English is a forever evolving language. It changes the most on the streets of London as the various ethnicities that have settled in London co-mingle their native languages with English. Interesting things result from this. There are new words all the time, old words are brought back into fasion, some words now mean the opposite of what they used to mean. It’s all very fascinating and confusing to visitors as well!
Here are a few new words that have made their way into the current London Urban vernacular. Some of them may still have you scratching your head. And the meaning may completely change by tomorrow morning!
Peng – N – Excellent, very good, attractive. Popularised on the streets of London in the ethnic neighborhoods. “She is so Peng.” “Or that food was the Pengest munch.”
Peak – Adj – One would think this would be an adjective to describe something grand, it actually means the exact opposite. “There’s a rail strike again this weekend; it’s so peak”.
Bossman – N – Used to refer to a shopowner or someone working in the service industry. Like the person serving you chicken at the local chippie. “‘Ello Bossman, I’ll have four thighs.”
Mandem – N – A group of acquaintances that aren’t as cool as they think, slightly ropey. “Oh looks like the mandem are hanging out a the skate park again.”
Roadman – N – That intimidating, slightly sketchy looking character who knows the neighborhood better than anyone. Probably the person to ask for direction. “What? Does he think he’s some kind of roadman?”
Northerner – N – Anyone who lives outside the M25 ring road that surrounds London. “I think he’s a Northerner.”
Blower – N – The phone. “Hey mate, your dad’s on the blower.”
Lit – Adj – Something that is exciting or big bash. “Man, that party was lit!”
Dench – Adj – Someone who has bulked themselves up successfully. “You are so dench now that you have been down the gym.”
Wavey – Adj – To be drunk or high on drugs. “He was so wavey at the party last night.”
In Ends – N – Your local area. “I’ve been in ends all day, mate.”
Link – V – To meet up with friends or hang out. “Don’t forget to link up with us later.”
Chirpsing – V – Casual flirting. “He was over there chirpsing with the girls.”
Choong – N – Good looking, attractive. “Oh man, he was soooo choong.”
Tekker – N – Someone with great technical ability. “Hey, take this over to the tekkers down the street to get it fixed.”
Vex – Adj – Angry. “I heard her on the phone earlier; she was vex.”
Reh teh teh – Adj – A phrase that basically means etc.
Looking criss – Adj – Looking fresh, sharp. “I saw her coming out of the hairdressers and she was looking criss.”
Kicks – N – A pair of American style sneakers (normally called trainers in England). “Did you see his beautiful new kicks?”
Author: Jonathan Thomas
Jonathan is a consummate Anglophile who launched Anglotopia.net in 2007 to channel his passion for Britain. Londontopia is its sister publication dedicated to everything London.
Some of these words are indeed American and some Brits use them now.
Blower, kicks, lit, and bossman
Blower’s been used in UK since I remember (I’m 43 an my grandad used it). Boss man, like most, we get from Jamaica, see it deh? Bless.
Kicks (USA, 80-90’s hip hop) can be any trainer here, even shoe or boot… Crepes I prefer (but is more specific rubber soles, JA ting). Lit… Yeah, thanks USA, like that one. Keep em coming! Gotta love language!
Listen, I’m don’t mean to just par off that first commenter, but it shows how some people can get. They believe that, because they first heard someone they know using a word, and later heard of others using it, that their friend must have been the first. Don’t be closed-minded like that, people.
This; from http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-blo5.htm on the etymology of “blower”:
“As a British slang term for the telephone, it’s actually a good deal older than that book [1945]. The Oxford English Dictionary’s first example is from 1922. My suspicion is that it’s even earlier, though”.
Just trying to help people keep an open mind… Americans think it’s funny when I say fam… Blud! We BIN sayin’ fam since the 90’s, I ain’t heard none of dem say til after 2010! “According to a 2015 conversation on the subreddit EXPLAIN LIKE IM WHITE, “fam” began to emerge in the United States in the early 2000s, though it’s been used throughout the UK for a number of years”.
To quote the great Donald Glover, “Stay woke”.
I used “fam” here in the US in the early 90s and I’ve been hearing it long before that.