Common Slang Words and Phrases
Slang Booklet
Helps you understand meaning of local words relevant to different regions of the UK.
Introduction
This booklet features a collection of slang words and phrases unique to various regions across Warwickshire and the UK, many of which you won’t find in standard dictionaries, so are considered as impolite or rude. While the list isn’t comprehensive, its purpose is to help new staff familiarise themselves with local slang and understand its meanings.
Words referring to body parts:
Beak – nose
Bits – genitals
Blobbing – menstruating
Boobies – breasts
Boobs – breasts
Bush – pubic hair
Cake’ole – mouth
Choppers – teeth
Chuff – vulva
Conk – nose
Crown – head
Crown Jewels – male genitals
Dial – face
Dick – penis or a rude name for a person
Fanny – vulva
Gnashers – teeth
Grapes – haemorrhoids
Hooters – breasts
Ivories – teeth
Jug handles – ears
Knockers – breasts
Lips – labia
Lug holes – ear holes
Lugs – ears
Meat and two veg – male genitals
Mitts – hands
Mug – face
Mush – mouth
Naughty bits – genitals
Nobbies – haemorrhoids
Nut – head
Piss flaps* – labia
Private parts – genitals
Pubes – pubic hair
Pussy – vulva
Six pack – abdominal muscles
Skin and bones – very thin body
Spare tyre – a ring of fat around
the midriff
Tash – moustache
Trap – mouth
Undercarriage – female genitals
Wallies – false teeth
Willy – penis
* Often considered rude or impolite
Words relating to clothes:
Cardie – cardigan or sweater with buttons down the front like a shirt
Cozzy - swimming costume or bathing suit
Daps – pumps
Frock – dress
Get your kit off – take clothes off
In the buff – naked
Jim jams – pyjamas
Jumper – pullover or sweater
Keep your hair on – calm down
Knickers - women pants or underwear
Pants – trousers can also be used to mean something is not good
Pinny – apron worn when working or eating to protect clothes
Polo neck – jumper with turtleneck
Pumps – gym shoes, plimsoles
Undies – underwear
Vest – worn under top clothes also known as undershirt
Wellies – wellington boots
Words referring to death:
Cash in ones chips – death
Kick the bucket – a person has died
Pop ones clogs – a person has died
Pushing up the daisies – a person is dead and buried
Snuffed it – a person has died
Six feet under – a person is dead and buried
Wooden overcoat – coffin
Words referring to family members:
Ankle biter – A toddler
Bairn – a baby
Bird – a term for a woman
Bloke – a man or male
Doll – a woman or girl often in an
affectionate way
Duck – a person (not related to age or gender)
Gaffer – the boss, person in charge of a house
Geezer – typically a male, used in a friendly or informal manner
Laddie – young boy
Lass – young girl
Mate – a friend
Sprog – Baby
Words referring to food or drink:
A pint of your best – used in a pub asking for a pint of alcohol
Afters – dessert or pudding
Apeth – small amount of sweets
Baggin – packed lunch
Bait box –packed lunch, sandwich box or snack
Bangers and mash – sausages and mash potato
Bap – a small round bread to put food into to eat
Barbie – outside cooking appliance a grill or barbeque
Barncake – bread bun
Batch – small bread roll, a bacon batch is often a hot breakfast roll
Beeroff – off licence selling alcohol
Bevvy – alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink
Bickie – small, sweet biscuit
Bites – Small portion of food or snacks
Bleggin – forage for fruit
Booze – alcoholic drink
Brecky – breakfast
Brew – pot or cup of tea
Brossen or brussen – overeating
Brunch – eating late morning
Bubble and squeak – a fried meal made from left over vegetables
Builders’ tea – strong cup of tea
Buns – a sweet cake with fruit
Buttie – sandwich
Char – a cup of tea
Chippie – fish and chip shop
Chippy tea –fish and chip meal
Chow – food or meal
Chuddy – chewing gum
Clem or Clemmed – very hungry
Corporation pop – water from the tap
Cottage pie – a meal made of mince, vegetables and potato topping
Cow juice – milk
Cream tea – afternoon light meal of cakes, sandwiches and drink of tea
Crumpet – a small round, flat bread with a distinctive spongy texture
Cuppa – cup of tea or coffee
Dish up – serve up a meal
Doggie bag – taking food not eaten at a restaurant home to eat later
Drinking – going for tea and biscuits
Dripping – beef lard
Drunk – consumed too much alcohol
Eating irons – knife and fork
Eats – food or meal
Fairy cake – small, sweet sponge cake
Famished – hungry
Fare – type or quality of food available
Fishcake – sliced potato with white fish filling and battered
Elevenses – morning break
Full english – traditional cooked breakfast
Gaspin – thirsty
Gob spanners – knife, fork and spoon
Goosegogs – gooseberries
Growler – pork pie
Grub – general term for food
Guzzle – eat greedily
Hammered – drank too much alcohol
Have a sweet tooth – eats lots of sweet food
Hotpot – a meal of meat and vegetables
Jacket potato – cooking a potato with its outside skin on
Jam – a sweet spread made from fruit
Jockey’s whips – French fries or chips
Kali – sherbert
Klempt – extremely hungry
Legless – drank too much alcohol and unable to walk or stand up
Lowence or looances – a snack while working
Mash – brew tea or mashing a tea bag
Mucky dripping – lard with browned meat
Munch – snack
Neck your drink – swallow a drink quickly
Nosh – food or to eat
Parkin – ginger cake with oatmeal
Peckish – feel a little hungry
Pig out – eat a lot of food in one go
Pikelet – crumpet
Pogged out – feel full from eating
Pop – fizzy soft drink
Potted meat/beef – meat pâté or sandwich spread
Pub grub – food available at a public house
Put you on – a snack until next meal
Ratted – very drunk
Ravenous – very hungry
Sanger– sandwich
Sarnie – sandwich
Scoff – eat food quickly
Scran – a hearty meal
Scraps – the bits of batter that fall off fish, usually from a fish and chip shop
Skeel – milk pail
Slap up meal – large, nice meal
Snack – something you eat between meals
Snap – packed lunch
Snap box – lunch box
Soda – cold drink
Soldiers – small slices of bread to dip into a boiled egg
Spanish – liquorice
Spice – sweets
Spoggs – sweets
Starving – very hungry
Sup – to take a drink
Take away – a meal from a restaurant or café taken to another place like home
Tatie scrattin – potato peels
Tea – evening meal or the drink
Teacake, bap, barm, bun, bread cake – variations on a small bread teacake
Toastie – a toasted sandwich
Trollied – very drunk
Tucker – food
Watter – water
Veg – vegetables
Words referring to greetings:
Alright – hello
Aye up – hello
Cheerio – goodbye or see
you later
Hi – hello
Hey – hello
Hiya– hello
Words connected with money:
Dosh - money
Dough – money
Fiver – five-pound note
Moneybags – have a lot of money
Quid – a pound
Quid’s in – well off
Readies – money
Shrapnel - coins
Smackeroons – money
Tenner – ten-pound note
Wedge of money – a lot of money
Whip round – when a group of people collect money together
Words connected with sleep:
Catch some Z’s – going to sleep
Counting sheep – trying to go to sleep
Dead to the world – fast asleep
Go up the wooden hill – to go upstairs to bed
Have a kip – go to sleep
Hit the sack – go to bed
Knackered – very tired or exhausted
Shattered – very tired
Shut eye – sleep
Sleep like a log – to sleep heavily
40 winks – to have a short sleep
Words related to the toilet or bodily functions:
Bog – toilet
Bog roll – toilet paper
Bottom burp – flatulence
Break wind – flatulence
Can – toilet
Chunder – vomiting
Dunny – toilet
Fart – flatulence
Floater – faeces floating
Gip – to vomit
Jacks – toilet
Jimmy riddle – urination
Khazi – toilet
Lav – toilet
Let off – flatulence
Log – faeces
Loo – toilet
Netty – toilet
Number one – urination
Number two – faeces
Piss* – urine
Point Percy at the porcelain – urination
Privy – toilet
See a man about a dog – urination or faeces
Shits* – loose faeces
Spill one’s guts up – vomit
Spew up – vomiting
Spend a penny – urination
Thunder box – toilet
Throne – toilet
Tinkle – urination
Wazz – urination
Widdle – urination
* Often considered rude or impolite
A to Z list of further slang words and phases:
Ace – excellent or very good
Adam and Eve – believe
Aggro – trouble or aggressive behaviour
Alfresco – dining outside
All ears – listen intensely
All mouth and no trousers – a person who does a lot of talking but no development on actions
All over the shop / gaff / place – a person who is disorganised
Any road – anyway
Around the wrekin – taking the long way around
Arse over tits – falling over
As true as Coventry Blue – loyal, solid friendship or views
Away with the fairies – eccentric or out of touch with reality
Bagsy – to claim something
Bants or banta – joking with someone
Beat around the bush – not saying something clearly
Beduth or Beduff – a person from the town of Bedworth
Bees knees – something is excellent
Bellend* – insulting term for a foolish or annoying person
Bigger fish to fry – have more important things to do or people to see
Bite the bullet – doing something you have put off doing
Blimey – expressing surprise
Bloody – used to express anger or emphasise a statement
Bog off – go away or leave
Bonkers – behaving strangely
Boot – trunk of a car
Boot sale – sale of second-hand items typically out of a car
Bobs your uncle – everything is okay
Brass monkeys – cold weather
Brassed off – annoyed
Brilliant – fantastic or very good
Breviting – trying to find or do something
Brolly – umbrella
Bostin – excellent or fantastic
Bugger* – a term of annoyance
Buzzin – slightly drunk or excited
Blessing in disguise – something that appears bad or unlucky at first, but results in something go happening
Burying your head in the sand – not addressing a problem in the hope that it will resolve itself
Caggy-handed or cag-handed – handling something in a clumsy way
Carry the can – taking the blame for a situation
Canny – a likeable person
Can’t be assed – do not want to do a task
Chav – a young person who is brash
Cheeky – someone being slightly rude or disrespectful, can be in an amusing way
Chuffed or chuffed to bits – really pleased, happy or satisfied
Chin up – encouragement or to stay positive
Chinwag – an informal or long conversation
Clean bill of health – confirmation that a person is healthy
Cobblers – something is not true, it is nonsense
Cock up – to make a mistake
Cold Turkey – to stop suddenly without assistance or reduction often alcohol or drugs
Could ya mind the we’ans? – look after or babysit young children
Codswallop – foolish talk
Cross the bridge when we get to it – avoid deciding until later
Cross-ommocked – grumpy
Cut to the chase – get directly to the meaning of what you’re saying
Cracking – a person or situation is great
Curry house – restaurant that serves indian cuisine
Daft – a person or situation that is silly
Dab hand – a person that is skilled
Down the town – go out of the home often shopping
Don’t get your knickers in a twist– do not get angry or emotional
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – don’t rely on one option only
Don’t teach grandma to suck eggs – a youngster person is being disrespectful by thinking they can teach an older person something
Dodgy – suspicious or unreliable
Donkey’s years – a long time
Ear bashing – being told off
Easy peazy – a situation is easy
Entry – path or passageway between houses
Faff – wasting time, taking a long time to do an easy task
Faffing around – taking unnecessary time to do something that should be relatively quick or straightforward
Fluff – making a mistake
Flog – to sell something
Flogging a dead horse – to try and find a solution to a problem that is unsolvable
Fag – a derogatory term, also a cigarette
Full monty – the full or complete thing
Full of beans – having a lot of energy or enthusiasm
Fit as a fiddle – a healthy person
Gaff – a house
Gander – a look or brief inspection
Git – expression of insult to describe an unpleasant person
Gutted – sad, disappointed
Ganda – have a look
Gert lush – very nice
Ginnel – a narrow passages between buildings - an alleyway
Gobsmacked – shocked or surprised
Grafting – hard working
Hard – a person that can look after themselves if they were challenged
Half arsed – not enthusiastic
Have a butchers – have a look
Hacked off – annoyed
Have a go – try-it-out or get argumentative with someone
Having a mard – getting annoyed or throwing a tantrum
Hen night – a party or night out for women before a wedding
Hols – holiday, vacations
Horses for courses – we all have different tastes from one another
Hows’t fettle? – How are you?
Hunky dory – everything is fine
It’s black over Bill’s mother – a stormy sky
I’m easy – happy with any decision
Innit – instead of
Intitot? – Isn’t it hot?
It’s brass monkeys outside – it is cold outside
It’s raining cats and dogs – it is raining heavily
It’s slingin’ it dahn – It’s raining heavily
I’ve come over all peculiar – suddenly feeling unwell
I am not being funny but I have not got all day – hurry up, you’re taking too long
Jammy – a person that is lucky Jolly – very happy
Kit – clothing or equipment
Kit and kerboodle – all your belongings
Klobber – things that belong to you
Kerfuffle – a commotion
Knob* – idiot
Knob head* – idiot
Ledge – helpful person
Leg it – run away
Lurgy – a person that is ill
Lippy – a person is being cheeky
Like a cat on hot bricks – cannot settle down, restless, on edge
Lost the plot – angry or irrational
Lozick about – lying around lazily doing nothing
Mancunian – person from Manchester
Mardy – a person in a bad mood
Marlies – marbles if they’re small and gobbies if they’re big
Me bab – a term of endearment meaning ‘my love’ or ‘my dear’
Minging – the situation is not very nice
Minted – wealthy
Mither – when someone keeps asking for something usually a child
Mug – a person who falls for pranks
Muppet – a person who is ignorant
My end – neighbourhood
Nae – no
Nesh – uncomfortable in cold or wet conditions
Nick – to steal
Nowt – nothing
Offie – Short for off license also known as outdoor – a shop to buy alcohol
Old Bill – the police
OMG – an expression of surprise or disbelief
On yer bike – not happening
On the mend – recovering
Out of shape – unfit
Pear shaped – a situation has gone wrong or not to plan
Pied off – unhappy
Play it by ear – to make decisions as a situation progresses
Pissing down* – raining heavily
Prat – an insult that implies someone is stupid
Prick* – idiot
Proper – very good
Pulled or copped off – met someone with the intention of a romantic or sexual relationship
Purveting – have a look around
Put a sock in it – to tell someone to be quiet or make less noise
Put wood in’t oyle – Close the door
Putting it off – delaying something intentionally
Queue jumping – an individual does not wait in a queue
Rabbit – to talk a lot
Right as rain – a person is feeling healthy
Ropey – look unwell or feel unwell
Simmer down – calm down
Skew wiff – an item is not straight
Skint – a person has no money
Slag off – to make fun of a person
Snog – passionate kiss
Sneeped – to be slighted, made to feel small
Sod – refers to a person, ‘you lucky sod!’
Spitting – light rain
Stop ya nebbin’ – stop being so nosey
Stuff – items that belong to you
Swilker – liquid spilling over the edges of a container such as a bucket
Take the piss* – mock a person
Tazzing about – dashing around
The cut – the canal
Thingamyjig, oojamacallit or thingamybob – when someone has forgotten the name for something or someone
Throwing a wobbly – being annoyed having a tantrum
Tice – to entice
Tight arse – a person is not generous
To crack on – to get started or continue with something
To lob something – to throw something
Tits up* – a situation has gone wrong
Tosh – nonsense
Treacle town – a name given to Nuneaton on account of the former treacle factory
Unked – dull, cold, damp weather
Use your loaf – use your brain
Waggin’ or bunking off – not attending school
We had a blinding time – had a great time
Wer ya born in a barn? – Close the door, it’s cold
Yonks – not for a long time
Zebra crossing – a place to cross a road safely
24/7 - All the time - 24 hours a day, seven days a week
* Often considered rude or impolite
Additional resources:
Urban dictionary
https://www.urbandictionary.com/
Talk to Frank – A to Z dictionary of drugs
https://www.talktofrank.com/drugs-a-z
Oxford International dictionary with slang
https://www.oxfordinternationalenglish.com/dictionary-of-british-slang/
Safeguarding Children – Understanding language of children
https://www.safeguardingchildren.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Slang-Dictionary-A5-Booklet.pdf