Today marks two months of living in London, can you believe it? In some matters it feels like I have been here for ages and in other regards, I still feel fresh off the proverbial boat. In September 2013 I posted a now ironic article called Let’s Speak British which was a list of all the things that the Brits say differently but now that I have been in England for two months that list has exploded. There are so many expressions that people use, like “good fun” or “mate” which don’t really need a translation but still make me smile every time I hear them.
Some phrases I really like and am able to easily understand how I would say them but others I literally have to stop the person who is speaking and ask what they mean. Because it is not fair to sort them any other way than alphabetically, here they are with British on the left and the American translation on the right:
Ambient Water – Room Temperature Water
Bob’s Your Uncle – Ta-Da / There You Go
Chalk and Cheese – Like Oil and Vinegar
Chav – Trashy / Lower Class
Chew the Fat – A casual chat
Cloakroom – Coat Closet
COP (Close of Play) – EOD (End of Day)
Cracking – Excellent / Exciting
Diary – Calendar
Dummy – Pacifier
Gobsmacked – Amazed
Gutted – Disappointed
Hen Do – Bachelorette Party
Knackered – Tired / Exhausted
Legless – Extremely Drunk
Miffed – Upset / Offended
Minted – Made of Money
Off-License – Liquor Store
Peaks and Troughs – Peaks and Valleys
Piss on Your Bonfire – Burst Your Bubble
Pissed – Wasted
Skive – Slacking Off / Playing Hookey
Stag Do – Bachelor Party
Tea Towel – Dish Towel
Toff – Upper Class Person
Spectacles – Glasses
Swings in Roundabouts – You win some, you loose some
Weighing It Up – A Catch-22
Wonky – Off / Not Right
I feel like this is a list I will be continually updating and if you are all interested I may check in after a few months and update it again. Also, if it is interesting there are a handful of things that I say (outside of work terms /acronyms) that people blankly stare at me when I say that, if you are interested, I will share another time. Oh, and let me know if you think it would be interesting if you want me to do a post on the things that Brits say differently, exactly vitamin, aluminium, or Nicaragua – I think this might be a really funny video.
Which of these words are the most surprising to you?
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Nadine says
Ambient Water sounds classy AF haha. Dummy for pacifier is certainly an odd one to me. But I say miffed! My grandma has always said it. This was a fun list!
jenn fike says
I’m surprised to not see boot, post, wellies, caravan, cheeky, etc
Susan says
Never heard of a lot of these but weighing it up seems the strangest to me.
Sarah says
Too funny. Who would have known that you need a translator for the same language
Allie says
I think dummy instead of pacifier is the most surprising! I would never guess that’s the translation in a million years. xAllie
http://www.theallthatglittersblog.com
Linda Hilliard says
That’s a great list and fun to hear of those different expressions when you travel or live in another place. I recently head an Australian person say, “Well, my husband doesn’t spit the dummy” and I had to ask what it meant. They said he doesn’t have a tantrum like a little kid spitting out their pacifier (dummy nipple). And learned it was an English expression – so you may hear that one as well.
Emily says
This list is so funny – most of these are foreign to me but I really like the term minted – I might have to start using that!
xo
emily
Lucy says
This is hysterical, I had not heard of many of these!