Drum

Drum (noun / London & UK slang)

Definition: Your gaff, house, flat, or whatever roof you’ve got over your head.

Pronunciation: /drʌm/

Where It Comes From: Victorian thieves in 19th-century London used to call any hideout, flop house, or brothel a “drum” so the coppers wouldn’t catch on to what they were planning. A lot of old slang historians reckon it got nicked from the Anglo-Romani word drom, which meant a road or a place to pitch up a wagon.

By the 1970s, shows like Minder and The Sweeney put it all over the telly, and ordinary Londoners just kept saying it.

How People Actually Use It: Proper London and South East talk, this one.

You drop it when you’re utterly knackered after work and can’t be bothered staying out, or when everyone’s standing outside a kebab shop at 2 AM trying to figure out which flat isn’t going to get them a noise complaint from the neighbours. It covers anything from a rented spare room to a terraced house with peeling paint.

Examples in the Wild:

• “I am at my drum, bruvs, give me twenty minutes to jump in the shower.”

  Translation: “I’m back at my place; give me a moment to get ready.”

• “Let’s head back to the drum, it’s chucking it down out here.”

  Translation: “Let’s go back inside the house to get out of the rain.”

• “We ended up back at Ste’s drum playing FIFA until four in the morning.”

  Translation: “We stayed up late at Steve’s flat playing video games.”

Similar Slang: Gaff, Yard, Pad, Crib, Digs, Base