Amusing...

Hey All!

My dad found these descriptions on the internet the other night and sent me the link. They are definitions of British words, written specifically to Americans trying to learn "their" language. I have picked out a few of the interesting/funny ones for you all to read!


999 - 911 to you. I have no idea why we have different emergency service numbers. Just to ensure that foreigners never get help when they REALLY need it I guess!


Car boot sale - This has nothing to do with the boots you wear on your feet. A boot sale is where hundreds of people descend on a field with cars full of unwanted wedding presents, clothes and other junk. They set it all out on wallpaper pasting tables for the general public to come and buy. I did my first one recently, selling all my unwanted stuff from the boot of my Explorer - it started at 7:30am on a Sunday and the people were so eager to see what we had they were helping us unpack the boxes - nightmare! Still we made seventy quid from stuff we would have thrown away! It's like an outdoor garage sale.

Chemist - Don't go looking for a drugstore in England, you won't find one. But you will find a chemist. Most of them are set up just like Eckerds. I once heard a quiz programme on the radio in Austin where they asked what us Brits call a "drugstore". The answer "apothecary" was accepted and the guy got a point. Get out of here! That was centuries ago.


Film - We don't go to the movie theatre to see a movie. We go to the pictures (or cinema) to see a film.

Gum - Gum means glue in the UK. When you want to buy some chewing gum, be careful or you may find yourself sticking your teeth together.


Postman - This is the chap who delivers your post on his bike or his little red van. He will sign for stuff that you are supposed to sign for if he misses you and hide it in the garden and leave a note for you! Ours dresses up like Father Christmas at Christmas time.

Public school - Rather oddly, this is the name we give our private schools. For those that can afford to opt out of the state education system, this would be the alternative.


Torch - We uses torches when we go camping to see in the dark, in our tents. My American friends didn't believe we would do anything so dangerous. But that's because we were talking about flashlights, not a flaming stick!

TV licence - These are the licences we buy in order to watch TV legally in the UK. There are detector vans that roam the country looking for TVs that are switched on at addresses that have not purchased a TV licence. If you are caught - you are made to watch TV commercials - because the licence fee means we don't have commercials on the BBC. Yippee


University - Age 18 to 21 or so. You say school. Basically still free, entry being based on merit and exam results, rather than money. However, the government is gradually sneaking in more costs for students and it is unlikely to remain free for much longer, I fear.

Entree - Appetizer. You guys really got this one mixed up. You talk about the main course being the entree and the first course being the appetizer. Clearly this is the use of a French word, but sadly, in the wrong place. In France and the rest of Europe, the entree is the appetizer, not the main course. The clue is in the name!


Iced tea - In England there was no such thing as iced tea. Tea is only drunk hot and Brits are quite adamant about the way they do it. As we left the UK in 1996 there were canned varieties of iced tea starting to appear in supermarkets but I doubt you'd get a glass if you asked for one in a restaurant. You'd probably get a blank stare. We brought about 50 customers to Texas on a business trip and when they arrived after a VERY long trip to the 100 degree Texan weather, the hotel kindly laid on a buffet with 50 glasses of iced tea already poured. Thinking this was some soft drink, and being extremely hot and bothered the customers all took big gulps and then simultaneously spat 50 mouthfuls of it across the table. That sort of explains what Brits think of iced tea. (It was very funny - you should have seen the catering manager's face).


I thought that you all might enjoy some of those! Have a jolly good day!

Emily


Definitions taken from: www.effingpot.com (Though I don't recommend going to this sight, because a lot of the British humor is inappropriate.)