DICTIONARY OF BRITISH ENGLISH

Harry Potter was written in English, but in what is known as "British" or "International" English, as opposed to the American English spoken in the United States. Although J.K. Rowling worked closely with her American editor on her books for the U.S. market, some of the "Queen's English" is still used in the U.S. editions. That U.S. editor, Arthur Levine, said in a 1999 interview: "The philosophy ... behind how Jo and I edited the book for the U.S. was that American readers should have the exact same experience reading the book as British readers. Part of that experience, of course, would be the texture of the setting, and so we wanted to be quite careful that this fabric of details not be compromised. But neither of us felt that any particular slang was sacrosanct."

Changes in the British editions for the American market were for (1) unfamiliar British English words that would confuse Yank readers (jumper became sweater; gormless became clueless); (2) English spellings (colour to color); (3) English usage (whilst to while; period added to titles such as "Mr" to become "Mr.").

It seemed, however, that the more popular and familiar Harry Potter became to American fans, the more British terms the American editor seemed to leave in the later books. Counting lists of word or phrase changes at the Harry Potter Galleries, I compiled the following numbers:

The Sorcerer's Stone	79
Chamber of Secrets	56
Prisoner of Azkaban	52
Goblet of Fire	26

Here is a list of British words that appear in the U.S. Harry Potter books. The dictionary now has been expanded to include words from the British editions, since I started to read the original HP books!

Abbreviations: n. (noun), v. (verb), adj. (adjective); int. (interjection).

B

BARKING. adj. Crazy. See also mad.

BARMY. adj. Strange or very silly. Dumbledore tells the house elves they are free to call him a "barmy old codger." (GOF)

BLIMEY. int. An expression of surprise, frustration or even joy. Similar to "wow," "darn," "whoa," etc.

BLOKE. n. A guy. Similar to "chap."

BLOODY. adj. Descriptive term for something that frustrates or bothers someone, as in "that bloody boss!"

BOGEY. n. Mucus material from the nose; a booger. Ron Weasley's brother might have had a "bogey flavoured" Bertie Bott's Bean once.

BUNG. v. To (1) carelessly put something somewhere; (2) to throw. "Bung him some Owl Treats," Ron to Harry to feed Pigwidgeon.

C

CAR PARK. i. A parking lot.

CELLOTAPE. n. Clear plastic sticky tape, often sold in rolls; cellophane tape.

CHAP. n. Same as "bloke"; a guy.

CHUFF. v. (1) To make loud puffing or breathing noises. (2) slang To speak nonsense. Chuffed, chuffing.

CINE-CAMERA. n. A video or movie camera.

CINEMA. n. (1) A movie theater.

CONK. n. The nose.

CORKING. adj. Excellent; splendid. Like spiffing. Often used sarcastically.

CRISPS. n. Snack chips; usually the potato kind.

CRUMPET. n. A small, round, bread muffin cooked on a griddle. It is often toasted and served with butter. Americans know it as an "English muffin."

D

NOT A DICKEY (OR DICKY) BIRD. n. Reader "Dibble Helix" reports that this is Cockney rhyming slang for "not a word." Cockney is a London dialect of British English that includes colorful rhyming phrases, such as "Cain and Abel" for table or "dickey bird" for word (SOURCE: Cockney Online). A dickey bird is a type of small bird; one English dictionary indicated it was the hedge sparrow. In The Goblet of Fire, a character says in response to hearing any news, "Not a dickey bird."

DODGY. adj. Evasive; suspicious; unclear.

DRESSING GOWN. n. A bathrobe.

DUSTBIN. n. Garbage can.

F

FATHER CHRISTMAS. n. British name for Santa Claus.

FOOTBALL. n. (1) The game of soccer. (2) A soccer ball.

G

GIT. n. Oddball; jerk; fool.

H

HOLIDAY(S). n. Vacation trip; vacation time period.

J
JUMPER. n. A sweater.

K

KIP. n. A place to sleep; a rooming house. v. To sleep.

KNICKERS. n. (Pronounced "NICK-urs") Underpants, especially those worn by women or girls. Don't get your knickers in a knot. Don't get extremely upset or worried about something.

L

LAY-IN. n. A time of sleeping late into the morning; v. LAY IN (no hyphen) to sleep in.

LILO. n. An inflatable air mattress made of rubber or plastic. Name comes from a British market trademark for such a mattress. Used in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. "Dodgy Dirk" recalls a huge lizard that punctured his lilo while he was at the beach.

M

MAD. adj. Crazy, as in "mad cow disease" or "Mad Hatter." This word is also used in this sense in American English, but not as much as in England. See also barking.

MANKY. adj. (Pronounced "MAIN-kee") Dirty and very used, as in the "manky old boot" used as a Portkey in The Goblet of Fire.

MOTORBIKE. n. A motorcycle. ("Motorbike" in American English usually refers to a small, light motorcycle, often with pedals, also called a "moped.")

MUM. n. Mother; equivalent to the American "mom."

N

NICK. v. To steal.

NIP. v. To run quickly to a place.

NUTTER. n. A crazy person. Very much like "nut."

P

PAVEMENT. n. The sidewalk. In American English, this word usually means the concrete or asphalt used in roads or sidewalks.

PETROL. n. (Pronounced "PE-troll") Gasoline.

PITCH. n. A playing field for sports, as in the "Quidditch pitch."

POST. n. The mail. Often used with "the," as in "The post arrives this afternoon."

PRAT. n. A derogatory term for someone stupid or foolish. Originally meant the butt. Equivalent to "ass" (a stupid person) in American English.

PRISE. v. (Pronounced "prize") Variation of "pry," to pull two things apart, as when Mr. Weasley had to pull his two sons away from his wife's arms. Prised, prising.

Q

QUEUE. (Pronounced like "cue") n. A line, as in a group of people lined up for something.

R

RUDDY. adj. Similar to bloody. "That ruddy owl!" Vernon Dursley in regard to Hedwig.

S

SACK. v. To fire from a job.

SELLOTAPE. n. Trademark for a clear plastic adhesive tape used for repairing tears or broken items. This tape is the United Kingdom's best known clear tape brand that any such tape is often called "Sellotape." This is much like the use of the American 3-M Co.'s "Scotch" brand as a name for any clear tape. See also cellotape.

SHIRTY. adj. Angry; bad tempered.

SKIVE. v. (Rhymes with "jive" or "hive") To avoid work of any kind. Skived, skiving.

SMARM. v. To be overly polite, yet come across as insincere.

SPIFFING. adj. Excellent or first-rate (upper-class schoolboy slang, but often used in a sarcastic way to make fun of wealthy or pompous people). George Weasley, mocking Percy: "Absolutely spiffing." Like corking.

STARKERS. adj. Naked. When Ron doesn't like the frilly dress robe his mom buys him in Goblet of Fire, he says he'd rather "go starkers" than wear it.

SWEETS. n. Candy. "Sweets" is also used in American English, but not as frequently as British English.

T

TAP. n. A faucet.

TRAINER. n. A sneaker; tennis shoe.

TREACLE. (Pronounced "TREE-kull") n. 1. Molasses. 2. A blend of molasses, sugar and corn syrup used as a table syrup, also called "golden syrup."

TROLLEY. n. A small wheeled cart used to move a great deal of objects or heavy items. (Trolley most often means a type of streetcar in American English.)

U

UNDERGROUND n (With a capital letter) the London subway system.

W

WIRELESS. n. The radio. Magic people listen to the Wizarding Wireless Network.

WONKY. adj. Shaky or weak. This word was actually used as a little pun in GOF. Hermione asks about a Quidditch Play that she calls the "Wonky Faint," which is really called the Wronski Feint. The pun suggests a weak move, while the Wronski play is really quite fast and aggressive.

Dictionary sources: Cambridge International Dictionary of English; Ted Duckworth's Dictionary of Slang: English Slang and Colloquialisms used in the United Kingdom.

If you still want the full experience of language "from across the pond," your local bookstore may carry the Bloomsbury/UK editions, or online sellers, such as Barnes & Noble or Amazon, stock them as well.

Vintage graphics are from ArtToday.com.