
La: I say, young man. Also: my friend, mon vieux; the feminine
equivalent of this word here is "sis."
Sources:LS1, Shaw ST
lace, to: to lash, beat, or thrash someone or something
Source: OED, SL
Lady Muck of Muck Hall: a woman who puts on airs, has a condescending
manner and is regarded as excessively conceited.
Source: LS2
Lady de Blobswitch ( comparatively rare): a woman who puts on airs
Source: LS2
Laffin' bags, to be: to be satisfied, happy, with no worries, in luck
Sources: ST, GS
Lag: to urinate
Source: LS3
Lag: jailbird. See "sheila" on this list.
Source: ML
Lal. Harry.
Source: LS1
lamp, to: to "brain" someone, perhaps by putting their head into
sudden contact with a lamp post
Source: SL
Lampin. De Quare feller's lampin. The stranger is watching.
Source: LS1
Lanny. De Lanny. The floating landing stage at the Pier Head.
Source: LS1, SL
lap of honor, to do: a victory parade or strut, after a successful race
Source: BLH
Larriken(Australian): a street rowdy
Source: OED
lascar rope(obsolete): cheap lodging house "He was a foulmouthed little
b.... as much at home in a lascar rope as a child or rich folk might have
been in his nursery." For a very small amount, individuals, many
of them drunken seamen, could stand half draped over a rope and get what
sleep they could. See "lascars" on this list.
Source: A
Lascars, sometimes spelled lasker(obsolete): originally thie meant East
Indian sailors, who were known on ships as stokers from the hot seas. Some
referred to them as smoked Irishmen.
Sources: SL, OED, IHBY, TIM
Lash-up: controversy
Source: ML
Lashins: plenty of. A full mean is one with "lashins" of food
and drink.
Sources: Shaw ST, Moloney
Lassy bands: rubber bands or elastic strings
Source: SL
Last back-end: the latter part of the previous year. The phrase
"back-end" refers to the fall.
Source: LS2
Last Supper, Ther: sardonic name for fish and chips
Source: LS2
Latchlifter. De latchlifter: The price of a half-a-pint of beer. Spiegl
notes that this is the minimum sum of money required to gain entrance to
a public house, in the hope that further drinks will be bought by others.
Source: LS1
Lauder, 'Arry, to give(rhyming): to give order and quiet down
Source: ML
Launching Pad, the: Protestant phrase for the Catholic Cathedral in
Liverpool. See also Paddy's Wigwam and the Mersey Funnel.
Source: SL
lay the table, to: to set the table
Source: SL
laying out: on payday the housewife would put the money due on top of
each collection book
Source: SL
Lazzie and ups: variant of marbles game.
Source: LS1
leather a child, to: to punish with a strap
Source: LWAT
leb gold: cannabis resin in block form
Source: LS4
lecky railway, de: The Mersey Underground Railway
Source: LS1
Lecky man. De lecky man. The electric meter reader.
Source: LS1
Left tit(rhyming): another name for threepence, or threepenny bit
Source: SL
Left-footer. A Catholic. In Northern Ireland, the inquiry as to which
foot you dig with is really an attempt to find out whether you are Catholic
or Protestant. The belief is that Catholics dig with the left foot, Protestants
with the right. According to Terry Eagleton, two different kinds
of spade were traditionally used in Ireland, one in (mainly Catholic) Munster
and Connacht, and the other in (partly Protestant) Ulster. One spade
was
notched on the right side for digging, the other notched on the left.
But actually the Catholic spade was notched on the right, the Protestant
one on the right. Folklore prevailed: the Catholic "Other"
had to be consigned to the left; calling them "right" would have involved
dangerous ironies.
Source: LS1, TAI
left-handed: Catholic. Cf."left-footer."
source: SL
left standing on four bricks, to be: to be a sexually aroused male,
hopes and everything else up, and then suddenly rejected or abandoned.
Ssource: SL
Leg over, getting a leg: having a sexual tryst
Source: SL
Leg it: to get away quickly
Source: SL
Legless: extremely intoxicated
Source: LS4
Lemmin pelter, a (lemon pelter): member of the Loyal Order of the Orange
Lodge
Source: LS3
Lemonjitis: being partial to a wedge of lemon with Friday fish
Source: LS3
lett'ns: a Corporation housing department. Source: "lettings," an office
where living accommodation is let.
Source: LS2
Lezzy: a lesbian woman
Source: LS2
liberty bodices: young girls's undergarments.
Source: SL
liberty, a bit of a: taking an unfair advantage, usually in the courting
game.
LS3
Lice Palace, Ther: The Lyceum Theatre, Liverpool. Also called the Old
Licey
Source: LS2
light o'loves: prostitutes
Source: LMC
Like. Y'know like a much used but meaningless interjection
Source: LS1
limber: artillery caisson
Source: A
limpet: a shelled mollusc which adheres tightly to rocks
Source: SL
Linen: Newspaper
Source: LS3
Lippie: lipstick
Source: SL
liquorice(obsolete) another word for chewing tobacco in bulk form
Source: TIM
Little Man in a Boat, Hotspot: clitoris
Source: LS3
littly, a: a child
Source: SL
livener, a: hair of the dog the morning after a night of drinking
Source: LS3
Liverpool Kiss, a: same as a Kirkby Kiss, which means butting the head
of the recipient.
Source: SL
livin'-on merchant: a pimp
Source: SI
Loaf of Bread(rhyming): the head
Also: barnet, bonce
Source: LS3
Lobbo: a thoroughly confused situation. The word can also be an instruction
to hand something over.
Source: LS1, Moloney
loblolly: food which bubbles in the boiling as it is being prepared.
In Lancashire, a lob lolly was a person engaged in odd jobs or rough work.
Sources: SL, DS
lock fields(obsolete) wasteland along a canal
Source: GU
Locust beans, sometimes spelled locus beans: carob beans used in the
manufacture of cattle-food; considered a delicacy by children
Sources: LS2, LWAS, ML, SL
Lol: believed by some to be an acronym for "laugh out loud," or "lots
of love," or perhaps "Loyal Orange Lodge."
Source: SL
Lollipop man: Children's crossing guard. The lollipop man or woman carries
a stick surmounted by a disk reading "Stop. Children crossing."
Source: SCHUR, ML
lolly ice: frozen fruit flavored water on a stick
Source: SL
lolly water: soft drink, sometimes colored, usually mentioned by someone
who would prefer something stronger
Source: SL, ML
long string o' misery: a person who whines; a perpetual complainer
Source: LS2
long haired one, the: one's wife
Source: SL
long string o' summat-er-other: said of a person who is disliked
Source: LS2
Long One, a: one thousand pounds, also called a grand.
Source: LS1, LS3
looking at the dead: a favorite children's pastime in former years.
Children would arrive at a home in which the body of the deceased was on
display and ask to see it. It was though unlucky to refuse young
children entry for that purpose. Often the real attraction was the wake
food.
Source: WLAT
Looks. Ed lewks like de unchback a Knotty Ash. He is of grotesque appearance.
Source: LS1
Loop de loop(rhyming): soup
Source: LS1
Loosies: cigarettes sold loose.
Source: LS1
Lord Muck of Muck Hall: a bombastic person; a swollen-headed man who
likes to assert his authority.
Source: LS2
Lose a quarter, to(or lose a quart of): to have indigestion (vomiting
or diarrhea) after a great deal of drinking.
Source: SHAW II
lotion: yet one more name for an alcoholic beverage
Source: LS3
loud-hailer: electronic speaker frequently used in street meetings
Source: ATHIA
Louse Ladders: sideburns
Source: LS3
ludo: indoor game
Source: WLAT
lug(Lancashire): the ear
Source: GLD, ML
Luggy. A person with one ear.
Source: LS1
Lugole, 'is. His ear.
Source: LS1
Luke Har (mimicking upper class pronunciation): a person regarded as
having a precious accent; one who speaks with strained correctness and
in a condescending manner.
Source: LS2
lumber, to be in: to be in a catastrophic situation. Lumber can also
mean a brawl. In Lancashire, lumber means mischief.
Source: SL, LS3
lump on the scone: a knot on the head from an injury. This usually refers
to a child's injury.
Source: SL
lumpers: a lump sum paid as compensation for loss of employment
Source:NYM
Lurk (or lerk): a job, occupation, especially a racket or paying hobby.
Spiegl thinks this is a mispronunciation of the Cockney "lark." Moloney
suggests that the word is a corruption of "lurch," as in "left in the lurch,"
or abandoned in mid-task.
Sources: LS2,LTB
Lush: drink
Source: LS1
lushed up: drunk
Source: LS1