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Tourist, or not native to London? Wondering what all these new words mean? Don’t worry, we’ve put together this really quick and simple guide to London slang. Follow these essential bits of vocabulary that every traveller (probably) needs to know.

Preparing for a trip to the UK capital? Get to know the real London by following the lead of expert local guides on one of these tours, activities and experiences.

The essential As…

Ah nam – tell on, rat on, tattle on.

Alie – I agree.

Allow/allow it – stop/stop it.

The essential Bs…

Bait – obvious or simple. As in, ‘you’re so bait.’

Bangin‘ – good.

Bare – a lot of something.

Beast – really cool. As in, ‘that outfit is beast.’

Beef – a hostility between two people that usually results in violence.

Blud/Blad – brother, friend.

Bovvered – verb describing a lack of interest. As in, ‘I ain’t bovvered.’

Brap! – representing oneself, bigging yourself up.

Butters — ugly.

The essential Cs…

Chief – an unintelligent person.

Chung – extremely good looking.

Chirpsing – flirting.

The essential Ds…

Dapper – someone who looks fancy or smart.

Dizzy – crazy.

Dred – dreadful, terrible, cruel,

Dry – dull, boring.

The essential Es…

Ends – area or neighbourhood a person hails from.

If you lived in Hackney, you might describe these streets as your ‘Ends’

The essential Fs…

Fam – family and friends.

Fresh – nice, looks good. As in, ‘Sam is looking fresh today.’

Feds – police.

The essential Gs…

Garms – clothing.

Gyaldem – girl grew.

The essential Hs…

Heads – people (‘bare heads’ means ‘lots of people’).

Hype – too much, excessive, over the top.

Hench – muscular.

Hectic – good, fantastic, amazing.

The essential Is…

Init – short for ‘isn’t it’, often put at the end of sentences for extra effect or added drama.

Is-it (sometimes pronounced iiiiissss iiiiitttt?) – means: really?

Inner – describes someone who is too nosey.

The essential Js…

Jack – to take or steal. As in, ‘Katy jacked my food.’

Jakes – police.

Jam – relax, chill out.

Jokes – funny. As in, ‘that party was jokes’ or ‘Charlie is so jokes.’

The essential Ks…

Kotch – sit and chill.

Kretin – idiot.

The essential Ls…

Link – to hook up with someone.

Lips – to kiss passionately.

Long – when something involves far too much effort.

Lush – good-looking.

The essential Ms…

Manz – refers to oneself in a ‘big up’ manner.

Marvin – hungry.

The essential Ns…

Next man – someone who joins in a conversation when they are not involved.

The essential Os…

On top – when a situation goes absolutely crazy.

Owned – to be made a fool of.

The essential Ps…

Peng – good-looking.

The essential Rs…

Rinsed – overused, used up, all gone.

Roll with – hang out with.

The essential S’…

Safe – cool, good, sweet.

Shook – nervous, freaking out.

Sick – interesting, cool. As in, ‘Harry is sick.’

Standard – of course.

Switch – to turn on someone instantly with maximum shade.

The essential Ts…

Taxed – stealing.

Tight – cheap. As in, ‘stop being so tight and lend me £5.’

Tonk – muscular person.

Treck – something far away.

Tune (sometimes pronounced tuuuuunnnnneeeee) – music you love.

The essential and only V you need to know…

Vex/vexed – an extremely annoyed person.

The essential Ws…

Wag-One (wah’gwan or wah’ta’gwan fam) – short for ‘what’s goin on.’

Watch – be careful, don’t mess with me.

Wicked – cool, amazing.

Wifey – girlfriend, bestie.

And finally, the essential Ys…

Yard – your house.

Younger – a sibling, someone younger than you. As in, ‘come here, younger.’

About the author

Luke Abrahams is a born and bred Londoner and is proud to call the capital his home. He mostly writes about popular culture trends and pugs but isn’t afraid to tackle food, art and style from time-to-time.

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