
Naish: Ignatius.
Source: LS1
nallered: captured, arrested (a fusion of nailed and collared)
Source: LS1
nance: an effeminate male. Also: a Nancy
Source: LS2
Nanny Goat(rhyming): coat
Source: LS3
nark, to: to give information to the police about a crime
Source: LS4
Nark: a dispute, a quarrel
Narky: irritable, bad-tempered
Source: LS2
Nash, Ther: either the Grand National horse-race, or the National Assistance
Board
Source: LS2
Nat King, der(rhyming): the dole, collecting social benefits
Source: LS3
naughty pin(sometimes naughty legs): legs which are not particularly
shapely
Source: LS3, SL
necessary, the: a euphemism for animal droppings, sometimes much sought
after by gardeners
Source: SL
necessary place, the: the lavatory
Source: TIM
needle match: a match involving personal or traditional club rivalries
or resentments
Source: GTH
Needs his head felt: should see a psychoanalyst
Source: SL
neeps( as in "mashed neeps"): turnips
Source: SL
Nellie(also Nelly): an effeminate or homosexual male; also a feeble
or soft person
Source: DS
Nelly, not on your: highly unlikely
In rhyming slang, the full phrase was "not on your Nelly ruff," which
rhymed with puff, meaning the air in your lungs or the breath of life.
Source: OED
Nelson's Blood: rum. After the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson's slain body
was put in a barrel of rum, pending its return home. Tradition has it that
when the body was removed for a proper ceremonial burial homeside, several
sailors came upon the barrel and finished off the contents. They caroused
on Nelson's blood in that sense, and from then on among Royal Navy sailors,
rum had a new name.
Source: SL
Nesh: not very hardy, not able to stand the cold. In Lancashire,
nesh means tender, weak, delicate, soft.
Sources: SL, GLD
Netherfield Road Navy: the bands of the Loyal Order of Orange Lodges,
usually dressed in quasi-naval uniforms. Cf. "The Good Ship Neverbudge"
on this list.
Source: SL
neuralgic: Liverpudlianism for nostalgic
Source: SL
never-never, the: the weekly installment plan.some say it refers to
the intention not to pay the rest of what is owed, others say that "never-never"
refers to the never-ending payments.
Sources: MV, TMD
News of the Screws: one of several names for a newspaper for National
Servicemen. Other names: Whore's Gazette, Red Light News, Piccadilly Part
Two Orders, and Screws of the World
Source: PM
Niagra Falls(rhyming):testicles
The rhyming component should be obvious
Source: LS3
nick, the: prison, or police station, or a military guard room. Nick
can also mean an "arrest."
Source: LS4
nick, ther: the Walton Jail
Source: LS2
Nick: steal
Source: LS1
Nick off, to: to run off for some illegitimate or larcenous reason.
Source: SL
nicker, a: a one pound note
Source: LS1
Nickers: cigarette butts. Spiegl thinks this comes from the habit of
nicking(pinching) a cigarette to put it out and keeping it for future use.
Source: LS2
nickers in a twist, to get: to get strongly upset about something
or other
Source: SL
Night-man: social worker who comes at night to check on overcrowding
in slum dwellings
Source: Shaw ML
nig-nog: an insulting reference to a person of color
Source: SL
niggers' eyeballs: now no longer heard, a highly objectionable term
for semolina pudding. Semolina, or some other unflavored pudding,
if sprinkled with raisins, was called "niggers in the snow."
Source: SL
night on the tiles: refers to a night of drinking on the bar room tiles
Source: SL
Nin. Me nin. My grandmother, or favorite aunt, or just a friendly neighbor.
Source: LS1, Moloney
nip out to: to go out, sometimes stealthily, as in "to nip out for a
pint."
Source: SL
Nippy: a waitress. The word probably refers to how fast a waitress
was expected to perform her duties.
Source: SL, ODS
Nix, to keep: to keep lookout for the police
Source: ST
No-boot brigade(obsolete): the Liverpool underclass
Source: ALS
noak, to(obsolete): to keep watch (criminal)
Source: A
nob(obsolete): someone of wealth or high social position; the term usually
implies contempt.
Source: ODS, A
nobble, to: to tamper with, also to catch or to trap in police parlance.
Nobble meant to drug a horse to keep it from winning; it referred generally
to reducing someone's ability or power.
Source: SCHUR, SI, SL, ODS
nobs( as in "I'll be there with nobs on"): a very general intensifier,
conveying the sense of "for sure," or "indeed."
Source: SL
noddy bike: small motor-scooter formerly used by police on patrol
Source: LS4
Noddy: a fool, a simpleton, a noodle
Partridge notes that in the Enid Blyton stories there is a hero who
is a rather stupid elf called Noddy
Source: DS
Nogsie: Norris Green Park
Source: SL
Nomark: a nonentity, a person who draws no attention
Source: SL
Nonce: a sex-offender
Source: LS4
Nook, The: a very popular bar in Liverpool's Chinatown, whose
gambling dens were freqently raided. The occupants protested that
there was no gambling going on there, but the problem was more than semantic.
Source:SL
North and South (rhyming): the mouth,
Source: LS3
nosh: to eat (usually, to eat ravenously)
Source: LS2
Not the full quid: mentally deficient. Also: not the full shilling
Sources: BUABS, SL
Not wert a light. Of no value.
Source: LS1
Not elevenpence for a shilling: a foolish person (insult)
Source: SHAW II
Not too foul: beautiful
Source: LS3
Nowse(also nous): skill, flair, knowledge, good sense, intelligence
Spiegl thinks the word comes from the Greek nous, or mind, which
would make it an unusual survival in popular speech. It shows up in Lancashire
too, and is Greek, but probably by way of university slang.
Sources: LS2, GHTL, GLD
nowt: nothing
Source: LS2
nuck noses: noses flattened from being pressed against a window
Source: SL
Nudger: long sandwich made from an elongated bread roll. Spiegl notes
that "nudger" is a dysphemism for penis, so the term may be unwelcome in
the "better" establishments.
Sources: LS1, LS3
Nut, to do one's: to be or get angry, to go berserk
Cf. "Doin' me ed in"
Sources: OED, GYW
Nut-cracker: policeman (nut being a reference to heads cracked)
Source: ML
Nut-pox: Ringworm
Source: LS2
nutmeg, to: in soccer, to send the ball through the legs of an opposing
player or goalie, who then loses face.
Source: GTH
Nutmeggin': head-butting the face
Source: LS4
nutmegs: testicles
Source: GTH
nutting: head-butting
Source: GTH
Nutty slack: coal slack or leavings in small lumps or nuts
Source:OED