The Complete Idiot's Guide to the World of Harry Potter (46 page)

chewy center, coated in powdered sugar.

bowler hat
A formal black hat with a narrow brim.

brewpub
A pub in which beer is brewed onsite.

brilliant
Excellent; incredible.

budgerigar
A type of parakeet.

camp bed
Fold-up cot.

carriage
Train car.

cheek, giving
Being a smart-mouth.

chipolatas
Small pork sausages usually served at breakfast; what Americans might call “breakfast sausage” or even “cocktail sausage.”

chocolate gateau
A rich chocolate cake, served in slices with fresh cream.

Christmas cake
Soft cake with icing; tucked between the icing and cake is marzipan.

Christmas pudding
A plum cake or plum pudding served with a rich sauce. Often, there’s a coin baked in it for luck.

cloak
A long coat that wraps around the body and fastens near the neck but may not have actual sleeves; like a thick poncho.

clotted cream
Thick cream made from scalded milk.

codswollop
Hogwash; baloney.
See also
tripe.

collywobbles
The willies.

copper
Police officer.

cracker
A British holiday traditional favor that’s roughly the size of a paper towel tube, or smaller. When you pull the cracker apart, it makes a loud “bang!” and out come small treats or even small, inexpensive gifts.

crikey
Golly.

crumpet
Unsweetened cake that’s cooked like a pancake, but is taller and not as large in diameter as pancakes are.

cupboard
Closet.

cuppa
Cup of tea.

custard
Sweet mix of milk and eggs that’s usually baked but may also be boiled.

dab hand
Good at; excellent.

derby
See
bowler hat
.

dodgy
Scary; risky; rundown; unreliable; dirty.

done a runner
Run away; escaped.

dozy
Stupid.

draught
British spelling of “draft.”

dustbin
Trash can.

football
British term for soccer.

fortnight
Two weeks.

four-poster
Bed.

fussed
Bothered.

garden
Backyard.

git
Jerk.

gob
Spit.

gobstruck
Astonished.

going spare
Going crazy.

gone round the twist
Gone crazy.
have a go at
Make fun of or lay into.
haversack
A small backpack or any sort of bag carried on one’s back or shoulder by a strap.
head
See
headmaster; headmistress.

Head Boy
See
prefect.

Head Girl
See
prefect.
headmaster
The man in charge of a boarding school.
headmistress
The woman in charge of a boarding school.
hotel
Place to stay the night that generally will
not
have a bar on the premises, although it will usually serve breakfast. Also called a private hotel.
house
A grouping of boarding-school students; students live together and compete for best house in intra-school competitions.
inn
Place to stay the night that may or may not have a bar that serves alcoholic beverages, but it always offers meals.
jot
Bit; iota.
keen
Eager.

King’s Cross
Train station in London.
kip
A nap.
kippers
Salt-cured (often smoked) dried fish; usually made from herring.
knickerbocker glory
Ice cream dessert.
knickerbockers
Dressy short pants like those golfers used to wear.
lift
Elevator.
lintel
The upper portion of a doorway frame or window frame.
looking daggers
Giving evil looks.

marmalade
See
toast and marmalade.

mate
Pal; buddy; dude.

mead
A sweet wine made from honey and sometimes aged in oak barrels.

mental
Crazy.

meringue
A dessert with a meringue crust (like a pie crust but made of meringue) topped with fruit or other sweet fillings.

mince
Another word for ground beef or other meat chopped up into tiny bits.

mince pie
Sweet pie made of mincemeat that’s either served cold with custard or clotted cream or heated with brandy butter.

mincemeat
Sweet pie filling, usually consisting of apples, raisins, beef fat, and (sometimes) mince.

mind the gap
Watch your step as you cross from the edge of a carriage (train car) and the platform.

moleskin
Originally, the fur of a mole, used for outerwear. Now also used to denote a heavy cotton fabric.

mollycoddling
Treating like a child.

mouth organ
Harmonica.

nick
Steal.

nip
Going somewhere quickly and/or briefly.

nutter
Crazy person.

Paddington Station
Train station in London.

pastilles
Fruit candies coated in sugar that come twelve to a pack.

pasty
A flaky crust that fully surrounds a rather dry filling of beef or chicken, potatoes, onions, and other ingredients. Also called a Cornish pasty.

pence
Plural of penny, which is one one-hundredth of a British pound.

peppermint humbugs
Hard candy flavored with peppermint oil.

pitch
An area of land used as a grassy playing field.

plait
Pleat (such as the pleat of a skirt).

platform
The area at which passengers board a train.

porkpie
Small pastry with a SPAM-like pork product in the middle; often served with gravy.

porridge
Crushed oats or oatmeal (and, occasionally, other grains) boiled in water and/or milk and usually served with sugar and cream.

prat
An uptight, goody-two-shoes airbrain.

prefect
The top boy or girl at a school. Also called Head Boy or Head Girl.

pub
A bar or bar/inn combination.

public school
British boarding school.

pudding
Another word for dessert.

queue
A line of people, such as one at a bus stop, stadium entrance, or lunch line.

ruddy
Darned.

sacked
Fired.

scrum
Rugby term that in non-Rugby settings usually means skirmish.

Sellotape
A brand of tape (like the American Scotch tape).

shut your gob
Shut up.

skive
Skip school.

Snap
Children’s card game, played with two or more players.

spiffing
To make wonderful, great.

spotted dick
A confection made with suet (beef fat), rubbed into flour and made into a pudding, and then given some dried fruit; served with custard.

taking the mickey
To tease or ridicule.

tart
An individual pie; a crust is topped with fresh fruit, jam, cream, and/or custard.

television aerial
TV antennae.

toast and marmalade
Toast and jam; the marmalade is usually made with oranges.

treacle fudge
Fudge made with treacle.

treacle pudding
A steamed pudding made with treacle.

treacle tart
A tart topped with treacle.

treacle
A syrupy topping, with a consistency something like corn syrup but usually made with molasses.

trifle
A many-layered confection that begins with sponge cake (sometimes soaked in rum or other liqueur), then fruit, then cream, and so on.

tripe
Stomach of a cow or ox; eaten as a delicacy. Also called codswollop.

trolley
Food cart that travels down the aisles of a train car.

Turkish Delight
A candy that’s a denser, chewier version of marshmallow, coated in sugar, with either chocolate or sprinkles on top.

wardrobe
A large cabinet that acts as a closet.

wastrel
A lazy person.

West Ham United Football Club
Soccer club located in east London.

wotcher
Hello!; what’s up?

wrench
A difficult decision.

Yorkshire pudding
A hearty side dish similar to an American pop-over. May be served with horseradish sauce and/or gravy.

With hundreds (and even thousands) of new Harry Potter Internet sites appearing each month, you may want to know where to turn first. Here are my picks for the most interesting, up-to-date, and easy-to-navigate sites.

We start with the best of the best.

If you’re going to get information, go straight to the source. Launched in 2004, this site is full of fun details about Rowling’s life, work, writing process, and news. There’s a cool list of links, too. While books were in process, the site was updated regularly; whether that will continue after the release of the final novel in the series remains to be seen.

The Harry Potter Lexicon is an encyclopedia of Harry Potter facts. Information is arranged logically and is easily searchable. So when you’re arguing with your friends about whether Hermione’s middle name is Anastasia or Jane, check it out here. (It’s Jane.)

There are thousands of Harry Potter fan sites, and each offers something slightly different. If the ones listed here don’t work for you, search around, find one you like, bookmark it, and check it every week! In addition to the sites discussed in the following sections, a few others you may want to check out are (for good, quick updates), www. , and .

Run by fans, The Leaky Cauldron is news-central for anything and everything related to
Harry Potter.
Movie trailers are posted almost the moment they come out, as are any interviews with J.K. Rowling and actors from the movies.

Officially part of The Leaky Cauldron site, Pottercast is a weekly hour-long podcast of interesting and unique news, interviews, and fan commentary you won’t hear in the mainstream media.

The Harry Potter Fan Zone (HPFZ) was started by an Australian teenager and has grown to require the efforts of almost two dozen people. As Harry Potter news happens, this site reports it.

News, fan commentary, competitions, and discounted shopping make this fan site unique. Check out the always-interesting Wall of Shame, which is a posting of some disturbing correspondence the webmaster has received. Also check out MuggleCast (), which features weekly podcasts in which theories and rumors are discussed and debated.

The movies based on Rowling’s novels are nearly as big of a phenomenon as the novels themselves. Here are sites that are devoted to the Harry Potter movies or to the actors who play significant roles.

This is the official Warner Brothers site, so it offers brilliantly vivid movie clips and trailers. It is not updated regularly, however. You can also visit for the British viewpoint, although the sites are roughly the same.

Devoted to the actor who plays Harry Potter in the movies, this site is part movie promotion, part public relations, and part charity fundraising. But it all comes together in a nice package, including interviews, articles, and a calendar of appearances.

If you’re planning to travel and want to visit Harry Potter-related sites, check out the Tourist Tip sidebars throughout this book. And also check out HP Fan Trips (), which arranges trips based on the novels and movies. If you have the time and cash, you definitely want to take the Hogwarts Express train ride! You can also search for other Harry Potter travel sites by using an Internet search engine.

Want your own holly wand with a unicorn’s tail as the core? Need a great wizarding hat for your next party? Want to get your hands on Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor Beans? These sites help you spend your hard-earned cash on wizard products of all types.

Modeled to look and feel like Ollivanders (see Chapter 7), this site is among the best Harry Potter merchandise sites on the web. The website is set up like the interactive DVD tours that come with the first two Harry Potter movies. The illusion is so complete that you actually feel like a wizard ordering a wand, broom, clothing, etc. (Of course, there’s no Internet in the wizarding world, but that’s a small point.) If you’re considering a wand for yourself or to give as a gift, this is where to buy it. You’ll pay more than at other sites, but your wand will be made of the finest wood with excellent craftsmanship. The brooms, too, are incredibly authentic.

From T-shirts and hats to action figures and a collectible Time Turner, this slick site is the official site of movie-related Harry Potter products. Be sure to order your Harry Potter tree ornaments well in advance of the holidays!

Billed as carrying “official” Harry Potter products, Harry Gear offers high quality hats, scarves—even glasses and Quidditch goggles! The online store doesn’t carry many products, but the ones it carries look and feel authentic. Shipping is a flat $5.95 fee per order.