Read Dictionary of Contemporary Slang Online
Authors: Tony Thorne
a member of a youth cult of the 1950s characterised by a particular style of dress (a long drape or waisted jacket worn with
drainpipe
trousers and thick crepe-soled
brothel-creeper
shoes) and music (jitterbug from about 1948, rock 'n' roll from 1956). Teddy boys, mainly working class in origin, combined a rough simula-crum of Edwardian dress (hence their name: they were sometimes jocularly referred to as
Edwardians
) with the adoption of American teenage hairstyles and music.
ted
2
, teddy
n British
the penis. Rhyming slang from Teddington Lock:
cock
, recorded by
Viz
comic in 2002. It is a synonym for
Hampton Wick
(the next-door Thames-side community).
teef
vb
to steal, rob. A term from Caribbean speech, also heard in the UK since 2000, especially among younger speakers.
teek
n
,
adj British
(someone or something that is) impossibly old
Teeks are a species of alien featuring in the
Star Wars
series, and in
Hinglish
, the Bollywood mixture of Indian and English,
teek
means healthy. But for UK youth, preferring to live in the eternal present, innocent of the ravages of age, the word is a slur for use when one is forced to refer â reluctantly and as rarely as possible â to anything to do with the older generation. Perhaps understandably there are very few expressions for older people (
rents
being one exception), or old-fashioned in general, in the teen lexicon. This offering comes from âantique', of course, but it doesn't mean agreeably retro or
old-skool cool
; it's only used for disapproval, specifically
dissing
anything and anyone more than a few months older than oneself, or going back more than a week or two in time.
Those nylon hoodies are so teek.
Miss Turpin is a fittie but Mr Collins is a teek.
teenybopper
n
a lively, fashionable teenager or pre-teenager. The word, originating in the USA sometime in the mid-1960s, began to be used in a condescending or derogatory sense in the 1970s and 1980s. (When used approvingly or neutrally in the 1970s, the term was often shortened to
bopper
.) The expression is composed of a diminutive form of teen(ager) and
bop
, meaning to dance or behave enthusiastically.
âThe Doors are a chance for all the little teenyboppers in the States to think they're digging something avant garde.'
(Mike Ratledge of the Soft Machine,
Oz
magazine, February 1969)
teeth
n pl British
bullets, ammunition for a firearm. In this sense the word, sometimes written and
pronounced 'teet', has been recorded in intercepts of communications between London gang members. It originated in Caribbean usage.
T.E.E.T.H.
phrase British
an item of doctors' slang, as written facetiously on a patients' notes. The letters stand for âtried everything else, try home-opathy' and imply a hopeless case or a specialist bereft of ideas.
teethe
vb American
to fellate. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.
tek
n British
a mobile phone, in the slang of prisoners and
chavs
tekkers
n British
technique, skill. The word is used, e.g., by DJs, dancers, skaters and gamers.
telephone
n See
talk on the big white
telephone
;
dog (and bone)
ten-pinter
n See
five-pinter
tent-pole
n
an erection
testiculate
vb British
âto talk about utter bollocks in an excited way flailing your arms above': influenced by gesticulate
TFS
phrase
âthanks for sharing'. The expression, also occurring in the form
TYFS
, âthank you for sharing'. is typically used ironically by a recipient of unwanted information.
thick, tick, tik
adj
attractive, physically well formed. A key term of appreciation in black speech, adopted by other speakers since 2000.
thicko, thickie
n British
an unintelligent, slow-witted person. Common terms, especially among children and adolescents, derived from the colloquial use of âthick' to denote someone cloddish and âdense'.
âI'm not some blinkin' thickie, I'm Billericay Dickie and I'm doin' very well.'
(“Billericay Dickie”, recorded by Ian Dury, 1977)
thing
n
a synonym for
scene
,
kick
,
vibe
or
trip
in the sense of main activity or preferred ambience. This item of raffish or
hip
usage (originating in the USA, probably in the 1940s) has become a well-established colloquialism in such phrases as âit's not really my thing'.
third leg
n
the penis. A variant of
middle leg
.
third peanut
n
the clitoris. The first two peanuts are the nipples. The term was posted on the b3ta website in 2004.
thiz, thizzle
n
the drug
ecstasy
Thora
n British
a third-class honours degree. The face-tious rhyming slang uses the first name of the late veteran comic actress, Thora Hird. It was reported in the
Guardian
guide to student slang in 2012.
Douglas
is an earlier synonym.
I really need to spend less time googling cute kittens or I'm going to get a Thora.
thrape
vb British
a.
to perform energetically and at full capacity
b.
to defeat (an opponent). The word seems to have originated in Midland and East Anglian dialect and is now used predominantly by middle-aged speakers.
thrash
n
1.
a wild celebration, dance or party. In this sense the word has been used since before World War II.
2.
a variety of very fast heavy metal music of the late 1980s, in the jargon of rock journalists and aficionados
threads
n
clothes. A usage which originated in the black-influenced
jive talk
of the 1930s in the USA. Like many similar Americanisms, it was imported into Britain and Australia with the youth culture of the 1960s. If used today the term is generally self-consciously
hip
, humorous or ironic.
âWide-boy or spiv, personified in Oliver Schmitz' film by Panic, an unprivileged South African black in loud threads and two-tone shoes.'
(
Independent
, 12 January 1988)
threepenny bits, the
n
an attack of diarrhoea. A rhyming expression for
the shits
. âThe tray-bits' and âthe tom-tits' are alternative versions; all are especially popular in Australian speech.
throat
n American
a
swot
, in
preppie
jargon. This is one of many synonyms used by US adolescents for a tedious, conscientious and/or unpopular fellow-student;
grind
,
squid
and
pencil geek
are others. This term probably derives from âcut-throat (competitor)'.
throne
n
a lavatory, toilet pedestal. A humorous synonym widely heard since before World
War II and still in use. (A âpotty throne' was a device formerly used for toilet training.)
He can't come to the phone right now â he's on the throne.
throne room
n
a lavatory, toilet. A humorous pun playing on the euphemism
throne
for a toilet pedestal and the room used by a sovereign for receiving formal audiences.
throttle pit
n Australian
a toilet. A vulgarism inspired by several expressions using the verb to âthrottle' as a synonym for defecation.
throw, throw up
n
,
vb
(to) vomit. Throw is a short form of synonyms such as throw up,
throw one's voice
, etc.
throw a Bennie
vb British
to lose control of oneself, become flustered or furious. The phrase, heard in the late 1990s, employs
Bennie
in the sense of a slow-witted or confused individual.
throw a flaky
vb British
to lose control of oneself, lose one's temper. This phrase has been heard since the 1960s, particularly in Scotland and the north of England.
throw a mental
vb American
to lose control of oneself, lose one's temper. A teenage and
Valley Girl
term of the early 1980s, the phrase with its variant form,
chuck a mental
, has become popular among British and Australian schoolchildren.
I totalled the car and Mom threw a mental.
throw a wobbly/wobbler
vb British
to suddenly behave irrationally or to have a temper tantrum. This phrase has become popular in Britain since the end of the 1970s, but dates from the 1950s. Its exact derivation is unclear, but may reflect simply an attack of shaking or quivering, or alternatively refer to throwing or bowling a ball in an erratic and confusing arc, or may refer to the loss of control when a wobbling wheel comes off, e.g., a wagon or a bicycle.
âCaroline's much calmer these days. She hasn't thrown a wobbly for ages.'
(Recorded, suburban housewife, London, 2003)
See also
wobbler
throwin' shapes
n
moving on the dancefloor in an angular fashion. An emblematic term in the lexicon of club culture since 2000.
throw one's toys/teddy out of the pram
vb
to have a tantrum, invariably referring to an adult overreacting
throw one's voice
vb Australian
to vomit. One of many colourful synonyms originating in Australia in the late 1950s. Since the 1970s the expression is often shortened simply to
throw
.
throw-up
n American
a piece of work by a graffiti artist
throw wood
vb British
to have an erection, from black speech. The verb is typically pronounced âtrow'.
thug
1
n
,
adj American
(someone who is) attractively uncouth. The word can also be used as a term of address or friendship towards males. It probably originated in gang usage around 2000.
thug
2
vb American
to cultivate a scruffy appearance and/or nonchalant attitude. An expression used on campus in the USA since around 2000.
thumbsucker
n British
an immature weakling, a baby
âI ain't followin' a bunch of thumbsuckers â you want to run a national firm, friend, you put your arse in gear behind us.'
(
The Firm
, British TV play, 1989)
thumper
n Scottish
an erection
thunder-bags
n pl Australian
male underpants. A jocularism drawing on the analogy with explosive flatulence or defecation, more often encountered in the expression
thunderbox
.
thunder-bowl
n British
a toilet. A variant of
thunderbox
used predominantly by middle-class speakers.
thunderbox
n British
a toilet. The word was originally applied particularly to a commode in the colonial period. It was later extended, especially in middle- and upper-class usage, to denote a small privy, and later any lavatory.
thwoppage
n
a sexual act. The word is pronounced with a long âa', perhaps in imitation of French. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
thwopping
n
having sex. An item of student slang in use in London and elsewhere since around 2000.
tick
1
adj British
excellent, attractive. This allpurpose vogue term, heard especially among young black speakers in the late 1990s, usually indicates admiration of someone's appearance or physique. Although it is the Afro-Caribbean pronunciation of
thick
, the word more probably refers to a tick as a mark of approval.
tick
2
n British
1.
a smaller, and often younger, school pupil, usually one considered insignificant and irritating. A traditional public-school term which is still heard today, it likens the person to the parasitic insect.
2.
hire purchase, short-term credit. Tick meant âcredit' in post-17th-century slang. It has survived mainly in the phrase âon tick'.