n deadline. The time at which something must finish: I can come along to your wife-swapping party to start with, but I have a hard stop at eight o’clock.

n pound; octathorp (the symbol ‘#’). As well as various other universal meanings, Brits call the ‘#’ symbol hash.

v Scottish pron. “hay-ver” ramble incoherently: I went to see granny at the weekend but, well, bless her, she’s just havering these days. The word is in common usage, and features in the Proclaimers’ song I’m Gonna Be (500 miles).

interj extremely nervous: I was having kittens beforehand but once I got in there the director explained the plot and I managed to just get undressed and get on with it.

adj in disarray; jumbled up. You might use it to describe the garden shed you built when you got home from the pub. The term is a little antiquated but still in use.

v rent. Americans rent rental-cars; Brits hire hire-cars. In the U.K., the word extends to any other objects you might borrow for a short period of time – bicycles, bulldozers, hookers and such like. Americans will only ever use the word “hire” in connection with hiring a person to perform a task, not a machine.

n unusually bad smell, perhaps somewhat associated with rottenness. Is rottenness a word? Who knows?

n itty-bitty; very small. Usually be seen in use regarding “cute” things: What an ickle puppy! Less likely to be seen in more serious situations: Dad – I’ve just had an ickle accident in your car.

adv extra-much, when used after a statement: It was pretty warm to start with but when they turned on the booster rockets it got very hot indeed.

interj London “isn’t it.” A very London-centric contraction with nasal pronunciation obligatory: Well, the traffic’s always this bad at this time of night, innit guvnor.

adj lucky. Often seen in the phrase “you jammy git,” uttered graciously on some sort of defeat.

adv 1 very: We had a jolly good time at the zoo. 2 adj happy: He seemed remarkably jolly about the whole business.

n Scottish big fuss; rumpus. The word “fuffle” (meaning to dishevel) arrived in Scottish English in the 16th century; the word gained a “car-” in the 19th, to arrive in the 20th with its current spelling.

v die. I am going to assume that this refers to an important part of the hanging-yourself procedure if you don’t happen to have a chair. Somewhat informal, as you might have guessed: Jimmy says he can’t buy a car until his grandmother kicks the bucket.

n sleep: I’m just off home for an hour for some kip. It’s a Dutch word meaning a rather run-down place to sleep.

adj very tired; beat. The “knacker’s yard” was once a place where old horses were converted into glue.

n sport practise: Jimmy and I are taking the football to the park for a knockabout.

v bang upon someone’s door, generally to get them out of bed: OK, g’night – can you knock me up in the morning? In U.S. English, “knocking someone up” means getting them pregnant. Although most Brits will feign innocence, they do know the U.S. connotations of the phrase and it adds greatly to the enjoyment of using it. Both Brits and Americans share the term “knocking off,” to mean various other things.

n the act of staying in bed longer than you normally would. Very similar to “sleeping in,” though it implies something a little more deliberate. “Sorry, I was having a lie-in” would be as bad an excuse for being late for work as “sorry, I couldn’t be arsed getting up.”

adj pissed off: She was pretty quiet all evening and then got a bit miffed as soon as I suggested we pay half each. She started crying, saying she’d never wanted to go to a strip bar in the first place and asking for her purse back.