CAGOULE
See ANORAK.
CAKE HOLE (Slang)
MOUTH.
CALL
CALL ON or VISIT, not phone. (See RING)
CALL-UP
See CONSCRIPTION.
CALOR GAS
BOTTLED GAS. This is a proprietary name which has taken on a generic use. (See HOOVER)
CANDY FLOSS
COTTON CANDY.
CAP (School)
BEANIE. Beanie is never used in the UK.
CAR PARK
PARKING LOT. A parking garage is referred to as a MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK.
CARAVAN
TRAILER. As in the US, these are sometimes known as MOBILE HOMES. There are things called TRAILERS which are towed behind a car, but these are not for living in, they are just for transporting things. They usually have an open top covered with a tarpaulin.
CARDIGAN or CARDY
See JUMPER.
CARDS
PINK SLIP. If you hear a Briton talk about “getting his or her CARDS” they are talking about getting fired. The cards referred to are their National Insurance cards which their employer holds while they are employed by that company. (See also REDUNDANT and SACK)
CAREER (Movement)
CAREEN. The meanings are not identical, but close enough.
CARETAKER
JANITOR.
[RAILWAY] CARRIAGE
[RAILROAD] CAR.
CASK-CONDITIONED
See BEER.
CASTER SUGAR
GOURMET SUGAR. This is so called because it is shaken, or cast, from a CASTER.
CAT[’S] LICK
See LICK AND A PROMISE.
CATAPULT
SLINGSHOT.
CATARRH
POST-NASAL DRIP or SINUSITIS. The word is pronounced “cuh-tar’ “.
CATTLE GRID
TEXAS GATE. A device designed to deny egress of animals grazing in an area, but at the same time allowing vehicular traffic to pass.
CELSIUS
Several years ago Britain officially converted to the Celsius or Centigrade scale of temperature measurement. Unofficially many Britons still think of a warm day as being in the seventies or eighties, ie Fahrenheit degrees. Here’s an approximate conversion chart:
Celsius -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Fahrenheit 5 14 23 32 41 50 59 68 77 86 95
Fahrenheit 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Celsius -18 -12 -7 -1 4 10 16 21 27 32 38
CENTRAL RESERVATION
MEDIAN STRIP. (See DUAL CARRIAGEWAY)
CHA (Slang)
TEA. Often CUPPA CHA. Another Indian word, though used less often nowadays. (See CUPPA)
CHAD (Cartoon character)
KILROY.
CHAIRMAN (Of a company)
PRESIDENT.
CHAR [LADY]
CLEANING WOMAN.
CHARABANC
TOUR BUS. The word is pronounced “shar’-a-bang”. (See BUS)
CHARLIE’S DEAD
YOUR SLIP IS SHOWING. Whispered to a woman whose slip is showing beneath her skirt.
CHEAP
Although “cheap” can mean “of poor quality”, it is mostly used to mean INEXPENSIVE.
CHEERIO
GOODBYE. (See also TOODLE-OO)
CHEESED OFF (Slang)
BORED or FED UP.
CHEMIST’S [SHOP]
DRUGSTORE. There are few places in the UK which are quite the same as an American drugstore. A chemist’s is the nearest thing, but you probably won’t find things like ice-cream or household goods there. Nowadays most chemist’s shops have a sign outside which calls them PHARMACIES. Most people, however, still refer to them as chemist’s shops.
CHEQUE [BOOK]
CHECK [BOOK].
CHEW THE RAG (Slang)
CHEW THE FAT.
CHICORY
ENDIVE. (See ENDIVE)
CHINAGRAPH PENCIL
GREASE PENCIL. A proprietary name.
CHINWAG (Slang)
TALK or GOSSIP.
CHIPOLATA
Slim type of link sausage.
CHIPPY (Person) (Slang)
Slang term for a CARPENTER.
CHIPPY (Place) (Slang)
FISH AND CHIP SHOP.
CHIPS
[FRENCH] FRIES. In better establishments they will be referred to as French Fries. The British have a saying –“Chips with everything”, and is that a truism! The best-known pairing is, of course, FISH ‘N’ CHIPS. (See also CRISPS)
CHOCKER or CHOCKA
CHOCK-A-BLOCK. Full up or packed closely together.
CHRISTIAN NAME
FIRST NAME. Not all Britons are Christians, but the term has lingered. (See SURNAME)
CHRISTMAS BOX
Gift given at Christmas, specifically one given to persons who have performed a service for you all year, such as the trash collector or the mail delivery person. Traditionally the master and mistress of the house would give Christmas boxes to their staff. (See BOXING DAY)
CHUFFED (Slang)
PLEASED.
CHURCH OF ENGLAND or ANGLICAN CHURCH
EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Church of England is often abbreviated to C of E, or CE on forms.
CIDER
CIDER. But don’t be fooled! Cider is a popular drink in the UK, too, It is not, however, the non-alcoholic beverage you perhaps thought. It is very much an alcoholic drink. In the South-West, in Somerset and Devon in particular, it is known colloquially as SCRUMPY, and comes in two forms, SWEET and DRY. Both are “lethal” if you are not used to them, and the dry version can probably dissolve your teeth! If you want the non-alcoholic form, ask for apple juice, or the proprietary drink; CYDRAX.
CISTERN
TANK, especially on a toilet. (See LOO)
CITY
The financial district of London is referred to as THE CITY. It is sometimes referred to as THE SQUARE MILE.
CITY CENTRE
DOWNTOWN.
CLANGER (Slang)
BIG MISTAKE. Usually used in a term such as “I really dropped a clanger”.
CLAPPED OUT (Slang)
BROKEN or WORN OUT.
CLAPPERS (Slang)
GO LIKE THE CLAPPERS is to go flat out.
CLEARWAY (Section of road)
Road on which no stopping is permitted.
CLERK
CLERK. But not a sales-clerk -- that would be a shop-assistant A British clerk is a “scribbler”, sitting at a desk, and is pronounced “clark”.
CLEVER CLOGS (Slang)
SMART-ASS.
CLINK (Slang)
JAIL.
CLIP
See HAIR CLIP.
CLOAKROOM
HATCHECK ROOM.
CLOBBER (Slang)
CLOTHING.
CLOSE (Weather)
STIFLING or HUMID.
CLOT (Slang)
IDIOT.
CLUEDO
The game of CLUE. It has this name in Britain because of the association with LUDO. (See LUDO)
COACH
TOUR BUS. In the UK the word BUS is used only when referring to a vehicle operating a fixed schedule (see TIME-TABLE) on a defined route. A consequence of the use of the word COACH instead of bus is a road sign which amazes many American tourists driving into a freeway rest area which says “NO FOOTBALL COACHES ALLOWED”! No, they are not trying to keep out the likes of Jimmy Johnson, but are banning bus loads of hooligans on their way to a soccer match! (See FOOTBALL, MATCH, MOTORWAY)
COBBLERS (Slang)
A “polite” way of saying BALLS. This is another example of a Cockney rhyming slang expression making it into mainstream English. The most common usage is in “What a load of old COBBLERS”. The derivation is from COBBLERS AWL = BALL.
COB[NUT]
FILBERT.
COCK AND BULL STORY
TALL STORY.
COCK[EREL]
ROOSTER.
COCKNEY
LONDONER, or the dialect spoken by a Londoner, particularly one from the East End. Strictly speaking, a COCKNEY is somebody born within the sound of Bow bells; the bells of the church of St. Mary le Bow. (See EAST END)
CODS[WALLOP] (Slang)
BULL[SHIT].
COFFIN NAIL (Slang)
CIGARETTE. Yes, don’t give me all that codswallop about not knowing that cigarettes are bad for you. Even when I was a teenager in the 50s we used to refer to them as coffin nails.
COMPARED
Britons will typically say “...compared with...” as opposed to “...compared to...”. The latter is usually reserved for class comparisons such as “Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s music, although very good, cannot compare to that of Bach”.
CONDUCTOR
Not a railroad employee, but a person on a bus who issues tickets to passengers. (See TICKET COLLECTOR/INSPECTOR)
CONEY
RABBIT. Especially in the sense of its fur when used to make coats. Like most other Europeans, many Britons eat and enjoy rabbit meat.
CONK (Slang)
NOSE. (See HOOTER)
CONKER
Fruit of the Horse Chestnut tree, similar to the BUCKEYE. Threaded on a string, these are used by young boys in the game of “Conkers”.
CONSCRIPTION
DRAFT. There is currently no conscription for National Service in the UK, neither do you have to register. (See CALL-UP)
CONSERVATIVE PARTY
Right-wing political party, similar to, but perhaps a little to the right of, the GOP. Also known as the TORY PARTY.
CONTINENTAL QUILT
COMFORTER. When used without other bed covers, this item is known as a continental quilt, or DUVET (doo’-vay or doo-vay’). You do not usually use a separate sheet with a duvet, since it comes with a loose cover which can be put in the wash. A down-filled cover, looking similar to a duvet, but which sits on top of the normal bed covers, is known as an EIDERDOWN.
COOKER (Apple)
A colloquialism for a COOKING-APPLE. (See also EATING-APPLE)
COOKER (Appliance)
STOVE.
CO-OP
Shop owned by a cooperative society. These are almost as prolific in British suburban shopping areas as convenience stores are in the US.
COP (Slang)
“Not much cop” means “NOT VERY GOOD QUALITY”.
COP IT (Slang)
“You’ll cop it” translates to “YOU’LL BE IN TROUBLE FOR THAT”.
CORN
The word corn is used to refer to any generic cereal crop. When a Briton refers to a cornfield, it is likely to be a field of wheat, or perhaps barley or oats. Seldom would it be a field of corn as we know it in the US. (See MAIZE)
[ICE-CREAM] CORNET
CONE.
CORNFLOUR
CORN STARCH.
CORRUGATED IRON
CORRUGATED TIN. A Briton calls a tin roof a corrugated iron roof.
COTTON
THREAD. This word can also, of course, be used to refer to the fabric from which sheets, handkerchiefs, etc are made, or the plant from which this fabric is manufactured.
COTTON WOOL
COTTON [BATTING].
COTTONEASTER
COTTONEASTER. The same flower, but it is pronounced “cuh-tone’-ee-ass’-ter”.
COUNCIL
GOVERNMENT. As in PARISH COUNCIL, COUNTY COUNCIL, etc.
COUNCIL HOUSE
PUBLIC HOUSING dwelling.
COURGETTE
ZUCCHINI. The word is pronounced “coor-zjet’ “.
CRACKER (Person) (Slang)
A good looking woman.
[CHRISTMAS] CRACKER
An exploding bon-bon pulled at the Christmas dinner table. The device usually contains a motto, a plastic toy and a paper hat.
CREAM CRACKER
SODA CRACKER. No connection with cream, as far as I know!
CRIB (Card game)
Short for CRIBBAGE. If you are an aficionado of the game you will notice that Britons refer to the box as the crib.
CRICKET
Game from which baseball was derived. This book makes no attempt either to explain the rules of the game or interpret cricketing terms! The short list below may give you an idea why:
CHINAMAN
CREASE
GOOGLY
LEG BEFORE WICKET
OUT FOR A DUCK
OWZAT
SILLY MID-ON
SQUARE LEG
STUMPED
A game may last for up to five days. If you find baseball slow, give cricket a miss. It has been described as baseball without the caffeine!
CRISPS
[POTATO] CHIPS. The range of flavors is tremendous, including:
SALT AND VINEGAR
CHEESE AND ONION
SAUSAGE AND TOMATO
PRAWN COCKTAIL
BOVRIL (a brand of beef extract)
CROCKERY
FLATWARE.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
CROSSWORD PUZZLE. However, major newspapers carry a crossword puzzle that may be far different from the type you are familiar with. They are known as cryptic puzzles, that is to say each clue is a puzzle or conundrum in itself.
CROTCHET (Musical Note)
QUARTER-NOTE. A full note is a SEMI-BREVE and a half note is a MINIM. One eighth of a note is a QUAVER and one sixteenth is a SEMI-QUAVER.
CRUMPET (Food)
A product similar to an English Muffin. Toasted, and loaded with butter or jam, it is a tea-time favorite. (See JAM, MUFFIN and TEA)
CRUMPET (Person) (Slang)
Slang term for an attractive woman. Usually used in the expression “a nice bit of crumpet. The term is rather derogatory.
CRUST
HEEL. In addition to the edge of a slice of bread being referred to as the CRUST, so are the first and last slices cut from the loaf.
CRUTCH
CROTCH. Crotch is sometimes used.
CUL-DE-SAC (Street)
DEAD-END.
CUPBOARD
CLOSET. A food cupboard is often known as a LARDER, while a walk-in larder can be referred to as a PANTRY. A clothes closet is called a WARDROBE. (See WARDROBE)
CUPPA (Slang)
The ubiquitous British cup of tea. (See also PINTA)
CURRANT
Very small RAISIN, used in baking. (See also SULTANA)
CURRENT ACCOUNT (Bank)
CHECKING ACCOUNT.
CURTAINS
DRAPES.
CUSHION (Billiard Table)
RAIL.
CUTLERY
SILVERWARE. Little amuses a Briton more than hearing an American talk about “plastic silverware”! Incidentally, the signal to a waiter that you have finished with a course is to place your knife and fork together at six o’clock rather than four o’clock as in the States.
CV or CURRICULUM VITAE
RÉSUMÉ.
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