Glossary

Waffle • Glossary Originally (when referring to a small dog) to yap or bark – the word “waff”‘s sound imitates a puppy’s bark (NSOED). When referring to the noises people make, the word has come to mean empty or aimless talk or writing, and can be used as a noun to describe the… Read More

Waistcoat • Glossary U.S.: vest. Note that this is not just the kind of vest worn with a formal suit, but any kind of vest. Read More

Wands Away • Glossary Common way of saying “Put your wands away,” meaning “No magic allowed.” The phrase, when spoken by a teacher at Hogwarts, means that the upcoming lesson will be a theory lesson without any actual magic practice. The students are never particularly excited to hear that order at the beginning of… Read More

Wardrobe • Glossary A large piece of furniture with a door, used for storing clothes and fitted with rails, shelves, hooks and the like, sometimes with a mirror on the inside of the door. Wardrobes tend to be used in places that don’t have built-in closets. Read More

Warlock • Glossary Warlock is an ancient wizarding term originally used to denote a wizard who is trained in martial skills such as dueling. The meaning has been diluted somewhat over the centuries and is now used for a wizard who looks particularly fierce or as a title of achievement (WHH). Read More

Wart Plasters • Glossary “Plaster” used in this sense is roughly equivalent to a bandage or band-aid, often with some sort of medicine in/on it. Read More

Do a Weasley • Glossary When Fred and George Weasley caused chaos for Dolores Umbridge and flew away into the sunset (OP29), other students began wish they could also “do a Weasley” and leave Hogwarts (and Umbridge) behind them (OP30). Read More

Wellington boots, wellingtoned • Glossary Rubber boots; rain boots. The adjective “wellingtoned” is used to describe someone wearing such boots. Read More

Wheezes • Glossary A joke, especially a joke that has been repeated a great deal. Often referred to in the phrase ‘old wheeze’. Read More

Whelk • Glossary The whelk is a type of marine mollusk with a spiral shell, usually eaten with vinegar. The flesh is usually scooped out with a pin, so it’s not the sort of thing a sophisticated lady would eat. This indicates that Marge is rather common in her tastes. Read More

Whinge, Whinging • Glossary To whinge is to complain in a whiny way, so ‘whinging’ = ‘whining’. Read More

whinging • Glossary complaining or whining persistently and in a peevish or irritating way… Read More

Wind [Someone] Up • Glossary To tease someone, especially by deliberately misleading the person about something (NSOED)… Read More

Windscreen • Glossary (referring to part of an automobile) windshield… Read More

Wing Mirror • Glossary (referring to part of an automobile) a rear-view mirror projecting from the side of a motor vehicle (NSOED)… Read More

Wireless • Glossary A radio. Read More

Wizard (adj) • Glossary Apart from the obvious (and in Muggle English, archaic) meaning of “associated with wizards or wizardry”, this is also a British slang term for “excellent.” (NSOED)… Read More

Wonky • Glossary Unsteady, shaky, unreliable. This might be used to describe something that’s so badly put together that it’s about to fall down. Read More

Worrying means you suffer twice • Glossary Newt Scamander told Jacob Kowalski that his philosophy was that “Worrying means you suffer twice” when Jacob expressed fear about stalking a dangerous Erumpent at the Central Park Zoo in 1926 (WFT). Read More

Wotcher • Glossary A greeting, shortened form of “what cheer!” Also spelled “Wotcha”. [Mainly London use]… Read More