Learning A New Language

You might think it would be easy to converse in the UK since we speak the same language and all but you’d be wrong. I believe it was Churchill (I always think it is Churchill) said, “England and America are two countries separated by the same language.”

The accents here are varied and can throw you off. We still have the closed caption mode on our TV so we can read what they’re saying. I think, after 5 months, I’m almost ready to remove it.  And they use lots of slang that has no bearing on anything we know.

Some language is literal, making it easy to grasp, such as “Way Out” is used for an exit. “Take away” is our “to go.” Richmond-on-Thames means the village of Richmond is located on the Thames River. St Leonard’s-on-sea. Wilton-on-the-Nave (marshland). Matt suggested I mention that fen is another British word for marshland.  Hence, Fenway Park, home of his beloved Red Sox, sits on a marshland. Or they could have called it Baseball-on-the-Nave to be precise.

Here are some very common Brit words we needed to know to be able to converse fluently:

Bolthole: 2^nd home or vacation place

Whipsnade: NOT a last name of a WC Fields character.  It’s British for zoo

Pillock: A stupid person

Toerag: A contemptible person

Tickety-Boo: Good order, all is well

Curtain Twitcher: Nosy neighbor

Jumper: Cozy sweater

Trolley: Shopping basket in market. Nothing to do with public transportation.

Lift: Elevator

Cost a bomb: Expensive

Chinwag: Good chat

Football: Soccer (also commonly called “footie”)

Anorak: Geek or someone with a boring hobby

Bog standard: No frills. Bog also means toilet.

Boot: Car trunk

Bonnet: Car hood

Biscuit: Cookie

Pudding: Any dessert

Trainers: Tennis shoes or sneakers

Bob’s Your Uncle: A process anticipated as being hard but turns out to be easy

Flat: Apartment

Bloke: Man

Bruv: Brother

Innit: Isn’t it? Often used at the end of a sentence.

Bagsy: Dibs, as in "I bagsy the front seat."

Blinder: Achieve something, well done

Nick: Steal

Quid: A quid equals a pound (£)

Words for drinking too much: Trollied, gazeboed, pissed, knackered.

Gobsmacked: Surprised, shocked

Geezer: Well-dressed man. Also, could be a pal.

Fit: Physically attractive

Faff: Wasting time, doing little

A cuppa: A cup of tea

Can’t be Arsed: Can’t be bothered

Arsehole: Needs no explanation

Git: An unpleasant person, usually a man

Throwing a wobbly: A tantrum

Prat: Someone full of themselves and almost invariably stupid

Nosh: Food

Minging: Disgusting or gross.  Minge pertains to a women’s nether region.

Snug: Small, comfortable public room in the home, pub or inn.

Lorry: Truck

Row: Fight

Holiday: Vacation

Lastly, our favorite: A Lollipop Lady (see photo) is a crossing guard for school children.