"Ww" in Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English pot

Ww
w noun a toilet. An abbreviation of the common WC NEW ZEALAND, 1916
W noun 1 apolicewarrant for search or arrest UK, 1956. 2 in sports, a
win
US, 1970
wac; wack noun 1 phencyclidine, the recreational drug known as
PCP or angel dust
US, 1981. 2 marijuana mixed with phencyclidine,
the recreational drug known as PCP or angel dust
UK, 1998
wack adjective inferior, unacceptable, very bad US, 1984
wacked adjective 1 excited US, 1959 . 2 beyond repair. Extends WACK
(inferior) UK, 1997
wacked out adjective crazy, eccentric, mad US, 1968
wacked up adjective crazy, odd, irrational US, 1947
wackelass noun a cat that is a troublesome, clumsy creature CANADA,
1999
wacker; wack; whacker noun used as a term of address to a man.
Liverpudlian UK, 1768
wacker adjective worse. From WACK (bad) US, 1999
wackie; wacky noun a stereotypical member of the working-class; a
conformist. Teen slang UK, 1982
wack job; whack job noun a person who is mentally ill US, 1979
wacko; whacko adjective a person who is crazy, eccentric or
mentally imbalanced US, 1977
wackoid adjective odd, eccentric UK, 1999
wacktic adjective very bad UK, 1983
wacky adjective odd, eccentric, crazy US, 1935
wacky baccy; wacky backy noun marijuana. From WACKY as
‘eccentric’. Many variants exist, including ‘whacky baccy/backy’,
‘whackatabachy’, ‘wacky tobaccy/tobacky’ and ‘whacky weed’ US,

1975
wacky for khaki adjective infatuated with men in military uniform
US, 1967
wac-wac noun phencyclidine, the recreational drug known as PCP or
angel dust
US, 1995
wad noun 1 the semen ejaculated at orgasm. From ‘wad’ (a large
quantity) US, 1969. 2 expectorated sputum US, 1989. 3 a rag saturated
with glue or any volatile solvent that is inhaled for the intoxicating
effect US, 1970. 4 a sandwich; a bun; a cake UK, 1919. 5 arollof
money; a great deal of money US, 1951
wad verb (of a male) to reach orgasm. After WAD (semen) UK, 2003
wad cutter noun a flat-nosed bullet US, 1962
wadded adjective well-off, rich. From WAD (a great deal of money) UK,
2002
waddy noun a club; a hefty piece of wood suitable for a club. From
the name of an Australian Aboriginal weapon in the extinct
language Dharug, Sydney region AUSTRALIA, 1809
waders noun shoes US, 1945
wadge noun 8see: WODGE
wafer noun 1 a tablet of MDMA, the recreational drug best known as
ecstasy. If dance is seen as a new religion, then MDMA is as
important a part of the ritual as the wafer is in conventional
church rites UK, 2003. 2 a cigarette paper UK, 1996
waffle noun 1 nonsense; incessant or unfocused talk UK, 1900. 2 in
trucking, a non-skid tyre
US, 1971
Waffle noun a movement in Canada’s New Democratic Party to
change somewhat its left-wing policies CANADA, 2001
waffle verb 1 to vacillate; to take both sides of an issue UK, 1803. 2 to

talk nonsense; to talk incessantly or in an unfocused way UK, 1937
waffy adjective comfortable. Hip-hop, urban slang. A compound of
‘warm’ and ‘fluffy’ noted in connection with a legal dispute over
rap lyrics by BBC News, 6th June 2003
US, 2003
wag noun a social outcast, especially a non-surfer US, 1991
WAG noun 1 the female partner of a footballer, especially an England
team player. WAGs, the acronym for wives and girlfriends, was
applied to the players’ partners during the 2006 World Cup. The
collective usage was soon individualised
UK, 2006. 2 Welsh Assembly
Government. Initialism UK: WALES, 1999
wag verb to play truant UK, 1848. < wag wienie; wag your wienie
to commit indecent exposure of the male masturbatory variety US,
1984
wage slave noun anyone reliant on the income generated by regular
employment UK, 1964
waggle verb in pool, to make practice shots before actually hitting
the cue ball
US, 1993
wagon noun 1 a woman, especially a pushy one, or one capable of
invective IRELAND, 2003. 2 abstention from drug use. Extending the
previous sense UK, 1997. 3 an old, worn-out, beat-up car US, 1959.
< on the wagon abstaining from drinking alcohol US, 1906
wagon burner noun a native American Indian. Offensive US, 1995
wagon-chasing adjective used of a lawyer, unscrupulous, inclined to
solicit business from those in trouble with the law US, 1953
wagons ho! used as a humorous signal that a venture is about to
begin. From cowboy films
US, 1994

wagon-spotter noun a trainspotter who specialises in ‘collecting’
freight wagons UK, 2003
wagwon? ‘what’s going on?’. Either directly from, or in imitation of,
West Indian speech UK, 2003
wahey! used for registering a feeling of exuberance UK, 2003
wahini noun a female surfer. From the Hawaiian US, 1963
wail verb 1 in jazz, to perform with great feeling US, 1955. 2 in pinball,
to score a large number of points in a short period of time
US, 1977.
< wail down the place to dance with enthusiasm that borders
on vulgarity TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1990
wailer noun in drag racing, a very fast car US, 1970
wailing adjective exciting US, 1965
Waiouru blonde noun a Maori woman. Waiouru is a remote North
Island military base
NEW ZEALAND, 1997
waist noun < make waist to make pelvic thrusts and gyrations
during sex TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 2003
wait-a-minute vine; wait-a-minute bush noun a heavy, thorny
vine found in the jungles of Vietnam. When it snagged you, you
had to wait a minute to disentangle yourself US, 1976
wait and linger noun the finger. Rhyming slang, applied only in an
anatomical sense UK, 1992
waiter’s delight noun in poker, a hand consisting of three threes
and a pair. A ‘three’ is a TREY, the hand is conventionally known as
a ‘full house’, hence ‘treys full’, the waiter pun
US, 1988
waiting room noun in surfing, the area beyond the breakers where
surfers wait to catch waves ISRAEL, 1977
wait up! ‘wait for me!’ US, 1944

wake; wake up verb to become aware of something AUSTRALIA, 1910
’wake; wake up’ verb < wake your ideas up to concentrate; to
use your wits. Often as an imperative
UK, 1961. < wouldn’t wake
if
to be generally unaware of what’s what AUSTRALIA, 1961
wake and bake; wake-n-bake verb to smoke marijuana as one of
the first acts of the day US, 1997
waker-upper noun a heroin addict’s first injection of the morning
US, 1982
wake-up noun 1 the day’s first dose of a drug taken by an addict US,
1954. 2 any amphetamine or central nervous system stimulant US,
1972
. 3 a short time remaining on a jail sentence or term of
military service, especially the last morning US, 1950
wake up verb 1 to make someone aware; to inform someone
AUSTRALIA, 1859. 2 to become aware that you are being swindled US,
1969. 3 in horse racing, to stimulate a horse illegally by electric
shock or drugs
US, 1947
wake-up adjective used of an addictive substance taken upon waking
up US, 1981
wake-up pill noun an amphetamine or other central nervous system
stimulant
US, 1979
wake you verb to make you aware of something US, 1953
wakey-wakey noun a wake-up call. Adapted from the exclamation,
‘wakey, wakey!’ UK, 2001
wakey, wakey! ‘wake up!’. Probably of military origin; widespread
once adopted as the catchphrase of bandleader Billy Cotton

(1899–1969) in his 1949–68 BBC radio Sunday lunchtime variety
programme, The Billy Cotton Bandshow
UK, 1959
wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey! used for calling someone from
sleep to breakfast. Used with great comic effect by Quentin
Tarantino i n Kill Bill Volume 2 (2004) as Bill’s brother Budd
awakens The Bride to bury her alive
US, 2000
wakey, wakey, hands off snakie! used for humorously waking up
a male AUSTRALIA, 1985
Waldorf-Astoria noun an especially spartan solitary confinement
cell US, 1976
walk noun 1 a release from jail US, 1965. 2 during the Vietnam war, a
30-day patrol in which contact with the enemy is expected
US, 1991
walk verb 1 to win something easily UK, 1903. 2 to escape unpunished
US, 1979. 3 to quit a job or commitment US, 1999. 4 (of objects) to
disappear, presumed borrowed or stolen UK, 1898. 5 to move a boat
sideways
US, 1989. 6 (used of a military aviator) to suit up for battle.
From the vocabulary of fighter pilots US, 2001. < walk a cat back to
trace a missile back to its launch site. Gulf war usage US, 1991.
< walk back the cat to reconstruct events in order to understand
what went wrong US, 1997. < walk in tall corn to make a great deal
of money US, 1997. < walk out on to abandon someone or
something. Of theatrical origin UK, 1937 . < walk the dog 1 while
surfing, to move frontwards and backwards on the surfboard to
affect its speed
US, 1987. 2 on the railways, to operate a freight train at
such a high speed that the wagons sway

US, 1977. < walk the nose
while surfing, to advance to the front of the board US, 1962. < walk
the plank
to move forward on a surfboard, increasing the speed of
the ride AUSTRALIA, 1963. < walk the twelve steps to go to court
CAYMAN ISLANDS, 1985. < walk the walk of the trollop to convey
sexuality while walking. Another catchphrase from the ‘Wayne’s
World’ sketch on Saturday Night Live
US, 1991. < walk the walk;
walk the walk and talk the talk
to be (or behave as if) totally
familiar with, and a part of, a given circumstance UK, 2004. < walk
the yard
to methodically walk in a prison open space US, 1981.
< walk with your Lucy to inject a drug US, 1981. < walk your
dog
to use the toilet US, 1968
walkabout; walk-about noun a journey on foot taken by an
Aboriginal, especially when withdrawing from white society for a
period AUSTRALIA, 1910. < go walkabout 1 (of an aboriginal) to go
on a walkabout AUSTRALIA, 1927. 2 (ofaperson)togooffsomewhere
else
AUSTRALIA, 1969. 3 (of an important person) to make an informal
tour on foot. Variants include ‘do a walkabout’
UK, 1984
walkaway noun 1 a type of theft in which the thief walks away with
a suitcase in a public place, leaving behind his suitcase as an alibi
if apprehended US, 1954. 2 the final step in a confidence swindle, in
which the swindlers walk away with the victim’s money US, 1981
walk-back noun an apartment in the rear of a building US, 1970

walkboards noun a platform outside a carnival show or attraction US,
1966
walk-buddy noun in prison, a close friend and steady companion US,
1976
walker noun 1 a prisoner who constantly paces in his cell US, 1984. 2 a
striptease dancer who disrobes while walking
US, 1981. 3 in dominoes,
the highest piece of its suit that is not a double and has been played
US, 1964
walkers noun the legs US, 1992
walkie noun a close and dependable friend. A term that suggests
‘talkie’, which in turn suggests friendship
US, 1991
walkies noun a walk with a small child or a dog. A childish or jocular
term addressed to, and understood by, that child or dog
US, 1923
walkie-talkie noun 1 an able-bodied person (from the perspective of
a disabled person)
UK, 2003. 2 a portable two-way radio US, 1939. 3 a
prisoner who associates with guards
US, 1992
walk-in noun a thief who steals from unlocked hotel rooms US, 1954
walking adjective used of an order for food at a restaurant, to be
taken from the restaurant
US, 1952
walking crab noun in electric line work, a lever lift US, 1980
walking disaster area noun an especially inept or accident-prone
person
UK, 1984
walking man’s special noun in the used car business, a run-down

car that is not much to look at but still runs, in a fashion
US, 1993
walking money noun in gambling, a small amount of money given
by the house or other players to someone who has just lost all of
his money US, 1961
walking tree noun in a criminal enterprise, a watchman or lookout
US, 1956
walking writer noun in an illegal numbers gambling lottery, a
person who collects and records bets US, 1949
walk in the park noun an easy thing to do UK, 1998
walk in the sun noun a combat march without a significant chance
of engaging the enemy US, 1991
walk of fame noun the walk home or to work after spending the
night with a beautiful and popular woman US, 2001
walk of shame noun the walk home or to work after spending the
night with a date, still wearing yesterday’s clothes US, 2002
walk -on noun in sports, an athlete who gets chosen for a team
having appeared at practice unsolicited and unexpected US, 1978
walkover noun in horse racing, a race in which all but one of the
entries are withdrawn. The lone horse starting the race can win
the purse simply by walking the distance of the race US, 1965
walk -up noun a brothel US, 1950
wall noun < behind the wall imprisoned US, 1989. < go over the
wall
to escape from prison US, 1934. < go to the wall to lose
money in stock investments US, 1988. < off the wall in auction
fraud, where non-existent bids are said to come from UK, 2003.
< the wall a maximum security prison US, 2002. < up the wall
crazy; crazed by circumstances; angry UK, 1951
wall verb to lean against the wall at a party or other social gathering

US, 1997
wallaby noun < on the wallaby wandering around. Originally
‘Tramping the outback in search of work (as though following the
track made by wallabies)’, G.A. Wilkes, A Dictionary of Australian
Colloquialisms, 1978 AUSTRALIA, 1861
Wallace and Gromit; wallace verb to vomit. Rhyming slang, based
on Oscar-winning (1990) animated characters UK, 1998
Wallace Beery; wallac e noun in a betting shop, a dispute over the
sum due. Rhyming slang for ‘query’, formed from the name of
the US film actor (1885–1949) UK, 1998
wallah; walla noun 1 a man identified by relation to the activity,
occupation or philosophy to which it is properly affixed. Adopted
directly by Anglo-Indians, hence military, from Hindu wálá (‘a
person connected in some way with the thing expressed in the first
word’, George Clifford Whitworth, An Anglo-Indian Dictionary, 1885)
INDIA, 1785. 2 in the television and film industries, indistinguishable
background voices
US, 1990
wallbanger noun a person whose impairment with central nervous
system depressants has produced a marked lack of coordination
US, 1977
685 waker-upper | wallbanger
wallet noun 1 a person who finances a (criminal) project UK, 2003. 2 a
generous person
US, 1997
wallet lane noun the passing lane of a motorway. Trucker use, with
a reference to a ‘wallet’ because of the likelihood of having to pay
a ticket if caught using the passing lane
US, 1977
walleyed adjective drunk US, 1992

wallflower week noun the bleed period of the menstrual cycle US,
1954
wallie noun in skateboarding, any jumping manoeuvre performed
from a wall. A combination of ‘wall’ and
OLLY; OLLIE (a jumping
manoeuvre)
UK, 2004 8see: WALLY
wallies noun nothing, zero UK, 2000
wallin’ noun the act or habit of sitting or standing against a wall at a
party. Teen slang UK, 2003
wall job noun sex with one of the participants standing against a
wall US, 2001
wallop noun 1 a heavy blow UK, 1823. 2 an attempt, a go. A pun on
BASH (a try) UK, 2001. 3 the strength to deliver a heavy blow. Boxing
slang UK, 1914. 4 beer UK, 1933
wallop verb 1 to hit someone UK, 1825. 2 to get the better of
someone. A figurative application of the previous sense UK, 1865.
3 to dance UK, 1992
walloped adjective drunk or drug-intoxicated UK, 2002
walloper noun 1 the penis UK: SCOTLAND, 2002. 2 a male who
masturbates to excess NEW ZEALAND, 1998. 3 a police officer AUSTRALIA,
1945. 4 a dancer, especially a professional dancer. Theatrical slang UK,
1937
wallopies noun large female breasts US, 1975
walloping noun a beating, a thrashing; a win by a more than
convincing margin UK, 1871
walloping adjective large, great UK, 1847
wallops noun choreography. From WALLOP (to dance) UK, 1992
wallpaper noun 1 a background pattern or photograph for a
computer display screen US, 1991. 2 counterfeit money US, 1949. 3 a

postcard acknowledging receipt of a citizens’ band or ham radio
message US, 1976
wall-stretcher noun an imaginary tool for which a building trades
apprentice may be sent to fetch UK, 1961
wall ticket noun in Keno, a big win. Casinos often post large
winning tickets on the wall of the Keno lounge as an enticement
to bettors US, 1987
wall time noun the time as shown on wall clocks, as contrasted with
GMT or another common time used on computers ANTARCTICA, 1991
wall-to-wall adjective abundant; appearing everywhere. From wall-to-
wall carpets that cover the entire floor UK, 1967
wall-to-waller noun a pornographic film shot in one day on a very
low budget US, 2000
Wally < call it Wally to agree that a matter is settled GUY ANA, 1962
wally; wallie; wolly noun 1 an unfashionable individual; someone
who is innocent, or foolish; a fool. Possibly originates in the name
Wally, however Scottish dialect wally-draigle (a feeble, ill-grown
person) may well have had an influence
UK, 1969. 2 in CID slang, a
uniformed police officer, especially a constable; more generally, a
trainee or an incompetent police officer. ‘Woolly’ is also recorded
by the Oxford English Dictionary in 1965 UK, 1970
wallyo; wal-yo noun a young man, usually an Italian-American US,
1975
Wally Pipp noun any athlete who misses a game and is thereafter
replaced by a better player. On 1st June, 1925, the New York
Yankees first baseman Wally Pipp did not play because he was sick;
his place was taken by Lou Gehrig, who played for the next 2130
games
US, 1967

walnut storage disease noun any unspecified mental problem. A
play on NUTTY (crazy) US, 1983
walnut whip; walnut noun 1 sleep. Rhyming slang for KIP,formed
on a chocolate confection UK, 1998. 2 a vasectomy. Rhyming slang
for THE SNIP UK, 2002
Walter Mitty noun 1 a person who poses as a heroic ex-soldier.
From Walter Mitty, the title character of James Thurber’s short
story The Secr et Life of Walter Mitty (1939) and successful film of
the same title starring Danny Kaye (1947) AUSTRALIA, 2002 . 2 the
female breast. Rhyming slang for
TITTY. The short form ‘walter’ can
also be used
UK, 2003
Walts noun 14 Int (an undercover intelligence unit of the British
Army). Abbreviated from Walter Mitty, the name of a character,
created in 1941 by James Thurber, who has become a cultural
reference for a person who leads a dual existence
UK, 1995
waltz noun intense warfare, be it a fire fight or hand-to-hand combat
US, 1991
waltz verb to move in a nonchalant manner US, 1887. < waltz
matilda
to travel as a swagman. From ‘Matilda’ (a swag) and
‘waltz’ (to lead in a waltz), here punning on the female name.
Now of course obsolete, except in the well-known Australian song.
Most singers are entirely unaware of the literal meaning of the
phrase AUSTRALIA, 1893
waltz off verb to leave in a nonchalant or cavalier manner US, 1989
wamper noun a sandal made with pieces of tyre and tied with
thatch string CAYMAN ISLANDS, 1985

wampum noun money. An imitation of Native American Indian
language US, 1950
wampy adjective crazy NEW ZEALAND, 1950
wand noun 1 the penis. The magic stick that you wave in your hand
UK, 2001. 2 in pool, a player’s cue stick US, 1993
wandering hands brigade noun a male’s hands exploring a
female’s body NEW ZEALAND, 1984
wandwaver noun a male exhibitionist US, 1980
wang; whang noun the penis US, 1935
wangbar noun an electric guitar’s tremolo arm US, 1980
wanger noun 8see: WHANGER
wangle noun a swindle; a convenient arrangement. The successful
outcome of the verb WANGLE UK, 1915
wangle verb to arrange something to suit yourself; to contrive or
obtain something with sly cunning; to manipulate something.
Widely used, especially in the military, as ‘wangle a job’, ‘wangling
leave (of absence)’, etc
UK, 1888
wang-wang noun the penis US, 1980
wank noun 1 an act of masturbation; hence, an act of self-
indulgence. An earlier spelling ‘whank’ has given way to ‘wank’ UK,
1948. 2 a waste of time UK, 1998. 3 a fool; a despicable person UK, 2002.
4 nonsense; rubbish. As in the expression ‘that’s a load of old
wank’ and the exclamation (current in the armed services,
especially army, 1960–70s) ‘wank! wank!’ (pronounced almost as if
quacked) greeting any announcement or declaration considered to
be rubbish UK, 1979
wank verb 1 to masturbate. The Scots dialect word whank (to beat)
was the usual spelling until the 1970s. Also used with ‘off’ UK, 1950.
2 to party with zeal and a lack of inhibition CANADA, 1993

wank adjective of poor quality; pathetic; self-indulgent UK, 2002
wank about; wank around verb to waste time UK, 2001
wank-bank noun a personal collection of inspirational erotic images.
Formed on WANK (an act of masturbation) UK, 2003
wanked-out adjective drained of life UK, 2000
wanker noun 1 a masturbator. The earlier spelling ‘whanker’ has
given way to ‘wanker’
UK, 1978. 2 a despicable person; an all-purpose
form of abuse. From the sense as ‘a masturbator’; some
commentators suggest late C19 dialect wanker (a simpleton) UK,
1972
wankered adjective drunk or drug-intoxicated, 2001
wanker’s doom noun the mythological disease that is the inevitable
result of excessive masturbation US, 1977
wanker tank noun a large 4WD vehicle that never gets used for off-
road driving
AUSTRALIA, 2003
wallet | wanker tank 686
wanking-spanner noun the hand. A masturbatory tool that loosens
nuts
UK, 1961
wank mag noun a pornographic magazine. Combines WANK (to
masturbate) with
MAG (a magazine) UK, 1998
wank-off adjective self-indulgent. A figurative application for ‘an act
of masturbation’
UK, 2000
wank -pit; wanking-pit noun a man’s (unshared) bed. Military slang,
formed on WANK (masturbation) UK, 1961
wank shaft noun 1 the vagina UK, 2001. 2 the penis; also used as a

term of abuse. Formed on the word WANK (masturbation) UK, 2003
wank sock noun an item of (men’s) footwear used to contain the
penis during masturbation
UK, 2003
wanksta noun someone, especially a white person, who postures as
a gangsta rapper. A derisory play on
WANKER (a despised person) US,
2002
wank-stain noun a contemptible person UK, 1997
wank tanks noun the testicles. Celebrating the testicles as no more
than a source of semen for masturbation UK, 2002
wank trade noun the pornography industry US, 1997
wankware noun software on compact disc intended for sexual
stimulation CANADA, 1995
wanky adjective 1 of poor quality; pathetic. Original printer’s use
cognisant with WONKY; survives into a modern use which presumes
WANK as the inspiration UK, 1890. 2 pretentious AUSTRALIA, 1979
wannabe noun someone who wants to be and pretends to be that
which he is not. Deemed potentially offensive by Multicultural
Management Program Fellows, Dictionary of Cautionary Words and
Phrases, 1989
US, 1980
wanna-bet shirt noun in a rowing competition, a team’s shirt
which is the object of a wager between competing teams, where
the winner claims the opposing team’s shirts which are worn as a
badge of victory US, 2001
Wanno nickname Wandsworth Prison UK, 2004
wan singer, wan song 8see: ONE SINGER, ONE SONG
want noun a notification that a person is wanted by the police US, 1958
want verb < want in to wish to enter; to desire to be a part of

something. Originally a colloquial term in Scotland, Northern
Ireland and the US
UK, 1836. < want out to wish to exit; to desire
a complete change of circumstances UK: SCOTLAND, 1870
wap noun 8see: WASP
wappy adjective idealistic, sentimental. Perhaps as a blend of WET
(weak, lacking in effectiveness) and SOPPY (foolishly sentimental,
naive) UK, 1959
war noun < go to war to fight US, 2002
war and strife noun a wife. Rhyming slang; a less-used variation of
TROUBLE AND STRIFE UK, 1931
warb noun a decrepit, unclean or otherwise disgusting person.
Perhaps from ‘warble’ (a type of maggot) AUSTRALIA, 1933
warby adjective decrepit; unkempt; filthy; disgusting AUSTRALIA, 1923
warchalk verb to chalk icons on walls, etc, to indicate an area where
a wireless Internet connection may be made for free. Derived as a
back-formation from WARCHALKING UK, 2002
warchalker noun a computer user who chalks icons on walls, etc, to
indicate to other computer users an area where a wireless Internet
connection may be made for free
UK, 2002
warchalking noun the practice of chalking icons on walls, etc, to
indicate an area where a wireless Internet connection may be
made for free. Coined in June 2002 by Matt Jones, a London-
based ‘information architect’, as a play on ‘wardialing’ (a
computer-directed assault by telephone). ‘Warchalking’ is based
on the system of symbols used by UK tramps and beggars, first
recorded in 1849, and developed by US hobos during the
Depression. The three basic symbols are
privacy] node) UK, 2002

warden noun 1 aparentUS, 1968. 2 a spouse. Usually a spouse of the
female persuasion as perceived by the spouse of the male
persuasion
US, 1976. 3 a school principal US, 1954. 4 a teacher. Teen
slang
US, 1951. 5 on the railways, the supervisor of a track crew US,
1977
war department noun someone’s wife or girlfriend US, 1984
war dialer noun a computer program that dials a given range of
telephone connections in order to hack into computer or
telecommunications systems
US, 1989
warehoused adjective used of a prisoner who is neither educated
nor trained during a period of imprisonment but simply contained
UK, 1996
warez noun pirated computer software offered over the Internet.
A deliberate respelling of ‘wares’ UK, 2003
warhead noun in cricket, a fast bowler UK, 1996
warlord noun a high-level member of a political organisation US, 1991
warm noun an act of warming; an act of becoming warm. Colloquial
UK, 1768
warm adjective good UK, 1996
warm for someone’s f orm adjective sexually attracted to someone
US, 1964
warm fuzzies noun the feeling when praised by a superior US, 1986
warm one noun a bullet US, 1998
warmup noun a loose-fitting, athletic warmup suit US, 1999
warm up verb to refill a cup of coffee US, 1996
warn’t verb was not; were not US, 1970
warp noun a bent card used by a card cheat to identify the value of

the card US, 1996
war paint noun makeup, cosmetics. Originally theatrical US, 1869
warped adjective 1 perverted US, 1993. 2 drug-intoxicated US, 1979.
3 drunk UK, 2002
warp one noun a high speed. Figurative US naval aviator usage US,
1986
warp seven adverb very quickly US, 1992
warrior noun a fearless, violent member of a youth gang US, 1995
warrior bold noun acoldUK, 1961
wars noun < have been in the wars to show signs of injury.
especially the trivial wounds that afflict children UK, 1850
warthog noun a US Air Force attack plane formally known as an A-10
Thunderbolt. Gulf war usage US, 1991
warts and all with all blemishes or imperfections unconcealed UK,
1930
war wagon noun a vehicle carrying weapons on a motorcyle gang
outing when trouble is expected US, 1992
Warwick Farm; warwick noun the arm. Rhyming slang, after the
name of a racecourse in Sydney AUSTRALIA, 1944
war zone noun an area in Washington D.C. infamous for drug sales
and other crime US, 1984
wash noun 1 crack cocaine. A shortened form of ‘readywash’. To
manufacture crack cocaine, hydrachloride is washed in a solution
of baking soda and water UK, 1996. 2 the effect of a drug US, 1974. 3 a
large number of things or people BARBADOS, 1965. < the wash
theft of money in public lavatories while the owner is washing UK,
1977
wash verb 1 to kill US, 1941. 2 to purge or expunge something US, 1983.
3 to give money obtained illegally the appearance of legitimacy
through accounting and banking schemes

US, 1997. 4 to shuffle a
deck of cards US, 1965. 5 to receive favourable consideration US, 1986.
6 to be credible UK, 1849. < not a child in the house washed
nothing done, no progress made IRELAND, 1996. < wash mouth to
criticise someone or something without concern for the
consequences TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1986. < wash your face when
selling a lot by auction, to break even UK, 2004. < wash your
mouth out; wash out your mouth
addressed to someone using
687 wanking-spanner | wash
filthy language or dirty words. Often as an imperative, and
occasionally elaborated with ‘soap’, or ‘soap and water’
UK, 1961
wash away verb to kill someone US, 1941
washboard noun in mountain biking, an area of hard, rippled earth
US, 1996
washboard adjective of an abdomen, trim, muscular, defined. From
the appearance – solid and rippled
US, 1992
washdown noun beer. Especially in the context of drinking after a
session of drinking the tranquillizing herbal beverage kava
FIJI, 1991
washed-up adjective no longer successful, finished US, 1923
washer noun < put a washer on to urinate. A Lancashire term UK,
1967
washer-dryer noun a douche bag and towel US, 1980
wash-foot -and-come noun a noisy, rowdy party ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA,
1998
washicongs noun trainers, sneakers TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1992
washing machine noun 1 in computing, an obsolete large hard disk

found in a large floor cabinet US, 1991. 2 a wave as it breaks over
and thrashes a surfer
US, 1991
Washington noun a one-dollar note. From the portrait of George
Washington on the note
US, 1959
Washington Monument noun in poker, a hand with three fives. A
rather esoteric allusion to the fact that the Washington Monument
is 555 feet high US, 1988
washout noun 1 a failure (a thing or a person); a disappointment; a
cancellation UK, 1902. 2 in motorcyle racing, the condition that
occurs when the front wheel begins to slide in soft dirt; also used
in mountain biking
US, 1973
wash out verb 1 to fail and expel someone from a course or training
US, 1970. 2 in motor racing, to suffer a loss or decrease in steering
responsiveness US, 1980. 3 in mountain-biking, to lose front-wheel
traction
US, 1996. 4 to process cocaine into crack cocaine UK, 1996
wash-pot noun something or someone easily obtained TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO
, 1971
wash rock noun crack cocaine. Combines two separate terms for
CRACK UK, 1997
wash-up noun a post-event analytical discussion. Originally Royal
Navy, then the wider military, and from there into corporate and
political jargon UK, 1965
wash up verb in heterosexual intercourse, to enter the vagina from
behind UK, 2001
washwoman’s gig noun in an illegal numbers gambling lottery, a

bet on 4, 11 and 44 US, 1949
washy adjective used of a racehorse sweating, especially with anxiety
US, 1976
wasp; wap noun 1 a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. The term is
applied to whites without particular regard to the religious com-
ponent US, 1957. 2 a white Appalachian southern Protestant US, 1981.
3 a traffic warden. From the yellow band on the uniform hat and
sleeves (no doubt influenced by a characteristic intent to ‘sting’ a
harmless motorist) UK, 1966
waspishness noun the state of being distinctly white, Anglo-Saxon
and Protestant
US, 1957
WASS verb 8see: WAZ
wassock; wazzock; wazzuck noun a fool; an annoying or stupid
individual UK, 1983
wassup?; whas up?; wassuuup? used as a greeting. A slurred
‘what’s up?’ with dozens of variant spellings. Wildly popular pop
speak in the US (and, to a degree, UK) in 2000 in response to a
series of television advertisements for Budweiser™ beer US, 1990
wassy adjective ostentatious, especially in a sexually provocative way
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1987
waste verb 1 to kill someone US, 1964. 2 to smoke marijuana US, 1967.
3 (used of a jockey in horse racing) to lose weight AUSTRALIA, 1989.
< waste babies (of a male) to masturbate US, 2001. < waste
groceries
to vomit US, 1987
wastebasket noun in pool, a pocket that seems receptive to balls
dropping
US, 1993
waste-case noun a drunkard US, 1987

wasted adjective 1 drunk or drug-intoxicated US, 1964. 2 absolutely
exhausted. From earlier uses as ‘intoxicated’ UK, 1995
Waste Island nickname the West Island of Montreal. Likely
nicknamed with this derogatory term by teenagers, the West Island
area of the city is heavily residential and suburban, meaning that
under-age citizens have to be transported around by their parents
or use the bus, and by contrast with central Montreal, it is boring
CANADA, 2002
waster noun a lazy, unambitious person IRELAND, 1991
waste-time adjective dull, boring, uninteresting. Hawaiian youth
usage US, 1972
wastoid noun a worthless, dim-witted person; a person whose drug
or alcohol use is ruining their life
US, 1985
wastry noun rubbish (trash) JAMAICA, 2003
watch verb < watch your lip; watch your mouth; watch your
trap
to talk politely; to mind your manners; to not speak out of
turn. Often exclamatory UK, 1997. < watch your step to be
careful; to be cautious in a current or planned activity. Often as a
warning UK, 1959
Watcha 8see: WOTCHER
watch and chain; watch noun the brain. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
watchie noun a watchman UK: SCOTLAND, 1996
watch it verb used as a (sometimes threatening) warning to be
careful. Always imperative, often exclamatory UK, 1916
watch queen noun 1 a homosexual man who derives sexual
pleasure from watching other men having sex US, 1970. 2 a lookout
during anonymous homosexual sex in public places US, 1975
watch this space used as an announcement that further

developments may be expected. Originally, and still, used of space
in a newspaper, etc UK, 1917
watch works noun the brain. Teen slang, reported by a Toronto
newspaper in 1946, although reportedly ‘obsolescent or obsolete’
by 1959
CANADA, 1946
water noun 1 methamphetamine or another central nervous system
stimulant
US, 1989. 2 phencyclidine, the recreational drug known as
PCP or angel dust
US, 1989. 3 semen TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1983 8see:
WA TERCRESS, WATER HEN. < go in the water to lose an athletic
contest or other competition intentionally
US, 1955. < go to water
to be overcome with fear; to fail to maintain a resolve AUSTRALIA,
1950. < in the water; out in the water in debt US, 1992. < over
the water Northern Ireland. A British armed services’ view of the
world UK, 1995
water verb < water her garden (of a man) to have sex with a
woman JAMAICA, 1998. < water the garden to change the bottles
of intravenous fluid that feed a neurologically depressed hospital
patient US, 1978. < water the horses to urinate AUSTRALIA, 1971.
< water the vegetables to administer intravenous fluids to a
hospital’s neurologically depressed patients US, 1985
water black noun mascara. Because water is needed for application
UK, 1952
waterbomber noun an aircraft for fighting fires. Most of the world’s
waterbombers are made by Canadair in Montreal, and are known
in Europe as ‘le Canadair’ and ‘le pelican’ CANADA, 1965
8 FIREBOMBER

water box noun in drag racing, the area where cars heat and clean
their tyres before a race
US, 1997
waterboy noun a truck with a water tank used to spray water or
other liquids on the ground US, 1971
water burner noun a cook. The form ‘water scorcher’ has been
recorded as early as 1916
AUSTRALIA, 1982
waterc ooler moment noun a televisual moment that is expected to
get people talking the next day. The discussions about such a
moment are envisaged to happen when office workers meet at a
watercooler
US, 2003
wash away | watercooler moment 688
watercress; water noun a dress. Rhyming slang UK, 1998
watercress; water verb to dress. Rhyming slang UK, 1998
water dog noun 1 in circus and carnival usage, a seal US, 1981. 2 in
trucking, a truck with leaking water lines
US, 1971
waterfall verb to drink from a can or bottle by cascading the liquid
into your mouth without touching the can or bottle with your
lips. Collected from a 13-year-old in Irvine, California, April 2003
US,
2003
Waterford adjective easily understood; perfectly clear. Puns the
synonymous ‘crystal clear’ with well-known Irish glass
manufacturers Waterford Crystal UK, 2001
waterhead noun a person with mental problems US, 2002
water hen; water noun ten. Rhyming slang, especially in horse
racing

UK, 1969
waterhole; water hole noun 1 a public hotel AUSTRALIA, 1968 . 2 a
truck stop
US, 1976
watering hole; watering spot noun a bar or club where alcohol is
served; a public hotel US, 1955
Waterloo noun a stew. Rhyming slang, from the area of London UK,
1992
watermelons noun female breasts of generous dimensions. From
the all-too-obvious resemblance US, 1995
water sports noun 1 sexual activity involving the giving and getting
of an enema
US, 1969. 2 sexual activity that includes urination US,
1969
water-walker noun a fellow aviator whose accomplishments
approach the miraculous. US naval aviator usage US, 1986
water-water noun marijuana UK, 2003
water works noun 1 tears UK, 1647. 2 the urinary system US, 1961
wave noun 1 the semi-erect penis US, 1987. 2 crack cocaine UK, 1998
wave verb to bend the edge of a playing card for later cheating US,
1979. < wave a dead chicken to knowingly make a futile
attempt to resolve a problem. Possibly an allusion to voodoo US,
1996. < wave your wig to comb your hair. High school student
usage US, 1961
wavelength noun < on your wavelength; on the same
wavelength
to comprehend (and agree with) another’s point of
view or approach. Figurative application of a clear radio signal
US,
1927

waves noun < make waves to stir up trouble; to upset an
established or accepted routine US, 1962
wax noun phonograph records. Recordings were originally made on
wax cylinders or discs; the term applied to shellac discs and, sub-
sequently, vinyl, but is not used to refer to newer technologies
such as CD, tape, etc US, 1932 . < put the wax on the tracks to
get ready and start out UK, 2003
wax verb 1 to shoot or kill someone US, 1960. 2 to excel; to perform
well
US, 2001. 3 in children’s games, to share turns at bat, kicking or
the like AUSTRALIA, 1990. < wax the carrot (of a male) to
masturbate US, 2001. < wax the dolphin (of a male) to
masturbate US, 1987. < wax the weezer (of a male) to masturbate
US, 2001
waxa adjective good, excellent UK, 2003
waxhead noun a surfer. From the wax used on surfboards AUSTRALIA,
1981
wax me used as an injunction or request to be given a marijuana
cigarette UK, 1996
wax up verb to conceal contraband in a small container in readiness
for hiding the container in the anus UK, 1996
waxy noun in horse racing, an enthusiast who can’t help shouting in
the ears of those near him AUSTRALIA, 1989
way noun a familiar neighbourhood; your home territory US, 1987.
< in a big way to an extreme US, 1987. < on the way out of a
person, approaching retirement or likely to be dismissed; of a
thing, coming to the end of its useful existence UK, 1961. < that’s
the way (something does something)
that’s how things turn
out. Used in a formulaic construction of ‘that’s the way the NOUN

VERBs’
US, 1952. < the other way diverging from a stated con-
dition UK, 1858
way adverb extremely; without doubt US, 1982
wayback adjective in remote areas AUSTRALIA, 1899
way enough! in team rowing, used as a command by the coxswain
to the rowers to stop rowing
US, 2003
Wayne Fontanas adjective mad. Rhyming slang for BANANAS;formed
from British singer Wayne Fontana (Glyn Ellis) (b.1945) who, with
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders, came to prominence in the
mid-1960s
UK, 2004
wayout noun a person who is dressed in an extraordinary,
unconventional fashion. From
WAY OUT (unconventional) US, 1969
way out adjective extreme; unconventional; experimental or
innovative; good
US, 1958
way past adverb extremely US, 1992
way to go! used for registering approval; ‘well done!’. Abbreviated
from ‘that’s the way to go!’ US, 1972
way up adjective drunk US, 1955
waz; wazz; wass verb to urinate UK, 1984
waz; wazz; whaz noun an act of urination UK, 1999
wazoo noun the anus and/or rectum US, 1965
wazz verb to rain. A figurative use of the sense ‘to urinate’ UK, 1980.
< wazz on your bonfire to spoil your fun, to ruin something
good. Combines WAZ; WAZZ (urination) with a symbol of celebration
UK, 1998

wazzed adjective drunk. A variation of PISSED. The Batfinks ‘Wazzed
’n’ Blasted’ was recorded in the 1980s but not released until 1998
UK, 1996
wazzer; wazz adjective wonderful UK, 1983
wazzock; wazzuck noun 8see: WASSOCK
WC noun a lavatory. Abbreviated from ‘water closet’ UK, 1815
weak! used as a prompt and short expression of disagreement with
what has just been said US, 1986
weakheart noun a police officer; a representative of the
establishment or authority. Used by West Indians, and intended to
be offensive UK, 1977
weakie noun a poker player who lacks courage US, 1996
weak sister noun 1 a weak, ineffective person US, 1857. 2 an investor
who buys a stock as an investment but sells it as soon as the price
rises US, 1988
weaky-weaky adjective frail TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1987
weapon noun 1 the penis. First recorded around the year 1000; and
ever thus UK, 1000. 2 in pool, a player’s cue stick US, 1993. < spit
shine the weapon
to perform oral sex on a man. Perhaps this
phrase has military origins
US, 2001
weapons noun an actor’s arsenal of make up UK, 1952
weapons-grade adjective very strong. Teen slang, post 11th
September 2001 US, 2002
wear verb 1 to tolerate or accept something. Originally military UK,
1925. 2 to use a name US, 1968 . < wear American gloves among
Canadian military personnel, to have your hands in your pockets
CANADA, 1995. < wear buttons to be extremely gullible US, 1976.
< wear it to take the blame, and punishment, for another’s

crime UK, 1996. < wear stripes to serve a prison sentence US, 1949.
< wear the face off someone to vigorously French kiss
someone IRELAND, 2003
we are not worthy used as a humorous recognition of
accomplishment
US, 1992
wearing the smalls noun the testicles. Rhyming slang for BALLS UK,
2003
Weary Willie noun a person who is perpetually tired, sad and pessi-
mistic. From the character portrayed by circus clown Emmett Kelly
(1898–1979) US, 1947
689 watercre ss; water | Weary Willie
Weary Winny noun a prostitute who seeks customers on the street.
From the title of a 1927 film
US, 1951
weasel noun a tip, a gratuity. Used by railway porters; probably
derived from
WEASELING (extracting tips) UK, 1965
weasel verb 1 to use ambiguous language in an attempt to
equivocate on the meaning
US, 1956. 2 to use cunning to achieve
your end; to cheat
UK, 1975. < weasel out; weasel your way
out
to avoid a responsibility or obligation, especially in a sly or
underhand manner
UK, 1962
weasel and stoat; weasel noun a coat. Rhyming slang UK, 1971
weaseling; weaselling noun extracting gratuities. Used by railway
porters

UK, 1970
We, as official Video Rangers, hereby promise used with
humour as an oath or pledge. From the US children’s television
programme Captain Video and his Video Rangers (1947–57), in
which the viewers were asked to join with Captain Video in prom-
ising to ‘support forever the causes of freedom, truth and justice
throughout the universe’. Used with irony in later years by those
who as children had been warped by television
US, 1957
weather noun < under the weather 1 ill, unwell US, 1850.
2 experiencing the bleed period of the menstrual cycle. A
narrowing of the general sense of ‘vaguely unwell’ CANADA, 1961.
3 tipsy, drunk. From the conventional sense as ‘unwell’ AUSTRALIA,
1942
weather guesser noun a meteorologist ANTARCTICA, 2003
weather in; weather out verb (of bad weather) to confine pilots in
Canada’s west to the airport until conditions improve. This term
was used in alternation with, or perhaps more often than, ‘storm-
stayed’, in western Canada winters CANADA, 1989
weave noun 1 real and synthetic hair woven into existing hair to
hide baldness or thinning hair US, 1993. 2 clothes US, 1972
weave verb < get weaving to start (immediately). Originally Royal
Air Force slang UK, 1942
web noun a television network US, 1990
webbed up adjective involved, entangled; addicted UK, 2000
webfoot noun 1 a dairy farmer NEW ZEALAND, 2002. 2 a racehorse that
performs well on a muddy track
US, 1951
weblish noun the informally coded and abbreviated form of English
that is used in text messaging, chat rooms, etc UK, 2001

web r age noun an outburst of enraged hostility within a cyber-
environment US, 1996
wedding noun a one-on-one battle between fighter pilots US, 1986
wedding bells noun morning glory seeds, eaten for their purported
hallucinogenic effect US, 1970
wedding bells acid; wedding bells noun LSD US, 1971
wedding kit noun the genitals US, 1964
wedding night noun the first occasion on which two homosexual
men have sex with each other UK, 2002
wedding tackle noun the male genitals UK, 1961
wedge noun 1 a thick fold of currency notes; money in general. In
the C18 and C19 ‘wedge’ meant both ‘money’ and ‘silver’; how-
ever, these senses were obsolete long before the current usages.
The modern derivation comes from folded banknotes which form
a wedge shape; hence the coincidental generic usage
UK, 1977.
2 one hundred pounds UK, 2000. 3 a dose of LSD; LSD US, 1971. 4 in
drag racing, an engine with a combustion chamber that is shaped
like a wedge US, 1999. 5 a car. Teen slang US, 1951
wedged adjective in computing, suspended in mid-operation and
unable to proceed
US, 1983
wedged up adjective having money to spend UK, 2000
wedger noun someone who pushes into a queue US, 1994
wedgie noun a wedge-tailed eagle AUSTRALIA, 1941
wedgies noun wedge-heeled shoes UK, 1959
wedginald noun money. Disguising WEDGE (money) with a play on
thenameReginaldUK, 1999
wedgy; wedgie noun 1 the condition that exists when someone
pulls your trousers or underpants forcefully upward, forming a

wedge between buttock cheeks
US, 1988. 2 a sandal, the thong of
which wedges between the toes
US, 1981
wee; wee wee noun urine; an act of urination. Juvenile or jocular in
the main UK, 1937
wee verb to urinate IRELAND, 1934
weebles noun an ill-defined or undefined illness US, 1947
weed noun 1 marijuana. The preferred slang term for marijuana
until the 1950s, and despite the popularity of its successors it has
never completely vanished from the lexicon US, 1928. 2 a marijuana
cigarette
US, 1958. 3 a cigarette US, 1951. 4 tobacco UK, 1606. 5 a thin,
unhealthily delicate and weak person UK, 1869. 6 in horse racing, an
undersized thoroughbred
UK, 1948. 7 an expert BARBADOS, 1965. 8 a
beginner surfer US, 1990. < get into the weeds to micro-manage
the smallest details US, 1991
weed verb 1 in a gambling establishment, to provide an employee
with money to gamble in the hopes of building up business US,
1947. 2 to pilfer. Survives as WEEDING UK, 1811. < weed a poke to
remove all money and valuable items from a stolen wallet US, 1962
weedburner noun in drag racing, exhaust pipes that extend
downward and to the rear of the car, terminating near the ground
US, 1993
weeder noun on the railways, the supervisor of a track crew US, 1977
weed head noun a marijuana smoker US, 1945
weeding noun stealing, especially from an employer, or at the scene
of a crime already committed. From WEED (to pilfer) UK, 1977
weedly noun a female marijuana smoker US, 1955

weed monkey; weed mule noun an old car or truck used to haul
raw materials used in the illegal production of alcohol
US, 1974
weedo noun a marijuana user US, 1958
weed of wisdom noun marijuana UK, 1994
weeds noun clothes US, 1961
weed tea noun a narcotic drink made by the infusion of marijuana
leaves. A combination of WEED (marijuana) and ‘tea’ in the con-
ventional sense US, 1960
weedwacker team noun in law enforcement, a surveillance team US,
1997
weedy adjective lacking in physical, moral or emotional strength UK,
1852
Wee Georgie Wood; wee georgie adjective good. Rhyming slang,
formed on music hall entertainer Wee Georgie Wood (1894–1979),
perhaps via the Tasmanian Wee Georgie Wood Steam Railway
(named after a locomotive presumably named, in turn, after the
entertainer); especially in the phrase ‘any wee georgie wood?’
AUSTRALIA, 1942
wee hammock noun a sanitary towel. From the similarity of
appearance; in usage while such capacious reinforcement was the
popular choice; certainly in use during the mid-to late 1960s UK,
2001
wee heavy noun a nip-sized bottle of strong ale or barley wine. First
used for Fowler’s Wee Heavy™, then generic. Recorded by Brian
Glover, CAMRA Dictionary of Beer, 1985 UK, 1985
wee hours noun very early in the morning; the hours just after
midnight US, 1973
weekend noun any short term of imprisonment UK, 1950
weekend adjective used derisively for indicating a part-time or casual

dedication to a stated activity. Not restricted to weekend usage
UK,
1935
weekender noun a person serving a jail sentence for a minor
offence on weekends US, 1971
weekend habit noun a sporadic use of recreational drugs UK, 1996
weekend hippie noun a person with a conventional lifestyle who at
the weekend adopts a counterculture persona
US, 1968
weekend pass noun a glass. Rhyming slang, probably of military
origin
UK, 2002
Weary Winny | weekend pass 690
weekend root noun a sexual partner with no illusions of a sustained
relationship
NEW ZEALAND, 1998
weekend warrior noun 1 a member of the National Guard.
Members of reserve units must typically devote one weekend a
month to refresher training US, 1976. 2 in drag racing, a
hobbyist/enthusiast who confines his passion to weekend events
US, 1965
weenie; weeny adjective small, tiny UK, 1790
weenie; weeny; wienie noun 1 a hot dog. From the German
wienerwurst
US, 1906. 2 the penis US, 1978
weenie bin noun a library carrel US, 1987
weenie wagger; weenie waver noun a male sexual exhibitionist
US, 1970
weeny; weenie; wienie noun an unlikeable, weak person US, 1963
weeny-bopper noun a young girl, not yet a teenager but with a

teenager’s tastes. After
TEENYBOPPER (a young teenager, especially a
girl) UK, 1972
weep and wail noun a sob story told by a beggar. Rhyming slang for
‘tale’ UK, 1960
weep and wait verb to serve a prison sentence while awaiting news
on the outcome of an appeal
US, 1962
weeper noun a prisoner who cannot manage his incarceration and
constantly complains US, 1976
weepie noun a film, novel, play, song, etc, with a sentimental
narrative or emotional effect UK, 1952
weeping willow noun a pillow. Rhyming slang UK, 1880
weeping womb noun the bleed period of the menstrual cycle US,
1999
weeps noun tears US, 1946
wees noun an act of urination NEW ZEALAND, 1984
weevil noun in oil drilling, a new and inexperienced worker US, 1954
wee-wee noun 1 the penis US, 1969. 2 the vagina US, 1998 8see: WEE
wee-wee verb to urinate. Children’s vocabulary UK, 1937
wee-wee adjective very small BARBADOS, 1965
weezee verb to urinate. Children’s vocabulary TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
1986
we go! ‘let’s leave!’. Hawaiian youth usage US, 1981
we gone goodbye. Originally used for signing off on a citizens’
band radio transmission, but too good to stay there US, 1976
We Ho noun West Hollywood, California US, 2001
weigh verb < weigh in to bring influence to bear; to make a
forceful contribution to a topic under discussion
UK, 1909. < weigh

in with
to produce something additional; to introduce something
extra or unexpected; to contribute UK, 1885. < weigh into
someone
1 to attack someone AUSTRALIA, 1941 . 2 to ensnare
someone in a swindle US, 1965. < weigh on to pay or repay
someone. English Gypsy use UK, 2000
weigh off verb 1 to sentence someone to imprisonment or other
judicial punishment. In a wider sense ‘to weigh up’ is ‘to con-
sider’; this usage is originally military
UK, 1925. 2 to take revenge. To
redress the balance by adjusting the weight
UK, 1977
weight noun 1 large quantities of a drug US, 1964. 2 a large amount of
money US, 1964. 3 blame, responsibility US, 1960. 4 difficulties,
problems US, 1997. 5 the handicap that a skilled pool player will
allow an opponent US, 1984. < do the weight to slim, to lose
weight UK, 1999. < put on weight to undergo breast enhancement
surgery US, 1997
weight house noun in an illegal drug enterprise, any place where a
dealer hides his major supply of drugs US, 2002
weightless adjective drug-intoxicated, especially by crack cocaine UK,
1998
weight pile noun the area where weightlifting equipment is kept.
Prison terminology US, 1990
weights noun loaded dice US, 1977
weight watcher noun a Department of Transportation employee at
a roadside weigh station for trucks
US, 1976
weigh up verb to consider or appraise something UK, 1894

weiner noun 8see: WIENER
weird and wonderful adjective remarkably eccentric; peculiar;
unfathomable. A colloquial coupling; usually ironic or derogatory,
always clichéd UK, 1859
weirdo noun a weird person US, 1955
weird out verb 1 to begin to act weirdly US, 1980. 2 to frighten
someone; to cause someone emotional turmoil US, 1993
weirdy; weirdie noun 1 an eccentric; a very odd person UK, 1894. 2 a
homosexual, usually male UK, 1969
welch verb 8see: WELSH
welcome aboard! a catchphrase used in greeting to a newcomer to
any organisation, institution or closed group US, 1962
welcome to my world used for expressing limited sympathy when
someone is complaining about something that happens to you
regularly
US, 1999
welcome to the club! used for expressing faint sympathy for
someone who is complaining about something that others suffer
US, 1993
weld verb to have sex JAMAICA, 1992
welder noun a male pornography performer US, 1995
well noun to a pickpocket, an inside jacket pocket US, 1979. < the
Well
Bridewell Jail, Chicago US, 1976
well adjective used of a drug addict, unaffected by withdrawal
symptoms US, 1969
well adverb used generally to add positive emphasis to adjectives UK,
1986
well and truly adverb utterly, beyond doubt, to an unarguable
degree UK, 1948

well away adjective 1 sound asleep UK, 1927. 2 tipsy UK, 1931. < be
well away
to prosper, to be doing very well. As in the example:
‘He’s well away with that girl’ UK, 1937
well-endowed adjective 1 of a man, having impressively pro-
portioned genitals UK, 1951. 2 of a woman, having generously pro-
portioned breasts
UK, 1984
well-gone adjective drunk UK, 2000
well-hard adjective very tough UK, 1995
well-heeled adjective rich; having more than sufficient money US,
1897
well hung adjective 1 of a man, having generously proportioned
genitals
UK, 1685. 2 young. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
wellie verb 1 to smash something or defeat someone. Used by the
Royal Marines in the Falklands war, made familiar in the SAS
fictions of Chris Ryan and Andy McNab
UK, 1982. 2 to kick someone
or something UK, 1966
wellie; welly noun 1 a Wellington boot (rubberised or plastic water-
proof footware). In the 1970s, it began to be used in phrases
where ‘boot’ occurred, e.g. ‘The welly’s on the other foot now’;
‘he’s getting too big for his wellies’. Perhaps started by The Great
Northern Welly Boot Show put on by Billy Connolly at the
Edinburgh Festival in the early 1970s. ‘Well boot’ is also a variant
UK, 1961. 2 power, energy, especially when harnessed as acceleration
UK, 1980. < give it some wellie; give it some welly to
vigorously attack someone or something; hence, to put all your
effort into something. After

WELLIE (Wellington boot), hence a play
on STICK THE BOOT IN UK, 1990
wellied adjective drunk UK, 2002
wellie-whanging noun Wellington boot hurling as an
unconventional competitive sport
UK, 1984
well, I’ll be a blue-nosed gopher! used for expressing surprise. A
signature line of the Ollie character in the ‘Spin and Marty’
segment of the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s. Repeated with
referential humour
US, 1955
691 weekend root | well, I’ll be a blue-nosed gopher!
well, I’ll be a dirty bird! used for expressing surprise humorously.
A signature line of George Gobel on the television comedy The
George Gobel Showcase (CBS, 1954–60). Repeated widely with
referential humour US, 1960
well, I’m damned! 8see: I’LL BE DAMNED
well I never!; well I never did! used for registering surprise UK,
1848
wellington noun a condom. A figurative application of waterproof
footwear. ‘Welly boot’ is also a variant
UK, 2003
wellington boot; wellington noun an act of sexual intercourse.
Rhyming slang for
ROOT AUSTRALIA, 1970
well-lined adjective reasonably wealthy UK, 1999
well-oiled adjective drunk. An intensification of OILED that now
stands alone
UK, 1937
welnaw no US, 1993

welsh; welch verb to swindle someone out of money wagered.
Originates in the supposed untrustworthiness of the Welsh, poss-
ibly as speakers of a language few other mainland Britons
understand (and such private communication is, after all, the
intention of most criminal slang) UK, 1857
Welshie; Welshy noun a Welsh person UK, 1951
Welsh Wales noun Wales. If this referred specifically to the parts of
Wales where Welsh is the predominant language this could well be
considered as a correct usage; however, this is used generally and
patronisingly, often in a faux-Welsh accent, of Wales as a whole UK,
2004
Welsh Windbag nickname politician Neil Kinnock (b.1942); hence,
any loquacious Welsh person. A happy alliteration given to
Kinnock from his weakness for big speeches that (unhappily)
undermined his credibility with the electorate; the tag dates from
his time as leader of the Labour party from 1983–92
UK, 1984
wendy noun a white homosexual male. Gay slang, formed on the
name Wendy, probably elaborating the initial ‘w’ for white, and
originating among Cape coloureds
SOUTH AFRICA, 2000
Wendy house noun 1 in prison, a time when prisoners are
permitted to associate with each other. From a child’s Wendy
house, thus an allusion to playtime and the possibility for discreet
association
UK, 1996. 2 the Duty Chief Inspector’s office in the
Information Room at New Scotland Yard. From the conventional
sense as ‘a children’s playhouse’ UK, 1999
Werris noun a Greek person AUSTRALIA, 1977
Werris Creek noun 1 a Greek person. Rhyming slang. From the

name of a New South Wales town AUSTRALIA, 1977. 2 an act of
urination. Rhyming slang for LEAK AUSTRALIA, 2002
wert’ noun worthless. Hawaiian youth usage US, 1982
Wesson party noun group sex enhanced by spreading vegetable oil
on the participants’ bodies. An allusion and tribute to Wesson™
vegetable oil US, 1971
west coaster noun in trucking, a large, rectangular rear view mirror
US, 1971
west coast turnar ound noun any strong central nervous system
stimulant. Powerful enough to keep a truck driver awake for a trip
to the west coast and back US, 1971
West End show noun heroin. London’s West End is known as
‘Theatreland’; this jocular term in use amongst musicians suggests
that heroin is a popular entertainment that will, in the words of a
critical cliché, ‘run and run’
UK, 2001
West End thespian noun a lesbian. Rhyming slang UK, 2003
western grip noun used of a male when masturbating, gripping
your penis with your thumb facing your body. From the grip used
on the reins by those riding Western style US, 2004
western style adjective used of coffee, stale and lukewarm. Punning
on the observation that the coffee has ‘been on the range all day’
US, 1976
West Ham reserves; west hams noun the nerves. Rhyming slang,
formed from the football club
UK, 1961
westie noun a young tough person. Originally referring to people
from the western suburbs of Sydney, it now has spread to other
parts of the country. In Sydney it was used as a derogatory
sobriquet to refer to inhabitants of suburbs west of one’s own,

which meant that everyone except those people living in the
eastern beach suburbs was liable to be called a ‘westie’ by
someone. Similarly, in New Zealand, applied to those from the
suburbs west of Auckland
AUSTRALIA, 1977
Westminster Abbey noun a cab driver. Rhyming slang for CABBY UK,
1992
Westminster Abbey adjective shabby. Rhyming slang; originally
theatrical, nicely ironic
UK, 1961
Westralia noun Western Australia. Hence ‘someone or something of
Western Australia’ is ‘Westralian’ AUSTRALIA, 1893
west side passkeys noun burglary tools. Coined in Chicago US, 1982
Westy noun US Army General William Childs Westmoreland (b.1914),
US commander in Vietnam 1964–68 US, 1991
wet noun 1 a politician with middle-of-the-road views on
controversial issues, especially (during the 1980s) a Conservative
not entirely supportive of Margaret Thatcher’s monetarist policies
UK, 1931. 2 in motor racing, a tyre designed for racing in the rain US,
1992. 3 a drink of an alcoholic beverage. C10 wæt, first recorded in
slang as ‘heavy-wet’ (malt liquor) UK, 1982. 4 alcoholic beverages.
Gulf war usage UK, 1991. 5 an act of urination UK, 1925. 6 aconven-
tional cigarette infused with embalming fluid
US, 2001. 7 rain; wet
weather
US, 1945. 8 a Mexican national illegally present in the US.
Shortened form of
WETBACK, from the Spanish mojado, drawn from
the image of swimming across the Rio Grande River from Mexico
into Texas. Derogatory US, 1979. < the wet the wet season in

Australia’s tropical north AUSTRALIA, 1908
wet verb < wet the baby’s head to drink to celebrate the birth
(and christening) of a child UK, 1885. < wet the elbow to enjoy a
few drinks NEW ZEALAND, 1994. < wet your whistle to have a drink,
especially an alcoholic drink US, 1720 . < wet yourself to laugh
uproariously UK, 1970
wet adjective 1 of a woman, sexually excited; ready for sex. Not
recorded before 1937 but surely in use much earlier
UK, 1937. 2 in
politics, willing to compromise. Adopted from the sense ‘weak,
lacking in effectiveness’; in this context often as Tory ‘wet’ (see
following citation) UK, 1980. 3 weak, lacking in effectiveness. Upper-
class society use UK, 1916. 4 foolish NEW ZEALAND, 2002. 5 excellent US,
2000. 6 pertaining to killing US, 1992. 7 permitting the purchase and
consumption of alcoholic beverages US, 1950
wetback noun 1 an illegal immigrant to the US from Mexico. An
offensive and figurative term deriving from the crossing of the Rio
Grande River between Mexico and the US. Displaying a candour
endemic to the time, the US Border Patrol launched ‘Operation
Wetback’ in 1954 to stem the tide of illegal immigration from
Mexico
US, 1929. 2 in surfing, a large wave US, 1957
wet behind the ears adjective inexperienced UK, 1931
wet blanket noun a killjoy, a spoilsport UK, 1857
wet bum noun a weak individual. Derogatory; the image of a baby
with a wet bottom, punning on WET (weak) UK, 1997
wetcoast noun the strip of British Columbia along the Pacific Ocean
CANADA, 1989
Wetcoast Samsonite noun a green rubbish bag used for luggage
CANADA, 1989

wet decks noun a woman who has recently had sex with several
men US, 1972
wet dream noun 1 among men, a sleeping fantasy that triggers
orgasm UK, 1851. 2 a dream come true. A figurative application of
the unconsious fantasy that triggers an orgasm UK, 1971
wet dreamer noun an exciting experience UK, 1999
wet fart adjective ineffectual, pointless UK, 2000
wet-finger noun < get wet-finger in the categorisation of sexual
activity by teenage boys, to insert a finger into a girl’s vagina US,
1986
well, I’ll be a dirty bird! | wet-finger 692
Wet Nelly noun used as a generic name for any form of bread
pudding. There is anecdotal evidence of Wet Nelly being enjoyed
during World War 1
UK, 2000
wet paper could cut you used for describing a person who can’t
do anything right
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1989
wet rag noun an unpopular, socially inept person US, 1955
wet road block noun the Yalu River, Korea. US troops were
prohibited from crossing the Yalu, even in pursuit of enemy
soldiers
US, 1982
wet season noun the bleed period of the menstrual cycle AUSTRALIA,
1988
wet shot noun a scene in a pornographic film or photograph
depicting a man ejaculating
US, 1991
wet smack noun a sexually frigid woman US, 1977
wet stuff noun explicit violence or sex in a television programme or

film
US, 1997
wetsuit noun acondomUS, 1993
wettie noun especially among surfers, a wetsuit AUSTRALIA, 1987
wettie rash noun a rash caused by wearing a wetsuit AUSTRALIA, 1996
wetware noun a human being; the human brain US, 1991
wet week; wet weekend noun < like a wet week; like a wet
weekend
miserable, wretched UK, 1984
wet willie noun an act in which a spit-moistened finger is forced
into a victim’s ear and twisted US, 1992
WFO adjective used of a throttle, all the way open. An abbreviation of
‘wide fucking open’ US, 2001
whack noun 1 a heavy, resounding blow; a blow with a stick, often as
corporal punishment UK, 1737. 2 a share, a portion, a part, a
measure
AUSTRALIA, 1889. 3 heroin UK, 2003. 4 crack cocaine UK, 2003. 5 a
poorly executed piece of graffiti art
US, 1997. < have a whack at;
take a whack at
to attempt something; to attack someone US,
1904. < out of whack not in proper shape or order US, 1885
whack verb 1 to kill someone, especially by gunshot. Also used with
‘out’ US, 1977. 2 to strike someone vigorously UK, 1721. < whack
plaque
in a dentist’s office, to clean teeth. Collected from an
orthodontist in Bangor, Maine, in April 2001 US, 2001. < whack
your doodle (of a male) to masturbate US, 1970
whack! in the language of hang gliding, used for commenting on a
poor landing US, 1992

whackadoo noun acrazypersonUS, 1979
whack attack noun 1 in the language of hang gliding, a string of
bad landings US, 1992. 2 an irrational and violent reaction to
hallucinogenic drugs US, 2001
whacked adjective 1 exhausted UK, 1919. 2 drunk or drug-intoxicated.
Also used with ‘out’ US, 1967. 3 out of control UK, 1995
whacker; wacker noun a fool; a jerk AUSTRALIA, 1966
whacking noun 1 a beating; a defeat. The figurative, sporting sense
is not recorded before 1951 UK, 1862. 2 a killing. From WHACK (to
murder)
US, 2001
whacking adverb used to intensify adjectives of largeness UK, 1853
whacko adjective 1 terrific; wonderful AUSTRALIA, 1953. 2 crazy; eccentric
US, 1957
whacko! used for expressing shock AUSTRALIA, 1937
whack-off noun an act of masturbation US, 1969
whack off verb to masturbate US, 1969
whack off with verb to steal something AUSTRALIA, 1977
whacko Jacko adjective crazy. A catchphrase formed from the
nickname of entertainer Michael Jackson, whose well-publicised
eccentricities give rise to this usage
UK, 1989
whacko the chook! used for expressing shock AUSTRALIA, 1981
whacko-the-diddle-oh used for expressing shock AUSTRALIA, 1966
whack out verb to kill someone US, 1979
whack -silly adjective obsessed with masturbation US, 1962
whack up verb to divide something, especially a quantity of illegal
drugs, into portions
US, 1973
whaddup? used as a greeting US, 1994

whaddya hear?; whaddya say? used as a greeting. The
trademark greeting of James Cagney (‘Rocky’ Sullivan) in the 1938
Warner Brothers film Angels With Dirty Faces US, 1938
wha happen?; what happenin? used as a greeting TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO
, 1993
whaka blonde noun a Maori woman. A coinage from the
Whakarewarewa Thermal Village in Rotora, a Maori tourist
attraction NEW ZEALAND, 1950
whale noun a gambler who places large bets US, 1995
whale verb 1 to beat someone UK, 1790. 2 to have sex US, 1967. 3 to play
music with passion and gusto US, 1958
whale belly noun on the railways, a coal tender with a drop bottom
US, 1946
whale in the bay noun someone looking for payment of a
gambling debt
AUSTRALIA, 1989
whale kisser noun an environmentalist US, 2003
whale of a time noun a good time US, 1913
whale sperm noun a plexiglas cleaning agent US, 1991
whale tail noun that portion of the ‘T’ at the rear of a thong that
becomes exposed during wear UK, 2005
wham noun a striptease act in which the dancer ends her perform-
ance completely naked
US, 1981
wham! used for registering the suddenness of an occurrence.
Figurative use of ‘wham’ (to hit)
UK, 1999
wham bag noun a bag full of explosives US, 1988
wham, bam, thank you m’am used for describing anything done

in very short order, especially sex. Sometimes abbreviated, and
sometimes embellished with other rhymes
US, 1942
whammer noun the penis US, 1989
whammy noun 1 a curse or hex. US, 1940. 2 something that is
upsetting or sets you back
US, 1961
whammy bar noun a floating bridge on an electric guitar that makes
tremolos, vibrators, dives, bends and other effects possible US, 1992
wham-wham noun in prison, store-bought snacks US, 1981
whandoodles noun in poker, a temporary increase in the betting
limit after a player wins a hand with a rare hand US, 1967
whangdoodle noun on the railways, a remote telephone US, 1977
whanger; wanger noun the penis US, 1939
wha’ppen(?) ‘what’s happening?’; used as a greeting. West Indian
and UK Black usage UK, 1981
whapp’n used as a greeting. Derived from ‘what’s happening?’ but
not used as an interrogative UK, 2003
wharfie noun a wharf labourer AUSTRALIA, 1911
wharf rat noun in the language surrounding the Grateful Dead, a
follower of the band who abstains from alcohol and drugs. From
the title of a Grateful Dead song US, 1994
whark verb to vomit UK, 1985
whassname noun used to refer to a name that is unknown,
forgotten, to be avoided or hardly worth mentioning. Slovening of
WHATS-HIS-NAME UK, 2000
what noun < or what? used as a final (often the only), wholly
indefinite choice UK, 1766
what a gay day! used as a conversation starter or filler; also as an
indicator of homosexual company. The catchphrase of

CAMP
comedian and television compere Larry Grayson (1923–95) it
caught the public imagination in the mid-1970s and was adopted
into popular use UK, 2004
what a loss used for expressing sympathy for a difficult situation
US, 1983
what am I going to do with you? said to someone you know
well as an expression of tolerance and forgiveness UK, 1984
693 Wet Nelly | what am I going to do with you?
what a revolting development this is used for expressing
displeasure. A signature line of working-class hero Chester A. Riley
on the television comedy The Life of Riley (NBC, 1949–58).
Repeated with referential humour US, 1958
what are you like? an exclamation directed at someone whose
behaviour is unacceptable IRELAND, 1995
what can I do you fo r? ‘how can I help?’, ‘what can I do for
you?’. A jocular suggestion
UK, 1961
whatcha’ thinking? used as a greeting US, 1986
what’chu talkin’ about, Willis? used for humorously expressing a
lack of understanding or belief. A stock line on the television
comedy Diff’rent Strokes (1978–86), uttered by the Arnold Jackson
character played by Gary Coleman. Repeated with referential
humour
US, 1986
what did your last slave die of? used as an expression of
discontent to someone who is demanding that too much be done
UK, 1976
whatdja; whatdya; whaddya ‘what do you’. A phonetic recording
of general slurring

UK, 1999
what-do-you-call-it; what-d’ye-call-it noun used as a replacement
for any noun that the user cannot or does not wish to specify UK,
1600
what do you know?; whaddya know? used as a register of
surprise
US, 1914
what do you know, Joe? used as a greeting US, 1947
what do you think of the show so far? – rubbish! a question
and answer catchphrase widely used and often without an
appropriate context. Comedian Eric Morecambe (1926–84)
introduced this catchphrase in the early 1970s. The response was
usually voiced by Morecambe in the manner of a ventriloquist:
‘ruggish!’
UK, 1981
what else did you get for Christmas? directed at a person
showing-off with a new ‘toy’; often addressed to the tail of a
disappearing vehicle UK, 1975
whatever adverb used for registering self-pitying acceptance US, 2003
whatever pronoun used as an emphatic form of ‘what?’. In conven-
tional use from C14–C19, then colloquial UK, 1974
whatever! used as a dismissing retort to what has just been said.
Said with attitude, with a pause after ‘what’, and sometimes with
thumbs and forefingers shaped like a ‘W’ US, 1989
whatever’s fair used as a non-responsive, vague answer to a direct
question US, 1969
whatever turns you on your individual tastes, foibles, hobbies,
interests, etc. Generally spoken to indicate a tolerance of tastes
that do not coincide with your own US, 1978
what for a thing is that? among Nova Scotians of German

descent, used as a query to mean ‘what kind of a thing is that?’
CANADA, 1999
what goes up must come down a Cockney catchphrase that
comments generally on the inevitability of things happening, and,
specifically, on the nature of a pregnancy UK, 1969
what-have-you noun used in place of any other item or items in a
category
UK, 1999
what is it with you? why are you behaving in such a manner? UK,
1996
what it is used as a greeting US, 1974
what kind? what’s the matter with you? US, 1963
what makes you tick the inner-workings of your mind. As if by
clockwork UK, 1999
whatnot noun anything and everything. Usually a characteristic of
individual speakers, not a group, and often used with an annoying
regularity
UK, 1540
what price NOUN? consider the worth of… something!; what do
you think of… something? Occasionally admiring, but generally
sarcastic, in reference to a declared or well-understood value UK,
1893
what say? 1 what do you think?; what do you say to the proposal?,
etc
UK, 1895. 2 used as a greeting US, 1965
what’s-er-name; what’s-her-name noun used to refer to a name
that is unknown, forgotten, to be avoided or hardly worth
mentioning UK, 1978
what’s-his-face; what’s-her-face noun used to refer to a name
that is unknown, forgotten, to be avoided or hardly worth

mentioning UK, 1995
what’s-his-name; what’s-his-namey noun used to refer to a
person whose name is unknown, forgotten, to be avoided or
hardly worth mentioning
UK, 1697
whatsit; whatsis; whatzis noun used to refer to a name that is
unknown, forgotten, to be avoided or hardly worth mentioning
US,
1882
what’s it to you? used (often aggressively) as the rhetorical
response to a question, the answer to which is thus signalled to be
none of the questioner’s business
UK, 1959
what’s kicking? used as a greeting, along the lines of ‘what is
new?’
US, 1949
what’s my name? used as a taunt while beating someone. In
1967, boxer Muhammed Ali fought Ernie Terrell, who insisted on
calling Ali ‘Cassius Clay’; as Ali pounded Terrell, Ali taunted ‘What’s
my name, fool? What’s my name?’
US, 1997
what’s poppin? used as a peer-to-peer greeting US, 1995
what’s shaking?; what’s shakin’? used as a greeting US, 1951
what’s that when it’s at home? used as an expression of
contempt or derision for something. Any person, people or object
may, of course, substitute for ‘that’ UK, 1932
what’s the damage? how much do I owe?; what is the cost?
Formed on
DAMAGE (expense) UK, 1984
what’s the dealio?; what’s the dillio? what is new?, what is

going on? Popularised by rapper Busta Rhymes in the late 1990s
US, 2002
what’s the difference between NOUN and NOUN? a well-
worn joke-telling formula that is only usually half answered (a
more vulgar or scandalous response to the question is implied) US,
1851
what’s the drill? what are the arrangements, or usual procedures?
Originally military, now general UK, 1961
what’s the scor e? what is the latest information, situation, etc?
Originally Royal Air Force, then more general UK, 1961
what’s the story, morning glory? used as a cheerful greeting US,
1959
what’s up? used as a greeting US, 1993
whatsup? used as a greeting US, 1990
what’s up, Doc? used as an all-purpose enquiry. The catchphrase
of Loony Tunes cartoon hero Bugs Bunny, who, from his third
outing, in July 1940 (and much repeated), would inquire ‘Mnyeh
what’s up, Doc?’ as a taunt to pursuers. Also used cinematically,
this time without specific context, as the title of a 1972 Hollywood
film. Popular with sub-editors as a headline for any number of
articles on the National Health
US, 1940
what’s up with that? used for expressing interest in more facts US,
1994
what’s with you? what’s amiss with you?; why are you behaving in
such a way?; what has happened to you?; explain yourself!; why?
Also applied to inanimate objects US, 1940
what’s your damage? what’s your problem?; what’s the matter?
US, 1988
what’s your song, King Kong? used as a greeting US, 1947

what the fuck! used for registering annoyance, resignation or
surprise. Possibly a shortening of ‘what the fucking hell!’, in turn
an elaboration of WHAT THE HELL! UK, 1999
what the heck! used as an exclamation of surprise, indignation,
etc; also used dismissively and as an expression of resignation UK,
1887
what a revolting development this is | what the heck! 694
what-the-hell adjective indifferent, uncaring UK, 1968
what the hell! used in annoyance, resignation or surprise UK, 1872
what the hellfire! used for registering annoyance or surprise. A
variation of WHAT THE HELL! UK, 1997
what the hey! used as a humorous declaration of surprise,
bemusement or dismissal. Popularised by Milton Berle in the early
days of US television; an early television catchphrase that swept
the nation US, 1957
what up? used as a greeting US, 1990
what up, love one? used as a greeting. Used as a coded greeting
by members of the Black Guerrilla Family prison gang
US, 2000
what/which part of no don’t you understand? used for
humourously emphasizing a previous negative answer. Wildly
popular, and over-used, in the 1990s; an instant favourite of US
parents scolding children. First made famous by Lorrie Morgan in
a 1991 song ‘What Part of No’, written by Wayne Perry and Gerald
Smith – ‘I’ll be glad to explain it / If it’s too hard to comprehend /
So tell me what part of no / Don’t you understand?’
US, 1991
whatyoucallit noun used as a replacement for any noun that the
user cannot or does not wish to specify UK, 2002
what-you-m ay-call-it; whatchamacallit noun used in place of a

word that is temporarily forgotten or not important for the context
UK, 1598
wheat noun marijuana. A play on GRASS and an assonant pun on
WEED US, 1969
wheech verb to move swiftly; to move something swiftly away.
Probably derived, in some way, from Scots dialect wheech (a stink)
UK: SCOTLAND, 1911
wheel noun 1 a leader; an important person US, 1933. 2 a mid-level
employee in an illegal lottery US, 1978. 3 the game of roulette US,
1993. 4 a tablet of MDMA, the recreational drug best known as
ecstasy UK, 2003. 5 in a carnival, any ride that is in the form of a
wheel US, 1960. 6 a life prison sentence US, 1991. 7 in lowball poker,
the lowest possible straight (five to ace) US, 1981. 8 the ankle US, 1986
wheel verb 1 to travel; to drive US, 1721. 2 (used of a racehorse) to turn
around suddenly US, 1968
wheel and deal verb to engage in profit-making in a flamboyant
manner US, 1961
wheeler-dealer noun a scheming, contriving deal-maker with many
connections. The reduplication of the vowel sound serves to
intensify
US, 1960
wheeler-dealing; wheeling-and-dealing noun scheming business
practice
US, 1984
wheel horse noun in oil drilling, the best worker on a crew US, 1954
wheelie; wheely noun 1 a wheelstand, the lifting of the front wheels
of a car or front wheel of a motorcyle, bicycle or skateboard off
the ground due to sudden acceleration US, 1966. 2 a wheelchair UK,
1999. < pop a wheelie to perform a wheelie US, 1995
wheelie-bin noun a large, wheeled rubbish bin AUSTRALIA, 1984

wheel jockey noun a military convoy truck driver US, 1991
wheel man noun 1 in a criminal operation, the getaway driver US,
1935
. 2 a person who brings together pool players who are willing
to play for money
US, 1993
wheels noun 1 acarUS, 1959. 2 a record turntable or turntables used
by DJs. From the circular shape and revolving motion. Variants
include ‘wheels of steel’ and the singular ‘wheel’ US, 1999. 3 shoes
or boots
US, 1990. 4 the legs, especially a woman’s legs US, 1966.
< on wheels to the extreme US, 1943. < put wheels on it used
in restaurants to note that the order is a take-away CANADA, 1993.
< the wheels are coming off to be getting out of control; to
not be going as planned UK, 1998
wheels man noun a good driver IRELAND, 1996
wheesht! be quiet! From Scots dialect wheesh (a hush) UK: SCOTLAND,
1985
wheeze noun 1 a piece of comedic business; a trick; a clever idea.
Originally theatrical, used by clowns and comedians; then
especially popular with schoolchildren
UK, 1864. 2 afalsebeliefUS,
1965
wheezy Anna noun a spanner. Rhyming slang, formed from the title
of a 1930s comic song
UK, 1992
when adverb now. The natural response to the conventionally polite
enquiry ‘Say when?’ UK, 1976
when fowl have teet; when cock have teet used for expressing
an impossibility TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1945

when it’s at home used to intensify any question of identity. A
derisive tag implying contempt or incredulity, suffixed to ‘what is
a.…?’. The earliest usages of this scornful device were
grammatically correct: ‘[W]here your friends are when they’re at
home?’ (Rudyard Kipling, Plain Tales from the Hills, 1888). Current
usage, however, will occasionally reform a sentence that should
commence correctly with ‘who is…?’ by converting the proper
noun to object status, e.g. ‘What is a John Smith when it’s at
home?’
UK, 1957
when push comes to shove when there is no longer any choice
but to proceed; when worse comes to worst
US, 1958
when-shee noun heroin. A variation of YEN-SHEE (heroin), 2003
when you’ve got to go, you’ve got to go; when you gotta go,
you gotta go
applied philosophically to death, prosaically to
responsibility (‘duty calls’) and trivially to a visit to the toilet.
Popularised by Hollywood films US, 1975
where it is at; wher e it’s at 1 the centre of a situation, a place
where something important is happening
US, 1965. 2 in touch UK,
1965
where someone is at the person’s point of view or opinion US, 1968
where’s the fire? used for expressing a lack of shared concern US,
2003
where the big nobs hang out noun a toilet (as used by men),
especially a public convenience. A self-serving pun
AUSTRALIA, 1971
where the sun don’t shine in your rectum US, 1992

wherever? adverb used as an emphatic variation of ‘where?’. In con-
ventional use from the C10 to C19; now colloquial UK, 2002
where were you when the shit hit the fan? used as a greeting
between US Marines in Korea US, 1986
where you’r e coming from your point of view or opinion US, 1975
which foot you kick with your personal preference of politics,
religion or sexuality. Left or right, Catholic or Protestant, hetero- or
homosexual UK: SCOTLAND, 2000
whickerbill noun a railway brakesman US, 1946
whif adjective what-if. Used in ‘what if…?’ exercises projecting poss-
ible contingencies and developing reactions to them US, 1974
whiff noun 1 an unpleasant smell. From WHIFFY (bad-smelling) UK,
1899. 2 cocaine US, 1983
whiff verb 1 to give off an unpleasant smell UK, 1899 . 2 to inhale a
powdered drug through the nose US, 1981
whiffle dust noun 1 amphetamine powder. From the imaginary
magic powder used by conjurors, manufacturers, marketing pro-
fessionals and others to enhance their product or presentation
UK,
2003. 2 MDMA, the recreational drug best known as ecstasy UK, 2003
8see: MUMMY DUST
whiffler noun an auction house employee who moves and displays
the items for sale UK, 2003
whiffy adjective having an unpleasant odour, smelly UK, 1849
whiler noun a man with more than one girlfriend. In West Indian
and UK black use, August 2002 UK, 2002
whim-whams noun a feeling of dread or anxiety; a state of anxiety
or nervousness; the jitters US, 1950
whiney gyny club noun complaining hospital patients recovering
from gynecological surgery US, 1985

whinge noun a moaning complaint. From the verb UK, 1984
whinge; winge verb to complain; to whine AUSTRALIA, 1938
695 what-the-hell | whinge; winge
whinge bag noun a complainer. Formed on WHINGE (a moaning
complaint)
UK, 2003
whingeing pom noun an English person viewed as a habitual
complainer. A stock Australian stereotype
AUSTRALIA, 1962
whinger noun a person who whinges; a habitual complainer
AUSTRALIA, 1934
whip noun 1 a car. Used by urban black youths UK, 2004. 2 a long radio
antenna
US, 1976. 3 a boss or supervisor US, 1984. 4 a close friend
BAHAMAS, 1982. 5 rum AUSTRALIA, 1953 8see: WHIP-ROUND
whip verb to arrest someone US, 1971. < whip it in, whip it out a
catchphrase that celebrates a male approach to sexual relations.
From the lyric of a rugby song: ‘Whip it in, whip it out, quit
fucking about Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho’. Sometimes further extended
with: ‘wipe it off, walk away’
UK, 1998. < whip it out to release the
penis from the confines of the trousers, a bold genital display US,
1997. < whip the cat to feel remorse; to regret something
AUSTRALIA, 1847. < whi p u p o n skippy (used of a male) to
masturbate
, 2001. < whip your wang (used of a male) to
masturbate US, 1969
whip and lash; whip noun a moustache. Rhyming slang for TASH
UK
, 1992

whip and top; whip verb to masturbate. Rhyming slang for STROP
UK
, 1992
whiplash noun a rash. Rhyming slang; perhaps, also, a sexual
innuendo UK, 1998
whip off verb (used of a male) to masturbate US, 1975
whip-out noun 1 a bankroll designed to impress when whipped out
of the pocket US, 1972. 2 a regular payment US, 1981
whip o’will noun an act of vomiting; vomit. Possibly rhyming slang
for ‘spill your guts’ AUSTRALIA, 1967
whipped adjective dominated by a girlfriend or wife. A shortened
form of
PUSSY-WHIPPED US, 1965
whipper noun 1 a small cartridge of nitrous oxide. Designed for use
in making whipped cream, but often abused for the psychoactive
effects of the gas
US, 1986. 2 a person who enjoys being whipped in
a sado-masochistic encounter US, 1970
whippersnapper; snapper noun a young, impertinent person
unmindful of his station in life. Still heard, but used with the
effect of dating the speaker UK, 1700
whippet noun a shotgun with both barrel and stock sawn off for
hiding on the body US, 1982
whippets; whippits noun capsules of nitrous oxide used as a rec-
reational drug US, 1980
Whippins and Lashins noun the Irish Girl Guides IRELAND, 1995
whippy noun 1 a place used for the home base in children’s game
hide-and-seek AUSTRALIA, 1964. 2 a pocket in which money is kept;
hence, the money kept there
AUSTRALIA, 1973

whippy adjective clever US, 1969
whip-round; whip-around; whip noun an informal fund collected
from a group of people. Originally military ‘whip’ (a collection for
more wine in the mess)
UK, 1874
whips noun a great deal of. A play on LASHINGS AUSTRALIA, 1890
whips and jingles noun symptoms of heroin withdrawal. Referring
to the physical pain and frayed nerves suffered US, 1973
whipsaw verb 1 in poker, to surround a player with two confederates
whose collusive betting tactics relieve the middle player of his
bankroll and drive him from the game US, 1949. 2 in horse racing, to
correctly pick both the winner and second-place finisher in a race
US, 1947
whip shot noun a type of controlled toss of the dice, effective by a
skilled cheat US, 1963
whipster noun an untrustworthy individual IRELAND, 1997
whip-whap adverb quickly, without second thought TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO
, 2003
whirl noun an attempt US, 1884
whirl bet noun in craps, a one-roll bet on 2, 3, 7, 11 and 12 US, 1961
whirlies noun extreme dizziness experienced when drunk US, 1966
whirligig noun arevolverUS, 1957
whirlpooling; whirlpool noun the assault of a girl by a group of
males in a swimming pool who grope her while churning water
around her
US, 1993
whirly noun 1 in the television and film industries, a hydraulic lift
used for shooting scenes from above
US, 1990. 2 a small, localised

whirlwind. The variant spelling ‘whirlie’ is sometimes used
AUSTRALIA, 1894
whirlybird noun a helicopter US, 1951
whirlygigs noun < having the whirlygigs drunk UK, 2002
whirly pig noun a helicopter-borne police officer. Quoted as a term
used by residents of Berkeley, California, to describe police in
helicopters
US, 1970
whirly-whirly noun a small, localised whirlwind. From ‘whirl’, but
modelled on WILLY-WILLY AUSTRALIA, 1926
whirly wind noun especially in Queensland, a small, localised
whirlwind
AUSTRALIA, 1969
whisker noun usually in comparisons, a narrow margin, a small
amount US, 1913
whiskers noun 1 seniority or tenure on a job US, 1973. 2 pubic hair US,
1967
whiskey noun a type of bet in an illegal numbers game lottery US,
1957
whiskey dent noun a dent on your car that you don’t remember
incurring while driving drunk US, 1984
whiskeyleg noun a drunkard US, 1957
whiskey papa noun a white phosphorous flare or grenade. From the
military phonetic alphabet – WP US, 1990
whiskey-rot noun any unspecified illness US, 1970
whisper noun 1 a rumour UK, 1596. 2 the very end of a prison
sentence US, 1976
whistle noun in the sport of polo, energy UK, 2003. < wet your
whistle
to take a drink; to quench a thirst UK, 1530

whistle verb < whistle in the dark to perform oral sex on a
woman US, 1967. < whistle through the wheatfield to engage
in oral sex on a woman, especially a blonde woman US, 2001
whistle and flute; whistle noun 1 a suit (of clothes). Rhyming
slang UK, 1931. 2 cocaine. Rhyming slang for TOOT UK, 2000
whistle and flute; whistle verb to inhale drugs or drug smoke.
Rhyming slang for
TOOT UK, 1996
whistle and toot; whistle and flute; toot noun money. Rhyming
slang for LOOT; used mainly in the reduced form UK, 1950
whistlebait noun an attractive woman or girl US, 1947
whistlecock noun amongst Australian Aboriginals, a penis that has
had a small slit made in the base of the urethra as a means of
birth control; a man who has had this operation
AUSTRALIA, 1945
whistle for verb to wait for, or expect, something in vain UK, 1882
whistler noun apolicecarUS, 1971
whistlers noun pieces of metal scrap packed in an artillery shell that
makes a screaming sound as the shell moves through the air US,
1990
whistlestop noun a small town. From the image of a train making a
brief stop at the town
US, 1947
whistling gear noun in trucking, the highest gear. May have been
named for the whistling sound older tractors made when in
overdrive gear, or for the possibility that a rig travelling in this gear
could attract the attention of a ‘whistler’ – a police car US, 1971
white noun 1 a capsule of Benzedrine™ (amphetamine sulphate) or
any other central nervous system stimulant US, 1966. 2 heroin,
cocaine or morphine. From the colour of the powdered drug US,

1914. 3 crack cocaine. A derivative of the previous sense US, 1995 . 4 a
five-pound note. From the colour of the large five-pound notes,
which were withdrawn from circulation in 1957
UK, 1946. 5 platinum
jewellery
UK, 1950. 6 in American casinos, a white betting token
whinge bag | white 696
worth one dollar US, 1985. 7 in American casinos, a white betting
token worth $500
US, 1961. 8 a day; daytime US, 1975. 9 ‘silver’ coins.
Variants include ‘whites’ and ‘white money’ UK, 1887. < like white
on rice
entirely, utterly, completely US, 1987. < the white surgical
spirit as an alcoholic drink. The liquid is clear but ‘white’ differen-
tiates this from
BLUE (methylated spirits) UK, 2000. < white-boy
shuffle
an uncoordinated, ungraceful, counter-rhythmic dancing
style
US, 1993
white adjective decent. Usually used sarcastically and as a conscious
rejection of the racism that once would have inspired the saying
US, 1913
white-ant verb to undermine someone or something. From ‘white
ant’ (a termite) AUSTRALIA, 1922
white-ass; white-assed adjective bland; insipid; lacking creativity. A
reciprocal in formation to the common ‘black-ass’; not praise US,
1995
white ball noun crack cocaine UK, 1998
white boy noun heroin. An embellishment of BOY (heroin), from the

colour of the powdered drug US, 1986
white-bread adjective everyday, unexciting, respectable; representing
the epitome of white middle-class values and style US, 1991
white burger noun a tablet of MDMA, the recreational drug best
known as ecstasy UK, 1996
white Cali; white Cally noun a variety of MDMA, the recreational
drug best known as ecstasy; an antihistamine tablet sold as
MDMA. From the colour combined with an abbreviation of
California, the presumed place of origin
UK, 1996
white cliffs of Dover; white cliffs adjective over. Rhyming slang,
formed from the famous landmark, celebrated in song and geogra-
phy
UK, 1998
white cloud noun crack cocaine US, 1989
white cockroach noun a white person TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1838
white crinkle noun a five-pound note. A combination of CRINKLE
(paper money) and the colour of five pound notes, which were
withdrawn from circulation in 1957 UK, 1957
white cross noun an amphetamine or methamphetamine tablet,
sectioned with an X US, 1965
white cylinder week noun the bleed period of the menstrual cycle.
Refers to a tampon applicator US, 1999
white devil noun cocaine US, 1972
white drugs noun heroin, cocaine, morphine, etc. From the colour
of the refined powder US, 1961
white dust noun powdered amphetamine UK, 1996
white eye noun illegal alcohol smuggled from the French islands of
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. This term appears in Tom Dalzell’s The
Slang of Sin to mean ‘whisky’ CANADA, 1998

white-eyes noun a white person US, 1978
whitefellow; whitefella noun a white person as opposed to a
native Australian Aboriginal
AUSTRALIA, 1826
white fever noun used of people of colour, a strong attraction
towards white people. The opposite of JUNGLE FEVER US, 1969
white fingers noun cocaine US, 2002
white fluff noun LSD UK, 2003
white ghost noun crack cocaine UK, 1998
white girl noun 1 cocaine US, 1971. 2 heroin UK, 1998
white goods noun cocaine. From the colour; adopts the retailing
term for ‘large white electrical goods’ (refrigerators etc.) UK, 2001
white-haired lady noun marijuana. Possibly derives as a simile for
something considered to be as dangerous as marijuana
UK, 1998
white hat noun 1 an officer in a firefighting company US, 1954. 2 a
computer hacker who acts with a legal or moral justification
US,
2001
white horse noun 1 heroin. An elaboration of HORSE (heroin) UK, 2003.
2 cocaine. A play on HORSE (heroin) which is mostly brown US, 1977
white junk noun heroin, possibly of the finest quality. An
embellishment of
JUNK (heroin) from the colour of the powdered
drug US, 1977
white kaffir noun a white person who associates with black people.
Racist and abusive
SOUTH AFRICA, 1846
white knight noun a night spent under the influence of cocaine.
The colour of cocaine and a pun on ‘night’

UK, 2001
white-knuckle verb to persevere on courage alone, especially in the
quitting of an addictive drug US, 1974
white-knuckle adjective anxiety-making; frightening; thrilling. From
the effect of holding-on tightly
UK, 1988
white lady noun 1 any strong white spirit such as gin or methylated
spirits
AUSTRALIA, 1935. 2 a powdered narcotic, especially cocaine or
heroin. The shortened form ‘lady’ is also used
US, 1968
white light noun LSD. Possibly a reference to The Velvet
Underground’s 1967 album ‘White Light/White Heat’ UK, 1969
white lightning noun 1 strong, if inferior, homemade whisky US, 1921.
2 LSD; LSD mixed with methamphetamine or similar US, 1970
whiteline fever noun an addiction to cocaine. The white powder is
shaped in a LINE for inhalation UK, 1996
white man noun an honourable man US, 1865
white man’s time noun used for denoting punctuality US, 1963
white meat noun a white person as a sex object; the genitals of a
white person; sex with a white person US, 1957
white mice noun 1 during the conflict in Vietnam, the South
Vietnamese civilian police. From their white helmets and gloves
US, 1977. 2 dice. Rhyming slang UK, 1954
white missy noun a glass of cheap white rum BARBADOS, 1965
white money noun in prison, actual currency. Required for major
purchases, such as drugs US, 1976
white mosquitoes; white mosquito noun cocaine. Probably from
the ‘sting’ of an injection US, 1949
white mule noun an illegally manufactured whisky, colourless and

powerful
US, 1921
white nigger noun a French-Canadian. Offensive CANADA, 1971
white nurse; nurse noun powdered drugs; cocaine; heroin;
morphine US, 1936
white-on-white noun a white shirt that was deemed fashionable in
the 1940s US, 1976
white-out; whitey noun an instance of paling as a symptom of
imminent faintness, dizziness or vomiting. From the draining of
colour from the face
UK: SCOTLAND, 1988
White Owl noun a branded White Owl™ cigar re-made to contain
marijuana US, 2003
white Owsley noun a type of high quality LSD. From the name of
legendary LSD manufacturer Augustus Owsley Stanley III US, 1974
white pipe noun a mixture of marijuana and crushed Mandrax™ (a
branded tranquillizer in tablet form) smoked or ingested orally. A
tablet of Mandrax, also known as a ‘white’, enhances the effect of
the marijuana. When ‘white pipe’ is smoked it is usually in a pipe
improvised with a broken bottle SOUTH AFRICA, 1998
white policeman’s roll noun in an illegal numbers gambling lottery,
a bet on 13, 37 and 70 US, 1949
white powder noun a narcotic in white powder form, that is, heroin,
cocaine or morphine US, 1908
white-powder bar noun lawyers who defend drug dealers UK, 1998
white robin noun a variety of MDMA, the recreational drug best
known as ecstasy. From the colour of the tablet and the embossed
motif
UK, 2002
white rock noun high quality methamphetamine in rock form US,

1989
white Russian noun in homosexual usage, the passing of semen
from one mouth to another US, 1987
697 white | white Russian
white shirt noun in roller derby, a skater who plays honourably and
is seen as the ’good guy’, usually from the team designated as the
home team
US, 1999
whiteshirt noun a senior prison officer. From the uniform UK, 1996
white shit noun cocaine UK, 1996
white shoes noun white-wall tyres US, 1978
white sidewalls noun the visible scalp on the side of the head after
a short haircut, especially a military haircut
US, 1968
whiteskin noun in poker, any card ranked ten or lower US, 1943
white slave noun a woman engaged in enforced prostitution UK, 1857
whitesocks noun a ferocious if tiny mosquito US, 1965
white stuff noun any powdered drug – morphine, heroin or
cocaine US, 1914
white sugar noun crack cocaine. From the appearance UK, 1998
white telephone noun < speak on the great white telephone;
talk into the big white telephone; talk to God on the big
white telephone
to vomit into a lavatory bowl. From the image
of a sick person leaning over a white lavatory bowl and crying
‘God!’ in despair US, 1978
white tornado noun freebase cocaine US, 1979
white trash noun an impoverished or anti-social white person or
persons; originally, and still, the poverty-stricken white population
of the southern US. Originally black usage; derogatory; abbreviates

to ‘trash’ (rubbish) US, 1831
white turtle-neck brigade noun male homosexuals. From a type
of jumper that was in vogue, and, perhaps intended as a discreet
signal between gay men UK, 1969
white van man noun the average tabloid-reader-in-the-street, the
man-in-the-street. It is a statistical probability that the driver
constructively criticising your driving is behind the wheel of a
white van. Coined in 1997 by BBC Radio 2 DJ Sarah Kennedy
UK,
1997
whitewash noun in sports, a victory in which the opponent does
not score at all US, 1867
whitewash verb to win a game without your opponent scoring US,
1971
white widow noun a variety of marijuana, 2002
white wog noun a Welsh person. Usually jocular, from WOG (any
person of non-white ethnicity) and a recognition of the Welsh as a
race apart within the British Isles; it is, perhaps, interesting to note
that a Welsh accent attempted by an English person has a
pronounced tendency to sound Indian
UK, 1984
white worm noun an uninfected appendix removed in surgery based
on an incorrect diagnosis US, 1994
whitey noun 1 a white person or white people collectively. Insulting;
a gesture of resistance US, 1942. 2 an amphetamine pill US, 1982. 3 in
pool, the cue ball US, 1983 8see: WHITE-OUT
Whitney dressed as Britney applied to an older person dressed
in a younger fashion. A modern variation of the popular idiom,
‘mutton dressed as lamb’; formed on the US entertainers Whitney
Houston (b.1963) and Britney Spears (b.1981) UK, 2004

whittle verb < whittle the gut stick (of a male) to masturbate UK,
2003
whiz noun < the whiz pick pocketing UK, 1937
whiz verb to urinate US, 1971
whiz; whizz noun 1 a genius; somebody who is extremely proficient
at a given activity. An abbreviation of ‘wizard’ US, 1914. 2 an act of
urinating. Often in a construction such as ‘take a whiz’ US, 1971.
3 whisky US, 1953. 4 on the railways, the pressurised air that operates
the brake system US, 1977. < on the whiz operating as a
pickpocket US, 1950
whizbang verb to travel fast US, 1966
whizbang; whizz-bang noun an injected mixture of cocaine and
heroin; cocaine; heroin
US, 1933
whizbox noun a global positioning system device. Gulf war usage US,
1991
whiz-kid; whizz-kid noun a precociously bright child; hence a
young person advancing in business faster than expectations
US,
1960
whizo noun a weapons system officer US, 1991
whizz verb to use amphetamines UK, 2000
whizz; wizz; whiz noun amphetamine. A pun on SPEED UK, 1993
whizzbang noun a pretty girl US, 1947
whizzer noun 1 an excellent thing; also used as a nickname for a
person who excels
UK, 1888. 2 the penis US, 1999. 3 a pickpocket.
Variants include ‘whiz’ and ‘whizz’
US, 1925. 4 in poker, a successful
play of an inferior hand, or the person playing it

US, 1988. 5 a
drinking bout
CANADA, 1975 8see: WYSSA
whizzhead noun a habitual amphetamine user UK, 2000
whizz kid noun a habitual amphetamine user UK, 1999
whizz-kids noun in police use, forensic scientists or a forensic
science department. Usually used with ‘the’. Formed on ‘whizz-
kid’ (a precociously bright child) UK, 1971
whizz mob noun a gang of pickpockets UK, 1929
whizzo; wizzo noun in the US military, a weapons system operator
or officer. From a vocalisation of the abbreviation WSO US, 1993
whizzo!; wizzo! splendid! UK, 1905
whizzo; wizzo adjective excellent. After WHIZZO! (an exclamation of
delight) UK, 1948
whizzy adjective used of a computer program, well-designed and
attractive US, 1991
whoa! used for urging a serious reconsideration of the direction that
the conversation is taking. From the C19 command to a horse or
ox to stop, and still evocative of a simple, rural world US, 1981
whoady noun a close friend or family member US, 2004
who are you looking at? used aggressively as an offensive
challenge UK, 1999
Who ate all the pies? You fat bastard, You fat bastard acall
and response chant used to taunt anyone who is overweight. A
chant from the football terraces that has spread wider UK, 2001
who-began-it noun an admonishment or a threatened beating
IRELAND, 2000
who cares? expresses a dismissive lack of concern or interest US,
1844
whodunnit; whodunit noun 1 a murder mystery novel, film or

other entertainment; a detective novel. Adopted in the UK in 1942
from the US US, 1930. 2 in prison, a meat pie. A body has been
discovered under the pastry! UK, 1950
who he? usually used for jocular or dismissive effect UK, 1981
who knows it? used as a ritualistic questioning of the veracity of a
statement US, 1963
whole ball of wax noun everything US, 1953
whole box and dice noun everything AUS TRALIA, 1888
whole hog noun < go the whole hog to do something in a
thorough way
US, 1828
whole lot; whole lotta adverb a great deal; very much US, 1907
who loves ya, baby? used for expressing affection in a humorous
fashion. The signature line of the police captain played by Telly
Savalas on the television police drama Kojak (CBS, 1973–78).
Repeated with referential humour US, 1978
whomp back verb to drink. A play on KNOCK BACK (to drink) US, 1973
whomper noun a powerful, hard-breaking wave US, 1964
whoof verb to fart UK, 1966
whoof back verb to eat or drink greedily UK, 2000
whoo-hoo! used as a humorous expression of happiness, usually
ironic. From the television cartoon The Simpsons
US, 1996
whoop; woop noun a bit; a small amount US, 1904
white shirt | whoop; woop 698
whoop verb < whoop it up to make a great deal of rowdy noise US,
1884
whoop; woop noun < give a whoop in hell to care, generally in a
negative context
US, 1970

whoop and holler noun an indeterminate, relatively small distance
US, 1964
whoop and holler verb to shout; to carry on loudly US, 1969
whoop-de-do noun 1 in horse racing, a style of racing based on the
premise of establishing an early lead and then running as fast as
possible with maximum whip and heel encouragement US, 1959.
2 in motorcycle racing, a closely spaced sequence of hills or rises
US, 1973. 3 a loud and rowdy event or gathering US, 1929
whoop-de-do adjective 1 in horse racing, employing the strategy of
riding all-out from the start of the race
US, 1948. 2 celebratory,
uproarious. Variants include ‘whoop-de-doodle’ and ‘whoopidy-do’
US, 1932
whoop-de-doo!; woop-tee-doo! used as an expression of strong
support or celebration. Often ironic
US, 2000
whoopee noun < make whoopee 1 to have sex. A forced and silly
euphemism, but one sanctioned by television censors; it was used
with annoying regularity by Bob Eubanks, host of The Newlywed
Game television programme (ABC, 1966–90)
US, 1928. 2 to indulge
in, and take pleasure in, boisterous or rowdy merry-making
UK, 1933
whoopee! used for expressing great excitement UK, 1862
whoopee card noun a computer punch card with all the holes
punched out US, 1991
whoopeedoo! used as an, often ironic, expression of celebration.
An elaboration of
WHOOPEE! UK, 2001
whoops! used as a hurried expression of regret US, 1937

whoopsie noun a male homosexual US, 1961
whoopsie-daisy!; whoops-a-daisy! used for registering dismay or
surprise, often implying clumsiness US, 1925
whoop-up trail noun the terrain over which men and boys ride
horses fast CANADA, 1987
Whoor’s melt noun 8see: HOOR’S MELT
whop verb to strike someone with heavy blows UK, 1575
whopper noun 1 something that is extremely and unusually large.
The best known Whopper in the US is a hamburger sandwich
introduced by the original Burger King™ restaurant in Miami in
1957
UK, 1785. 2 a big lie US, 1984
whopper with cheese noun a fat woman with thrush. Medical
slang, punning on a well-advertised burger
UK, 2002
whopping adjective enormous, powerful UK, 1706
whop stick noun ahammerUS, 1992
who pulled your chain? who asked for your opinion?; what has
upset you?
UK, 1937
who rattled your cage? who asked for your opinion?; what has
upset you? UK, 1985
whore noun 1 a girl. Used with sarcasm in reference to a girl who is
definitely neither a prostitute nor even apparently promiscuous US,
1981. 2 in a deck of playing cards, a queen US, 1967. 3 used as a semi-
affectionate term for a man IRELAND, 1959
whore verb to work as a prostitute UK, 1583
whore-dog noun a promiscuous woman US, 1980
whore-hopper noun a frequent customer of prostitutes US, 1977
whore house cut noun cutting a deck of cards by removing a

section from the middle of the deck and moving it to the top or
bottom US, 1951
whore note noun a two-dollar note US, 1970
whore of Babylon noun an extremely promiscuous woman.
Originally a disparaging sobriquet for the Church of Rome, in
allusion to the Book of Revelations, Chapter XVII, where she is one
of several mysterious Christian allegorical figures of evil US, 1992
whore’s bath; whore splash noun an impromptu and quick
cleaning of the body at a sink, with special attention to cleaning
the genitals
US, 1950
whore scars noun puncture wounds and bruises from needle use US,
1970
whore’s egg noun in lobstering, a sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus
drobachiensis) CANADA, 1829
whoreshop noun a brothel UK, 1938
whore’s melt noun 8see: HOOR’S MELT
whore-style adverb said when a woman has sex with her underpants
stillaroundoneleg
US, 1973
whoretel noun a hotel or motel that caters for prostitutes US, 1973
whore wagon noun a police van used for sweeps to arrest
prostitutes
US, 1970
Whorez nickname Juarez, Mexico. The phonics work and Juarez has
something of a reputation for its prostitutes
US, 1970
who-shot-John noun a reproach or interrogation US, 1969
whosis noun used in place of a person’s name which the speaker
cannot remember or doesn’t think is important

US, 1953
whosit; whoosit; whozit; whoozit noun used to refer to a name
(usually of a person, sometimes a thing) that is unknown,
forgotten, to be avoided or hardly worth mentioning UK, 1948
who smelt it dealt it used for attributing the source of a fart. A
childish rhyme, sometimes with formulaic responses UK, 1998
who’s robbing this coach? mind your own business. This comes
from an old joke about Ned Kelly (a famous Australian bushranger)
robbing a coach. He declares he’s going to ‘rob all the men and
rape all the women’. A gentlemen attempts to intervene on behalf
of the women, when one of the ladies pipes up and says ‘Who’s
robbing this coach, you or Mr Kelly?’
AUSTRALIA, 1945
who’s up who who is in charge?; what’s going on here? Supplied
to Baker in a notebook of World War 2 slang. Sometimes used
literally as regards the interpersonal relationships of a group of
people, but often metaphorically. Also elaborated to ‘who’s up who
and who’s paying the rent’
AUSTRALIA, 1966
who’s your daddy?; who’s the daddy? who is in charge (of this
situation)?
US, 2001
who threw you nuts? who excited your interest?; who asked for
your opinion? By implication the person addressed is being called
amonkeyUK, 1999
Whovian noun a dedicated fan of BBC cult science fiction television
programme Dr Who UK, 1998
whup verb to beat someone US, 1945
why-for noun the reason or cause US, 1954
Whykickamoocow noun a notional remote town NEW ZEALAND, 1984

wibbly-wobbly adjective very wobbly; unsteady UK, 1984
wick noun 1 the penis. A reduced form of HAMPTON WICK (PRICK) UK,
1960. 2 an irritating or bad-tempered person UK: SCOTLAND, 1988. 3 in
bowls, a glancing blow which (generally more by luck than
judgement) brings a bowl into contention. Not a very polite term
UK, 1990. < get on your wick to get on your nerves; to exasperate
you. Based on rhyming slang for
PRICK (the penis) UK, 1945
wick! used for registering firm approval. Abbreviated from WICKED!
but extended to two syllables as spoken ‘wee-ick!’ by 10-year-old
children in Cardiff, south Wales, 16th October 2001 UK, 2001
wick-dipper noun a man objectified sexually. From WICK (the penis)
and
DIP YOUR WICK (to have sex) UK, 1994
wicked noun especially pure heroin UK, 2002
wicked adjective excellent US, 1920
wicked adverb extremely. A rare instance of late C20 American slang
that has stayed regional; a common term in New England (‘wicked
hot’, ‘wicked cold’ etc.) rarely heard elsewhere US, 1984
wicked witch noun a woman, especially a malicious or
contemptible woman. Rhyming slang for
BITCH UK, 1998
699 whoop | wicked witch
wicker-head noun a Vietnamese peasant. From their straw hats US,
1991
wick off verb to exasperate or aggravate someone. A variation of GET
ON YOUR WICK UK
, 2002
wicky noun the buttocks BAHAMAS, 1982
wid preposition with. Colloquial pronunciation UK, 1869

widder; widda; widdy noun a widow UK, 1837
widdle verb to urinate UK, 1961
wide noun < give a wide to avoid something or someone UK, 2000
wide adjective 1 immoral UK, 1594. 2 knowing, informed, aware IRELAND,
1991
wide boy noun a man living by his wits, often a petty criminal UK,
1937
wide brown land noun Australia. Made famous by the poem My
Country by Dorothea Mackellar, 1914
AUSTRALIA, 1908
wide girl noun a woman living by her wits, often a petty criminal UK,
1956
wide load noun someone with a broad backside. From a common
road sign indicating that ahead of the escorting vehicle is a truck
with a wide load
US, 1990
wide-on noun a state of sexual excitement in a woman. A jocular
riposte to HARD-ON (an erect penis) AUSTRALIA, 1987
wide open adjective unrestrained by authority; unrestricted by the
police; wild US, 1950
wide ride noun a heavy woman US, 1994
widger noun 1 a small boy. Noted originally as a Royal Navy usage,
probably from the late 1950s; an elaboration of ‘wee’ (small) UK,
1984. 2 the penis, especially a relatively small penis. Probably direct
from the sense as ‘a small boy’ on the model of
LITTLE MAN (the
penis)
UK, 1997
widget noun used generally for a small gadget; specifically a small
device for making beer foam as the can is opened. In the 1990s,

UK brewers John Smith’s advertisers sold canned beer with a
‘widget’ – an easier option than to explain the chemistry and
technology that creates the beery froth US, 1931
widgie noun a female teenage delinquent of the ‘bodgie and widgie’
subculture of the 1950s and 60s. Noted for their promiscuity, wild
behaviour and revealing clothing. Perhaps a blend of
BODGIE with
‘wi-’, the first syllable of ‘women’ AUSTRALIA, 1950
wido; wide-oh noun a villain, a petty criminal, a rogue. Probably a
variation of WIDE BOY (a petty criminal) UK: SCOTLAND, 1988
widow noun 1 a single word, or two, set on a new line at the end of
a paragraph, especially when set on a new page UK, 1925. 2 in some
poker games, an extra card dealt to the table for all players to use
in their hands US, 1967. 3 in electric line work, a cable grip US, 1980.
< the widow Veuve Clicquot™ champagne; champagne. From
French veuve (widow)
UK, 1781
widow Jones noun a toilet US, 1949
widow-maker noun 1 the M-16 rifle, introduced as the standard US
Army infantry rifle in 1967. Early versions of the rifle were prone
to jamming, thus ‘making widows’
US, 1990. 2 in Vietnam, a Viet
Cong booby trap
US, 1990. 3 in trucking, any long haul truck US, 1971
widow’s mite; widow’s noun a light, especially of the type required
by a smoker. Rhyming slang
UK, 1931
widow’s wink; widow’s noun a Chinese person. Rhyming slang for
CHINK (a Chinese person) UK, 1979
Widow Twankey; widow noun 1 a handkerchief. Rhyming slang for

HANKY, formed on the pantomime ‘dame’ who is Aladdin’s mother
UK, 1992. 2 an American. Rhyming slang for YANKEE UK, 1992
wiener; weiner noun the penis. The phallic connotations of the
food item lead to this usage US, 1960
wiener roast noun a picnic featuring hot dogs US, 1920
wienie noun in drag racing, a slick racing tyre US, 1965 8see: W EENIE,
WEENY
wienie roaster noun in drag racing, a jet-powered car US, 1993
wife noun 1 in a homosexual relationship, the more passive or
‘feminine’ partner
US, 1883 8see: WEENIE, WEENY . 2 in law
enforcement, a work partner US, 1988. < the wife your wife. Folksy,
potentially annoying, and almost inevitably patronising
US, 1989
wife-beater noun 1 a sleeveless tee-shirt or undershirt US, 1994. 2 any
alcoholic drink, especially beer UK: WALES, 2004
wifed up adjective of a male, in a serious relationship with a female
who appears to dominate him
US, 2004
wife duty noun a promise or obligation to spend time with your
wife or girlfriend
US, 2000
wife-in-law noun one prostitute in relation to another prostitute
working for the same pimp
US, 1957
wife’s best friend noun the penis AUSTRALIA, 1971
wife starver noun a man who defaults on maintenance payments
AUSTRALIA, 1950
wifey; wifie noun a wife. A slightly patronising term UK, 1996
wifey adjective used of a female, dowdy, mature and proper US, 2001

wifie noun an old woman UK, 2002
wig noun 1 the head; the mind US, 1944. 2 ajudge;abarristerUK, 1956.
< tighten your wig to use drugs and become intoxicated US,
1986. < with a wig owing; to pay. A shameless pun on ‘toupee’
and ‘to pay’ AUSTRALIA, 1989
wig; wig out verb to lose control of your emotions; to become
angry US, 1955
wig-chop noun a haircut. Teen slang US, 1955
wig city noun a medical institution for the mentally ill. Extended
from the adjective sense US, 2001
wig city adjective mentally unbalanced, eccentric (usually when the
latter is thought to be the former)
US, 1998
wigged adjective confused, disoriented, especially as a result of drug
use; drug-intoxicated US, 1951
wigged out adjective in an extreme state of drug intoxication,
excitement or rage; dissociated from reality US, 1968
wigger; wigga; whigger noun a white youth who affects the speech
patterns, fashion and other mannerisms of black youth. An elision
of ‘white NIGGER’ US, 1988
wiggle noun in electric line work, a secondary voltage tester with a
glow-light indicator US, 1980. < get a wiggle on to hurry US, 1896
wiggle verb to wriggle; to walk with a sinuous swaying of the hips. A
colloquial variation; in conventional use from the C13 to C19
UK,
2002
wiggle room noun scope for freedom of thought or action; room for
political manoeuvring and compromise US, 1941
wigglers noun the fingers US, 1970
wiggly; wiggly-waggly adjective of movement, wriggly; of form,

irregularly undulated UK, 1907
wiggy adjective crazy; outstanding; wild; creative US, 1961
wigit noun MDMA, the recreational drug best known as ecstasy UK,
2003
wig-out noun aperiodofcontrolledcrazinessUK, 2001
wig out verb to become angry, to lose your temper UK, 1955
wig-out adjective crazed UK, 2001
wig picker noun a psychiatrist US, 1961
wig-trig noun an idea US, 1946
wigwag noun in the television and film industries, a light outside a
sound stage indicating that shooting is in process US, 1990
wigwam noun in a deck of cards, an ace. From the visual similarity
between an ‘A’ and a wigwam US, 1988
wigwam for a goose’s bridle noun used as a nonsense answer to a
question AUSTRALIA, 1960
Wilbur Wright; wilbur noun a flight (air travel). Rhyming slang,
formed from the elder of the US aviation pioneers, the Wright
Brothers UK, 1992
wicker-head | Wilbur Wright; wilbur 700
Wilcannia shower noun a dust storm. Wilcannia is an inland town
in New South Wales. Other locations similarly used by nature,
weather and irony: Bedourie, Bogan, Bourke, Cobar, Darling and
Wimmera AUSTRALIA, 1945
wilco; willco (I) will comply!; generally, used as a signal of assent.
Originally used as military communications, often to complement
ROGER (message understood). UK, 1946
wild adjective 1 used of film in the television and film industries, shot
without sound US, 1990. 2 of prison sentences, served consecutively
US, 1972. < go wild in the bush (used of a white person) to have
sex with a black person BAHAMAS, 1982

wild about adjective enthusiastic about; having a strong liking for;
sexually infatuated with
UK, 1868
wild card noun 1 an unpredictable factor; an unknown. From card
playing jargon where it represents a card of no predetermined
value
US, 2002. 2 a dangerously unpredictable person UK, 2001. 3 an
enemy fighter plane
US, 1986
wildcat noun 1 strong, illegally manufactured whisky US, 1999.
2 methcathinone mixed with cocaine. An elaboration of CAT
(methcathinone) US, 1998. 3 in oil drilling, a well drilled in unproven
land US, 1954
wildcat adjective 1 unauthorised, unlicensed, unsanctioned US, 1870.
2 characterised by high risk and unsound business planning US, 1877
wildcatter noun 1 an independent, risk-taking oil driller who drills
wildcat wells US, 1883. 2 in trucking, an owner-operator who works
independently US, 1946
wild colonial boy noun an uninhibited, free-living man. Originally
meaning ‘a bushranger’. From the title of a popular folk song and
still often used allusively AUSTRALIA, 1881
wild duck noun a person who has failed to pay a debt and is not
seen as likely to do so AUSTRALIA, 1989
wild flower noun a variety of MDMA, the recreational drug best
known as ecstasy UK, 2002
wild hair noun an impulsive notion. A shortened form of WILD HAIR
UP Y OUR ASS
without the full connotation of annoyance US, 1989
wild hair up your ass; wild hair up your butt noun the notional
cause of irrational, obsessive behaviour US, 1981

wild horse noun a Ford ‘Mustang’ car. Citizens’ band radio slang UK,
1981
wilding noun violent youth gang activity directed towards random
victims. A term popularised by the ‘Central Park Jogger’ case in
1989
US, 1989
wildo noun a person behaving in a wild or crazy manner UK, 1966
wild-out noun a gang fight US, 1999
wild thing noun < do the wild thing to have sex US, 1990
wild up verb to agitate someone; to make someone nervous US, 2003
Wilfred noun the penis. A variation of WILLY (the penis) UK, 2001
Wilhemina noun a female customer, especially of discreet or illegal
services. A feminisation of
BILLY BUNTER (a customer) UK, 2002
Wilkie Bard noun a card; a business card; a playing card; a race card,
etc. Rhyming slang, formed from a music hall comedian,
1874–1944
UK, 1960
Wilkinson Sword noun bald. Rhyming slang, formed from the
name of a razor manufacturer UK, 1998
will do used as an expression of assent to carry out an action. By
ellipsis of the personal pronoun, possibly influenced by
WILCO UK,
1955
willets noun the female breasts UK, 1998
william noun a piece of currency. A pun on ‘bill’ US, 1983
William Hague adjective vague. Rhyming slang, formed from the
politician who led the Conservative party, 1997–2001 UK, 1998
William Pitt noun excrement. Rhyming slang for SHIT,formedfrom
the British Prime Minister known, historically, as ‘Pitt the Elder’,

1708–78, or his son, also Prime Minister, ‘Pitt the Younger’,
1759–1806
UK, 1998
William Powell noun a towel. Rhyming slang, formed from the US
film actor, 1874–1944
UK, 1961
William Tell verb to give off an unpleasant smell. Rhyming slang,
formed from a legendary Swiss hero
UK, 1992
William the Third noun a piece of excrement. Rhyming slang for
‘turd’
AUSTRALIA, 1968
willie noun 1 a piece of currency. A pun on ‘bill’ US, 1983. 2 a
gambler’s wallet or financial resources AUSTRALIA, 1949
Willie Peter; Wilie Peter grenade noun an M-34 white
phosphorous anti-personnel hand grenade. Another use of the
military phonetic alphabet US, 1977
willies noun a condition of fear or nervousness US, 1896
Willie the Shit Burner noun used as a generic term for the poor
soul assigned to collect and burn solid human waste collected in
latrines at US military bases in Vietnam
US, 1990
willie weaver noun a drunk driver US, 1976
willing adjective gutsy; courageous; unwavering; aggressive AUSTRALIA,
1899
will o’ the wisp; willer noun a potato crisp. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
Will’s Whiff noun syphilis. Rhyming slang, formed from a brand of
small cigar UK, 1992
willy noun 1 the penis. Originally northern English, not dialect, for ‘a
child’s penis’ or a childish name for any penis. Adopted by adults

as a jocular reference, now widely used as a non-offensive and
broadcastable term. The spelling ‘willie’ is also used UK, 1905. 2 a
tantrum. Generally in the phrases ‘chuck’ or ‘throw a willy’
AUSTRALIA, 1941. 3 a supply of money for gambling AUSTRALIA, 1949. 4 a
wallet AUSTRALIA, 1967
willy-nilly adverb here and there, haphazardly. Not particularly
related to the C17 sense of the phrase meaning ‘willingly or
unwillingly’
US, 1934
willy warmer noun the vagina UK, 2001
willy-waving noun macho behaviour that is especially unnecessary
or foolish. Formed on WILLY (the penis) UK, 1997
willy-willy noun a small, localised whirlwind. From the Australian
Aboriginal language Yindjibarndi AUS TRALIA, 1894
Willy Wonka noun a fool. Rhyming slang for PLONKER (a fool and the
penis), that may be an elaborate play on WILLY (the penis) UK, 1998
willy woofter noun a homosexual man. Elaboration of WOOFTER (a
male homosexual) UK, 2000
Wilma noun a Protestant female, especially one who is a supporter
of Glasgow Rangers football club. A female form of William, and
the female equivalent of
BILLY-BOY UK: SCOTLAND, 1996
wilma adjective meek. A personification of uncertain pedigree,
recorded as a contemporary gay usage UK, 2003
Wilson noun in skateboarding, a fall producing serious injury US, 1984
Wilson Pickett noun 1 a white phosphorous flare or grenade. From
the initials WP; Pickett was a popular American rhythm and blues
singer US, 1991. 2 a ticket. Rhyming slang, formed from the name of
the US soul singer (b.1941) UK, 1992
Wimmera shower noun a dust storm. Wimmera is an inland town

in Victoria. Other locations similarly used by nature, weather and
irony: Bedourie, Bogan, Bourke, Cobar, Darling and Wilcannia
AUSTRALIA, 1945
wimmin; wimmen noun women. The first variation was adopted
and promoted by politically aware feminists to avoid ending with
‘men’; the second variation is a phonetic accident UK, 1910
wimmos noun women. A variation of pronounced ‘wimmin’, used by
cricketers UK, 2003
wimp noun a weak and timid person. A thorough treatment of the
word may be found in ‘Wimp’, Reinhold Aman, Maledicta, Volume
VIII, p. 43–56, 1984–1985. The word played a major role in the
US presidential election of 1988, in which President George H.W.
Bush had to overcome a widely held perception that he was ‘a
wimp’
US, 1920
wimpish adjective weak, ineffectual US, 1925
701 Wilcannia shower | wimpish
wimp out verb to give way to timidity or fear US, 1981
wimpy adjective feeble; afraid. From WIMP (a weak and timid person).
Although the adjective was not recorded until the late 1960s, the
Popeye the Sailor radio programme gave the US J. Wellington
Wimpy, known simply as Wimpy, in 1936
US, 1967
win verb < are you winning? used as a rhetorical greeting UK, 1984.
< win hands down to win with great ease. From horse racing,
when a jockey may relax the hold on the reins when victory
seems certain
UK, 1882. < would win doing hand-springs;
would win with its head in its chest; would win shelling
peas

of a racehorse, certain to win. Also used as ‘could win’ UK,
1994
. < you can’t win used for expressing the futility of action, or
the inevitability of failure
UK, 1926
winch verb 1 to date a member of the opposite sex; to court; to go
steady. Probably from ‘wench’ (a girl)
UK: SCOTLAND, 1985. 2 to kiss
and cuddle. Extends from the sense ‘to date, to court’
UK:
SCOTLAND
, 1985
winchell noun a trusting, unsophisticated person US, 1972
winco noun a wing commander in the Royal Air Force UK, 1941
wind noun < a wind so sharp it cuts the whiskers right off
your face a cold, hard wind CANADA, 1988. < get i n the wind to
run quickly; to depart US, 1965. < get the wind to smoke
marijuana UK, 1998. < get the wi nd up; have the wind up to
be nervous or scared UK, 1916. < in the wind free from prison US,
1992. < put the wind up someone to make someone afraid UK,
1916. < take someone’s wind to kill someone US, 1974
wind verb 8see: WINE
wind and kite noun a website. Rhyming slang UK, 2002
windbag noun a habitually verbose talker UK, 1827
windball noun intestinal pain US, 2003
winded adjective hungover US, 1992
winder noun a drug addict who regularly enters and leaves treatment
programmes US, 1970
windie noun a wind surfer NEW ZEALAND, 1994
Windies nickname the West Indies international cricket team

AUSTRALIA, 1964
windjammer noun 1 a person who talks too much US, 1949. 2 a
citizens’ band radio user who monopolises conversation US, 1976.
3 in drag racing and hot rodding, a supercharger US, 1968. 4 a railway
air brake US, 1946. 5 a hammer. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
windmill noun in hot rodding and drag racing, a supercharger US, 1965
window noun 1 in card games, the card at the end of a player’s hand
US, 1967. 2 in American casinos, the space through which the
careful observer can see the blackjack dealer’s down-card as he
deals US, 1985. < out the window; out of the window out of
the question US, 1983. < pick a window – you’re leaving! used
as a jocular threat of violence
UK, 1995. < wi ndow’s open used for
describing obvious and inept cheating US, 1979
window dress verb in poker, accidentally on purpose to let other
players see the end card in your hand US, 1967
window hop verb to move from window to window inside a house
at night, waiting for a substance-addicted spouse to come home
US, 1998
window-licker noun a severely disabled person. Offensive. Derived,
apparently, from the attitude of such a person when seen
travelling on a bus UK, 2003
window music noun on the railways, scenery US, 1977
windowpane; window noun a dose of LSD on a tiny, clear piece of
gelatin
US, 1975
window party noun an act of vengeful vandalism, in which the
aggrieved party breaks all the glass in his victim’s boat CANADA, 1999
window rattler noun someone who snores with great resonance UK,
1964

window washer noun a heavy rain storm US, 1976
Windoze noun Microsoft Windows™. Not praise US, 1997
wind pie noun nothing to eat FIJI, 1994
windshield time noun time spent driving; paid travel time between
a reporting location and the job site, or between job sites
US, 1978
wind, skin and ice noun as specifications for a car, air conditioning,
leather upholstery and in-car entertainment. Motor trade slang
UK,
2004
Windsor ballet nickname collectively, the strip and sex clubs in
Windsor, Ontario, Canada US, 1997
Windsor Castle; windsor; brown windsor noun the anus.
Rhyming slang for
ARSEHOLE, formed from a royal residence;
shortened to ‘windsor’ and then punningly elaborated to ‘brown
windsor’ as a type of soup UK, 1992
windsucker noun in horse racing, a horse that swallows air when
running
US, 1947
wind trap noun strands of hair that a semi-bald man may cultivate
and style to lay over his naked pate. Rhyming slang for FLAP UK, 1992
wind tunnel noun in homosexual usage, a loose anus and rectum
US, 1981
wind-up noun 1 a practical joke; a send-up UK, 1984. 2 a person who
teases UK, 1977
wind up verb 1 to make fun of someone; to play a practical joke on
someone. The image of the mainspring in a clockwork motor
getting more and more tightly wound
UK, 1979. 2 to arrive; to arrive

eventually; to settle in a final position US, 1918
windy noun 1 a windproof jacket and over-trousers ANTARCTICA, 2003.
2 in pool, a shot that passes the object ball without touching it.
Based on the image of the cue ball breezing by the object ball
US,
1993
Windy noun < the Windy Chicago, Illinois. From the winds that
sweep the city; a short form of WINDY CITY US, 1969
windy adjective afraid; very nervous; ill at ease UK, 1916
Windy City nickname 1 Chicago, Illinois. New York slang
lexicographer Barry Popik has relentlessly worked to debunk the
myth that the term was coined in conjunction with the 1893
World’s Fair. Popik has traced the term to Cincinnati newspapers
in 1876. Wide usage still
US, 1876. 2 Port Elizabeth SOUTH AFRICA, 1989.
3 Wellington, New Zealand NEW ZEALAND, 2004
wind your neck in! ‘be quiet!’ UK, 1943
Windypeg nickname Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA, 2002
wine; wind verb while dancing, to gyrate the pelvis in a sexual
manner TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1916
wine and dine verb to entertain someone with wine and food.
Earlier as ‘dine and wine’ UK, 1916
wine grape noun a Roman Catholic. Glasgow rhyming slang for PAPE
UK: SCOTLAND
, 1985
wine head noun a drunkard who favours wine US, 1962
wine shed noun abarUS, 1984
winfly noun a flight made during winter from New Zealand to
Antarctica ANTARCTICA, 1969
wing noun 1 the arm UK, 1823. 2 a winning streak in poker US, 1988

wing verb 1 to shoot at someone and wound them but not seriously
UK, 1802. 2 to discipline someone UK, 1996. < wing it to improvise;
to do something with little preparation. Originally from the
theatre, indicating the necessity of learning a part at short notice,
standing in the wings of a stage US, 1970
wing and a prayer noun a very narrow margin of automotive power
or control; hence, a slender hope or chance. Originally applied to
the minimum requirement for an aircraft’s emergency landing
UK,
1943
wingding; wing-ding noun 1 a party, a celebration US, 1949. 3 in
motorcyle racing, a brief loss of control for which the rider
compensates
US, 1965. 2 a fit, especially one feigned by a drug
addict; a person feigning such a fit
US, 1927
winge verb 8see: WHINGE
winging adjective drunk or drug-intoxicated US, 1970
wimp out | winging 702
wingnut noun a person who is easily angered or flustered. As a piece
of hardware, a ‘wingnut’ is easily tightened – the basis for its
application to a person
US, 1990
wings noun 1 any powdered drug, especially cocaine, heroin or
morphine. Because wings give you the lift that gets you
HIGH US,
1953. 2 insignia worn by motorcyle gang members signifying sexual
conquests US, 1966. < get your wings to use heroin for the first
time. A nod to aviation terminology US, 1989
wing-wang noun the rectum US, 1970

wing wipe noun a crew member of a military jet aircraft. A term
used by the infantry
US, 1990
wingy noun a person with one arm US, 1980
wingy adjective very loose-fitting, giving the appearance of extreme
thinness
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 2003
wink noun the penis UK, 2001
winker noun the vagina. The imagery of an eye that opens and
closes UK, 1970
winkie noun 1 the vagina UK, 2001. 2 a sideways punctuation face indi-
cating laughter, generally formed as ;-) US, 1995
winking noun < like winking; like eyes-a-winking very quickly
UK, 1827
winkle noun a boy’s penis; a small penis US, 1966. < have on the
winkle
to be obsessed by something UK, 1969
winkle-trip noun a male striptease act performed for an all-female
audience on a Thames pleasure boat UK, 1980
winky; winkie noun the penis; a small penis; a boy’s penis. Usually
juvenile, occasionally derisory; probably a variation of WINKLE UK,
1984
winner noun a loser socially. Sardonic, cruel US, 1964
winners noun dice that have been altered so as to roll numbers
other than seven, useful to the shooter in craps US, 1950
winners and losers noun trousers. Glasgow rhyming slang on
‘troosers’ UK: SCOTLAND, 1985
winny-popper noun the penis. A schoolchildren’s term CANADA, 1968
wino noun 1 a lowly drunk US, 1913. 2 a wine connoisseur NEW ZEALAND,
1997

win or lose noun any and all alcoholic drinks. Rhyming slang for
BOOZE UK, 1992
wino time noun a short jail sentence US, 1992
winter noun any period between carnival seasons, regardless of the
actual time of year US, 1966
winter blossoms noun the older, female, winter residents of a hotel
UK, 1977
winterer; winteroverer noun a person who spends the winter in
Antarctica
ANTARCTICA, 1958
Winterpeg nickname Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA, 2002
winter wear noun the foreskin on an uncircumsised penis US, 1983
win-win adjective said of a situation in which the parties involved all
feel that they have done well US, 1977
wipe noun a handkerchief US, 1981
wipe verb 1 to dismiss or reject a person; to wash your hands of
someone AUSTRALIA, 1941. 2 in drag racing, to defeat another car.
Created by back-formation; when a car is defeated, the name of
the driver is wiped from the list of those competing, so the driver
is ‘wiped’
US, 2003. < wipe the clock to set a train’s air brake
valve at the position used for full emergency application. An
allusion to the sudden drop of the pressure needle on the air
gauge to zero US, 1975. < wipe the floor with; wipe up the
floor with; wipe the earth with; wipe the gr ound with
to
inflict an absolute defeat on someone; to surpass someone UK, 1896
wiped adjective 1 infatuated UK, 2004. 2 drunk US, 1968. 3 exhausted US,
1996
wiped out adjective very drug-intoxicated US, 1974

wipe-off noun 1 a cursory washing of the body using little water US,
1953. 2 a total wreck; a write-off AUSTRALIA, 1945
wipe off verb to wreck or ruin something AUSTRALIA, 1962
wipe-out noun a fall from a surfboard, usually caused by a wave. A
major word of the surfer’s lexicon; it was the title and one-word
lyric of the 1963 ‘surf instrumental’ by the Surfaris that featured a
drum solo practised on the school desk of many an early 1960s
schoolboy AUSTRALIA, 1962
wipe out verb 1 to destroy something; to kill or wound someone US,
1968. 2 to remove someone from their position UK, 1969
wire noun 1 a telegraph message; a telegram UK, 1876. 2 areport;infor-
mation. A vestigial term from the era of telegraphy
UK, 1925. 3 news
transmitted privately TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1938. 4 a bookmaking
operation US, 1981. 5 a small microphone and transmitting device
worn on the person as part of law enforcement interception of
oral communications
US, 1973. 6 the penis IRELAND, 1991. 7 the
buttocks
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1968. 8 in a pickpocketing team, the
thief who actually picks the victim’s pocket
UK, 1851. 9 in horse
racing, the finish line US, 1974. 10 amphetamines UK, 2003. 11 in pool,
the score string US, 1993. < have your wires crossed; get your
wires crossed
to be at cross purposes; to be affected by a
mutual misunderstanding
UK, 2001. < on the wire in pool, having
scored or having been awarded a score as part of the
handicapping of a game

US, 1993
wire verb 1 to send a telegraph message UK, 1859. 2 to use a small
microphone or transmitting device to intercept oral communi-
cations US, 1973. 3 in skateboarding, to analyse and plan a difficult
manoeuvre or trick US, 1976
wired adjective 1 intoxicated on amphetamines or cocaine. Also used
with ‘up’ US, 1966. 2 tense, anxious UK, 1979. 3 well-rehearsed US, 1995.
4 used of a pair in stud poker, dealt in the first two cards of a hand
US, 1981
wired to the moon adjective extremely drug-intoxicated. An elabor-
ation of
WIRED (drug-intoxicated) UK, 1995
wired up adjective 1 intoxicated on central nervous system depress-
ants US, 1979. 2 available for homosexual relations US, 1961
wire-fu noun a technique that employs wires and pulleys to create
choreographed martial art fights. Formed on ‘kung fu’ US, 1997
wirehead noun a computer hardware specialist US, 1991
wire r oom noun an illegal betting establishment’s telephone office
US, 1950
wires noun any central nervous system stimulant US, 1977
wire store noun a big con based on a supposedly corrupt telegraph
official who claims he can delay the reporting of race results to
the benefit of the victim US, 1969
wire to wire noun in horse racing, the entire distance of the race,
from start to finish US, 1951
wise verb to inform or educate someone; to explain something US,
1905. < wise up; wise up to to learn, realise or understand
something US, 1919
wise adjective < be wise; be wise to; get wise; get wise to to
be aware of something; to be warned about something US, 1896.

< put wise; put wise to to make someone aware of something;
to warn someone about something US, 1913
-wise suffix in the manner of, or to do with, a conjoined subject US,
1942
wiseacre noun a smart alec UK, 1595
wiseass noun an obnoxious person with delusions of cleverness US,
1971
wisecrack noun a smart, humorous, sometimes cruel remark US, 1924
wisecrack verb to make smart, humorous and sometimes cruel
remarks
US, 1946
wisecracker noun someone who makes smart, humorous and
sometimes cruel remarks US, 1923
wisecracking adjective given to making smart, humorous and
sometimes cruel remarks US, 1915
wise guy noun a recognised member of an organised crime
enterprise
US, 1975
703 wingnut | wise guy
wise monkey noun a condom. Rhyming slang for DUNKY,influenced
perhaps by the usual number of wise monkeys and a
PACKET OF
THREE UK
, 1992
wisenheimer noun a smart alec, a wise guy UK, 1904
wisepuss noun an obnoxious person with delusions of cleverness. A
variation of
WISEASS US, 1971
wish verb to greet someone INDIA, 1979
wishbone noun in hot rodding, a triangular suspension control

device US, 1993
wishing book noun a mail-order catalogue US, 1975
wish-was noun someone who wishes that he were something that
he is not US, 1991
wishy-washy adjective 1 weak; uncertain UK, 1703. 2 in poor condition
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 1993
wiss noun a urination. Glasgow slang UK, 1996
wisteria adjective clingy. From the characteristics of the plant; a
contemporary gay usage UK, 2003
wit noun a witness US, 1999
wit! ‘what was just said is not funny!’ US, 1986
witch noun < the witch any powdered drug; cocaine, heroin, etc
US, 1949
witch doctor noun a doctor who specialises in internal medicine US,
1985
witches’ knickers noun plastic bags caught up in trees or shrubs
IRELAND, 2000
witch hazel noun heroin US, 1959
witch’s brew noun LSD enhanced with botanical drugs from plants
such as deadly nightshade or jimsonweed US, 1970
witch’s cackle noun the male genitals. Rhyming slang for WEDDING
TACK LE UK
, 2003
with authority! used as a humorous comment on a remark made
or action taken without hesitation and boldly. Coined on ESPN’s
Sports Center while narrating footage showing a basketball slam
dunk US, 1997
with it adjective aware of all that is happening; stylish; part of a
subculture US, 1945
without adjective clueless; out of touch; out of style US, 1999

wiwi noun a French person. A Maori approximation of the French
‘oui, oui’ NEW ZEALAND, 1998
wix adjective excellent. Urban youth slang. Probably a reduction of
WICKED UK, 2005
wizard noun 1 an expertly skilled person UK, 1620. 2 in computing, a
person who has specific and detailed expertise US, 1983. 3 in pinball,
an expert player US, 1977
wizard adjective excellent, marvellous. Magical origins; mainly used
by the privileged and officer classes until after World War 2, then
widespread. Of upper-class society use: ‘[ ] still used, though
almost always in inverted commas’ (Ann Barr and Peter York, The
Official Sloane Ranger Handbook, p.159, 1982) UK, 1922
wizard! used for expressing approval UK, 1933
wizard’s sleeve noun a capacious vagina. Coined for humorous
magazine Viz UK, 1999
wizz noun 8see: WHIZZ, WHIZZO
wizzard; wizzard of oz noun an ounce of marijuana. This plays on
the conventional abbreviation ‘oz’ (ounce) and, by association with
the film The Wizard of Oz, 1939, which contains the song
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’, suggesting where this measure of
marijuana might take you. The misspelling ‘wizzard’, if deliberate,
may be punning on
WHIZZ (amphetamine) UK, 2001
wizzo noun the weapons officer on a military aircraft US, 1998
wizzy adjective excellent, exciting, wonderful; used for registering
general approval. A variation of WIZARD UK, 1998
wizzy-wizzy verb to whisper BARBADOS, 1965
wobble verb < wobble the job to cause trouble among workers
on a unionised worksite
CANADA, 1989

wobble board noun a simple musical instrument made of a sheet
of stiff material that is wobbled rhythmically. Invention of the
instrument and its name is credited to Australian artist and
entertainer Rolf Harris (b.1930)
AUSTRALIA, 1957
wobbler noun 1 an outburst of temper UK, 1983. 2 in trucking, a spoke
wheel US, 1971. < throw a wobbler to have a fit of bad temper or
anger
US, 2003
wobblestick noun a gear lever on a truck or car US, 1971
wobblies; wobs noun a powerful and deep vibration of the board
while skateboarding fast
US, 1976
wobbly noun afitofangerUK, 1977. < throw a wobbly to have a fit
of bad temper or anger
NEW ZEALAND, 1984
Wobbly noun a member of the anarchist trade union the
International Workers of the World
US, 1914
wobbly adjective uncertain; undecided; risky UK, 1884
wobbly egg; wobbly; egg noun a capsule of Temazepam™, a
branded tranquillizer; any central nervous system depressant; in
the plural it refers to the drug in general. From the characteristic
nature of gelatine, the original method of manufacturing the
capsules UK, 1996
wobbly hole noun in trucking, the neutral gear US, 1971
wobbly orange noun a warrant officer in the Royal Air Force. A
ludicrous re-use of the initials
UK, 2002
wodge; wadge noun a large amount. Originally used of a bulky mass

UK, 1860
wog noun 1 any person of non-white ethnicity; a native of the Indian
subcontinent; an Arab; any (non-British) foreigner, as in ‘the wogs
begin at Calais’. Derogatory, patronising. Derives possibly from an
abbreviation of ‘golliwog’ (a caricature, black-faced, curly-haired
doll) but the widest usage is in reference to Asians and not black
people. Popular, unproven etymology has ‘wog’ as an acronym of
‘Western(ised) [or] Wily Oriental Gentleman’ UK, 1929. 2 any language
that isn’t English
AUSTRALIA, 1988. 3 a germ that causes an illness
AUSTRALIA, 1941
wog adjective 1 foreign UK, 1956. 2 of non-Anglo-Celtic origin AUSTRALIA,
1944
wogball noun soccer AUSTRALIA, 1984
wog box noun a large portable stereo system associated,
stereotypically, with black youth culture UK, 1990
woggy adjective 1 characteristic of a non-white person AUSTRALIA, 1988.
2 of non-Anglo-Celtic background AUSTRALIA, 1968
wojus adjective inferior; of poor quality IRELAND, 2004
woke-up adjective informed; up-to-date US, 1968
wolf noun 1 a sexually aggressive man US, 1945. 2 in prison, an
aggressive, predatory homosexual US, 1952. 3 in homosexual anal
sex, the active participant
US, 1940. 4 a prison sentence of 15 years
US, 1990s
wolf verb to act in a sexually aggressive manner US, 1974
wolf bait noun an attractive young woman US, 1960
Wolfhounds noun the 27th Infantry Regiment of the 25th Division.
Formed in 1901, named by the White Russians in World War 1,
distinguished fighters in World War 2, Korea and Vietnam

US, 1968
wolf in the pack noun a traffic police car in the midst of other cars
US, 1962
wolf pack noun a group of friends who play poker at cardrooms,
taking advantage of unskilled strangers US, 1996
wolf-pack verb 1 to engage in criminal gang activity US, 1982. 2 to
congregate with other teenagers around their cars at shopping
centre carparks, drinking beer and idling US, 1989
wolf ticket noun a threat or other act of intimidation used to coerce
US, 1974
wolf whistle noun a distinctive whistle (generally, a sharply
terminated rising note, followed by one that rises briefly before
descending and fading) used as a declaration of appreciation for a
wise monkey | wolf whistle 704
sexually attractive person. After WOLF (a sexually aggressive man),
and generally, but not exclusively, in the vocabulary of men
US, 1952
wolf-whistle verb to whistle in a distinctive declaration of appreci-
ation for a sexually attractive person. From the noun
US, 1955
wollie; woolah noun crack cocaine added to a marijuana cigarette
or cigar US, 1989
wolly noun 8see: WALL Y
wollyback noun anyone living in a rural area IRELAND, 1995
wolver noun the penis. Rhyming slang, formed from Midlands’ town
Wolverhampton as an elaboration of ‘hampton’, the shortened
form of HAMPTON WICK (PRICK) UK, 1967
woman in the sun noun heroin. Collected in private
correspondence with certain musicians
UK, 2001

womb noun the rectum US, 1983
wombat noun 1 a dull, uninteresting or stupid person. From the
name of a stocky native nocturnal marsupial AUSTRALIA, 1905. 2 in
computing, a waste of money, brains and time
US, 1991
wombat-headed adjective stupid; fat-headed. First used by the
bushranger Ned Kelly in his famous ‘Jerilderie Letter’ in 1879
AUSTRALIA, 1971
womb broom noun the penis US, 1973
womb duster noun the penis US, 1977
womble noun 1 in prison, an inmate detailed as a litter collector.
After the children’s characters created by Elizabeth Beresford, and
in a BBC television series launched in 1973
UK, 2003. 2 afoolUK, 1986
womble verb to pick up litter. From the raison d’être of children’s
television characters in The Wombles, who collected litter in the
70s from 1973, and again from 1998
UK, 1996
womb sweeper noun the penis US, 1978
womb-trembler noun something that causes great excitement UK,
2001
women and children off the street! in shuffleboard, used as a
humorous commentary on a hard shooter US, 1967
womp; whomp verb to beat someone US, 1964
wonder star noun methcathinone UK, 1998
wonder veg noun any mushroom with a hallucinogenic effect UK,
1996
wonder wand noun the penis. An elaboration of WAND (the penis)
US, 2001
wong verb in casino blackjack, to play several hands at a table where

the count of cards played favours the player, and then to move on
to another table. Named after Stanford Wong, a blackjack expert
US, 1991
wonga noun 1 money. From Romany wanger or wonger, defined by
George Borrow in Romano Lavo- Lil, 1907, as ‘Coal. Also a term for
money; probably because Coal in the cant [criminal] language sig-
nifies money’. Romany ‘wongar-camming miser’ is literally ‘one
who loves coal’. (Now obsolete ‘coal’, also ‘cole’, meant ‘money’
from the mid-C17, and all but faded away by C20). Variants
include ‘wong’ and ‘wonger’
UK, 1953. 2 marijuana UK, 1985
wonk noun a student who studies harder than contemporaries con-
sider necessary; a political professional who is studious and
therefore well informed. Derogatory
US, 1962
wonkey; wonky adjective broken US, 2001
wonk out verb to study excessively US, 1987
wonky adjective 1 unbalanced; out-of-true. Variation of obsolete sense
of ‘wanky’ (inferior, damaged) UK, 1919. 2 unsound or unreliable UK,
1925. 3 intellectual; out of touch with reality US, 1970
won’t do itself used before tackling any task as an expression of
resigned determination. A very clichéd truism if not a catchphrase
UK, 1999
woo noun sexual foreplay NEW ZEALAND, 1998
wood noun 1 the fully erect penis US, 1991. 2 the penis TRINIDAD AND
TOBAGO
, 1950. 3 in a casino or other gambling establishment, a
person who watches without playing. An abbreviation of
DEADWOOD US, 1950. < have the wood on someone to have an
advantage over someone

AUSTRALIA, 1949. < on the wo od 1 in
horse racing, racing along the rail US, 1994. 2 in hot rodding and
motor racing, throttled to the maximum
US, 1993
Woodbine; woodie; woody; wood noun any cheap cigarette. From
branded ‘Wild Woodbine’™ cigarettes, manufactured by WD & HO
Wills and among the cheapest to be had UK, 1916
wood burner noun an attractive female. A suggestion that the
woman consumes WOOD in the ‘erect’ sense of the word US, 1990
wooden verb to beat someone with a club of some sort AUSTRALIA,
1905
wooden adjective in poker, said of a hand that is unplayable US, 1951
wooden aspro noun a blow to the head with a police baton NEW
ZEALAND
, 1980
wooden cat noun a Morris Traveller car. Citizens’ band radio slang;
OLD CAT is a Morris Minor; this ‘cat’ is amended for the wooden
bars in the model’s design UK, 1981
woodener noun a sentence of imprisonment for 30 days. Rhyming
slang,
WOODEN SPOON for MOON (a month’s imprisonment) UK, 1950
wooden hill; little wooden hill noun the stairs. Nursery use,
especially in the phrase CLIMB THE WOODEN HILL TO BEDFORDSHIRE (to
go upstairs to bed)
UK, 1961
wooden horses noun a carousel BARBADOS, 1965
wooden Indian noun a poker player who does not talk or display
emotion US, 1996
wooden leg noun an egg. Rhyming slang UK, 1998
wooden overcoat noun a coffin. A bleakly cynical euphemism,

since 1903. Later variations are ‘wooden kimono’, 1926 and
‘wooden suit’, 1968
UK, 1903
wooden plank noun an American, especially an American in the
UK. Rhyming slang for YANK UK, 1992
wooden spoon noun 1 a notional trophy awarded to an individual or
a team placed last in a competition. From an actual wooden
spoon that was customarily presented to the lowest on the
Mathematical Tripos list at Cambridge University
UK, 1858. 2 a
month’s imprisonment. Rhyming slang for MOON UK, 1998
wooden-spooner noun in a sporting competition, an individual or
team that comes last. From WOODEN SPOON UK, 1954
wooden-spoonist noun in a competition, an individual or team that
comes last. From WOODEN SPOON UK, 1927
woodentop noun 1 a uniformed police officer. After the children’s
television puppet show The Woodentops (1955–58). The variant
‘woody’ is also used UK, 1982. 2 a fool; also attributed as an
adjective. After the sense ‘a police officer’ UK, 1983
Wood family noun used as a humorous description of empty seats
in a theatre UK, 1952
woodfoot noun numbing of the foot in cold water. Surfing usage US,
2004
woodie noun 1 a Wills Woodbine™ cigarette UK, 1931. 2 awooden
powerboat, especially one built between the 1920s and 60s US, 2001
wooding noun among vagrant alcoholics, a task of collecting
firewood UK, 1966
woodpecker noun a machinegun AUSTRALIA, 1898
woodpile noun 1 a xylophone US, 1945. 2 the area in a prison yard
where white prisoners exercise. Formed from PECKERWOOD (a white

person) and IRON PILE (weightlifting equipment) US, 1989
woodpile cousin noun an actual, if distant, blood relative US, 1975
wood rash noun any injury, especially grazing, sustained when riding
a skateboard on a wooden ramp. A combination of location and
appearance; ironically modest US, 2001
woods noun the vulva; a woman’s pubic hair. Usually used with ‘the’
US, 1968
woods French noun a limited ability in French CANADA, 1980
woodshed verb to rehearse, especially in private US, 1936
705 wolf-whistle | woodshed
woodsman noun a male pornography performer who can be
counted upon to maintain an erection as long as needed and to
ejaculate more or less on demand
US, 1995
woodster noun a male pornography performer whose erections can
be counted on
US, 2000
woodsy noun a party held in the country US, 1967
woodwork noun < come out of the woodwork; crawl out of
the woodwork; creep out of the woodwork
(of someone or
something unpleasant) to appear; to arrive on the scene; to
emerge. Usage is often with humorous intent but the allusion is
to insects normally found in the woodwork – woodworm,
deathwatch beetle, cockroach, etc
UK, 1973
woody; woodie noun 1 an erection. US pornographer Joey Silvera is
given credit for coining this term, which did not stay within the
confines of pornography for long
US, 1985. 2 a car with wood or

synthetic wood paneling on its body US, 1962 8see: WOODBINE
woody pill noun a genuine or a generic Viagra™ tablet. Based on
WOODY (an erection) UK, 2002
Woody Woodpecker noun a tablet of MDMA, the recreational drug
best known as ecstasy, embossed with a representation of the
popular animation character
UK, 1999
woof verb 1 to vomit US, 1978. 2 to eat very quickly. Possibly from
‘wolf down’ UK, 1943. 3 to threaten or intimidate someone; to
engage someone in ritualistic, quasi-friendly insulting
US, 1967
woof! used as a shout of approval, especially as a male declaration
of appreciation for a sexually desirable female. Originated by
television talk show host Arsenio Hall in 1989; the barking is
accompanied by a pumped raised hand, fist clenched US, 1992
woofer noun an unattractive woman or man. A variation of DOG UK,
1995
woofter noun a homosexual man. A variation of POOFTER (a male
homosexual) UK, 1977
woofterish adjective ineffecutal NEW ZEALAND, 1993
wook noun a quintessential rural hippie. From the Wookie character
in the George Lucas Star Wars films US, 2004
wool noun 1 pubic hair; by extension, sex US, 1972. 2 used derogatively
of someone who is not from the city; a stereotypical country-
dweller; a YOKEL.FromWOOLLY BACK UK, 2001
woola; woolas; wooly; wool noun crack cocaine or phencyclidine
sprinkled over marijuana which is then smoked in a cigarette; a
hollowed-out cigar filled with marijuana and phencyclidine US, 1995
woolah noun 8see: WOLLIE
woolie noun a female’s pubic hair NEW ZEALAND, 1994

woolies noun winter clothing US, 1945
Woolies nickname high street shop FW Woolworth’s, later
Woolworth’s AUSTRALIA, 1944
woollies noun marijuana and crack cocaine mixture; marijuana and
phencyclidine, the recreational drug known as PCP or angel dust
UK, 1998
Woolloomooloo Yank noun an Australian who puts on an American
accent
AUSTRALIA, 1945
woolly noun 1 a black person. Variants include ‘wooley head’ US, 1969.
2 in CID slang, a uniformed police officer UK, 1965
woolly back noun 1 a stereotype of the unsophisticated country-
dweller. An allusion to the intelligence and appearance of sheep UK,
1981. 2 a Welsh person US, 2003
woollyback breaker noun a citizens’ band radio user from North
Wales. Citizens’ band radio slang
BREAKER (a citizens’ band user)
with an allusion to sheep UK, 1981
woolly mitten noun a kitten. Rhyming slang UK, 1998
woolly nose noun a railway fettler AUSTRALIA, 1969
woolly-pully noun a military-issue heavy jumper. A customised
woollen pullover
UK, 1984
woolly vest noun a pest. Rhyming slang UK, 1998
woolly woofter; woolly noun a male homosexual. Rhyming slang
with
POOFTER AUSTRALIA, 1988
Woolwich and Greenwich noun spinach. Rhyming slang, formed
from two London locations for crossing over the Thames
UK, 1992

Woolwich Ferry noun sherry. Rhyming slang, formed from a
transport across the Thames
UK, 1992
Woolworth noun in hold ’em poker, a five and a ten as the first two
cards dealt to a player. Woolworth’s was the most famous five and
dime store in the US US, 1981
Woolworth’s finest noun in shuffleboard, a ten US, 1967
wooly bear noun in caving and pot-holing, a fibre-pile undersuit US,
1997
wooly blunt; woolly blunt noun a marijuana and crack cocaine
cigarette UK, 2003
woop noun 8see: WHOOP
Woop Woop noun an imaginary remote place AUSTRALIA, 1918
wooshed up adjective having been whisked to a froth (as of a
milkshake); figuratively of anything having been subjected to
random inflation (see citation) UK, 1999
wooter noun the penis US, 1981
wooz noun marijuana. From WOOZY (intoxicated) UK, 2003
wooziness noun a fuddled state, muzziness; often used to describe a
morning-after-the-night-before feeling US, 1977
woozy adjective unsteady; dizzy; disoriented; intoxicated with drugs
or drink. Anglicised by Conan Doyle in 1917 US, 1897
wop noun an Italian immigrant or Italian-American US, 1914. < up
the wop
1 pregnant NEW ZEALAND, 1981. 2 broken; unsound NEW
ZEALAND
, 2001
wop adjective Italian US, 1961
wopcacker noun a superlative example of something AUS TRALIA, 1941
wop-jawed adjective in circus and carnival usage, amazed by an act

or demonstration US, 1981
wop-wops noun remote back country NEW ZEALAND, 1984
word noun < get a word in edgeways to contribute to a
conversation. Generally in a negative form UK, 1984. < put the
word on someone
to proposition someone AUSTRALIA, 1975 .
< take the word in the illegal production of alcohol, to warn
someone about a pending law enforcement raid US, 1974. < the
word
1 gossip, rumours US, 1961. 2 an order US, 1962
word verb to speak to someone AUSTRALIA, 1905
word! used for expressing assent US, 1987
word in your shell-like noun a brief and discreet (one-sided)
conversation. variation of ‘word in your ear’; ‘shell-like’, which
does not appear outside of this phrase until later, derives from a
similarity of shape between the ear and some (delicate, pink)
shells
UK, 1985
words noun a quarrel (of violent words not actions). A refinement of
a sense that has served since 1462 UK, 1862
word up verb to speak to someone in a flattering manner AUSTRALIA,
1985
word up 1 used for expressing agreement US, 1986. 2 used as a
greeting. Used in the hip-hop community US, 2003
work noun 1 the betting slips in an illegal lottery or gambling oper-
ation US, 1972. 2 cheating in gambling, especially in craps. The
statement ‘There’s work down’ means that altered dice or cards
are in play US, 1950. 3 dice or cards that have been altered for the
purpose of cheating
US, 1963. 4 crack cocaine US, 1989. 5 sex US, 1959.

< do the work on someone to kill someone US, 1994. < have
your work cut out; have your work cut out for you; have
all your work cut out
to have enough, or all you can manage, to
do – anything more would be too much. From an earlier sense
(to have your work prepared for you) UK, 1856
work verb 1 to cheat at gambling US, 1963. 2 to have sex with
someone US, 1957. 3 to sell drugs US, 1993. 4 to dilute a powdered
drug US, 1989. < to get worked to be knocked from your
surfboard and pummelled by the ocean
US, 1987. < work a
woodsman | work 706
ginger (of a prostitute) to rob a client. From GINGER AUSTRALIA, 1953.
< work for Standard Oil to drive a truck that burns excessive
amounts of fuel or oil US, 1971. < work like a charm to achieve a
purpose with absolute ease. From the idea of a magic charm
influencing the action UK, 1882. < work like a nigger to work
very hard. Praise and contempt in equal parts
US, 1836. < work
the cuts
(used of a prostitute) to solicit customers on the streets
US, 1987. < work the glory rode to affect religious conversion
while in prison in the hope of receiving an early parole US, 1976.
< work the hole to rob drunks sleeping on underground
platforms or in the carriages US, 1953. < work the kerb (of a
prostitute) to ply for trade from passing motorists
UK, 2002. < work
the nuts
to operate a shell game in a circus midway or carnival
US, 1980. < work the other side of the street to be on

opposing sides of a bipolar situation; to make a living as a
criminal US, 1982. < work your bollocks off to work very hard UK,
2002. < work your ticket to obtain a discharge from
employment on the grounds of physical injury or ill health; orig-
inally military but in the prevailing compensation culture applied
to any employment situation where benefits of discharge are con-
siderable, and thus fraudulent endeavour is often implied
UK, 1899
workar ound noun in computing, a temporary fix of a problem US,
1991
worker noun 1 a professional wrestler who puts on a good perform-
ance US, 1999. 2 a member of a drug-selling enterprise who sells
drugs on the street
US, 1995. 3 a gambling cheat US, 1962. 4 in the
circus or carnival, a large blown-up balloon shown by the
concession selling packages of balloons
US, 1980
workie noun a worker UK, 2002
working adjective in craps, said of a bet that will be in effect on the
next roll US, 1981
working boy noun a male prostitute US, 1987
working class noun a glass. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
working classes noun spectacles, glasses. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
working end noun the dangerous end of a tool or weapon US, 1992
working fifty noun a large piece of crack cocaine bought at a
wholesale price US, 1990
working girl noun a prostitute US, 1968
working john noun an honest, hard-working man US, 1957
workingman’s weed noun marijuana. An allusion to the 1970
album ‘Workingman’s Dead’ by the Grateful Dead, a band well

known for the use of recreational drugs
UK, 2000
working-over noun a beating-up, a thrashing UK, 1984
working parts noun the genitals UK, 1995
working stiff noun a hard-working labourer US, 1966
work is the curse of the drinking classes a catchphrase that
reverses a popular cliché. Attributed to Oscar Wilde UK, 1946
work out verb to masturbate US, 2002
work over verb to beat someone up; to thrash someone (both
physically and figuratively) UK, 1927
works noun the equipment used to prepare and inject drugs US, 1934 .
< get on someone’s works to annoy someone AUSTRALIA, 1956 .
< in the works already in progress, due to happen CANADA, 1973.
< the works the complete treatment US, 1899
works adjective in motor racing, supported by the car manufacturer
US, 1965
works for me! used for expressing agreement. A signature line of
Los Angeles Police Department Detective Sergeant Rick Hunter on
the television police drama Hunter (NBC, 1984–91). Repeated with
referential humour US, 1991
world noun < the world during the war in Vietnam, back home,
the US, life outside the military US, 1970
world of shit noun a very dangerous situation US, 1984
worlds noun commerically manufactured cigarettes US, 1990
worm noun 1 a computer program that maliciously duplicates itself
repeatedly in a host computer until it clogs and crashes the
system
US, 1990. 2 a coiled condenser used in the illegal production
of alcohol
US, 1974. 3 a facial blemish BARBADOS, 1965. 4 phencyclidine,

the recreational drug known as PCP or angel dust US, 1981. 5 an
inexperienced oil field worker
US, 1984. < wet down the worm to
perfom oral sex on a man
US, 2001
worm and snail; worm noun afingernail. Rhyming slang UK, 1992
worm dirt noun chewing tobacco. An obvious visual comparison US,
2001
worms noun < are you keeping it for the worms?; are you
saving it for the worms?
said, probably in frustration, to a
female rejecting sexual advances or to one who is presumed to be
a virgin. ‘It’ being a state of virginity, ‘the worms’ signifying death
US, 1977
Wormtown nickname Worcester, Massachusetts US, 1997
wormy adjective nervous or anxious, especially when manifested in
the stomach NORFOLK ISLAND, 1992
worra laff! what a laugh! A phonetic slovening, probably of
Liverpool origin
UK, 1999
worry verb 1 to steal something CAYMAN ISLANDS, 1985. 2 (said of a
jockey in horse racing) to ride a horse US, 1951
worse for wear adjective 1 somewhat drunk UK, 1984. 2 hung over US,
1979
worse luck! more’s the pity! UK, 1861
worth adjective < not worth two cents to jingle on a
tombstone
of a person, without any redeeming qualities CANADA,
1988
. < worth a few bob; worth a bob or two of people, fairly

wealthy; of things, fairly valuable. From
BOB (a shilling, now equiv-
alent to 5p but not of equal value)
UK, 1981
wossface noun a person whose name is unknown, forgotten, to be
avoided, or hardly worth mentioning. A slurring of WHAT’S-HIS-FACE
UK
, 2001
wossie noun 8see: WUSSIE
wot pronoun what UK, 1829
wotcher; watcha; what yer used as a greeting. Elision of the C16
greeting ‘what cheer’. Stereotypically Cockney but in wider use.
The earliest recorded use is ‘"Wot cher!" all the neighbours cried, /
"Who’re yer goin’ to meet, Bill? Have you bought the street, Bill?"’
(Albert Chevalier, ‘Wot Cher!’ or ‘Knocked ‘em in the Old Kent
Road’, 1891)
UK, 1953
wot no ? used humorously for registering an absence or a
shortage. A misspelling of ‘what’ provides this endlessly variable
graffiti catchphrase, presented in a speech-bubble, or as a caption
to a drawing of Chad, or Mr Chad looking over a wall, this used to
highlight or protest about another World War 2 shortage. The for-
mula has lingered in speech but Chad slowly faded from view UK,
1945
wotsit noun an unnamed thing. Reduction of the phrase ‘what is
it?’, usually seen as WHATSIT; this variation is possibly inspired by
Golden Wonder’s Wotsits™, a popular cheesy flavour snack UK, 1997
wotsit in a sock noun the penis. A specific variation of WHATSIT (an
unspecified object) UK, 2005
wouldn’t it? used for expressing exasperation. Elliptical for such

phrases as ‘wouldn’t it make you sick’, though mostly
euphemistically so for such phrases containing profanity, such as
‘wouldn’t it give you the shits’ or ‘wouldn’t it root you’ AUSTRALIA,
1940
wouldn’t it rip you? used for expressing exasperation AUSTRALIA, 1941
wouldn’t it root you? used for expressing exasperation. Also
WOULDN’T IT RIP/ ROTATE YOU? both of which are presumably
euphemisms for the ‘root’ form, even though the earliest recorded
form is ‘rip’ (1941, Australian National Dictionary). Also, ‘wouldn’t
it root your boot’
AUSTRALIA, 1945
wouldn’t it rotate you? used for expressing exasperation.
Euphemistic for
WOULDN’T IT ROOT Y OU AUSTRALIA, 1944
wouldn’t it rot your socks? used for expressing exasperation
AUSTRALIA, 1982
707 workaround | wouldn’t it rot your socks?
wouldn’t say no used for registering acceptance of something,
sometimes as a suggestion that something would be accepted if it
were offered
UK, 1939
wouldn’t work in an iron lung to be extremely lazy AUSTRALIA, 1971
would you believe ? used for humorously probing for a
statement that can be believed. The signature line of spy Maxwell
Smart, played by Don Adams, on the television comedy Get Smart
(1965–70). Adams had used the line earlier on The Bill Dana
Show (NBC, 1963–65). Repeated with referential humour
US, 1965
wounded soldier noun a bottle or can of beer that has been partly
consumed. Playing on

DEAD SOLDIER as ‘an empty bottle’ US, 1991
wound up adjective angry, annoyed. The image is of a clock’s
mainspring wound too tight and ready to lose control
UK, 2001
wow noun 1 a thing of wonder; a sensational success. From the
exclamation ‘wow!’
US, 1920. 2 an exclamation mark (!) US, 1983
Wow nickname the psychiatric hospital in Auckland. The hospital is
near the Whau River NEW ZEALAND, 1998
wowser noun a spoilsport of the worst kind; a moral crusader; a
prude. Claimed by John Norton, editor of the Sydney Truth
(1891–1916) as his own coinage and an acronym from the phrase
‘we only want social evils remedied’, a supposed catchcry of ‘the
wowsers’. This story has sadly never been corroborated, and its
derivation must be sought elsewhere. The Australian National
Dictionary suggests British dialect wow (to howl or bark as a dog,
to complain), which seems to fit well, but one correspondent to
the Truth in 1910, after denying the word as Norton’s invention,
goes on to say ‘a false sense of public decency forbids the publi-
cation of the derivation and true meaning’, which suggests some
profane origin
AUSTRALIA, 1900
wowserish adjective prudish; puritanical AUSTRALIA, 1906
wowserism noun the characteristic behaviour of a WOWSER;
prudishness AUSTRALIA, 1904
wowseristic adjective prudish; puritanical AUSTRALIA, 1907
woz was. A deliberate misspelling, especially in graffiti UK, 1984
woza noun a person who used to be successful or well known. From
‘was a’ UK, 2001
wozzed adjective exhausted NEW ZEALAND, 1998

wrap noun 1 a small paper-wrapping containing powdered drugs UK,
1996. 2 a wrapped roll of coins US, 1977. 3 the end of a session.
Originally from the entertainment industry, extended to general
situations US, 1972. 4 praise; a compliment or commendation.
Variants include ‘wrap-up’, ‘rap’ and ‘rap-up’
AUSTRALIA, 1939
wrap; wrap up noun < wrap yourself around to eat or consume
something AUSTRALIA, 1965
wrap; wrap up verb to roll a marijuana cigarette UK, 1999. < wrap
round; wrap around
to crash a vehicle into an immovable
object UK, 1950
wrap-head noun a follower of the Pocomania Afro-Christian religion
JAMAICA, 1987
wrapped; wrapped up adjective pleased; overjoyed; enamoured
AUSTRALIA, 1963
wrapper noun 1 a motor vehicle. Citizens’ band radio’ slang US, 1976.
2 an unmarked police vehicle. Originally citizens’ band radio slang.
Variants include ‘plain wrapper’ and ‘plain wrap’ US, 1976. < in the
wrapper
1 drunk US, 1985. 2 in bed US, 1997
wraps noun cigarette rolling papers US, 1994. < under wraps kept in
secret UK, 1939
wrap-up noun a female sex-partner who, by a vague yet firm
understanding, is regularly available
UK, 1970
wrap up verb 1 to cease talking; to stop making a noise. Usually in
the imperative, often as a two word exclamation
UK, 1958. 2 to
complete the final days of a prison sentence US, 1976

wreck verb < wreck my head to agitate me to an extreme degree
IRELAND, 2003
wrecked adjective very drunk or drug-intoxicated US, 1968
wrecking crew noun 1 theatre insiders who watch a show’s early
performances and spread negative comments about the show
US,
1973. 2 crack cocaine UK, 1998. 3 on the railways, a relief crew US, 1946
wren noun a woman US, 1920
wrench noun in drag and motor racing, a mechanic US, 1980
wrench verb 1 to go US, 2002. 2 to disrupt or upset someone US, 1976.
3 in motor racing and hot rodding, to perform mechanical work
on a car, whether it literally involves using a wrench or not
US, 2004
wrench artist noun a railway mechanic US, 1977
wrencher noun a car enthusiast with considerable mechanical ability
US, 2003
wrestle; rassle verb to play a game of bar dice US, 1971
wretch verb to vomit US, 1966
wriggle noun < get a wriggle on to hurry. A variation of GET A
WIGGLE ON AUSTRALIA
, 1971
wriggle out verb to avoid a responsibility or duty UK, 1848
wriggly adjective out of the ordinary; suspiciously different UK, 1995
wring verb < wring out your mule to urinate US, 1974. < wring
out your sock
to urinate US, 1988. < wring the rattlesnake to
urinate AUSTRALIA, 1971
wringer noun a bankruptcy petition US, 1954
wrinkle noun a clever device, trick or method UK, 1817
wrinkleneck noun in horse racing, a seasoned and experienced

horse handler
US, 1951
wrinkle room noun a bar frequented by older homosexual men US,
1985
wrinkly noun an old person. A reference to the wrinkled skin of
advanced years. Partridge qualified the definition: ‘as applied to
anyone over the venerable age of thirty’
UK, 1972
wrist noun 1 a contemptible person. From WRIST JOB (an act of
masturbation) – or similar term – hence, this is synonymous
with WANKER UK, 1998. 2 in betting, odds of 5–4. From the TICK-TACK
signal used by bookmakers UK, 1991
wristers noun in lobstering, knitted gloves with no fingers US, 1978
wrist job noun 1 an act of masturbation. Used as a song title by
Humble Pie in 1969 UK, 1969. 2 used as an all-purpose form of
abuse; a substitute form of wanker
UK, 2000
wristy adjective having the characteristics of a masturbator; hence,
inferior or unpleasant. From
WRIST (a contemptible person) UK, 2000
write verb 1 to write a prescription for a narcotic which will not be
used for medicinal purposes US, 1953. 2 to create graffiti art US, 1997.
< write numbers to take bets on an illegal policy game
(numbers lottery) US, 1975
write-off noun any motor vehicle damaged beyond economic
repair; any thing (physical or abstract) or person considered to be
beyond saving. Originally Royal Air Force slang for ‘a wrecked
aircraft’, now thought of as the language of insurance UK, 1918
write off verb to destroy something; to damage something beyond
repair, generally a vehicle. From the conventional use ‘to write off

the value or the investment’ UK, 1991
writer noun 1 a graffiti artist US, 1997. 2 in a casino, employee who
accepts and records bets on Keno US, 1972 8see: SHEET WRITER
wrong noun in craps, a bet against the shooter US, 1974
wrong adjective known to inform the police US, 1953
wrongle noun in craps, someone who bets against the shooter US,
1974
wrong number noun an untrustworthy person US, 1972
wrong-o noun abadpersonUS, 1970
wrong side of noun used of an age that is greater than a stated
number
UK, 1663
wrong time noun a woman’s menstrual period US, 1954
wrong ’un noun 1 a lawbreaker; someone on the wrong side of the
law AUSTRALIA, 1985. 2 a police informer. English gypsy use UK, 2000.
wouldn’t say no | wrong ’un 708