ- (“to make straight”). Related to Dutch rekken (“to stretch”), German recken (“to stretch”), Swedish räcka (“to suffice, reach, pass, last”).

cog

Shoeless, he stood naked on his toes, his arms raxed upwards.

(UK, dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, transitive) To stretch; stretch out.

(UK, dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, transitive) To reach out; reach or attain to.

Please rax me the pitcher.

Wha the mischief set him on reading me? I'm sure he could never read onything in a dacent-like way since he was cleckit—rax me the Queen, and I'll let you hear a bit that will gar your hearts dinnle again—rax me the Queen, I say.

1825, John Wilson, Robert Shelton Mackenzie, James Hogg, William Maginn, John Gibson Lockhart, “Noctes Ambrosianæ No. XVIII”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, volume 17:

(UK, dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, transitive) To extend the hand to; hand or pass something.

(UK, dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, intransitive) To perform the act of reaching or stretching; stretch oneself; reach for or try to obtain something

(UK, dialectal, chiefly Scotland, intransitive) To stretch after sleep.


downer

The price of a case (five shillings piece bad) from the smasher is about one shilling; an alderman (two and sixpence) about sixpence; a peg (shilling) about threepence; a downer or sprat (sixpence) about twopence.

1859, Snowden's magistrates assistant, page 90:


presidency

en-noun

presidency (countable and uncountable, plural presidencies)

From Medieval Latin praesidentia. By surface analysis, president + -cy.

(British, India, historical) One of the three original provinces of British India.


cocky

From cock (“male domestic chicken”) + -y (diminutive suffix).

suf

Nay Cocky, Cocky, nay dear Cocky, do not cry, I was but in Jeſt, I was not ifeck.

1693, [William] Congreve, The Old Batchelour, a Comedy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Peter Buck, […], →OCLC, Act IV, page 31:

Lu[cretia]. Ah, ah, are we not by our ſelves already, my Cocky? So[phronius]. Let us go out of the Way ſomewhere, into a more private Place.

1725, Desiderius Erasmus, “The Young Man and the Harlot”, in N[athan] Bailey, transl., All the Familiar Colloquies of Desiderius Erasmus, of Roterdam, Concerning Men, Manners, and Things, Translated into English, London: Printed for J. Darby, […], →OCLC, page 196:

Now, cocky, ye may gang about your buſineſs; when ye come back, I'ſe tauk with you in another ſtile.

1757, [Tobias George Smollett], The Reprisal: Or, The Tars of Old England. […], London: […] R[oberts] Baldwin, […], →OCLC, Act II, scene ix:

Hobhouse's insolence to Mr. Hunt is not seen in its true light, unless we remember, that the latter is held under heavy recognizances to keep the peace! The little cocky seems to have been half mad; and well he might.

1825 April 2, “To the Freeholders of Ireland. Letter II.”, in William Cobbett, editor, Cobbett’s Weekly Register, volume LIV, number 1, London: Printed and published by C. Clement, […], →OCLC, column 22:

"Go on board that little cockleshell of yourn?"—pointing to the splendid yacht—"not if I knows it, my cockeys! This old oss is spry to when he is well off—so make tracks and be off, before you gits this old coon's dander up.

1870 July, “Old Calabar” [pseudonym], “A Sporting Story”, in Baily’s Monthly Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, and Turf Guide, volume XVIII, number 125, London: A. H. Baily & Co., […], →OCLC, chapter VI (Mr. Bouncer Brag Composes), page 306:

They're not going to stand for a couple of actors bossing the place [The Old Vic theatre] around any more. We shall be out, old cockie.

1940s, Francis Beckett, quoting Ralph Richardson speaking to Laurence Olivier, “The War and the Old Vic”, in Laurence Olivier, London: Haus Publishing, published 2005, →ISBN, page 72:

Somewhere, somehow, there had to be something more ennobling than that. But how to find it? Ah, there's the rub, my cockies.

2005, Martin Pilcher, chapter 12, in The Banana Skin Tango, [United Kingdom]: Aardvark-Zap Publishing, →ISBN, page 118:

term of endearment
term of endearment#English

(chiefly British, Ireland, Newfoundland, colloquial, dated) Used as a term of endearment, originally for a person of either sex, but later primarily for a man.


caretaker

Johnson had to be drafted in as the caretaker manager after Hewlett resigned without warning the day before the final.

Sources within Sánchez’s caretaker administration claim the amnesty law is perfectly in keeping with the Socialist-led government’s efforts to calm tensions and find a political solution to the so-called Catalan question.

2023 November 15, Sam Jones, “Acting Spanish PM on verge of second term after controversial Catalan amnesty deal”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(chiefly UK) Temporary, on a short term basis.


throw a wobbly

en-verb

throw a wobbly (third-person singular simple present throws a wobbly, present participle throwing a wobbly, simple past threw a wobbly, past participle thrown a wobbly)

throws a wobbly (present singular third-person)
throwing a wobbly (participle present)
threw a wobbly (past)
thrown a wobbly (participle past)

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, idiomatic, colloquial) To throw a tantrum.


scutch

scutch (third-person singular simple present scutches, present participle scutching, simple past and past participle scutched)

scutches (present singular third-person)
scutching (participle present)
scutched (participle past)
scutched (past)

From Middle English *scucchen, from Anglo-Norman escucher, from Vulgar Latin *excuticāre.

(obsolete, UK, Scotland, Northern England, dialect) To beat or whip; to drub.


chambers

From chamber + -s (suffix forming pluralia tantum and regular plurals of nouns, and the third-person singular simple present indicative forms of verbs).

suffix

[B]e you mannerly to her, becauſe you are to pretend only to be her Squire, to arm her to her Lavvyers Chambers; but I vvill be impudent and baudy, for ſhe muſt love and marry me.

1676 December 11 (first performance), [William] Wycherley, The Plain-Dealer. A Comedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for James Magnes and Rich[ard] Bentley […], published 1677, →OCLC, Act II, page 32:

[…] I dismissed my coach at the gate, and tripped it down to my counsel's chambers; for lawyer's fees take up too much of a small disputed jointure to admit any other expenses but mere necessaries.

1712 July 1 (Gregorian calendar), [Thomas Tickell], “FRIDAY, June 20, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 410; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 25:

They rapped violently at the door of his [Samuel Johnson's] chambers in the Temple, till at laſt he appeared in his ſhirt, vvith his little black vvig on the top of his head, inſtead of a nightcap, and a poker in his hand, imagining, probably, that ſome ruffians vvere coming to attack him.

1791, James Boswell, “[1752]”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 134:

Nevertheless, these venerable Inns which have the Lamb and Flag and the Winged Horse for their ensigns, have attractions for persons who inhabit them, and a share of the rough comforts and freedom, which men always remember with pleasure. I don't know whether the student of law permits himself the refreshment of enthusiasm, or indulges in poetical reminiscences as he passes by historical chambers, […] but the man of letters can't but love the place which has been inhabited by so many of his brethren, […] old Samuel Johnson rolling through the fog with the Scotch gentleman [James Boswell] at his heels on their way to Dr. [Oliver] Goldsmith's chambers in Brick Court; […]

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “The Knights of the Temple”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume I, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849, →OCLC, page 290:

To be well in chambers is melancholy, and lonely and selfish enough; but to be ill in chambers— […] —this, indeed, is a fate so dismal and tragic, that we shall not enlarge upon its horrors, and shall only heartily pity those bachelors in the Temple, who brave it every day.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Which Had Nearly Been the Last of the Story”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 120:

(British) Originally, a set of rooms at an Inn of Court used by one or more barristers as an office and residence; now, the office of one or more barristers in any building.

asianajajan toimisto

originally, a set of rooms at an Inn of Court used by one or more barristers as an office and residence; now, the office of one or more barristers in any building

[W]e cannot be ſecure, vvhile ſuch huge Fleets of Men of VVar, both Spaniſh, French, Dutch, and Dunkirkeers, ſome of them laden vvith Ammunition, Men, Arms, and Armies, do daily ſail on our Seas, and confront the Kings Chambers; […]

1633 February 9 (Gregorian calendar), James Howell, “XI. To Sir Arthur Ingram, at York.”, in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ. Familiar Letters Domestic and Forren. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London: […] Humphrey Mos[e]ley, […], published 1655, →OCLC, section VI, page 233:

The exclusive territorial jurisdiction of the British Crown over the enclosed parts of the sea along the coasts of the island of Great Britain, has immemorially extended to those bays called the King's Chambers; i.e. portions of the sea cut off by lines drawn from one promontory to another.

1845, William Whewell, “International Rights of Property”, in The Elements of Morality, including Polity […], volume II, London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC, book VI (International Jus. Rights and Obligations between States.), article 1170, page 378:

Considerable areas of sea were thus enclosed within the Chambers, particularly on the west coast.

1974, Christopher Lloyd, editor, The Mariner’s Mirror: The Journal of the Society for Nautical Research, volume 60, London: Society for Nautical Research, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 96:

(British, historical) In full king's chambers: parts of the sea next to the coast of England and Wales delimited by imaginary lines connecting headlands, over which the Crown asserted exclusive jurisdiction; these have now been superseded by the concept of the territorial sea.


scarper

en-verb

scarper (third-person singular simple present scarpers, present participle scarpering, simple past and past participle scarpered)

scarpers (present singular third-person)
scarpering (participle present)
scarpered (participle past)
scarpered (past)

Probably from Italian scappare (“to run away”), influenced by Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow = go.
* In the chapter "Punch Talk" of 1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, Vol 3, the author discusses the slang language used by travelling Italian Punch and Judy men and entertainers, which had English, Italian, Jewish and traveller roots. He states that "scarper" is Punch Talk for "to get away quickly" (from the police or other authority) and derives from the Italian scappare or escappare (compare English escape).
* An alternative etymology traces the word "scarper" to the Cockney rhyming slang Scapa Flow (“go”) (as in, e.g., "go away").

Out went the lights, as he continued, "That sneak Whiskers have just blown the gaff to old Slow-Coach, and he'll be here in two two's to give you beans — so scarper, laddies — scarper!"

1904, John Coleman, Fifty years of an actors̓ life, volume 1, page 54:

The tramps scarpered, the street-traders pushing prams scarpered, half of Dublin scarpered as if they all had something to hide.

2001, Ardal O'Hanlon, Knick Knack Paddy Whack, page 7:

Helm writes: 'As if she were some street criminal, ready to scarper, Ruth's home was swooped upon by [Assistant Commissioner John] Yates's men and she was forced to dress in the presence of a female police officer.

Pedro Porro was a pantomime villain on the night in the eyes of both home and visiting fans - more of that later - slipping on a patch of wet turf to allow Andy Robertson to steal in and scarper to the byline.

28 March 2023, Graeme McGarry, “Scott McTominay earns place in history as Scotland stun Spain”, in The Herald:

(British, slang) To run away; to flee; to escape.


able rating

(British, Royal Navy) A rating who is qualified to perform certain duties of seamanship.


onde

en-noun

onde (usually uncountable, plural ondes)

From Middle English onde, ande, from Old English onda, anda (“zeal, indignation, anger, malice, envy, hatred”), from Proto-West Germanic *anadō, from Proto-Germanic *anadô (“breath, spirit, zeal”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”).
Cognate with Scots aynd, eind, end (“breath”), German Ahnd, And (“pain, anguish”), Danish ånd, ånde (“breath, spirit”), Swedish anda, ande (“spirit, breath”), Icelandic andi (“spirit”), Latin anima (“breath, spirit”). More at animal.

der

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) breath


budgie smugglers

A jocular reference to a man's tight-fitting swimming costume or swimsuit appearing as if he has a budgerigar concealed inside it, i.e. his bulging genitals.

Alternative form: budgie-smugglers

Roughly, the rule goes: if you have just swum, are planning to swim soon or are reasonably proximate to a place where others are swimming, then your budgie smugglers are perfectly acceptable.

2006 July 9, Annabel Crabb, “UK learns rules of Texas hold 'em”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Mr Baillieu has popped out of the water in his budgie-smugglers, but he doesn't reckon that climate change is a problem," Garrett scoffed. "I mean, give me a break."

2006 November 23, Stuart Rintoul, “Bracks's walk was on the wild side”, in The Australian:

“If you think that men in budgie smugglers don’t look good, well all the blokes in this race still have it and they looked great,” she joked.

2012 January 11, Amy Findlay, “Awesome Ironman!”, in Milton Ulladulla Times:

A MAN has been fined and banned from recreational fishing in Victoria after confusing his budgie smugglers for abalone smugglers.

2012 January 12, Kate Starke, “Smuggler hid illegal abalone in underpants”, in Herald Sun:

Next, on with his favourite budgie smugglers. His sequined posing pouch. No winky shrinkage for him.

2023 April 21, John Crace, “Psycho goes down raging: the liberal wokerati finally get to Raab”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(Australia, New Zealand, UK, informal) A style of tightfitting men's swimming costume cut like underwear briefs that covers the buttocks and groin but not the legs and reveals the bulge of the genitals; especially worn in surf lifesaving and in swimming races.


breeze-block

From breeze (“residue from a furnace”) + block.

com

(UK) A lightweight building block made from cinders and concrete.


sterilise

en-verb

sterilise (third-person singular simple present sterilises, present participle sterilising, simple past and past participle sterilised)

sterilises (present singular third-person)
sterilising (participle present)
sterilised (participle past)
sterilised (past)

The use of heat as a sterilising agent is a method of long standing and is particularly effective against most insects. Insects are very susceptible to high temperatures, the ultramaximum temperature—the temperature which will kill an insect instantly—being for the great majority of insects about 140 degrees F. A moderately high temperature, however, if applied for several hours is usually as fatal as a much higher temperature applied for a shorter time.

1923, Philip Buckle, Rovert A. Wardle, The Principles of Insect Control, Arnold, page 198:

[…] one tablet completely sterilises a quart of water, tastelessly, without discolouration or odour.

1938, The Homestead, numbers 1170-1196, page 14:

Inspect them for rub marks and blisters; tape or bandage rub marks; clean the skin around a blister, use a sterilised needle to puncture it at its outer edge and press out the fluid, then bandage.

1967, Donald Howard Grainger, Don't Die in the Bundu:

He thinks new classes of insecticides introduced in the last 20 years, including neonicotinoids and fipronil, have been particularly damaging as they are used routinely and persist in the environment: “They sterilise the soil, killing all the grubs.”

2019 February 10, Damian Carrington, “Plummeting insect numbers 'threaten collapse of nature'”, in The Guardian:

(British and Commonwealth) Alternative spelling of sterilize


fruity

en-adj

fruity (comparative fruitier, superlative fruitiest)

fruitier (comparative)
fruitiest (superlative)

His text message was filled with fruity language.


plaint

From Middle English plainte, borrowed from Anglo-Norman plainte (“lamentation”), plaint (“lament”), and Old French pleinte (“lamentation”), pleint (“lament”) (modern French plainte), from Medieval Latin plancta (“plaint”), from Latin planctus (“a beating of the breast in lamentation, beating, lamentation”), from Latin plango (“I beat the breast, I lament”); see plain.

uder

Once the plaint had been made there was nothing that could be done to revoke it.


topping

en-adj

topping (comparative more topping, superlative most topping)

more topping (comparative)
most topping (superlative)

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

From Middle English toppyng; equivalent to top + -ing.

“My boy came home last night,” sang the waitress. “Oh, I say–how topping for you !” gurgled the cashier.

1919, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Pictures”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 162:

'Well,' he said, settling back in the seat directly opposite. 'It's a topping day.'


weedy

weedy (comparative weedier, superlative weediest)

weedier (comparative)
weediest (superlative)

a weedy excuse

a weedy attempt

a weedy motor

Everything in moderation is a bit of a weedy call to arms, but as a rule for living it’s hard to beat.

2010 June 22, Juliet Woods, “We all know fast food is bad for us”, in The Telegraph:

2016, Orla Kiely, quoted in “Designs for life from Orla Kiely,” Irish Independent, 3 April, 2016,
We wanted to make sure that our jewellery made a statement, that it wasn't wimpy or weedy.

(figurative, UK, Ireland, informal) Lacking power or effectiveness.


goolies

en-noun

goolies pl (normally plural, singular gooly)

Probably from Hindi गोली (golī, “ball; pill; bullet”) or a cognate in other Indian languages.

"My oath," he said, "here's a man got his goolie chit. And I left mine behind. How fat can you get?"
"I've got mine," said Ward quietly, tapping his pocket."
"It's not your goolies I'm worried about," said Curnow.

Marcus: Sorry, your "gooly"?
Stylax: Yeah.
Marcus: You can't have one "gooly". It's just your "goolies".
Stylax: No, no, no, no. The whole thing is your goolies, all three of them, but if you're talking about one in particular, you say "gooly".

2013 April 8, “The Herpes Cat”, in Plebs:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, vulgar slang, usually in the plural) The testicles.


gippo

gippo (countable and uncountable, plural gippos or gippoes)

→ Swedish: jippo

An alteration of gypsy, which is in turn an alteration of Egyptian.

(British, offensive, slang, rare) An Egyptian.

He had his “dinner” in his canteen and placed it on the ground to go and “scrounge” a chunk of bread to help “fill up”, and as soon as he turned his back a dog walked in at the door of the barn, where we were “in residence” as they say “higher up”, [only we “flew no flag”], and started lapping up some of the “gippo”, [gravy] of which the said dinner was composed [in fact 'twas more “gippo” than dinner that day, so who could blame a dog for being mistaken].

They were always asking for ‘more gippo’ (gravy) which we got for them if we could.

2006, Mildred Joan Tulip, My experiences as a VAD nurse:

(British, military, slang, uncountable) Gravy.


sheepshagger

From sheep + shagger; originally military slang. First used in the 1950s.

"Landlord, you're a lowlander and a sheep-shagger and you come from Gerrard's Cross. Goodnight."

1958, John Le Carré, The Naive and Sentimental Lover:

I used to know a Rockburn once... He was in the Sheep Shaggers.

1958, Mark Bence-Jones, Paradise Escaped, iv. 73:

She is now back and planning a Victory Parade not to mention her own visit to the newly reconquered territories to receive the homage of the grateful sheepshaggers, all fifty-nine of them.

Who are you calling a sheepshagger?

1992, Ian Pattison, More Rab C. Nesbitt Scripts, section 62:

...he'd yelled from his window, giving each sheep-shagger and country bumpkin the finger as he got on the mobile...

(British, slang) A man who engages in sexual intercourse with sheep; usually used as a slur for a rural person seen as unsophisticated.

Shaun: It's so easy to have a go at a bloke who looks like you, you're just easy pickings, and it's... [trails off and shakes his head]
Darren: "Sheepshagger" they've said sometimes as well.
Shaun: I thought "sheepshagger" was Welsh.
Darren: No, it can be Bristol as well.

2007, Extras (TV series), Christmas Special:

(British, slang, derogatory) A term of abuse for inhabitants of various countries or regions which have large populations of sheep.

A supporter of Derby County F.C., a reference to the club nickname of The Rams.


palaeontology

British standard spelling of paleontology.


rumbustious

en-adj

rumbustious (comparative more rumbustious, superlative most rumbustious)

more rumbustious (comparative)
most rumbustious (superlative)

From rum- (“strong, very”) + bust + -ious.
Alternatively, possibly from an alteration of robustious.

“Childer! Borne ’em I ’ave, an’ buried ’em I ’ave, but now I can’t seem to do wi’ their clatter no more—young things is that restless an’ rumbustious.”

1912, Blanche Edith Baughan, “Red and Yellow and Ripe”, in Brown Bread from a Colonial Oven:

(chiefly British, informal) Boisterous and unruly.


seaside

From Middle English see-syde, sey-syde, see syde, se side, equivalent to sea + side.

This summer, I'm going to the seaside at Weymouth - I'm very excited about it!

I do like to be beside the seaside!
Oh, I do like to be beside the sea!
I do like to stroll along the prom, prom, prom,
While the brass bands play Tiddely-om-pom-pom!

1907, John A. Glover-Kind (lyrics and music), “I Do Like To be Beside the Seaside”:

James never cared much for the sea-side, but developed a passionate love for the Westmoreland mountains, getting to know most of them as an energetic fell walker, preferring this to rock climbing.

1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 128:

The arrival of the railway turned this isolated fishing village into a popular seaside destination for Victorians who came to breathe fresh sea air, clear their lungs or take the waters.

2022 January 12, Paul Bigland, “Fab Four: the nation's finest stations: Grange-over-Sands”, in RAIL, number 948, page 27:

(chiefly UK) The area by and around the sea; including the beach, promenade or cliffs


dinnertime

en-noun

dinnertime (countable and uncountable, plural dinnertimes)

(now chiefly British) The midday mealtime as the main one: lunchtime.


jungle bunny

Originally US English, 1950s. From jungle (“referring to the alleged origins of black people in the African jungles”) + bunny.

Merry Christmas to all the little jungle-bunnies. — From momma jungle bunny.

1952 December 18, The South Side Times, Fort Wayne, Indiana, page 8, column 6:

"[W]e are concerned that outright harassment such as being called nigger, jungle bunny, porch monkey, boy, son, etc., is occurring entirely too much."

1983 January 14, “Racial incidents, declining sales sour Volkswagen dream”, in Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, page 6:

He doesn't say Judge Brown's last name, telling me Brown's just another jungle bunny far as he's concerned, robe or no robe.

2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, page 90:

(US, UK, ethnic slur, derogatory) A black person.


hypothecation

hypothecation (countable and uncountable, plural hypothecations)

From hypothecate + -ion. From Latin hypothecatio, from hypotheco (“I pledge as collateral”), from Greek.

It is, however, precisely here that the weakness of hypothecation lies, for governments are not likely readily to surrender control over the disposition of taxes they impose.

1984, John R. Butler, Michael S. B. Vaile, Health and Health Services: An Introduction to Health Care in Britain, →ISBN, page 68:

So, strict hypothecation is only advisable when the tax pays entirely and only for that spending programme […]

2006, Dominic Maxwell, “Towards a citizen's inheritance”, in The Citizen's Stake, →ISBN, page 49:

Either way, effectively the government is simply using the hypothecated tax as part of general revenue, and the hypothecation is a sham.

2006, Julian Le Grand, Motivation, Agency, and Public Policy, →ISBN, page 155:

(British) A tax levied for a specific expenditure.


fixture

Alteration of older fixure, on the model of mixture.

(sports, chiefly British, Commonwealth, Ireland) A scheduled match.


blocker

→ Polish: bloker, blokers

From Middle English blocker, blokker, bloker, blokkere, equivalent to block + -er.

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

Sometimes your sales progress skids to a halt. We've all met more blockers than we'd care to. Some are assigned by the company to filter services […]

1992, Joan Guiducci, Joan Guiducci's power calling, page 49:

Agent noun of block (“obstruct or prevent”); something that blocks something else.

(marketing) A gatekeeper who refuses the marketer access to the person they wish to contact.

Blockers can optimize the development of preferred physical characteristics. In trans girls, blockers initiated prior to the development of male secondary sex characteristics will effectively prevent voice deepening, skeletal enlargement, and penile enlargement.

2014, Laura Erickson-Schroth, Trans Bodies, Trans Selves: A Resource for the Transgender Community, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 443:

(biology, medicine) Any of various medications that block (inhibit) the activity of a chemical messenger or its receptors, such as cardiac conduction modifiers (e.g., alpha-blockers), gastric acid inhibitors (H₂ histamine blockers), puberty blockers, and others.


blocker

Forced to substitute a ‘blocker’ of meat, with its cheap accompaniment of bread and vegetables..for poultry and rump-steaks.

1848 April 14, Fraser's Magazine, volume 396, number 2:

Synonym of block ornament (“a cheap piece of meat of poor quality”). [from 1848]


lunge line

(British) A rope-like piece of equipment, usually 20 feet or longer in length, attached to the bridle, lungeing cavesson, or halter of a horse to provide control while lungeing.


toastie

I much prefer cheese-and-onion toasties to those with bacon.


three-way switch

three-way switch (plural three-way switches)

Named after its three electrical connections, as opposed to the two connections of a normal light switch.

(US, electricity) A type of light switch that can be arranged in pairs to control lights from two locations, as at either end of a stairway or long hallway; a double-throw switch. (British): two-way switch.


lovestone

From love + stone, in reference to the way that ivy grows over and clings to stone walls, etc.


fish slice

Would you pass me that fish slice, please; I'm making a mess trying to turn this omelette.

Truly the sign of an evolved person who has their shit together is that they’ve graduated beyond using a fish slice for everything (which they erroneously call a spatula).

2023 January 28, Justin Myers, “62 dating green flags that shout ‘this one’s a keeper’”, in The Guardian:

(British) A kitchen utensil used to turn foodstuffs (commonly, burgers and omelettes) in a frying pan; a spatula.


salting

salting (countable and uncountable, plural saltings)

(UK, historical) The celebration of the Eton montem.


ice lolly

I prefer lime ice lollies to lemon ones.

[T]he sun was shining on a happy crowd. It shone on white hats and red faces. It shone on ice lollies and melted them.

1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 23:

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Frozen fruit juice on a stick.


aquaplane

en-verb

aquaplane (third-person singular simple present aquaplanes, present participle aquaplaning, simple past and past participle aquaplaned)

aquaplanes (present singular third-person)
aquaplaning (participle present)
aquaplaned (participle past)
aquaplaned (past)

PIE word
 *h₂ékʷeh₂
The noun is derived from aqua- (prefix meaning ‘water’) + plane (“flat or level surface”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”)).
The verb is derived from the noun, and is analysable as aqua- + plane (“to glide; to soar; to skim a water surface”).

prefix

So much water. They were held up by it, the tyres skating over a film of rain. Aquaplaning. Flying his sister’s fancy car through the wet air. Touching nothing.

2015, Anne Enright, “Shannon Airport”, in The Green Road, New York, N.Y., London: W[illiam] W[arder] Norton & Company, →ISBN, part 2, page 203:

(by extension, chiefly British, automotive) Of a car or other road vehicle: to lose traction with the road due to the vehicle's tyres sliding on a film of water on the road.

olla vesiliirrossa

of a car, etc.: to lose traction with the road due to the vehicle’s tyres sliding on a film of water on the road


cous

(informal, US, UK) cousin (usually as a term of address, but not necessarily towards one's cousin)


slippy

en-adj

slippy (comparative slippier, superlative slippiest)

slippier (comparative)
slippiest (superlative)

From slip + -y. Compare Old English slipiġ (“slippy, slimy, viscid”).

cog

It was darker now and there were stones and bits of wood on the strand and slippy seaweed.

1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

(slightly informal, Western Pennsylvania, UK, Ireland, Ottawa Valley) Slippery.

slightly informal; Ottawa Valley; slightly informal; Ottawa Valley

Well, come on then, let's look slippy.

1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 5, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC:


salt cellar

From salt + cellar, from 15th Century Middle English saler, from Middle French salier, from Latin salārius (“relating to salt”), from Latin sāl (“salt”). Modified based on originally unrelated English cellar.

(UK) Synonym of salt shaker (“a closed container with perforated lid for sprinkling salt”)


snuff

en-verb

snuff (third-person singular simple present snuffs, present participle snuffing, simple past and past participle snuffed)

snuffs (present singular third-person)
snuffing (participle present)
snuffed (participle past)
snuffed (past)

Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”).
Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).

cog

(transitive, UK, Ireland, slang, obsolete) To drug (a person) with a mixture of snuff and beer.


sele

en-noun

sele (countable and uncountable, plural seles)

From Middle English sele (“happiness, good fortune, bliss; an occasion, period of time”), from Old English sǣl (“time, occasion, an opportune time, opportunity, happiness, prosperity, good times”), from Proto-West Germanic *sālī, from Proto-Germanic *sēliz. Related to silly.

inh

(obsolete or dialectal, British) The right time or occasion for something, an opportune moment, season


crackers

en-adj

crackers (comparative more crackers, superlative most crackers)

more crackers (comparative)
most crackers (superlative)

From cracker + -ers. The South African sense derive their name from their sound and their status as a plurale tantum by association with "trousers". The adjectival sense derives from British naval expressions referring to firecrackers in one's head, originally as "he's got the crackers" and then "he's gone crackers" before the present "he is crackers".

He acknowledges that it must seem "a crackers thing to say", but given the substantial progress which has been made in other areas of the business, his optimism isn't without foundation.

2021 May 5, Graeme Pickering, “Managing Metro's morphosis”, in RAIL, number 930, page 52:

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s former chief adviser, told the online magazine UnHerd in May that Truss was “as close to properly crackers as anybody I have met in parliament” and would be an “even worse” prime minister than Johnson.

2022 July 30, Dominic Cummings, quotee, “‘Ambition greater than ability’: Liz Truss’s rise from teen Lib Dem to would-be PM”, in The Guardian:


pyx

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-pyx.wav

The noun is derived from Late Middle English pix, pixe (“vessel for holding a host, pyx; hip bone socket, pyxis”) [and other forms], from Late Latin pyxis (“vessel for holding a host”), Latin pyxis (“small box for medicines or toiletries; box holding sample coins for testing; hip bone socket; sailor's compass”), from Koine Greek πυξίς (puxís), Ancient Greek πῠξῐ́ς (pŭxĭ́s, “box; box or tablet made of boxwood; cylinder”), from πῠ́ξος (pŭ́xos, “box tree; boxwood”) + -ῐς (-ĭs, suffix forming feminine nouns). Doublet of box, piseog, and pyxis.
The verb is derived from the noun.

ref

From the collection of the Musée de Cluny in Paris, France.

der

[T]he said Tresurer and other Officers of the sayd Mynts, to bring with them, at that tyme and place, all ther Pixes, and ther severall Indentures of Coynag, by and for the holle tyme the said Assaye shall be taken.

16th–17th century, Rogers Ruding, “Of the Trial of the Pix”, in [John Yonge Akerman], editor, Annals of the Coinage of Great Britain and Its Dependencies; from the Earliest Period of Authentic History to the Reign of Victoria. […], volume I, London: Printed for John Hearne, […]; by Manning and Mason, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 73:

When His Majesty is pleased to call for the money in the pyx to be tried, by order of his Council, the same is signified to the Lord Chancellor and Lords of the Treasury. The Lord Chancellor summons a jury of goldsmiths for the trial. The Treasury order the Mint officers to produce their pyx, and the King's Remembrancer to swear the jury.

1837 June 1, J. W. Morrison (witness), “Report from the Select Committee on the Royal Mint; together with the Minutes of Evidence, Appendix and Index. […]”, in Reports from Committees: […], volume 12, [London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office], →OCLC, paragraph 2028, page 142:

There is also opened in their presence the Mint pyx—or rather two pyxes, one filled with sample gold coin, the other with silver. The three officials produce their three keys; the two pyxes are unlocked and opened; the jury unwrap the papers in which the coins have been placed, and count and weigh all the gold and silver.

1868 December 19, “Plenty of Money”, in E[neas] S[weetland] Dallas, editor, Once a Week, volume II, number 51 (New Series), London: Bradbury, Evans, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 515, column 1:

The readers of the work will learn […] the proper methods of the survey of green-wax, and the trial of the pyx.

1891 November 21, Charles Elton, “Literature. Some Historical Books.”, in [James Sutherland Cotton], editor, The Academy. A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art, volume XL, number 1020 (New Series), London: Alexander and Shepheard, […], →OCLC, page 447, column 3:

[I]n the indentures of this period a clause is always inserted providing for the trial of the pyx. The master is instructed to place specimens of each day's production (the journey-weight) of coins in a pyx, which is to be sealed at the end of every three months and sent for trial.

1983, C[hristopher] E[velyn] Blunt, “Privy-marking and the Trial of the Pyx”, in C[hristopher] N[ugent] L[awrence] Brooke, B[ernard] H[arold] I[an] H[adley] Stewart, J[ohn] G[raham] Pollard, T[erence] R[odney] Volk, editors, Studies in Numismatic Method: Presented to Philip Grierson, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 225:

(chiefly British) A box used in a mint as a place to deposit sample coins intended to have the fineness of their metal and their weight tested before the coins are issued to the public.

حقة القربان

box used in a mint to deposit sample coins for testing


pyx

en-verb

pyx (third-person singular simple present pyxes, present participle pyxing, simple past and past participle pyxed)

pyxes (present singular third-person)
pyxing (participle present)
pyxed (participle past)
pyxed (past)

After the said moneys shall be by the said warden and the assaymaster tried and pyxed as ordered by the said indenture, the said master worker shall make true deliverance and payment of the same to every person by weight by the same balance and weight whereof he shall receive the same bullion, taking again his said bills; […]

1578 October 7 (Gregorian calendar), “Commission to Richard Martyn”, in Calendar of the Patent Rolls Preserved in the Public Record Office: Elizabeth I, volumes VII (1575–1578), London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, published 1982, →ISBN, part IV (20 Elizabeth I, C. 66/1167), paragraph 2885, page 437:

[W]hen the money is coined it is not allowed to go out of the mint until pixed; that is, until it had been ascertained, by the assay of one piece taken out of each journeyweight of coin, that it is of standard purity: […]

1842, “ASSA′Y”, in W[illiam] T[homas] Brande, assisted by Joseph Cauvin, editors, A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art: […], London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, […], →OCLC, page 95, column 2:

The ascertaining whether coin is of the proper standard is in England called "pixing" it; and there are occasions on which resort is had for this purpose to an ancient mode of inquisition called the "trial of the pix," before a jury of members of the Goldsmiths' Company.

1891, Henry Campbell Black, “PIX”, in A Dictionary of Law […], St. Paul, Minn.: West Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 899:

Among the incidental operations [in manufacturing coins] are […] "pyxing" the finished coin, or selecting specimens to be weighed and assayed; […]

1911, Thomas Kirke Rose, “MINT”, in edited by Hugh Chisholm, The Encyclopædia Britannica […], 11th edition, volume XVIII (Medal to Mumps), New York, N.Y.: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company, →OCLC, page 559, column 2:

It appears that, in this instance, the coin had to wait a certain time for what is called the regular pyxing day; would it not be possible for you to fix the time for pyxing as soon as the coin was delivered to you, without waiting for the regular days?

1837 June 27, Henry Labouchère, “Select Committee on the Royal Mint”, in Reports from Committees: […], volume 12, [London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office], →OCLC, paragraph 2564, page 178:

Arrived per tramway before alluded to, they [the coins] are now "pyxed" by the senior officers. […] The pyxing at the Mint is a short operation, and after it the coins are ready for delivery to the Bank.

1859 July 15, “Money-making at the Royal Mint. No. VI.”, in R. J. Brooman, E[dward] J[ames] Reed, editors, The Mechanics’ Magazine and Journal of Engineering, Agricultural Machinery, Manufactures, and Shipbuilding, volume 2, number 29, London: Richard Archibald Brooman, […], →OCLC, pages 38–39:

From hence arises myriad serpent brood / Of varied shape,—men, snakes and devils mixed. / Persuade or hiss according to their mood, / But inward grovel all, decretal-pyxed.

1915, T. K. E. [pseudonym; attributed to Le Roy Bliss Peckham], edited by W. G. Sette, Sin, Original and Actual: The Plain People’s Plaint, Boston, Mass.: Richard G. Badger; Toronto, Ont.: The Copp Clark Co., →OCLC, stanza XXXV, page 46:

If the random sample pyxed passed the tests, all was well, and the Master was entitled without charge to a quittance under the great seal of England; but if the moneys did not pass, then he was liable to an unlimited fine.

1981, George C. Boon, Cardiganshire Silver and the Aberystwyth Mint in Peace & War, Cardiff: Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru = National Museum of Wales, →ISBN, page 75:

Coins marked '2' were pyxed on 7 June 1603.

1986, Joe Cribb, editor, Money: From Cowrie Shells to Credit Cards: […], London: British Museum Publications for the Trustees of the British Museum, →ISBN, page 62:

(chiefly British) To deposit (sample coins) in a pyx; (by extension) to test (such coins) for the fineness of metal and weight before a mint issues them to the public.


windrow

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

karhe

line of gravel left behind by the edge of a grader

(UK) The green border of a field, dug up in order to carry the earth onto other land to improve it.


carry-on

en-noun

carry-on (countable and uncountable, plural carry-ons)

handbagage

the luggage which is taken onto an airplane with a passenger

Sometimes all this carry-on about race, religion and sex seems so petty and silly that I cannot take it seriously.

1978 December 9, Nancy Walker, “Sexism and Racism at GCN?”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 20, page 10:

"I love salad",she dared when it came to the next course, and then inwardly cringed when it seemed that that was actually a special order and there was such a carry-on about what kind of salad she wanted.

The stopping, restarting, swearing and routine self-deprecation ("I'm in trouble with the vicar – eternal trouble," quips Martin) is the kind of carry-on that has fans purring with pleasure.

2011 November 27, Kitty Empire, The Observer:

(countable, British, New Zealand) A palaver; a disorderly or absurd situation.


burly

en-adj

burly (comparative burlier, superlative burliest)

burlier (comparative)
burliest (superlative)

From Middle English burly, burely, borly, burlich, borlich, borlic (“tall, stately”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots burely, burly (“rough, stout, sturdy, strong”). Perhaps from Old English *būrlīċ (“noble, stately”, literally “bowerly”), equivalent to bower + -ly; or from Old English *byrlīċ (“high, raised”), from byre (“raised area, mound”), cognate with Old High German burlīh, purlīh (“lofty, elevated, high, exalted”), related to Old High German burjan (“to raise, lift, push up”). See burgeon.

cog

That goal was burly.

Kimi Räikkönen is a burly Formula 1 driver.

(British, East End of London, slang) Great, amazing, unbelievable.


drunk as Chloe

Possibly a reference to the Chloe mentioned in the poetry of Matthew Prior.
* Australian vernacular usage (reported by Partridge and others) is influenced by, and often thought to refer to, the well-known nude painting Chloé, which was hung briefly (in 1883) at the National Gallery of Victoria, and later (from 1908) at the Young and Jacksons hotel, Melbourne.

1823, Drink, entry in Jon Badcock, Slang: A Dictionary of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, the Pit, or Bon-Ton, page 71,
Drunk''' as Chloe; she must have been an uproarious lass.

Sorry to observe that Seymour had ‘been at his tricks,’ and was as drunk as Chloe ! — as the saying is ; but as to who Chloe was, my reading never informed me.

1840, Charles Dickens, William Harrison Ainsworth, Albert Smith, “The Journal of Old Barnes, the Pantaloon: On a trip to Paris, in 1830”, in Bentley's Miscellany, volume 5, page 466:

They were all as drunk as Chloe, and I being a little in a sympathetic condition, they took me into their confidence.

1859, Melbourne Punch, volume 8, page 40:

They passed many merry-makers homeward bound, many of them following a tortuous course, for the Scottish toper gives way first in the legs, the Southron in the other extremity, and thus between them could be constructed a man wholly sober and another as drunk as Chloe.

1896, J. M. Barrie, Sentimental Tommy, The Echo Library, published 2007, page 99:

It was a regular thing for many of the clergy to be as drunk as Chloe on Saturday night, get through their sermon on Sunday morning, and get drunk and sober again before the evening.

1904, New Zealand House of Representatives, chapter L, in Parliamentary Debates, page 53:

(UK, Australia, colloquial, simile) Very drunk.


'cos

Should five per cent appear too small, Be thankful I don't take it all, 'Cos I'm the Taxman, Yeah, I'm the Taxman.

1991, Alan Aldridge, The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics, page 69:

(British) Informal spelling of 'cause (“because”).


Jeremiah

/ˌd͡ʒɛɹəˈmaɪə/

From Latin Jeremias, from Ancient Greek Ἰερεμίας (Ieremías), from Hebrew יִרְמְיָה (yirm'yá, “Jeremiah”, literally “Yahweh exalt”).

der

(UK) Expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, frustration, etc.


red flag

(rail transport, UK) A flag formerly used by a railway guard to warn the driver not to start the train.


solarium

From Latin sōlārium (“sundial, place for enjoying sunlight”), from sōl (“sun”) + -ārium (“-arium: indicating related places or devices”).

bor

(chiefly UK) Synonym of tanning salon, a room or business used for its sunlamps or tanning beds.


crawler

From crawl (“to act in a servile manner”) + -er.
From the Australian convict period (1788–1850); a prisoner who was purposely and extensively abused by an overseer (also a convict) and thereby driven to escape but who, finding it impossible to survive in the Australian bush, surrenders to this overseer, who would then have his penal term reduced. The particular crawler was picked for his weak personality and might escape and return a number of times increasing his own penal term each time. According to James Tucker, some convict overseers had their sentences extensively reduced using this odious practice.


pop off

en-verb

pop off (third-person singular simple present pops off, present participle popping off, simple past and past participle popped off)

pops off (present singular third-person)
popping off (participle present)
popped off (participle past)
popped off (past)

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

Pop that light off, will you?


birk

(British, slang) Alternative spelling of berk


Yorks

(UK, in postal addresses) Abbreviation of Yorkshire.


Berks

(UK, in postal addresses) Abbreviation of Berkshire.


coucher

From Middle English coucher, from Anglo-Norman; equivalent to couch + -er.

She [the Herring-Buss] imployeth[…]at Land Viewers, Packers,[…]Couchers to make the Herrings lawful Merchandizes.

1601, John Keymor, “Observation made upon the Dutch fishing”, in The Phenix:

(UK, law, obsolete) A factor or agent resident in a country for traffic.


pocketbook

→ Gulf Arabic: بوك (būk, “wallet”)

→ Najdi Arabic: بوك (būk, “wallet”)

1610s, from pocket + book, popularized in its sense as a paperback by the success of Pocket Books in the United States after its 1939 launch.

The publishers brought out small format pocketbooks of the whole of their nature series.

The kit is produced in three parts including a pocket book designed to fit into a shirt pocket for everyday on-the-job use, a more detailed guide and a training CD. The kit includes a hazard reporting and feedback notebook and hazard management process prompt cards to remind workers of common hazards they may encounter in day-to-day operations.

c. 2005, New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Risk Management Pocket Guide:

"I have now lost", he wrote in his pocketbook, "the last barrier between me and death..."

2011, Leslie Stephen, Swift, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 10:

Dave recorded the information in his pocketbook and looked Gibbs straight in the eye.

2015, Graham Ison, Whispering Grass, Hachette UK, →ISBN:

(uncommon) A small book, particularly (US) a paperback or (UK) notebook able to fit into a pocket (of any genre, from reference work to fine art).


Hunts

(UK, in postal addresses) Abbreviation of Huntingdonshire.


flipping

Do you flipping think I'm stupid?

Do you think I'm flipping stupid?

Just how flipping damn stupid are you?

(euphemistic, chiefly British) Fucking; used as an intensifier to modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs


front bench

On her preparedness to return to Labour's front bench under new Leader of the Opposition Sir Kier Starmer, she is non-committal.

2020 June 3, Lilian Greenwood talks to Paul Stephen, “Rail's 'underlying challenges' remain”, in Rail, page 35:

(British) In the House of Commons, either of two benches nearest the floor of the chamber, one occupied by the members of the Cabinet and the other by the Shadow Cabinet.


I don't know

[ɑ̈ɪ̯ ɾoʊ̯(ʔ)(t̚)noʊ̯]

pronoun (depending on who is speaking with whom) + không biết (general form)

The audacity of that lad... I don't know.

(UK) Used to express exasperation or incredulity about a given situation or person.


Brummie

From Brum + -ie, from Brummagem, a dialectal variant of Birmingham.

John figured that people who said Ciao were asking to be damaged, especially Brummies with dreary accents who sounded even more absurd than other non-Italian Ciao users.

2001, David Franklin, Looking For Sarah Jane Smith, Baby Ice Dog Press, Australia, →ISBN:

His drilled shot is inch perfect and initially I am frozen as the ball hits the back of the net, in front of the open mouthed Brummies massed behind the goal.

2009, Steve Mifflin, Exile in the Promised Land, published 2013, page 120:

The truth is that these days the Brummies have been magnanimous enough to recognise that the Black Country exists and thats^([sic]) at least a start.

2010, Bryan Connor, Voices from a Blue Box: Tales from a Black Country Copper, page 15:

(UK, informal) A person from Birmingham, United Kingdom.

An easy mistake to make though, you'll hear more Brummie in Welshpool in August than Welsh that's for sure.

2000 August 11, TerryD, "Skinny-Dipping Midlands", uk.rec.naturist, Usenet

Brummie is the accent spoken in the city of Birmingham in the area of the West Midlands. Despite its being widely discussed in the media, Brummie has not received too much attention from linguists.

2013, Kamil Malarski, “Intonation in the Perception of Brummie”, in Ewa Waniek-Klimczak, Linda R. Shockey, editors, Teaching and Researching English Accents in Native and Non-native Speakers, Springer,, page 208:

(UK, informal, uncountable) The accented variety of English spoken in Birmingham.


Brummie

en-adj

Brummie (comparative Brummier or more Brummie, superlative Brummiest or most Brummie)

Brummier (comparative)
more Brummie (comparative)
Brummiest (superlative)
most Brummie (superlative)

"Jump on that bus?" he shouted in an even Brummier accent. "Yow must be jokin'. The bleedin' thing hasn't moved in this traffic for near on an hour."

Hayley Jordan is played by an actress who's^([sic]) name I can't remember, but who is actually Jasper Carrott's daughter, and apart from Nigel Mansell, you can't get more Brummie than that.

1995 November 3, Audrey MacDonald, “Accents on the Archers”, in uk.media.radio.archers (Usenet):

When the girls smile, he says in his most Brummie Italian, False presumption of binary opposition.

1997, Tim Parks, Europa, published 2012, unnumbered page:

Mick Beards, thirty-three, is a Brummie with the Brummiest accent you have ever heard.

I remember it now having watched the clip! Under Spaghetti Junction too. You can't get more Brummie than that!

2011 January 23, darkprince66, "Good old BR Improvisation to keep the service running", uk.railway, Usenet

(UK, informal) Of or relating to Birmingham, United Kingdom.


pull up

en-verb

pull up (third-person singular simple present pulls up, present participle pulling up, simple past and past participle pulled up)

pulls up (present singular third-person)
pulling up (participle present)
pulled up (participle past)
pulled up (past)

At 4pm, the phone went. It was The Sun: 'We hear your daughter's been expelled for cheating at her school exams...' She'd made a remark to a friend at the end of the German exam and had been pulled up for talking. As they left the exam room, she muttered that the teacher was a 'twat'. He heard and flipped—a pretty stupid thing to do, knowing the kids were tired and tense after exams. Instead of dropping it, the teacher complained to the Head and Deb was carpeted.

My coursework began to suffer and my parents pulled me up on it and said we are not paying for you to get off your head every night.

I was pulled up by a male reader who had been a victim of domestic abuse, for using the word 'women' instead of 'victims'. He rightly pointed out that men are victims of abuse too.

2021 May 5, Christian Wolmar, “Scheme available to any victims of domestic abuse”, in RAIL, number 930, page 44:

(idiomatic, British) To admonish or criticize someone for their actions.


fuming sulphuric acid

fuming sulfuric acid
fuming sulfuric acid#English

(inorganic chemistry, British) Alternative spelling of fuming sulfuric acid


mank

Via Polari, from Italian mancare (“to be lacking”), from Latin mancus (“maimed”). See above.

When he eats, he never closes his mouth. It's so mank.

(British, slang, originally Polari) Disgusting, repulsive.


mank

The plumber had to get all the mank out of the drain.

(British, slang, originally Polari) Something that is disgusting or manky.


buggered

en-adj

buggered (comparative more buggered, superlative most buggered)

more buggered (comparative)
most buggered (superlative)

You'll have to take over from here, mate, I'm completely buggered.

I am not sure why, but I'm more buggered after I get to the US than I am when I return home. I think it has a lot to do with it being easier to align my sleeping patterns with flying in to Oz during the night (arriving early morning), than it is flying into the US and landing at 10 pm at night.

1998 January 9, Martin Taylor, “737 Cabin Altitude”, in aus.aviation (Usenet):

(UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, slang) Tired, worn-out, exhausted.


wittol

From Middle English witewold; likely a blend of witen (“to know”) + cockewold (“cuckold”), equivalent to wit + cuckold.

(UK, dialect, obsolete) A bird, the wheatear.


secateurs

Borrowed from French sécateurs, plural of sécateur, from Latin secō + -ateur.

To start with, I'm going to arm myself with a saw, shears and secateurs to radically prune some of what's there.

2023 August 5, Diarmuid Gavin, “It's time to give my garden a makeover”, in Irish Independent Magazine, page 28:

(chiefly UK, Ireland, Commonwealth) Small, handheld pruning shears.


lashing

en-noun

lashing (countable and uncountable, plural lashings)

“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
 Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”

1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

You bring happiness to my heart
Like a freshly baked apple tart
With lashings of piping-hot custard

2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:

(in the plural, informal, UK, Ireland) Lots; a great amount.


dotty

en-adj

dotty (comparative dottier, superlative dottiest)

dottier (comparative)
dottiest (superlative)

See dote, or compare totty (“unsteady, dizzy”).

My nan has got dottier and dottier since passing the age of eighty.

Knockers in this part of the world seem intended for ornament only, — nobody seems to pay any attention to them when they’re used. The old lady upstairs must be either deaf or dotty.

Mr. Fox stopped digging and stared at Badger as though he had gone completely dotty. "My dear old furry frump," he said, "do you know anyone in the whole world who wouldn't swipe a few chickens if their children were starving to death?"

1970, Roald Dahl, Fantastic Mr. Fox, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, page 45:

(British, colloquial) Mildly insane or eccentric; often, senile.


bendy

Finally for November, on the 26th double-deckers were restored to the 29, which under bendies had gained an unsavoury reputation that it simply hadn't merited before this form of transport was imposed upon it; […]

2016, Matthew Wharmby, The London Bendy Bus: The Bus We Hated, page 92:


billiard

From French billiard, equivalent to bi- (“two”) + -illiard.

(British, rare) 10¹⁵, a thousand billion (long scale) or a million milliard.

biljardi

a million milliards — see also quadrillion


sodium sulphite

en-noun

sodium sulphite (plural sodium sulphites)

(chiefly British) Alternative spelling of sodium sulfite


sodium bisulphite

sodium bisulfite
sodium bisulfite#English

(inorganic chemistry, chiefly British) Alternative spelling of sodium bisulfite


lefty

The new brocialism cares deeply about women’s issues of course – just not enough to elect an actual woman. They don’t need to, because good lefties speak for all us. They don’t even notice gender.

2015 September 12, Suzanne Moore, “As Jeremy Corbyn was anointed leader, not one female voice was heard”, in The Guardian:

(chiefly UK, informal, politics) One who has left-wing political views.


lefty

en-adj

lefty (comparative more lefty, superlative most lefty)

more lefty (comparative)
most lefty (superlative)

The prospect of an Argentinian amalgam of Bolsonaro and Trump taking power has horrified progressive voters and also, apparently, Pope Francis, whom Milei has bad-mouthed as a “lefty son of a bitch”.

2023 October 22, Tom Phillips, Uki Goñi, “‘Bad and dangerous’: Argentina’s Trump on track to become president”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


dhobying

From Hindi [script needed] (dhobi, “washerman”) + -ing.

der

(British, naval) The washing of clothes; laundry


fossick

en-verb

fossick (third-person singular simple present fossicks, present participle fossicking, simple past and past participle fossicked)

fossicks (present singular third-person)
fossicking (participle present)
fossicked (participle past)
fossicked (past)

Probably from dialectal fossick (“to ferret out”), fossuck (“troublesome person”), fussick (“to potter over one's work”), fussock (“to bustle about”), further origin uncertain. Compare fuss.

[T]he honorable member went to the Railway department, and fossicked about for information, and he found, forsooth, that there had been a little rise in the salary of a son of a member of the House.

1872 May 28, Francis Longmore, “Address in Reply to the Governor’s Speech”, in Victoria. Parliamentary Debates. Session 1872. Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly, volume XIV (Comprising the Period from April 30 to September 4), Melbourne, Vic.: John Ferres, printer, →OCLC, page 389, column 1:

(intransitive, Australia, British, New Zealand) To search for something; to rummage.

(intransitive, Australia, British, New Zealand specifically) To elicit information; to ferret out.

To search for something; to rummage.
To elicit information; to ferret out.

The "fossicker" is one who wanders about old diggings, armed with a knife and pan, and who seldom sinks or drives, but "fossicks" or searches about the old heaps of dirt, or in the bottoms of deserted shafts and drives, keen-eyed after unobserved gold.

1862 December, J. A. Patterson, “Mining and Miners”, in The Gold Fields of Victoria in 1862, Melbourne, Vic.: Wilson & Mackinnon, 78, Collins Street East; G[eorge] Robertson, Elizabeth Street; Sands & MacDougall, Collins Street West, →OCLC, page 317:

In New South Wales the bureau has been able to dispose of a large contingent of the workless by sending them to fossick for gold on old or deserted goldfields.

1902, William Pember Reeves, “The Labour Question”, in State Experiments in Australia and New Zealand, volume 2, London: G. Richards, →OCLC; republished as State Experiments in Australia and New Zealand (Cambridge Library Collection), New York, N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 2011, →ISBN, page 221:

The best way to fossick on old dumps is to either sieve material from untouched areas (you'd do this on the opal fields) or drag down the sides with a rake. You can also find gemstones by closely examining the surface without necessarily disturbing it.

1994, Ron Moon, Viv Moon, et al., Outback Australia: A Lonely Planet Australia Guide, Hawthorn, Vic., Oakland, C.A.: Lonely Planet Publications, →ISBN, page 118, column 2:

In order to fossick you must first obtain a fossicking permit (free). They are available from the tourist offices in Darwin and Alice Springs, or Gemtree […] in the Harts Range. Permission to fossick on freehold land and mineral leases must be obtained from the owner or leaseholder.

2006, Paul Harding, Susannah Farfor, Lindsay Brown, Northern Territory & Central Australia, Hawthorn, Vic.: Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 52:

(intransitive, Australia, British, New Zealand specifically) To search for gems, gold, etc., on the surface or in abandoned workings.

I dined alone and sat after dinner in the smoking-room, for Odell never suggested the library, though I would have given a lot to fossick about that place.

1924 July, John Buchan, “Our Time is Narrowed”, in The Three Hostages, London: Hodder & Stoughton, published January 1926, →OCLC, page 227:

I could have built a better fire myself but I was too cold when we arrived to fossick around for twigs. I went back to the warm car and let Neil and Henry fossick. Playing the dumb broad is profitable too.

1980, Barbara Pepworth, Early Marks, Sydney, N.S.W.: Angus & Robertson, →ISBN, page 178:

How strange it was to see men do something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant. There wasn't much room for beauty in the lives of our men. The only exception was the strange Yuri Orlov who carved lovely, old-world toys from stuff he fossicked up from the forest floor.

2008, Tim Winton, chapter 3, in Breath, Picador, published 2008, pages 23-24:

He began to fossick again, shifting the bars of soap around until he became aware of something moving behind him.

2010, Marlish Glorie, chapter 7, in The Bookshop on Jacaranda Street, North Fremantle, W.A.: Fremantle Press, →ISBN, page 42:

Back in the kitchen, and with his mother off fossicking around for place mats, he tried to start the oven a couple of more times, then stood back scraching [sic] his head.

2014 October, P. S. Wall, chapter 58, in A Gift: A Novel, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 198:

(intransitive, British, dialect) To be troublesome.


gawp

gawp (third-person singular simple present gawps, present participle gawping, simple past and past participle gawped)

gawps (present singular third-person)
gawping (participle present)
gawped (participle past)
gawped (past)

“I have tickets for the train to New York tonight. Hurry up, Molly! Don’t stand there gawping.”

The lady looked around to see that there were hundreds of sets of eyes staring back at her. Even the screaming toddlers had momentarily stopped screaming and were gawping.

(chiefly British) To stare stupidly or rudely; to gawk.


gawp

Come in for a gawp at the sweets and pastries that run three rows deep at this rustically contemporary (or contemporarily rustic) cake shop.

2019, The Rough Guide to South America on a Budget:


placement

en-noun

placement (countable and uncountable, plural placements)

During my first placement on Enabling Works on the Curzon Street Station site, I was able to visit the site on many occasions, which allowed me to gain a greater appreciation of the work that goes into a project of this scale.

2021 May 19, Paul Stephen, “Our railway in RAIL's next 40 years: Amy McAllister”, in RAIL, number 931, page 36:

(UK) A temporary posting of a person to a particular workplace to enable them to gain work experience.


favourably

en-adv

favourably (comparative more favourably, superlative most favourably)

more favourably (comparative)
most favourably (superlative)

She looked favourably on people who gave freely their assistance.

(British, Canada) In a favourable manner.


red brick university

en-noun

red brick university (plural red brick universities)

From the memoir Redbrick University by Edgar Allison Peers, whose titular university is based on the University of Liverpool. Liverpool, like most urban universities of the late-19th and early-20th centuries, extensively uses red clay bricks in its architecture.

It took a while before he told me his background: a happy childhood; two degrees—a bachelor's from a red brick university and an Oxbridge PhD; a relatively high-flying job in academia that he liked rather than loved.

2006 March 31, Adrian Turpin, “Not tonight darling, I'm online”, in Financial Times, retrieved 2006-03-31:

(British) Any traditional British university other than Oxford or Cambridge, especially one founded in the Victorian age in a large city.

Edgar Allison Peers
University of Liverpool
red brick university


brains trust

(chiefly British) A group of experts who discuss events in public, especially on television or radio.


lose the plot

en-verb

lose the plot (third-person singular simple present loses the plot, present participle losing the plot, simple past and past participle lost the plot)

loses the plot (present singular third-person)
losing the plot (participle present)
lost the plot (participle past)
lost the plot (past)

I lost the plot for a while then. And I lost the subplot, the script, the soundtrack, the intermission, my popcorn, the credits and the exit sign.

1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 25:

Right then I lost the plot. I did, man, I went over the edge.

2004, Ron Phillips, The Travels of Plymouth: A Fable for Our Time, page 202:

Finally, I lost the plot. I got into my car and drove to the police station.

2007, Caryl Wyatt, Anita Le Roux, Look Me in the Eye: Caryl's Story, page 28:

Apologise for losing the plot and explain what made you react the way you did.

2010, Jackie Hall, The Happy Mum Handbook, page 102:

(UK, idiomatic, colloquial) To cease to behave in a consistent or rational manner.

perder a linha

to cease to behave in a consistent or rational manner

But while there remains a considerable degree of consensus that the consequence of apparently losing the plot sometime between 1914 and 1918 was the cultural and economic malaise of the 1920s and 1930s, there are still some who look back on the interwar years less with criticism than with nostalgia.

1995, John Frank Williams, The Quarantined Culture: Australian Reactions to Modernism, 1913–1939, page 219:

Because of this it seems to me that we have somehow lost the plot and we're in desperate need of balance. The idea of Protestant ministers touching the body of Christ (the bread) with great love and tenderness like the priest described is almost incomprehensible.

2007, Colin James Isbister, The Body of Christ, page 99:

2011, House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs, 2nd Report of Session 2010-11: Auditors: Market Concentration and Their Role, Volume II: Evidence, page 19,
[Professor Fearnley:] If I can perhaps be a little unkind about my profession — which is fair enough I suppose — I think the accountancy profession, along with other professions, loses the plot from time to time and has to be pulled back from what it was doing before.

(UK, idiomatic, colloquial) To lose sight of an important objective or principle; to act contrarily to one's own interests through concentrating on relatively unimportant matters.


chip in

chip in (third-person singular simple present chips in, present participle chipping in, simple past and past participle chipped in)

chips in (present singular third-person)
chipping in (participle present)
chipped in (participle past)
chipped in (past)

Will Godfrey, director of economics, finance and markets at ORR, chips in: "Reducing cancellations and maintaining punctuality as passengers return after the pandemic is a really vital objective.

2024 May 1, Paul Clifton, “Better forecasting of where the danger lies”, in RAIL, number 1008, page 46:

(intransitive, idiomatic, British, informal) To interrupt a discussion for the purpose of making a comment.


supply teacher

(UK, Ireland) A teacher who fills a temporary position in a school on a short-term basis; often supplied by an agency.


lin

lin (third-person singular simple present lins, present participle linning, simple past linned or lan, past participle linned or lun)

lins (present singular third-person)
linning (participle present)
linned (past)
lan (past)
linned (participle past)
lun (participle past)

From Middle English linnen, from Old English linnan (“to cease from, desist, lose, yield up”), from Proto-Germanic *linnaną (“to turn, move aside, avoid”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to elude, avoid, shrink from”). Cognate with Danish linne (“to stop, rest”), dialectal Swedish linna (“to pause, rest”), Icelandic linna (“to stop, rest”).

der

Halfe furious vnto his foe he came, / Resolv'd in minde all suddenly to win, / Or soone to lose, before he once would lin [...].

1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:

Till all war deaun I knaw thou wad not lin.

1684, Meriton, Praise Ale, 1.46 (quoted in the EDD)

He never linned till he had taen away every chicken that the wife had.

1822, The Three Perils of Man, James Hogg, I. 238:

(UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To desist, to stop to cease.


marquee

From marquise, from French marquise. Ultimately from same root as march (“border country”), margin (“edge”).

(British, Australia, New Zealand) A large tent with open sides, used for outdoors entertainment.


godsend

A variant of God’s send, from God + ’s + send (“(obsolete) act of sending”), in the sense of someone or something sent by God.

ضَرْبَة حَظّ

Its seldom sic [such] rich Godsends come on our coast—no since the Jenny and James came ashore in King Charlie's time.

1822, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in The Pirate. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 183:

An instance of unexpected benefit or good fortune; a windfall.

(specifically, British, regional, archaic) The wreck of a ship which has washed up on shore, from which cargo, timber, etc., may be obtained.


go on

—So three hundred on the chair then, and can we do two-fifty on the clock?
—Go on, then.

(especially British) Yes; okay; it's a deal.


pull the other one, it's got bells on

En-us-pull the other one, it's got bells on.oga

As an extension of the phrase pull someone's leg—now that you've pulled one leg, pull the other one.

Is he going to study integrals? Pull the other one, it's got bells on—he can't even do basic multiplication.

(UK, idiomatic, humorous) Expresses disbelief.

pull the other one, it's got brass bells on


teg

First used to contemptuously refer to a woman, then later applied to a ewe in her second year. Possibly borrowed from Swedish tacka (“ewe”).

One Stringor, that brought a tegg from Wresill.

(UK, dialectal, dated) A sheep (originally a ewe) in its second year, or from the time it is weaned until it is first shorn.

(UK, dialect, dated) A doe in its second year.


teaser

→ German: Teaser

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

(UK, dialect) A kind of gull, the jaeger

(UK) An assistant who accompanies the 'Obby 'Oss in the May Day festivities of Padstow, Cornwall.


spangled

en-adj

spangled (comparative more spangled, superlative most spangled)

more spangled (comparative)
most spangled (superlative)


loads

(colloquial, chiefly UK) Lots, much, plenty, a great deal.


bolshie

From Bolshevik (Russian большеви́к (bolʹševík), the socialist party in the 1918 Russian Revolution, from Russian большевики́ (bolʹševikí, “majority faction”), + -ie.

der

(derogatory, British, dated) A government leftist, especially a communist, socialist, or labour union leader.