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Fries = Chips, and
Chips = Crisps, but
Crisps ≠ Fries, even if they’re overdone.
Other Food:
Fiona offered my chickens some fromage frais that first day we met and I, feeling worldly and European, said sure, they could try fromage frais. Um, okay, it’s only flavored yogurt—like the kind I buy for my kids all the time. The only difference I can see is that fromage frais sounds French, which makes it fancier, and it comes in a tiny container, like a serving of baby food.
Rocket. I have no idea what this is, but I’ve seen it on several menus. Any help, here? Buffy?
Things To Know:
A rack to dry your clothes on is not a drying rack, or even a clothes rack, but an “airer;” and, according to the label on the package for the one I bought, a spatula is—I love this—a “slotted turner.”
Movies = Cinema
Change = Sterling
Cents = Pence or simply, “P”.
It’s About Communication:
Your diary is not the written repository of your innermost thoughts and feelings, but rather, the daily schedule you check before you plan something; and if you need to use the bathroom, better ask for “the loo,” no matter how silly you might feel saying it. If you ask for the bathroom, the restroom or the ladies’ room, people will usually point you in the right direction, but there will be a pause—a hiccup in the communication as they take a moment to work out what you mean:
Does this woman need to wash her hands, or take a bath? Surely she doesn’t intend to bathe, here, in the restaurant? She looks relatively clean, I suppose, and there is that rather hyperactive child clinging to her hand, jumping up and down and whatnot—oh! She’s looking for the loo!
Half-Nine = 9:30. I like this one; it saves a syllable.
Bin, both verb and noun, is used to refer to trash cans and the act of throwing something out. Rubbish, not trash, goes in the bin. Rubbish can also be used to refer to something you don’t like, are disdainful of, or find to be in poor taste or of poor quality.
Sort, or sorted. Used as a verb or an adjective to mean worked-out, work it out, figured out, figure-it-out, or resolved. Overused, even.
Mail is “post,” both noun and verb, as in “Here is your first bit of post,” and “Do you need to post a letter?” Post boxes, incidentally, are shaped like cylinders, and the Royal Mail’s signature color is red.
Hoover is huge over here. Did you know they make refrigerators? And clothes dryers? (Our refrigerator is a Hoover, but I can only assume the bit about the dryer is true based on rumors and reports. I haven’t actually seen a dryer here, yet. More on that later. I have issues.) The British have adopted “hoover” to mean both the act of vacuuming and the vacuum cleaner itself. Fiona told me, “I’m so sorry, I forgot to hoover the cupboards before I left.”
Cupboard: generally what I would refer to as a cabinet, but may also refer to any sort of small closet. This is a word I very much enjoy using, as I find it rather quaint, and it puts me in touch with my inner Victorian.
I had originally thought I might feel pretentious using these “Britishisms,” and therefore had every intention of shunning them in favor of the good ol’ American words I already know. I realize though, that now I’m here that won’t be possible. Living in another culture is, at its most basic level, about speaking the language. How arrogant of me, I realize now, to think that I spoke English already.
No Responses
July 28th, 2007 at 2:58 am
I never saw a clothes dryer in Italy until Sebastiano bought one for his mother; she refused to use it because of the cost of electricity.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:04 am
Sounds like you are learning alot!
Hope you are having fun in London!
August 1st, 2007 at 7:06 pm
If you want to blend in, just stop pronouncing the letter t when the t is in the middle of a word. Try saying “itty bitty bottles” out loud. But just don’t pronounce the t.
Instant British accent!
August 6th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
First time reader, I’m looking forward to reading your story. Rocket is probably Arugula.
August 7th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Arugula! Yes, that’s IT! I had figured it was some green leafy something, but wasn’t quite sure what. Rocket. The British are quite charming, aren’t they?
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