Please explain the lingo

Hi Gang,

Just new to the forum and this thread has me ROTFLMAO! I love colloquialisms and slang in general so this exchange has been a delight.

Regarding the use of "nip up", I have heard it used in reference to "doing something spontaneously or unplanned" i.e. "nip off to the pub", or "nip up to the lakes". I have also heard it used in a somewhat derogatory reference to a mechanism being over-engineered and lacking in "character" . . ."Nipped Up".

I agree that "fettle" and "fiddle" are, most likely, related and regional differences aside, when the process is complete, the object is deemed to be "in fine fettle". Similar to a watercraft being "Shipshape and Bristol Fashion". Just another example of "Two (several actually) Nations divided by a common language".

Best, Steve the "Yank" (of Scots and Irish descent)

'64 G15 Scrambler
'71 Commando Fastback
both sadly sold long ago, but each to be replaced as opportunity allows.

G'day lightnin, Sounds like there might be a Beesa in the camp.
I too am enjoying this thread.
I 'm sure I've heard of Race horses being refered to as "in fine fettle".
During the mid seventies we had car salemen refer to a vehicle as "Micky Mouse" meaning good, (which snowballed on to everything).
"That car of Bills is Micky Mouse" Yep she's real Micky that one. " he only paid a couple of Spot for it"
Spot being $1,000.00.
Now I'm told, if something is Micky Mouse, It is no good,... pretend, almost comical.
"I wouldn't send my chrome work there, they're a real Micky Mouse set up".
AC.

Nip in relationship to spanners , nuts & bolts , refers to takeing up the slack . Particularly in relationship to Cyl Heads ,
Flanges , Casting ( cover ) fixing screws etc .

The average 5 year old may do them one at a time , but more mature individuals regard them ( fixings ) as a SET .
the term PROGRESSIVELY comes into it somewhere too . . .

So ' The Nip ' is where a free fitting well oiled Fastener ( nut / bolt / washer , even hidious SPRING washers )
'take up the slack ' + Finger Tight . Niether any sl;ack nor tension .

Thereafter , removeing , a few turns , then the rest bar a few , then removeing . !

OR , TIGHTENING , aligning the Braion to the great Tourque Meter in the sky , and then tightening in sequence progressively
In STAGES . We call this EVENLY . :wink:

NOT one at a time to twist , dislocate , degenerate & destroy the item in question . Let the 5yr olds loose on a knackered lawn mower. Not a irreplaceable piece of hand built History .

The other ' NIP ' is will you have a Nip ? of wine . spirits etc . Ans . Let Me think about that .

Or in the case of Traffic Officers " Have You Had Anything To Drink " ?

" No , but I will if youre offering " ! ( some caution is advised useing this answer , unless you have a tape recorder )

DEROGATORALLY . nipped up , Japanese . more likely in the bushes , if a 70s Honda etc .
NIPPON , Japanese . made in Japan . Generally considered derogatorally then, like the 3d
candle steam boat paint jobs on 500 Kwackersiki's . ' Nippon Clippons ' the Auckland harbour bridge
WARPED add on lanes .Pogo the shocks at 90 mph , continually resurfaced and rewelded .
generally substandard and made from recycled scrap metal .Japanese motorcycle frames .
' Fish Oil ' used in Japanese Shock Absorbers ' or ' DAMPERS ' . which dont = pogo sticks .
which leaves us with BOING , wobble , and in the Bushes , where we started, or they ended up . :shock:

Then there were Japanese tyres , Rain , and a abhorent lack of traction , bettered on by ChenShin for worseness.
" Nippon " made in Japan . Cheap , mean , and nasty . Japanese speedometers , Marked in m.p.h. but read nearer to kilometers ,explaining the fantastic perfomance assumed by riders or RD 550s . 90 = 115 .
H.P. = on the Drawing Board , at the spark plug leads .

Or in the advertisments , ' FIRST ' = 50 years previous in ' Olde Blighty ' were peple went after having bits shot off in the Trenches .' Charge Those Machine Guns ' , WOT ! . Damn Cowards ! I'll have them Shot .( 10.000 in one day at Passhendale )

Er ? yes ! Respect for , er um . holding on in deperation is the English Way ? or getting sloshed !
which didnt help production standards . BOTHER .

Ah well , there was allways the Italians to Lagh At . :mrgreen: :wink:

How times have changed ! the more they change the more they stay the same .

The best bomber of the war was DESIGNED as a twin engined Catapult Lauched DIVE Bomber.
They added 10 ft to the wings , 50% to the tailplane span , 100% to the vertical Stabilisors , doubled the No off engines ,and it didnt work to bad .
The tomes of aircraft that barely functioned rivalled the numbers of motorcyles (and vehicals ) that broke if not treated sympatheticaly .

The invention of the ' By-Pass ' changed all this .When Aston had trouble with the new DB4 , the common denominator was found to be , theyed all happened on a Sunday .it related to the Weather .Also the position of the right foot . :shock: :lol: 8)

Therefore Oil Tanks , capacities , the Manchester , the DB4 & useage have common threads . :!: :wink:

I thought a 'Nip' was a shot of Jameson's or something similar?

Dave
69S

In the new world "Mickey Mouse" was a bad thing to hear about a repair job or commercial product. Implied being cartoonish or silly, not rich and famous desirable as Disney.

Pillion is a Englishmen's term that took me a while to 'grok'.

Ever heard of a Birmingham Screwdriver? I think only a Englishman of a certain age would have. Answers on a post card?

Talking of nip, do you have nipper over there? Its a term for young kids, up to about 10 I suppose.
Terry

I take it you mean he has to be "Wakened Up" in the morning, rather than being "Knocked Up", as meaning 'been made pregnant' ?[/quote][/quote][/quote]
Back around the 1890s 1900s, the railway companys in Britain used to employ men, whose job it was to walk the streets near the Railway depots & awaken staff on very early shifts by knocking on their doors or windows, to ensure they got to work on time & thus made sure the trains ran on time. The title of their job was knocker upper.
I think that's maybe where the term originaly came from.
Terry[/quote]

I think it predates even that, going to 1700 as it was originally done by the miners for the early morning shift when they were too poor to afford an alarm clock. The guy carried a long stick to tap the house window, but woe betide any of them if they got the morning date wrong, or taped on the wrong window then the continents of the night’s chamber pot came flying out of the window!
The Good old days?

Bernhard said:

I think it predates even that, going to 1700 as it was originally done by the miners for the early morning shift when they were too poor to afford an alarm clock.

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I doubt it was because they were too poor?

Probably more to do with the fact that in 1700, "alarm clocks" as we know them would not be available for at least another 147 years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alarm_clock

The French inventor Antoine Redier was the first to patent an adjustable mechanical alarm clock, in 1847

Click to expand...

Bernhard said:

I take it you mean he has to be "Wakened Up" in the morning, rather than being "Knocked Up", as meaning 'been made pregnant' ?

Click to expand...

[/quote][/quote]
Back around the 1890s 1900s, the railway companys in Britain used to employ men, whose job it was to walk the streets near the Railway depots & awaken staff on very early shifts by knocking on their doors or windows, to ensure they got to work on time & thus made sure the trains ran on time. The title of their job was knocker upper.
I think that's maybe where the term originaly came from.
Terry[/quote]

I think it predates even that, going to 1700 as it was originally done by the miners for the early morning shift when they were too poor to afford an alarm clock. The guy carried a long stick to tap the house window, but woe betide any of them if they got the morning date wrong, or taped on the wrong window then the continents of the night’s chamber pot came flying out of the window!
The Good old days?[/quote]

I work in the rail industry, and in the not so distant past, before the age of pagers and cel phones, there was a labor agreement that allowed for trainmen and enginemen to be awaken by a "knocker upper", so to speak, so as to not miss a call for duty. This was referred to as a "shag rule" agreement. So if you had no land line where you were getting your rest, they would come and shag you and tell you that you were called for such and such a train, and then provide you transport if needed to your on duty location. "Shag" in the states means to gather or collect, far different than the English meaning!

Phew, pleased you explained that one !

Guido said:

I love it. Thanks for the English lesson.


I knew what "ton up" meant, I was just looking for the origin of the word "ton". No biggie

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Ton was and still is a Cockney rhyming slang for, yes you guessed it, 100

L.A.B. said:

Bernhard said:

I think it predates even that, going to 1700 as it was originally done by the miners for the early morning shift when they were too poor to afford an alarm clock.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I doubt it was because they were too poor?

Probably more to do with the fact that in 1700, "alarm clocks" as we know them would not be available for at least another 147 years.

You are quite correct, I knew I got the dates of my history wrong somewhere.
But the coal mines came before the steam trains othewise there would have not been enough fuel for them to burn....what with most of the trees cut down for building houses,boats, fruit bowls, fuel e.t.c.

but Ton doesn't rhyme with 100
got the following quote online

ton - commonly one hundred pounds (£100). Not generally pluralised. From the fact that a ton is a measurement of 100 cubic feet of capacity (for storage, loading, etc). In the same way a ton is also slang for 100 runs in cricket, or a speed of 100 miles per hour. Logically 'half a ton' is slang for £50.

gory said:

but Ton doesn't rhyme with 100
got the following quote online

ton - commonly one hundred pounds (£100). Not generally pluralised. From the fact that a ton is a measurement of 100 cubic feet of capacity (for storage, loading, etc). In the same way a ton is also slang for 100 runs in cricket, or a speed of 100 miles per hour. Logically 'half a ton' is slang for £50.

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I don’t think you grasped what I was saying; it is after all Cockney slang, designed so that outsiders wouldn’t understand what they were talking about!

I love Cockney slang! Always cracks me up.

But on another subject, does anyone know where the term "tosser" came from? It means basically an idiot, or person you really don't like, but what was the origin? Uh, as in somebody you might want to "toss back"? And where does "posh tosser" enter in?

Brithit said:

does anyone know where the term "tosser" came from? It means basically an idiot, or person you really don't like, but what was the origin? Uh, as in somebody you might want to "toss back"? And where does "posh tosser" enter in?

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http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tosser
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=posh

'Tosser' seems a bit more involved than just being an idiot.
How can 'posh' mean fancy, and 'pish posh' mean bullsh*t?

'pish posh' = turd polished.

Here is an online slang dictionary loaded with Cockney slang:

http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/

This is the stuff I love:

barney (rubble) Adj. Trouble. Rhyming slang. [1960s]