| nab | Verb. 1. To steal. 2. To arrest. E.g."Charlie's been nabbed with his hand in the till again." |
| nab off (with something) | Verb. To steal or take (something). E.g."I'm not inviting Kath round here again, she's nabbed off with my lighter, again." |
| nackered | Adj. See 'knackered'. |
| nadgers | Noun. Testicles. |
| nads | Noun. Testicles. Derived from gonads. |
| naff | Adj. 1. Unfashionable. Thought to have originated with the language of Polari. [1960s] 2. Rubbishy, useless, of poor quality, unappealing. |
| naffed off | Adj. Annoyed, depressed. |
| naffing | Adv./Adj. Used as an intensive, such as 'fucking'. E.g."That naffing couple nextdoor were arguing last night and kept me awake until the small hours." |
| naff off (!) | Exclam. Get lost! Leave me alone! A euphemism for 'fuck off!'. [1950s] Verb. Go away. E.g."Will you naff off and leave me to get on with my work." [1950s] |
| nail | Verb. 1. To have sexual intercourse with. E.g."Did you nail that girl you were all over in the club last night?" 2. To seduce. |
| nan | Noun. Grandmother. {Informal} |
| nana | Noun. 1. Abb. of banana. 2. A fool or idiot. Jocular usage. |
| nancy | Noun. 1. An effeminate male. Derog. 2. A homosexual. Derog. Adj. Effeminate, weak. |
| nancy-boy | Noun. A homosexual male. Derog. |
| nang | Adj. Excellent, great. [Orig. Black/ Mainly London use] |
| nark | Noun. 1. An informer, particularly a police informer. From the Romany nak, meaning nose, in the sense of sniffing out information. Not from narcotics agent, a mid 1900s job and title, as often mistakenly
believed. [Mid 1800s] 2. A bad mood. E.g."He was in a total nark after getting yet another parking ticket." |
| narked | Adj. Annoyed, ill tempered. |
| narky | Adj. Annoyed, moody, upset. [Orig. Northern] |
| nash | Verb. To run away, to escape. [North-east use] |
| (a) nasty piece of work | Noun. An thoroughly unpleasant person. E.g."Don't lend that Nick Cotton any money, he's a nasty piece of work, and you'll never get it back." |
| natch | Adv. Naturally, of course. Abbreviated form of naturally. |
| natter | Verb. To chatter, to talk informally. {Informal} |
| natty | Adj. Smartly and stylishly dressed. |
| naughty bits | Noun. A coy euphemism for the genitals. |
| nause | Noun. An annoying or irritating, person or thing. From the S.E. nauseous/nauseating |
| nause (something) up | Verb. Mess up, ruin. E.g."The game was going well until Roger naused it up and gave them a penalty in the last minute." |
| neat | Adj. A general term of approval, such as excellent, 'cool'. [Orig. U.S.] |
| neb | Noun. 1. Nose. [Scottish /North-east /Yorks use] 2. A look at, a nosy at (something). E.g."I'm going to the museum to have a neb at that new dinosuar exhibition."[Scottish /North-east /Yorks use] Verb. To look at, have a nosy at (something). E.g."Do your own homework and stop nebbing at mine, cos the teacher will know you've cheated." [Scottish /North-east /Yorks use] |
| nebby | Adj. Nosey (or nosy). From 'neb'. [North-east/Scottish use?] |
| neck | Verb. 1. To kiss passionately. {Informal} 2. To swallow (something), imbibe, drink. E.g."Oh Jesus! I'm well hungover; I necked nine pints last night." |
| ned | Noun. A young, poorly educated, working class person, usually male, who dresses in casual sportswear. Derog. [Orig. Scottish] |
| needle | Verb. To make jibes at, to irritate. {Informal} |
| needle dick | Noun. 1. A small penis. 2. A man with a small penis. Derog. |
| neek | Noun. An intelligent but socially inept person. A cross between 'nerd' and 'geek'. |
| nellie | Noun. 1. An effeminate or homosexual male. Derog. 2. A feeble, soft person. Derog. * Also spelt nelly. |
| Nelson (Mandela) | Noun. A drink of Stella, a lager produced by Stella Artois. Rhyming slang on stella. Nelson Mandela, a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and political leader, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 |
| Neptune's kiss | Noun. The splash, when defecating, that occasionally hits one's anus. |
| nerd | Noun. 1. An imbecile, contemptible person. Derog. [U.S. 1950s.] 2. An intelligent, obsessive and often socially inept person, typically thought of as boring or dull. The expression is often associated with technically minded computer users. Derog. [Orig. U.S.] |
| nerdy | Adj. In the manner of a 'nerd', see above. |
| nerk | Noun. A fool or objectionable person. |
| nerve | Noun. Audacity, impudence. Especially in have a nerve. E.g."She's got a nerve, complaining about being poor when she buys so many designer clothes." {Informal} |
| nesh | Adj. 1. Over-sensitive to cold, when applied to a person. E.g."I suppose you want me to turn the fire on, being so nesh." 2. Cold, with respect to the weather. E.g."Put your coat on Sam, it's nesh outside." 3. Being easily scared, overly timid, feeble. |
| Netflix and chill | Vrb. phrs. Euphemism for having sexual intercourse. [Orig. U.S. Late 2000s] |
| net-head | Noun. A person obsessed with using the internet. [Orig. U.S. 1990s] |
| nethers | Noun. A euphemism for the genitals. An abbreviation of nether regions - underworld. E.g."If I hadn't stepped back at the last moment he would have kicked me in the nethers." |
| nettie | Noun. A toilet. [Newcastle/North-East use] |
| neves | Noun. The number seven. Backslang. Mainly heard within the world of betting, and means 7-1 in tic-tac, the sign language used by bookmakers at racecourses. [Mid 1800s] |
| newb | Noun. See 'newbie'. Also 'noob'. |
| newbie | Noun. A person new to an activity, a novice, a beginner; especially such a person with respect to computers and the Internet. |
| newingtons | Noun. The stomach. Rhyming slang for guts, from Newington Butts, a road in South London. |
| newsy | Noun. 1. A shop that sells newspapers and magazines. An abb. of newsagents. 2. A newspaper. |
| Newtons | Noun. Teeth. Manchester rhyming slang derived from Newton Heath, a district in Manchester. Cf. 'Hampsteads'. |
| nibbles | Noun. Small snack type food, especially when eaten before a meal or with drinks. {Informal} |
| nice one! | Exclam. A general expression of approval. |
| nick | Verb. 1. To arrest, to detain. E.g."Right Mr Hall, please step out of the car, you're nicked for speeding." 2. To steal. E.g."Before I got arrested, and sent to prison, I spent 5 years nicking from people's homes every night." 3. To take, to have. E.g."Can I nick a cigarette until later? I'll buy a packet when I get my wages." Noun. 1. A police station, especially one with cells. 2. A prison. Adj. Quality, standard. Usually heard in the expressions, good nick or bad nick. E.g. "For that much money, you'd expect a second hand car to be in good nick." |
| nicker | Noun. One pound sterling. Also spelt 'knicker'. {Informal} |
| niff | Noun. A bad smell. {Informal} |
| nifty | Adj. 1. Stylish. E.g."The car's looking loads more nifty with that rear spoiler and go-faster stripe." {Informal} 2. Quick and agile. {Informal} |
| nig | Noun. A new recruit in the army. Acronym of new in green. [Military use] |
| nigga | Noun. A form of address used between Blacks, and an alternative 'empowering' variation to the offensive but standard English nigger. Contentiously adopted and used within parts of the Black community. See Wikipedia. [Black use. Orig. U.S. 1980s] |
| niggly | Adj. Peevish, bad tempered. {Informal} |
| nig nog | Noun. An non-white person, black or asian. Derog./Offens. [1950s] |
| nimps | Adj. Easy, simple. [Liverpool use] |
| nimrod | Noun. An idiot, a socially inept person. [Orig. U.S.] |
| nincompoop | Noun. An idiot, a foolish person. {Informal} |
| ninny | Noun. A foolish person. {Informal} |
| nip | Verb. To go quickly, often with the implication of returning soon. E.g."He nipped to the shops and brought another bottle of wine." Noun. Abb. of nipple. |
| Nip | Noun. A person from Japan. Taken from Nipponese, meaning Japanese. Offens. |
| nipper | Noun. A child or young adolescent. {Informal} |
| nippy | Adj. 1. Of the weather, cold, chilly. {Informal} 2. Quick, nimble, easy to manoeuvre. E.g."You need a nippy car in the city centre." {Informal} |
| nish | Pron./Adv. Nothing. |
| nit | Noun. A stupid person. Abb. of nitwit. |
| nithered | Adj. Feeling very cold, frozen. [North-East and N. Yorkshire use.] |
| nitwit | Noun. A stupid, foolish or silly person. {Informal} |
| nix | Adj./Adv. No, not, none. |
| nob * | Noun. 1. A penis. 2. An idiot, an objectionable person. 3. A person of wealth and high social standing, a member of the upper-classes. Verb. To have sexual intercourse. * Also, and more commonly spelt 'knob'. |
| nob about/around | Verb. To idle away time, to mess about, to waste time. E.g."We spent the weekend nobbing about and relaxing." |
| nob all | Noun. Nothing, nought. E.g."We arrived after a tiring 10 hour journey and they gave us nob all to eat and drink!" [Northern use] |
| nob-arse | Noun. A general term of abuse. |
| nobbing | Noun. An act of sexual intercourse. Also 'knobbing'. |
| nobble | Verb. To tamper with, to damage. E.g."We were nobbled before the race began and came last." |
| nobbut | Phrs. Nothing but. E.g."There's nobbut sun and sand in the desert." [Lancs/Yorks use. Dialect] |
| nobby | Adj. 1. Elegant, aristocratic, reflective of the style of the wealthy, extravagant. 2. Idiotic, foolish. E.g."It was a nobby thing to do in light of the fact that your boss was in the same room." |
| Nobby no mates | Noun. A person without friends. Derog. Cf. 'Norman (no mates)' and 'Billy (no mates)' |
| Nobby Stiles | Noun. Haemorrhoids. Rhyming slang on piles. Nobby Stiles, English footballer, known for mainly playing for Manchester United and in the 1966 England World Cup winning team. [1960s] |
| nobhead | Noun. An idiot, a contemptible person. Less common spelling of 'knob-head'. |
| nob jockey | Noun. A homosexual male. Also 'knob-jockey'. Derog. Cf. 'sausage jockey' |
| nob rot | Noun. Venereal disease. |
| no cop | Phrs. Not good, of no value. See 'cop' (adj). Cf. 'any cop'. |
| nodder | Noun. A condom. [North-West/Merseyside use] |
| nod off | Verb. To fall asleep. |
| noggin | Noun. The head. E.g."Use your noggin and think next time." |
| no great shakes | Phrs. Not very good. E.g."I enjoyed the film but as a classic, it's no great shakes." |
| no joy! | Exclam. expressing failure, or dissatisfaction. E.g."So how was your driving exam?" "No joy!" {Informal} |
| no kidding ?/! | Exclam. 1. Is that the truth? 2. That's the absolute truth! |
| no mark | Noun. A nonentity, a person of no worth. [Liverpool use] |
| nom nom | Noun. Food. Also as noms noms. Adj. Expressing the ravenous eating of something delicious. From the sound one makes when eating in this way. |
| nonce | Noun. 1. A sexual deviant, having been convicted of a sex crime against children. 2. An objectionable or contemptible person, by extension of the definition in noun 1. |
| nonce about/around | Verb. To idle away time, to mess around. E.g."We spent all day Sunday just noncing around, eating and watching TV." |
| noob | Noun. A novice, a beginner. Also as 'newb'. |
| noodle | Noun. 1. The head. E.g."Oh God my noodle hurts. I really mustn't drink so much next time." 2. An idiot or imbecile. Derog. Verb. To improvise when playing a musical instrument, or play one without serious intent. Often as noodling (noun). E.g."He spends his evening noodling on his guitar." |
| no oil painting | Phrs. Of a person, not attractive. |
| nookie | Noun. Sexual intercourse or it can simply be sexual activity in general. Considered fairly inoffensive. Also spelt nooky. |
| nooner | Noun. 1. A lunchtime act of sexual intercourse. 2. A lunchtime alcoholic drink. |
| no pressure! | Exclam. Don't worry about making a mistake, there's no expectation of you. Usually said ironically with humour, so implying actually there is lots of pressure. E.g."OK, we're 1-0 down with 2 minutes left in the match and we have a penalty. No pressure!" |
| no probs! | Exclam. No problem! That was no trouble at all! |
| norks | Noun. Female breasts. (Orig. Aust?) |
| Norman (no mates) | Noun. A socially inept person, and consequently one without friends. Derog. Cf. 'Billy no mates'. |
| north | Noun. Mouth. Rhyming slang on North and South. |
| northern monkey | Noun. A person from the North. Vaguely, anywhere north of Birmingham. Derog. |
| nose-bag | Noun. Food or a meal. Derived from the method of feeding working horses via a bag of hay strung from its head and neck. |
| nose blow | Noun. A handkerchief or tissue for the purposes of wiping one's nose. |
| nose candy | Noun. Cocaine. [Orig. U.S.] |
| nose-rag | Noun. A handkerchief. |
| nose wipe | Noun. A handkerchief or tissue for the purposes of wiping one's nose. |
| nosey parker | Noun. An overly inquisitive person. {Informal}. |
| nosh | Noun. Food. [Orig. German/Yiddish. 1900s] Verb. 1. To eat. 2. To fellate. See 'nosh-off'. |
| noshery | Noun. An eating establishment, cafe, restaurant or snack bar. From 'nosh' (noun). |
| no shit! | Exclam. Exclamation of surprise, usually ironic or sarcastic. [Orig. U.S.] |
| no shit, Sherlock! | Exclam. Exclamation of surprise, usually ironic or sarcastic. [Orig. U.S.] |
| nosh off | Verb. To fellate. Derived from 'nosh' (verb) meaning to eat. E.g."She always noshed me off before I went to work; it helped me stick with that job for more than 5 years." [1990s] |
| nosh-up | Noun. A good meal or feast. |
| not all there | Phrs. Insane or eccentric. |
| not a patch on | Phrs. Not nearly as good, not comparable. E.g."The movie wasn't a patch on the book." {Informal} |
| not a sausage | Phrs. Absolutely nothing. Derived from the Cockney rhyming slang sausage and mash, meaning cash, thus originally 'not having a sausage' indicated having no money. |
| not backward at coming forward | Phrs. Of a person, coming straight to the point, brash. |
| not bad | Phrs. Satisfactory, fairly good, passable. Also not so bad. E.g."Yes he's not bad for a cricket player." {Informal} |
| not batting on a full wicket | Phrs. Eccentric, insane, odd. |
| not cricket | Phrs. Unacceptable or unfair behaviour. E.g."I mean, it's just not cricket is it? Knowing that a meal contained beef fat and not telling a vegetarian until after they'd eaten it." {Informal} |
| not feel too clever | Vrb phrs. To feel ill, feel rotten, be unwell. Also not look too clever, meaning to look unwell. E.g."I'm not feeling too clever so I'm going skip the meal and go to bed." {Informal} |
| not give a flying fuck | Vrb phrs. To not care one little bit. E.g."I don't give a flying fuck if your mother says we should save our money, we're going on holiday and we're going to enjoy ourselves! We'll worry about the bills later." |
| not give a fuck | Vrb phrs. To not care at all, the absolute nonchalance. The 'fuck' can be replaced with any number of expletives, such as 'shit', or as below with 'monkey' or 'toss'. |
| not give a kipper's dick | Vrb phrs. To not be bothered, an expression of indifference. E.g."I couldn't give a kipper's dick who you marry, as long as I get an invite to the wedding." [Orig W. Midlands use?] |
| not give a monkey's | Vrb phrs. To be totally disinterested. E.g."I don't give a monkeys if I lose my job, it's the most boring one I ever had and the pay's rubbish too." |
| not give a stuff | Vrb phrs. Not care one little bit, usually expressing complete indifference. E.g."I don't give a stuff if you come with us or not, I wont be talking to you!" |
| not give a toss | Vrb phrs. To not care one bit, to be contemptuously dismissive. |
| not half (!) | Exclam. Certainly! Absolutely! Definitely! Adv. 1. Extremely, often used to mean the reverse of what is being implied, so not half bad means good. E.g."She doesn't half annoy me with her endless gossip." 2. Nearly, almost an acceptable amount. E.g."The film wasn't half long enough but, what there was, was very enjoyable nevertheless." |
| not have all one's chairs at home | Phrs. Eccentric, insane, crazy. E.g."He obviously doesn't have all his chairs at home, otherwise he would have said something sooner." |
| not have a pot to piss in | Vrb phrs. To be very poor, not wealthy. Prior to plumbed, indoor toilets people would use a chamber pot, so not having a pot would mean you were indeed very poor. E.g."I haven't got a pot to piss in so don't expect me to come out drinking at the weekend." |
| not have the foggiest | Vrb phrs. To have no idea. A contraction of not have the foggiest notion. E.g."I haven't the foggiest where she's going drinking tonight, what am I, her social secretary?" {Informal} |
| nothing to write home about | Phrs. Unexciting, very average. |
| not know one's arse from one's elbow | Vrb phrs. To be ignorant, naive or plain stupid. |
| not much cop | Phrs. Not good, poor quality, worthless. E.g."We went to see that new Brad Pitt movie, but it wasn't much cop." |
| not on | Phrs.Unacceptable, impossible. Also as just not on. E.g."No matter how poor you are, breaking into people's homes is just not on." |
| not one's cup of tea | Phrs. Not really to one's taste. E.g."I'll tell you what's not my cup of tea, walking 15 miles up a mountain in the pouring rain." |
| not one's cuppa | Phrs. Not to one's taste. A shortening of 'not one's cup of tea'. |
| not on your nellie! | Exclam. No way! Not on your life! A shortening of the rhyming slang not on your nellie duff, where nellie duff rhymes on puff which refers to life, hence not on your life. [1940s] |
| not the brightest crayon in the box | Phrs. Not clever, of low intelligence. |
| not worth a toss | Phrs. Absolutely worthless. |
| nous | Noun. Common-sense. E.g."If she had any nous, she wouldn't have stayed out until 5am getting drunk knowing she had a driving test at 10.30am." {Informal} |
| no way! | Exclam. 1. Absolutely not! A strong denial. 2. You must be joking! Often responded to with 'way!' |
| no way José! | Exclam. 1. Exclamation of surprise. 2. Not a chance! Never! |
| nowt | Noun. Nothing. E.g."There's nowt wrong with it, it works fine, honest!" [Orig. Scottish /Northern dialect] {Informal} |
| now then! | Exclam. A form of greeting. [North-east /Cumbrian use] |
| nowty | Adj. Moody, angry. |
| nuclear sub | Noun. A pub (public house), a bar. Rhyming slang. |
| nuddy | Adj. Naked. See 'in the nuddy'. |
| nuff | Adv./Adj. Abb. and mispelling of enough. [Orig. Black W.I.] |
| nuff said | Phrs. There is no need to say more, it is understood. An abbreviated form of enough said. |
| nuffin | Pron. Nothing, zero. Also nuffink. {Informal} |
| nugget | Noun. 1. A one pound coin (one pound sterling). 2. An idiot, fool. |
| nuke | Verb. 1. To cook something on a very high heat and quickly. Commonly used with reference to food cooked in a microwave. 2. To burn something during cooking. |
| number | Noun. A cannabis or marijuana cigarette. [Orig. U.S.] |
| number two(s) | Noun. A euphemism for an act of defecation. |
| numbnuts | Noun. An idiot. Derogatory but often jocular. [Orig. U.S.] |
| numero uno * | Noun. 1. The best. 2. The top person, the most important person, the boss. [Orig. U.S.] * literally number one in Spanish and Italian |
| numpty | Noun. A fool, idiot. Also spelt numbty and numptie. [Orig. Scottish] |
| nunty | Adj. Usually of clothes or dress sense, unfashionable, unstylish, old fashioned. [Grimsby use] |
| nunga nungas | Noun. Women's breasts. Expression created by the author Louise Rennison and first used in her book 'It's OK, I'm wearing really big knickers' [2001] |
| nut | Verb. To headbutt. Noun. 1. An insane or eccentric person. 2. A testicle. Usually in the plural, see 'nuts'. |
| nutcase | Noun. A lunatic, an eccentric. |
| nutjob | Noun. An idiot, crazy person. |
| nutmeg | Noun. A skilful move in football (soccer) where a player with the ball gets past an opponent by kicking it between their legs. Verb. To complete the action of the noun, nutmeg, above. |
| nuts (!) | Noun. The testicles. Adj. 1. Mad, insane. 2. Enthusiastic, obsessed. E.g."He buys her flowers every week, makes all her meals, he's nuts about her." Exclam. An exclamation of defiance or annoyance. |
| nutsack | Noun. The scrotum. |
| nutter | Noun. Lunatic, idiot. |
| nutty | Adj. Mad, eccentric or a little crazy. |
| nyaff | Noun. A stupid, insignificant or contemptible person. [Scottish use] |