British Words and Phrases

Since Ryan's birthday in November (when he was given three Harry Potter books by my mom) we've been reading them almost every night. We're a quarter of the way into book 5 now, and the other night Ryan said "Dad, how come all the cool adventures happen in London? Harry Potter, Narnia, Peter Pan, the Susan Cooper series, - it all happens in London. I wish some cool stuff would happen here".

It's also been a bit of a learning curve with regards to terminology. We're obviously not the only ones though, since the first thing to come up when I searched on "British Terminology" was a Harry Potter fan site.

Here is a sampling of some of the words and phrases that the kids are now picking up on: (from http://www.hogwartsfansite.co.uk/britishwords.htm).

'Bang' him on the counter: Informal term for put him on the counter.
Banging on: Talking incessantly about something.
'Bung' him in some owl treats: Carelessly throw them in.
Cheeked/cheeky: If you're being cheeky then you're either being insolently or playfully rude or disrespectful, or you're being funny but inproper and ill-mannered. To cheek someone means to be one of these things to them.
Corking: See 'spiffing' below. :-)
Dicky bird: Not a dicky bird means absolutely nothing. E.g. "Any sign of Bertha Jorkins?" "Not a dicky bird." Or, if you say, "Watch for the dicky bird" you're tellin someone to smile for the camera. Absolutely no idea where this term comes from.
FlapE.g. "You've had us all in a right flap.": Worried or panicy.
Git: (used a ton in Harry Potter, and now used a ton by Ryan) An informal term for someone who is annoying, troublesome, unpleasant or thoughtless (like Malfoy!). It's quite a soft word, really, and is often used in an affectionate or light-hearted way (Fred and George have called Ron a git).
Keruffle: Commotion.
Kip: A nap.
Nicked: An informal word for stole. Alternatively, it could mean arrested, e.g. you can be 'nicked' by a policeman.
Nutter: Someone who acts strange or mad.
Plus-fours: Image. Not all that many people wear them anymore and the ones that do are usually older people.
Shirty: Annoyed or bad tempered.
Skulked: If you're skulking around then you're hanging about a place or person.
Spare: (going)Going mad with frustration or worry.
Spiffing: Wonderful! 'Spiffing' is considered a very posh word and is usually only used when making fun of the elite (or the British, in a friendly way of course).
Starkers: Naked.
Tenterhooks: To be on tenterhooks is to be anxious or in suspense.
Wotcher: A greeting. Comes from 'what cheer?'