244
pergola
pergola,
n.
trellis
Pergola,
in America, evokes the image of a rustic garden house to escape into
out of the rain or for children to play house in or adolescents to daydream in.
Technically it means an
'arbor'
or
'bower.'
But in Britain, especially in the coun-
try, it is the name for a trellis running in a straight line and usually constructed
of
slim
tree
trunks
as uprights and branches as crosspieces and Y-shaped sup-
ports, all still wearing their bark, and forming a frame for the training of climb-
ing
roses.
period
return.
See
return.
perish,
v.t. destroy
Perish
is, of course, in
both

Inf.
Shortening of
perquisites.
Gaining currency in America.
permanent
way roadbed
Railroad
term.
It means the 'roadbed' or the
'rails'
themselves. The
epithet
perma-
nent derives from the earliest days of railroad construction, when the
gangs
laid
temporary trackage, and
then
later put in the permanent tracks, after the right of
way had consolidated.
perry,
n.
pear
cider
A fermented pear juice drink in Britain. See also
cider;
scrump.
personal
allowance
personal

North
of England.
pewter,
n.
Slang,
booty
Slang.
Used in this
context
pewter means only 'prize' (money or any object), the
pile
on the agony 245
kind of
loot
you bring home from a church bazaar. This use was derived from the
fact
that
the prize was often a tankard, usually of
pewter.
P.G.
boarder
Inf. Stands for paying guest, a euphemism for
what
Americans would call a
boarder
and Britons call a lodger. Paying
guest
would seem to be close to a contradiction
in
terms. Can be used as a verb: to p.g. (or PG)

involving
fruit, and a request for a fruit-pie
{apple
pie,
cherry
pie, etc.) would pro-
duce the equivalent of an American
deep-dish
pie.
pie and
pint
man
SEE
COMMENT
Slang.
A person of extremely modest means. The pie in question is a meat pie (see
pie);
the pint is a pint of bitter (see
bitter;
pint).
A meat pie and a
pint
of
bitter
(beer)
would make the meal, presumably at a pub, of one living on a low budget.
By
contrast, a
pieman
is a vendor of

2.
eat
like
a pig
Slang.
Becoming current in America. To pig it
with
someone is to share his quarters,
with
the connotation of having to squeeze in and live untidily for the
time
being.
pigs
might fly, and. See and pigs might fly.
pi-jaw.
See jaw.
pikelet,
n.
SEE
COMMENT
A small, round, crumpet-like cake, originating in Wales. In many families, served
mainly
at Christmas.
pile
on the agony Inf. lay it on
thick
Inf. To intensify the painful narrative, sparing no detail; but it may
also
be used to
indicate any excessive or exaggerated action or display, such as, e.g., a painfully

swiping;
in Britain, you're
nabbed
if you are caught pinching.
pinch-point,
n.
SEE
COMMENT
Restriction on vehicles beyond a certain
width.
See except for
access.
pink,
v.i. Inf.
ping;
knock
Inf. Describing the sound made by an automobile engine when the ignition is
over-advanced.
pink
gin
SEE
COMMENT
Gin and angostura bitters,
with
water added.
pinny,
n.
apron
Inf. Child's abbreviation of
pinafore.

a pint in Britain means about the same thing as a
beer
means in America. At
one of the meetings of the
E.E.C.
in 1976, the British were formally allowed to
hang
on to pints in beer, so long as they
went
metric in everything
else.
See
also
pub;
during
hours.
pinta,
n. pint of
milk
Inf. (The i is long as in
ice.)
Originated in the National Dairy Council's advertise-
ment
Drinka pinta
milka
day! Never to be confused
with
pint.
Probably a corrup-
tion of pint of.

Slang.
For use 4. see pip at the post.
play
a straight bat 247
pip
at the post, v.t. Inf. nose out
Inf. The
post
referred to is the winning
post
in a horse race. Pip at the post means
'defeat
at the last
moment.'
pissed, adj. Inf. blind drunk
Slang. Usually reserved for instances of advanced inebriation. A vulgarism like
pee,
which
is heard widely. See also sloshed; squiffy; to the wide; well away.
pit
n.
rear
of orchestra
What
is called the
orchestra
in America
turns
up in Britain as the stalls. The pit
used to be the

sometimes
used colloquially, like wicket, to
mean
situation: to be on a
good
pitch
(or wicket) is to be in a
good
spot. It is also slang for hangout or spot, to
describe the established location of a beggar,
peddler,
prostitute,
pimp,
tout,
or
other
street
person
whose
living strongly involves the
territorial
imperative,
and
in
this
use is synonymous
with
turf.
pitch
upon select by chance

under
homely.
plain
as a pikestaff, Inf. Inf. plain as the nose on your
face
A pikestaff is a
wooden
stick
with
a
pointed
tip.
planning
permission building permit
Short for town and country planning permission. A town and country planning com-
mittee is the British
opposite
number
to an American zoning board.
plantation,
n. planted grove
Of
trees
or shrubs.
plaster,
n. Band-aid
platelayer,
n.
tracklayer
A man

play
for (someone's)
side,
Inf. be on (someone's) side; side
with
(someone)
play
oneself in settle down
Inf. The cricket batsman initially feels out the bowler in order to
'get
his eye in/
and
thus settle down before he feels
that
it is now
safe
to start to
attempt
runs.
This initial period of settling down is known as playing
oneself
in—one
of the
many
cricket terms lent to the general
language.
Thus, a detective interviewing a
nervous witness
gives
him time to play

n.
recess
School
term, applicable to kindergarten and first grade, children four to six years
old.
In
prep
school
(ages
eight to thirteen) the
term
is
breaktime.
play
(something) to leg
brush
(something) off
Inf. A
term
borrowed from
cricket.
When the
batsman
plays
a ball to leg, he turns
or sweeps it away
with
his bat, rather than
attempt
to hit it hard and try to make

you.
2.
Pupils who deliberately annoy their teachers are
said
to play them up.
PLC/Plc/pk
SEE
COMMENT
Stands
for public limited
company,
one whose shares (under the Companies Act of
1980)
can be traded on the Stock Exchange. The three letters follow the name of
such a
company,
as opposed to Ltd. following the name of a private limited com-
pany.
In America, Inc. is used whether or not the corporation's stock can be
traded on an exchange.
Pleasure!
Don't mention it!
A
somewhat warmer response than the usual Not at
all,
Pleasure
is a contraction of
It's a
pleasure
or My

the moving forces behind the British Merchant Shipping Act of 1876.
plonk,
n. cheap wine
Slang.
Plink-plonk
was a variation on
blink-blonk,
a jocular play on vin
blanc
by the
British
Tommy in World War I.
When
the
plink
was dropped, the plonk
that
stayed
on should still have been reminiscent of
blanc,
but somehow came to apply to any
cheap wine.
Plough,
n. Big Dipper
Other
British names for the Big Dipper are
Charles's
Wain
and Great
Bear.

Inf.
work
in
vain
ploy,
n. 1. job
2.
toy
Inf. The meaning toy refers to
educational
toys, and looks like a
portmanteau
for-
mation of play and toy. In other words, a toy
that
keeps the kids busy
with
a job,
like fitting things together. Ploy is now anything calculated to get results by out-
witting or upsetting the other fellow.
plum
duff
plum
pudding
(The duff is
dough
pronounced like ROUGH.)
plump,
v.i. vote wholeheartedly
po,

also
call a
notecase
or
billfold.
250
podge
podge,
n. Inf.
fatty
Inf.
Podge
gives
rise to the adjective podgy, which has its American equivalent in
pudgy.
See
also
fubsy.
po-faced,
adj.
approx.
impassive
Slang.
A
po-faced
person is one who exhibits a deliberately blank expression, a
poker face, to his audience. There is more than a hint of hauteur in this
epithet.
See
po.

duty. See
pointsman,
1.
pointsman,
n. 1.
traffic
policeman
2.
switchman
1.
Point
duty
is the
traffic
detail
and a
policeman
on point
duty
is a
traffic
cop.
2.
The railroad man in charge of switches.
poker
school
poker
session
policy,
n. landscaped ground

in the British sense, the recognition of whose service,
experience, wisdom, and resulting power entitled him to the more eminent label.
Until recently,
politicians
in Britain were still
statesmen,
whereas in America, politi-
cians
were
politicians!
polling-day,
n. election day
The British
also
use the
term
voting-day,
as well as the American
term.
Signs
read-
ing POLLING STATION
appear where
VOTE HERE
signs
would be posted in America.
polo
neck
turtleneck
Applied to sweaters

attitudes.
To
ponce
about is to
swagger,
apparently on the assump-
tion
that
ponces make a very good living and have the
wherewithal
to live it
up.
pond,
n. pool
Artificial or natural. In America, pond usually describes a body of
water
smaller
than
a lake. In Britain, it means a
'pool
made by hollowing or embanking.' The
British
also use it as a verb. Transitively, it means to
'dam
up' (e.g., a stream);
intransitively, of
water,
to 'form a pool.'
pong,
n. approx. stink

describing a naval officer who paid social visits
ashore to curry favor in certain quarters.
poof, n.
Slang,
pansy
Slang.
Derogatory
term
for male homosexual or an effeminate man. Sometimes
spelled
pouf;
pouffe;
poove;
puff.
poon,
n.
Slang,
jerk
Slang.
Public school slang, describing a middle class
jerk
(twit)—one
of those
hopelessly middle-class types frowned
upon
by those superior public
school
chaps. The adjective
poonish
is applied to genteel middle-class activities and func-

'pawnshop.'
2.
Slang. To fasten
with
poppers.
Also, pop up.
poplin,
n. broadcloth
In Britain,
broadcloth
describes a special kind of woolen material. See broadcloth.
popper,
n. snap
Used to fasten articles of apparel. See also
snapper;
pop, 2.
poppet,
n. Inf. sweetie
Inf. A
term
of endearment used especially in describing or addressing little ones
and pets.
popsie,
n.
Slang,
cutie
Slang.
Originally the
epithet
for an old man's

Slang. To do
porridge
is to 'serve
time.'
Synonymous
with
do
bird.
A popular
television comedy series
about
life in prison is entitled "Porridge."
porter,
n. doorman
The British often use hall
porter
to distinguish a doorman from a railway
porter.
Porterage
is used to describe the services of a doorman.
Where
an American
would say
that
his
apartment
house has a doorman, the Briton would say
that
there
is a

n. situation
Position
has two British uses which one almost never hears in America: it means
'situation,'
in the sense of
'location,'
of a house or
other
building. The
other
British
meaning is also 'situation' but in the figurative sense of the 'way things
stand.'
For instance: The position is that the company is insolvent, or, Do you under-
stand the
position?
Post
Office 253
positive
discrimination
affirmative
action
The promotion and encouragement of increased employment of members of
minority groups and women.
post,
n.,v.t.
mail
See
also
G.P.O.;

whose reign they were erected. A Briton will announce
with
pride
that
the box
near his home is a V.R. box! Occasionally called
posting
box or letter box. See also
pillar-box.
post-code,
n. zip code
In Britain, a combination of numbers and letters. Example: NW5.
poste
restante general delivery
Permanently borrowed from the French. Literally it means
'mail
remaining'
('waiting to be picked up').
post-free
postpaid
post-graduate,
adj.
graduate
As in
post-graduate
student,
degree,
etc.
postman,
n.

pot, n. 1.
Slang,
boodle
2.
Slang,
favorite (horse racing)
3.
SEE COMMENT
1.
Slang. Used alone or in the expression pots of
money.
To put the pot on a horse at a
British
race-course is to shoot your wad or bet your stack at an American track. The
British
also use the expression to go nap on a horse to describe the same vice (see nap).
2.
Slang. The pot is also British slang for
the
favorite in a horse race.
3.
Slang. A British slang usage sometimes heard (occasionally lengthened to
pot-
hunter) is to describe a person who
enters
a
contest
not for the
sport
of it but only

n. bartender's assistant
Potman means the same thing. Literally, someone who helps out in a pub, but
sometimes used figuratively in the sense of prat boy as a pejorative
term
meaning
somebody at anybody's beck and call. See also dog's body.
pot-house, n., Slang. Inf. pub
More formally
known
a public house.
potted lecture
Slang,
canned spiel
Inf. A
pre-set
brief spiel, usually in the
nature
of a demonstration,
often
with
slides.
The
author's
dentist
asked his hygienist to deliver her potted lecture on a
new
method
of brushing
teeth.
potty,

practical,
n. lab test
Inf. Short for practical examination, like being given a frog to dissect in a biology
exam.
prep
school 255
praeposter,
preposter.
See
prefect.
pram,
n.
baby
carriage
Inf. Short for
perambulator.
prang,
v.t. 1.
crash
land
(an
aircraft)
2.
bomb (a
target)
Slang.
From meanings 1. and 2. the use of the word has been extended to cover
non-aeronautical accidents as well, and even minor ones. One can
prang
a car in a

with
continental cuisine.
prefect,
n. approx.
monitor
A school boy or
girl
who attains a quasi-official position to help keep order. In
some
public
schools, called
praepostor
or
prepostor.
See
also
head boy or
girl.
preference
shares
preferred
stock
preggers,
adj.
Slang,
knocked up
Slang.
Great
with
child.

homework
2.
study
hall
Inf. Short for
preparation.
Prep
is the name for
both
the work the student does to
prepare for the
next
day's
classes
and for the session at boarding school at which
he does it.
Prep
is usually supervised by a
prefect
or
master
who not only keeps
order but is available to help the struggling student. Work to be done at home is
called
homework
in Britain as well as in America.
prep
school
pre-preparatory
school

n. voltage
So
used by the Royal Navy in
World
War II.
prezzy,
n. Inf. present
(gift)
pricey
(pricy), adj., Inf. expensive
principal
boy approx.
star
A special designation pertaining to pantomimes, usually called pantos. The princi-
pal boy is always played by a girl, or should be.
There
is a principal girl, too; also a
star; also a girl. The principal boy
tradition
has
been
broken
occasionally in
recent
years,
usually in the
un-traditional
glamorous
pantos
at the London Palladium.

private
treaty contract
In advertisements of real
estate
for
sale, one
often
sees the phrase for sale by pri-
vate treaty,
which
means
that
the
common
British
practice
of
putting
up real
estate
for sale at
auction
is not being followed in
that
case.
Agreement
between
buyer
and seller establishes the sale price.
privy

are selected each year at
Oxford
and Cam-
bridge as officials charged mainly
with
disciplinary
matters.
To
proctorize
is to
P.T.O.
257
exercise
that
function. The word is used in somewhat the same sense in some
American
colleges,
with
the emphasis on dormitory and examination discipline,
but the American verb is
proctor,
same as the noun.
Prog
is the
slang
form, and can
be used as a transitive verb, as in He was
progged,
university
slang

See
proctor.
programme,
n.
platform
What
Americans call the platform of a political party is called its
programme
in
Britain.
Also, party
manifesto.
prompt,
n. stage left
See
opposite
prompt.
(the)
Proms,
n.
pi.
SEE
COMMENT
Inf.
Short for
Promenade
Concerts,
a series started by Sir Henry
Wood
in

drink, i.e., a
real
drink,
an
honest
to
goodness
drink. A
proper
pushing lad is a
real
go-getter.
Less
complimen-
tary is an expression such as a
proper
fool,
where the adjective emphasizes the
degree
of folly.
Good
and
proper
is an adverbial phrase in a sentence like, I told him
off
good
and
proper!
property,
n.

See
also
overleaf.
258
pub
pub,
n. SEE
COMMENT
Inf. An
approximate
equivalent is
bar.
Pub is
short
for public house. Everybody in
Britain has "his" pub. A synonym for pub is the local,
which
is
short
for the
local
pub
(note
that
local can also
mean
'native';
see local). Every pub has at least two
bars: the public bar and the saloon, or private bar,
which

noun
describing
this
function.
publican,
n. approx. saloon keeper
The publican, also
known
as the landlord or
pubkeeper,
is the
proprietor
of a pub. See
also
landlord.
public
bar; public house. See pub.
public
convenience
comfort
station
A
battle
of
euphemisms,
both
meaning
'public
toilet';
a

and
though
highly
individualistic in
their
traditions
have organized a
type
of association and in
common
subscribe to certain standards.
They
are private
schools
in the American
sense.
In Britain, too,
there
are also certain fee-charging schools
that
are called
private
schools,
but
they
are not public
schools
and are
therefore
not public in

pukka,
adj. genuine
Of Hindi origin, meaning permanent, occasionally spelled pucka or
pukkah;
some-
times wrongly used to mean
'super'
and 'smashing.'
Apukka
sahib
is a real
gentleman.
pull,
n. 1.
extra
measure
2.
advantage
1.
When
you get more beer (or
other
liquid refreshment) than you ask for in a
pub, you get a pull, also known as a
long
pull. To dispense beer at a pub, a handle
must
be pulled. See also long
pull.
2.

Diners
in America can be anything from shabby to magnificent. Pull-ups are usu-
ally
quite
shabby, shacklike establishments. See also
café;
transport
café.
pull
up
Slang,
bowl
over
In the sense of
'make
a deep impression
on.'
Thus: It was a
good
play, but what
really
pulled me up was
Derek's
performance.
pull
up
sticks
Inf.
pull
up stakes

n.
flat
Puncture
would sound old-fashioned or at least pedantic in America. Flat is
slowly
being adopted by the British.
punka(h),
n. ceiling electric fan
An Anglo-Indian
term
for a large fan, usually of cloth in a rectangular frame,
hanging
from the ceiling and operated by a rope pulled by a servant known as a
punka(h)-walla(h).
By extension applied to ceiling electric fans, the kind one sees
mostly in period movies. See walla(h).
260
punner
punner.
See pun.
punnet,
n.
small
fruit
basket
A
small
basket
for
vegetables or fruit, woven of

tute's
client.'
purchase,
hire.
See
hire-purchase;
never-never.
purchase
tax approx. excise tax
Now replaced by the Value Added Tax, usually abbreviated to
V.A.T.
or
VAT,
pro-
nounced either way.
purler.
See come a
purler.
purpose-built,
adj. built to
order
Especially
built
for a given purpose, according to specifications, like a movie the-
ater
built
as such instead of having been converted from an opera house.
purse,
n. money pouch
Not used in Britain to mean 'lady's handbag.' See also pocketbook.

for
baby
carriage
is
pram.
Pushcart in the American sense is
barrow
in Britain.
push-chair
stroller
Child's folding chair on wheels.
pushed
for Inf. pressed for
Inf. In Britain, one is pushed, rather than
pressed,
for time, money, etc.
Pushed,
used
alone,
generally means 'pressed for
time.'
Pushed
for suggests scarcely able to find
enough time,
money,
facilities,
etc.
push
off!
Slang,

half push the boat out! See
half,
3.
2.
Inf.
Often
heard in the expression
(so-and-so's)
turn to push the
boat
out, meaning
that
it's his
turn
to pay for the
next
round
of drinks, today's
trip
to the movies,
and
that
sort of thing.
put
about 1. Inf. put out (be a nuisance)
2.
Inf. plant (a
rumor)
1.
Inf. As in: / hate to put you about, but I

bed.'
put
a sock in it!
Slang,
stow it!
Slang.
Or a bung if you prefer. The equivalent of Belt up! or Pack up! in Britain or
Shut up! in America.
put
(someone's)
back
up Inf. get (someone's)
back
up
Inf. The American form is used as well.
put
by
brush
aside
As in: The
difficulties
facing us cannot be put by indefinitely, meaning permanently
deferred.
put
down 1. put to sleep
2.
charge
3.
Inf. fold
Three

in hand. See have (something) put in hand.
put
(someone) in the picture explain the situation to (someone);
bring
(someone) up to date
put
it
across
(someone) Inf. let (someone) have it
Inf. To punish. The teacher became angry at the obstreperous
pupil
and really put
it
across
him. To put
(something)
across
also has the usual American meaning of
'put
it over/ i.e.,
accomplish
the
objective.
put
(someone) off disturb
Inf. To put one off one's balance, or off one's stride. Off-putting is an adjective
describing the person or thing
that
has
that

relax
Inf. A dinner hostess might say to a
tired
friend: Come
earlier
and put your feet up.
Putting one's feet up connotes easy chairs, possibly a brief nap, freshening up,
and in the case of a really kind hostess, even a drink.
put
one's head down Inf. get some shuteye
Inf. Also get one's
head
down,
snooze.
put
one's hoof in, Inf. inf. get a word in edgewise
put
one's
shirt
on, Inf. Inf. bet one's bottom dollar on
put
on side
Slang,
put on the dog
Slang.
See also side, 2.
put
paid to Inf.
finish
Inf. In the sense of

Not as in America,
where
it means
putting
it
down
for a
moment,
as
when
inter-
rupted
by a knock on the door.
pylon
263
put
the pot. See pot, 1.
put
the shutters up Inf. fold
Slang. To go
broke
and, if necessary,
into
bankruptcy.
put
the wind up. See
under
get the wind up.
put-to,
n.

fall
on one's
face
Inf.
To get a
black
mark;
close to blot
one's
copybook.
put
up the
hare,
Inf. Inf.
get something going
put
up the shutters, Slang. go into bankruptcy
pye-dog, n. mongrel
Also
pie-dog
and
pi-dog.
Term
used in India for an
ownerless
mongrel, running
wild.
pylon,
n. high tension tower
Q.C.

flange
near the tip to prevent its sinking into mud,
used
to propel the boat along. As a verb, to quant is to pole the boat, or to
punt.
quantity,
bill
of. See
bill
of
quantity.
quantity
surveyor
materials
appraiser
Particularly
in the contracting business,
with
expert
knowledge of specifications
and
prices.
quarrel
with
one's
bread
and
butter
Inf. bite the
hand

nails
at the
ironmonger's,
etc.
quarter-day,
n.
approx.
due date
Quarter-days
are the four
days
in the year when quarterly payments traditionally
fall
due in Britain and are the common dates for tenancy terms. They are:
Lady
Day
(March
25);
Midsummer Day (June
25);
Michaelmas Day (September 29);
Christmas Day (December
25).
quartern,
n.
SEE
COMMENT
Four-pound
loaf
of

Inf. The toast to the Queen, known as the
Loyal
Toast.
Queen Mum. See
mummy.
queer,
adj.
Inf.
queasy
Inf. Unwell or
indisposed,
not really ill. I went queer has no homosexual connota-
tions whatsoever. See
also
sick.
queer
card,
Inf.
Slang,
oddball
(in) Queer
Street
Inf.
hard
up
When
the British talk of somebody's being in Queer
Street,
they mean
that

football
(soccer)
pitch is used to describe the
entire playing field. To
queer
someone's
pitch,
then,
is to mess up his
game,
not
liter-
ally,
but figuratively in the sense of
'spoiling
his
chances.'
There are some how-
ever, who claim
that
this
term
is not derived from cricket, but from
pitch
in the
sense
of the territorial prerogative of bookmakers and outdoor entertainers on
the streets of London and other cities.
quench,
v.t.

somewhere
between
A and B but I don't know exactly
where,
or beta, query
minus (B, but
perhaps
a bit closer to B minus).
question in the
House
SEE
COMMENT
There'll
be a
question
in the
House
means,
'This
is
going
to be brought up in
Parlia-
ment
at 'question time' (the period when
Members
may question
ministers).
The
nearest American equivalent would be:

SEE
COMMENT
Slang.
One pound (£), referring to British money, not weight. No American
slang
equivalent
except
buck for
dollar.
In general use, unlike many
other
slang
currency
terms. See
also
have
a
quid
each way.
quid
each way. See
have
a
quid
each way.
quieten,
v.t., v.i. quiet down
quintillion.
See Appendix
II.D.

found in negative expressions only, such as: He isn't quite, meaning,
'He isn't
quite
acceptable
socially.'
quite,
adv.
absolutely
Used alone, as a response, expressing more or
less
emphatic agreement; roughly
equivalent to
That
goes
without saying. 'Are you planning a party!'
'Quite.'
quiz,
v.t. Inf. poke fun at
Quiz
originally meant to 'make fun of and
also
to 'look curiously
at,'
but because
of
the popularity of American television quiz programs, the more common mean-
ing
of the word in Britain now is the American one, i.e., to
'interrogate.'
quod,

On and on and on. Originates from rhyming
slang
(see Appendix
II.G.3.)
rabbit
and
pork
(shortened to
rabbit)
for talk.
R.A.C.
Abbreviation for Royal Automobile Club.
race-course,
n.
racetrack
The British never use
race-track
for horse racing but do use the
term
for auto rac-
ing
and use
dog-track
for greyhound racing.
Rachmanism,
n.
SEE
COMMENT
Inf. The practice of taking over lower-class residential property and deliberately
creating

rent
from tenants.
R.A.D.A.
Royal
Academy of
Dramatic
Art
(Pronounced RA-DA as an acronym.)
radiogram,
n.
radio-phonograph
Radiogram
is no longer heard much in Britain or in America.
R.A.F.
Royal
Air
Force
This doughty band, who fought the Battle of Britain, are almost invariably
referred to by their initials.
rag,
v.t., v.i., n. 1. v.i., v.t., Inf. fool
around;
tease
2.
n., Inf.
stunt;
gag
1.
Inf. Rag is used intransitively to mean
'fool

brings up the image of a group assault of one sort or another, par-
ticularly military or police. One reads in British newspapers of a raid made last
night on a house or shop. All it means is a
'burglary/
the work of one or more per-
sons
called
raiders.
A
share
raid is something different: an
attempt
to gain control
of
a corporation by buying up shares of stock through
tempting
offers to share-
holders, a takeover
attempt.
railway,
scenic. See scenic
railway;
switchback.
rain
stair-rods
Inf.
rain
cats
and dogs
Inf. Synonymous

A special use, to denote a
bump
deliberately
built
into a private or restricted
road to encourage people to drive slowly; synonymous
with
rumble
strip.
The
term
is used as well to denote the
point
at which the
true
and the temporary sur-
faces
join where road repairs are going on. The road
signs
say
BEWARE RAMP.
The
bump in question is occasioned by the fact
that
the temporary surface is at a some-
what
higher level.
2.
Slang. Ramp is also sometimes used as transitive or intransitive verb meaning
'swindle.'