Things we hear from across the pond

[Adam Phillips]

This got started in another thread, but I thought it might be fun to make it into a full-blown separate thread and have other people chime in.

 

There are two older gay-themed British movies that I like a great deal: Beautiful Thing and Get Real. Among the pleasures of each of these movies was listening to relatively recent casual British English. And I got a kick out of a couple of terms and phrases that we either don't use in America or use in markedly different ways.

 

Two that always make me laugh are England's use of "pissed," used as an adjective meaning "drunk," but which always means "angry" in America; and the tendency of English boys to call each other "wankers" as a put-down. I think all of us over here know what the verb "to wank" means, lol, but it doesn't get used here very much, and calling someone a "wanker" just doesn't happen. As a guy who's interested in language for its own sake, I found these two downright funny and a great deal of fun!

 

Anybody else from America get smile over a British English word or phrase? And how about you English ladies and gents? Are there American English words or phrases that make you laugh?

Edited March 30, 2014 by Adam Phillips

[joann414]

I love Beatufitul Thing, But it's funny that you ask about the British thing.  My sister in law came in for a funeral, and she was telling me about all of these great shows on Netflix that she's watched and most of them are BBC.  Now, I'm really curious

[Astro]

I really like the term "Bollocks". I feel the need to drop it very often in conversation.

 

also "absolutely mental" is another favourite.

[Bumblebee]

The Australian language is sorta a mix between British and American English, but in spelling words we use the correct way and spell things like the British.. Most of the time.

As an example 'pissed' means both angry and drunk here.. So you could be pissed cause your pissed.

 

There's a few American words that I can't stand, but the one word I absolutely hate and can not stand hearing or reading it is Mom, I hate it, it's Mum!!

[Andy78]

I always get a giggle out of the American use of the word fanny - as in fanny fatigue or fanny pack.

 

In America the word fanny means ass/bum/backside, however in the UK it means vagina.

 

We all love our female American colleague who still has not been able to stop using the word fanny (with the US meaning)

 

One American word I have actual come to hate (and only because I've had Americans correct me with it so often) is the word "scarf" as in eating; in the UK we use the word "scoff".  A scarf is something you wear around your neck in winter to keep the cold out 

Edited March 30, 2014 by Andy78

[Ron]

One American word I have actual come to hate (and only because I've had Americans correct me with it so often) is the word "scarf" as in eating; in the UK we use the word "scoff".  A scarf is something you wear around your neck in winter to keep the cold out 

Guilty, I think I did this once! Then I had to go and look up scoff when I was corrected.  And that was when I realized that my definition of scoff matched what I thought it did, an expression of scornful derision, which meant I needed the Dictionary of British-isms to figure it out.

[Valkyrie]

I always chuckle when I hear the term "pony nuts" referring to horse feed.  Something very different comes to my mind when I hear that...

[Suvitar]

Almost all TV series and films I watch these days are British. One of my favourite phrases is "I´ll put the kettle on"    Now that I´ve been reading stories here, I´ve been re-learning American words and expressions. 

[Slytherin]

Braces in UK = something you have in your mouth to correct your teeth, don't tell that to an American A few years ago we  had a patient from America and the nurse was gonna help him to get dressed and said that she would help him to put his braces on - the old man looked confused for a moment but then was laughing

[John Prz]

I'm Italian but there are two things that got me looking at people like they were crazy.

 

1- English people who say "can you give me fag" when they ask you for a cigarette 
 

2- And the word artichoke in general. It sounds funny to me because in the local dialect of my home town is nearly the same.

[Sasha Distan]

a phrase that Thorn Wilde made be re-remember was "fagged". As in "I can't be fagged with that" to mean the same as 'bothered'. I have no idea why i enjoy this so much.

[Astro]

I also love "Bugger" 

 

i think it is a great insult / compliment / verb lol. So many uses!

[Kitt]

I always chuckle when I hear the term "pony nuts" referring to horse feed.  Something very different comes to my mind when I hear that...

 

LOL Where I keep my horse they are what we shovel out of the barn, altho they are also coming to mean treats for the horses as well.

[Mann Ramblings]

I like the term bent. It has similar connotations but its usage is often more specific in the UK (as I understand it) as a term for someone being gay. It's kind of a derogatory term, so I'm not sure why I like it. Maybe it's the accent... 

[Never Surrender]

I like the term bent. It has similar connotations but its usage is often more specific in the UK (as I understand it) as a term for someone being gay. It's kind of a derogatory term, so I'm not sure why I like it. Maybe it's the accent... 

 

bent means gay, yes

 

I have now become about ten times as self conscious about talking to Americans now oh some of the words i use when I'm not consciously stopping myself some of these may also be used in the USA, so bear with me but we have stuff like twat, tosspot, bellend, 'having a barney', 'ill be buggered' and 'bugger all', cack handed, clanger, 'on your todd', ta, canny, noggin, 'ill have a gander', bladdered and mardy I could go on and on with the variations of local dialect I use, too. 

 

In terms of american words, I still cant get my head around the whole 'biscuits and gravy' thing, as what we call a biscuit is what you call a cookie, what we call a cookie is a different type of biscuit, and I don't even know what that thing you call a biscuit is I despise the use of the word 'pants' for trousers because that's what i was brought up calling underwear, and the use of 'panties' makes me want to cringe because that's what kids under about 5 wear. not a word, but I've never seen a real life basement so I find that whole concept horribly exciting, and when I come to Chicago in June I want to go to Walmart. Actually I LOVE the word 'freeway' but I couldn't tell you why. 

Edited March 30, 2014 by Never Surrender

[blake_logan]

 ... I don't even know what that thing you call a biscuit is

 

It's basically a scone.....usually plain, but sometimes made with cheese or something sweet. Equally at home with butter and jam as with sausage gravy.  I imagine they'd be good with clotted cream as well, but that's very difficult to find in the states.

 

"Sussed" is a Britishism that tends to amuse me along with "whilst", "I reckon" and a few other phrases that my UK co-workers use regularly that are perceived as archaic usage in the US.

 

Use of the word "towel" in the context of feminine hygine products made it disturbingly clear to me that British and American are very different languages. (They're called "napkins" over here)

[Zombie]

It's interesting that many "American" words are in fact old Middle English words that have been preserved on the west side of the pond, like "gotten" which was common in Shakespeare's time and is still used in some English dialects but has otherwise died out. Another one is diaper (used in England in the 16th century) which has now been replaced by nappy (the thing LBO wears ). There are plenty of booby traps for English learners to fall into. Fag is a good one, as already pointed out, and rubber is another It's interesting that those on the west side have great difficulty with "irony" - it's ironic that they almost always get it wrong Here's an example that should make it clear...

 

Tom: Was the conference guest speaker any good?

Jess: He was late. His flight was delayed. It's ironic, his subject was The Early Bird Catches The Worm...

[Slytherin]

. Another one is diaper (used in England in the 16th century) which has now been replaced by nappy (the thing LBO wears ). 

Dang Zombie ! It's not a nappy or diaper ! Bikini pant

[DynoReads]

one I've found absolutely confusing lately, Onsie. On the European side of the Atlantic it's a one piece pj. Here it's an infant's tee-shirt that has snaps in the crotch. What Brits call a onsie is a sleeper, with feet, or creeper, without feet, here.

[Adam Phillips]

It's interesting that those on the west side have great difficulty with "irony" - it's ironic that they almost always get it wrong Here's an example that should make it clear...

 

Tom: Was the conference guest speaker any good?

Jess: He was late. His flight was delayed. It's ironic, his subject was The Early Bird Catches The Worm...

 

No effing kidding. For example, the old Alanis Morrisette song "Ironic," in which not a single damn example given in the song is anything that's ironic; they're all just examples of things that suck.

[Aditus]

There are plenty of booby traps for English learners to fall into.

That's right. Imagine you're from across the canal. You learn English by reading British and American books, watching films and movies, talking (mostly) to non native speakers. It's like ping pong sometimes: lift-elevator; post-mail and of course all the things already mentioned. And don't get me started on local phrases. You have to make sure not to mix those.

I'm lucky, though. I have an American and a British editor, who prevent me from constantly running in aforementioned booby traps. Thank God. Love you guys.

[wildone]

This got started in another thread, but I thought it might be fun to make it into a full-blown separate thread and have other people chime in.

 

There are two older gay-themed British movies that I like a great deal: Beautiful Thing and Get Real. Among the pleasures of each of these movies was listening to relatively recent casual British English. And I got a kick out of a couple of terms and phrases that we either don't use in America or use in markedly different ways.

 

Two that always make me laugh are England's use of "pissed," used as an adjective meaning "drunk," but which always means "angry" in America; and the tendency of English boys to call each other "wankers" as a put-down. I think all of us over here know what the verb "to wank" means, lol, but it doesn't get used here very much, and calling someone a "wanker" just doesn't happen. As a guy who's interested in language for its own sake, I found these two downright funny and a great deal of fun!

 

Anybody else from America get smile over a British English word or phrase? And how about you English ladies and gents? Are there American English words or phrases that make you laugh?

 

 

The Australian language is sorta a mix between British and American English, but in spelling words we use the correct way and spell things like the British.. Most of the time.

As an example 'pissed' means both angry and drunk here.. So you could be pissed cause your pissed.

 

There's a few American words that I can't stand, but the one word I absolutely hate and can not stand hearing or reading it is Mom, I hate it, it's Mum!!

 

I guess we are the same as you in Australia Bee. I grew up and I know the younger generation still used the word pissed to refer to being drunk in Canada, as well as being mad.

 

"I got so pissed last night"

"I'm so pissed at you right now"

 

 

Dang Zombie ! It's not a nappy or diaper ! Bikini pant

 

Funny you bring up nappy Zombie and Grumpy Bear As Brits call diapers a nappy and a shag is to um, fuck Most Calgarians are all watching for Brits expression and shock when they notice one of our major roads is named after an Indian name (North American) and called Shaganappi Trail

 

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Shaganappi+Trail+NW&daddr=51.1259819,-114.133579+to:51.1464895,-114.1322985+to:Exit+48&hl=en&ll=51.103145,-114.131985&spn=0.026139,0.077162&sll=51.109593,-114.141573&sspn=0.104541,0.308647&geocode=FfM8CwMd1j0y-Q%3BFd0eDAMdtXUy-Sm97-GwsmhxUzGfp-YXcDW3pQ%3BFfluDAMdtnoy-SmdbXuHJGZxUzG9LYxtL4rF-g%3BFVZ-DAMdZFoy-Q&t=h&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=12&via=1,2&z=14

Edited April 3, 2014 by wildone

[Slytherin]

 

 

 

Funny you bring up nappy Zombie and Grumpy Bear As Brits call diapers a nappy and a shag is to um, fuck Most Calgarians are all watching for Brits expression and shock when they notice one of our major roads is named after an Indian name (North American) and called Shaganappi Trail

 

 Shaganappi Trail