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Words and phrases I love!
Moving over here to the UK was relatively painless for me. I came from a commonwealth country and so I was relatively informed as far as culture and customs were concerned so that would be no biggie...it was easy to get a visa because I was from a commonwealth country, again no biggie....I spoke the language.....or did I? I thought I did...however after arriving over here and spending some time I realized I didn't really speak the language at all, and I put my foot in it a few times on occasion. Once in the UK, I learned that the "English" and "North American" languages have less in common than might be supposed. New words were confusing and their meaning was lost on me at first. More troublesome were words which had a completely different meaning in each language. The problem was that I thought I understood.
Ace - If something is ace it is brilliant.
Aggro - Short for aggravation, it's the sort of thing you might expect at a football match. In other words - trouble! There is sometimes aggro in the cities after the pubs shut!
All right? - This is used a lot to mean, "Hello, how are you"? You would say it to a complete stranger or someone you knew. The normal response would be for them to say "All right"? back to you. It is said as a question. The person saying it really doesn't want to know how you are....they just want to say hello...
Anti-clockwise - It simply means counter-clockwise....but coming from North America...to be anti anything usually means you are against it....when I was taking my Medical Sec course the term anti-natal...really threw me.
Any road - Up north instead of saying anyway, they say "any road"! Weird huh?
Barmy - If someone tells you that you're barmy they mean you have gone mad or crazy. I love this word.
Blimey - An exclamation of surprise. I have heard it said, "Gawd Blimey" or "Gor Blimey" or even "Cor Blimey". It is all a corruption of the oath God Blind Me.
Blinding - If something is a blinding success - it does not mean that any eyes were poked out with sharp sticks - it means it was fantastic.
Bloody - One of the most useful swear words in English. Mostly used as an exclamation of surprise i.e. "bloody hell" or "bloody nora". Something may be "bloody marvellous" or "bloody awful". It is also used to emphasise almost anything, "you're bloody mad", "not bloody likely" and can also be used in the middle of other words to emphasise them. E.g. "Abso-bloody-lutely"!
Blow me - This is simply an exclamation of surprise, short for "Blow me down", meaning something like I am so surprised you could knock me over just by blowing. Similar to "Well knock me down with a feather". It is not a request for services to be performed.
Bob's your uncle - This is a well used phrase. It is added to the end of sentences a bit like and that's it! For example if you are telling someone how to make that fabulous banoffee pie you just served them, you would tell them to boil the condensed milk for three hours, spread it onto a basic cheesecake base, slice bananas on top, add some whipped double cream, another layer of banana and Bob's your uncle!
Cheeky - Cheeky means you are flippant, have too much lip or are a bit of a smart arse! Generally you are considered to be a bit cheeky if you have an answer for everything and always have the last word. It has nothing to do with a fat face or arse.
Chuffed - You would be chuffed to bits if you were really pleased about something.
Crikey - Another exclamation of surprise.
Daft -It basically means stupid.
Easy Peasy - A childish term for something very easy. (the little fella next door always follows this one with the words, Lemon Squeezy!)
Fanny - This is the word for a woman's front bits! One doesn't normally talk about anyone's fanny as it is a bit rude. You certainly don't have a fanny pack, or smack people on their fannys - you would get arrested for that! Careful use of this word in the UK is advised! I found that out rather early on, much to my embarassment.
Full of beans - This means to have loads of energy. It is a polite way of saying that a child is a maniac.
Gobsmacked - Amazed. Your gob is your mouth and if you smack your gob, it would be out of amazement.
Gutted - If someone is really upset by something they might say that they were gutted. Like when you are told that you have just failed your driving test!
Jolly - You hear people use this in all sorts of ways, but basically it means very. So "jolly good" would mean very good. A common exception is where you hear people say "I should jolly well think so!" which is more to emphasise the point.
Keep your pecker up - This is one way of saying keep your chin up. (back home this would have been rude!)
Kip - A short sleep, forty winks, or a snooze. You have a kip in front of the telly on a Sunday afternoon.
Knackered - The morning after twenty pints and the curry, you'd probably feel knackered. Basically worn out, good for nothing, tired out, knackered.
Knock up - This means to wake someone up. Back home it means something else entirely....
Luvvly-jubbly - Clearly another way of saying lovely.
Morish - Also spelt "moreish", this word is used to describe something delicious, when a single helping is simply not enough. You need more! It applies to anything - not just desserts.
Naff - If something is naff, it is basically uncool. Anoraks are naff, salad cream is also naff.
Nosh - Food. You would refer to food as nosh or you might be going out for a good nosh up, or meal!
Porkies - Cockney rhyming slang. Short for "porky pies", meaning "pork pies". Rhymes with lies.
Posh - Roughly translates as high class, though if you look at Posh Spice there are clearly exceptions to the rule!
Scrummy - This is a word that would be used to describe either some food that was particularly good (and probably sweet and fattening).
Shag - No, this is not a type of carpeting or a dance.....it's another way of describing having sex...
Sixes and sevens - If something is all at sixes and sevens then it is in a mess, topsy turvy or somewhat haywire!
Snog - a serious kiss! (I got snogged by Jean Christophe Novelli last year and have the pictures to prove it!)
Snookered - If you are snookered it means you are up the famous creek without a paddle.
Sod's law - This is another name for Murphy's law - whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
Spend a penny - To spend a penny is to go to the bathroom.
Squidgy - A chocolate cream cake would be squidgey. It means to be soft and, well, squidgey!
Strop - If someone is sulking or being particularly miserable you would say they are being stroppy or that they have a strop on. I once heard an old man on the train tell his wife to stop being a stroppy cow.
Taking the mickey - making fun of or pulling one over on someone else.
Tara - Pronounced "churar", this is another word for cheerio or goodbye.
Waffle - To waffle means to talk on and on about nothing. It is not something you eat.
Whinge - Whingers are not popular in any circumstance. To whinge is to whine. We all know someone who likes to whinge about everything.
Wobbler - To "throw a wobbly" or to "throw a wobbler" means to have a tantrum.
And now for something scrummy,squidgy and totally moreish! Now this is "Posh" nosh! Luvvly Jubbly!
*Snickers Bar Delight*
Makes 16
To die for…say no more…
1 cup milk chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips (available from SKYCO)
½ cup creamy peanut butter, divided
¼ cup butter
1 cup castor sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk
1 ½ cups marshmallow crème (also available from SKYCO)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 ½ cups chopped salted peanuts
1 (24 0z) bag of soft toffees
¼ cup heavy cream
TOPPING:
1 cup milk chocolate chips
¼ cup butterscotch chips
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
Combine 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly. Spread onto the bottom of a greased 9 X 13 baking pan. Chill until set.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add the sugar and evaporated milk. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add the marshmallow creme, 1/4 cup peanut butter and vanilla and mix well. Stir in the peanuts and spread over the chocolate mixture. Chill until set.
Combine the toffees and cream in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until the toffees melt and the mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Spread over the peanut layer. Chill until set.
Combine 1 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup butterscotch chips and 1/4 cup peanut butter in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until melted and smooth, stirring constantly. Pour over the caramel layer. Chill for at least 1 hour. Cut into 1 inch squares. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Bet you can't eat just one!
Written by mariealicejoan Blog about this entry |
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One of my company's vendors is from overseas, and they sent an English representative. We drove into Washington, D.C. behind a police van marked "SOD POLICE". He lifted his brow and said, "I had no idea sod needed policing."
Fred
http://journals.aol.com/ravenjuiced/those-eyes-that-the-che rubim-dre/ -
Sorted!
I might have to send this to some of my American friends who are always asking me to translate British films and programmes...LOL
Lyn -
Oh your getting us sussed out now,brill entry ,am enjoying a fag whilst reading your recipe for your nosh ,.,.,Jan xx
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Very thorough! And I'm proud to say that I know MOST of them now. Don't forget "humpy" meaning to take offense. I made the same mistake you did in using the word "fanny". I love the phrase, "Too right!" and how about, "Steady on!".
Marie, I REALLY know your on a DIET now!!! Just look at that recipe entry! LOL Now this is a dieter's dream! Please tell me how you got the chocolate on top not to crack when you cut it. This looks heavenly under any circumstances.
Love,
Susie
http://journals.aol.co.uk/susanebunn/ItAllStartsAfter50/
24/10/06 15:31