| 1-2-3 wash yourself, ducky! | exc | I am throwing a handful of wet sand at you | The Sisterhood | 09 Mar09/03/2021 00:10:43 | – |
| 14155 | n | Iliff | M & N | 16 Apr16/04/2021 14:31:17 | – |
| 81 | exp | Response to “nigh night!” | Francis | 19 Mar19/03/2021 22:30:39 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 14:50:49 |
| a boy is a boy… | exp | A callback to the proverb:
A boy is a boy; two boys are half a boy; three boys are no boy at all
…a commentary on the productivity of boys hired to do work | Pa | 16 May16/05/2021 23:37:32 | – |
| a crow, letting | exp | I am pressing lightly on your head with the fingernails of one hand, and am claiming that a crow has settled there in case you should think that I am pressing lightly on your head with the fingernails of one hand | Granny | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:02:18 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 21:14:17 |
| a kangaroo loose in the top paddick | adj | Not wholly in command of events | Clare | 27 May27/05/2021 14:19:30 | – |
| a peach of a boat | exp | Literally: A very nice boat.
Intended meaning: A fishing boat | Mum | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:58:00 | 07 Mar07/03/2021 01:07:32 |
| a touch of the don’t-want-to-goes | exp | Reluctance to go somewhere | Dad | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:08:22 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 15:46:57 |
| abratadabra | exc | Answer to the question “What’s the magic word?” | Nicholas | 30 Mar30/03/2021 15:21:54 | – |
| ah-ahs | n | Poo | Mum | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:16:12 | – |
| ahiggit ahugget | exp | That person is taking self-deprecation to extremes | Pa | 16 May16/05/2021 23:20:58 | – |
| alec tricity | n | Electricity | Dad | 25 May25/05/2021 15:47:05 | – |
| alibaba | n | The laundry basket at Greenmantle | Iliff family | 27 May27/05/2021 14:14:20 | 27 May27/05/2021 14:59:12 |
| all of a sudden a big black pudding came floating through the air | exc | You are about to be struck during a pillow fight | Granny | 14 Mar14/03/2021 13:48:16 | – |
| American seat | n | A merry conceit | Pa | 27 Feb27/02/2021 16:17:37 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:21:32 |
| ancestor tea | n | The weak tea resulting from topping a pot up with hot water a second or subsequent time | Pa | 26 May26/05/2021 12:50:46 | – |
| anti-cretinous | adj | Anti-tetanus | Mark | 26 May26/05/2021 12:31:56 | – |
| any more laid back his bum would fall off | exp | Extremely relaxed, perhaps reprehensibly so | Mark | 26 May26/05/2021 12:34:49 | – |
| assumptions make an ass of ump and tions | exp | Avoid making assumptions | Mark | 25 May25/05/2021 16:11:23 | – |
| Aunty Mark | n | Uncle Mark | Joanna | 25 Mar25/03/2021 12:42:31 | 25 Mar25/03/2021 13:53:04 |
| bagaloons | n | Capacious knickers | Naomi | 27 Feb27/02/2021 23:58:59 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 14:04:41 |
| Basingrad | n | Basingstoke | Mark | 23 Apr23/04/2021 23:12:59 | – |
| basking hickory stick | n | Lavatory bowl floater | Mark | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:02:00 | 28 Feb28/02/2021 12:29:23 |
| bat tsch-tsch | n | Bathroom cleaner | Riverbankers | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:01:46 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:42:36 |
| bathroom thought | n | A thought, had while using the facilities that exits your mind as you exit the smallest room | Aoife | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:07:02 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:17:11 |
| be told! | exc | Don’t argue! | Pop | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:11:19 | 02 Mar02/03/2021 16:19:37 |
| Beezlebub | n | Mispronunciation of Beelzebub | Mark | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:06:38 | – |
| bet that’s cooled his biryani down a bit | exp | He seems to find that drink refreshing | M & N | 27 May27/05/2021 14:50:45 | – |
| bezz pawk | adj | Bespoke | Dad | 12 May12/05/2021 22:30:38 | – |
| big clock | n | Thing to be coveted | Granny | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:12:49 | – |
| Biggles flies undone | exp | 1. (Meaningless interjection at any allusion to the fictional character James Bigglesworth, or to any other similarly improbably ept aviator)
2. Your flies are undone | M & N | 26 May26/05/2021 12:47:10 | – |
| bim | n | Bowel movement | King family | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:15:37 | – |
| BKJ | adj | Bright, keen & jolly | Mum | 24 Feb24/02/2021 23:20:05 | 24 Feb24/02/2021 23:20:05 |
| blick auf | exp | Wake up! | Naomi | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:20:25 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 14:08:40 |
| blind mullet | n | Seaborne bolus | John T | 30 Mar30/03/2021 15:24:16 | – |
| blop | n | Like blob, but ploppier | Naomi | 13 Apr13/04/2021 13:07:14 | – |
| bobaligoo | n | Boat fender | Naomi | 28 Feb28/02/2021 00:23:27 | – |
| body coddler | n | Sleeveless puffy coat | Mark | 20 Mar20/03/2021 16:07:17 | 20 Mar20/03/2021 21:04:26 |
| bog | n | Dog | Joy | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:15:04 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:10:39 |
| bogflosher | n | Drain unblocker | Mark | 25 May25/05/2021 21:54:43 | – |
| bogpaper music | n | Homogenised soulless featureless maundering lift music – tear off amount required | Mark | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:25:43 | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:26:35 |
| bong | n | Person defined by their location, role or relationship | Naomi | 28 Feb28/02/2021 14:50:47 | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:59:37 |
| boom and scrunch | n | The parlour game zoom and screech | Mark | 22 Mar22/03/2021 23:42:10 | – |
| bouncealine | n | Trampoline | Lyra | 30 Mar30/03/2021 15:26:04 | – |
| breathe in, it’s good for you | exp | Please cease complaining about this stinky farmyard | Granny | 26 Feb26/02/2021 15:49:30 | – |
| brown katies | n | Bronchitis | Dad | 25 May25/05/2021 15:47:45 | – |
| brunty | adj | Brunette | Joy | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:12:54 | – |
| bug rake | n | Hair comb | Bel | 16 Mar16/03/2021 14:51:18 | – |
| bum of the flightle bee | exp | Flight of the bumblebee, the Rimsky-Korsakov orchestral piece | Dad | 22 Feb22/02/2021 21:57:24 | 27 Feb27/02/2021 16:00:20 |
| bumbag aloo | n | Bombay aloo | Paul H | 25 Mar25/03/2021 13:57:13 | – |
| bumhug | n | Humbug | Mark | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:51:38 | – |
| bumpity bolliko | n | Collision | Naomi | 03 Apr03/04/2021 13:25:20 | – |
| bumpity-bolliko | adj | Uneven or bumpy (of a road) | Naomi | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:54:18 | – |
| case case case | exp | In any case | Bel | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:42:14 | – |
| cash’n’flash | n | Pay-and-display car park | Mark | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:57:03 | – |
| castrated | adj | Decaffeinated (of coffee or tea) | Pa | 20 Mar20/03/2021 21:06:34 | 12 May12/05/2021 21:51:24 |
| chained to the oar of a magnificent galley | exp | Your humble labours in pursuit of a noble objective do not go unnoticed | Pa | 16 May16/05/2021 23:24:41 | – |
| charge like a wounded bull | v | Charge exorbitantly | Mark | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:33:22 | – |
| chutney | n | Lightning | Sally | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:44:58 | 08 Apr08/04/2021 09:33:19 |
| Cla’am | n | Gentrified pronunciation of the London district Clapham | Brian | 25 May25/05/2021 15:27:27 | – |
| clootie | n | Left-handed person | Dad | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:11:47 | – |
| code yellow | n | A pee, or going for a pee, or in need of a pee | M & N | 25 May25/05/2021 15:32:27 | 27 May27/05/2021 15:14:54 |
| Columbo bladder | n | The condition, familiar to some older gentlemen, that causes the bladder to suggest one last squirt when micturition appeared to be complete | Mark | 25 May25/05/2021 15:23:46 | – |
| combine hoover | n | Combine harvester | Iliff family | 11 Mar11/03/2021 23:37:25 | – |
| come to the cookhouse door, boys! | exp | The meal is ready | King family | 27 May27/05/2021 14:43:52 | – |
| contrived delights of LA | n | Los Angeles’s theme parks | M & N | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:39:17 | – |
| cooking fat! | exp | By jove, that cat is annoying me | Joy | 02 Mar02/03/2021 13:30:47 | – |
| Coorg’s | n | The American beer Coor’s | Pa | 25 May25/05/2021 15:38:45 | – |
| Cornish nasty | n | 1) A poorly made Cornish pasty.
2) A Cornish pasty
…depending on your point of view | Mark | 23 Mar23/03/2021 22:57:27 | – |
| couldn’t organise a black pudding | adj | Scatty, disorganised, bumbling | Granny | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:44:22 | – |
| cover it over quick, Jemima! | exc | You are displaying a little more flesh than you might wish | Mum | 08 Mar08/03/2021 14:13:31 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 14:16:46 |
| crank tea | n | Herbal infusion | Mark | 20 Apr20/04/2021 23:33:44 | – |
| cronky donkey | n | Decrepit railway train, especially an old DMU | Mark | 06 Mar06/03/2021 15:06:30 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 15:07:11 |
| daddy socks | n | A technique of putting on a sock whereby the heel is pulled up through the leg so that the sole can be placed over the foot | Joy | 30 Mar30/03/2021 00:04:55 | – |
| de petits pois | n | Two small pears… if your French is as bad as Mark’s was | Mark | 10 Apr10/04/2021 13:32:39 | 11 Apr11/04/2021 11:41:18 |
| dead, and never called me mother | exp | General purpose acknowledgement of a tragic circumstance | Naomi | 25 May25/05/2021 21:48:07 | – |
| Déjà Vu | n | Citroën Deux Chevaux (2CV) | M & N | 13 Mar13/03/2021 16:22:40 | – |
| der dee twiddly, dee twiddly, dee botty-cracks | exp | We have reached the end of this book/film/TV series | Naomi | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:24:15 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:11:14 |
| dere ’tis! | exc | After many hours’ travel towards the seaside, there at last is the actual sea! | G | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:45:32 | 19 Mar19/03/2021 22:49:59 |
| diddle diddle dumpling, mice and John | exp | Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John
…the nursery rhyme | G | 26 May26/05/2021 12:22:12 | – |
| disgusterous | adj | Disgusting | Riverbankers | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:24:47 | – |
| do it self! | exc | I firmly decline your offer of help | JM | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:35:03 | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:35:45 |
| don fly! | exc | Be gone, flying insect! | Mark | 21 Mar21/03/2021 14:40:12 | – |
| dudu | n | Insect or bug | King family | 21 Mar21/03/2021 14:41:59 | – |
| dumsey-whumnuts | adj | Rough, uneven, pitted (of roads) | Mark | 24 Feb24/02/2021 23:25:08 | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:54:45 |
| elderflosh | n | Elderflower cordial | Naomi | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:17:39 | – |
| elephant paper | n | Kitchen roll | Iliff family | 03 Mar03/03/2021 15:08:27 | 03 Mar03/03/2021 15:09:56 |
| elsh | n | Elephant dung | King family | 08 Mar08/03/2021 14:03:05 | – |
| empty sugar bags | exp | What couples actually say when they whisper sweet nothings | Naomi | 27 May27/05/2021 14:53:12 | – |
| encambula | n | Ambulance | Mark | 30 Mar30/03/2021 00:10:29 | – |
| envelote | n | Envelope | Joy | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:08:34 | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:11:35 |
| epoophany | n | A paradigm-shifting thought, reached while sitting upon the throne | Gareth | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:12:44 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:16:40 |
| extinguished | adj | Distinguished | King family | 25 Mar25/03/2021 17:07:21 | 25 Mar25/03/2021 17:08:46 |
| fall over blackwards | exp | Positive discrimination taken to extremes | Pa | 16 May16/05/2021 23:26:09 | – |
| fart young smeller | n | Smart young feller | Dad | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:13:33 | – |
| fiat lux, a remark attributed to God | exp | Let there be light | Mark | 12 Mar12/03/2021 18:06:59 | – |
| Fiddlywaxeye | n | Imaginary third person when sharing something out between two people – the person counting out ends up with ⅔ and their good-natured companion with ⅓ | Granny | 11 Mar11/03/2021 23:44:11 | – |
| fire eng truck | n | Fire engine | Benno | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:06:35 | – |
| flappy plate | n | Flour tortilla | Mark | 20 Mar20/03/2021 21:09:29 | – |
| flatusphere | n | The hazard zone of a flatus | Mark | 06 Mar06/03/2021 15:01:23 | – |
| flopsam & jepsam | n | Flotsam & jetsam | Uncle Tony | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:56:08 | – |
| flosh | n | With qualifier: fizzy liquid. Without qualifier: elderflosh (qv) | Naomi | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:19:28 | – |
| flutterby | n | Butterfly | Dad | 11 Mar11/03/2021 23:35:38 | – |
| fok strongbody | adj | Powerful, strong, intense | Mark | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:52:19 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 14:09:59 |
| forgetty bowl of naise | n | Spaghetti bolognaise | Nicholas | 29 Mar29/03/2021 23:54:12 | – |
| forn prongs | n | Travel adapters for electrical plugs | Mark | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:36:39 | – |
| fox’s puss | n | Faux pas | Mark | 12 Mar12/03/2021 18:09:12 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 18:11:30 |
| fraggleflops | n | A particular kind of shoe, with very little potential as a weapon, issued to prison inmates | Naomi | 25 May25/05/2021 21:44:52 | – |
| fundo-cubital dislocia | n | The condition of being unable to distinguish between one’s arse and one’s elbow | Mark | 25 May25/05/2021 21:32:55 | – |
| fustercluck | n | A mess resulting from several mistakes compounding each other | Mark | 11 Mar11/03/2021 23:34:23 | – |
| garnsed up | adj | 1) In a tangle.
2) Badly soiled | Iliff family | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:30:49 | 10 Mar10/03/2021 21:31:00 |
| gee what great looking kids – are they adopted? | exp | Intended meaning: Your kids are a lot blonder than you two | M & N | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:20:51 | – |
| get aht t’road ye silly beggar! | exc | Cease obstructing my passage! | Granny | 27 May27/05/2021 14:22:06 | – |
| get off and milk it! | exp | I am not very impressed with your vehicle | M & N | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:08:47 | – |
| get off home with you! | exc | Your round of golf is spoiling the view from my window | Granny | 08 Mar08/03/2021 15:49:04 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 15:49:18 |
| Golliwog railway | n | The Festiniog (now Ffestiniog) Railway in N Wales | Francis | 25 May25/05/2021 15:29:05 | – |
| good girl, Daddy | exp | You have my approval, Father | JM | 25 Mar25/03/2021 12:37:53 | – |
| good moaning | exp | Good morning | Riverbankers | 25 May25/05/2021 15:45:12 | – |
| grabled exnaplation | n | Garbled explanation… but garbled | Mark | 14 Mar14/03/2021 11:37:55 | – |
| graunty / gruncle | n | Great aunty / Great uncle | Lyra | 25 Mar25/03/2021 12:41:17 | 25 Mar25/03/2021 13:50:06 |
| Great Aunt Pottymouth | n | Naomi | Martin | 16 May16/05/2021 23:12:52 | – |
| grouse | adj | Very good | Benno | 25 May25/05/2021 15:30:47 | – |
| gubby | n | Car sporting a GB plate when seen abroad | Mum | 14 Mar14/03/2021 13:44:45 | – |
| have speaks | v | Discuss | Joy | 16 Apr16/04/2021 14:37:46 | – |
| Higwi Kombi | n | High Wycombe | M & N | 20 Apr20/04/2021 23:35:38 | 20 Apr20/04/2021 23:36:55 |
| hoggry tiglets! | exc | My, what a satisfying ending! | Naomi | 14 Mar14/03/2021 13:50:32 | – |
| hogwashing hat | n | Impromptu sun hat made by drawing up a t-shirt until the neck band sits round the forehead and the remainder covers the neck | Naomi | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:59:28 | – |
| holly bush | n | Mythical physical laxative | Granny | 10 Apr10/04/2021 13:38:49 | – |
| home again, home again, jiggedy jog | exp | We are finally home! | Naomi | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:20:12 | 13 Mar13/03/2021 12:44:20 |
| honker | n | Goose | Joy | 22 Feb22/02/2021 01:18:44 | 22 Feb22/02/2021 01:18:44 |
| hopsital | n | Hospital | Riverbanklings | 27 Mar27/03/2021 15:20:37 | 28 Mar28/03/2021 15:07:50 |
| Horrible Life | n | Herbal Life (now Herbalife), the brand of shampoo & similar products | Iliff family | 12 May12/05/2021 22:19:38 | – |
| horses’s douvers | n | Hors d’oeuvres | Mark | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:27:52 | – |
| hot will grow cold, if greedy will wait | exp | If you had patience then your mouth would not be burning right now | King family | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:25:44 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:12:20 |
| how awdinawy! | exc | Depressingly dull. Disappointingly ordinary | M & N | 11 Mar11/03/2021 15:47:51 | 11 Mar11/03/2021 15:48:05 |
| how’s your belly off for spots? | exp | How are you | Granny | 21 Mar21/03/2021 15:58:40 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:15:06 |
| humididity | n | Humidity | M & N | 13 Mar13/03/2021 22:42:21 | – |
| hyper-bowl | n | Hyperbole | M & N | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:31:21 | – |
| hypodemic nerdle | n | Hypodermic needle | M & N | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:47:29 | – |
| I don’t boil my cabbages twice | exp | I decline to repeat the words you failed to listen to properly | Granny | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:38:12 | – |
| I remember being in Scotland | exp | A callback to the song fragment:
I remember being in Scotland
Shooting peas up a nanny goat’s bottom
…to the tune of Men of Harlech | Granny | 25 May25/05/2021 15:50:39 | 25 May25/05/2021 15:56:11 |
| I takin’ my sack and my boots | exp | I've had enough of this | Carmen | 26 Feb26/02/2021 21:39:07 | – |
| I wanna beetroot | exc | I really like the look of those toffee apples | John T | 07 Mar07/03/2021 21:14:05 | – |
| I want to watch me daddy pee | exp | (What it says) | Iliff family | 15 Mar15/03/2021 21:35:16 | 15 Mar15/03/2021 21:36:47 |
| if you get there first, draw a chalk line; if I get there first, I’ll rub it out | exp | (Laudable nonsense) | Uncle Tony | 11 Mar11/03/2021 15:56:05 | 11 Mar11/03/2021 16:19:19 |
| if you’re up that way with your teeth | exp | If you will be going anyway | Joy | 09 Mar09/03/2021 16:33:57 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:16:05 |
| Iliff Point | n | The remotest part of a beach, where we would go to be away from everyone else (even though it meant lugging everything miles from the car) | Iliff family | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:20:18 | 11 Mar11/03/2021 16:11:43 |
| Iliff Wight | n | Isle of Wight | G | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:16:27 | 03 Mar03/03/2021 14:34:25 |
| it’s only me Naymee! | exp | I am exercising my self-conferred right to enter your house without an invitation | Naomi | 27 Feb27/02/2021 16:12:24 | – |
| it’s the water | exp | Expression of disdain for mass-market American beers | Pa | 25 May25/05/2021 15:36:31 | – |
| it’s worse than the ticktolleroo | exc | A little less fidgeting please | Granny | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:38:23 | – |
| I’ll have the other half now | exp | Perhaps I could be persuaded to a little more beer | Dad | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:59:23 | – |
| I’ve got my big eating hat on! | exp | Settle down, stop this noise/disagreement/kerfuffle | Uncle Percy | 13 Mar13/03/2021 22:48:27 | – |
| jam sandwich | n | Police car | M & N | 13 Apr13/04/2021 13:12:23 | – |
| knock it on the head | exp | A suggestion by Dad’s consultant for dealing with a UTI | Dad | 16 Mar16/03/2021 14:16:16 | 16 Mar16/03/2021 14:16:34 |
| ky-oo Daddy! | exc | On second thoughts, Father, I should like to take up your offer to carry me | JM | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:52:37 | – |
| lah-pom | n | Lavatory | Dad | 09 Mar09/03/2021 00:07:15 | – |
| let my son have the ball! | exc | Veiled threat to embarrass an offspring by intervening on their behalf in something they ought to have under control | Granny | 22 Mar22/03/2021 23:32:40 | 23 Mar23/03/2021 22:44:54 |
| Lethal Festival | n | The Leith Hill Musical Festival | Mark | 27 May27/05/2021 21:18:12 | – |
| lie like a flatfish | v | Tell extreme lies | Mark | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:29:14 | – |
| listen to the silence! | exc | Isn’t it quiet? | Granny | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:24:03 | – |
| little birdie flying high | exp | A callback to this ditty:
Little birdie flying high
Drops a present from the sky
Angry farmer wipes his eye
Thanking god that cows don’t fly | Uncle Tony | 12 May12/05/2021 21:56:30 | 16 May16/05/2021 23:49:49 |
| little teapots have big spouts | exp | Let us continue this discussion later, when the children aren’t listening | Mum | 26 Feb26/02/2021 21:36:35 | – |
| loggy sticks | n | Logistics | Riverbankers | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:10:30 | – |
| longhetti | n | Spaghetti (see Notes) | Iliff family | 08 Mar08/03/2021 15:54:41 | 14 Mar14/03/2021 11:41:40 |
| lumps | n | Mumps | Iliff family | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:34:52 | – |
| lumpy ming fruit | n | Beetroot | Felix | 08 Mar08/03/2021 19:05:22 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 19:06:06 |
| make friends in cookhouse | exp | Treat support workers with respect | Pa | 23 Apr23/04/2021 23:09:44 | – |
| makes your eyebrows sweat | exp | An unexpected consequence of eating blackcurrants | G | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:08:55 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 12:53:43 |
| misery chest | n | First aid kit taken on holidays, or medicine cupboard at home | Mum | 26 May26/05/2021 14:23:55 | 27 May27/05/2021 00:12:30 |
| mismanglement | n | Mismanagement, only more so | Mark | 14 Mar14/03/2021 11:34:30 | – |
| Mount Ararat | n | Mount Alvernia hospital, Guildford, which is a long climb from the Epsom road | Granny | 27 May27/05/2021 21:15:27 | – |
| move your lips! | exc | Your diction is unsatisfactory | Mum | 12 Mar12/03/2021 14:47:14 | – |
| Muggerborski | n | The composer Mussorgsky | Dad | 03 Mar03/03/2021 21:29:03 | 03 Mar03/03/2021 21:29:16 |
| murano | adj | Merino | M & N | 25 Mar25/03/2021 17:06:11 | – |
| my back, my belly and my two sides | exp | Response to person complaining they feel unwell | JM | 12 May12/05/2021 22:24:18 | – |
| my word, Hetty | exp | A callback to the song fragment:
My word, Hetty
If I catch you on the jetty
I’ll saw your leg off
And stick it on with jam
In Amsterdam
…to a tune that the compilers have yet to identify | Granny | 25 May25/05/2021 15:54:11 | 25 May25/05/2021 16:06:43 |
| niggs | n | Eggs | Naomi | 30 Mar30/03/2021 00:01:43 | – |
| nipple cake | n | Cherry bakewell | M & N | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:13:13 | – |
| no bones in it! | exp | Easy, little one, there’s nothing hard to swallow in my milk | Mum | 27 Apr27/04/2021 13:47:44 | – |
| no fun allowed | exp | You have tried to do something nice for yourself and the world will not permit it | Healiff clan | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:04:44 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:15:51 |
| no use to man or dog | exp | No use to man or beast | Mark | 14 Mar14/03/2021 15:53:08 | – |
| no, it’s just the way I’m breathing | exp | Time-honoured answer to the question “Are you coming?” | M & N | 16 Mar16/03/2021 22:15:47 | – |
| Notlob | n | Bolton | M & N | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:44:08 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:37:36 |
| noxious weed | n | Non-native species | Clare | 11 Mar11/03/2021 21:03:14 | – |
| NQOTD | exp | Not quite our type, darling | JM | 26 Feb26/02/2021 19:48:17 | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:49:23 |
| oatygoats | n | Goats | Joy | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:39:31 | – |
| obstacular | adj | Being an obstacle | Gareth | 12 Mar12/03/2021 14:57:42 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:15:10 |
| oh bother! | exc | Things are not going well | Dad | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:15:53 | – |
| old bagaloon | n | Humourless older woman | Naomi | 06 Mar06/03/2021 13:40:02 | – |
| one more shirt will do me | exp | Don’t wash or iron me any more shirts as I’m going to drop dead any moment now | Bel | 12 May12/05/2021 22:28:35 | – |
| ontray! | exc | Special version of “come in” for room service when in France… because the food comes on a tray | G | 07 Apr07/04/2021 22:15:43 | 10 Apr10/04/2021 13:30:07 |
| oomagoolie | n | Umami | Naomi | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:04:00 | – |
| op | n | Any edible liquid/paste/stew | Healiff clan | 09 Mar09/03/2021 16:37:49 | 11 Mar11/03/2021 13:45:06 |
| osh | n | Generic term for sauces, soufflés, jellies, dips, pastes, pickles and other comestibles of a similar consistency | King family | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:59:41 | 09 Mar09/03/2021 16:38:44 |
| PAC | n | 1) Pissing awful coffee.
2) Pa’s awful coffee
…depending on the audience | King family | 13 Apr13/04/2021 13:18:36 | – |
| pang! | exc | Like bang, but clangier | Clare | 03 Mar03/03/2021 14:59:19 | 04 Mar04/03/2021 00:05:31 |
| park-anywheres | n | Vehicle hazard warning lights (aka four-way flashers) | Aoife | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:25:14 | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:57:41 |
| paucey | adj | Limp, pale or unprepossessing | Granny | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:29:05 | – |
| peelywally | adj | Unwell, washed out, under the weather, pale & uninteresting | Granny | 09 Mar09/03/2021 21:13:33 | 19 May19/05/2021 14:26:49 |
| peelywally baggie | n | Part-baked baguette | Mark | 09 Mar09/03/2021 21:15:49 | – |
| PhD point | n | A subtlety in a creative work so obscure that it will pass unnoticed, unless it becomes the subject of a PhD one day | Mark | 13 Mar13/03/2021 22:23:03 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:53:49 |
| pingams | n | Belly button | King family | 03 Mar03/03/2021 23:53:57 | – |
| pinghole | n | Microwave oven | Mark | 08 Mar08/03/2021 16:08:49 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 16:09:21 |
| playback | n | The luggage area of an estate car | Mum | 08 Mar08/03/2021 16:11:41 | – |
| POETS day | n | Piss off early, tomorrow’s Saturday (or, for sensitive ears, Push off…) | Mark | 27 May27/05/2021 00:16:34 | – |
| poffle | n | Pop filter for a microphone | Mark | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:40:49 | – |
| pointèd stick | n | Pointed stick | M & N | 12 Mar12/03/2021 18:16:01 | – |
| pornograph | n | Imaginary appliance for displaying pornography | Pa | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:44:00 | – |
| potato sock | n | Sock with several holes | Naomi | 04 Mar04/03/2021 13:18:57 | – |
| poverty model | n | Bottom-of-the-range option, especally where the cost savings are conspicuous | Uncle Tommy | 03 Mar03/03/2021 15:03:58 | – |
| priestage | n | Prestige | Granny | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:42:42 | – |
| puffin break | n | When climbing, a puffing break with a pretext | Naomi | 04 Mar04/03/2021 13:03:59 | – |
| pugsaw jizzle | n | Jigsaw puzzle | Mark | 13 Mar13/03/2021 22:44:30 | – |
| pump | n | Nonsense | Mark | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:44:51 | – |
| pune or play on words | n | Pun or wordplay | Riverbankers | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:33:03 | – |
| purple-headeds | n | Mountains | G | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:24:06 | 04 Mar04/03/2021 00:06:25 |
| p’daahlo | n | Pedalo | Mum | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:39:14 | – |
| rabbit of negative euphoria | exp | Unhappy | Riverbankers | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:18:48 | – |
| rectal floss | n | The type of swimming attire that disappears up the wearer’s bum crack (intentionally) | Mark | 23 Apr23/04/2021 23:11:31 | – |
| respectawiggle | adj | Respectable | Naomi | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:03:28 | – |
| saganaki! | exc | Goodness me, what low-hanging testicles that chap has been blessed with! | M & N | 04 Mar04/03/2021 13:15:27 | – |
| said Aunt Helga | exp | response to anyone saying “tis” (or “it is” without sufficient care) | Gareth | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:28:56 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:14:54 |
| salad pie | n | Quiche | Mark | 13 Apr13/04/2021 13:06:02 | – |
| sausinge | n | Sausage | Naomi | 13 Mar13/03/2021 16:28:41 | – |
| senseless man | n | Census man | Naomi | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:39:32 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:40:03 |
| shabby and miscellaneous | adj | Disappointing | Riverbankers | 02 Mar02/03/2021 13:21:45 | – |
| shivery bite | n | Biscuit or sweet issued after a swim | Mum | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:50:18 | 28 Mar28/03/2021 13:05:29 |
| short arms, deep pockets | adj | Mean, stingy | Mark | 08 Mar08/03/2021 16:04:48 | – |
| shot a bunny | v | Passed wind | JM | 29 Mar29/03/2021 23:58:54 | – |
| shrimp-wrapped | adj | Shrink-wrapped | Mark | 25 May25/05/2021 15:40:39 | – |
| shut up and give your arse a chance | exp | You appear to be talking nonsense | M & N | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:07:15 | – |
| sickly cake | n | Individual cake of the sort served for afternoon tea in the right sort of hotel | Granny | 11 Mar11/03/2021 16:21:43 | – |
| slap it in the middle and we’ll all get a bit | exp | I propose (or threaten) to serve this jelly, rice pudding, trifle or other osh by striking it in the middle with a ladle | Granny | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:30:12 | – |
| slimy ming fruit | n | Avocado | Felix | 28 Feb28/02/2021 14:38:25 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 19:05:44 |
| smells like coffee, looks like cocoa | n | WW1 army tea | Pop | 14 Mar14/03/2021 13:42:07 | 14 Mar14/03/2021 13:46:13 |
| Snablats | n | St Albans | Mark | 04 Mar04/03/2021 12:49:31 | – |
| snortelly snips | n | Sleep, especially in anticipation | Naomi | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:13:01 | 19 Mar19/03/2021 11:12:58 |
| so you do that | exp | Response to an inaudible PA announcement | Iliff family | 08 Mar08/03/2021 14:34:13 | – |
| sof | adj | Like soft, but softer | Joy | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:35:02 | – |
| sooky | adj | Timid and/or apt to complain and/or resistant to fun | Clare | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:23:46 | – |
| sooky | adj | Limp, ineffectual and whiny | Clare | 25 May25/05/2021 21:30:36 | – |
| soya sturvya | exp | I am sorry to disturb you | Riverbankers | 03 Apr03/04/2021 13:16:28 | – |
| spacemen drop-off | n | Specimen drop-off | Felix | 27 Mar27/03/2021 15:22:00 | – |
| sparkling plugs | n | Spark plugs | Iliff family | 27 Apr27/04/2021 13:43:00 | – |
| splash me boots! | exp | Excuse me while I make a visit to the gents’ lavatory | Mark | 12 Mar12/03/2021 21:17:27 | 13 Mar13/03/2021 22:39:03 |
| squeamful | adj | Like squeamish, but less indefinite | Mark | 17 Mar17/03/2021 13:08:30 | – |
| St Reatham | n | Gentrified pronunciation of the London district Streatham | Brian | 25 May25/05/2021 15:25:30 | – |
| stabbing | n | Blood test | Mark | 23 Mar23/03/2021 23:03:32 | – |
| Stinkyniger | n | Rhosneigr, the seaside village in Anglesey | Dixon family | 12 May12/05/2021 22:13:50 | 12 May12/05/2021 22:20:05 |
| Stirling Moss, chica/chico! | exc | Goodness me, you seem to be driving exuberantly today | Carmen | 02 Mar02/03/2021 12:56:35 | 02 Mar02/03/2021 16:20:15 |
| stumps (or call stumps) | exp | Declare the end of play – call a halt to an undertaking with no defined end, or simply decide it’s bedtime | M & N | 13 Mar13/03/2021 16:35:59 | – |
| swooshbox | n | Dishwasher | M & N | 25 May25/05/2021 16:09:00 | – |
| talkie-walkie | n | Walkie-talkie | Mark | 27 Apr27/04/2021 13:39:44 | – |
| tassel | n | Penis | Mark | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:15:11 | – |
| thalassa! thalassa! | exc | After many hours’ travel towards the seaside, there at last is the actual sea!
(thalassa = θαλασσα = sea) | Naomi | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:50:39 | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:54:33 |
| thank you Mrs Lowsborough Goosborough | exp | Thanks for nothing | Granny | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:26:27 | – |
| that man did smack me with a needle! | exc | Toddler Mark’s blubbing reaction to an inoculation which he had not expected | Mark | 16 Apr16/04/2021 14:35:07 | – |
| that’s the badger! | exc | Ah, *that* is the object/technique/problem/solution we were looking for | Mark | 26 May26/05/2021 12:20:33 | 26 May26/05/2021 12:27:52 |
| then on Friday… no, tell a lie, it was the Saturday | exp | Caricature of that particular variety of storytelling that is long on irrelevant detail and short on, well, story | M & N | 22 Mar22/03/2021 23:38:07 | – |
| there was a young man of Tralee | exp | Callback to the Limerish:
There was a young man of Tralee
Got stung on the nose by a wasp
When asked “Did it hurt?”
He said “No not a bit
Thank goodness it wasn’t a hornet” | Naomi | 27 May27/05/2021 14:55:58 | – |
| there’s a ghost, there’s a ghost, throw a flannel at it’s face! | exc | I see you have a flannel on your face. I am about to throw another at you. The flannel already on your face will make this a shocking experience | Riverbanklings | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:00:30 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:14:20 |
| there’s no show without Punch | exp | Jobs don’t get done when the person who normally does them is away | Pop | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:36:33 | – |
| they are curlews of the fenland! | exp | Call and response upon seeing a seagull. | Naomi | 09 Mar09/03/2021 16:30:32 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:14:04 |
| three ha’p’orth of gawd help us | exp | Disorganised, uncoordinated, a shambles | M & N | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:52:40 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 13:54:21 |
| three-ee blice | exp | Three blind mice
…from the nursery rhyme | The Sisterhood | 26 May26/05/2021 12:27:10 | – |
| thunderwobbler | n | Spin dryer, or washing machine when spin drying | Mark | 11 Mar11/03/2021 23:39:33 | – |
| tibbit! | exc | Shout to be given if first to sight a yellow hydrant during a car journey | G & A | 19 Mar19/03/2021 22:42:25 | – |
| ticky tacky | n | Shoddy building material | King family | 16 May16/05/2021 23:47:48 | 25 May25/05/2021 21:41:26 |
| tight as a crab’s arse under water | adj | Unduly economy-minded | Mark | 08 Mar08/03/2021 15:59:03 | 08 Mar08/03/2021 16:05:05 |
| time to put clothes on | exp | Time to get up | M & N | 21 Mar21/03/2021 22:18:34 | – |
| toasty bombola | n | Heated car seat | Mark | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:43:30 | – |
| tolerably early night | exp | An early night, which the children involved would likely find intolerable and the adults highly tolerable | Granny | 21 Mar21/03/2021 16:04:33 | – |
| trypo | n | Intentional typo for typo | Mark | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:16:09 | – |
| undercrunk | n | Strip of pebbles just below the waterline on an otherwise sandy beach | Mark | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:46:38 | 07 Mar07/03/2021 12:05:26 |
| unleaded | adj | Decaffeinated | Pa | 12 May12/05/2021 21:50:33 | – |
| vacs up nice | adj | Responds well to treatment with a vacuum cleaner | M & N | 08 Mar08/03/2021 12:28:45 | – |
| vauum | n | The sound of a vacuum-flush lavatory | M & N | 04 Mar04/03/2021 13:07:31 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:42:24 |
| vladivostok | exc | (Exclamation for covering a belch ) | Granny | 17 Mar17/03/2021 21:11:27 | – |
| wadundudundu | n | Sleeping policeman or speed bump | King family | 21 Mar21/03/2021 14:45:08 | – |
| wash horses | v | Wash hair | Naomi | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:45:30 | 24 Mar24/03/2021 13:55:02 |
| wee board | n | The pastry base of a tart | Uncle Frank | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:44:27 | – |
| wellcome home | exp | Welcome home | Bel | 16 Mar16/03/2021 14:23:23 | 16 Mar16/03/2021 14:29:21 |
| whackers | n | Lies | King family | 02 Mar02/03/2021 00:01:29 | – |
| what a fall of royalty! | exc | Goodness, those picture cards were badly defeated! | Granny | 12 Mar12/03/2021 18:04:02 | – |
| what mind is here o’erthrown | exp | That is an uncharacteristically ill-considered remark, decision or action | Pa | 23 Mar23/03/2021 23:02:04 | – |
| what will you have? said the waiter | exp | A callback to this ditty:
“What will you have?” said the waiter, pensively picking his nose
“Two boiled eggs, you bugger – you won’t get your fingers in those” | Dad | 12 May12/05/2021 21:54:45 | 16 May16/05/2021 23:50:26 |
| where we have been, no-one can tell | exp | We have left this picnic spot, beach or other location as we found it – well done us | King family | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:28:52 | 06 Mar06/03/2021 14:14:02 |
| where’s the yucky bowl? | exp | This meal is not entirely palatable | Laurie | 23 Apr23/04/2021 23:17:43 | – |
| white seals | n | White folk swimming in the Thames, especially before the suntan season | Riverbankers | 30 Mar30/03/2021 15:32:16 | – |
| whocares | n | County when filling in a web form | Mark | 03 Apr03/04/2021 13:36:41 | – |
| who’s going round the roundabout? | exp | (Rhetorical) | Uncle Tony | 19 Mar19/03/2021 15:42:18 | 20 Mar20/03/2021 13:24:34 |
| who’s “she” – the cat’s mother? | exc | Refer to women by their names, not pronouns! | Granny | 03 Apr03/04/2021 13:21:19 | 03 Apr03/04/2021 13:37:13 |
| wishywashy place | n | The under-bed compartment that serves as a laundry basket at Heron Island | Riverbanklings | 27 May27/05/2021 14:16:29 | – |
| wisp | n | Whist | Joy | 30 Mar30/03/2021 21:14:10 | – |
| wi’ oor knickers hangin’ doon | exp | Obligatory rejoinder to “we’re off tae toon” | Naomi | 24 Mar24/03/2021 15:49:47 | – |
| wobulence | n | Mild turbulence | Mark | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:23:14 | – |
| WOMBAT | n | Waste of money, brains and time | Mark | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:19:07 | 05 Mar05/03/2021 14:44:08 |
| wut‽ | exc | Like what‽, but whattier | Riverbankers | 16 Apr16/04/2021 14:39:43 | – |
| yam all right our kid? | exp | Do you fare well, sibling? | Mark | 20 Mar20/03/2021 16:04:23 | – |
| yellow is mellow, but if it’s brown flush it down | exp | Flush poo but not pee | Pa | 08 Mar08/03/2021 14:11:13 | – |
| you can go off people | exp | A person I have hitherto admired has done or said something reprehensible | Mum | 27 Apr27/04/2021 13:36:54 | – |
| you daft ha’p’orth! | exc | That is entertainingly silly | Granny | 07 Apr07/04/2021 21:50:47 | 08 Apr08/04/2021 09:34:43 |
| you must give me the recipe | exp | That meal was appalling | Pa | 20 Mar20/03/2021 16:05:58 | 21 Mar21/03/2021 15:49:53 |
| your egg’s broken | exp | One of the things I’m cooking is less perfect than the other and I’ve decided to give it to you | M & N | 27 May27/05/2021 14:48:51 | – |
| your tiny hand is frozen! | exc | Your hand (not necessarily tiny) is frozen | Naomi | 09 Mar09/03/2021 16:26:46 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:13:33 |
| zizzer-zoof seeds | n | Features, especially in software, “which nobody wants, because nobody needs” | Riverbankers | 03 Mar03/03/2021 13:25:12 | 12 Mar12/03/2021 16:13:19 |
| zlotniks | n | A wedgie | Mark | 12 Mar12/03/2021 15:21:41 | 13 Mar13/03/2021 12:55:14 |
Iliff-King phrasebook