List of British Words Not Widely Used in The United States - D

D

daft *

odd, mad, eccentric, daffy, crazy – often with the implication of it being amusingly so. "Don't be daft" and "don't be silly" are approximately synonymous.

dekko

(informal) a look, reconnoître "I'll take a dekko at it later." – British military slang derived from the Hindustani dhek/dekho meaning "to see". Also less commonly decco, deccie,deek, deeks.

dene

wooded valley or seaside dune (mainly S W England)

dibs

Cash.

dibble (or The Dibble)

Police. From 'Officer Dibble' in the early-1960s Hanna-Barbera animated television programme Top Cat. Most commonly used in Manchester.

div, divvy

(slang) a fool or idiot; adjective form, divvy, foolish or idiotic. Also abbreviation of diviner, a person with the ability to sniff out antiques at a distance (made popular by Jonathan Gash's character Lovejoy)

doddle

something accomplished easily - "It's a doddle", meaning "it's easy".

dodgems *

fun-fair or fairground bumper cars

dodgy *

unsound, unstable, and unreliable (US: sketchy). 'That bloke over there looks a bit dodgy'

dogsbody

someone who carries out menial tasks on another's behalf; a drudge (US: grunt)

the dog's bollocks

(vulgar) something excellent or top quality, the "bee's knees" (the business), the "cat's whiskers". Sometimes just "the bollocks." (US: the shit). In polite company this phrase may be toned down to "The mutt's nuts", or the phrase "The bee's knees" (the business) may be used as a polite substitute. The etymology of this expression is said by some to derive from printers' slang for the punctuation symbol ':-' when printing involved the use of carved metal blocks to form typesetting.

dole *

(informal) welfare, specifically unemployment benefit. Sometimes used in the US, esp. older generation

dosh

(slang) money (US: dough) "how much dosh you got on ya?"

doss

(from docile) to be lazy, "I've been dossing all day", also can mean to truant, "dossing off" (similar to bunking off). Additionally it can informally take the form of a noun (i.e. "that lesson was a doss", meaning that lesson was easy, or good (primarily central Scotland). Also "dosser", a lazy person, or a tramp (US bum); "to doss down", to find a place to sleep, to sleep on some substitute for a bed such as a sofa, the floor, or a park bench; "doss-house", temporary accommodation for tramps or homeless people, cheap dilapidated rented accommodation with low standards of cleanliness (US: flophouse)

double first

an undergraduate degree where the candidate has gained First-Class Honours in two separate subjects, or alternatively in the same subject in subsequent examinations (see British undergraduate degree classification)

double parked *

(slang) having two drinks in your hand (or on the table) at once (US: double fisting). Could also mean, or even originate, from the term 'double park'; which involves parking a vehicle to the side of another parked vehicle, or being parked on double yellow lines/being parked illegally.

draper

a dealer in drapery (i.e. clothing, textiles, etc.) (US: dry goods )

draughts

the board game (US: checkers)

drawing pin *

pin with a large, flat head, used for fixing notices to noticeboards etc. (US: thumbtack)

dress circle

the seats in the first balcony of a theatre (US: balcony or loge although dress circle is used in a few very large opera houses that have many levels of balconies)

drink-driving

operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol (US: drunk driving; DUI ; DWI ; OWI )

driving licence

document authorising the holder to drive a vehicle (US: driver's license, driver license)

dual carriageway

road, usually a major one, with each direction of travel separated from the opposing one by a traffic-free, and usually slightly raised, central reservation. Each direction of travel (carriageway) can comprise one or more 'lane'. (US: divided highway)

dustbin

(sometimes used in the US) receptacle for rubbish, very often shortened to simply 'bin'. (US: trash can; wastebasket)

dustbin man or dustman

rubbish collector (US: garbage man; trash man; sanitation engineer)

dustcart

rubbish/refuse collecting vehicle (US: garbage truck; trash truck)