Slang And Colloquial Terms The British Use For Their Food

For those of you visiting Britain or watching British TV here is an invaluable source of reference for colloquial and slang terms the British use for food.  

This is followed by a list of some of Britain's more popular regional dishes. 

MOST CONFUSING BRITISH FOOD TERMS

Below are the five British foodstuffs which confuse foreigners the most, possibly due to the fact that one word has more than one meaning.

Oatcake – 1) A biscuit made from oats, generally found in Scotland. 2) A flat crepe like dessert made from oats, generally found in the English midlands.  

Scone - A type of bun which is leavened with yeast instead of fat. Scones can be sweetened with fruit or made savoury by adding cheese and either can be eaten hot or cold.  

 

Squash – 1) A type of vegetable. 2) A drink made from freshly squeezed fruit. 3) A drink made from fruit cordial    

  

Spread - 1) A savoury pate mixture used to spread on sandwiches or toast. 2) A non dairy alternative to butter. 3) A buffet or other large ‘spread’ of food.  

Tea - 1) A beverage. 2) The name for the evening meal in the north of England. 3) The name of a mid afternoon meal more commonly known as afternoon tea.

 

Veggie -  1) A vegetarian. 2) A name for a vegetarian dish. 3) Said in the plural as a word for vegetables. 

Yorkie – 1) The abbreviation for Yorkshire pudding. 2) The name of a popular brand of chocolate bar. 

BEVERAGES

Here are a few terms used by the British for different beverages or drinks. 

Pint - A word for draught beer, as it is traditionally served in a pint glass or half pint glass.

Brew - A cup of tea.

Booze - The slang term for alcoholic drinks in general.

Cuppa - Another term for a cup of tea, but can mean coffee in some instances. 

Dram / Wee Dram - A Scottish colloquial for a measure of alcoholic spirit, used generally to refer to whiskey.

Pop - Colloquial term for fizzy or carbonated drinks. Also known as soda in some parts of the world.

Tipple - A term for an alcoholic measure.

Bevvy - The abbreviation for an alcoholic beverage, generally beer. 

Shampoo - Slang for champagne.

Juice - Short for fruit juice or fruit cordial.

Snifter - A slang term for a measure of alcohol, generally referring to brandy, but can mean any spirit.

Char - Tea.

Scrumpy - A strong type of cider.  

GENERAL FOOD TERMS

A few British food terms that cover food in general.

Afters – Another term for desert.

Biccy - The abbreviation for biscuit.

Butty - Northern colloquial for a sandwich.

Brekky - Abbreviation of breakfast.

Chow - Food in general.

Cracker - A plain or salted biscuit eaten with cheese, known as a saltine in the USA. 

Eats - Food in general.

Greens – Green vegetables.

Grub - Food in general.

Nanas – (Pronounced narners) – Short for Bananas.

Nibbles – Snack food.

Nosh - Food in general.

Nose bag - Food in general.

Pudding – Generally means desert, although there are several savoury dishes known as pudding.

Rabbit food - Slang term for salad.

Sarnie - A southern colloquial for a sandwich.

Scran - Food in general.

Slop - Unappetising food.

Stodge - Heavy, doughy food.

Sweets - The British word for candy or bon-bons.

Swill - Unappetising food. 

NAMES FOR THE POTATO

The British staple the potato has as many names as it does varieties.

Chips - Chipped, deep fried potatoes, eaten hot, generally known throughout the rest of the world as French fries.

Crisps - Sliced, deep fried potatoes, eaten as a cold snack which are known in the rest of the world as potato chips.

Jacket – A jacket potato, otherwise known as a baked potato.

Mash - The abbreviation for mashed or pureed potatoes.

Potato cake – A flat, crepe like delicacy made of mashed potato which is fried in bacon fat.

Pots - Never used in speech, but often seen as an abbreviation where potatoes are sold. 

Roastie – A roast potato.

Spuds - A slang term for potatoes in general.

Taters - A northern colloquial for potatoes in general.

Tatties - A Scottish colloquial for potatoes in general.

TYPES OF FOOD

The British have various names for their everyday foodstuffs here are a few of them.

Aubergine - Eggplant

Banger – The slang term for a sausage.

Biscuit - A cookie. 
Brawn - A terrine of meat made from the boiled head of a cow or sheep but more traditionally a pig, which is then cured in aspic or savoury jelly. 

Brussels - The name for the Brussel sprouts or baby cabbages.

Bubble and Squeak - Fried leftovers, traditionally mashed potato and cabbage. 

Chewy – Slang for chewing gum.

Choccy - A chocolate bar.

Chocs - A box of chocolates.

Courgette – Zuccini.

Custard – A dessert sauce known in other parts of the world as Crème Anglais.

Digestive - A sweet meal biscuit.  

Dog - A hot dog.

Door stop - A sandwich made from very thick bread.

Dumpling – A dough ball generally served in a stew or casserole.

Fairy cake - A small sponge cake, known in most countries as a cup cake. 

Fish cake - A fish and potato mixture which is covered in breadcrumbs and then fried.

Fry up - A meal which comprises solely of fried foodstuffs.

Full English - Another word for the English breakfast.

Gherkin - A dill pickle. 
Griddle scone / Dropped scone - A small flat pancake made from batter which is leavened with baking powder instead of fat. The batter is cooked by dropping it onto a griddle or hot plate and toasting it, leading to it's other name of dropped scone. 

Gravy – A brown savoury sauce made from meat juices.

Knob end – A regional colloquial for the crusty end of a loaf of bread.

Hot pot - Another word for a stew. 

Jam - A fruit preserve known in some parts of the world as jelly.

Jelly - A sweet or savoury gelatinous substance used in savoury pies or as a sweet dessert, which is known in some countries as jello. 

Mushies - The abbreviation for mushrooms or mushy peas. 
Mushy Peas - Dried marrowfat peas which are soaked in water and bicarbonate of soda which are the traditional accompaniment to fish and chips.

Pancake – A crepe. 
Pease Pudding / Pease Porridge - A thick, soup like delicacy which is made from boiling yellow peas in a salty ham stock. 

Porridge – Cooked oatmeal which can be served sweet or savoury that is generally eaten for breakfast.  
Pottage - A traditional meat and vegetable stew which is distinctive for also containing grains such as wheat or barley. 

Rasher - A cut of bacon.

Runner bean – A string bean or French bean.

Ruby - Slang term for curry, which comes from the Cockney rhyming slang Ruby Murray. 

Salad cream – A salad dressing similar to mayonnaise but with more vinegar.

Slurp – A slang term for soup.

Sponge - A sponge cake.

Spring greens / Spring cabbage – Collared greens.

Tart - A sweet or savoury pastry without a top or lid, known in some countries as a flan. 

Toastie - A toasted sandwich.

BRITISH REGIONAL FOODS

Below is a list of some Britain’s favourite regional dishes, each with a description so you know what it is. 

ENGLAND 

Bakewell Tart – A layer of sponge cake on top of a jam tart.

Bangers & Mash – Sausage served with creamy mashed potatoes and onion gravy. 
Barm / Bin Lid - A bread roll.

Black Pudding – A sausage made from pig’s blood and bacon fat.

Cornish Pasty – A meat, potato and swede filled pastry.  

Cottage Pie – Minced beef topped with grilled, mashed potato. 
Crumpet - A bread roll which, due to the large amount of baking powder in it's recipe, has a distinctive top with lots of holes. 

Cumberland Sausage – A traditional sausage unique for it’s spiral shape. 

Eccles Cake – A dried fruit filled, sugar coated, puff pastry cake. 

Eton Mess – A mixture of fruit, cream and meringue all served in a 'mess' in the same bowl.

Jam Roly Poly – Pastry topped with jam and then rolled into a Swiss roll shape.

Kendall Mint Cake – A sweet, mint flavoured fondant topped with dark chocolate.

Manchester Tart – A jam tart topped with a layer of custard and a top layer of coconut.

Mulligatawny Soup – A hot, spicy soup brought back from India which is also known as pepper soup.

Pontefract Cake – A flat, liquorice sweet.

Pork Pie – A distinctive shaped pastry filled with a peppery pork mixture which is preserved in aspic / jelly.

Sausage Roll – Sausage meat rolled in puff pastry.

Shepherd’s Pie – Minced lamb topped with grilled mashed potato.

Spotted Dick – A suet pudding filled with dried fruits. 
Tea Cake - A flat fruit bun which is generally toasted and slathered with butter. 

Toad in the Hole – Sausages served on a bed of batter known as Yorkshire pudding.

Trifle – A desert made from layers of sponge, fruit and cream.

Yorkshire Pudding – Made from baking a traditional batter mix. Traditionally served with roast beef.

Victoria Sponge – A layer of jam and cream sandwiched between two layers of sponge cake, topped with icing sugar.

NORTHERN IRELAND 

Boxty – A type of potato cake..

Soda Bread – Bread made with soda.

Ulster Fry – Northern Ireland’s equivalent of the full English Breakfast, also known as a fry up. 

SCOTLAND

Arbroath Smokie – Smoked haddock from the Arbroath area, which is considered to be a particular delicacy. 
Bap - A bread roll.

Cock a Leekie soup – a type of chicken broth.

Clootie Dumpling – A sweet dumpling or dough ball.

Cullen Skink – A soup made from smoked haddock and potatoes.

Haggis – A savoury delicacy made from minced offal, suet and oatmeal.

Kedgeree – A dish consisting of smoked fish and rice.

Scotch Broth – A soup made from meat, vegetables and barley.

Shortbread – A sweet, buttery biscuit / cookie topped with sugar.  

Stovies – Meat and vegetable broth.

White Pudding – A type of sausage made from pork meat, suet and oatmeal.

WALES

Bara Brith – A type of fruit cake known in some areas of the world as a tea loaf.

Cawl – A meat and vegetable broth.

Laverbread – A delicacy made from seaweed.

Welsh Cake – A type of flat, sugar coated, fruit scone.