copper: police officer
copping off: attracting a potential sexual or romantic partner; hooking up
cornet: a waffle cone minus the gourmet pretension
firkin: Old English unit of measure meaning a quarter barrel. Also, a barrel size.
fist, as in ‘made a better fist of’: did a better job of
grafter: hard worker
grass [someone] up: betray them
home from home : home away from home
house room, as in ‘giving thoughts like that house room’: space in your life
Indy: the Independent, a daily newspaper
jammy, as in ‘jammy bastard’: lucky
Jansch, Bert: Scottish acoustic musician, both as a founder of Pentangle and as a solo artist
lash, as in ‘on the lash’: also ‘on the razz’ or ‘on the tiles’: out drinking, generally late into the night.
Lincoln: small town in England (Lincolnshire)
lurgy, as in ‘every bloody sexually transmitted lurgy’: generic term for unpleasant disease or infection
mangle, as in ‘tit in a mangle’: wringer; an old-fashioned piece of laundry equipment consisting of two rollers set close together to squeeze the moisture out of the laundry. (You can imagine how painful it would have been to catch your breast between the rollers.)
the Manuel act: behaving like the uncomprehending and incompetent Spanish waiter in the popular sitcom Fawlty Towers
mid-table (sports): neither at the top or the bottom of the league table for soccer
MOBO: awards show specifically for Music of Black Origin
the Moonwalk: a British breast cancer charity fund-raiser
off, as in ‘got the act off’: down, got the act down
oner, as in ‘in a oner’: in one, at once
owt/nowt: anything/nothing
paps: paparazzi
Perspex: Lucite, or hard clear plastic
pillock: idiot
piss, as in ‘piece of piss’: really easy
piss, as in ‘taking the piss’: taking the mickey, making fun
plod: police officer, usually a uniform of low rank. Beat cop
the prom: promenade (seafront)
razz, as in ‘on the razz’: QV ‘on the lash’
red tops: tabloid newspapers, so-called because their mastheads are red and white, as opposed to black and white
Rollers: Rolls-Royces, Rollses
saloon, for car: sedan
Santing, Mathilde: Dutch singer
sink estates: housing projects for lowlifes
shaft, as in ‘put the shaft’: stab someone in the back. Or in the front!
shag: co-terminous with ‘fuck’ in most variations
slag: a woman of loose reputation; a woman who will reputedly sleep with pretty much anyone. QV ‘slapper’
slapper: QV ‘slag’
slebs: celebrities
spanner, as in ‘throwing a spanner into the works’: doing something that interferes with the smooth running of things
sprog: child
stop, as in ‘he’s going to stop here’: stay
a straight lift from a Catherine Tate Show sketch: something lifted from the sketch comedy of British comedian Catherine Tate. In one recurrent sketch, there is a couple whose catchphrase is, ‘What are you like?’ ‘Mental!’ It usually refers to a pretty commonplace action, the joke is that the couple are acting like they’re special and extraordinary when they’re really very mundane
tenners: ten-pound bills
thick: stupid
tiles, as in ‘on the tiles’: QV ‘on the lash
tod, as in ‘on her tod’: alone
toff: aristocrat or pretentious person
toss, as in ‘give a toss’: give a damn
tosser: term of contempt for a male. Also, ‘tosspot’. In terms of derivation, probably ‘jerk-off’ is the closest you’ll get in American English
WAGs: wives and girlfriends (of famous people). Generally of sports personalities, particularly footballers
wet Wednesday in Wetherby: a generic Yorkshire expression meaning a pretty miserable experience
Cover
Half Title
Also by Val McDermid
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
PART 1: flight
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
PART 2: ghost
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
PART 3: pursuit
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
How to Speak Like a Scarlet Harlot
Table of Contents
Cover
Half Title
Also by Val McDermid
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgements
PART 1: flight
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
PART 2: ghost
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapte
r 51
PART 3: pursuit
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
How to Speak Like a Scarlet Harlot