- All right? - Hello, how are you? (doesn't carry the assumption that something is wrong like the US "you alright?")
- A&E - Accident & Emergency (ER)
- Aubergine - eggplant
- Bap - sandwich
- Barbacue - grill
- Bang on - Right on (I swear they only say this in tv adverts)
- Bathroom - the room with the bath and/or shower. Ask "Where are the toilets?" instead of "Where is the bathroom?"
- Biscuit - cookie (tea cookie rather than a chocolate chip type of cookie)
- Beer garden - outdoor seating at a pub or restaurant (I started fantasizing of a Willie-Wonka-esque brew paradise when I first saw these signs around)
- Chips - french fries
- Chippy - a place that sells french fries
- Crisps - potato chips
- Crumble - crisp "I made some apple crumble"
- Cream tea - traditional tea with scones, jam, and clotted cream
- Cheeky - tricky "Well that was cheeky of him."
- Cheers - Thanks
- Can't be bothered - Don't feel like it "I'm out of milk but can't be bothered to run to the store."
- Courgette - zucchini
- Chuffed - pleased
- Daft - stupid "Don't be daft"
- Eat In/Take Away - For here/To go
- Fit - Attractive "That girl was really fit."
- Fiver - Five pound note
- Flat - apartment
- Faffing - wasting time "I always faff about in the morning."
- Footie - football (soccer) "Gone to see a footie match."
- Garden - back yard
- Gherkin - small pickle or this building
- Gone off - gone bad, stopped working "Oh man, the mango's gone off."
- Hiya - informal but friendly hello
- Holiday - vacation
- Knackered - tired "I was too knackered to go out." (semi-sexual connotation)
- Loo - toilet
- Nice - very good "This cake is so nice." This is used a lot more genuinely to describe things as opposed to being a polite filler-word.
- On the pull - looking for a date/one-night-stand "Watch out, he's on the pull." or "Did you pull a girl last night?"
- On offer - On sale
- Pickle - condiment made of chopped vegetables and fruits pickled in vinegar and sugar (look for "dill cucumber" if you want an American pickle)
- P - pence "The 99p Store"
- Pissed - drunk "He gets pissed after about two pints."
- Quid - One pound (£)
- Rubbish - trash "Where's the rubbish bin?"
- Shattered - tired "I'm always shattered after a run."
- Squash - a concentrated fruit juice
- Skiving - procrastinating "Just skiving about."
- Toilet - this often refers to the room with the toilet rather than just the toilet, like a public bathroom. You don't ask "Where is the bathroom?" you ask "Were are the toilets?" This also explains signs such as "There is not safe drinking water in these toilets."
- To let - For rent
- Tip - mess "My room is a bit of a tip at the moment."
- Tea - evening meal
- Trolley - shopping cart
- Tyre - car tire
- Wee - Pee "Where's the loo, I've got to wee!"
- Whinge - to whine/complain "Stop whinging over your football team's relegation."
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Say What?
Here's my homemade British vocab lesson for you all. Enjoy!
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2 comments:
Brilliant. Don't they say we're, "two nations seperated by a common language"
Have you ever seen charlieissocoollike. He has a video on speaking English, and another one on speaking American. I think you'd enjoy them, http://mothethird.blogspot.com/2011/08/some-enchanted-evening.html
We miss you, here in the Colonies.
I watched both the vids after seeing the link on your blog. love it!
I'll be back in the colonies soon enough -_^
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