# English converted to English



## DM-Rocco (Jul 28, 2005)

Hello, after just finishing the Harry Potter book, very good by the way, I thought it would be fun to add in mannerisms and phrases and words from English, (U.K.) that is, but being an American, I'm not up to date with the translation/lingo.

So, two things please:

One, please post your favorite Brit slang, sayings and phrases and a short English to English translation.

Two, Three items of note I took from Harry Potter.  I am sure I have them figured out, but please tell me if I am right.

Snogging - she used the word snogging as if it meant making out (or perhaps a simple way of saying sex?)  Is this a word for you Brits?  Don't mind if I call you Brits do ya  , no offense if you do 

Mishit it - might of been a typo and I can't recall how it was used.  Might have been slang for missed it?

To be shot of him - to be done with him?


Anyway, your thoughts and slang/everyday words and phrases please.


----------



## mhacdebhandia (Jul 28, 2005)

Snogging = making out, more or less. You can snog in front of others, whereas having sex might well be inappropriate.

Mishit it = mis-hit it. Hit it badly.

You're right about "to be shot of". You more often here it as "You're well shot of him", which is to say, "You're lucky he's gone."


----------



## Venport (Jul 28, 2005)

insted of Snogging i like copping off (sp) i leard of that one when i was 15 and flying back from london with my girl friend the people next to me (they were from london).


----------



## MonsterMash (Jul 28, 2005)

Surely JKR tends to write in British english and it needs translating into US english (well actually the Americans could just learn how to use the language properly  )


----------



## amethal (Jul 28, 2005)

Venport said:
			
		

> insted of Snogging i like copping off (sp) i leard of that one when i was 15 and flying back from london with my girl friend the people next to me (they were from london).



That's weird, because in the part of Wales I come from, we try to "cop ON" rather than "cop OFF".

Snogging is what happens after you cop on.

I'm pretty sure we all use the same words for what follows on from snogging.


----------



## glass (Jul 28, 2005)

Venport said:
			
		

> insted of Snogging i like copping off (sp) i leard of that one when i was 15 and flying back from london with my girl friend the people next to me (they were from london).




Carefull. Copping off doesn't mean snogging, at least round my way, it refers to what comes later...


glass.


----------



## PrinceZane (Jul 28, 2005)

My Brit-English is fairly well for A. having never studied it and B. never been to England/UK and C. never heard it used much... 

And thusfar I've never had any trouble in the HP books except for "score"

<pauses to look up the phrase, Dumbledore said it a few times...>

Blast, can't find it without rereading it again, and I'm not quite done with it as is.  I'm wanting to say it was earlier in the book when they were traveling in the memories...  I took the "score" to be basically "getting even" or something like that, but I never felt entirely comfortable with it


----------



## glass (Jul 28, 2005)

DM-Rocco said:
			
		

> To be shot of him - to be done with him?




shot of = rid of



> Anyway, your thoughts and slang/everyday words and phrases please.




Oky here's a few:

'pissed' means drunk (not angry), as does 'wankered'

'that's doing my swede (in)' means 'that's irritating me'

something described 'the dogs bollock's' (or 'the mutt's nuts') is excellent, top of its game


That's all I can think of for the moment.


glass.


----------



## glass (Jul 28, 2005)

PrinceZane said:
			
		

> Blast, can't find it without rereading it again, and I'm not quite done with it as is.  I'm wanting to say it was earlier in the book when they were traveling in the memories...  I took the "score" to be basically "getting even" or something like that, but I never felt entirely comfortable with it




You have 'a score to settle' with someone if you believe they have wronged you and seek revenge.
(_EDIT: and to 'settle a/the score' means to take that revenge_).

'To score' is synonomous with 'to cop off'.



glass.


----------



## PrinceZane (Jul 28, 2005)

Yeah, thats what I was thinking, but for some reason it didn't seem to fit when i used the meaning, maybe its just one of those infamous translation "uh uhs" like... If you ever hear a Jap. anime theme song translated from Jap to Eng... it's.... *shudders*


----------



## Angel Tarragon (Jul 28, 2005)

After going through my Planewalkers Handbook (2nd Ed Planescape product) I finally realized that planar slang is an offshoot or British slang. I made the discovery this past weekend while at a friends place.


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

mhacdebhandia said:
			
		

> Snogging = making out, more or less. You can snog in front of others, whereas having sex might well be inappropriate.
> 
> Mishit it = mis-hit it. Hit it badly.
> 
> You're right about "to be shot of". You more often here it as "You're well shot of him", which is to say, "You're lucky he's gone."




I kinda thought it was like that, but thank you for clarifying


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

MonsterMash said:
			
		

> Surely JKR tends to write in British english and it needs translating into US english (well actually the Americans could just learn how to use the language properly  )




I resemble that statement


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

PrinceZane said:
			
		

> My Brit-English is fairly well for A. having never studied it and B. never been to England/UK and C. never heard it used much...
> 
> And thusfar I've never had any trouble in the HP books except for "score"
> 
> ...




There was something else I had a question on and I couldn't find it again without rereading the whole book.  I like the books, but I have other things to do than rereading.  Anyway, how about some other fun and common saying and words.  Whatelse does everyone use, like bloke and mate and such.


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> shot of = rid of
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Ah, that's what I am talking about, thanks


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

PrinceZane said:
			
		

> Yeah, thats what I was thinking, but for some reason it didn't seem to fit when i used the meaning, maybe its just one of those infamous translation "uh uhs" like... If you ever hear a Jap. anime theme song translated from Jap to Eng... it's.... *shudders*




That reminds me of the episode of News Radio when the station owner, James Jamenson, translated his book from English to Japanize and then back to English again.  It started out title something like, 'Power in business,' but once translated ended up being something like, 'moncho donkey dick,' or something like that.


----------



## mojo1701 (Jul 29, 2005)

DM-Rocco said:
			
		

> That reminds me of the episode of News Radio when the station owner, James Jamenson, translated his book from English to Japanize and then back to English again.  It started out title something like, 'Power in business,' but once translated ended up being something like, 'moncho donkey dick,' or something like that.




"Jimmy James: Capitalist Lion-Tamer" turned into "Jimmy James: Macho Business Donkey Wrestler"

James James:
The Man so nice,
They named him twice.


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 29, 2005)

mojo1701 said:
			
		

> "Jimmy James: Capitalist Lion-Tamer" turned into "Jimmy James: Macho Business Donkey Wrestler"
> 
> James James:
> The Man so nice,
> They named him twice.




Ha, that was it, the funniest show I ever saw in my life.  Never laughed harder.  God I have to find that as a down load.


----------



## Bloodstone Press (Jul 29, 2005)

I like British phrases. "Bloody" is a common one that seems to be as versatile as the F word, but more acceptable. 

 I want to know what "Sod Off" means. I hear it on British shows, and it seems to really offend the target person. It usually ends most conversations. 

 Sorta like: 
Power Word, Sod Off 
Targets must make a Will save or flee from you in an insulted huff. 

 The Black Adder can use this spell-like ability at will.


----------



## Bront (Jul 29, 2005)

I remember a friend telling me someone was asking him to pop the trunk, but I can't remember the Brittish term for it.  I want to say Kit, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, he thought the guy was hitting on him. 

I know Lift = Elevator

I had always thought Snogging was mostly just another term for french kiss (Tonsil scraping, tongue tag, Tonsil Hockey, tongue wrestling, etc), but apparently it's a bit more than that.

The US and the UK, 2 countries seperated by a common language.


----------



## wingsandsword (Jul 29, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> I remember a friend telling me someone was asking him to pop the trunk, but I can't remember the Brittish term for it.  I want to say Kit, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, he thought the guy was hitting on him.



I think the British term for a car trunk is "boot".  

I know 
Truck = Lorry
Apartment = Flat
Cigarette = Fag (a source of endless immature culture-clash humor, given what Fag means in American English)


----------



## Bront (Jul 29, 2005)

Boot, that was it.  The guy asked if he could open up so he could "Put his bag in his boot" and realy threw him for a second.


----------



## GentleGiant (Jul 29, 2005)

Having grown up with mostly American English (ahhh, the influence of American TV) it's quite fun to have an English girlfriend and discover all the "quirky" little phrases.
I had never heard the word "fib" before, but I don't know if it's inherently British.
To fib (fibbing, be a fibber) = to lie (or, as my GF puts it, to "tell porky pies")
Take the Mick out of someone = to tease them/make fun of them
Phwoar! = "wow!" - "wauw!" - often used if something is pleasing to the eye (as in, the opposite sex (or same sex for some ))

Sod off = f*ck off, p*ss off etc., in other words, "please leave... NOW" 

Also, snogging is, as far as I know, just another word for French kissing or even just kissing passionately.


----------



## Ranger REG (Jul 29, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> Carefull. Copping of doesn't mean snogging, at least round my way, it refers to what comes later...
> 
> glass.



In America, that's "getting to second base."

Don't ask me why we used baseball analogy, though I'm sure my fellow Americans have naughty thoughts when it comes to bats and balls.

So, is British "shagging" an American "third base" or "home run"?


----------



## MonsterMash (Jul 29, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> I remember a friend telling me someone was asking him to pop the trunk, but I can't remember the Brittish term for it.  I want to say Kit, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, he thought the guy was hitting on him.
> 
> I had always thought Snogging was mostly just another term for french kiss (Tonsil scraping, tongue tag, Tonsil Hockey, tongue wrestling, etc), but apparently it's a bit more than that.



It would be open the boot in the UK, which I could see causing confusion!   

Snogging is often usually tonsil hockey. 

Bugger is often used as a fairly mild swear word like bloody - also bleeding or bleedin' is often used instead of bloody, depending on context e.g. 'bloody hell' or 'bleedin' thing'


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> So, is British "shagging" an American "third base" or "home run"?




Shagging's a home run.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> 'pissed' means drunk (not angry), as does 'wankered'




There's a hilarious moment in a documentatary about a 1960s Bob Dylan tour of the UK where, at an after-gig party, he angrily approaches a fan who he (mistakenly) thinks has just thrown a bottle out of a window (the manager has come to complain) leading to an exchange along the lines of:

*Dylan*: [Screaming] Are you pissed?

*Fan*: [Indignant, pretty angry, and shouting] No I ain't pissed, I only just bloody arrived!

*Dylan*: [Confused... and then just shouting anyway] Well I'm pissed!

*Fan*: [Says nothing... but from the expression on his face you can tell that he's wondering the hell kind of point Dylan's trying to make]


----------



## Staffan (Jul 29, 2005)

Bloodstone Press said:
			
		

> I like British phrases. "Bloody" is a common one that seems to be as versatile as the F word, but more acceptable.
> 
> I want to know what "Sod Off" means. I hear it on British shows, and it seems to really offend the target person. It usually ends most conversations.



Basically, "F--- off". Some people think it comes from the word "sod" which means "dirt", but it's rather an abbreviation for an activity named after a city that God nukes in Genesis, and it's not Gomorrah.


----------



## johnsemlak (Jul 29, 2005)

Somewhat extensive notes here on the subject.

http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html

Ah, a topic of endless discussion in TEFL teaching rooms.


I have a theory that runs like this--British and American English are the most different in areas of vocabulary that developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when geography separated the countries a bit more than it does in the modern world.  At that time a lot of new technology appeared (particularly household items and other various consumer goods) and words needed to be invented to describe them.  And often different words were used on either side of the ocean.  For example, much of hte common vocabulary that describes a car is diffenerent.  Also, most vocabulary describing sports is rather different (most popular sports became organized around the world in the late 1800s spurred by urbanization).  E.g. 'pitch' rather than 'field';  Football 'kit' rather than 'uniform', etc.

Vocabulary from before this period tends to be more similar, since most of it was created before the colonists arrived in the Americas.  And since WWII, increasing globalization and in particular the global mass media/entertainment (especially the worldwide popularlity of American film, and perhaps more important, TV) and now the internet are making the languages more similar again, and thus we're seeing fewer different words (outside of slang, perhaps).


----------



## Zander (Jul 29, 2005)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Somewhat extensive notes here on the subject.
> 
> http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html
> 
> ...



An interesting theory. It seems plausible and I'm not saying that it's categorically wrong but off the top of my head I can think of a couple of post-WWII exceptions:
1. "Mobile phone" or simply "mobile" (UK) vs "cell phone" or simply "cell" (US)
2. "Telly" (UK) vs "TV" (US although increasingly UK too)

I know that television was in fact developed before WWII but it didn't become popular until afterwards.


----------



## wingsandsword (Jul 29, 2005)

GentleGiant said:
			
		

> I had never heard the word "fib" before, but I don't know if it's inherently British.
> To fib (fibbing, be a fibber) = to lie (or, as my GF puts it, to "tell porky pies")



Fib is used in American English, but it's uncommonly used, it refers to lies, but specifically it refers to little, "harmless" or minor lies, or attempts to make lies sound minor, or ironically with major lies.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> And since WWII, increasing globalization and in particular the global mass media/entertainment (especially the worldwide popularlity of American film, and perhaps more important, TV) and now the internet are making the languages more similar again, and thus we're seeing fewer different words (outside of slang, perhaps).




And because of that, we sometimes end up with different words. i.e. In UK English you have:

*Programme*: A thin booklet, or a "segment" that you watch on a TV (i.e. a TV programme).

*Program*: A sequence of instructions on a computer.

*Disc*: A flat, circular object.

*Disk*: An item used to store computer data.


----------



## amethal (Jul 29, 2005)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> I have a theory that runs like this--British and American English are the most different in areas of vocabulary that developed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when geography separated the countries a bit more than it does in the modern world.  At that time a lot of new technology appeared (particularly household items and other various consumer goods) and words needed to be invented to describe them.  And often different words were used on either side of the ocean.  For example, much of hte common vocabulary that describes a car is diffenerent.  Also, most vocabulary describing sports is rather different (most popular sports became organized around the world in the late 1800s spurred by urbanization).  E.g. 'pitch' rather than 'field';  Football 'kit' rather than 'uniform', etc.
> 
> Vocabulary from before this period tends to be more similar, since most of it was created before the colonists arrived in the Americas.  And since WWII, increasing globalization and in particular the global mass media/entertainment (especially the worldwide popularlity of American film, and perhaps more important, TV) and now the internet are making the languages more similar again, and thus we're seeing fewer different words (outside of slang, perhaps).



A number of  Welsh words are just English ones which are spelt differently (to account for the vast difference between Welsh and English pronounciation)

For instance "Siop" for "Shop" and "Garej" for "Garage".

In the case of "garej" this also required "borrowing" the letter J, which previously didn't exist in the Welsh alphabet. 

I think geographical proximity is probably very important. No point inventing a new word if your neighbours have a perfectly good word for it already. Any Canadians here to confirm if you use "trunk" and "sidewalk", or "boot" and "pavement"?

For the benefit of all Americans, all phrases ending in "____ off" mean pretty much the same thing and none of them are particularly polite.

Sodomy and buggery are genuine words (i.e. not slang) which appear in UK dictionaries, but I wonder if the same is true in America. (But if you don't know what they mean I am not going to tell you ....)

For example, Spike's language in Buffy can be pretty bad (certainly much worse than anyone else's), and at the end of "Once more with Feeling" he says something along the lines of "Bugger this!". I can only assume that if American audiences knew what buggery is then the phrase wouldn't have been allowed to appear in the script.

I seem to remember that the aliens in Ender's Game were also called "Buggers".


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

DM-Rocco said:
			
		

> Anyway, your thoughts and slang/everyday words and phrases please.




Well off the top of my head (apologies for any duplication) you have:

_Note: These are in the form UK = US. Where I'm not sure of the US word I'll put it in question marks or just explain what the UK one means. Where I don't think there's a UK word, I'll put a description in question marks._

pavement = sidewalk
bonnet = hood (front of car)
boot = trunk
manual gearbox = stickshift
petrol = gas/gasoline
gas = ??? (the stuff that powers your cooker or central heating boiler)
flat = apartment
underground = subway
subway = ?pedestrian underpass?
jelly = jello
?thin jam? = jelly
trousers = pants
pants / underpants = ?underpants?
bum = fanny
fanny = pussy
pissed = drunk
pissed off = pissed
(peach) stone = (peach) pit
(apple) pips = (apple) seeds
postman = mailman
post = mail
shop = store
fizzy drink = pop
mum = mom
football = soccer
american football = football
table football = fussbal
hash (symbol) = pound (symbol)
Imperial system (of measurements) = English system
sofa = couch
cupboard = closet
maths (short for mathematics) = math
motorway = freeway
geezer = ?person?
old geezer = geezer (i.e. "geezer" doesn't imply old for us)
stag night / stag weekend = ?bucks party? (party bloke has before he gets married)
hen night = ?batchelorette party? (female version of stag night)
aeroplane = airplane
?tap? = faucet

Also, we only use the word bathroom to describe rooms that have a bath in them. If a room only has toilets then we call it "the toilet" (as opposed to bathroom, restroom or washroom).

That's all I can think of for the moment.


----------



## amethal (Jul 29, 2005)

Oh, and the bit in "Wolf" where Michelle Pfeiffer talked about "Peanut butter and jelly" sandwiches was really disgusting. I assuemd her character must be pregnant or something.

It was not till years later that I realised that American "jelly" = "jam". I think what we call "jelly" they call "jell-o", but I'm not sure.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

amethal said:
			
		

> For example, Spike's language in Buffy can be pretty bad (certainly much worse than anyone else's), and at the end of "Once more with Feeling" he says something along the lines of "Bugger this!". I can only assume that if American audiences knew what buggery is then the phrase wouldn't have been allowed to appear in the script.




Didn't Wesley once tell Angel to "stop being such a wanker!"

(For the benefit of non-Brits, wanker = someone who masturbates).

I always wondered whether that would have been allowed on American TV if it were a native phrase.



			
				amethal said:
			
		

> I seem to remember that the aliens in Ender's Game were also called "Buggers".




Did you ever hear about the continuum spanning roleplaying game where you got to play a "Spanner"?  

(Again for the benefit of non-Brits, a "spanner" is a very stupid person, as in: "Oh you complete spanner!")


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

amethal said:
			
		

> Oh, and the bit in "Wolf" where Michelle Pfeiffer talked about "Peanut butter and jelly" sandwiches was really disgusting. I assuemd her character must be pregnant or something.
> 
> It was not till years later that I realised that American "jelly" = "jam". I think what we call "jelly" they call "jell-o", but I'm not sure.




Yeah, Peanuts always used to confuse the hell out of me for that very reason when I was a kid.

I could never figure out how Charlie Brown's mum was able to slice jelly (i.e. jello) into thin enough strips that you could put it in a sandwich.

(Nor could I understand why the hell you'd want to eat it).


----------



## Kemrain (Jul 29, 2005)

amethal said:
			
		

> Sodomy and buggery are genuine words (i.e. not slang) which appear in UK dictionaries, but I wonder if the same is true in America. (But if you don't know what they mean I am not going to tell you ....)



Sodomy is a word used in america. Buggery isn't. Bugger is a word that has lost nearly all it's meaning over here, in the areas I hear it used. Very different than it's used across the pond.

For those who don't know, sodomy and buggery are synonyms. Well, sodomy around here can mean any non-missionalry sex, so, to be more specific, buggery is anal sex.

Not the sort of thing I ever expected to say on EN World. I love this place.

- Kemrain the Amused.


----------



## tensen (Jul 29, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> shot of = rid of
> 
> 
> 
> ...




That one got me the first time one of my UK staff said it.  I was askin if everyhting was all right, thinking they were really upset at something.. only to find out that it was just the evening sherry


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 29, 2005)

As noted earlier - Fag  - That phrase brings me no end of humor.
When I was stationed in Germany with the Army, a fellow solider from the Isles said in a rather loud voice "Time, to smoke a long fag!"  The ten seconds pregnant pause followed by the burst of uncontrollable laughter (it was about 0300 on a mid shift) lent to some very interesting conversations about what that phrase means in American English versus True English.

I believe it was the great statesman Winston Churchill who made the statement, "England and America are two great nations separated by the same language."  I have always remembered this little tidbit when speaking not only with my counterparts from England, but also, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada - we great few who share the common misfortune of slaughtering each others phrases.  
So to the Ugly Yanks, Socialist Canuks, Limeys, Skirtwearers, Kiwis, Sons of criminals and Drunken Irishmen everywhere I salute you! :\ 

_Of course all of the above was meant in good clean fun.  I've served along each of your fellow countrymen and women and have nothing but the HIGHEST regards, to my Anglo brothers everywhere - God's peace_


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Jul 29, 2005)

amethal said:
			
		

> It was not till years later that I realised that American "jelly" = "jam". I think what we call "jelly" they call "jell-o", but I'm not sure.




Americans use jelly & jam interchangebly.  But they are actually different things.

Jelly is a fruit spread made from fruit juice, so it's very smooth & lacks fruit bits & seeds.

Jam is made by boiling the whole fruit, so it has lots of fruitty bits & seeds (for small seeds like rasberry & strawberry).

Jell-o is a brand name that refers to a flavored geletin product.  Geletin is obtained from rendered animal bits (usually pigs in the US).  The geletin is what gives the Jell-o its wobelly form.  In fact, until the invention of powdered Geletin, Geletin deserts were very hard to make & often seen as a mark of sophistication & wealth to produce.

Any company can produce a geletin product that looks, acts & tastes like Jell-O.  Only the Jell-O corporation can make a geletin desert & CALL it Jell-O.  (Like Coke vs Pepsi vs Soft Drink).

For instance, there used to be a grundge band called Green Jell-O (put out hit 3 Little Pigs).  Jell-O sued them & they had to change their name to Green Jelly).

So Jam & Jelly are both fruit products, but made differently.  Geletin & Jell-O are complelty different.


----------



## glass (Jul 29, 2005)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> After going through my Planewalkers Handbook (2nd Ed Planescape product) I finally realized that planar slang is an offshoot or British slang. I made the discovery this past weekend while at a friends place.




IIRC, it's derived from 19th century British slang.


glass.


----------



## glass (Jul 29, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> I remember a friend telling me someone was asking him to pop the trunk, but I can't remember the Brittish term for it.  I want to say Kit, but I'm not sure.  Anyway, he thought the guy was hitting on him.




Not really slang but it's the boot (and on this side of the pond, you open it rather than popping it).



> I had always thought Snogging was mostly just another term for french kiss (Tonsil scraping, tongue tag, Tonsil Hockey, tongue wrestling, etc), but apparently it's a bit more than that.




No, that's pretty much it.



> The US and the UK, 2 countries seperated by a common language.


----------



## glass (Jul 29, 2005)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> In America, that's "getting to second base."
> 
> Don't ask me why we used baseball analogy, though I'm sure my fellow Americans have naughty thoughts when it comes to bats and balls.
> 
> So, is British "shagging" an American "third base" or "home run"?




If I am understanding _your_ sland correctly, both shagging and copping off are home runs. 

While we're on the subject, what is meant by the various 'bases' (if you can think of a granny safe way to explain it)?   


glass.


----------



## glass (Jul 29, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> (For the benefit of non-Brits, wanker = someone who masturbates).



Or more specifically, _male_ who masterbates. Although in common with most of these things it is rarely meant litterally -it is more often used to mean unpleastant or irritating person (ie as a general purpose insult).

Tosser is similar.


glass.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> Or more specifically, _male_ who masterbates.




You mean women do it too!


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Jul 29, 2005)

Kemrain said:
			
		

> Sodomy is a word used in america. Buggery isn't. Bugger is a word that has lost nearly all it's meaning over here, in the areas I hear it used. Very different than it's used across the pond.
> 
> For those who don't know, sodomy and buggery are synonyms. Well, sodomy around here can mean any non-missionalry sex, so, to be more specific, buggery is anal sex.




Sodomy has a different meaning over here (I've been confused in the past when reading US news articles in which oral sex is described as "sodemy").

In the UK I believe they are both very specific legal definitions (someone please correct me if I'm wrong):

* Sodomy is anal sex between a man and a woman.

* Buggery is anal sex between two men.


----------



## wingsandsword (Jul 29, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> gas = ??? (the stuff that powers your cooker or central heating boiler)



We call it gas too, although it's sometimes called "Natural Gas" to differentiate it from the stuff you power your cars with.


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

Bront said:
			
		

> I remember a friend telling me someone was asking him to pop the trunk, but I can't remember the Brittish term for it. I want to say Kit, but I'm not sure. Anyway, he thought the guy was hitting on him.
> 
> I know Lift = Elevator
> 
> ...




Careful, you'll offend MonsterMash vbmenu_register("postmenu_2448157", true);


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

Staffan said:
			
		

> Basically, "F--- off". Some people think it comes from the word "sod" which means "dirt", but it's rather an abbreviation for an activity named after a city that God nukes in Genesis, and it's not Gomorrah.




Hmm,  a little homo errotic activity.  Well, that certainly gives new meaning to the word, one I didn't see coming.  No pun intended


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Somewhat extensive notes here on the subject.
> 
> http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html
> 
> ...




That link was incredibly useful, thanks


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> Yeah, Peanuts always used to confuse the hell out of me for that very reason when I was a kid.
> 
> I could never figure out how Charlie Brown's mum was able to slice jelly (i.e. jello) into thin enough strips that you could put it in a sandwich.
> 
> (Nor could I understand why the hell you'd want to eat it).



I always thought Jam was just some fancy east coast American upper crest way of saying jelly


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> Sodomy has a different meaning over here (I've been confused in the past when reading US news articles in which oral sex is described as "sodemy").
> 
> In the UK I believe they are both very specific legal definitions (someone please correct me if I'm wrong):
> 
> ...




I could be wrong on the legal definition, but as far as I know, buggery in the US doesn't exist, it is a Brit term, and Sodomy is man on man anal sex, although most states in the US define any anal sex as Sondomy and I think one US state considers any non-missionary sex Sodomy, although general, speaking, Sodomy is mainly used in papers and court rooms, slang words are more common, like ass pirate, rump ranger, hole of glory, riding the brown eye, etc.  Um, that is what I hear anyway


----------



## DM-Rocco (Jul 30, 2005)

wingsandsword said:
			
		

> We call it gas too, although it's sometimes called "Natural Gas" to differentiate it from the stuff you power your cars with.




The English language, both of them I think, have many words that are spelled the same but have different meaning, great job on that ya fricken nit wits *refering to the original creators of the words* 

Anyway, I think the Brits call gas (the stuff they put in cars) petrol, short for petrolium, right?


----------



## Nareau (Jul 30, 2005)

This reminds me of one of my favorite Net games.  Basically, you take an English phrase, translate it to some random language, then back again.  Repeat until it stops changing or becomes funny.

For example:  
"Kiss my grits" becomes "embrace my granulations"
"what you talking about willis" becomes "which willis, which speak with you"
"I love playing Dungeons and Dragons" becomes "I appreciate to play the Dungeon and the flying red deer"

Spider


----------



## glass (Aug 1, 2005)

DM-Rocco said:
			
		

> Anyway, I think the Brits call gas (the stuff they put in cars) petrol, short for petrolium, right?




Yep. Petroleum spirit, to be exact.


glass.


----------



## glass (Aug 1, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> manual gearbox = stickshift




And the thing you actually grab hold of to change gear (which I believe is also called the stick shift, or possibly just stick) is the gear lever.




> geezer = ?person?
> old geezer = geezer (i.e. "geezer" doesn't imply old for us)




True, although I think it used to, before the Chavs adopted the term.
_EDIT: Actually, it was the probably late 80s/early 90s ravers who first adopted the term (along with 'sorted')._


glass.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Aug 1, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> True, although I think it used to, before the Chavs adopted the term.
> _EDIT: Actually, it was the probably late 80s/early 90s ravers who first adopted the term (along with 'sorted')._




There's a nice example of a US-UK Usenet flame war here which erupted due to a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "geezer" as used by a British poster. (This was where I first learned that the word has a subtly different meaning in the US).


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Aug 1, 2005)

DM-Rocco said:
			
		

> Sodomy is mainly used in papers and court rooms, slang words are more common,




Ya forgot:

Dwavern Delving

Halfling Hidey-Hole,

Half-Orc Hole of Holding,

Gnomish Exhaust Examination,

Draconic Any Port in a Storm,

And "Elfie Style"


----------



## sniffles (Aug 1, 2005)

Jonny Nexus said:
			
		

> Didn't Wesley once tell Angel to "stop being such a wanker!"
> 
> (For the benefit of non-Brits, wanker = someone who masturbates).
> 
> ...




I thought a spanner was what Americans call a wrench? A tool for tightening nuts?  

The "wanker" bit reminds me of my amusement on watching "Four Weddings and a Funeral" one day on network television. When it got to the scene where Hugh Grant goes off into a side chapel prior to his wedding and has a meltdown, pacing the chapel and repeating, "Bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger!", my fiance and I burst out laughing in disbelief that the network censors had allowed that term to remain in the film. That would be like an American programme allowing a character to say the F-word repeatedly on network television. Either the censor didn't know what it meant or assumed that no one in the audience would know.

I recall a trip to London, staying with a family in Wembley Park a number of years ago. I pride myself on knowing quite a bit of British English, but my hostess lost me when she asked her children what they would like for pudding one night, then proceeded to offer them the choice of peaches or ice cream. I had been waiting for her to ask if they wanted chocolate or butterscotch.    That was when I learned that what we call pudding the Brits would probably call custard. Other fun things I learned on that trip: in the UK you have to go upstairs to reach the first floor of a building, and sandwiches come with nothing on them but the meat and maybe some butter. Oh, and don't eat pizza with your hands (although this was 15 years ago so that may have changed).

Other "Britishisms" I enjoy (British on the left, American on the right):
Biscuit = cookie
Cracker = a thing you open at Christmas that makes a loud noise and has a prize inside.
Pram = baby stroller 
Stockings = pantyhose
Knickers = underwear
Crisp = chips
Chips = french fries

Oh, and try watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail sometime with the Japanese-to-English translations on:
"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries" becomes "I can tell what kind of people your parents were by looking at you".


----------



## Renton (Aug 1, 2005)

Vraille Darkfang said:
			
		

> Ya forgot:
> 
> And "Elfie Style"




BWahahaha!


----------



## Uzumaki (Aug 2, 2005)

I got a friend of mine a huge Brit English to American English dictionary a few years back. I've never seen a man love a present so much.

Anyway, all I really know that hasn't been said a band-aid is a plaster in the UK, and a flashlight is a torch.

Once I went to France, on one of the first non-stop flights from San Diego to London. Of course, I was on British Airways, and all of the stewards, etc. were British. I wondered in my journal, and to this day, that if I had asked for a biscuit, would they have given me a cookie? Or would they have figured I meant an American biscuit, and given me a... um, what is the British word for 'biscuit?'

http://photos2.flickr.com/1391594_15a763a08e.jpg

I guess what I'm trying to ask is how well does the average Briton know these cross-cultural euphemisms/glosses.


----------



## mhacdebhandia (Aug 2, 2005)

Oh, sandwiches. My girlfriend is American, I am Australian.

According to me, the canonical definition of a sandwich is "two slices of bread with some kind of filling". For instance, I have a chicken and lettuce sandwich at work - it's chopped-up chicken breast and shredded lettuce between two slices of white bread.

Anything other than this has a different name. You could put the same chicken and lettuce in a roll but now it is a chicken and lettuce roll. If you put a grilled piece of chicken inside a burger bun this is now a chicken burger.

According to her, the canonical definition of a sandwich is "anything involving bread or breadlike products, condiments, meat, and filling of any kind".

To her, only a piece of beef inside a burger bun is a burger.

Seems to me that Australians focus on the breadlike part and Americans on the filling.


----------



## mhacdebhandia (Aug 2, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> Once I went to France, on one of the first non-stop flights from San Diego to London. Of course, I was on British Airways, and all of the stewards, etc. were British. I wondered in my journal, and to this day, that if I had asked for a biscuit, would they have given me a cookie? Or would they have figured I meant an American biscuit, and given me a... um, what is the British word for 'biscuit?'



The closest thing I can think of to an American biscuit is a scone, but my girlfriend tells me they're slightly different.

I imagine that they'd either ask - "Do you mean a cookie or a scone?" - or default to the British meaning, especially since you were on a plane and I think biscuits are more likely to be available than a scone.


----------



## MrFilthyIke (Aug 2, 2005)

Off topic a bit...

When I wife landed at the airport for her first trip to the U.S. from Australia, she asked me to put the suitcase "in the boot" and then got into the car.  I walked up to the driver's side door, looked in, and asked her if she was driving, or was I.  She then realized there was a steering wheel in front of her.


----------



## glass (Aug 2, 2005)

mhacdebhandia said:
			
		

> To her, only a piece of beef inside a burger bun is a burger.




Round my way, 'burger' on its own means beef, whereas other types are always specified (lamb burger, chicken burger).

While we are on the subject, in Coventry the round bread thing you put a burger in is called a 'batch'. In Nottinghamshire it's called a 'cob'. In some other place (I can't remember exactly where), its called a 'barmcake'. Don't know why that word has so much variation.


glass.


----------



## Jonny Nexus (Aug 2, 2005)

sniffles said:
			
		

> Oh, and don't eat pizza with your hands (although this was 15 years ago so that may have changed).




Maybe in a pizza *restaurant*, perhaps. But if you've just ordered takeout pizza over the phone and a guy on a moped delivers it in a cardboard box... well people would think you were mad if you did anything *but* eat it with your hands.


----------



## jasper (Aug 2, 2005)

gas =  gas or propane if that gas is used. Also nice for fart, vapours, cutting the cheese. 
fizzy drink = pop, soda, soda pop, coke, as in Pepsi, Coca Cola, Dr Pepper, Mt Dew. 
?? = cupboard , where we place our dishes and glasses generally 
motorway = freeway, interstate, highway, parkway. 
stag night / stag weekend = batchelor party. 
??? = stag night , night on the town guys only usually going to nude dancing bar.  
??? = hen night , night on the town girls only

??? = bonk generally hit over the head. As in the female star bonk Dr Who over the head with an ashtray.
??= American biscuit. Non sweet bread roll severed in the morning.
??= corn = maize aka corn on


----------



## Snapdragyn (Aug 4, 2005)

Cracker = a thing you open at Christmas that makes a loud noise and has a prize inside.
??? = cracker: thin, usually salted, crispy baked good served with soup or h'or d'oevres.

(btw, we simply don't have the Brit kind here)

Father Chrismas = Santa Claus (ok nothing new in that one I'm sure)

Some fun with nature (could do a ton on birds, but they're too esoteric for a non-birding crowd):

moose = elk (the Red Deer of Eurasia & the Wapiti of North America; _Cervus elaphus_; a deer that looks like a regular deer)
elk = moose (the big deer with the huge schnoz & flattened antlers; _Alces alces_)

This one may be an Australianism more than a Britism, but:

rubber = the thing on the end of a pencil used to erase a mistake
rubbers = galoshes, rubberized footwear worn to keep the feet dry during rain
condom = rubber (slang, we use 'condom' as well)
condoms = rubbers (see above)

In the U.S. we also have a tendency to adopt the most common brand of a product as the name used for all of the product, such as:

gelatin = jello
tissue = kleenex
copy = xerox (in the 70's & maybe 80's, at least; this usage has all but vanished)

We can also be less specific, as in referring to raisins & sultanas both as raisins (& hence 'Raisin Bran' rather than 'Sultana Bran'), or more specific, as when distinguishing between fruitless jams (jellies) or jams with fruit (jams).

There are also a few Brit words which derived from words imported from other parts of the Empire, such as :

karzi = toilet

Unfortunately, I can't think of any others atm.


----------



## Felix (Aug 4, 2005)

*British*
Yank - an American.

*American*
Yank (Damn Yank/Dirty Yank)- a horribly uncultured person having the poor taste to live North of Maryland and East of the Mississip, whose odiferous presence and boorish humor can spell the end to any respectable social function.

You can see how confusion on this one could lead to confrontations.



----



			
				glass said:
			
		

> While we're on the subject, what is meant by the various 'bases' (if you can think of a granny safe way to explain it)?




This is an approximation:

First Base: Kissed without tongue / hands behaved themselves.
Second Base: Kissed with tongue / felt each other up while doing so.
Third Base: Going down on, or them going down on you.
Home Run: the Dirty Deed.



Actually, only three conditions are at all important:

"Struck out". Means you're going home with your hand for company.

"Made it on base". Means you fooled around, but didn't go all the way.

"Scored". You drove it home. Though the word "score" can be relaxed to include activities outside of sex.


----------



## Arbiter of Wyrms (Aug 4, 2005)

Spider said:
			
		

> "I love playing Dungeons and Dragons" becomes "I appreciate to play the Dungeon and the flying red deer"



I laughed out loud.  See also: http://www.engrish.com

Many nouns are highly dialectical: "Coke" in the southeastern US to about Tennessee is "Pop" in the Northeast and "Soda" on the coasts with very few other alternatives, until you get all the way accross the pond to where they call it a "fizzy drink."

What the rest of the world calls football, we Americans have to call Soccer, because we went and invented our own so that every other nation could call ours "American Football" (Save the Aussies, whom I suspect must call it "poufter rugby.")

As far as censors and foriegn idioms/obscenities, I think that you can say just about anything on American television so long as it's not said in American English.


----------



## Zander (Aug 4, 2005)

mhacdebhandia said:
			
		

> The closest thing I can think of to an American biscuit is a scone, but my girlfriend tells me they're slightly different.



Crumpet?


----------



## Arbiter of Wyrms (Aug 4, 2005)

johnsemlak said:
			
		

> Somewhat extensive notes here on the subject.
> 
> http://www.scit.wlv.ac.uk/~jphb/american.html
> 
> ...



John, I have no doubt that your theory is spot-on, but I have serious objections to the information presneted on the page you link to.  Much of it is over-generalization, or simply wrong.
"boro?" I've never seen this. 
"catalog/catalogue" either is fine. I actually prefer the latter.
"donut/doughnut" Interesting story, lazy spelling, right along with "nite lite."  Not at all universal.
"gage" This is new to me.
"grey or gray" as suites the writer's whim.  No kidding.  One of the last spellings to escape formal standardization.
"omelet/omelette/sulfur/sulphur/vise/vice" whatever.

This, though (or should I say "Thow"?) is the one that gets me: Thru
The website's author seems to default to the notion that idiotic abuses of the English language are the sole purview of the American speaker.

"I m n Umareikan n proud ov it!"


----------



## Bront (Aug 4, 2005)

Zander said:
			
		

> Crumpet?



Crumpets are quite different from anything else as well, and definately not biscit like.


----------



## glass (Aug 4, 2005)

Zander said:
			
		

> Crumpet?




Also slang for women, in Britain.


glass.


----------



## Bront (Aug 4, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> Also slang for women, in Britain.
> 
> 
> glass.



But you can't have them for breakfast... er... well...


----------



## MrFilthyIke (Aug 4, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> Also slang for women, in Britain.


----------



## sniffles (Aug 5, 2005)

Arbiter of Wyrms said:
			
		

> Many nouns are highly dialectical: "Coke" in the southeastern US to about Tennessee is "Pop" in the Northeast and "Soda" on the coasts with very few other alternatives, until you get all the way accross the pond to where they call it a "fizzy drink."




I was just thinking about this one! Although from my upbringing your indications of the geography to which these apply is incorrect. I grew up in the western part of Texas and learned to refer to any carbonated non-alcoholic beverage as "coke". When you asked someone if they wanted a coke, you meant, "choose from the selection I offer", not "do you want a Coca-Cola". But when I moved to Oregon I had to learn a new term: "pop". 

I also had to learn a couple of other new terms, especially with regards to things I use for gaming. I grew up knowing 3-ring binders as "notebooks". No one ever used the word binder, as far as I recall, even though it's usually on the label when you buy one at an office supply store. But everyone calls them "binders" here in the Northwest. If I said "notebook" to someone here they would probably assume that I meant a spiral-bound notebook or something similar. I'd also never heard of a "peachy" before moving to Oregon. Those were "folders" where I grew up. 

So I guess we could use an English-to-English dictionary for Americans, too!


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Aug 5, 2005)

glass said:
			
		

> Also slang for women, in Britain.
> 
> 
> glass.





I thought that was STRumpet.

As in "The Strumpet was eating Crumpets."


----------



## glass (Aug 5, 2005)

Vraille Darkfang said:
			
		

> I thought that was STRumpet.
> 
> As in "The Strumpet was eating Crumpets."




Crumpet means women in general (or possibly, attractive women).

I believe a strumpet is a particular kind of woman, although I'm not sure what kind (although I could guess).

As in 'that bit of crumpet was a something of a strumpet'.  _EDIT: Although it's unlikely anyone would use both words in anger, as they tend to suggest different social grouping in the speaker_.


glass.


----------



## MonsterMash (Aug 5, 2005)

Vraille Darkfang said:
			
		

> I thought that was STRumpet.
> 
> As in "The Strumpet was eating Crumpets."




No we do use crumpet to mean tottie as well.

a strumpet is usually brassy

tottie = women (usually attractive & young)

british biscuits and american cookies are the closest things to each other, scones and crumpets are very different. We do get some types of biscuit called cookies in the Uk, but it is a subset of the class biscuit. 

Other words from Indian languages in UK english:
Pukka = correct/proper (slang - v. informal)
Khaki = pale brown colour
Char = tea

Lots of others I can't remember at the moment.


----------



## Drew (Aug 5, 2005)

What does it mean when someone is described as "cheeky"?


----------



## wingsandsword (Aug 5, 2005)

MonsterMash said:
			
		

> Khaki = pale brown colour



We have that one over here too.  Still means pale brown, but it has a second meaning.  When used as a noun it means trousers of that color.

"I need to go buy a pair of khaki's"


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Aug 5, 2005)

MonsterMash said:
			
		

> No we do use crumpet to mean tottie as well.
> 
> a strumpet is usually brassy
> 
> tottie = women (usually attractive & young)




So Crumpet = Hottie

Strumpet = word that rhymes with Moe (if you still don't get it, listen to a random rap/hip hop song).


----------



## Vraille Darkfang (Aug 5, 2005)

wingsandsword said:
			
		

> We have that one over here too.  Still means pale brown, but it has a second meaning.  When used as a noun it means trousers of that color.
> 
> "I need to go buy a pair of khaki's"




Umm, Khaki's know come in about every color available. 

Khaki's both refer to a color of pants, but also a general style of pants as well.

America.  We hate making up new words when we got so many already.  Its called recycling.


----------



## Prince Atom (Aug 5, 2005)

One of the profs I work for had me type something up for him today. He came into the office at one point, held his hand out for the print-out, and asked for a butcher's.

I knew what he meant, of course, but it was a bit surprising to hear someone with a string of letters after his name use the term.

'Course, I use all the Britishisms I can get my hands on, just to be different. I was one of the "weird kids" in high school, but I didn't resort to any overt weirdness like Gothism in response. I just skewed my language more.

One problem... back in elementary school, a new kid came in whose father had been a soldier, and was now a soldier who wouldn't come home again   . I confused the slang term "potato masher" with "grenade" generally and made him angry.

Language sure is fun.

TWK


----------



## sniffles (Aug 5, 2005)

Drew said:
			
		

> What does it mean when someone is described as "cheeky"?




The way I understand cheeky is something similar to smart-aleck or smarta$$. But not quite as derogatory as those. "Cheeky" to me has always implied someone with a smart mouth but not in a mean way.

Any Brits with a better definition?


----------



## demiurge1138 (Aug 6, 2005)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> After going through my Planewalkers Handbook (2nd Ed Planescape product) I finally realized that planar slang is an offshoot or British slang. I made the discovery this past weekend while at a friends place.



When I was introducing Planescape to my gaming group at college, I naturally went over the lexicon. One of my players is British. Every once in a while, she'd say "Oh, I know that word." Usually followed with "it's not very nice."

Demiurge out.


----------



## mhacdebhandia (Aug 6, 2005)

Arbiter of Wyrms said:
			
		

> Many nouns are highly dialectical: "Coke" in the southeastern US to about Tennessee is "Pop" in the Northeast and "Soda" on the coasts with very few other alternatives, until you get all the way accross the pond to where they call it a "fizzy drink."



Whereas here in Australia I believe it's universally "soft drink" in every state, as opposed to a "hard drink", i.e. alcohol (not that anyone ever uses the term "hard drink", and if they did they'd probably be distinguishing between beer and a "harder" drink like whiskey or bourbon).


----------



## MonsterMash (Aug 7, 2005)

Cheeky - dictionary definition is impertinent or impudent

Being cheeky is usually seen as vaguely charming or amusing as well as impertinent, so calling someone a "cheeky monkey" is fairly innocuous.

With soft drinks usually its either - soft drinks or pop, coke is usually used fairly interchangably for most colas (probably to Pepi's chagrin)

Of course as a Londoner I have recourse to heaps of slang


----------

