Slang

While some slang words and phrases are used throughout all of Britain (e.g. knackered, meaning "exhausted"), others are restricted to smaller regions.

1. Cockney rhyming slang

Cockney Rhyming Slang originated in the East End of London.

Rhyming slang is a form of slang in which a word is replaced by a rhyming word, typically the second word of a two-word phrase (so stairs becomes "apples and pears"). The second word is then often dropped entirely ("I'm going up the apples"), meaning that the association of the original word to the rhyming phrase is not obvious to the uninitiated.

Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word. For example the word "look" rhymes with "butcher's hook". In many cases the rhyming word is omitted - so you won't find too many Londoners having a "bucher's hook" , but you might find a few having a "butcher's".

The rhyming word is not always omitted so Cockney expressions can vary in their construction, and it is simply a matter of convention which version is used.

In this list of example Cockney slang for parts of the body, you'll notice that some expressions omit the rhyming word but others do not.

 

English	Rhymes with	Cockney
Feet	Plates of meat	Plates
Teeth	Hampstead Heath	Hampsteads
Legs	Scotch eggs	Scotches
Eyes	Mince pies	Minces
Arms	Chalk Farms	Chalk Farms
Hair	Barnet Fair	Barnet
Head	Loaf of bread	Loaf
Face	Boat race	Boat race
Mouth	North and south	North and south

The proliferation of rhyming slang allowed many of its traditional expressions to pass into common usage. Some substitutions have become relatively widespread in Britain, for example "scarper", meaning to run away is derived from "Scapa Flow" meaning "to go". "To have a butcher's", which means to have a look, from "butcher's hook. For example "use your loaf" is an everyday phrase for the British, but not too many people realize it is Cockney Rhyming Slang ("loaf of bread: head"). There are many more examples of this unwitting use of Cockney Rhyming Slang. [19]

Television has raised awareness of Cockney Rhyming Slang to far greater heights. Classic TV shows such as "Steptoe and Son", "Minder", "Porridge" and "Only Fools and Horses" have done much to spread the slang throughout Britain and to the rest of the world.

Modern Cockney slang that is being developed today tends to only rhyme words with the names of celebrities or famous people. There are very few new Cockney slang expressions that do not follow this trend. The only one that has gained much ground recently that bucks this trend is "Wind and Kite" meaning "Web site".

This style of rhyming has spread through many English-speaking countries, where the original phrases are supplemented by rhymes created to fit local needs. Creation of rhyming slang has become a word game for people of many classes and regions. The term 'Cockney' rhyming slang is generally applied to these expansions to indicate the rhyming style; though arguably the term only applies to phrases used in the East End of London. Similar formations do exist in other parts of the United Kingdom; for example, in the East Midlands, the local accent has formed "Derby Road", which rhymes with "cold": a conjunction that would not be possible in any other dialect of the UK.

Examples of Rhyming Slang (see Supplement)

 

2. Polari

Polari (or alternatively Parlare, Parlary, Palare, Palarie, Palari, Parlyaree,from Italian parlare, "to talk") was a form of cant slang used in Britain by actors, circus or fairground showmen, criminals, prostitutes etc., and latterly by the gay subculture. It was revived in the 1950s and 1960s by its use by camp characters Julian and Sandy in the popular BBC radio shows Beyond our Ken and Round the Horne, but its origins can be traced back to at least the 19th century (or, according to at least one source, to the 16th century). There is some debate about how it originated. There is a longstanding connection with Punch and Judy street puppet performers who traditionally used Polari to talk with each other.[17]

Polari is a mixture of Romance (Italian or Mediterranean Lingua Franca), Romany, London slang, backslang, rhyming slang, sailor slang, and thieves' cant. Later it expanded to contain words from the Yiddish language of the Jewish subculture which settled in the East End of London, the US forces (present in the UK during World War II) and 1960s drug users. It was a constantly developing form of language, with a small core lexicon of about 20 words (including bona, ajax, eek, cod, naff, lattie, nanti, omi, palone, riah, zhoosh (tjuz), TBH, trade, vada), with over 500 other lesser-known items.

In 1990 Morrissey titled an album Bona Drag– Polari for "nice outfit"– and the title of his "Piccadilly Palare" single that same year is an alternative spelling of what would be "Piccadilly Polari."

Also in 1990, comic book writer Grant Morrison created the character Danny the Street (based on Danny La Rue), a sentient transvestite street for the comic Doom Patrol. Danny speaks largely in Polari.

The 1998 film Velvet Goldmine, which chronicles a fictional retelling of the rise and fall of glam rock, contains a 60s flashback in which a group of characters converse in Polari, while their words are humorously subtitled below.

In 2002, two books on Polari were published, Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men, and Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang (both by Paul Baker). Also in 2002, hip hop artist Juha released an album called Polari, with the chorus of the title song written entirely in the slang.

Word	Definition
AC/DC	a couple
ajax	nearby (from adjacent?)
alamo	hot for you/him
aunt nell	listen, hear
aunt nells	ears
aunt nelly fakes	earrings
aunt nell danglers	earrings
barney	a fight
batts	shoes
bibi	bisexual
bijou	small/little (means "jewel" in French)
blag	pick up
blue	code word for "homosexual"
Bod	body

 

3. Internet slang

Internet slang (Internet language, Internet Short-hand, leet, netspeak or chatspeak) is a type of slang that Internet users have popularized, and in many cases, have coined. Such terms often originate with the purpose of saving keystrokes. Many people use the same abbreviations in texting and instant messaging, and social networking websites. Acronyms, keyboard symbols and shortened words are often used as methods of abbreviation in Internet slang.

In such cases, new dialects of slang, such as leet or Lolspeak, develop as ingroup memes rather than time savers. In leet speak, letters may be replaced by characters of similar appearance. For this reason, leet is often written as l33t or 1337.

The Internet has transformed the way we manipulate our systems of signs and the relationships between producers and consumers of information. Its effect on slang has two aspects. Firstly, online communication has generated its own vocabulary of technical terminology, essentially jargon (spam, blogging, phishing) and informal, abbreviated or humorous terms (addy, noob, barking moonbat etc.) which qualify as slang.[9;12] The amount of new cyberslang is fairly small, but the Internet has also allowed the collecting, classifying and promoting of slang from other sources in.

Another technical development – text messaging – has triggered changes in the culture of communication, especially among young people, and brought with it, like telegrams, CB-radio or Internet chatrooms, a new form of abbreviated code. It has excited some academic linguists but it hasn’t, however, contributed anything meaningful to the evolution of slang. [15]

Word or phrase	Abbreviation(s)
Account	acc, acct or acnt
Address	addy or add
And	n, an, nd, or &
Anticipate	ntcp8
Alright	aight or ight or aite
Are you there?	rut or u der
At the moment	atm
As far as I know	afaik
Back	b
Be right back	brb
Be back later	bbl
Be back soon	bbs
Because	cuz, bcuz, bcz, bcos, bc, cos, coz, cz or bcoz
Best friend or Boyfriend	bf or b/f
Between	btwn or b/w
By the way	btw
Cousin	cuzin or cuz
Definitely	def or deffo
Does it look like I give a shit?	DILLIGAS
Don't know	dunno
Don't worry	dw
Falling off chair laughing	focl
Forever	4eva or 4evr or fo eva
Girlfriend or GoodFriend	gf or g/f
Got to go	g2g or gtg
Great	gr8
Have a nice day	H.A.N.D.
Hold on	hld on or h/o
Homework	hw, hwk or hmwk
How are you	hru
I can't remember	icr
I know	aino
I know, right?	ikr
I love you	ily, luv u, ilu, luv ya, i wub u or i <3 u, 143 (I stands for one letter, Love stands for 4 letters, You stands for 3 letters)
Laugh out loud / lots of love	lol
Laugh out loud (multiple times)	lolliesm lulz or lolz
Love	luv or <3
Love you (see also I love you)	ly, <3u
No problem	np
No thank you	no tnk u, nty or no ty
Oh My God	omg or (comically) zomg, romg, womg, omgz
Okay	k or kk
Oh really?	orly?
parents behind back	pbb
Peace	pc, pce, pece, or \/
People	ppl, peeps
Right On!	RO
Rocking/Rock (metal hands)	\m/
See you/see you later	cya, cu, or cya/cu l8er/l8a/l8r
Sorry	sry or soz
Scare the shit out of my self/Scare the shit out of yourself	stsooms/stsooys
Talk to you later	ttyl or t2yl
Ta-ta for now	ttfn
Thinking of you	TOY
What the hell	wth
What's up	sup or zup

 

4. Slang of army, police.

Military slang is an array of colloquial terminology used commonly by military personnel, including slang which is unique to or originates with the armed forces.[23]

• The Andrew/Grey Funnel Ferries - The Royal Navy, named for some important bloke or a Saint or something.
• Blighty - The UK, the name was taken from a province in India...
• Brag Rags - Medals.
• Cant-be-arrsed-itis -suffered mainly by those on exercise
• "Chin-strapped" - "chin-strap" - tired knackered
• Combat Suit - Jacket, trousers, and possibly hood, cap, etc., made from DPM material.
• Doss-bag - Army Issue Barnes-Wallace, Gonk-bag and Green Maggot.
• Dust - Washing powder.
• Gat - rifle (also Bunduk, or Bang-Stick) (mainly used by "Hats").
• Green/Bleeds green - a keen soldier, probably should watched suspiciously...from a long way away.
• NAAFI - "Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes". Quasi-civilian non-profit retaining such as tea, pies, cakes and sandwiches to the troops within garrisons worldwide. Pronounced 'NAFF-ee', it was created in 1921 to run recreational establishments for the Armed forces to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs clubs, bars, (EFI), which provides NAAFI facilities in war zones.
• Puttees - long strips of flannel cloth in shades of khaki, rifle green or black, wrapped tightly at the top of ankle-boots to provide support over rough ground (now CVHQ RA)
• Sangar - possibly derived from the Indian; usually a low wall with side wings built to give cover from fire in areas where digging is difficult or impossible.
• Sky Pilot - The Padre - he's got his head in the clouds talking to his boss.
• Stripey - Sergeant.
• Teeny-weeny Airways - The Army Air Corps.
• Warry (or War-y) - aggressive, militaristic; can be an insult.
• Webbing - cotton for belt as worn by the type of ladies I never get to meet, and several dodgy RM types down Union St.

There are more than a hundred words for "police" in different glossaries.. And this is by no means a unique case.[21]

Names taken from the coloring of police clothes or the coloring of police cars:

blue boy, blue jeans, man-in-the-blue, salt and pepper, black and white, blue and white;

A female police officer:

girlie bear, honey bear, lady bear, mama bear, sugar bear,smokey beaver;

A city policeman or rural police:

citty kitty, country Joe, country mounty, little bear, local yokel;

state police:

boogey man, boy scouts, state bears, whatevers;barnies, bear, bearded bubby, big brother, bull, Dudley, do-right, Peter Rabbit;

An unmarked or hidden police car:

brown-paper bag, night crawler, pink panther, slick top, sneaky snake;

A radar unit:

shotgun, electric teeth, gunrunner, Kojak with a Kodak, smoke screen

A police helicopter:

bear in the air, eye in the sky, spy in the sky, tattle tale

There have found new expressions for an already established concept; such expressions that make them appear to be saying one thing while they are really communicating something very different to insiders.

Offences and description

• ABH: Actual bodily harm
• D&D: Drunk And Disorderly
• DIP: Drunk In Public
• GBH: Grievous Bodily Harm
• TDA: Taking and Driving Away
• TWOC: Taken Without Owner's Consent

Initialisms describing situations

• ASNT: Area Searched No Trace
• FATAC: Fatal Road Traffic Accident
• MFH: Missing From Home
• NAI: Non-Accidental Injury
• RTA: Road-Traffic Accident

Miscellaneous initialisms

• ARV: Armed Response Vehicle
• TFU: Tactical Firearms Unit
• SOCO: Scenes Of Crime Officer; a forensic crime scene examiner
• VSS: Victim Support Scheme

Miscellaneous abbreviations

• MISPER: Missing person
• POLAC: A collision involving a police vehicle
• WOFF: Write off; a vehicle or other property deemed a total loss for insurance purposes
• WINQ: Warrant inquiry

 

e) Money slang

While the origins of these slang terms are many and various, certainly a lot of English money slang is rooted in various London communities, which for different reasons liked to use language only known in their own circles, notably wholesale markets, street traders, crime and the underworld, the docks, taxi-cab driving, and the immigrant communities. London has for centuries been extremely cosmopolitan, both as a travel hub and a place for foreign people to live and work and start their own businesses. This contributed to the development of some 'lingua franca' expressions, i.e., mixtures of Italian, Greek, Arabic, Yiddish (Jewish European/Hebrew dialect), Spanish and English which developed to enable understanding between people of different nationalities, rather like a pidgin or hybrid English. Certain lingua franca blended with 'parlyaree' or 'polari', which is basically underworld slang.

Backslang also contributes several slang money words. Backslang reverses the phonetic (sound of the) word, not the spelling, which can produce some strange interpretations, and was popular among market traders, butchers and greengrocers.

Here are the most common and/or interesting British slang money words and expressions, with meanings, and origins where known. Many are now obsolete; typically words which relate to pre-decimalisation coins, although some have re-emerged and continue to do so.

Some non-slang words are included where their origins are particularly interesting, as are some interesting slang money expressions which originated in other parts of the world, and which are now entering the English language.[9;15]

Here are some examples of money slang words:

archer = two thousand pounds (£2,000), late 20th century, from the Jeffrey Archer court case in which he was alleged to have bribed call-girl Monica Coughlan with this amount.

ayrton senna/ayrton = tenner (ten pounds, £10) - cockney rhyming slang created in the 1980s or early 90s, from the name of the peerless Brazilian world champion Formula One racing driver, Ayrton Senna (1960-94), who won world titles in 1988, 90 and 91, before his tragic death at San Marino in 1994.

bag/bag of sand = grand = one thousand pounds (£1,000), seemingly recent cockney rhyming slang, in use from around the mid-1990s in Greater London; perhaps more widely too.

bar = a pound, from the late 1800s, and earlier a sovereign, probably from Romany gypsy 'bauro' meaning heavy or big, and also influenced by allusion to the iron bars use as trading currency used with Africans, plus a possible reference to the custom of casting of precious metal in bars.

bender = sixpence (6d) Another slang term with origins in the 1800s when the coins were actually solid silver, from the practice of testing authenticity by biting and bending the coin, which would being made of near-pure silver have been softer than the fakes.

bees (bees and honey) = money. Cockney rhyming slang from the late 1800s. Also shortened to beesum (from bees and, bees 'n', to beesum).