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

W

WAG

wives and girlfriends, common in headlines referring to the spouse of a footballer.

wage packet

weekly employee payment (usually in cash) (US: paycheck)

wally

(informal) buffoon, fool; milder form of idiot.

wanker *

(offensive) literally, a masturbator (although use in this context is uncommon); more likely to be used as a general insult or term of abuse

WC

toilet (short for Water Closet). (US: bathroom, US old-fashioned washroom). See also loo.

washing up

dish washing, "the dishes": "it's your turn to do the washing up"; hence washing up liquid: dish washing detergent (US: dish soap, dishwashing liquid)

wazzock

an idiot. popularised by the 1981 song "Capstick Comes Home" by Tony Capstick

well

Extremely, very. "He's well rich" (US: "He's very rich")

Wellington boots, wellies

waterproof rubber boots, named after the Duke of Wellington.

welly

(informal) effort (e.g.: "Give it some welly" to mean "put a bit of effort into an attempt to do something" US: elbow grease (also UK), oomph); also the singular of "wellies", for Wellington boots (US: gumboots, rubber boots)

welly

(slang) condom; stems from "Wellington boots" which are also known as "rubbers".

What ho!

(interj.) Hello! (warmly)

whilst *

while (US and UK); 'whilst' is in common use in Yorkshire (UK) where 'while' is used colloquially to mean 'until'; (archaic in US)

whinge

(informal) complain, whine, especially repeated complaining about minor things (e.g. "Stop whingeing" meaning "stop complaining"); a different word from whine, originated in Scottish and Northern English in the 12th century. Hence whinger (derogatory), someone who complains a lot.

white coffee

coffee with milk or cream.

white pudding

oat and fat sausage often eaten at breakfast, common in Ireland and Scotland

witter

(informal) to continue to talk trivially about a subject long after the audience's interest has gone (assuming there was any interest in the first place). "He wittered on."

wide boy

see spiv, above

windscreen

(US: windshield)

wing mirrors

the external mirrors on a vehicle – though no longer normally attached to the 'wings' (US: fenders) but to the doors (US: sideview mirrors, side mirrors)

winkle

(slang) childish term for a penis (US: winkie)

wobbler, wobbly (to have or to throw)

(informal) tantrum

write-off

(slang) when cost of repair of a damaged asset (usually a car) is not feasible or exceeds its insurance value (US:total loss, totalled) Is also used formally in the context of accounting.

wog

(offensive, term of abuse) member of an ethnic minority. The word can refer to a wide variety of non-Europeans, including Arabs, sub-Saharans (and those of sub-Saharan descent), Iranians, and Turks.