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From Grace Dent on Television: Harlots, Housewivs and Heroines - a 17th Century History for Girls, BBC4 | The Independent:

They branded Diana, and still do, an hysterical, diva-ish and paranoid woman, but Diana wasn't paranoid about Camilla and the royal unspoken code of marriage, she was absolutely slap, bang on.

What does slap mean in this context?

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1  
to be bang-on (with slap) means to be exactly right in BrE. His answer was bang on (correct, accurate, good, OK). Usually, it would not have slap with it but since it does it should be slap-bang on. She was absolutely like she should have been. It's not the best writing in the world... – Lambie 14 hours ago
up vote 7 down vote

If a thing is slap-bang on, it would mean "exactly right". His answer to the quiz was slap-bang on.

That said, one would not usually refer to a person as being: slap-bang on.

Please note: the term is slap-bang [right, as in right in the middle of] and usually referring to a THING, not a PERSON. Slap-bang is used to intensify: the dog was slap-bang in the middle of the road.

The other term: to be bang on means to be right. slap-bang on merely makes it stronger.

So, if you want to join /bang on/ the verb to /slap-bang/ the adjective, the best way would be: slap-bang on.

That said, it is very odd to say that: Princess Diana was slap bang-on. The only meaning here would be: She was right about the royal unspoken code of marriage.

That means: She knew that if Charles could have Camilla, then she Diana was perfectly justified (slap-bang on or right about) about having that lover of hers (I forget this name).

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1  
James Hewitt, as I recall. I think your point is likely correct, but I did not want to say the part about Diana's affair because it wasn't included. Funny how after so many years I can remember all the details. I am Canadian, not British, but it was always deemed 'newsworthy'. – Willow Rex 13 hours ago
1  
Well, it either means she was justified in having her own lover or she knew that Charles had one. Either way, it's not the greatest writing. I guess the unspoken code of marriage is: royals will have lovers. :) – Lambie 13 hours ago
    
I'd like to add to this answer that, as a native English speaker, it's quite similar in feeling to the phrase "on point." – The Anathema 11 hours ago
    
To address your concern that a person cannot be "slap bang on." I believe it is fairly idiomatic to apply an adjective to a person, when one is really referring to that persons' words, opinions, or behaviors. As examples: Alice was wrong to have said ... Bob was naughty when he... Charlene was inaccurate in the... Dave was helpful as he .... – cobaltduck 10 hours ago
    
@cobaltduck Yes, it is idiomatic when the antecedent/referent is clear. Here, it is not clear. Her answers were slap-bang on. OK. Not usually: She was slap-bang on (unless explained or clear). Ultimately, it just means 100% right. Does it mean: she understood all royals have lovers? Does it mean: It was OK for her to have a lover too as the others had/have. She was right. Fine. We really cannot ascertain with 100% accuracy what it really means. – Lambie 10 hours ago
up vote 3 down vote

I wonder if this is a personal quote or a misquote because it isn't grammatical.

" They branded Diana, and still do, an hysterical, diva-ish and paranoid woman, but Diana wasn't paranoid about Camilla and the royal unspoken code of marriage, she was absolutely slap, bang on."

They branded and still brand Diana, as an hysterical, diva-ish and paranoid woman. However, Diana wasn't paranoid about Camilla and in regards to the unspoken royal code of marriage, she was absolutely correct.

"Slap" and "Bang on" are slang expressions that simply mean exactly correct (at least in the opinion of the speaker/author).

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Yes, they are two separate terms. – Absolute Beginner 14 hours ago
1  
Sorry, but I think this is completely wrong. Slap here is an optional "prefix" to bang on = exactly right - introducing a comma makes no sense whatsoever. – FumbleFingers 13 hours ago
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@FumbleFingers were you commenting to me? comma? I think of 'slap' as an added emphasis. It still means exactly right, though I suppose it could be "exactly! exactly right." – Willow Rex 13 hours ago
    
I was, but at the time I hadn't noticed that there was a comma in the original. Bottom line: I disagree with the comma because it should be a hyphen (or feasibly nothing). Plus I don't like the usage slap-bang on because it conflates two distinct idiomatic usages, as commented elsewhere. – FumbleFingers 13 hours ago
3  
@FumbleFingers The entire quote was badly written or misspoken from start to finish. I think the question was not about whether or not it was good English but what it meant. I think most of us agree it was poorly written and/or said. – Willow Rex 13 hours ago
up vote 3 down vote

"Slap-bang on" is a BrE colloquialism that means (more or less) "exactly", or "right". For example:

They tried to take the tube and landed slap-bang in the middle of the daily rush of commuters.

In this case it means that while Diana was branded by the media as "paranoid", she actually was correct that Prince Charles was romantically involved with Camilla.

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slap-bang on. I would never write it: slap-bang-on. – Lambie 14 hours ago
    
@Lambie thanks, edited. I would never use it so I'm just guessing from what I've heard on the "telly". – Andrew 14 hours ago
    
I've rarely if ever actually heard slap-bang on (exactly correct), but it doesn't sound ridiculous, and I'm sure I'd have no problem with the meaning in context. I think your example (slap-bang in the middle) is far and away the most common context, probably followed by [I ran] slap-bang into [him]. Note that the full OED specifically defines slap in such contexts as [colloquial] With, or as with, a slap or smart quick blow; quickly, suddenly, without warning or notice. So it's more suddenly than very, which is why slap-bang on sounds a bit odd to me. – FumbleFingers 13 hours ago
    
@FumbleFingers it seems most equivalent to "on the nose", at least in this context. I suppose "slap-bang on the nose" would be redundant. – Andrew 13 hours ago
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@WillowRex Ack! I can't believe I mixed them up. Fixed. – Andrew 13 hours ago
up vote 2 down vote

If you look at the definition in the Oxford English Dictionary, Slap , and look in the adverb section you can see definition 1.1.

1.1 Exactly; right:

Princess Diana was correct in her suspicions about Camilla Parker Bowles.

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She was slap would not mean she was right. – Lambie 14 hours ago
up vote 0 down vote

As a "Yank from across the Pond" it seems to me the UK slang "slap-bang" is akin to our own "dead-center" (fairly self-explanatory). We also have the slang "dead-on" which means perfection.

The problem seems to be the conflation of "slap" with "bang on" being a somewhat odd combination as I read it. Over here the closest thing to "slap-bang on" might be "dead-on center" in US slang. This is not a very common usage but you may occasionally hear it none-the-less.

Both would mean "perfectly correct" in the final analysis.

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