The Random Thread and The Endless Nights of Baseball Discussions

[marypops!]

Fancy dress - Fancy dress means dressing up in a costume. Probably to go to a fancy dress party. In America that would be a costume party. In our office we can come to work in casual dress on Fridays. You often hear people saying to each other "Oh I didn't realise it was fancy dress today". That is British humour for you, taking the mickey out of people with loud shirts and wacky clothes.

 

[LondonUnderground]

I passed mine too I believe they stopped doing the 11+ now...


You do some in yr9? The earliest I did mine was yr10, and that was for Citizenship!

wooo! and nope, I know people whose brothers and sisters are doing it this year and some who are doing it next year
uh huh. we do our IT this year, I'm not sure what else we do this year, and then we pick our options in February and we start them in year 10.

Yeah, I went to a grammar school. I hated it...

Lift - The American elevator. In England we don't talk in the lift, unless we are with close friends or colleagues. Even then, as soon as someone else steps in, all conversation stops! In America, these rules do not apply. Americans in England should attempt to abide by the English lift laws, or may accidentally upset the natives, who will be giving each other strange looks! A lift is also something you get by standing at the side of main roads with your thumb out. Americans hitch-hiking in the UK should avoid asking for a "ride"! This could result in some unplanned sexual activity with someone you have never met before!

really? I love my school! xD
I have such amazing friends there, I'm pretty much friends with everyone in the year and quite a lot of people in the year above, couple'a people in the year below and like, 2 year sevens xD
actually, 3 xD
ugh, I swear each year is getting brattier! the year 8's at our school are so nasty it's unreal! it's sad cause everyone else in our school is reeeeal nice
well, except for the year 11's LOL they called us 'like, year sevens' and we were like OMG 'YEAR NINE!' and they did silly impressions of us xD
it is the highest insult at school to get called a year 7 xD

 

[marypops!]

First floor - The lift always starts on the ground floor and goes up to the first floor then the second floor. If you want an upstairs room in an English motel, it may well be on the first floor. I had a huge argument the first time I went to Florida and wanted a ground floor room. When I was told my room was on the first floor I almost hit the guy. I think the feeling was mutual!

 

[LondonUnderground]

Postcode - Zipcode to you chaps. Postcodes are in the form RG26 5AN where the first two letters tell you the main postal town (RG=Reading) and the rest narrows down your house to the nearest 6 houses. That means that with just your house number and postcode anything can be delivered anywhere in the UK. Many mail order companies just ask you your house number and postcode - the rest is printed by computer. Clever huh! The new 9 digit US zip codes will achieve the same thing.

Essex is mostly CM and SS
idek what they mean, ima go google xD

 

[marypops!]

wooo! and nope, I know people whose brothers and sisters are doing it this year and some who are doing it next year
uh huh. we do our IT this year, I'm not sure what else we do this year, and then we pick our options in February and we start them in year 10.


really? I love my school! xD
I have such amazing friends there, I'm pretty much friends with everyone in the year and quite a lot of people in the year above, couple'a people in the year below and like, 2 year sevens xD
actually, 3 xD
ugh, I swear each year is getting brattier! the year 8's at our school are so nasty it's unreal! it's sad cause everyone else in our school is reeeeal nice
well, except for the year 11's LOL they called us 'like, year sevens' and we were like OMG 'YEAR NINE!' and they did silly impressions of us xD
it is the highest insult at school to get called a year 7 xD

At my 6th Form college, the year below us was awful. Very loud, rather rude, my Geography teacher would complain about them to us sometimes. Then again, she would complain about BT always redirecting her to some guy in Mumbai who's reading from a script. She would complain about a lot of things, and that's why we loved her

 

[marypops!]

Flannel - If you ask for a flannel in a British house you will be given a washcloth for your face.

Maths - This is what you call math. It is short for "mathematics", the study of numbers. What I want to know is what you have done with the "s".

Naughts and crosses - What everyone does in boring classes/meetings etc - tic tac toe in America.

Pillar box - My Mum always used to send me to the pillar box to post the letter. It is another word for postbox or as you would say, mailbox.

 

[LondonUnderground]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CM_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true

 

[LondonUnderground]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/CO_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true
CO is pretty main too, and RM
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RM_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true

 

[marypops!]

Pantomime - A Christmas tradition with no American equivalent. A pantomime is a show which takes normally mature, serious actors and actresses and sees them dressing up as members of the opposite sex to amuse children with popular stories. Usually has an evil man, a man dressed in drag as a widow and a dashing young male hero (really a woman in green tights). You spend most of your time shouting "It's behind you" and adults pretend they only go for the kids. A really disorganised event may also be described as something of a pantomime!

No American equivalent huh? Shame.

 

[LondonUnderground]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/IG_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true

eh, that one isn't as main, that's heading further into london

 

[LondonUnderground]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EN_postcode_area?wasRedirected=true

never even heard of it lmao. xD

 

[marypops!]

Queue - Brits have never stood in line. But they have queued - at the post office, the deli, in traffic. We like to queue almost as much as you like to stand in line.

Rounders - This is a game that kids play, which has almost exactly the same rules as baseball.

 

[LondonUnderground]

I didn't even know my county was that big LOL

 

[LondonUnderground]

Queue - Brits have never stood in line. But they have queued - at the post office, the deli, in traffic. We like to queue almost as much as you like to stand in line.

Rounders - This is a game that kids play, which has almost exactly the same rules as baseball.

love rounders. maybe that's why I like baseball so much?

 

[LondonUnderground]

Prep school - Short for preparatory school, this is the school that kids go to before they go to public school. Normally from ages eight to thirteen.

I went to a prep primary school, so 3-11

 

[marypops!]

Caravan - Everyone in the UK hates caravans - except caravan owners, that is. They are the trailer homes that come out every summer and block all our little British roads and bring everyone to a complete standstill. Aaaaaargggggg! Unlike your RVs they need to be towed as they only have 2 wheels and cannot be driven.

 

[LondonUnderground]

Secondary school - Short for "secondary modern school", this is what you call high school. In the UK, if you failed your eleven plus exam, this is the kind of school you would go to instead of a grammar school. After this system changed to the current one, both these kinds of schools were replaced by comprehensive schools.

 

[LondonUnderground]

99 - When you visit England, go up to the ice cream van and ask for a 99. You will get a cone filled with soft ice cream and a Cadbury's flake - a long crumbly stick of chocolate. Mmmm!

OMNOMNOM 99's <3

 

[marypops!]

Couch - Sofa to you. America has some of the largest furniture in the world, yet the only sofa too small to make love in, you call a Love Seat!

Duvet - Most Brits have dispensed with blankets and sheets and now sleep under a duvet. It is similar to a comforter but has a removable cover that can be washed. Duvet's warmth is measured in togs, 2 or 3 togs for summer duvets and 11 or more for winter ones.

Earth - This, in electrical terms is what you call ground. You will find appliances that say "this appliance must be earthed" for example. Or when wiring an electrical plug the third pin will be marked "earth".

Loft - Our loft is your attic.

 

[LondonUnderground]

Biscuit - Cookie in America. Though the large home-made chocolate chip type things would also be referred to as cookies in England. We also use the word "biscuit" to mean cracker, for instance you will see "biscuits for cheese" in the supermarkets, which are assortments of crackers.