British Slang and Dialects Trivia

1. "I was going to invest some money in the deal, but the more I heard about it, the more I thought it sounded fishy," says someone in late-Victorian London. What does he mean?

From Quiz Slang Words Starting With "F," from 1874 London

Answer: it seemed crooked, unsound, not trustworthy

When slang just hits the mark, it seems to last forever, and "fishy" is one of those terms that we still use today. It means the same now as it did over a hundred years ago, and in fact it goes back even further, to the 1840s, when it still meant "shady, questionable." There's no real agreement where it came from, though fish are obvious when they start to go bad and the word may have come from the smell of fish that are starting to smell, well, fishy. The idea of figurative rotteness being connected with the literal rotteness of fish goes back to Shakespeare, and the line "something rotten in the state of Denmark," though it wasn't fish specifically being evoked by Shakespeare, just "something."

From Quiz English Victorian Slang Words, Starting With "E"

Answer: encourage him

This is one of those slang phrases that has lasted from the Victorian era until today with the same meaning, but it actually has lasted much longer than that! It's actually from c. 1200, from the Old Norse verb "eggja," which was used to mean "to goad on" or to "incite." The Norse word was slang itself. Its literal meaning didn't have anything to do with eggs, but meant "edge."

From Quiz Victorian England Slang Words Starting With "D"

Answer: coat, waistcoat and trousers of the same fabric

The 1874 "Slang Dictionary" says: "Dittoes, A suit of coat, waistcoat, and trousers of the same material." Earlier in the 19th Century, it had been just as common to have them of different colors, but then colors became more uniform and drab, with no more fancy vests or large-plaid trousers. People needed a new term for the new style. "Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present," 1891, gave an example of use: "A slight, dark man, of middle height, clad in an ordinary suit of Dittoes, entered the room." (Hawley Smart, Social Sintiers, 1880.)

From Quiz Slang Words Starting With "C," from 1874 London

Answer: He's a beggar, or will try to get money out of you somehow.

"Cad, or Cadger (from which it is shortened), [is] a mean or vulgar fellow; a beggar; one who would rather live on other people than work for himself; a man who tries to worm something out of another, either money or information," according to the "Slang Dictionary, Etymological, Historical and Anecdotal" (London: Chatto and Windus, 1874). As a verb, to cadge is "to beg in an artful, wheedling manner." The Online Etymology Dictionary says the verb means "to beg" and is from 1812, or "to get by begging" from 1848. The origin is uncertain, "perhaps a back-formation from cadger" which meant an "itinerant dealer with a pack-horse" from the mid-15th Century.

From Quiz Slang Words from 1874 London, Starting With "B"

Answer: you're going to be made a fool of and cheated

Bamboozle meant "to deceive, make fun of, or cheat a person," according to the 1874 London "Slang Dictionary." It could be shortened to "bam," a noun meaning a deception or sham. The Online Etymology Dictionary dates it back to 1703, saying it perhaps came from the Scottish "bombaze" meaning "to perplex," or was related to bombast, or to the French "embabouiner," which literally meant to make a baboon of.

From Quiz Slang Words Starting With "A," from 1874 London

Answer: A-1

The slang even developed its own slang variations. Some people said "first-class, letter A, No. I." Others said "A I," the two letters, just to be different. The Online Etymology Dictionary dates it to 1837, still based on Lloyd's insurance categories: "The letter refers to the condition of the hull of the ship itself, and the number rating to the equipment."

From Quiz Yur'z Greetens Vrum Darzet! - Dorset Dialect

Answer: A good friend, a mate

This word was in common usage during the 1960s while I was at school in Weymouth but is rarely heard these days. A possible source for this word is a term that is still in very common usage, that of 'mucker'. This term was occasionally used to refer to coinage but again, is rarely heard today except very locally.

From Quiz Pardon, What Do You Mean?

Answer: believe

"Adam and Eve" is cockney rhyming slang for believe. If you heard something remarkable, you might say, "I don't Adam and Eve it. That information has got to be wrong".

From Quiz Yuzzen, Smitsmats and Bumscuddy - Devon dialect 1

Answer: Snails

Mmmmm...Snails, nice! Snails are also known as snarly-gigs or snarly-horns. Slugs are commonly referred to as dew snails. Hermit crabs and woodlice are both crustaceans and hermit crabs are known here as counterfeits. Woodlice have literally dozens of names here in Deb'n that vary from village to village, includin rabberdasters, granfer griggs and cheese bugs. Just as a footnote here, we do eat fries here in Deb'n, although you'd not find them on the menu at McDonalds. Not many would want to eat our 'fries' as the dish consists of lambs testicles! Mmmmmm, but not quite a Big Mac.

From Quiz South Walian Words-Valleys' Dialect [2]

Answer: A narrow passage between buildings.

'Gwli' is quite simply, another name for a 'lane'. In my home town, people always seem to take their dog for a walk 'down the gwli'.

From Quiz South Walian Words-Valleys' Dialect [1]

Answer: To cuddle.

The word "cwtch" is actually a Welsh word that has, over time, infiltrated the day-to-day speech of non-Welsh speakers in the South Wales valleys. Like many other Welsh words, such as 'cariad' (meaning 'love') and 'bach' (meaning 'little one'), it is used widely by Welsh speakers and non-Welsh speakers alike.

From Quiz Speaking Scots

Answer: Plook

Someone who is "plooky" has lots of spots. The word is supposed to come from the Middle English word "plowke". The Gaelic word for lump or heap is "pluc".

From Quiz Are You Upperclass?

Answer: Scent

"Scent" is a term that brings to mind hunting, shooting, and fishing--all outdoor activities that were popular with the Upperclass. Keep in mind that it was the Upperclass who owned or had the easiest access to places where one could hunt, shoot, or fish. (Editrix Office, 2006)

From Quiz Speaking in the Scots tongue

Answer: Messy or dirty

Clatty, Clarty or Clorty is used as a description for anything that is dirty or messy.

From Quiz More Norfolk Dialect

Answer: A vest

When I wuzz a child central heating and double glazing was unhard of and thart wind she usetar whip orft tha North Sea and tha farst thing she useter hit was my bedroom winder. Them thar rooms war cold as ice an that jack frorst usetar mek patterns orn the inside o' tha winder.

From Quiz The Norfolk Dialect

Answer: Eat it

Cum Satdy mornin' orft we'd goo ta tha shop for a bag o' cushies (sweets).

From Quiz "Geordie Speak"

Answer: anyone from the Tyneside area of England

People from Newcastle upon Tyne could be Geordies but so are people, both male and female, from other Tyneside towns. George Stephenson is known as "the Father of the Railways", and produced both the "Locomotion" and the "Rocket", two of the earliest steam trains.

From Quiz English Slang for Tourists

Answer: Panties

Alan Whickers - knickers. Alan Whicker is a famous British TV travel journalist.

From Quiz Some Quotes From Dialectal English

Answer: she

Hoo stems from Old English heo.

From Quiz Some Samples Of English Dialect

Answer: spring-onions

Cebolla albaranna is onion. Cebolleta is spring-onion or chives. French has ciboule and ciboulette for chives. Parsley is different altogether both as a plant and in its etymology: petroselinum means rock-plant.

From Quiz Georgette Heyer's Regency England

Answer: Cotillion

Phaeton, barouche and curricle are types of carriage: cotillion is a dance.

From Quiz English Victorian Slang Words, Starting With "E"

Answer: everlasting shoes

Bare feet never wear out or get holes, or if they do, they repair themselves. In poor parts of London, the barefoot children wore "everlasting shoes and stockings." A similar sly expression was "the shoes and stockings their mothers gave them," because of course that's where their bare feet came from. The joke was like the slang term "birthday suit," or the suit you were given on your birthday, your naked skin, a slang term that was also in use in the Victorian era. The slang phrase "everlasting shoes" was fairly new, some sources saying mid to late 19th Century, others saying circa 1870.

From Quiz Victorian England Slang Words Starting With "D"

Answer: pickpockets

The 1874 "Slang Dictionary" said a diver was a pickpocket, and to dive was to pick pockets. The slang was apparently not new. "Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present," 1891, quoted "Picture of London" as far back as 1828, "Thieves frequently go well-dressed, especially pickpockets; good toggery being considered a necessary qualification for his calling, without which the Diver could not possibly mix in genteel company nor approach such in the streets." The slang may go back farther than that. In the early 1700s, Mary Young, nicknamed Jenny Diver, was a notorious pickpocket of London, and the same name, Jenny Diver, was used for a pickpocket character in John Gay's "The Beggar's Opera" in 1728.

From Quiz Slang Words Starting With "C," from 1874 London

Answer: She's an incessant talker.

This is slang I'd still use in the 21st Century USA, so I didn't realize it had been around so long! It meant "an incessant talker or chatterer," according to the "Slang Dictionary, Etymological, Historical and Anecdotal" (London: Chatto and Windus, 1874). The Online Etymology Dictionary dates it from 1774, as a combination of chatter and box. The Oxford English Dictionary dates a similar compound word, "prattle-basket", as early as 1602, and "prattle-box" to 1671. The idea seems to be that one imagines a container, either a box or basket, full of idle talk, either prattle or chatter, and the concept goes back hundreds of years.

From Quiz Slang Words from 1874 London, Starting With "B"

Answer: it's high praise

According to the 1874 "Slang Dictionary," bang-up meant "first-rate, in the best possible style." The Online Etymology Dictionary dates it to 1820 meaning "excellent, first-rate," and suggests it was "probably shortened from the phrase bang up to the mark."

From Quiz Slang Words Starting With "A," from 1874 London

Answer: normal swear words for the situation

Antiscriptural meant "oaths, foul language. Anything unfit for ordinary society conversation," according to the 1874 Slang Dictionary. Most other sources seem to treat the word "antiscriptural" seriously, saying it meant against the scriptures, a theological argument, missing this sly little side meaning.

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