Food, Drink, & Drugs

(liquorice) allsorts

candy

aubergine

eggplant

bangers

sausages (full of filler as the English do)

bap

sandwich roll

barley water

a lemony drink (like squash, q.v.)

baton

sandwich on a long roll

beer/ale/lager

beer means beer in general, but usually means ale; bitter, brown and mild are different kinds of ale; stout and porter are darker, heavier beers (e.g. Guinness) lager is lighter, fizzier, and corresponds to most American beer.

"bikkie"

(slang) biscuit [ note: I am not attempting any "public school slang" here: this is a whole sub-genre, with which I didn't come into very much contact. One of the characteristics is the addition of "-er" to abbreviated words, e.g. rugger. I suspect because of their infantile sound that bikkie, sarnie (for sandwich) are public school locutions, but I have no proof.]

biscuit

cookie

bramble

(wild) black raspberry

butty

sandwich (``chip butty'') (fairly uncommon, at least in the South)

cakes

pastries (see "gateau")

calabrese

broccoli (somewhat rare) (the word, not the vegetable)

candy floss

cotton candy

Chelsea bun/sticky bun

a sweet cinnamon roll with currants

cider

bubbly, alcoholic apple cider (sold in pubs)

chippie

a fish&chip shop

clementine

a kind of tangerine

corn flour

corn starch

courgette

zucchini

crisps

potato chips

chips

French fries

dinner

like US: usually evening meal, sometimes the midday meal

fag

cigarette ("packet" of fags): also means homosexual

faggot

something like a meatball (Northern)

French stick

French bread (baguette)

fried bread

bread fried in (butter? dripping?) - breakfast food

fry-up

a meal of fried food (fried bread, bacon, etc., etc.)

gateau

cake

golden syrup

like light corn syrup, but from sugar cane

green onions/spring onions/salad onions

scallion

humbug

a mint candy

iced lollies/lollipops

popsicles

jacket potato

baked potato

jelly

gelatin (Jell-O); preserves are "jam" or preserves

kebab

a Greek dish (sold as fast food): pita bread, greasy (but tasty) meat, sauce ... as in "I could just murder a kebab"

ladyfingers

okra (also "bhindi" in Indian restaurants/shops)

lemonade

fizzy, sweetened, clear, lemon-flavoured (sort of) drink sold in pubs for lots of money to people who don't want to drink beer (q.v.) (you can get "traditional lemonade")

maize meal

corn meal (uncommon)

mange-tout

snow peas

marrow

big zucchini (a different variety?)

mayonnaise

in certain contexts (egg mayonnaise, tuna mayonnaise) equivalent to US "salad": "tuna salad sandwich" would mean tuna *with* salad (lettuce etc.)

muesli

granola

muffin

English muffin (surprise); an American-style muffin is called an "American muffin"

off-license/"offie"

liquor store ("licensed to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises"): some pubs also have an off-license (but are still pubs, not "offies")

pint

sacred quantity of beer (q.v.): beer can legally only be sold in pints and halves (half-pints): 20 fluid ounces (see volumetric measures), or almost 2 American beers by quantity of alcohol. Your pint is your glass of beer ("don't spill my pint").

plonk

cheap red wine

popsicle

lollipop

pudding

dessert in general (not just tapioca, rice, etc.)

sarnie

sandwich

satsuma

another kind of tangerine (see clementine)

scrumpy

strong hard cider

Smarties

candy, like M&M's but sold in a tube

spliff

joint (marijuana)

sultana

golden raisins

squash, cordial

fruit drink (lemon/orange/etc.), usually sold concentrated.

snakebite

cider and lager, a drink consumed by people who want to get drunk fast

supper

generally a small meal or snack late in the evening: (see tea)

swede

rutabaga

sweet

candy

sweet corn

corn

takeaway

take-out (food)

tea

(1) the caffeinated beverage. (2) the evening meal.

treacle

like blackstrap molasses

UHT milk

(ultra-high temperature): super-pasteurized, "long-life" milk

whisky mac

ginger wine and whisky

"white" (coffee/tea)

with milk

wholemeal

whole wheat