Slang
See also Rhyming Slang (given its own page because there's so much of it!)
Bookies' Slang
The traditional method used by bookmakers to communicate these odds using hand signals is known as tic–tac.
Bottle |
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2–1 |
Carpet |
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3–1 |
Double carpet |
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33–1 |
Burlington Bertie |
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100–30 |
Money
USA: nickel |
|
5 cents |
USA: dime |
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10 cents |
USA: two bits |
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25 cents |
Pavarotti |
|
£10 (a tenner) |
Pony |
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£25 |
Monkey |
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£500 |
Plum |
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£100,000 |
Bernie (late 1990s) |
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£1,000,000 |
US slang (late 19th century) for a dollar: used as the name of the unit of currency in video games The Simms
and Sim City |
|
Simoleon |
CB slang
CB radio was legalised in the UK in 1981 and it probably reached its peak popularity soon after that; but it is apparently still used,
particularly by farmers, truckers and minicab drivers.
Meat wagon |
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Ambulance |
Smokey, Bear, or Smokey Bear |
|
Police |
10–4 |
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Affirmative |
10–10 |
|
Listening but not broadcasting |
Other (1)
In this section, the slang term is in the left–hand column (it's part of the question) and the meaning is on the right (it's
the answer).
Speed, uppers, whizz, bennies (Benzedrine is a trade name for) |
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Amphetamine |
Mugging up (theatrical slang) |
|
Applying face make–up |
Strine |
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Australian slang |
Air Force (USAF and RAF) slang during WWII: "Mickey Mouse" |
|
Bomb release mechanism |
Snow |
|
Cocaine |
Forces slang: "irons" |
|
Cutlery |
USA: G–man |
|
FBI (Government) agent |
Bridport dagger (after the place where they're made, a lot of the raw material being grown there) |
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Hangman's rope |
Glasgow kiss |
|
Head butt |
Mae West (US forces slang – particularly USAF) |
|
Life jacket |
Wampum (term used originally by Native Americans) |
|
Money |
Trick cyclist: forces slang for a |
|
Psychiatrist |
Forces slang: "Tail–end Charlie" |
|
Rear gunner (on a bomber) |
Known in criminal slang as a peterman |
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Safe breaker |
Sawney: derogatory name for a |
|
Scotsman |
Referred to by surfers as "men in grey suits" |
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Sharks |
Jumbuck: Australian slang for a |
|
Sheep |
USA: "(john) hancock" |
|
Signature |
Obtaining five finger discount |
|
Stealing (esp. shoplifting) |
Other (2)
Here, the slang term is in the right–hand column (it's the answer to the question) and the meaning is on the left.
Term used in tennis for a set score of 6–0 (six love) |
|
Bagel |
Native of Barbados |
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Bajan |
Highly educated woman (after an informal women's social and educational movement, founded in England around 1750) |
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Bluestocking |
Slang term for a cowboy, from the Spanish word (vaquero) |
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Buckaroo |
Romany slang for someone who lives or behaves like a Gypsy but is not a true Romany |
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Diddicoy |
Cornish slang term for a tourist: a local dialect word, and also the heraldic term, for an ant |
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Emmet |
Term used in the 1920s for a young, unconventional woman – characterised by short skirts, bobbed hair, and
a penchant for jazz |
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Flapper |
Originally a Gaelic word, variously translated as 'bandit', 'outlaw', or 'pursuer' |
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Tory |
© Haydn Thompson 2017–22