It’s a truth universally acknowledged that you can’t spend any time in London without catching a phrase or two of roadman slang.
What’s a roadman, you ask? We’ll hand it over to Urban Dictionary on this one:
Roadman: Roadman comes from the 21st century slang word, describing a boy (normally at a teenage age) as someone who thoroughly knows the ins and outs of his area, and the people in the area, he will also be involved in popular events such as trapping, driving (cruising), parties etc.
London’s roadmen have their own lingo, but we’ll let you in on a little secret. There’s not that much to it.
So whether you’re a frazzled parent trying to decipher what your kid is saying, or just want to up your cool factor with a bit of local slang, by the time you whizz through this little dictionary, you’ll be chatting bare tings with the best of them. You’re welcome.
Where does roadman slang actually come from?
Before we get into the dictionary itself, it’s worth knowing what you’re actually speaking, because it’s a lot more interesting than a list of funny words.
Linguists call it Multicultural London English, or MLE, and it’s been formally studied since the mid-2000s, most notably by sociolinguists Jenny Cheshire and Paul Kerswill, whose research first mapped how a genuinely new dialect had emerged from London’s inner-city, ethnically mixed communities. MLE draws on Jamaican Patois, West African languages, South Asian English and the last living traces of Cockney, fused together by young Londoners who grew up around all of them at once. Linguists call this a “multiethnolect”, a dialect that belongs to a genuinely mixed community rather than any single group.
It’s also, genuinely, a proper dialect rather than sloppy English. MLE has its own consistent grammar, “man” used as a first-person pronoun (“man’s tired” rather than “I’m tired”) is one of the clearest examples, alongside real phonological shifts in how certain vowel sounds are pronounced. It behaves like any other dialect linguists study, with rules, not randomness.
Grime music did more than almost anything else to carry MLE vocabulary out of London and into the rest of the country, several of the words below (dench among them) can be traced to specific tracks and artists rather than organic drift. More recently, social media has taken over that job, spreading and mutating the vocabulary faster than any single scene or genre could on its own.
One thing worth knowing: “roadman” as a word has increasingly become its own thing, a caricature of the accent and vocabulary, often performed for laughs on TikTok, rather than a neutral description of how people actually speak. Recent academic work has pointed out that those parodies can flatten a genuine, working dialect into a stereotype. We’ve written this guide in that same cheeky spirit as the internet clips you’ve probably seen, but it’s worth knowing that what you’re actually learning is a real, living part of how London talks, not a costume.
How to speak roadman slang like the real deal
Now, it can be very tricky to get roadman slang right.
If you want to sound natural, the key is to not overdo it, don’t throw too many slang words in at once or you’ll sound bait.
You’ll find a lot of roadman slang is based on rehashing words and giving them a different meaning. So you’ll likely recognise many of the words in this dictionary, but do you know their roadman meaning?
Roadman slang dictionary
Roadmen basically have their own language. Make sure to keep an ear out for these words when you visit London.
A – Allow it
Let’s start with a phrase you’ll hear plenty of. “Allow it” means to stop doing something or to leave something alone. Most often contracted to “low it.”
B – Bait
One of our favourites, “bait” means obvious. If someone’s being “bait”, it means they’re being obvious and annoying. A bit like someone trying to use roadman phrases without knowing what they mean. Bait.
B – Bruv
Another common word in London roadman slang. “Bruv” is short for brother, and is often used between men to address each other, whether they’re actually brothers or not.
B – Bare
“Bare” is a little word that can be used in many contexts. It means “really”, but depending on the situation it can also describe having a lot of something.
B – Buki
There’s a couple of spelling variations on this one, you may also see it written as “bookey” or “booky” (note: it’s pronounced boo-key).
“Buki” can be used to describe a person or a thing that is strange or weird, i.e. “bruv, that person is bare buki”.
B – Bird
Although it’s slightly controversial, “bird” is a really common way to describe women in roadman slang.
C – Chirps
“Chirps” is a fun one, it means to chat someone up. If someone is trying to flirt with you, you can ask, “are you trying to chirps me?”
C – Clapped
The word “clapped” is mean but very funny. It’s a way to describe someone who is less appealing on the eye (AKA butterz).
Be careful with using this one, you don’t want to offend a roadman.
C – Creps
Trainers, plain and simple. “Fresh creps” means a new pair of trainers, and among some crowds, what’s on your feet matters as much as what you’re wearing.
D – Dench
First introduced by grime artist Lethal Bizzle in 2012, “dench” can be used to describe anything or anyone that’s good or attractive.
E – Ends
You’ll often hear a roadman say, “these are my ends”, this simply means the area they’re from.
F – Fam
“Fam” is one of the most common roadman slang words. Similarly to “bruv”, it’s used to greet someone who isn’t necessarily family but you’re very close to.
F – Fresh
“Fresh” means new and is often used to describe something positively. It combines perfectly with the next roadman slang word.
G – Garms
“Garms” comes from the word garment, to mean clothes. You might hear someone say, “I like your fresh garms”, meaning they like your new outfit.
G – Gassed
If you’re excited about something, swap out that word for “gassed”. We hope you’re gassed that you’re learning roadman slang words.
G – Geezer
Also used in Cockney slang, “geezer” can be used in a positive or negative context to refer to a man.
G – Gyaldem
The female equivalent of mandem (see below), “gyaldem” describes a group of girls or a group of female friends. “I’m out with the gyaldem tonight” is exactly what it sounds like.
H – Hype
Now we all know the word “hype”, right? It has a similar positive meaning to roadmen, but trust us when we say this word is everywhere.
The phrase “believe the hype” is commonplace, meaning something is really good and deserves all the praise it gets.
I – Innit
“Innit” is the classic roadman slang word that’s very easy to overdo. Literally, the word is a contraction of “isn’t it?” and it’s used at the end of phrases to affirm what you’ve just said. Learning roadman slang is easy, innit?
J – Jokes
As you can imagine, something that is “jokes” is very funny. Although, it can also be used sarcastically to describe something that is really not funny. Context is key here.
L – Long
This word is often used to describe tasks that are difficult or will take ages to complete, i.e. “nah, that’s so long fam”.
L – Lips
This means to kiss someone. If you’re on a night out in London, you might find yourself lipsing someone after a few drinks.
M – Mandem
“Mandem” is commonly used by males to describe their group of friends. Your crew is your mandem.
N – Nang
Nang is one of the slightly rarer roadman slang words, so you’ll be forgiven if you have no clue what it means. It’s actually a positive thing, and it means something is good.
O – Owned
Owned is a word that dates back to the 1990s amongst internet hackers, but has since made its way into the roadman lexicon.
It means to dominate, and is usually shouted at someone when they’ve been defeated in an argument or game.
P – Par
To par someone off is to insult or make a fool out of them.
P – Peng
“Peng” is one of those words that always makes it into the videos where Americans guess UK slang, and for good reason. It’s such a fun word, but so random.
Meaning attractive, it’s usually used to describe a good-looking woman.
P – Peak
Somewhat confusingly, “peak” can be used to describe a situation that is good or bad. Most roadmen use the word negatively, i.e. “that’s peak”, although plenty of places across the UK will describe something positive as peak.
When in London, you’re safer sticking to the negative meaning.
R – Reh teh teh
This is a funny one. “Reh teh teh” is used at the end of a list to mean etcetera.
R – Roll with
If you “roll with” someone, it means you spend time with them. Although, it can also be used figuratively to mean you get on well with someone.
S – Safe
“Safe” is one of those roadman slang words that is completely nuanced. Generally, it means something is good or cool, but you can also use it to greet or say goodbye to someone.
T – Ting
Often paired with peng, i.e. “she’s a peng ting”, it’s literally just a contracted version of “thing” and is used very often by roadmen.
V – Vexed
Whilst this word isn’t solely used by roadmen, it means angry and is often used like, “why are you vexed?” You can also ask someone, “are you trying to vex me?” which means, are you trying to make me angry?
W – Wasteman
One of our favourite roadman insults. A “wasteman” is somebody who is acting foolishly or being annoying.
W – Whip
In grime music, you’ll often hear someone rapping about driving a “German whip”, which means a German brand of car.
If someone is excited about their new car, they may say, “bruv, check out my new whip”.
The London x London Take: the best roadman slang doesn’t stay roadman slang for long, “peng” and “innit” have long since made it into wider British English, and a fair few of these will follow. That’s not a coincidence, it’s how MLE has always worked, the same way Cockney seeped into everyday speech a century earlier. Use these properly, don’t overdo it, and you’re taking part in something with a genuine linguistic history behind it.
There you go, an A-Z (well, technically A-W) of roadman phrases and slang you can incorporate into your own chat to sound like the real deal. Have a go at using some next time you’re out and about.
