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For the first portion of the list, see List of words having different meanings in American and British English (A–L). Asterisked (*) meanings, though found chiefly in the specified region, also have some currency in the other dialect; other definitions may be recognised by the other as Briticisms or Americanisms respectively.
British slang has been the subject of many books, including a seven volume dictionary published in 1889. Lexicographer Eric Partridge published several works about British slang, most notably A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English , revised and edited by Paul Beale.
Literary critic Edmund Wilson praised the dictionary, stating that the work "ought to be acquired by every reader who wants his library to have a sound lexicographical foundation". [7] In 1985, John Gross of The New York Times called A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English "the nearest thing to a standard work in its field". [7]
Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-00275-7. Hargraves, Orin (2003). Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions: Making Sense of Transatlantic English. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515704-8.
British slang term that originally meant eccentric, neurotic or slightly mentally ill; generally considered offensive to mentally ill people [68] [69] Senile [10] Slow [70] Sluggish [63] Sociopath [60] Spastic/Spaz: Especially in the UK and Ireland. Previously referred to muscle spasticity or a person with cerebral palsy, which may involve ...
(informal) fish-and-chip shop (parts of Scotland, Ireland: chipper), also chippy (see also List of words having different meanings in British and American English) chinwag (slang) chat chuffed (informal) proud, satisfied, pleased. Sometimes intensified as well chuffed; cf. made up chunder vomit [33] chunter
Image credits: LRowHeyveld British humor can be difficult to quantify and qualify. The more exposed to it you become, the more you start to truly ‘get’ all the nuanced layers of irony and banter.
British Library Texts in Context: 1785 – Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue; A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue at Project Gutenberg; fromoldbooks.org version of the Vulgar Tongue with one page per entry, links to examples and to another canting (thieving) dictionary; A 1737 dictionary of canting slang produced by Nathan Bailey