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This novel uses British English spellings and slang, some of which I’ve listed below so you can check any with which you are unfamiliar.
LANGUAGE DIFFERENCES
BRITISH SLANG: MEANING
A
Autumn: Fall
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B
Bike: Woman of Loose Morals
Bollocking: Stern reprimand
Born the wrong side of the blanket: Illegitimate child
Brief: A suspect’s lawyer
Bright spark: Clever person
Builder’s bum: Bottom cleavage
Buttie: Sandwich
By-blow: Illegitimate child
C
Chippie: Carpenter / Fish and Chip Shop / A person inclined to be snappish (Chippy)
Come clean: Tell the truth
Coughed for: Admitted to crimes
Cracking up: Having a nervous breakdown
(You) Crack me up: Make me laugh
Cup of builder’s: Strong tea
Cup of Rosie Lee (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Tea
D
Divvy up: Share out
Do a (moonlight) flit: Disappear suspiciously suddenly
Dodgy: Illegal
Dodgy person: A person of suspect morals (in a legal sense)
Do/Doing a Bunk: Disappear (usually before the law or creditors catch up with you)
Done a bunk: Ditto
EF
Easy: Morally lax (in a sexual sense)
‘I’m easy’: Happy to go along with everyone else
Flabbergasted: Astonished
Full wack: Full price
G
Get your marching orders: To be sacked, dismissed
Give someone a bell: Telephone someone
Give something the once-over: Check something out
Gnashers: Teeth
Gobsmacked: Astonished, shocked
(Got) Form: Got a criminal record
Grass up: Inform on someone to the police
Grotty: Horrible
HI
Half-inch=Pinch (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Steal
Have it out: Brisk exchange of views
High-falluting: Fancy, posh
Iffy Whistle (Whistle and Flute=Suit (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Stolen suit of male clothing
In a jiff/jiffy: Quickly / Soon
JKL
Jiffy bag: Padded envelope
‘Let’s get cracking: ‘Let’s get on with it’
M
Measly: Very Little
Moolah: Money
More front than Brighton / ‘You’ve Got Some Front: Plenty of chutzpah
NO
Old lags: Prison inmates
On someone’s watch: While responsible for
PQR
Pikey: Traveller, Gypsy
Pillock: Idiot
Porkie pie (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Lie
Rat-arsed/pissed: Drunk
Right Pillock: Total Idiot
Right plonker: Total idiot
S
Scrote: Insult, short for ‘scrotum’
Scumbag=Slag (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Insult (low-life male character)
Short and curlies: Pubic hair
Shtum: Don’t Tell Anyone, keep quiet
Slag: Toe-rag=Slag (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Insult (Low-life male character)
Slag: Insult (Female character of low morals)
Skedaddle: Make oneself scarce / Escape
Snout: Police informer
Sparks: Electrician
Sparks’ll fly: A situation will become inflamed
Sticky Situation: Difficult
T
Tea-leaf (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Thief
Tetchy: Irritable, touchy, snappish
Toe-Rag=Slag (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Insult (Low-Life male character)
Tosser: Insult (male given to personal sexual abuse)
Trouble and strife (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Wife
Turn a girl’s head: Make her smitten/keen on someone
UV
Up to one’s eyeballs: Very busy
WXYZ
Wasted: Very Drunk
Whistle and flute (Cockney Rhyming Slang): Suit of male clothing
Wuss: Weakling
‘You make me crack up’: ‘You make me laugh’ (sometimes used in a sarcastic manner)
‘You’ve Got Some Front’: Plenty of chutzpah
BRITISH SPELLING v US SPELLING
Alternative-v-Alternate
Colour-v-Color
Grey-v-Gray
Labour-v-Labor
Neighbour-v-Neighbor
Organise-v-Organize
Practice (Doctor’s Practice)-v-Practice
Practise (as in to practise doing something)-v-Practice
Queue-v-Line of people
Rationalise-v-Rationalize
Realise-v-Realize
Recognise-v-Recognize
American spelling tends to use ‘ize’ in words like ‘realize’, whereas Brits use ‘ise’. and in words like ‘color’ Brits use ‘our’ at the end.
There are lots more, I’ll add them to my list as I think of them.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THE author at her website: https://geraldineevansbooks.com
