Playwright George Bernard Shaw claimed that "England and America are two countries divided by a common language"
The quote has also been variously attributed to Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde - but then everything is sooner or later.
Two things to know about me -
1 I'm a 'Brit' - fairly obviously
2 I'm a second hand bookshop junkie and truly believe it isn't possible to have too many books you just have a house that's too small
So.....the other day I bought this little Penguin paperback which claimed to be a 'transatlantic survival guide' in which the author, attempting to be even handed to both nations, apologizes to anyone she hasn't insulted.
Any Lewis Carroll fans out there will recognize my avatar, the name that the White Rabbit gave to Alice and remember that it was Humpty Dumpty who said
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less."
so just for starters.........
chips = french fries
crisps = chips
biscuit = cookie / cracker
scone = biscuit
waistcoat = vest
vest = undershirt
knickers = underpants
trousers = pants
knickerbocker trousers knickers
ground floor = first floor
first floor = second floor
public school = private school
I particularly like the section on weather terms......
Spring, in America
Three months between mid-March and mid-June when you put the winter coat away
Spring in the UK
A time when you switch off all central heating but it remains as cold as January
Summer in America
When you turn on the air conditioning
Summer in the UK
The rain gets warmer
'hot' in America
High 70s Farenheit and upwards
'hot' in the UK
A glimmer of sun appears between the clouds.
The interior temperature of any room with all the windows closed
'you won't need your sweater' in America this means it's T-shirt weather in the UK simply no one has died of exposure overnight
'you won't need an umberella' in America this means there has been no rain for a week and the forecast is fine and 'anyway we'll be in the car'
in the UK if you hear this expression you probably are no longer in the UK
any more?
The quote has also been variously attributed to Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde - but then everything is sooner or later.
Two things to know about me -
1 I'm a 'Brit' - fairly obviously
2 I'm a second hand bookshop junkie and truly believe it isn't possible to have too many books you just have a house that's too small
So.....the other day I bought this little Penguin paperback which claimed to be a 'transatlantic survival guide' in which the author, attempting to be even handed to both nations, apologizes to anyone she hasn't insulted.
Any Lewis Carroll fans out there will recognize my avatar, the name that the White Rabbit gave to Alice and remember that it was Humpty Dumpty who said
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less."
so just for starters.........
chips = french fries
crisps = chips
biscuit = cookie / cracker
scone = biscuit
waistcoat = vest
vest = undershirt
knickers = underpants
trousers = pants
knickerbocker trousers knickers
ground floor = first floor
first floor = second floor
public school = private school
I particularly like the section on weather terms......
Spring, in America
Three months between mid-March and mid-June when you put the winter coat away
Spring in the UK
A time when you switch off all central heating but it remains as cold as January
Summer in America
When you turn on the air conditioning
Summer in the UK
The rain gets warmer
'hot' in America
High 70s Farenheit and upwards
'hot' in the UK
A glimmer of sun appears between the clouds.
The interior temperature of any room with all the windows closed
'you won't need your sweater' in America this means it's T-shirt weather in the UK simply no one has died of exposure overnight
'you won't need an umberella' in America this means there has been no rain for a week and the forecast is fine and 'anyway we'll be in the car'
in the UK if you hear this expression you probably are no longer in the UK
any more?
