Read Online Dictionary of Contemporary Slang by Tony Thorne - Free Book Online
Authors: Tony Thorne
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a 1978 record.
arsehole to breakfast time
adj
,
adv British
1. completely disorganised, âat sixes and sevensâ. A picturesque, if fundamentally meaningless expression sometimes heard in Britain, especially in the north of England.
Itâs no good, itâs all arsehole to breakfast time in that office at the moment.
2. thoroughly, constantly, or the full distance as, for instance, in the expression âhe kicked him from arsehole to breakfast timeâ. This may be an allusion to the complete digestive process (breakfast time referring to the mouth), but the origins of the phrase are obscure.
arselick
vb British
to flatter, curry favour. The verb, which may be transitive or, more often, intransitive, is a more recent back-formation from the noun form.
arse-licker
n
a flatterer or toady, someone who is nauseatingly sycophantic. This ancient image and phrase is paralleled in many European languages (
Arschlecker
in German,
lèchecul
in French).
arse-man
n
a man whose favourite part of a womanâs anatomy is the buttocks as opposed to a leg-man or tit-man
arse-on
n British
a fit of bad temper, sulk. The term has been heard since 2000.
feeling a bit of an arse-on
Heâs got the arse-on
.
arse over tip/tit
adv
head over heels, upside down. The expression is typically cockney, but widespread in Britain and Australia. The American version is ass over tincups/teacups .
âShe tripped and fell arse over tit down the stairs.â
(Recorded, plumber, London, 1987)
arse up
vb British
to make a mess of, mix up or spoil. A less common variation of balls up and the verb form of cock-up .
He managed to completely arse up the whole job
.
arse-up
n British
a synonym for cock-up and fuck-up , which became popular from the mid-1990s, incommon with most compounds based on arse
âIt [a student union function] was quite well planned this year â unlike the last one, which was a complete arse-up.â
(Recorded, London University student, October 1996)
arse-wipe
n
a British version of ass-wipe
arsey
adj British
truculent, aggressive, bumptious. A vogue term among young people since the late 1990s, also heard on US campuses since 2000.
arsy
adj Australian
lucky. Usually said grudgingly or enviously about someone who has managed to get away with something. ( Arse in Australian slang may signify luck as well as brazenness.)
artillery
n
needles, hypodermic syringes and other paraphernalia used by heroin addicts. The image of an arsenal of deadly equipment is typical of addictsâ own self-dramatising slang (as in shooting gallery , harpoon , etc.).
Have you got the artillery ready, man?
artist, -artist
n
,
suffix
an expert in, or devotee of, a particular activity. The word can be added to many others, but the most popular are bull(shit)-artist, burn-artist, con-artist, piss-artist , ripoff artist and sack artist .
This pattern entered modern British slang via the armed forces in the 1950s and 1960s, and separately via American hippy terminology of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ultimate geographical origin of the usage is obscure; it may have come into use spontaneously in several English-speaking areas, perhaps prompted by the Edwardian habit of pompously applying âartistâ or âartisteâ to performers in various fields of expertise.
arty-farty, artsy-fartsy
adj
pretentious, affected, more decorative than useful. A more vulgar parallel of the innocuous âarty-craftyâ, which is Edwardian in origin and was usually applied to the pseudo-rustic, as in the Arts and Crafts design movement of the late 19th century.
arvo
n Australian
afternoon. An example of the Australian tendency to abbreviate even the most mundane everyday words. The tendency is shared by nursery slang in general and, in Britain, especially the slang of Liverpool. (Arvo is, however, uniquely Australian.).
âThereâs no excuse for being in that state in the
arsehole to breakfast time
adj
,
adv British
1. completely disorganised, âat sixes and sevensâ. A picturesque, if fundamentally meaningless expression sometimes heard in Britain, especially in the north of England.
Itâs no good, itâs all arsehole to breakfast time in that office at the moment.
2. thoroughly, constantly, or the full distance as, for instance, in the expression âhe kicked him from arsehole to breakfast timeâ. This may be an allusion to the complete digestive process (breakfast time referring to the mouth), but the origins of the phrase are obscure.
arselick
vb British
to flatter, curry favour. The verb, which may be transitive or, more often, intransitive, is a more recent back-formation from the noun form.
arse-licker
n
a flatterer or toady, someone who is nauseatingly sycophantic. This ancient image and phrase is paralleled in many European languages (
Arschlecker
in German,
lèchecul
in French).
arse-man
n
a man whose favourite part of a womanâs anatomy is the buttocks as opposed to a leg-man or tit-man
arse-on
n British
a fit of bad temper, sulk. The term has been heard since 2000.
feeling a bit of an arse-on
Heâs got the arse-on
.
arse over tip/tit
adv
head over heels, upside down. The expression is typically cockney, but widespread in Britain and Australia. The American version is ass over tincups/teacups .
âShe tripped and fell arse over tit down the stairs.â
(Recorded, plumber, London, 1987)
arse up
vb British
to make a mess of, mix up or spoil. A less common variation of balls up and the verb form of cock-up .
He managed to completely arse up the whole job
.
arse-up
n British
a synonym for cock-up and fuck-up , which became popular from the mid-1990s, incommon with most compounds based on arse
âIt [a student union function] was quite well planned this year â unlike the last one, which was a complete arse-up.â
(Recorded, London University student, October 1996)
arse-wipe
n
a British version of ass-wipe
arsey
adj British
truculent, aggressive, bumptious. A vogue term among young people since the late 1990s, also heard on US campuses since 2000.
arsy
adj Australian
lucky. Usually said grudgingly or enviously about someone who has managed to get away with something. ( Arse in Australian slang may signify luck as well as brazenness.)
artillery
n
needles, hypodermic syringes and other paraphernalia used by heroin addicts. The image of an arsenal of deadly equipment is typical of addictsâ own self-dramatising slang (as in shooting gallery , harpoon , etc.).
Have you got the artillery ready, man?
artist, -artist
n
,
suffix
an expert in, or devotee of, a particular activity. The word can be added to many others, but the most popular are bull(shit)-artist, burn-artist, con-artist, piss-artist , ripoff artist and sack artist .
This pattern entered modern British slang via the armed forces in the 1950s and 1960s, and separately via American hippy terminology of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The ultimate geographical origin of the usage is obscure; it may have come into use spontaneously in several English-speaking areas, perhaps prompted by the Edwardian habit of pompously applying âartistâ or âartisteâ to performers in various fields of expertise.
arty-farty, artsy-fartsy
adj
pretentious, affected, more decorative than useful. A more vulgar parallel of the innocuous âarty-craftyâ, which is Edwardian in origin and was usually applied to the pseudo-rustic, as in the Arts and Crafts design movement of the late 19th century.
arvo
n Australian
afternoon. An example of the Australian tendency to abbreviate even the most mundane everyday words. The tendency is shared by nursery slang in general and, in Britain, especially the slang of Liverpool. (Arvo is, however, uniquely Australian.).
âThereâs no excuse for being in that state in the
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