British terms

British terms used in the Harry Potter series are generally specific to British culture and may seem foreign to readers from other countries. At times, terms may even have been changed in certain translations to more culture-appropriate terms.

A

 * Afters - Dessert.
 * Airing cupboard - A cupboard for airing linen and clothing. Similar to U.S. "linen closet."
 * Alice band - A hair band of the type worn by a young girl to hold her hair back from her face; from the way Alice wore her hair in Alice Through the Looking-Glass.
 * Arse - Butt or ass
 * Axminster - Short for "Axminster carpet" or "Axminster rug" - a carpet or rug with a soft tufted pile cut of a type originally (and apparently still) manufactured at Axminster in Devon, England.

B

 * Bad job - A waste of time, or a futile task.
 * Balaclava - A woolly covering for the head and neck. The name comes from the site of a battle in the Crimean War; soldiers wore this kind of gear.
 * Bandy-legged - (U.S.: bow-legged.). Hermione Granger's cat was described as being "bandy-legged".
 * Banger - A sausage, as in "bangers and mash". It is also slang for an old motorcar in a state of disrepair (US: beater).
 * Barking - Shortened form of "barking mad" or "barking crazy". Used for emphasis.
 * Barmaid - Also, Barman, a woman or man who serves drinks in a bar. (US: Bartender).
 * Barmy - Crazy, but suggests a silly rather than a dangerous kind of craziness. The word's older sense is "frothy"; "barm" is actually the froth on top of fermenting malt liquor.
 * Bath buns - Sweet bread rolls with crunchy sugar on top.
 * Bathing-costume - (U.S.: swimsuit; bathing suit.)
 * Battlements - The 'teeth' shaped parts on top of a castle.
 * Bauble - A Christmas tree ornament shaped like a ball and made of coloured glass or similar material.
 * Bedside cabinet - A small chest of drawers for next to the bed (U.S.: nightstand).
 * Bell-pull - A cord inside a house which, when pulled, causes a bell to ring in another part of the house to get someone else's attention.
 * Berk - Idiot, objectionable person. The word is actually derived from a very crude and offensive bit of rhyming slang, but in this form is considered to be inoffensive.
 * Besom - A woman or girl, but this term is derogatory (though it can be used in a joking way). When used like this, it often appears in a phrase such as "old besom" (for an older woman) or "little besom" (for a young woman or girl). The word is also an old word for broom.
 * Biscuit - US: cookie.
 * Bin - Also binned, bin bag and dust bin. A bin is a trashcan, so if something is "binned" it is thrown away in the trash. A "bin bag" is a trash bag.
 * Black beetle - Cockroach.
 * Black pudding - A sausage-shaped dish made with blood and suet (animal fat) enclosed in a wrapper made from a floury batter.
 * Bleeder - A stupid, unpleasant, or contemptible person or thing.
 * Blighter - An annoying thing or person.
 * Blimey - A word used to show surprise, the British equivalent of "Oh, man" or "Wow".
 * Bloke - A man.
 * Bloody - A swear word used to give emphasis, as in "bloody hell". Also, bloomin' or blooming.
 * Boater - A flat-topped, hardened straw hat, with a brim. Often worn as part of the uniform of public 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.
 * Bogey - Booger. A British slang word for "snot", also bogies.
 * Bog-standard - Common, ordinary, with no frills.
 * Bollocks- means "nonsense", an expletive following a minor accident or misfortune, or an adjective to mean "poor quality" or "useless". Similarly, the common phrases "Bollocks to this!" or "That's a load of old bollocks " generally indicates contempt for a certain task, subject or opinion.
 * Bonfire 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 organised 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.
 * Bonnet - Referring to an automobile hood; it can also mean a hat.
 * Boot - Referring to an automobile trunk.
 * Bottom-of-the-table - Coming in last place in a competition.
 * Bowler - A small hat with a round top, used to be popular business wear in London.
 * Boxing Day - The first weekday after Christmas day, so called because it used to be traditional to give Christmas-boxes (small presents or tips) on that day to people such as employees of firms providing regular services. (In modern usage the first day rather than the first weekday after Christmas Day is often referred to as Boxing Day instead.)
 * Brew - Tea; "do me a brew" is to make and serve a cup of tea.
 * Budgie - Also budgerigar, a small parrot-like bird kept as a pet, which in the U.S. is called a parakeet.
 * Bung - Throw or give.
 * Bunk - As in "do a bunk", to run away, flee. Another version is "do a runner".

C

 * Camp-bed - U.S.: cot. The prefix "camp" used in this way means "folding and portable". In the U.K., a "cot" is what people in the U.S. would refer to as a crib - that is, a bed for a baby.
 * Catapult - U.S.: slingshot. Winged catapults were seen in the Room of Requirement in 1996.
 * Catherine wheel - A firework which, while detonating, rotates like a pinwheel.
 * Cheek - Also cheeked and cheeky. "Cheek" means "insolence", so "cheeked" is "sassed, bad-mouthed".
 * Chipolata - A type of fairly thin, pork sausage. The name is from the Italian for an onion dish (from cipolla = onion).
 * Chips - Long cuts of deep fried potato, usually thick cut resembling American steak fries. (org. UK phrase - fish and chips).
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Chuffed - Pleased, happy.
 * Cistern - In general, this means any artificial reservoir for storing water, but the books use it mainly to refer to what in the U.S. would be called a toilet tank.
 * Codswallop - Nonsense. Untruths.
 * Comprehensive - Short for "comprehensive school", what in the U.S. would be called a public school.
 * Conk - Slang for "nose".
 * Cookery - U.S.: cooking. What in the U.S. is called a "cookbook" is referred to in the U.K. as a "cookery book".
 * Copse - A small stand of trees and undergrowth, particularly if it is grown for periodic cutting.
 * Corking - Something at its best, usually said without pronunciation of the ending.
 * Cosy - Also, cozy, a cloth covering (often padded or quilted) for something.
 * Cotton on - U.S.: "catch on", "get it", understand.
 * 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.
 * Crack on - Keep going, continue.
 * Crisp - U.S.: potato chip.
 * 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.
 * Cupboard - Also, cupboardlike, U.S.: closet. "Cupboardlike" means "like a closet".
 * Cuppa - A cup of tea.

D

 * Dead - Really; common in certain British dialects, particularly in the Midlands (i.e. around Birmingham). For instance, dead clumsy, dead depressing, dead helpful, dead sure or dead useful.
 * Dobbin - A pet name for a farm horse, or for any horse used as a working animal to pull carts and the like.
 * Dodgy - Something that cannot be trusted.
 * Doss - A slang term for a place to sleep; by extension, any easy task offering a lot of opportunity for being lazy.
 * Dozy - While this can be used to mean "drowsy" or lazy, it's often used to mean thick.
 * Draught - U.S.: draft (both in the senses of "air current" and of "a quantity of something to be drunk").
 * Dresser - A cupboard or set of shelves for dishes or kitchen utensils.
 * Dummy - Either a mannequin or a pacifier.

F

 * Fairy lights - Christmas light strings. This is a play on words, since Flitwick decorates his classroom with Christmas lights - "fairy lights" - that are real, live fairies.
 * Fen - An alkaline marsh, distinguishing it from a bog which is always acidic.
 * Flap - A state of confusion or panic. A colloquialism, probably related to the flapping of the hands like wings.
 * Flat - U.S.: apartment.
 * Flutter - (Adj) Excited or trembling, with a fluttering heart, due to some sort of shock.
 * Flutter - (verb) Bet - "Fancy a flutter" means "Would you care to make a bet"
 * Football - U.S.: soccer.
 * Fortnight - Unit of time equivalent to fourteen nights.
 * Fringe - U.S.: Bangs (hair). The term 'bangs' in the U.K. has risqu"eacute; connotations and is not used to refer to hair.
 * Frock-coat - A man's double-breasted long-skirted coat not cut away in front; now worn chiefly on formal occasions.
 * Fug - A thick, stuffy smelly atmosphere.

G

 * Galumph - To gallop or prance. The word was created by Lewis Carroll in the book Through the Looking Glass.
 * Gâteau - A large rich layer cake, where some of the layers are made of cream or fruit.
 * Geroff - Colloquial form of "Get off", which in turn means "leave me alone" or "let go."
 * Git - Mildly derogatory, meaning a foolish or contemptible person.
 * Gorn - Gone.

H

 * Hamper - A large basket or wickerwork packing-case with a cover used to pack or transport food and/or drink (what in the U.S. would be called a picnic basket). By extension, the term is also used to refer to a present of a consignment of food in any type of case or box.
 * Have a go - U.S.: Have a try.
 * Have done - A shortened version of "have done it," as in, "he couldn't have done it."
 * Haversack - A bag or backpack for carrying food on an outdoor trip.
 * Having kittens - Stressing out. Specifically, Molly Weasley was "having kittens" over her family's welfare.
 * Headlamp - U.S.: headlight.
 * Holiday - Any vacation or time off the usual work schedule. In the U.S., this term is only used for specific calendar days, such as Thanksgiving. Otherwise, "vacation" is used.
 * Holidaymaker - Someone on holiday, i.e., on vacation.
 * Hosepipe - Garden hose.
 * 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. See Peppermint Humbugs.

J

 * Jacket potato - A potato cooked in its skin.
 * Jam - US: Jelly
 * Jelly - a dessert made with sweetened gelatin, US: Jello
 * Jumper - A warm shirt, sometimes knitted. Specifically, Molly Weasley knits jumpers for her family every Christmas. This was changed to "sweater" in the U.S. version, due to cultural differences (in the US, a jumper is a dress).

K

 * Keen - Enthusiastic; keen as in hankering to get on with something.
 * Kerfuffle - A commotion or fuss.
 * Kip - Sleep. Derived from kip-house, which is a small, cheap lodging or hostel.
 * Kipper - A salt-cured dried fish (usually a herring), sometimes served for breakfast in parts of the U.K.
 * 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.
 * Knickerbockers - Short pants.
 * Knickers - Underwear, usually a female's.
 * Knobbly - Bumpy.

L

 * Lie-in - "Having a lie-in" means "sleeping in", sleeping late.
 * Lift - U.S.: An elevator. Ironically, the meanings of 'lift' and 'elevator' are reversed between the U.S. and the U.K.; 'elevator' in the U.K. refers to what in the U.S. would be called a 'lift' put into a shoe.
 * Loo - U.S.: restroom or toilet.
 * Lurgy - Usually referred to in the phrase "the dreaded lurgy" but which has come to mean any unspecified minor illness. The term comes from a (non-existent) highly infectious disease frequently referred to in the British 1950s - 1960s radio comedy series the Goon Show.

M

 * Mad - Crazy. "Mad as a hatter", refers to the hatter in Alice in Wonderland, because the hatter was crazy.
 * Manky - Bad, inferior, defective, dirty.
 * Market town - A town where a market - what a lot of people in the U.S. would probably think of as a farmer's market - is held regularly. Several surrounding villages would be connected with a market town, so that farmers in the villages would go to the market town to buy and sell produce or livestock.
 * Marmalade - A clear, jellylike preserve made from the pulp and rind of fruits (especially citrus fruits).
 * Marquee - A very large tent, especially when used for public events like fairs.
 * Mate - Friend.
 * Matron - A woman managing the care of the sick at a school. In a hospital, this title refers to the woman (if she is a woman) in charge of the nursing staff.
 * Mental - U.S.: crazy, insane.
 * Mince - Very finely diced meat, sometimes referred to as mincemeat. Not to be confused with the quite different substance also known as mincemeat that is used in Mince pie.
 * Mince pie - A small round pie filled with mincemeat (in this sense a mixture of sweet stuff - sugar, suet, and/or spices - and fruits such as currants, raisins, chopped apples) traditionally eaten at Christmas.
 * Musical statues - U.S.: game known as "Freeze" or "Statues" (not the same thing as musical chairs, though similar as both games are played to music). In musical statues players dance around foolishly and must "freeze" like a statue when the music stops.

N

 * Newsreader - Anchor person of a news show on television.
 * Nicking - Stealing.
 * Nosh - Food; grub. In the U.S., this term means a snack rather than a full meal.
 * Nutter - Crazy person.

O

 * Oaf - A stupid, uncultured, or clumsy person. Draco Malfoy refers to Rubeus Hagrid as an "oaf".
 * Outhouse - U.S.: outbuilding, such as a garden shed. Not intended to refer to an outdoor latrine!
 * 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'.

P

 * Pants - Underwear, underpants, briefs. "Pants" as known in the U.S. would be referred to as "trousers".
 * Pastille - A kind of hard candy; can also be used to refer to something like a cough drop.
 * Pasty - 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. See also Pumpkin Pasties.
 * Peaky - Peaked, sickly-looking.
 * Peckish - Hungry.
 * Pepper pot - U.S: pepper shaker.
 * Pillock - A stupid person or a fool.
 * Plaster - "Plaster" used in this sense is roughly equivalent to a bandage or band-aid, often with some sort of medicine in/on it.
 * Points - Railroad Track switches.
 * Post - Mail.
 * Pot plant - Potted plant, a plant grown in a pot as opposed to in the ground.
 * Pouffe - A low, soft, stuffed seat (possibly in the form of a beanbag, ottoman, or couch).
 * Prang - To wreck an automobile. Synonymous with "total" in the U.S.
 * Prat - Literally, backside. Specifically, Fred and George Weasley maintain only prats become prefects.
 * Public school - What in the U.S. would be termed a private school; it's "public" in the sense that the kids are attending a school rather than having a private tutor at home. See also comprehensive.
 * Pudding - The dessert course of a meal. "On top of the fridge stood tonight's pudding."
 * Punt - (noun) A long, narrow, flat-bottomed boat used on inland waterways (like the Isis river that flows through Oxford). It's a kind of pole-boat. As a verb, "to punt" means to push a boat along by a long pole; the punter pushes the pole against the bottom of the river to move the boat.

R

 * Rabbiting - "To rabbit" means to talk incessantly or gossip idly.
 * Rock cake - A kind of fruitcake. It's supposed to look something like a rock, and even to have a hard surface, but not to resemble a rock quite as closely as Hagrid's version seems to.
 * Row - As a noun, can refer to any loud noise or commotion, but when referring to something people do means a very heated quarrel; the verb sense means "quarrel, argue". It's worth mentioning that "row" used in these senses rhymes with "cow", not with "low".
 * Rubber- U.S.: eraser.
 * Rubbish - Nonsense, craziness. Also the word used to address disposed items, known in the U.S. as trash or junk.
 * Rucksack - U.S.: backpack.
 * Ruddy - 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).
 * Ruff - A disc-like, starched frilly collar, popular in the 16th century (such as worn by Elizabeth I and Shakespeare in typical portraits).
 * Runner bean - U.S.: string bean.

S

 * Sack - Firing someone. "Being sacked" would refer to losing one's job.
 * Satsuma - A variety of tangerine with a sharp taste, originally from Japan.
 * Scarper - To run away.
 * Sellotape - Cellophane tape. In the U.S., we'd say "Scotch tape". The name of the wizarding equivalent, Spello-tape, is a play on this, a pun that is lost in translation for U.S. readers.
 * 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.
 * Shifty - A look.
 * Shirty - Annoyed; angry. Probably from "to get someone's shirt out," to annoy, or "to keep one's shirt on," to keep from being annoyed.
 * Skirting board - U.S.: baseboard. A board placed parallel to the floor at the base of an interior wall, serving as edging.
 * Skive - To avoid doing one's task or duty; to "skive off" is to skip, as in skipping classes at school.
 * Smarmy - Self-satisfied, conceited; ingratiating in an oily way.
 * Snog - To kiss passionately, to make out.
 * Spare - Also "going spare". A colloquial phrase, meaning either going crazy with worry or getting really agitated/angry.
 * Spotted dick - A suet pudding made with currants or raisins.
 * Starkers - Stark naked.
 * 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 and appear on the menu of most British fish and chip shops.
 * Swot - As a verb, "swot" means to study hard; as a noun, "swot" refers to somebody who does this. Hermione and Percy could both be called swots.

T

 * Take the mickey - Tease or ridicule.
 * Taradiddle - Pretentious nonsense.
 * Tea - Aside from the drink, it's an afternoon snack time.
 * Tea cosy - Also "tea cozy". A cozy made to put over a tea pot for insulation, to help keep it hot.
 * Telephone box - Telephone booth.
 * Term - A division of an academic school year. Synonymous with semesters in the United States.
 * Thick - Stupid.
 * Timetable - Schedule. At Hogwarts, each student is given his or her timetable at the beginning of the year, specifying the times of the various classes the student is taking.
 * Tinned - Canned.
 * Titchy - Tiny.
 * Toerag - A worthless, despicable person. This comes from an older sense referring specifically to vagrants, which in turn comes from, well, a person who uses a rag wrapped around the foot instead of a sock.
 * Torch - A flashlight
 * Tosh - Nonsense.
 * Trainers - Running shoes. In the U.S., "sneakers".
 * Treacle - 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.
 * 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).
 * Tripe - The stomach of a cow or ox, eaten as a dish. Tripe is also used to mean nonsense as well as the wonderful gliding food.
 * Tuck in - U.S.: chow down, eat heartily.
 * Turf out - U.S.: throw out.

U

 * Underground - Below ground train system. In the U.S., "subway".

W

 * Waffle - Originally (when referring to a small dog) to yap or bark - the word "waff"'s sound imitates a puppy's bark. When referring to the noises people make, the word has come to mean empty or aimless talk or writing, and can be used as a noun to describe the sense-free noises themselves or as a verb to mean the act of producing them.
 * Waistcoat - U.S.: vest. Note that this is not just the kind of vest worn with a formal suit, but any kind of vest.
 * Wardrobe - A large piece of furniture with a door, used for storing clothes and fitted with rails, shelves, hooks and the like, sometimes with a mirror on the inside of the door. Wardrobes tend to be used in places that don't have built-in closets.
 * Wart plasters - A plaster that is medicated to treat warts.
 * Wellington boots - Rubber boots; rain boots. The adjective "wellingtoned" is used to describe someone wearing such boots.
 * Wheeze - A joke, especially a joke that has been repeated a great deal. Often referred to in the phrase 'old wheeze'. See Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
 * Whelk - 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.
 * Whinging - Persistent complaining; can also be spelled "whining".
 * Windscreen - Windshield (part of an automobile).
 * Wind [someone] up - To tease someone, especially by deliberately misleading the person about something.
 * Wing mirror - A rear-view mirror projecting from the side of a motor vehicle.
 * Wireless - A radio.
 * Wizard - (adj) Apart from the obvious (and in Muggle English, archaic) meaning of "associated with wizards or wizardry", this is also a British slang term for "excellent."
 * Wonky - Unsteady, shaky, unreliable. This might be used to describe something that's so badly put together that it's about to fall down.
 * Wotcher - A greeting, shortened form of "what cheer!" Also spelled "Wotcha".