British English A to Z - past 5

beauty parlor The British term is used for both types of establishment, but nowadays the British male usually talks of going to the barber; the female, to the hairdresser.. In expression

Cold sea fog on the east coast of England and Scotland

In America a haberdashery is a men’s outfitter In Britain it is one of those shops

that sell pins, needles, thread, tapes, and a little of this and a little of that

Nowa-days the term is used mainly to describe the merchandise sold in such

establish-ments, and, increasingly, in the haberdashery departments of department stores

See also draper’s shop; fancy goods.

had for a mug See mug, 1.

A popular English dish until the 18th century, now considered specially Scottish;

made of the heart, liver, and lights of a sheep, minced and mixed with oatmeal,

suet, and seasoning, and then boiled in the sheep’s stomach It may be boiled,

steamed, baked, fried in slices, or even microwaved; and it tastes much better

than it sounds

2 beauty parlor

The British term is used for both types of establishment, but nowadays the British

male usually talks of going to the barber; the female, to the hairdresser.

Also hair-slide and kirby grip.

hairpin bend, n switchback

Inf In expressions of time, e.g., half twelve, meaning ‘half past twelve.’ Half eleven

means ‘half past eleven.’ Note that half after is American, as is quarter of, which in

Britain is always quarter to.

A half pint of beer Form of address to a publican See also (the) other half.

half, not See not half.

half, the other See (the) other half.

But some publicans say it can mean ‘mild and bitter’ mixed, so that when a

cus-tomer who is not a regular asks for one, it is wise to request a fuller description

Not as commonly drunk as it was in years gone by

h

h

half-cock See at half-cock.

Day of the week on which shops close for the day at 1:00 p.m See early closing.

half hunter See under hunter.

(Pronounced hayp’-ny.) The old one was discontinued on August 1, 1969, as a

step in the decimalization of the British currency system (See Appendix II.A.)

A halfpenny or halfpenny’s worth is what a halfpenny will buy; hence, a very small

amount

Brief school vacation See under term.

In the context of country gentry, hall refers to the ample residence of a landed

proprietor in Britain In British universities a hall is a building for student living

or teaching, and in British colleges a common dining-room When it is equivalent

to passage as used in America, it means only an ‘entrance passage.’ In its general

sense, hall finds its equivalent in the British word passage Hall is used in both

countries in the names of concert halls, as in Carnegie Hall (New York) and

Albert Hall (London)

Halt, v.i Stop

The equivalent of an American Stop sign used to be and sometimes still is a

Brit-ish road sign reading halt, but stop is now coming into general use Once in a

while Halt appears coupled with a place name to indicate a railroad stop in the

middle of nowhere, but near the designated place

Inf And suspend from trading An informal expression in financial circles, to

describe the suspension of a brokerage firm unable to meet its commitments The

verb is derived from the London Stock Exchange practice of declaring a person or

firm bankrupt with three taps of a gavel or hammer on the rostrum

hammered, adj Inf 1 exhausted

Inf 2 drunk

Slang The male member Shortening of Hampton Wick; cockney rhyming slang

See Appendix II.G.3 Wick is an archaic word meaning ‘town’ or ‘district,’ still

found in place names like Hampton Wick, Warwick, etc., and in the word bailiwick,

the sphere of operations of a bailie (a Scottish magistrate) or a bailiff (a sheriff’s

officer)

166 half-cock

hand, n handwriting

As in His hand is impossible to decipher; She writes a fine italic hand.

This special British meaning is used to describe a wooded area on the side of a

steep hill or mountain

Inf Literally, a capital crime for which hanging was the penalty Used after a

negative, usually in the expression It’s not a hanging matter, meaning ‘It’s not all

that serious.’

Inf The context is matrimonial.

The printed reports of Parliamentary debates Comparable to the Congressional

Record

ha’p’orth, n trifle

Inf (Pronounced hay’-p’th.) Contraction of halfpenny worth, as much as one could

buy for a halfpenny in the old days (before August 1, 1969, when the old halfpenny

was demonetized) Note the old adage: Don’t spoil the ship for a ha’p’orth of tar, i.e.,

‘Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish.’ See also halfpenny; Appendix II.A.

Inf The words at high tide are often added, and always implied, in the American

version A sandboy sold sand

The American equivalent would be happy as a clam.

Usually pronounced ‘Harris,’ with the noun pronounced harrisment.

Slang In prison, doing hard time.

hard-baked, adj hard-boiled

The British use both terms interchangeably Also, hard-cooked and hard-bitten.

Slang meaning bad luck Occasionally, Hard cheddar!; hard lines!

Of eggs, not of people

Inf Ill-used.

hard done by 167

Hard lines! See Hard cheese!

hare, put up the See put up the hare.

hare, start a See start a hare.

Used synecdochically to denote the British medical profession at its most

special-ized and most expensive On this street the fashionable private doctors flourish,

but note: most of them also work in the National Health Service.

Of Harrow; a Harrovian is either an inhabitant of Harrow (the town where the

famous school is located) or a member of Harrow, the public school which takes its

name from the town, whether student or graduate (old boy) Its playing-fields,

together with those of Eton, are said to supply the future leaders of Britain

harrow, under the See under the harrow.

This is a word used in conjunction with another word in slang expressions Why

Harry? The only answer obtainable was, Why not? The second word in the

com-bination is usually a corrupt form of a standard word Thus: Harry spaggers is

spaghetti; Harry champers (see champers) is champagne; Harry Roughers is a rough

sea and Harry Flatters a calm (flat) sea Harry Blissington is quite marvelous, absolutely

glorious.

Inf The name of the London street where most of the diamond merchants are

located is applied colloquially to designate the industry generally

Slang Any triple achievement, the bringing off of any series of three successes,

like three company acquisitions or a lawyer’s winning three cases in a row In

cricket, a bowler took three wickets with three balls, the triumphant bowler

was presented with a new hat Americans use hat trick when speaking of ice

hockey

(Rhymes with hawm.) A collective noun, meaning the stalks or stems of growing

things generally, and especially thatching material It can be used in a singular

sense, too, meaning ‘one stem’ or ‘stalk.’

Slang To have a bash at something is to give it a try Synonymous with have a go

at See go.

168 Hard lines!

have a down on, Inf Inf be down on

have a go at See have a bash at.

have a mind to See minded to

have a quid each way See under each way

Inf To have a read is settling in a comfortable armchair, and the common

expres-sion is have a good read, i.e., be wholly absorbed in that activity The book is a good

read connotes that the book is substantial, entertaining and not too demanding—a

phrase now creeping into American reviewers’ jargon

To have a rod in pickle for someone is to be nursing a grudge and aching to punish him,

and waiting to pounce on him at the first opportunity Presumably, the pickling

solu-tion will keep the rod pliable until it is used

The slates, of course, are on one’s roof

have a time of it

Synonymous with have a rare time of it See under rare.

About a particular matter, with the object of accomplishing something I’ll have a

word with him implies that the speaker is about to try to get something done about

something, with a degree of assurance about the outcome

Inf Often in the expanded form enough on one’s plate as it is A full plate means the

same thing A form sometimes used is a lot on one’s plate, which connotes the state

of being busy rather than overworked

have everything in the shop window See under shop.

have (someone’s) guts for garters Inf to give (someone) hell

Slang The figurative meaning is of a savage dressing down, perhaps

accompa-nied by punishment of some kind (demotion or the like) The literal meaning is even more savage: removing the visceral organs and using them as an article of clothing Happily, the act is illegal

Slang To be beaten; licked You’ve had your chips, little man.

have (something) in one’s eye Inf have (something) lined up

Slang Referring, for instance, to a better paying job than the one you have

now

have (something) in one’s eye 169

1 Slang Referring to any achievement.

2 Slang At the track, usually.

3 Slang With a sexual partner Sometimes have it away Both expressions indicate

consummation

4 Slang Intransitive use, referring to either sex.

Inf To be in clover, be feeling no pain, etc To want jam on it is to want egg in your

beer.

Inf For example, He is so old that he has no mind to basketball.

have no time for Inf have no use for; not think much of

Inf Americans commonly use the expression: I don’t think much of him, or I have no

use for him, where the British might say I have no time for him Predictably, to have a

lot of time for someone is to have a high opinion of him.

have (something) on, Inf Inf have (something) going

Inf When somebody has had one over the eight, he is not terribly drunk but is

cer-tainly under the influence The inference may be that one ought to be able to put

away eight pints of beer without effect—no mean feat for the inexperienced beer

drinker!

have (someone) on toast, Slang have (someone) at one’s mercy

A marvelous metaphor

have (something) put in hand Inf get (something) under way

Inf If a Briton needed a secretary, he would mention it to friends, apply to

agen-cies, and the like, and would thus have the operation put in hand; while an

Ameri-can would get it under way.

(Pronounced hay’-ver.) Like blather, with which it is synonymous, it is mainly

Scottish, and with an -s added becomes a plural noun meaning nonsense.

have the penny and the bun, Inf Inf have your cake and eat it, too

have the pull of See pull.

have the wind up See get the wind up.

To bring someone before a court of justice or a government agency

Have you been served? Is someone helping you?

Question asked by a salesperson (shop assistant, or simply assistant) Sometimes,

Are you being served?

2 top of the bottle

1 Head is a shortening of head teacher, headmaster, or headmistress, all of which

terms are used in America where, however, principal is the common term in

sec-ondary schools and dean in colleges Dean, in Britain, usually denotes a church

official, although it is sometimes used there in the American sense of a college

faculty head or department head Principal is seldom seen in Britain in this

con-nection, where its definitions include, only incidentally, headmaster (of a college).

2 In Britain, the cream still rises to the top of the container and is called the head

As in America, the same word also describes the froth on beer.

In British schools generally, below the university level, the headmaster (principal),

with the recommendations of the staff (faculty), designates one student as the

head boy or head girl, as the case may be This fortunate student is the one who has

made the best all-round contribution to school life The title is an honorable one

and involves the burden of exemplary conduct with no special privileges except

that of leading the cheers on the occasion of the visit of a notable personage

headlamp, n headlight

See also Appendix II.E.

headmaster See head.

headship, n office of school principal or college dean

An official of the local council or the National Health Service who visits homes

after childbirths, children’s clinics, schools, and elderly people to check up and

advise on matters of health

heaped, adj heaping

Teaspoonful, tablespoon, etc

Inf A university term for an athlete or sportsman; the opposite of an aesthete.

Usually covered with shrubs The Heath in London refers to Hampstead Heath, a

beautiful, very large park in northwest London

Applicable to a mechanical contrivance of amusingly superfluous complexity

Slang Tough police interrogators The heavy gang or heavy mob are the rough boys

in the force

heavy gang 171

he bought the farm his plane was shot down

Slang A very sad bit of R.A.F argot, for which there would appear to be no

American slang equivalent The expression alludes to the many pilots who were

“going to settle down and buy a farm” when the war was all over In some cases

it was all over too soon He’s bought it has apparently superseded the longer

phrase, and it can now refer to a premature death as a result of any disaster, like

that of a racing driver in flames

Inf A special usage In some cases the wall is level and wide enough to walk on

cross-country Stone walls may take the place of green hedges

Slang Alluding to the 57 varieties of breeds found among its forebears.

Inf Upon payment of a small fee, one sits on a mat and travels down a dizzying

spiral slide

Musical term See Appendix II.F.

A fatal potion made from a poisonous herb, Conium maculatum (maculatum means

‘spotted’ and the stems of the plant have spots) To a scholar it calls to mind

Socrates, whom the Athenian court sentenced to die by drinking a cup of

hem-lock in 399 b.c

Death on the gallows, on a hempen rope.

Her Majesty’s

Often shortened to HMSO.

hessian, n burlap

HGV Acronym heavy goods vehicle

Inf Designed to call attention; often a remonstrance Can be a greeting, as in

Amer-ica

hiccup, n hitch

Slang A snarl, any sudden obstruction that interferes with one’s plans.

Of a specialized type—for the observation of wild life It is sometimes used also

to mean ‘hunting blind.’

172 he bought the farm

hidey-hole, n Inf hideaway

hiding to nothing See (be) on a hiding to nothing

Also known as the High Court of Justice The supreme court dealing with civil

law cases

A mountainous region in northern Scotland

highly-strung high-strung

See Appendix I.A.3.

The British commonly name the principal thoroughfare of their villages and towns

The High Street, and in referring to it, they still retain the definite article (see

Appen-dix I.A.2) British High Streets are about as common as American Main Streets.

The table in the dining room of an academic institution at which the teaching

staff sit The term is used mostly in the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, where

staff and students take meals together

High tea includes something cooked: eggs or sausages or Welsh rarebit or any

combination of these It is the equivalent of a light supper, and is eaten early in the

evening

Hilary See under term.

Inf Also used as a transitive verb meaning to ‘give the blues’ to someone, i.e.,

to ‘depress’ him As a noun, it is sometimes spelled hyp, revealing its derivation

(hypochondria) Now often called the pip See also (the) hump.

hire See under engage.

hire-and-drive, n rent-a-car

Also known colloquially as the never-never, suggesting that the final payments

are never made Also, that which is repossessed is known as hire-purchase

snatch-back.

hissy fit, n Inf tantrum

hit (someone) all over the shop, Inf Inf run rings around (someone)

hit for six See under six.

Inf See also Great War.

Hitler’s War 173

hit off, Inf mimic accurately

Inf Used of a group that splits off from the main organization, like a swarm of

bees deserting the hive or a group of employees leaving their jobs in a company

to start their own company

HMSO See Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.

hoarding, n billboard

The primary meaning of this word (apart from its use as present participle of

hoard) is ‘construction site fence,’ the roughly built temporary type, on which

people are fond of posting notices despite the customary advice to the contrary,

and through the holes or chinks of which people are fond of peering No Hoarding

is not an injunction in times of shortages of commodities; it means Post No Bills,

which sometimes appears as Stick No Bills.

hob, n range

In other words, the kitchen appliance used for stove-top cooking See also

cooker.

To a Briton hockey means ‘field hockey’; to an American, ‘ice hockey.’ If a Briton

wants to talk about the type played on ice, he calls it ice hockey If the American

means the game played on the ground, he says field hockey.

In certain British country dialects the name hogget is applied to a young sheep

before the first shearing of its coat

hoick, v.t jerk

Slang Particularly, to raise or hoist with a jerk The noun hoick comes from rowing

slang: a jerk at the end of a poorly executed stroke.

See also lift; elevator.

holdall, n carryall

hold a watching brief See under watching brief.

In Britain, an interjection, without the sense of ‘wait!’ or ‘be patient!’ or ‘hold

your horses!’, though it has these meanings as well

Slang Usually in the phrase be left holding the baby.

Inf To hold the ring, or keep the ring, is to stay out of a situation or to remain on the

sideline The expression is also used in the context of keeping third parties from

interfering in a fight The ropes forming the prize ring in the old days were not

attached to posts but were held by the spectators, thus forming the ring

174 hit off

hold-up, n traffic jam; delay

Inf Any delay, whether as a result of heavy traffic, fog, road construction, etc.

hole-and-corner, adj underhand

Inf A hole-and-corner man is a shady character or operator, and hole-and-corner work

is shadiness generally.

Imparting a slight connotation of shabbiness The wedding had a hole-in-the-corner

air.

holiday, n vacation

An employee in Britain looks forward to his or her holiday, and while on vacation

is a holidaymaker But the university student in Britain speaks of vacations, and the

summer recess is the long vacation, often shortened to long vac or simply long See

also come down.

Inf Short for holidays.

Inf Or over the hump, or home free, i.e., doing all right Sometimes home and dried,

and even extended occasionally to home and dried on the pig’s back.

Counties nearest London, especially Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire,

and Sussex

The farm lived on by a farmer who works several farms that he rents

Homely is used in Britain to mean ‘simple,’ ‘unpretentious,’ ‘nothing fancy.’ A

homely woman in Britain is a friendly, unassuming, domestic type It is quite

pos-sible to be attractive and homely in Britain Homely, in America, is

uncompliment-ary and means not good looking or even ugly.

homeminder, n house-sitter

Cf child-minder.

There is no precise equivalent in the U.S government for the UK Home Office

Its areas of responsibility include immigration, policies on crime, the police, the

issuing of passports for UK citizens, and community and race relations among

other things

Usually abbreviated to Hon For the use of this term in the system of British titles,

see Lord.

Honourable 175