British slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo (see euphemism). It is often used to identify with one's peers and, although it may be common among young people, it is used by people of all ages and social groups.

Collins English Dictionary (3rd edition) defines slang as "Vocabulary, idiom etc that is not appropriate to the standard form of a language or to formal contexts, may be restricted as to social status or distribution, and is characteristically more metaphorical and transitory than standard language".[4]

The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar (1994) defines it as "Words, phrases, and uses that are regarded as informal and are often restricted to special contexts or are peculiar to specific profession, classes etc".[5]

Jonathan Green, in his 1999 book The Cassell Dictionary of Slang, defines slang as "A counter language, the language of the rebel, the outlaw, the despised and the marginal".[6] Recognising that there are many definitions, he goes on to say, "Among the many descriptions of slang, one thing is common, it is a long way from mainstream English".[6]

The dating of slang words and phrases is difficult due to the nature of slang. Slang, more than any other language, remains spoken and resists being recorded on paper (or for that matter any other medium). By the time slang has been written down, it has been in use some time and has, in some cases, become almost mainstream.[7]

The first recorded uses of slang in Britain occurred in the 16th century in the plays of Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton and William Shakespeare.[8] The first books containing slang also appeared around that time: Robert Copland's The hye way to the Spytlell hous was a dialogue in verse between Copland and the porter of St Bartholomew's Hospital, which included thieves' cant; and in 1566, Thomas Harman's A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds was published. The Caveat contained stories of vagabond life, a description of their society and techniques, a taxonomy of rogues, and a short canting dictionary which was later reproduced in other works.[8]

In 1698 the New Dictionary of the Canting Crew by B. E. Gent was published, which additionally included some 'civilian' slang terms. It remained the predominant work of its kind for much of the 18th century, until the arrival in 1785 of The Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Captain Francis Grose, which ran to more than five expanded editions.[8] Grose's book was eventually superseded by John Camden Hotten's Slang Dictionary in 1859. In 1889 two multi-volumed slang dictionaries went on sale: A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant by Albert Barrere and Charles Leland, and Slang and its Analogues by John Farmer and W. E. Henley; the latter being published in seven volumes. It was later abridged to a single volume and released in 1905 as A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English. This book provided the major part of Eric Partridge's Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (1937).[8] It was not until the 1950s that slang began to make regular appearances in books and in the relatively new media of motion pictures and television.[8]

There are a number of different varieties of British slang, arguably the best known of which is Rhyming slang. Chiefly associated with cockney speech spoken in the East End of London, words are replaced with a phrase which rhymes. For example: plates of meat for "feet", or twist and twirl for "girl". Often only the first word is used, so plates and twist by themselves become the colloquialisms for "feet" and "girl".[9]

Thieves' cant or Rogues' cant was a secret language (a cant or cryptolect) which was formerly used by thieves, beggars and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries. It is commonly believed that cant was developed from Romany but the Winchester Confessions, a pamphlet published in 1616, clearly distinguishes between Gypsy and Cant words.[10] Now mostly obsolete, it is largely relegated to the realm of literature.

Some slang was developed because of a need for secrecy, such as prison slang, believed to be derived from thieves cant, and Polari, a variety used by homosexuals in Britain and the United Kingdom. Homosexuality was a crime until 1967 and Polari has a history going back at least a hundred years.[11] Sometimes the purpose of slang is to cause offence, insults such as wanker or gobshite for example; and sometimes the purpose is to prevent it by substituting a slang word for the offensive one, berk (rhyming slang for cunt) for example.[12] Sometimes a Spoonerism, is employed to make taboo speech more acceptable. For example: Cupid stunt and Betty Swallocks.[13]

Slang is also used to create an identity or sense of belonging and a number of occupations have their own slang; most notably the armed forces, referred to as Forces or Service slang; and the construction industry.[5][14] A dictionary of service slang by J. L. Hunt and A. G. Pringle was published in 1943.[15] It was reprinted in 2008. The introduction acknowledges that slang is an ever-changing language with new slang terms emerging all the time. It also recognises that some service slang has made its way into civilian use.[16][17][18] Examples of this include the old naval terms, "Talking bilge" (nonsense) and "A loose cannon" (an unorthodox person with the potential to cause harm).[19]

• British English
• London slang

• Breverton, Terry (2010). Breverton's Nautical Curiosities. 21 Bloomsbury Square, London: Quercus Publishing PLC. p. 169. ISBN 978-1-84724-776-6.CS1 maint: location (link)
• Collins English Dictionary. Glasgow GN4 0NB: Harper Collins Publishers. 1991. ISBN 0-00-433286-5.
• Green, Jonathon (1999). The Cassell Dictionary of Slang. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34435-4.
• Hunt, J. L. and Pringle, A. G. (2008). Service Slang. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-24014-2.
• Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar. Oxford University Press (1995).
• Quinion, Michael (2009). Why is Q Always Followed by a U?. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-1-84614-184-3.

• Partridge, Eric (2002). Beale, Paul (ed.). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-29189-5.
• James, Ewart (1998). NTC's Dictionary of British Slang and Colloquial Expressions. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-8442-0838-8.
• Baker, Paul (2002). Dictionary of Polari & gay slang.
• Baker, Paul (2002). Polari-- the lost language of gay men.
• Barrère, Albert; Leland, Charles (1889). Dictionary of Slang, Jargon and Cant.
• Bernstein, Jonathan (2006). Knickers in a twist : a dictionary of British slang.
• Farmer, John; Henley, W. E. (1905). A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English.
• Geris, Jan (2003). American's guide to the British language : really, they talk like this every day.
• Green, Jonathon (2008). Chambers Slang Dictionary.
• James, Ewart (1999). Contemporary British slang : an up-to-date guide to the slang of modern British English.
• Parody, A. (Antal) (2007). Eats, shites & leaves : crap English and how to use it.
• Soudek, Lev. (1967). Structure of substandard words in British and American English.

• A Dictionary of Slang and Colloquial English Farmer & Henley (1905)
• The Septic's Companion: A British Slang Dictionary – an online dictionary of British slang, viewable alphabetically or by category.
• English slang and colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom
• Roger's Profanisaurus An online version of the list of vulgar definitions which occasionally appears in Viz magazine
• British Slang Words for ESL learners