• Glossary A variety of tangerine with a sharp taste, originally from Japan (NSOED). Read More
• Glossary “Scarramanger” is the term that Vernon Dursley uses, during one of the adult Harry’s dreams about his past, to describe Rubeus Hagrid, when Hagrid finally catches up with them at the Hut-on-the-Rock (CC1.8). Read More
• Glossary Cellophane tape. In the U.S., we’d say “Scotch tape”. The name of the wizarding equivalent, Spellotape, is a play on this, a pun that is lost in translation for U.S. readers. Read More
• Glossary One of the threat levels on the giant dial in the Atrium at New York MACUSA Headquarters in 1926 (WFT). The event which triggered this status was the destruction of a brownstone building and a street by a mysterious”dark wind with eyes” which was unexplained until it turned out to… Read More
• Food and drinks • Glossary A hard lemon-flavoured candy shell filled with effervescent sherbet powder. Also known as sherbet lemons. Not the same thing as Lemonheads or lemon drops! Sherbet powder is not the same thing as an iced sherbet. Read More
• Glossary Annoyed; angry. Probably from “to get someone’s shirt out,” to annoy, or “to keep one’s shirt on,” to keep from being annoyed. (NSOED)… Read More
• Glossary U.S.: a look. This word can be used as either a noun or a verb; it was originally military slang, derived from the Arabic for “have you seen”? (NSOED). Read More
• Glossary “To sit an exam” is a British idiom meaning to take an exam or to write an exam. It is still used often in Britain and the Commonwealth. Read More
• Glossary U.S.: baseboard. A board placed parallel to the floor at the base of an interior wall, serving as edging. Read More
• Glossary To avoid doing one’s task or duty; to “skive off” is to skip, as in skipping classes at school. Read More
• Glossary Self-satisfied, conceited; ingratiating in an oily way. Read More
• Glossary Br.: An old-fashioned phrase used when speaking to a man or boy, suggesting that he has done something wrong (OP17). Read More
• Glossary A colloquial phrase, meaning either going crazy with worry or getting really agitated/angry. Read More
• Glossary A suet pudding made with currants or raisins (NSOED). The name is thought to come from a corruption of the word “pudding”.  … Read More
• Glossary These two ingredients represent a popular British filling for a pie (normally encased in pastry). Steak and kidney pies are often served with chips and appear on the menu of most British fish and chip shops. Read More
• Glossary Definitely not a British delicacy. JKR made this up. A stoat is a small mammal similar to a weasel which is found in Britain and Ireland. It is not usually eaten by humans, in sandwiches or any other form. [The Mammal Society]… Read More
• Glossary “Stuffed frog” is a term used to describe someone looking utterly bewildered, similar to the common Australian slang term “stunned mullet.”… Read More
• Glossary Covered or otherwise sweetened with sugar. For the “covered in sugar” sense, in the U.S. we’d say “glazed”… Read More
• Glossary Long-handled grips used to pick up cube sugar. In Britain, sugar is available granulated or in moulded lumps or small cubes. Cube sugar would be considered posh by someone like Petunia Dursley, but it’s arguably exactly the opposite. Read More
• Glossary As a verb, “swot” means to study hard; as a noun, “swot” refers to somebody who does this. Hermione and Percy could both be called swots. Read More