The Professionals Fandom Glossary

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Like many fandoms, Pros has its own vocabulary. These are some of the terms a Pros fan should know; they'll crop up in discussions and fanfic. (Note: This is not a glossary of British slang, or of every possible canon term. Just terms that come up often in fannish discussions or fiction.)

• Anson -- A recurring character. CI5 agent renowned for smoking cigars. Lots of cigars. Usually shows up as a nuisance character in fanfiction.
• Betty -- A recurring character in the first season. Cowley's secretary, who appears utterly devoted to the boss and impervious to seduction from either Bodie or Doyle.
• Bionic Golly (sometimes "golli") -- Used on the show to refer to Doyle, and also crops up in fanfic. While it's an accurate use for the period (and canonical, obviously), the term is offensively racist—it's specifically referencing a "golliwog" (for a general US equivalent, think of calling someone wearing a red kerchief on their hair "Aunt Jemima" or perhaps "mammy").
• Bisto Kids -- Originally from an advertising campaign (link goes to Google Images) for Bisto gravy. Cowley canonically referred to any partnership on "the A Squad" (the elite squad in CI-5) as Bisto Kids, in a speech to new recruits in the episode Old Dog with New Tricks: "You'll be paired off, and from then on, you're the Bisto Kids."—meaning they'll be inseparable from that point on. Although canonically this refers to any partnership on the show, the fandom took to the name specifically for Bodie and Doyle, and it crops up often as an affectionate term for them. Within the fandom, The Bisto Kids was also the name of a Pros slash anthology zine published in 2001 by Infinity Press.
• "Bodie with the Body and Doyle with the Coils" -- A fan's way of telling the two agents apart, sometimes used to help newbie fans remember the difference. Doyle has the hair that curls (coils).
• Capri -- The kind of cars that Bodie and Doyle drove starting in the middle of the first season. Now rare and quite valuable. In the fourth series, Bodie's was silver and Doyle's was gold, and these are the colors that most often appear in fanfiction.
• The CD -- If you see someone say a story is "on the CD", they mean that it's on the CD version of the Circuit Archive, available through Proslib. The CD has stories that aren't available online because the authors have never given permission for their work to be put up.
• Chalk and Cheese -- Another Cowley usage, referring to the partnership between Bodie and Doyle, from a British proverb; to be like chalk and cheese is to be superficially similar but actually very different. So, two equally hard men, but very different men, who are very capable of getting on each other's nerves. Within the fandom, Chalk and Cheese is also the title of a series of mixed gen and slash zines.
• Chip-toothed smile -- A reference to Doyle's (Martin Shaw's) broken front tooth, which remained chipped throughout the series. A staple of fanfiction.
• Chippy -- A fish and chip shop, ubiquitous in central London in the period Pros was filming and airing. The equivalent of fast food for agents on the go in fanfiction, and the setting of a joke between Bodie and Doyle in the episode "Not a Very Civil Civil Servant."
• CI-5 -- Canonically, the name of the fictional government organization that Bodie and Doyle work for. Within fandom, the name of the first Pros slash mailing list, founded by Lorelei F.
• Circuit -- The Circuit, or "circuit stories". These were stories passed from hand to hand to be read and copied. Eventually these were gathered into a "Circuit Library" for easier distribution; in the '90s, they started being typed up for electronic distribution. See Circuit Archive for a broader explanation.
• Close Quarters -- Refers to the episode of the same name, and to the Pros-centered convention held in odd-numbered years in July.
• The Cow -- George Cowley.
• D-Notice -- In the real world (and canon), an official request to news editors not to publish or broadcast items on specified subjects for reasons of national security. Within the fandom, also the name of a slash anthology zine.
• Discovered in a... -- Play on the title of episode "Discovered in a Graveyard" in which Doyle is severely wounded. Zine titles have used this (Discovered in a Letterbox several times, Discovered on a Rooftop) as have numerous story titles.
• The Game -- An enduring bit of fanon that claims that Bodie's mercenary past included forced m/m sex as a way of life. See the story trope for details.
• Golly (sometimes "golli") -- see Bionic Golly.
• Hatstand -- an early Pros term for what is currently known as a PWP. According to the Hatstand Archive, "...it dates to the early days of the fandom when a wise someone observed, 'Bodie and Doyle are as bent as Cowley's hatstand.' Thus was born the affectionate term 'hatstand' for a Pros slash story. It originally referred mostly to sexy PWPs[...]"
  • The Hatstand -- a Pros archive.
  • The Hatstand Express -- a Pros letterzine.
• Kate Ross -- Featured in "Wild Justice," she's the psychiatrist who works with George Cowley monitoring the mental health of all CI5 agents. Also referred to as "the Queen of Cybernetics" because she tested Bodie and Doyle on computers. In fanfiction, someone the Lads flirt with, but would probably not be honest with about their emotions.
• The Lads -- Bodie and Doyle. Sometimes capitalized, sometimes not.
• Liver sausage -- A joke between mates, based on a sandwich that Doyle buys Bodie in "Cry Wolf." A gift that really isn't a gift. Bodie complains that he can't eat it and even Doyle should know he hates it, and Doyle agrees (he did know Bodie hates them), but he bought it anyhow because "it looked lonely." Many a fanfiction author has used the idea of one agent giving the other something they really can't stand as a sort of in-joke.
• Macklin -- A CI5 trainer featured in "Mixed Doubles" with his sidekick Towser. They get to beat the daylights out of Bodie and Doyle, on Cowley's orders. To be sent to Macklin or Towser is a fanfiction threat made by Cowley whenever an agent makes a major mistake, or needs to be tested before reactivation following injury (often following recovery in a hurt/comfort story). There is a high likelihood that an agent will experience pain with Macklin.
• Merc -- Short for mercenary. A reference to Bodie's life in Africa before he joined CI5.
• MI6 -- Another British counterintelligence organization that works in competition with CI5. Their boss, Willis, always tries to one-up Cowley, while the agents of MI6 sometimes trip up the men from CI5, and vice versa.
• Murphy -- A recurring character. Another CI5 agent, who famously accompanies Bodie up a smokestack to shoot at a criminal in "Foxhole on the Roof" and ends up getting shot himself. Always shown working solo, instead of in a partnership like Bodie and Doyle, and in fanfiction, sometimes prefers to be solo rather than paired. Usually described as Bodie or Doyle's best friend on the squad.
• Nattercon -- A Pros-centered convention held in May in Milton Keynes, England.
• Obbo or Op -- Observation or operation. Terms used by a lot of authors to describe the work Bodie and Doyle do on a daily basis. Not sure if Bodie or Doyle ever used these abbreviations for their jobs, although Bodie with his military background would have known them.
• Operation Susie -- Refers to an episode by the same name, in which Bodie and Doyle's actions were directed by Cowley, but not publicly sanctioned (he could and did disavow all knowledge of their actions to keep the agency clear of official involvement). A repeating trope in fanfiction. Basically, a betrayal by the boss that could leave a CI5 agent in limbo, and in danger, without any hope of assistance except from his partner.
• The Parsali Operation -- Featured in "Mixed Doubles." Bodie and Doyle are hyper-trained to prepare for a single mission (protecting an ambassador from assassination). In fanfiction, a "Parsali op" for Bodie and Doyle refers to high training, high stress, and an increased likelihood of death on the job.
• Priapismic Monster -- What Doyle calls Bodie in "Ojuka Situation." Used in fanfiction often as a term of joking affection, though not specifically for Bodie every time. (If you're not sure what it means, do as Doyle told Bodie: "look it up.")
• R/T -- Receiver/Transmitter. CI-5's portable radio, with an unspecified but limited range.
• Roses and Lavender -- Part of Cowley's speech in "Old Dogs New Tricks" about why CI5 is essential ("But that's the price they have, and we have, to pay to keep this island clean and smelling--even if ever so faintly--of roses and lavender."). Also the title of a 'zine series published by Allamagoosa Press.
• Safehouse -- A refuge where witnesses could be taken by CI5 agents for maximum safety. In fandom, "the_safehouse" is a livejournal community for discussion of all things Pros.
• SAM -- Stands for "Secret Agent Man," a Pros 'zine series published by Requiem Press.
• Shotgun Tommy -- A term that shows up regularly in fanfiction. Tommy McKay was an agent who seemed to have little regard for his own safety, and delighted in making mayhem. He died in "Heroes." Anyone Bodie or Doyle liken to him probably disregards rules of procedure and is prone to violence.
• Stuart -- A non-recurring character in "Blackout." He's a CI5 agent who has been working deep undercover in South London, solo—so far undercover that Doyle doesn't even know him. When a Pros fanfiction writer needs a solo agent, or an expert at undercover work, she uses Stuart.
• Swiss roll -- A chocolate covered sweet eaten by Bodie in "First Night" and a typical plot fixture that indicates his love of sweets. A new livejournal community for discussion of Pros is called "Tea and Swiss Roll."
• Unpro -- Unprofessional Conduct, a series of slash zines published by Gryphon Press
• Willis -- Willis framed Bodie for murder in "Fall Girl" and fanfiction authors usually portray Bodie as nursing a grudge against Willis.
• Zax -- The lead character in a bizarre 1970s movie called Facelift, starring Martin Shaw (who played Ray Doyle in Pros). He shows up in fanfic.