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British toOoooOOooo American :)

British toOoooOOooo American :)

Date: Oct 04 2007

Topic: Vocabulary

Author: Ocean-SA

Lesson

Here are some britsh expressions with its american tranzlation loool

I found this on some website

Barmaid - A female bartender in a pub is called the barmaid.

Barman - The bartender in a pub is called the barman.

Barrister - An attorney that would represent you in court. Not that I know, of course!

Beefeater - This is the name given to the guards at the Tower of London and a chain of cheap steak restaurants. One is worth visiting, one is worth avoiding!

Bender - A bender is a gay man. Also referred to as a woofter and a few rather unsavoury terms that you'll have to visit England to find out!

Berk - A fool. I remember giggling every time James Burke came on telly when I was kid. Also spelt "burk". The origin is quite interesting - it is another rhyming slang word that many people don't even realise is short for "Berkeley-Hunt", who was an 1890s stage idiot. Hunt rhymes with, well use your imagination! It's OK to say berk.

Big girl's blouse - This is a nice way of saying someone is a wimp. It means someone is being pathetic. It works well for girls and blokes.

The Bill - The police, or the thing you ask for after a meal in a restaurant. In the US that is called the check.

Bint - A bint is a woman or your bird.

Bird - Your bird is your girl. A bit old fashioned and only used by your Dad or Grandad. Not very politically correct.

Bloke - A guy in American. A "good bloke" would be like a "nice guy".

Bobby - Yet another word for policeman.

Boffin - This is the word for a nerd. Usually male, a boffin would be highly intelligent, have no dress sense and probably grow up to be a mad scientist or an HTML programmer!

Bonce - Your bonce is your head! So if someone tells you to use your bonce it means "think about it".

Bristols - This is a good example of a word that most Brits would know, but not necessarily realise it was derived from rhyming slang. Bristols means breasts. If you haven't worked it out yet, bristols is short for bristol city's (a football team), city's rhymes with titties, i.e. breasts! Easy huh!

Brum - Short for Birmingham. People from brum are brummies and they speak brum, a kind of English!

Brummy - A person from Birmingham who speaks brum.

Bum chum - Another name for a gay man. We have lots of other expressions, too numerous to list here. Some of the less offensive include shirtlifter and arse bandit.

Buns - Some elderly ladies have buns on their heads. This is not a terrible deformity, the bun is actually rolled up hair in the shape of a currant bun.

Burk - Fool. I remember giggling every time James Burke came on telly when I was kid. Also spelt berk.

Busker - Street entertainer to you. Someone who makes his or her living by singing, playing or acting on the street to amuse the crowds of passers by. Busking is down to a fine art at Covent Garden in London - it's worth the trip. Reminds me of the buskers outside Quincey Market in Boston.

Butterfingers - You would call someone butterfingers if they were clumsy and dropped something.


On your tod - If you are on your tod it means you are all on your own. A more recent expression is to say you were Nobby no-mates. Ahh, sad!

Page three girl - One of the cheap and cheerful newspapers in the UK is The Sun. It is most famous for it's page three girl, a different topless girl every day. Of course, most people buy it for the news. Mmmm!

Pillock - Another mildly insulting name for someone. If someone had just done something stupid you would say "you pillock". This one is safe in front of grandparents.

Plod - The police. This one originates from an Enid Blyton character in the Noddy stories - Mr Plod the Policeman. I hope the Teletubbies don't make their way into the English language in the same way - just imagine - "I'm off to clean the carpet with the Noo Noo" or "I'm out of the closet now everyone knows I'm a Tinky Winky".


Sponger - Someone who borrows or begs and does nothing to earn their own money. People sponge off their friends or some who refuse to work and collect dole money sponge off the state.

Spotty youth - This is a generic term used by older people to refer to teenagers. The "spotty" refers to the fact that they may well have acne.

Sprog - A baby. Most people have between 2 and 3 sprogs in the UK. Except the Catholics who have lots!

Squire - "Morning squire" is something you may hear in England. Squire is used to mean Sir.

Staff - We use this word to refer to the employees in a company in general.

Swot - We used to call the boys at school "girlie swots" if they preferred to do homework and study, rather than proper kids things like shoplifting and hiding from teachers. It was not cool to be a swot. Funny how they all ended up with the best jobs though - must be a coincidence!

Tart - You old tart! That's what you'd say to someone whose morals are a little loose. A bit too much flirting. Normally you'd hear people being described as having been a tart after the office Christmas party, if they were caught snogging their secretary! People may also dress like a tart - maybe if their skirt is too short! Used to apply only to women but these days it is a mild insult used for both sexes.

Thick - If someone is thick it means they are stupid. You might hear it said that someone is "thick as shi*" - that means they are really stupid! Thicko is a nicer way of saying someone is stupid though - try it on your friends!

Toff - A toff is someone who is rather well spoken, upper class and looks down on the rest of us. My mate calls them "posh gits".

Trainspotter - Not your mate. Not that you'd admit to anyway. A trainspotter is a particularly sad breed of middle-aged man, usually wearing a cardie and an anorak. He stands on the end of railway station platforms and writes down the registration numbers of trains. Fun eh? Pretty close to a nerd in American.

Tramp - This is a homeless person who begs on street corners. We don't use this word in the flirting sense that you have.

Turf accountant - This is one of the words we use to describe a bookie. You will see it outside their shops. We also use the expression "betting shop". The best place to bet, though, is on the racecourse - great fun.

Ulcer - When I got an ulcer in Austin I went to about 5 drug stores before I found someone who had a clue what an ulcer might be. After speaking to all the pharmacists it was the spotty faced youth stacking the shelves in Albertson's who told me what I had was a canker.

Up the duff - If a woman is up the duff it means she is pregnant.

Very well - When someone says hello to you in England and asks how you are, please don't say good. Say you are "very well". Good is a behavioural thing, which would mean you are a good boy or girl and haven't been naughty today!! Which doesn't really answer the question, does it?


Yank - An American. The Brits refer to the Americans as "yanks" in general. Whether you are from the north or the south!

You lot - You guys. My Dad would often come and find my brothers and I up to no good. He would say "what are you lot up to"?


hehehhe

===================================

Ocean

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