John Cletheroe's
UK and European Travel and Tourism Hints
Abbreviations Used In The UK
£
Pound (money).
999
The telephone number used to contact the emergency services such as the police, ambulance, fire brigade and coastguard in Britain. Equivalent to the USA and Canada's 911 number, and like that number strictly for use only in real emergencies.
A & E
Accident and Emergency, the Casualty Department of a hospital. Equivalent to the American and Canadian term "ER" (Emergency Room).
A Level Exams
Advanced Level Exams. Examinations taken at the end of the second year in the sixth form, normally in two or three subjects, occasionally in four subjects, used to assess students for university entrance. Traditional A Levels have now been split into AS exams normally taken at the end of the first year in the sixth form and A2 exams normally taken at the end of the second year. Students usually take fewer A2 exams than AS.
A Roads (A1, A2, etc)
A Roads are main routes. They can be divided highway and controlled access (motorway, freeway), divided highway but not controlled access (dual carriageway) or a two-lane two-way road. An "M" in brackets after the number, such as A1(M), indicates a stretch of A Road which is of motorway standard. As far as I know all A Roads are paved. There is no consistent standard for the numbering of A Roads. British A Roads are roughly equivalent to American US Highways and State Highways. See also "B Roads" and "M".
A2 Exams
Exams normally taken at the end of the second year in the sixth form.
AA
Automobile Association, a commercial motoring organisation which provides a breakdown service and other facilities for its members.
AAA
Amateur Athletic Association.
ABTA
Association of British Travel Agents.
ACAS
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, a body which attempts to resolve industrial disputes.
AS Level Exams
Advanced Subsidiary Level Exams. A new set of examinations, only recently introduced, normally taken at the end of the first year in the sixth form.
ASA
Advertising Standards Authority.
ASLEF
Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen, the train drivers' trade union.
B & Q
A national chain of do-it-yourself hardware supply shops. According to an email correspondent who identified himself only as "Norman", the name of the chain came from the initials of the surnames of its two founders, Block and Quinn, who later sold out to Kingfisher (Woolworths). According to ITV Teletext in March 2004 the founders' names were Richard Block and David Quayle.
B Roads (B1234, B1235, etc)
B Roads are minor roads, often very narrow, winding country lanes. All B Roads are paved, except possibly in northern Scotland. There is no consistent standard for the numbering of B Roads. B Roads are roughly equivalent to American County Roads. See also "A Roads" and "M".
BA
Benefits Agency.
British Airways.
BAA
British Airports Authority, responsible for the running of many of Britain's major airports.
BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
BALPA
British Airline Pilots' Association.
BBC
British Broadcasting Corporation, Britain's public service radio and television organisation, funded by annual licence payments from everyone who owns a radio or television.
Beds
The county of Bedfordshire.
Benelux
Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Berks
The county of Berkshire (pronounced "bark-sheer").
BHS
British Home Stores, a national department store chain.
BMA
British Medical Association.
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited.
BOGOF
Buy One, Get One Free, referring to supermarket special offers. This abbreviation is not in common usage but you might see it occasionally.
BP
British Petroleum (or should that be "big profits?").
BR
British Rail, no longer in existence but often mentioned in reference to the era before the British railway network was privatised.
BS...
As a prefix before a number, BS means British Standard.
BSE
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more commonly referred to as Mad Cow Disease.
BSkyB
The company which has a monopoly over satellite television broadcasting in Britain.
BSM
British School of Motoring, a national chain of driving schools.
BST
British Summer Time, one hour ahead of GMT and the British equivalent of daylight saving time.
BT
British Telecom, the privatised company which has a near monopoly of conventional telephone services in Britain.
Bucks
The county of Buckinghamshire.
BUPA
British United Provident Association, a private health care company.
C & A
A former clothing retail chain which has recently ceased operations and closed all its branches in Britain.
C & G
Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society.
City and Guilds, a body which administers vocational qualifications in a range of subjects.
C4
Channel 4, a commercial television network.
CA
Consumers Association, the company that publishes "Which?" magazine, featuring comparisons of various products.
CAB
Citizens Advice Bureau, an organisation which offers free advice on financial, legal and consumer matters.
Cambs
The county of Cambridgeshire.
CAMRA
Campaign for Real Ale.
CBBC
Children's BBC, i.e. children's programmes on BBC television.
CBI
Confederation of British Industry, an organisation which represents the interests of companies.
CC
County Council, usually prefixed by the name or initials of the county, for example Norfolk CC.
CCTV
Closed circuit television, usually used for surveillance purposes.
CDT
Craft, Design and Technology, those school subjects which were previously called Woodwork and Metalwork.
Ceefax
The BBC's teletext system (from "See Facts"). Teletext is a digital text information service transmitted on analog television broadcasts in most parts of western Europe, including Britain. Most modern television sets can display teletext pages. Teletext includes news, sport news, television programme listings, travel news, weather and a variety of other information. It also includes subtitles for the hard of hearing, which operate in a very similar manner to the Closed Captioning system used in the USA and Canada.
CID
Criminal Investigation Department, a branch of the police.
CITV
Children's ITV, i.e. children's programmes on ITV.
CJD
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human form of BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or Mad Cow Disease).
Cons
The Conservative political party. The right wing party of the rich.
CSA
Child Support Agency, a government department which attempts to make absent parents contribute towards the cost of their children's upbringing.
CSMA
Civil Service Motoring Association.
DC
Detective Constable, a rank in the police force.
DEFRA
Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A new mix of government departments established after the June 2001 General Election.
DHSS
Department of Health and Social Security.
DI
Detective Inspector, a rank in the police force.
DPP
Director of Public Prosecutions.
DS
Detective Sergeant, a rank in the police force.
DTI
Department of Trade and Industry, a government department.
DVLA
Driving and Vehicle Licence Authority, the national government department which administers driving licences and vehicle licenses.
E II R
Queen Elizabeth the Second.
ECB
European Central Bank.
ECN
Eastern Counties Newspapers.
ERNIE
Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment, the machine which selects the winning Premium Bonds winners each month. The Premium Bonds scheme is a government run savings scheme with randomly drawn prizes instead of interest payments. Unlike a lottery, investors are guaranteed to at least retain their money.
EU
European Union, the economic and political union of most of the countries in western Europe.
FA
Football Association. The FA Cup is a knock-out football (soccer) competition run by the FA, with the annual Cup Final as its climax.
FC
Football Club (referring to soccer). Often prefixed with the name or initials of a specific club, for example MUFC for Manchester United Football Club.
FSA
Financial Services Authority, a government body which (in theory) regulates the activities of companies which provide financial products such as pensions. The FSA publishes a number of useful free booklets offering advice on financial products.
Food Standards Agency, a government department set up as a reaction to the various scares over the safety of food.
FTSE
Financial Times Stock Exchange Index. Pronounced "footsie". An index which provides a headline statistic indicating movements in share prices. The British equivalent of the USA's Dow Jones Industrial Average.
GBH
Grievous Bodily Harm, a criminal offence involving serious personal injury.
GCSE
General Certificate Of Education, the set of examinations in a variety of subjects taken by most school pupils at around the age of fifteen or sixteen, at the end of compulsory education. GCSE replaced the GCE (General Certificate of Education) and CSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) exams.
Glos or Gloucs
The county of Gloucestershire.
GM
Genetically modified. There is currently very considerable controversy in Britain regarding the moral, food safety and environmental issues raised by the use of genetically modified plants and animals.
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time.
GMTV
Good Morning Television, the current ITV breakfast television franchise holder.
GNER
Great North Eastern Railway.
GNVQ
General National Vocational Qualifications.
GP
General Practitioner, a doctor who is the first point of contact for anyone with a non-emergency medical problem.
Hants
The county of Hampshire.
Herts
The county of Hertfordshire, pronounced Hart-ford-sheer.
HGV
Heavy Goods Vehicle, in other words a lorry or truck.
HMP
His or Her Majesty's Prison. Usually used as a prefix before the name of the prison.
HMS
His or Her Majesty's Ship. Usually used as a prefix before the name of the ship.
HRH
His or Her Royal Highness.
HSBC
Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, who recently took over Britain's Midland Bank.
HSE
Health and Safety Executive, the national body responsible for the enforcement of safety legislation.
ICT
Information and Computer Technology. A school subject, previously called Computer Studies.
Historical: International Computers and Tabulators, one of the British computer manufacturers which were merged many years ago to form ICL, International Computers Limited.
INSET
In-Service Training, for teachers. On days when teachers have in-service training, school pupils have a holiday. These holidays are called "Baker Days", after Kenneth Baker, the Minister of Education at the time when they were introduced.
IOW
Isle of Wight, an island off the south coast of England.
IRA
Irish Republican Army.
ISA
Individual Savings Account. A tax efficient savings scheme, government sponsored but run by private financial companies such as banks and building societies. ISA's can take various forms, including fixed rate totally safe investments and risky stock market investments.
ITC
Independent Television Commission.
ITN
Independent Television News, the commercial broadcasting company which produces news bulletins for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.
ITV
Independent Television. A consortium of regional broadcasting companies which operate a national commercial television network, and the name of that network.
JP
Justice of the Peace, i.e. a judge.
Lab
The Labour political party. Traditionally the left wing socialist party of the working class but nowadays much more closely connected with big business and the rich, and so increasingly right wing.
Lancs
The county of Lancashire.
LB
Pound (weight).
LBW
Leg Before Wicket, a term used in the game of cricket.
LEA
Local Education Authority.
Leics
The county of Leicestershire, pronounced Lester-sheer.
Lib Dem
The Liberal Democrat political party. Traditionally this relatively minor party lay between the Conservative and Labour parties but nowadays it is to the left of Labour.
Lincs
The county of Lincolnshire.
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds Trustee Savings Bank.
LSE
London School of Economics.
London Stock Exchange.
LW
Long Wave, a radio band used for low quality long distance analog radio broadcasts throughout Europe. Long Wave is not used for normal radio broadcasts in the USA or Canada.
LWT
London Weekend Television.
M (M1, M2, etc)
The letter "M" before a number indicates a motorway, in other words a divided highway with controlled access (a freeway). There is no uniform standard for the numbering of British motorways, except that the major routes radiating out from London are numbered consecutively in clockwise order (the M1, M2, M3 and M4). See also "A Roads" and "B Roads".
M & S
Marks and Spencer, the clothing and food retail chain.
MAFF
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.
MBE
Member of the British Empire, an award given by the government to its rich cronies and to media and sports personalities.
MEP
Member of the European Parliament.
MFI
A national chain of self-assembly furniture shops. My grateful thanks to Geoff Conn from Finchley for telling me what the initials stand for: Mullard Furniture Industries.
Middx
The former county of Middlesex. Although the county no longer exists, the name is still used for postal addresses.
MMR
Measles, mumps and rubella - or more accurately, the combined vaccination for these three diseases, which is subject to controversy in Britain because some people think it is associated with a risk of autism and Chron's disease.
MOD
Ministry of Defence.
MOT
Ministry of Transport. The term is much more frequently used to refer to the annual tests which all vehicles over three years old have to pass.
MP
Member of Parliament.
MPC
Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England, which sets interest rates each month.
MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament.
MW
Medium Wave, a radio band used for low quality medium distance analog radio broadcasts throughout Europe. As far as the naming of radio bands is concerned, MW means exactly the same as AM (Amplitude Modulation) does in the USA and Canada, except that in Europe AM also includes Long Wave.
NatWest
National Westminster Bank.
NCP
National Car Parks.
NEC
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham.
Nippon Electronics Company.
NFU
National Farmers' Union.
NHS
National Health Service.
NI
National Insurance. Contributions made to the government by those in employment to pay for the National Health Service, statutory pensions and Social Security. For most employees, National Insurance is automatically deducted by their employer prior to their regular weekly or monthly payment.
Northern Ireland.
NOP
National Opinion Polls, a company which conducts opinion polls.
Northants
The county of Northamptonshire.
Notts
The county of Nottinghamshire.
NRA
National Rivers Authority.
NSPCC
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
NT
National Trust, the body responsible for the maintenance of many stately homes and other preserved buildings, most of which are open to the public (subject to entrance fees).
NUT
National Union of Teachers.
OAP
Old Age Pensioner, in other words a senior citizen.
OBE
Order of the British Empire, an award given by the government to its rich cronies and to media and sports personalities.
OED
Oxford English Dictionary.
Of...
A prefix before the names of various government bodies which (in theory) regulate the activities of the various privatised monopolies or near monopolies which were previously nationalised. OfGas covers the domestic gas supply industry, OfTel the telephone industry, OfWat the water industry, and so on. The same prefix is also used for some other government departments, for example OfSted which is responsible for standards in education.
OFT
Office of Fair Trading, a government department.
OS
Ordnance Survey, an organisation which publishes various types of maps.
OU
The Open University, which runs correspondence courses leading to degrees and other qualifications.
Oxon
The county of Oxfordshire.
OZ
Ounce.
p
Penny, or officially New Penny (referring to the introduction of decimal coinage in the early 1970's). The minor unit of currency. Universally referred to by the letter p, for example 20p is always pronounced "twenty pee".
PAYE
Pay As You Earn, the system used to collect Income Tax from most normal employees. The tax is automatically deducted by the employer and paid to the government prior to each weekly or monthly payment to the employee.
PC
Personal Computer.
Police Constable.
PDSA
People's Dispensary for Sick Animals.
PEP
Personal Equity Plan. A government sponsored tax efficient scheme for investing in the stock market. With the introduction of ISA's, I think the PEP scheme has now been withdrawn.
PFI
Private Finance Initiative. The extremely controversial government policy of privately financing the building of new hospitals, with the Health Service then making repayments over a period of many years.
PH
Public House. This abbreviation is often used on maps and in printed directions. However, in everyday speech terms such as "pub", "local" and "boozer" are normally used.
PM
Prime Minister, the head of the British Government.
PRP
Performance Related Pay.
PTA
Parent/Teacher Association.
QC
Queen's Counsel, a type of lawyer.
QCA
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority.
QPR
Queens Park Rangers football (soccer) club.
RAC
Royal Automobile Club, a commercial motoring organisation which provides a breakdown service and other facilities for its members.
RADA
Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts. Pronounced "rar-da".
RAF
Royal Air Force.
RCN
Royal College of Nursing.
REME
Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, a part of the British Army. The abbreviation is pronounced "ree-mee".
RFC
Rugby Football Club. Often prefixed with the name of a specific club.
RMT
Rail, Maritime And Transport Union, which represents many workers in the railway industry.
RNLI
Royal National Lifeboat Institution.
ROI
Republic Of Ireland.
ROSPA
Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents.
RSPB
Royal Society For The Protection Of Birds.
RSPCA
Royal Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals.
RUC
Royal Ulster Constabulary, the police force in Northern Ireland. There is currently some controversy regarding the choice of a possible new name for this force.
S4C
Channel 4 television in Wales.
Salop
The county of Shropshire.
SAT Tests
Tests in several fundamental subjects undertaken by all school pupils at regular intervals throughout their school career, used to measure their progress, the quality of the teaching they are receiving and the quality of the school they are attending. I'm sorry, I do not know what the initials stand for.
SEN
State Enrolled Nurse. I believe this is a lower qualification than SRN.
SFO
Serious Fraud Office.
SNP
Scottish Nationalist Party, the political party.
SPAD
Signal Passed At Danger. An incident of a train driver passing a red signal. The number of SPAD's per month is commonly reported as a news item.
SRA
Strategic Rail Authority.
SRN
State Registered Nurse, a fully qualified nurse.
Staffs
The county of Staffordshire.
STD Code
Area code, in a telephone number. STD stands for subscriber trunk dialling.
STV
Scottish Television.
TA
Territorial Army, part-time army reserves.
TESSA
A government sponsored tax efficient savings scheme. With the introduction of ISA's, I think the TESSA scheme has now been withdrawn.
TGV
French: Train à Grande Vitesse. The French high speed train system. TGV routes include a continuous line from Calais on the English Channel to Marseilles on the Mediterranean.
TGWU
Transport and General Workers' Union.
TIR
French: Transport International Routiers. A sign seen on trucks indicating that their contents do not require customs inspections at borders. With the general removal of border crossing inspections between EU countries on the European mainland, I'm not sure if the TIR system is still in use.
TSB
Trustee Savings Bank, now Lloyds TSB.
TTA
Teacher Training Agency.
TTFN
Ta-ta for now. An expression occasionally used by some people to mean goodbye.
TUC
Trade Union Congress. An organisation which represents the interests of many trade unions.
UCAS
University College Application Service. Previously called UCCA, the Universities Central Council on Admissions.
UCET
Universities Council For The Education Of Teachers.
UEA
University of East Anglia.
UMIST
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.
V & A
The Victoria and Albert Museum, in London.
VAT
Value Added Tax, Britain's form of sales tax. Prices quoted in British shops almost always include VAT but prices in catalogues, especially those mainly intended for products sold by one company to another company, often do not. The abbreviations "inc VAT" and "exc VAT" are often used to specify whether VAT is included or excluded. The current rate of VAT for most products and services to which it applies is 17.5%. Some basic foodstuffs are exempt from VAT. VAT on domestic electricity and gas is 5%.
VHF
Very High Frequency. Used as a alternative name for FM (Frequency Modulation), meaning the band used for high quality short distance analog radio transmissions throughout Europe. As far as the naming of radio bands is concerned VHF has exactly the same meaning as FM has in Britain, the USA and Canada.
WAGN
West Anglia Great Northern Railway, often pronounced "Wagon".
WBA
West Bromwich Albion football (soccer) club.
WC
Water closet, i.e. a toilet, lavatory, loo, rest room, public convenience, gents, ladies.
WHS
WH Smith, a national chain of shops selling magazines, stationery, etc.
WI
Women's Institute.
Wilts
The county of Wiltshire.
Worcs
The county of Worcestershire, pronounced "wooster-sheer".
As with all the other pages on this site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.About this personal web site JohnCletheroe