As we lived in the London surrounds for half of that time overseas, it is "British-isms" that are firmly ingrained in my psyche. I get odd reactions from people all the time for my turn of phrase. And it's not because I'm trying to be some sort of "global snob" either - I promise! I even mix my terminology in the same sentence! It's become a sort of "Anglo-Yankeese" if you will.
Some examples:
1. Go into a restaurant and ask for "the bill". Odd look. "You want your check?" they say. Well, DOH!
2. Again, in said restaurant where I have not finished my dinner and would like to take it home. I ask for a "takeaway container". Odd look with mouth agape from server. If Jennifer is with me, she looks sympathetically at the server and says, "She wants a To-go box." Is it rocket science that I want to TAKE AWAY my food??
3. I still look for a "car park" but always take the elevator instead of a "lift". I never did get the whole "lift" thing down - always thought that had something to do with Playtex bras or shoes for short men.
4. I ask about "petrol" prices. But I always buy "gas".
5. The other day, talking to Mike about finances, I asked about a letter we needed for our tax file in case the "Inland Revenue" ever audited us.
6. I put trash in a "bin" but never put "rubbish" in said bin.
7. I ask Mike if he wants "a coffee" rather than a cup of coffee but I go to THE hospital, never "to hospital"
8. I asked someone where the local D.M.V. was - they didn't have a clue. (DMV is Department of Motor Vehicles vs. the DPS here)
9. I have never referred to my female dogs as "bitches" although I may have used the term to describe a celebrity once or twice. But I do like to take my dogs for "walkies"!
10. I have been known on occasion to be "gobsmacked".
11. When affirming a statement Mike has made, I'll often say "Quite!" or "Indeed!" Here, I must admit, we are poking a bit of fun at our Anglo-cousins. It's just too much fun...
12. Mike has a "CV" - I forget that is also a resume.
13. I still "post" letters instead of mailing them. But I always check the "mail box" not the "post box".
14. I go to the "grocery" instead of "the store".
15. I talk on a mobile phone - NOT a "cell"
16. And I still get in a "queue", not the "line"
17. I often say "Cheers!" instead of "Bye!"
18. I look for rawl plugs at the DIY (Do It Yourself) instead of molly bolts at Home Depot.
I9. I go on "holiday" instead of "vacation" sometimes. Here is a photo of Tim and Megan "whilst on holiday" together in the Cotswolds in 2002.
20. And I enjoy a "lie-in" as many mornings as I can! We just have a "big breakfast" of eggs and bacon instead of a "fry-up".
21. Fish and chips are still fish and chips - thank goodness for some commonality!
22. We don't drink so we never went down to "our local".
23. Futher to #2 above, we sometimes opt for a "takeaway" vs. "fast food".
24. A queen is still a queen to me - Elizabeth is Royalty; Elton John is a queen. Some things never change. :)
21. Fish and chips are still fish and chips - thank goodness for some commonality!
22. We don't drink so we never went down to "our local".
23. Futher to #2 above, we sometimes opt for a "takeaway" vs. "fast food".
24. A queen is still a queen to me - Elizabeth is Royalty; Elton John is a queen. Some things never change. :)
So I'm hopelessly lost in my own little between-cultures world. My children know what I mean, and most of my friends do too for the most part seeing as how most of them have been to visit me at least once while I was in other climes (trying to win the record for the most use of "most" in a sentence). You can spot a former expat by a turn of phrase usually, leading to a conversation that starts with "Did you happen to live in.....?"
My car tag is a vanity plate - TEXPAT. I've had more than one person ask me what that meant (an expat who moved back to Texas) but former expats always know. Great way to meet fellow-language-challenged people! Indeed.
So when next we speak, bear with me if I say something that you don't quite understand. It's probably just my inability to differentiate between the two worlds I've lived in. Either that or my brain is smoothing out - I'll go with the former. Quite.
Cheers!
My car tag is a vanity plate - TEXPAT. I've had more than one person ask me what that meant (an expat who moved back to Texas) but former expats always know. Great way to meet fellow-language-challenged people! Indeed.
So when next we speak, bear with me if I say something that you don't quite understand. It's probably just my inability to differentiate between the two worlds I've lived in. Either that or my brain is smoothing out - I'll go with the former. Quite.
Cheers!
6 comments:
I used to teach with a British lady. I always had to remind her to say "erasers" instead of "rubbers." While it was good for countless hours of entertainment for me, not good to say to fourth graders.
I never got use to saying trousers in the UK instead of pants. So whenever I said to one of my students to pull up their pants the class were in fits asking why I was looking at students underwear.Although after the twentieth time the gave up on me.
This is very interesting & so true even when moving around in the SAME country. I wear togs to the beach, used to take a port to school, & now have a stoby pole in my front yard. Some queenslanders will understand only a part of what I said, as will some south australians, but bet you have no idea : )
Well, I certainly hope you're going to translate for us! I'm guessing "togs" means swimwear, "port" means a bus or other public transport? Now, a stoby pole - that one has me flummoxed.
I know now that it's a utility pole!! (electric or phone?)
The internet and GOOGLE is a GREAT resource!!
Loved your post. Laughed and smiled all the way through.
Your readers down hear understand you well.
Once a lecturer at uni told us that her grandson came over and she gave him a glass of milk. She said "What do you say?" (thinking he would say "thank you").
He said, "Cheers!"
Post a Comment