British slang

Regional slangs

Differences with American slang

Spelling

Some slang words are shared between British and American English, with a difference in spelling only. Slang naturally has no fixed orthography, and is written as whatever comes readily to mind. This can generate confusion with readers who do not pronounce letters the same way. One particular concerns the letter "r", which some dialects of British slang assume isn't emphatically pronounced.

British	American
erm	um
arse	ass

Other equivalent words

British	American
Bare	Mad amounts
Berk (from "Berkshire Hunt", cockney rhyming slang for cunt)	Irritating person, jerk
Bobby, The Fuzz	Police Officer
Blagger	Liar
Bloke	Man, Dude
Bloody	Damn (as an adjective)
Bog off	Get Lost
Bog roll	TP (toilet paper)
Bollocks	Nuts (male genitalia)
Bugger	Anal sex, screw
Buffting	Hottie
Camp	Flamer (as in overly flamboyant)
Class	Cool, Awesome, Pimp
Crew	Street gang, backup (in a fight/confrontation)
The dog's bollocks (mutt's nuts), Bees Knees, Cats Pyjamas	The best there is
Fag	Cigarette
Faggot, Bumbash, Knobjockey, Hermer, Chutney Ferret	Gay, Homosexual
Fit	Good-looking, hot
Geezer	Man, Guy, Unknown Person
Git, Prick, Bell-end, Knob-end, Twat	Incompetent, stupid, annoying, or childish person
Ickle	Li'l
Knackered	Exhausted, Wiped, Crashing
Knobhead	Dickhead
Loo	Toilet, the John, Pisser
Minger	Ugly or filthy-minded person
Nick	Jack, Lift, Grab, Steal, Rob
Nutter	Crazy person
Poof/Poofter, Fairy, Queen, Bender, Bent	Homosexual
Scrote	Jackass, Asshole
Shag	Screw, fuck, have sex with
Skint	Broke (as in "penniless")
Skank	Ripped-off, daylight robbery, expensive
Slag, Slapper, Tart, Scrubber, Wastegash	Slut, Skank, Ho
Smart	Sharp
Taxed	Jacked, Stolen, Robbed, Mugged
Wank	Male masturbation
Wanker	Crude name for a jerk (male)
Wasteman	Loser

Words with no American equivalent

Word	Meaning
Morfen	The desire to do something more often**
Blates/Blatently	Obviously, in full view of something
Fag end	The last part of a period of time
Gob	Mouth; spit
Gobsmacked	Flabbergasted, dumbfounded, astounded, speechless
Handbags	A harmless fight. Stems from handbags at dawn, which is a play on pistols at dawn
Spawny	Lucky (e.g. a basketball shot that you would never expect to go in, and it does)
Snog	To make out, aggressive kissing
Take the piss (out of)	To mock. "Are you taking the piss?" is most commonly heard
Tosser	Literally someone who masturbates (to toss off), but generally means an idiot or someone whom the speaker doesn't like
Wanker	Literally someone who masturbates (verb - to wank), but generally means an idiot or someone whom the speaker doesn't like
Hench	A muscular, well-built male or a derogatory term for large females

Regional slangs

Differences with American slang

Spelling

Other equivalent words

Words with no American equivalent

See also