editors: Doreen
Rich (confused Yankee) and Neil Ward
(gen-yoo-ine British person)
Additional material
by various contributors
| This page (hopefully to be expanded as we add new terms to it) provides explanations and definitions for many of the British phrases and expressions found in the Harry Potter books. Also included are some of the puns and other plays on words that are specifically British (e.g. Knight Bus). Many thanks to Neil and Doreen for their hard work on this. If there are words or phrases that you wonder about, feel free to email the webmaster to let us know. |
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| Bit keen
("The library just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?") |
You're rather enthusiastic, aren't you? Keen as in hankering to get on with something. | SS12 | |
| Blimey
("Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you ---?") |
A
term of exclamation, a bit like "wow".
It’s actually a contraction of "God blind me!" (hence variations: "Cor Blimey!" or "Gawd Blimey!") |
SS6 | |
| Boaters
("flat straw hats called boaters") |
A
flat-topped, hardened straw hat, with a brim. Often worn as part of the
uniform of Public (private) Schools.
The name derives from the fact that the hats were worn by some University scholars, who would go boating on the river, but they became more widely popular as adult headgear in Edwardian times. |
SS3 | |
| Bonfire Night | aka
Guy Fawkes Night.
On 5th November every year, Britain commemorates the Gunpowder Plot, in which Guy (Guido) Fawkes and other extremist Catholics plotted (but failed) to blow up James I and his Parliament. People have firework parties or attend organized displays, and effigies of Guy Fawkes (known as "the guy") are burned on bonfires. The term bonfire is derived from ‘bone fire’ because, originally, bones were the primary material burnt. |
SS1 | |
| Budge
up
("Budge up yeh great lump," said the stranger) |
Move up. (In the USA we'd say "Move over." - ed.) | SS4 | |
| Bung
("Bung him some owl treats") |
Throw or toss | GF | |
| Chipolata | A type of fairly thin, pork sausage. The name is from the Italian for an onion dish (from cipolla = onion) | SS12 | |
| Christmas Cake | A
very rich fruitcake, covered in marzipan and white icing (a bit like Wedding
Cake) and decorated with holly and berries, silver accessories or snow
scenes.
Most people make the basic Christmas Cake several months before Christmas and feed it with brandy or sherry until completely soused. And the cake… |
SS12 | |
| Christmas Pudding (Flaming Christmas Pudding) | A
Christmas Pudding (Plum Pudding) is a rich dried fruit, suet/cake mixture
that is steamed. It is usually served with brandy butter, or doused with
brandy and lit at the table (hence the flaming).
Traditionally, a sixpence (2.5p) was hidden in the pudding, and whoever got the piece containing it could make a wish. These days, a 5p, 10p or 20p piece may be used.
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SS12 | |
| Codswallop | Nonsense.
Untruths.
"Oddly enough, the word 'Codswallop' is probably of US origin. It is thought to come from the inventor of a new kind of bottle in the late 19th century. The inventor's name was Hiram Codd and the bottle had a small ball (rather like a marble) as a stopper which one had to strike smartly (or wallop) in order to get at the drink - hence Codd's Wallop - Codswallop!" (contributed by Dr. Matthew J. Williamson, University of Brighton) |
SS4 | |
| Conk
("Grab your nose and yell, 'GOT YER CONK!' ") |
Slang
for nose.
Conk => Most likely derived from Conkers or horse chestnuts. Used in a child's game where one person uses his/her conker to smash his opponents. Also, "Nut" means head as in "watch your nut" => watch your head, "He's off his nut" => he's crazy. (contributed by Pat Gilliland) To "conk out," means to pass out. |
SS8 | |
| Cracker | As
in Wizard Crackers or Christmas Crackers:
A tube of cardboard wrapped in fancy paper and twisted at both ends. Inside the tube is a strip of paper coated in gunpowder, which snaps (cracks) when two people pull the cracker apart. Inside the tube, there would be a paper party hat, a small gift and a very childish joke on a little slip of paper. Crackers are pulled at Christmas dinner or lunch on 25th December. |
SS12 | |
| Crumpet | A
sort of yeasty, rubbery bread formed into small, flat circlets and baked.
The texture is not only rubbery, but full of holes.
The finished product is meant to be grilled or griddled until slightly crunchy and served soaked in butter. Not the same thing as a muffin. |
SS12 | |
| Dead
useful
("All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin' " - Hagrid) |
Dead = really; common in certain British dialects, particularly in the Midlands (i.e. around Birmingham). | SS5 | |
| Dodgy
("Definitely dodgy," agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's supposed to be plotting all this stuff?") |
Unreliable, with slightly criminal or less than honest overtones. Probably derived from "dodging the law". | CS3 | |
| Fairy
lights
(a password used by the Fat Lady) |
Christmas light strings
This is a play on words, since Flitwick decorates his classroom with Christmas lights--"fairy lights"--and they turn out to be real, live fairies. |
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| First
years
("I don't see why first years can't have their own") |
Children in the first year of school. | SS5 | |
| Flap
("And don't get in a flap!" ) |
A state of confusion or panic. A colloquialism, probably related to the flapping of the hands like wings. | SS6 | |
| Flutter
("I'm all a flutter") |
Excited or trembling, with a fluttering heart, due to some sort of shock. | SS5 | |
| Flutter
("Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?") |
Bet
"Fancy a flutter" means "Would you care to make a bet" |
GF | |
| Geroff
("Mom - geroff!") |
Colloquial form of "Get off". | SS6 | |
| Git (Filch described as an "old git") | Idiot. A variant of the slang noun "get," which also means an idiot (usually in Ireland or the north of England) and which was derived from a rather archaic term for the offspring of any animal (that, in turn, was derived from the verb to beget, meaning "to give birth to". | SS | |
| Head Boy | Every
secondary (12-18) school has a Head Boy and Head Girl. These students are
sometimes chosen, by the teachers, for their excellence, but they could
also be elected by their peers.
The Head Boy and Girl represent the school externally and head up the prefects. |
SS | See also Prefect |
| Head Girl | See Head Boy | SS | See also Prefect |
| Holidays
("Ever since Harry had come home for the summer holidays...") |
In Britain, holiday can refer to any day or time off (as in leave from work) rather than just a vacation or official holiday. National holidays are usually called Bank Holidays, because the banks are closed. | CS1 | |
| Humbug | Hard
candy pieces, usually flavoured with peppermint and recognisable by their
black and white stripes. They are often round-ended but can be seen as
angular lumps.
The origin of humbug is unknown. The word also means deceptive talk, an impostor or a hoax. |
SS5 | |
| Ickle
("Ickle firsties" - Peeves) |
Baby talk for 'little'. | SS3 | |
| Keen | See Bit keen | SS12 | |
| Kidney | See Steak and Kidney Pie. | SS | |
| Kip
("You can kip under that") |
Sleep. Derived from kip-house, which is a small, cheap lodging or hostel. | SS4 | |
| Knickerbocker Glory | An
ice cream dessert (a sundae) served in a tall glass, and consisting of
layers of chopped fruit and ice cream in layers, with whipped cream on
top.
The dessert is eaten with a thin, long-handled spoon. It’s possible that ‘Knickerbocker’ refers to the shape of the glass, which looks rather like the leg of a pair of knickerbockers. |
SS | |
| Knickerbockers | Loose-fitting
pants gathered at the knee or calf.
Knickerbocker was a nickname for the early Dutch settlers in New York, who used to wear these fairly racy trousers. Related: New York Knicks, knickers… |
SS2 | See also Plus-Fours |
| Knight Bus | Play on words: "Night Bus," buses which run in London during the night. see full essay. | ||
| Knobbly
sticks
(Dudley's Smeltings' stick) |
Probably something JKR made up, although public (private) schools in Britain have some very strange customs. Knobbly would mean bumpy. | SS3 | |
| Mum | Diminutive of Mother; US: Mom. | SS5 | |
| On
about
("Yeah----yer not still on abou' that, are yeh?") |
You're not still talking about that, are you? | SS14 | |
| Oy! | An
exclamation, usually used to attract attention (as in "Oy, come and look
at this!").
Derived from "Oyez", which is used by town criers to call attention. The origin is the Old French for ‘hear’. |
SS6 | |
| Pasty
("Go on, have a pasty," said Harry) |
A
sort of pie with a crimped, thick short pastry crust, full of chopped and
seasoned meat and potatoes.
The idea originated in Cornwall (hence, Cornish Pasties), where wives of miners would fill the pastry case and make the crust into a handle that could be held in dirty hands, whilst eating. Often, one end of the pie would be filled with fruit, to serve as a dessert. The word ‘pasty’ is derived from paste/pasta = paste. Not to be confused with skimpy breast coverings! |
SS6 | |
| Plus-Fours | A type of long, wide knickerbockers (q.v.) popular among modern golfers. | GF | |
| Porridge | Scottish
breakfast dish of oatmeal mixed with water and simmered until it is creamy.
Can be served with sugar, honey or salt, according to preference.
Eaten throughout Britain. |
SS | |
| Post
("no post on Sunday") |
Mail. | SS | |
| Prefects
("I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-----") |
Some
of the older pupils (students) in a secondary (12-18) school are given
duties supervising the younger children and assisting the teachers in maintaining
discipline.
Prefects are usually the most outstanding or best behaved students, but in some schools all the upper year pupils share prefect duties. |
SS6 | |
| Rabbiting
("I'm not promising I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don't go rabbitin' about it here, students aren't s'pposed ter know.") |
To rabbit means to talk incessantly or gossip idly. It's commonly used among Cockney folk. | SS14 | |
| Ruddy
("Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon.") ("Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings" - Vernon) |
A milder, dialectal variation on the swear word, "bloody," ruddy referring to something being red-coloured (like blood). Similar and slightly more polite version of "bloody" or "damned," (from blood, Old English = rudig). | SS15 | |
| Ruff
("A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.") |
A disc-like, starched frilly, collar, popular in the 16th century (such as worn by Elizabeth I and Shakespeare in typical portraits). | SS6 | |
| Sherbet lemon | A
hard lemon-flavoured candy shell filled with effervescent sherbet powder.
Also known as sherbet lemons.
Not the same thing as Lemonheads or lemon drops! Sherbet powder is not the same thing as an iced sherbet. |
SS1 | |
| Shirty
("She got a bit shirty with me!" - Oliver Wood about McGonagall) |
Ill-tempered;
angry.
Probably from "to get someone's shirt out," to annoy,or "to keep one's shirt on," to keep from being annoyed. from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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| Steak and Kidney Pie | These
two ingredients represent a popular British filling for a pie (normally
encased in pastry).
Steak and kidney pies are often served with chips (fries) and feature on the menu of most British fish and chip shops. |
SS | |
| Stoat sandwiches | Definitely
not a British delicacy. JKR made this up.
A stoat is a small mammal similar to a weasel which is found in Britain and Ireland. It is not usually eaten by humans, in sandwiches or any other form. [WEB LINK] |
SS14 | |
| Sugar Tongs
("... one man ended up in the hospital with the sugar tongs clamped to his nose.") |
Long-handled
grips used to pick up cube sugar. In Britain sugar in available granulated
or in moulded lumps or small cubes.
Cube sugar would be considered posh by someone like Petunia Dursley, but it’s arguably exactly the opposite. |
CS3 | |
| Summat
("Got summat fer yeh here" - Hagrid) |
Something. | SS4 | |
| Ticked
("Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper") |
US: Checked or Crossed. "Ticked off" can also mean "annoyed". | SS6 | |
| Tinned
("cold tinned tomatoes") |
Canned. | SS3 | |
| Tosh
("Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon) |
Nonsense. Of unknown origin. | SS4 | |
| Treacle
(as in treacle pudding or treacle tart) |
Treacle
is a by-product of the sugar refining process and can vary in grade from
very light Golden Syrup to Black Treacle (rather like molasses).
Treacle Pudding is a plain steamed suet pudding which has warmed treacle poured over it. Treacle tart is a flat pastry case filled with treacle mixed with breadcrumbs and baked. In both dishes, Golden Syrup is usually used, as real treacle is quite strong in taste. |
SS7 | |
| Treat
("Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat.") |
Very good or very well. If something "looks a treat" it looks great, i.e. a treat to the eyes. "A treat" is a common phrase in some dialects, and can be used in other contexts, e.g. "I've polished this goblet and it's come up a treat". | SS12 | |
| Trifle | A layered dessert of sponge cake soaked in sherry, topped with chopped fruit in jelly (jello), topped with custard, topped, in turn, with whipped cream. The top of that may be decorated with angelica, glace cherries, chocolate flakes or hundreds and thousands (tiny rainbow sugar candy pieces). | SS7 | |
| Tripe
("Tripe, Sybil?") |
The
stomach of a cow or ox, eaten as a dish. Yes, it is disgusting.
Tripe is also used to mean nonsense as well as the wonderful gliding food. So when McGonagall says "Tripe, Sybil?", she is commenting on Trelawney's previous remark, as well a offering her food. |
SS6 | |
| Twiddled
(Fred twiddled the steering wheel) |
Twiddled means to play around with, perhaps uncertainly. Twiddly usually refers to something small often a control of some sort that can be turned or rotated. e.g. a volume control can be twiddled, a light switch cannot (unless it is a rotary dimmer). Usually used in a technical sense => "He didn't know why the radio wouldn't work so he twiddled the knobs abit." Also a synonym for fiddled or fiddly. eg twiddly bits <=> fiddly bits. (contributed by Pat Gilliland) | CS3 | |
| Underground | aka The Tube - London's underground train system, most of which runs deep beneath street level. US: Subway. | SS5 | |
| Whelk
("ate a funny whelk" - Aunt Marge) |
A
type of marine mollusc with a spiral shell, usually eaten with vinegar.
The flesh is usually scooped out with a pin, so it's not the sort of thing a sophisticated lady would eat. This indicates that Marge is rather common in her tastes. |
SS3 | |
| Yorkshire Pudding | A
dish of light, risen batter. It is often eaten with roast beef and it can
be found around the joint of meat or served separately, in small 'cakes'.
It often has a soggy, sliceable middle, with highly crisped edges, and may be served as a savoury or sweet dish. It is eaten throughout Britain. |
SS7 |