Watford Gap

Meanings

proper noun

A pass between hills in the English Midlands, near the village of Watford, Northants, crossed by the M1 motorway and West Coast Main Line.
Southern EnglandfigurativelyThe notional border between the North and South of England; the North–South divide.
New Yorkers, who don't really go anywhere ever, are the worst offenders. They think anything north of New York is Bridgeport. Bridgeport, Connecticut is the Watford Gap of America.
1981, Mark Lemon, Henry Mayhew, Tom Taylor, Shirley Brooks, Francis Cowley Burnand, Owen Seaman, Punch
3 more examples
This collection may not bridge the Watford Gap, but any joshing at the expense of our southern cousins is good-natured and laughter-lovers from both sides of the divide are welcomed.
2009, Rosemarie Jarski, The Wit and Wisdom of the North, Random House, →ISBN
And, before light sabres, Sith Lords and Ewan McGregor's accent wandering to the other side of the Watford Gap from which he was born spring to mind, note that it is likely that George Lucas borrowed the concept.
2010, Gavin Mitchell, Essays on Martial Arts and Meditation, Lulu.com, →ISBN
She was barely in her twenties, skinny, with a black Helen Shapiro semibeehive that was in need of fresh backcombing. She spoke with an accent he couldn't place, apart from it originating north of the Watford Gap.
2010, Robert Ryan, Signal Red, Hachette UK, →ISBN

Cite this entry

APA

Watford Gap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watford%20Gap

MLA

“Watford Gap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watford%20Gap. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Watford Gap,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Watford%20Gap.