
t.b.: said of a well-busted woman (i.e., two beauties)
Source: LS2
T'ingy. Det t'ingy. Any object whatever; used euphemistically or as
a substitute. Sometimes a diminutive is used for this "whatssit or whodat"
device: "tingyo."
Sources: LS1, Moloney
T'rah well: goodbye. Other versions: t'rah now and t'rah for now. Also:
t'rah wack, pronounced "Sarawak," and "T'sarrahwell!"
Sources: LS1, LS2
Ta, wack. Thank you; I am most grateful
Source: LS1
Tabbie: an elderly person, often thought of as a likely mugging victim.
In other words, they have been "tabbed," and it may be only a matter
of time....
Sources: LS4, Moloney
tabnabs: cake, bun, pastry, snack
Source: ODS, SL
Tadger(todger): penis
Sources: LS3, Moloney
Taffia: the Welsh Murphia, punning on Mafia. A wild more recent variation:
"the Viet Taffia."
Source: LS4
Taffs: Welsh people. Schur says the word may be a form of the ubiquitous
Welsh name David, but Moloney points out that there is a River Taff(e)
in Cardiff.
Source: SL, SCHUR
Take the can back, to: accept the responsibility, to suffer the blame
Source: LS2
Cf. "carry the can" on this list.
taken to pieces: comprehensively beaten on the football field
Source: GTH
take the piss, to: to pull someone's leg, to jeer at someone, to be
critical, contemptuous, to put someone down
Sources: SL, DS, SI
taking the mickey: to pull somebody's leg, or mug sarcastically
at someone, or to jeer
Source: ATHIA
talent spotting: the venerable male activity of staking out a site for
viewing attractive women.
Source: SL
Talent: Dur's no talint ere. There are no pretty women here.
Shaw thinks "talint" can refer to people of importance, as in cafe
society
Sources: LS1, Shaw II
Talk wet, to: to engage in pointless conversation, to talk silly. To
"be wet" is to be wimpish.
Sources: LS2, Moloney
talking in telephone numbers: dropping remarks about huge (and probably
mythical) sums of money.
Source: LS3
Tall Boy: tall chest of drawers; a kind of tall chimney pot
Source: OED
Tally. I'm livin tally. I am living in sin.
Source: LS1
tallyman: can refer to a wife's secret male lover. In Lancashire,
there can be a tally-husband and a tally-wife
Source: SL
Tallyman. De Tallyman. The hire purchaser collector(for installment
payments).
Source: LS1
tallywack: another word for penis
Source: SL
tanner: sixpence
Source: LS1
Tanner-megger: small football. The hyperbolical suggestion here is that
the ball is the size of a sixpenny piece. Shaw thinks the name came from
what at one time had been the price of the football.
Sources: SHAW III, LS1
Tanrogans: escallops. Spiegl notes that the word is Manx in origin
Source: LS2
Tart up, to: to decorate
Source: SL
Tart. Me tart: my fiancee. The word tart does not generally mean
"prostitute" in Liverpool and is not, therefore, pejorative.
Source: LS1
tartar, a: a fiercely demanding taskmaster
Source: ATHIA
Tat: shabby goods
Source: ODS, 1998
Tata: foolish person (insult)
Shaw thinks that the term mocks the genteel usage of tata meaning "a
little walk. " Tata might also be taken as a posh "Tara," or farewell,
which might be the source of the resentment.The word can mean silly,
objectionable.
Sources: GS, Moloney, SHAW II
Tate 'n' Lyle(rhyming): smile
Source: LS3
tater trap(obsolete): mouth
Source: LLMI
Tatter(also totter): the rag and bone man, the rag collector.
Source: LS1, DS
Tatters: a walk, a trip, or a visit (baby talk sometimes used by adults).
Probably a form of "tata," which means a little walk
Source: LS2
Tattin': buying and selling rag
Source: ST
tatting: rag and bone collecting
Source: LC
tattis: potatoes
Source: L
tatty hur(hair): a term of mild or jocular abuse
Source: LS2
Tatty-ead: patronizing reference to a young woman. Ere, tatty-ead! I
say, young woman. Sometimes the term used is "tatty lashes." Tatty means
ragged or untidy. In sewing, "tatting" is concealing frayed edges with
bordering material.
Sources: LS1, MOORE
tawny owl, a: any kind of female boss
Source: LS2
tea and sugar: male genitals
Source: GYW
Tea-leaf (rhyming): thief. Used as a verb, it means "to steal."
Sources: ML, GS, SL
Tearaway: a rebellious child
Source: ML
tea speck: place where one can get a cup of tea
Source: SI
tell-tale tit(Lancashire): a tale bearer, one who discloses a secret
Source: GLD
ten-a-penny: cheap, common, even vulgar or insincere
Source: SL
Tenner, a: ten pounds
Sources: LS3, LS1
tennies: tenements, flats
Source: SL
Ten pence to ther shillun: mentally deficient. In old coinage, one shilling
equalled twelve pence. In the new coinage, a shilling equals five pence,
which might make the remark seem pointless.
Sources: LS2, Moloney
Terf(also turf): to throw out or away
Source: LS2
terms, getting on: equalizing the score in soccer
Source: GTH
territorials: reservists, often called weekend soldiers in the Territorial
Army. In the U.S., they would be roughly equivalent to the National Guard
Source: SL
The Queer One: one's wife. A similar phrase: "her indoors."
Source: SL
The wicked: black colloquial name for police
Source: LS4
Thick: stupid
Source: LS2
thingy, the: yet another word for penis
Source: SL
Thinking Room: toilet
Source: LS3
three half crowns: seven shillings/sixpence
Source: LS1
three wheelers: those who worship in their homes, except for three occasions:
Baptism, Marriage, and Funeral
Source: A
Three on the hook--three on the book(docker's): three days working,
three unemployed
The book refers to unemployment benefits
Source: LS1
Three Half Crowns: seven shillings six-pence
Source: LS3
Three for a Bob: penis
Source: LS3
three-penny all-off(obsolete): a haircut down to as low as possible.
Source: SL
throwout, a(obsolete): a homeless person, a street person
Source: UF
Thundermug: a chamber-pot
Source: LS2
Tick: children's game of tag
Source: SHAW II
tickety boo, to be: to be all right, in fine fettle. The
word may be derived ultimately from Hindi
Source: SL
tick-tack man, a: tipster at the races
Source: ATHIA, DS
Ticker quack: cardiologist
Source: SL
tickle: yet another word for penis
Source: SL
tickle the pot, to: to prime a carburetor
Source: LS2
Tickler: knife
Source: Shaw III
Tickler: a joker, humourist. The comedian Ken Dodd often used
a tickling stick for a prop.
Sources: LS2, Moloney
tick someone off, to: to tell someone off. Americans often misinterpret
this, because over there it means to irritate someone.
Source: SL
Tiddler. Silver Threepenny piece.Tiddler also means an infant child
Source: GHTL, LS1
tiffin( as in "a birra tiffin"): sipping, or a light mid-day meal, lunch.
Origin: Anglo-Indian
Sources: SL, OED
Tiger-nuts: European sedge-nuts, shrunken peanuts; popular among
children. They are also called earth nuts, and chufa nuts.
Source: LS2
tight mare: a stingy woman ( a teasing insult)
Source: SL
Tilly Mint: whats-er-name. Spiegl says this is derived from an old-time
mint seller who peddled her wares outside St. John's Market, Liverpool.
Source: LS2
Timpson's: a well known shoe store in Liverpool. To give someone the
Timpson means to kick them.
Source: SL
tin-can dribblers: derisory name for an inept football (soccer) team
Source: LS2
Tinip: back-slang for pint
Source: ML
Tinnie(Australian): can of beer
Source: DS
Tip: a municipal rubbish dump
Source: LS2
Tip-cat (also known as Peggy): a children's game, in which a piece of wood is rapped to make it jump and is then struck while in mid-air. Other names for this: bouncey, knurr, spell
Tip-scrabbler: a person who searches ash-heaps for small quantities
of burnable fuel.
Source: LS2
tipped: exiled, banished
Source: GYW
Tir Nan Og(Irish): The Promised Land
Source: ML
Tishy paper: lavatory paper, also called "real bumf," from bumfodder,
which then comes to mean nonsense.
Sources: LS2, Moloney
tiswas, a: a bad fix, a state of extreme agitation, or near apoplexy
Source: SI
tit-street: Milk Street in Liverpool
Source: LS2
titty lip: one's bottom lip
Source: SL
tizzy(obsolete): a sixpence
Source: LLMI
to go ter bits: to collapse, to throw in the sponge
Source: LS2
to sweat on: to wait anxiously for a given result
Source: LS2
To cork it (sometimes spelled cark it): to expire. It can also be an
injunction to keep quiet, or keep stumm.
Sources: SL, Moloney
Toad in the Hole: sausages, fried, then baked in batter. In Lancashire
this refers to a beefsteak pudding.
Source: Moore, SL
Tocky: the Toxteth area of Liverpool
Source: SL
Tod: Alone, in solitude.On me tod, or on me pat. The other rhyming component
is either Malone or Sloan. Shaw derives it from Tod Sloan
Sources: Shaw II, LS2
Toerag: a contemptible person. Another term for same: "dipstick,"
used widely now on both sides of the Atlantic. Originally, toe rags
were rags used to fill up a shoe which was too large for the foot.
Sources: DS, Moloney
toes, to be on one's: to be on the run from the law
Source: LS4
Toff: a swell
Source: GS
toffee: one more term for Evertonians, coming ultimately from Everton's
famous toffee shop, famous for toffee since 1753
Source: SL
Toffee noses: snobs, stuck-up individuals
Source: ANS
Toffees (rhyming): trousers, but also underpants. Toffee Rex rhymes
with kecks
Source: LS3
togey-faking: stealing small amounts of sugar from Tate and Lyle vehicles
or premises.
Source: LS4
Togo, or togie: brown sugar. Togy is raw sugar cane
Sources: LS1, SL, LWAT
Tom Pepper, a: a liar
Source: LS3
Tom(rhyming): gems
The rhyming components are Jewellery and Tom Foolery
Source: LS3
toms: tomatoes
Source: SL
tomnodddies: foolish fellow countrymen
Source: LI30
Termorrer; t'sermorrer: tomorrow.
Source: LS1
Ton, a: one hundred pounds
Sources: LS3, LS1
Tonka-beans: Tonquin beans, used in snuff making
Source: LS2
tonkies: packages of something
Source: SI
Tontine, sometimes referred to as a "Tonnie": a club whose members save
money for holidays, Christmas or other special occasions. Spiegl traces
the term to a form of life annuity invented by Lorenzo Tonti, a Neapolitan,
in l653.
Sources: LS2, SL
Tony Curtis, a : a devilishly handsome man
Source: LS3
tooled up: carrying firearms
Source: LS4
toot'n: sniffing heroin
Source: LS4
Top-moggie: a tomcat
Source: LS2
Tope, to: to drink heavily. Topers: drinkers
Source: Shaw ML
toppers: children's street game
Source: A
Topshiner: top hat.
Sources: Shaw I, LS1
Tosh: a neutral form of address less used than wack or wacker
Source: LS2
Tosheroon: two shillings six-pence, also called Half a Dollar. Some
remember "toucheroon" as a two shilling piece.
Sources: LS1, LS3, SL
tosser: a penny used in a pitch and toss game
Source: SL
toss skewl, de: the open air gaming party. Usually a "toss school" is
a coin pitching crowd. Pitch and toss is the name of the game. In
earlier times they would toss up two half pennies. There would be
a banker. If he tossed up the half pennies and they both came down
heads, he won. If they came down one of each, it was a re-toss until
they finally got it.
Sources: LS1, LWAT
Tot: saleable item collected from refuse. Tot can also mean a
small drink of some alcoholic beverage.
Sources: LTB, UBE
Totty (or tottie): female groupie
Source: ANS
totty-pot: a child's chamber pot
Source: LS2
Touch up, to: to fondle or "feel up"
Source: SL
touch of the tar brush, a: the presence of some Mediterranean (or other)
stock in the Anglo-Irish bloodline. It's a generous, open comment,
although these days it may be taken as ethnically condescending. The people
I have heard say this seem happy, or at least bemused, about the possibility
of lurkers in the gene pool.
Source: SL
towellin(Lancashire): a beating
Source: GLD
towils is on, de: intoxicating liquor may no longer be served here,
and the sign of that is the drying towels on the pump handles
Source: LS1
Toy Town: jocular name for Liverpool
Source: LS2
trad: traditional
Source: SL
Tramstopper: a large piece of bread. Cf. "gobstopper," a sticky sweet.
Source: LS1
Tranmere: the "third" team in Liverpool. It never gets the publicity
or attention that Everton or LFC do.
Source: BLH
trannie van: Ford Transit Van
Source: SL
transits: vehicles used by the police in which arrested persons as well
as police are carried
Source: LS4
tray: a threepenny bit
Source: SL
treacle dipping: this was a party sport, for participants and spectators:
a sort of a "bob coin night." A quantity of treacle was poured into
a dish until it was about three or four inches deep, then some shillings
and sixpences were thrown in. The coins could only be taken out of
the treacle by the teeth. Then the competitors, whether or not they were
successful, had their stick faces wiped with feathers. The crowd would
love it!
Source: SL
treacle sarnie: sandwich made with bread and the syrup which did
not crystallize in the sugar refining process.
Source: SL, OED
Treesa: Theresa.
Source: LS1
trilby, a: a felt hat
Source: LWAT, SCHUR
tripe-butty: sandwich containing cold tripe
Source: LS2
Tripe-hound: a mongrel dog, or a useless dog, or a husband.
Source: LS2, Moloney
truck, to (obsolete): to force customers to accept goods they
did not want
Source: MEM
try it on: to make sexual advances
Source: MLS
tuba on the brain, but a non militant one: Liverpudlianism for a non-malignant
brain tumor.
Source: BLH
Tucker(Australian): food. People "tuck in" to a meal in Liverpool.
Source: MOORE
tucks, to be in: to be collapsing with laughter
Source: ATHIA
tuckshop: a diner, sandwich shop
Source: TIM
tuppence ha'penny: a dismissive adjective, for instance "some tuppence
ha'penny actor."
Source: SL
Turd-burglar: a male homosexual. This usage can be found everywhere
in Great Britain.
Source: LS2
Turf someone out, to: to remove someone. To "turf up something"
means to discover or reveal something.
Source: GS, SL
turn, to do a with someone: casual sex, perhaps what might come under
the term "free love."
Source: LS3
turps: beer. This is Australian, but heard here and there
in Liverpool
Source: SL
Turtle Doves(rhyming): gloves
Source: LS3
twat: an idler
Source:A
Twee: arty to a precious or self-conscious fault. "Artsy-fartsy" might
be the American equivalent.
Sources: SCHUR, MOORE, DS
twenty to the dozen, to go: to suddenly galvanize, to become very active
Source: SL
twig: a drink of something, close to the American word "swig."
Source: A
Twig, to: to suddenly realize what's going on in a given situation
Source: SL
twirlies: another name for elderly pensioners, who have bus passes for use at times other than rush hours. They are famous for arriving at all hours and always asking, "am I too early?" Twirly Pass: a senior pass. Source: LS4, SL
Twirlies: car keys, sometimes called blackheads because of the rubber-like
caps on them.
Source: LS
two bagger, a: a person considered so ugly that they merit two bags
over their head, just in case one of them might fall off.
Source: SL
two fingers, to give something or someone: a gesture of contempt and
hostility. This is the same as giving "twos up," or making the backward
V sign, which is the equivalent of saying "fuck you."
Source: SI
two og: two shillings
Source: LS1
two pennies worth, to give someone: to read someone the riot act, to
tell them off thoroughly
Source: CL
two pot screamer, a: a person, usually a woman, who gets very drunk
on as little as two glasses of wine, and then becomes noisy and sloppy
or acts amorous to just about everyone.
Source: SL
two meg: one penny
Source: LS1
Two Og: two shillings
Source: LS3
twoer, a: said of a certain kind of marble in children's street games
Source: LS