Dictionary of Contemporary Slang (7 page)

apple (core)
n British

rhyming slang for ‘the score' in the colloquial sense of the latest information, current state of affairs, rules of the game

‘…a fellow from Bermondsey… robbing the same bank twice. He went back to the bank and said to the staff “You know the apple”. I don't know if he expected the staff to understand slang but I supposed seeing someone standing in front of them with a shotgun told them all they needed to know.'
(Recorded, South London criminal, 2012)

apple-polisher
n

a flatterer, someone who curries favour. The term comes from the image of the ingratiating pupil who polishes an apple carefully before presenting it to a teacher. The tradition of ‘an apple for the teacher' was really practised in rural USA before World War II, but the term is common in all English-speaking areas. It is sometimes in the form of a verb, as in ‘she's been apple-polishing
again'. In Britain it is often shortened to
polisher
.

‘I had few qualifications for Hollywood; I was immoderately slothful, had no facility for salesmanship or apple-polishing, and possessed a very low boiling point.'
(S. J. Perelman, quoted in
Groucho, Harpo, Chico & sometimes Zeppo
, Joe Adamson, 1973)

apples
¹
n pl

1.
female breasts

2.
the testicles

Apples, like almost all other round fruits, have readily been used as euphemisms for these bodily parts. This type of metaphor may occur as a spontaneous coinage in any English-speaking community.

3.
white people. An ethnic categorisation used by Afro-Caribbeans and South and East Asians. The reference is probably to pink skins and white flesh and is sometimes pejorative.

apples
²
adj Australian

fine, perfect, OK. Often used in the expression ‘she's apples', meaning ‘everything is all right'. This use of the word may originate in ‘apples and rice' or ‘apples and spice', obsolete British and Australian rhyming slang for
nice
.

apples and pears
n pl British

stairs
. One of the best-known examples of cockney rhyming slang which, although authentic, is rarely heard these days.

apricot!
exclamation British

a generalised term of approval recorded among middle-class students in 1999. It may be a jocular version of ‘peachy'.

apricots
n pl British

the testicles

‘Hot water has always made my apricots sag.'
(Pensioner Ron Tuffer, quoted in the
Eastbourne Herald
, 7 May 1994)

April fools
n pl British

tools
. Cockney rhyming slang still heard occasionally in workshops, garages and factories.

April showers
n pl British

flowers
. An item of London working-class rhyming slang which survives in market traders' jargon.

Archer
n British

£2,000. An invention by an anonymous wit in the tradition of a
monkey
, a
pony
, etc. It refers to the sum paid by the author and Tory politician Jeffrey Archer to Miss Monica Coughlan, a prostitute, to enable her to go abroad. Her return in 1987 resulted in Mr Archer bringing a libel case against the
News of the World
, which he won. (The synonym
Jeffrey
was also heard.)

‘The usual two Archers in a plain envelope.'
(
Weekending
, BBC Radio 4, 9 March 1990)

arctic
adj British

1.
bad. An intensified form of the vogue sense of
cold
.

2.
excellent, fashionable. An intensified form of
cool
or
chilled
.

The term has been fashionable in both senses since 2000.

area boy
n British

a local hooligan, street-gang member. The term, used disapprovingly by adults, is a recent version of ‘corner boy', once applied to teddy boys who hung around on street corners in the 1950s.

‘The point is, no one cares what language youngsters talk amongst themselves, what we do care about is violent area boys, how we control (eradicate) them.'
(Posting on London Evening Standard webpages, 1 November 2010)

Argos bling
n British See
chav

Aristotle, arry, arris
n

1.
a
bottle
. Rhyming slang, probably dating from the 19th century, but still occasionally heard in the London area and in Australia.

2. 'arris
(usually in the sense of ‘courage, nerve')

arm
n

1.
British
power, influence, coercion. A colloquial coinage on the lines of ‘hold', ‘grip' or ‘strong-arm'.

This should give us some arm.

2.
See
on the arm

3.
South African
a measurement of
dagga
. Recorded as an item of Sowetan slang in the
Cape Sunday Times
, 29 January 1995.

arm candy
n

a temporary escort, typically a fellow student or ‘unattached' acquaintance, chosen to accompany to a social function. An Americanism of the late 1990s heard in the UK since 2000.
Social handbag
is a synonym.

Compare
eye candy

armpit
n

a very unpleasant place. The word usually forms part of the expression ‘the armpit of the universe'; that is, the most unpleasant place in existence (a milder version of ‘arsehole of the universe').

armpits!
exclamation British

a less offensive alternative to
bollocks
as a cry of dismissal or derision, in use among middle-class students since 2000

arms
adj British

offending codes of behaviour, breaking unwritten rules. This code term among teenage gangs was defined by one of its users as ‘out of order'. The term was recorded in use among North London schoolboys in 1993 and 1994. It derives from
alms(-house)
, which is heard in black British speech denoting rudeness or
dissing
.

This is/he's arms.

'arris
n

1.
the backside, buttocks. A cockney elaboration of
arse
sometimes adopted by middle-class speakers who want to avoid the offensive term.
a kick in the 'arris

2.
courage, nerve. A London working-class term which is a more recent derivation of
arse
.

loads of 'arris

Both senses derive from a double rhyme; 'arris from
Aristotle
, meaning
bottle
, while ‘bottle and glass' gives
arse
.

arse
¹
n

1.
British
the backside, buttocks, anus. This word is not, strictly speaking, slang, but an ancient term (
aers
in Anglo-Saxon, descended from Germanic nouns related to an Indo-European ancestor meaning ‘tail') which, since the 17th century, has been considered too vulgar for polite conversation. Australia follows the British spelling, while in the USA and Canada the word is spelled
ass
.

2.
British
a foolish or contemptible person. A fairly mild term of exasperated contempt, popular in upper- and middle-class speech until the 1960s, now generally replaced by stronger or more colourful alternatives. ‘Silly arse!' was a favourite British rebuke.

3a.
British
courage, nerve or cheek. This has been a popular working-class usage in London and Australian slang. In Britain it has, since the 1960s, largely been supplanted by more colourful terms such as
'arris
or
bottle
, which are derived from it, or by synonyms such as
balls
.

3b.
Australian
good luck. This usage, which is more commonly expressed by the adjective
arsy
, probably derives from the previous sense, with the implication that the good fortune came as a result of daring or impudence.

4.
Australian
a synonym for
heave-ho, elbow
or ‘the boot', usually in the expression
give (someone) the arse

5. my arse!
British
‘Nonsense!', ‘I don't believe it!' or ‘It's not true!' An exclamation of angry or impatient disbelief, dating at least from the 18th century. It is probably a shortening of a longer phrase such as in the following sense.

6. kiss my arse!
British
an exclamation of defiance or contempt

7. not to know one's arse from one's elbow/a hole in the ground
British
to be incapable or incompetent, stupid

8. the sun shines out of his/her arse
British
he or she is wonderful, perfect or the favourite. The expression is used contemptuously or enviously of a person who, in their own opinion or that of others, can do no wrong.

arse
²
adj British
of poor quality. A vogue term (in all its senses) among younger speakers since the late 1990s, its usage popularised by cult TV comedies such as
Father Ted
and
The Fast Show
.

pure arse
That new single of hers is arse
.

arse about
vb

to fool about, behave in an irresponsible or silly way. A favourite expression of many schoolmasters, especially in the 1950s and 1960s.

Stop arsing about in there and get on with your work
!

arse-about-face
adj
,
adv

back to front, the wrong way round or wrongly ordered or organised

Look at the state of that shelf you just put up; it's all arse-about-face
!

arse bandit
n British

a male homosexual. The humorous but not affectionate term suggests an aggressive, predatory or desperate enemy. It is very much a term of jovial male abuse (there is no record of women saying it) in public schools, the army and the pub. Slightly less vulgar versions are ‘bum bandit' and
trouser bandit; chocolate bandit
is another synonym.

arsed
adj British See
can't be arsed/bolloxed/fucked/shagged

arse-end
n

the end, back or bottom of anything. A common vulgarism also used in the phrase ‘the arse-end of nowhere', referring
to a very remote and/or unpleasant place. ‘Arse-end Charlie' is a more robust version of the colloquial ‘tail-end Charlie', as applied to a straggler.

arsehole
¹
n British

1.
the anus.
Asshole
in American English.

2. the arsehole of the universe/earth/world
an extremely unpleasant place, especially one that is dirty, smelly and hot, but now by extension anywhere awful. The phrase was probably coined by troops stationed overseas, prompted by such captions as ‘the pearl of the Orient' or ‘the gateway to the Pacific'.

3.
an extremely unpleasant person, especially one who combines offensiveness with stupidity. The term, when used in Britain or Australia, is stronger than the American equivalent
asshole
, and slightly different in emphasis. It shows real distaste and dislike rather than mild contempt.

arsehole
²
vb

1.
British
to ‘crawl', flatter or curry favour in a nauseating way. Typically used at work about a fellow employee, this is probably inspired by the now dated expressions ‘arsehole-crawler' or ‘arsehole-creep'.

There he goes, arseholing again. It makes me sick.

2.
Australian
to throw someone out, to get rid of (an unwanted lover). The word is often used plaintively or resentfully by jilted teenagers.

I can't understand it. Robyn arseholed me last night.

arseholed
adj

1.
British
very drunk. A popular word among students, younger members of the armed forces and other heavy drinkers from the 1960s to the present. The image is of someone disgustingly or helplessly drunk, as in the expression ‘pissed as an arsehole'; but the term is neutral, not usually pejorative, and is used by all social classes.

‘Once a month he gets completely arseholed and then comes home and asks me to forgive him.'
(Recorded, housewife, Devon, 1986)

2a.
Australian
dismissed from one's job

2b.
Australian
ejected, especially from a bar

2c.
Australian
rejected by one's partner

arseholes!
exclamation British

nonsense. A term expressing brusque dismissal or defiance which now seems to be falling into disuse. The singer Ian Dury included it in a stream of abuse featured on a 1978 record.