AKACroatalin's definitions

Tom

Tom derives from Cockney Rhyming Slang and like so many other rhymes it has been shortened to just the initial word of the phrase e.g. bread and honey (money) became bread. However, unlike many others, Tom has multiple meanings which often can only be inferred from how it is used. Some of the common meanings of Tom are listed below:

1. Tom from Sir Thomas More = whore;
2. Tom from Tom Tit (old English name for a Blue Tit) = shit;
3. Tom from Tomfoolery = joolery (jewellery); incidentally don’t blame me for their pronunciation.
4. Tom from Tom Cat = twat/prat;

“That bloke is a real Tom (4). He gave a lot of tom(3) to a right old tom(1). Didn’t do ‘er no good, mind; it was a load of tom(2).”

by AKACroatalin September 12, 2016

Pongoes

British slang dating from the mid to late nineteenth century, meaning soldiers. Soldiers were not popular at this time as Kipling’s poem Tommy shows (Barrack Room Ballads 1892). The word itself stems from expressions used by comedians in theatres and music halls to get a cheap laugh. The two that are most commonly quoted are "where the army goes the pong goes", or “when the wind blows the pong goes”, pong meaning smell. This quickly became pongoes meaning soldiers plural and pongo meaning an individual. Another possible explanation is that the soldiers were being likened to a large, hairy, smelly ape called a pongo. The expression is still in use today although not common, confined mainly to those who saw service in World War II or Korea (very few now) or who did National Service in Britain while this was still compulsory.

Ambulance chasing lawyers, seeking compensation for terrorists, still see soldiers as pongoes.

by AKACroatalin September 9, 2016

ACT

ACT is an acronym standing for Action Counters Terror. It is believed that it originated either with the military or the emergency services, where personnel are trained to overcome fear and inertia by taking action until this becomes an automatic response. ACT demonstrates that people are capable of really remarkable deeds and that obstacles and difficulties can be beaten when they are confronted. ACT shows that fears and self-doubt can be reduced or eliminated and that forward-looking action can overcome habit and inertia to produce something new and start the process of change.

Don’t procrastinate, ACT!

by AKACroatalin September 6, 2016

I don’t wanna, I don’t haveta, I ain’t gonna

Something really useful from the US. The only reply to be made to an acquaintance, or a co-worker you don’t like very much who makes ridiculous demands on your time and effort for no recompense.

“What did you say when Malcolm asked you to do his work while he sloped off to get freebies at the supermarket?”
“I don’t wanna, I don’t haveta, I ain’t gonna.”

by AKACroatalin September 5, 2016

Cassock Wearer

This is a term that was originally applied, not to clergy, but to a female with an unsightly arse. The arse in question might be fat, lopsided or saggy, it could be overly skinny or have strange looking lumps and bumps on it, or it may just not look right. Any of these attributes would turn her into a cassock wearer. It all goes back to a saying that started in England just after World War II. At that time, most people went to church and would kneel for prayers on a sort of cushion called a hassock. These hassocks could be lopsided or saggy, frequently skinny and often had strange looking lumps on them. Somebody made the comparison of an unsightly female arse to a hassock and from this grew the rhyme “with an arse like a hassock she should wear a cassock”, which was shortened to cassock wearer. It has now become a term applied generally to an unprepossessing female.

“Have you seen Mickey’s latest?”
“Oh shit, yeah! A right cassock wearer.”

by AKACroatalin September 4, 2016

No Joy

No joy is an English expression meaning a lack of success or failure; it can also mean a lack of luck. It is believed to derive from the lack of happiness or joy when success is achieved or a stroke of good fortune is encountered. Therefore no success, no luck, no joy.

“Did you find it?”
“Nah, I looked everywhere but no joy.”

by AKACroatalin August 31, 2016

Noo Yoik

It’s the way that New Yorkers pronounce New York, it surprised the hell out of me the first time I heard it. Interestingly, they believe that theirs is the correct pronunciation and that everyone else in the world has got it wrong; they make the most Londoncentric of Londoners seem positively open minded; they do to the American language what Americans do to English. Something else interesting is the temperature range; Summer temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), dropping to minus 4.4 degrees Celsius (21.4 degrees Fahrenheit)in Winter. Perhaps it is these extremes of temperature that make New York extremely dangerous; in London (population 8.3 – 8.6 million depending on who you believe) 2014 saw 93 murders, while New York (population 8.4 million) saw 328.

“Noo Yoik! That’s the place where things happen!”
“Yeah, like lots of murders. No thanks, you can keep it!”

by AKACroatalin August 8, 2016