Blandings: English for Americans and others

This page lists words and phrases encountered in Wodehouse's books that might be unfamiliar to modern readers or those brought up on American English, either by virtue of birth or a diet of Hollywood films and TV. These words may have other meanings in other contexts. I have omitted words which should be obvious, while the more obscure words are explained on the pages of the books and stories in which they appear.

This is, inevitably, work in progress. Suggestions for words or phrases are welcome.

Word or phrase	Meaning
Bar, barred.	Exclude(d) from consideration, rarely used today except in betting.
Barrister	Lawyer - see separate article on lawyers.
Beak	School teacher or magistrate (outdated slang).
Biscuit	Cookie (US).
Bonnet	(Car) hood (US).
Boot	(Car) trunk (US).
Boudoir	A woman's small private room or bedroom.
Bowler hat	Derby hat (US).
Braces	Suspenders (US) (nothing to do with teeth).
Chatelaine	The mistress of a large house.
Chemist	Pharmacist (in a retail context).
Cheque	(Bank) check.
Crocked	Injured, worn-out (said of a person).
Dicky	Rumble seat (US).
Draughts	Checkers (US).
Dun	Debt collector (not used today)
Dyspepsia	Indigestion (not in common use today).
Estate car	Station wagon (US).
Fag	1. Junior pupil running errands for a senior (public school slang).
	2. Cigarette (common slang).
	3. A wearisome task (slang - sounds affected today).
Flat	Apartment (US). The word is losing favour as more apartments are duplex and 'flat' makes less sense.
Frowst / froust	Stale or musty warmth in a room (rarely used today).
Gaol	Jail (US).
Ground floor	First floor (US) *.
Headmaster	Head teacher (modern UK), principal (US in public schools, headmaster in private schools).
Holiday	Vacation (US).
Infant	Baby (US), under-7 (UK).
Jar	Annoy (slang - not used today).
Kipper	Fish (usually herring) split open and cured by salting and drying in the open air or smoke.
Licketty-split	Headlong, at full pace (the spelling varies).
Lift	Elevator (US).
Muffin	Small round cake made from dough, eaten toasted with lots of butter. Sold in the US as an English muffin.
Petrol	Gasoline (US).
Pinched	Arrested (slang).
Poltroon	Coward (rarely seen today).
Popinjay	A fop, a conceited man (outdated).
Potboy	A publican's assistant (a sort of barman, the term is no longer used).
Prefect	A pupil authorized to maintain discipline.
Pukka	Of good quality, genuine (slang from Anglo-Indian and Hindi pukha).
Quid	One pound sterling - see also old money.
Rag	Many meanings, including a prank, rowdy celebration and rough play. Also verb; to rag.
Rot (rotting)	Verb - to tease or joke (slang - rarely used).
	Noun - nonsense (as in 'you're talking rot').
Rotter	An unpleasant, objectionable person (slang, sounds affected today).
Scotch	Of Scotland (as used by PGW) and whisky from Scotland.
Scottish	Of Scotland (generally preferred to 'Scotch').
Scullery	Room at the back of a house for washing dishes etc. Largely replaced by 'utility room'.
Side	Boastfulness, swagger (slang).
Solicitor	Lawyer - see separate article on lawyers.
Soup and Fish	Full men's dinner dress, white tie and tails (outdated slang).
Sweets	Candy or candies (US).
Trunk call (disused)	Long-distance call.
Turf accountant	An official euphemism for a bookmaker, referring to betting on horse racing.
Vest	Undershirt (US).
Waistcoat	Vest (US).
Whangee	A cane made from bamboo.

Suggestions please. I can only include those words and phrases that I think might cause you problems. As a native speaker of English English (or true English, as I like to think of it) there will be words that don't bother me but could be difficult for you. If you would like to suggest words or phrases, e-mail them to Reggie and I'll add those I can. Only words or phrases in Wodehouse, please, and quote the book and chapter or story so I can see the context.

* And first floor is second floor and so on. Wodehouse spent so much time in America that he seems to use both methods of counting almost indiscriminately.