# Is there a British slang term for a taxi? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 29, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920 "2013-09-29T14:29:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/1 "2013-09-29T14:29:01Z")
I just got a call from my father asking me that one. Is there a term used in England for a taxi? A quick Google search doesn’t reveal anything. Oh, somebody with my father said they thought the word started with a ‘t’. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/2 "2013-09-29T14:30:40Z")
cab. ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/3 "2013-09-29T14:32:15Z")
‘flat’ is ‘apartment’ you need a british dictionary. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/4 "2013-09-29T14:32:24Z")
Nothing widely used in my experience. 99.9% of the time it will be called a “taxi” or a “cab”. I can’t think of any term that would dominate that 0.1%. ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/5 "2013-09-29T15:01:19Z")
You can call it a basket, or a porty, or a Basil-hopper. Those may not actualy be term that Brits use, but say 'em just right and they’ll know what you’re talking about ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/6 "2013-09-29T15:10:13Z")
Some older folks (like, my grandparents’ age) used to refer to a “hackney” when they meant a traditional British black cab. I don’t think anyone younger than 80 would use the term, though, and it might be a Scottishism. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/7 "2013-09-29T15:11:01Z")
A hansom, if you’re in the 19th century. Hackney carriage (aka the black cab)? Everyone will know what you mean if you say taxi or cab though. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/8 "2013-09-29T15:11:37Z")
> [@sentrix](#): > > ‘flat’ is ‘apartment’ you need a british dictionary. Puzzled by this- what does this have to do with taxi? Am I missing something in the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/9 "2013-09-29T15:24:52Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Oh, somebody with my father said they thought the word started with a ‘t’. Any ideas? They may be confused with trolley, but that’s a shopping cart, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/10 "2013-09-29T15:33:45Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Puzzled by this- what does this have to do with taxi? Am I missing something in the OP? Yeah the flat thing has thrown me for a loop as well. Thanks for the replies tho. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/11 "2013-09-29T15:47:06Z")
A friend would say he’s getting a ‘Back-see’, I think the back seat was a part of that slang. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/12 "2013-09-29T15:48:22Z")
Joe Baxi. It’s Cockney rhyming slang. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/13 "2013-09-29T15:55:52Z")
This might not be British, but in Ireland it’s Joe Maxi, or joey for short. ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/14 "2013-09-29T15:57:12Z")
well do update us. did your dad get a cab or not? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/15 "2013-09-29T16:14:31Z")
Thankfully, dad was in the airport headed from somewhere in Florida to Dallas. But the confusion remains for him and his friends. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/16 "2013-09-29T17:15:27Z")
The [dogcart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogcart) was sometimes known as a “tumtum” in India. Perhaps your father’s friend had been reading Kipling. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/17 "2013-09-29T17:16:56Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > They may be confused with trolley, but that’s a shopping cart, I think. > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Yeah the flat thing has thrown me for a loop as well. > > Thanks for the replies tho. I’ve been seeing several posts by sentrix which look barely related to the subject at hand - and look at the join date (reported it already). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/18 "2013-09-29T18:07:08Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The [dogcart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogcart) was sometimes known as a “tumtum” in India. Perhaps your father’s friend had been reading Kipling. There’s also the ‘tuk tuk’ popular in south-east Asia, but I’ve never seen one in the UK. ETA; apparently they do exist [over here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_rickshaw#United_Kingdom), although I don’t think the black cab is in any immediate danger of losing its market share. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/19 "2013-09-29T18:16:40Z")
> [@sentrix](#): > > ‘flat’ is ‘apartment’ you need a british dictionary. I think you mean an English dictionary. 😉 > [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > A hansom, if you’re in the 19th century. > > Hackney carriage (aka the black cab)? Everyone will know what you mean if you say taxi or cab though. Spot on, that man. ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920/20 "2013-09-29T19:43:01Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Some older folks (like, my grandparents’ age) used to refer to a “hackney” when they meant a traditional British black cab. I don’t think anyone younger than 80 would use the term, though, and it might be a Scottishism. Pretty sure it originates in the London Borough of the same name. I also recently saw an advert by a local (midlands) taxi firm looking to recruit drivers, for immediate start if they had a hackney licence. So it may also be used in officious circles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-british-slang-term-for-a-taxi/669920.md?page=2)