The Random Thread and the Royal Family of Canadia, the USA, and Great Britain

[AmandaSparks730]

Blower - The blower is the telephone, before you get too excited!

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Good 'ol Boyfriend. Who has cute black-haired soccer-playing friends.

Yes. And many other things.

My neck hurts so baddd...

Last time I sleep on my stomach

Ugh I hate that.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Brolly - Short for umbrella. An essential item in England!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Gazumping - When you buy a new house in the UK, you hope that you won't be gazumped. It's frowned on but it still goes on. When you make an offer on a house and the seller accepts it, they are not allowed to then accept a higher offer from another potential buyer. That would be gazumping.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Khazi - Another word for the toilet, generally used by older people.

 

[magicallyDisney001]

Sunflower seeds

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Teletext - Whenever American friends come to visit us in England they are always fascinated by teletext. On our TVs, text is transmitted along with the programmes. You just press a button from any channel and you get the text channel. There you can book holidays, check the lottery results, read the news, check the weather and a hundred other things. And best of all - it's free.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Trunk call - This is the old expression for a long distance call.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Anorak - A very untrendy kind of waterproof, padded coat with a zip. The sort of thing your mother made you wear when you were 10 and you still haven't forgiven her for it! Especially if she made you put the hood up when it rained. Possibly called a slicker in American. The worst thing about my anorak was that my Mum had tied my gloves together by passing a piece of string through the arms of the anorak. This would have been quite sensible if the big boys hadn't taken great delight in pulling one glove really hard and watching me punch myself in the face with the other hand!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Dungarees - Overalls to you. Fine on kids but whatever you call them, grown men look ridiculous in them!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Pinny - Mrs Tiggywinkle - the well beloved hedgehog from my childhood, always wore a pinny. Actually childish slang for pinafore. You might call it an apron, to protect the clothes from washing and cooking. It originates from "pin - afore". In other words you would "pin" it "afore" (in front of) your dress.

 

[magicallyDisney001]

I must shower now. Then off to homework.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Wellies - Wellington Boots, named after the Duke of Wellington. Called galoshes in America.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Swimming costume - This is what you wear to go swimming, obviously! You might call it a bathing suit. We also say swimsuit and cozzy.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

Teletext - Whenever American friends come to visit us in England they are always fascinated by teletext. On our TVs, text is transmitted along with the programmes. You just press a button from any channel and you get the text channel. There you can book holidays, check the lottery results, read the news, check the weather and a hundred other things. And best of all - it's free.

I love teletext!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Muffler - Don't worry if someone asks you if you would like to wear a muffler. They are not suggesting you wear an old car part round your shoulders. It's actually a big fluffy scarf.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Amber - Not only do our traffic lights go in a different sequence to yours but we don't have yellow! Well actually we do but we always call it amber. The sequence is red, red and amber (together), green. Then green, amber, red. Yours go from red straight to green.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Bump start - When you buy your first car as a student in the UK, one of the first lessons you learn is how to bump start it. When the battery is flat you get a couple of strong mates to push you along the street, with the key in the ON position, second gear engaged and your foot on the clutch. When you reach enough speed you take your foot off the clutch, your mates hit their faces on the back of the car and with luck - the car starts! Don't try this in America, it doesn't work with automatics! If you do have a manual car it would be popping the clutch.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Cat's eyes - In the middle of British roads there are little white reflectors. They are made of glass and are designed just like the eyes of a cat. They are mounted in a rubber housing and inserted into a hole in the road surface. When a car drives over them, they are pushed into the hole and when they pop back up - they are cleaned! Clever huh? Road reflectors are the nearest thing you have in the US. The guy who invented them actually came across a cat facing him on a dark night. Lucky it wasn't facing the other way - or he might have invented the pencil sharpener!!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Double yellow lines - The double yellow lines are the no parking zone. Well I suppose you could park there but the chances are the car won't be there when you return. The traffic wardens are pretty hot on cars parked on double yellows. By the way - you can generally park on single yellow lines after 6pm and at weekends unless it says otherwise on a nearby lamp-post.