An American in Birmingham...

[MsAng]

So, the other day at work, I was remembering some first experiences with British slang/dialect, and I wanted to share them. (this was from the schoolyear that I spent in England in college, '98-99)

Walking through campus, I had new friends stop and ask me, "Are you alright?"
--Uh, I think so. Why, am I bleeding?
(a very frightening way to ask 'how are you?')

I got home from school one evening and my host mom asks me,"Have you had your tea?" (and this she says in a tone of serious concern. I'm afraid I've broken a law or something)
--Y-yes... I think I drank some tea this morning...?

Host mom says, "No, no, your TEA, your... evening meal, your dinner. We're having jacket potatoes with prawns and courgettes."
--Huh?
(baked potatoes with shrimp and zucchini)

In the dorm room of a friend: "What would you like? I have tea, coffee or orange squash...?
--Uhh... anything but the garden vegetable, please.
(Squash- like concentrated Kool-Aid, that you reconstitute with water)

Making plans with friends: "So, I'll knock you up around ten, then?"
--You'll WHAT? I thought we were going to the bookstore!
(yeah- knock on your door)
************************************************

so,l there you are, a few funny remembrances about my language immersion.

[Laslo Hollyfeld]

I had a similar experience while living in New Zealand a few years ago. Many "British-isms" are there as well, and it made for some funny misunderstandings--on both sides.

For instance, I was thrown for a loop the first time someone told me we'd be having "bangers and mash for tea." (Tea is, as MsAng pointed out, is the evening meal, and bangers and mash are sausages and mashed potatoes.)

Or when I ordered a lemonade and got a bottle of Sprite. "lemonade" is even printed on Sprite bottles there.

Or when I got hit while playing basketball and announced loudly that I had a "bloody nose." Yeah, "bloody" has an entirely different and much more offensive meaning over there than in America.

Or when a friend of mine was writing a letter and asked me to hand him "a rubber." (rubber = eraser).

Or when someone wants to visit you personally, they say they will "call," but if they're going to call you on the phone, they say they'll "ring you up."

Lots of fun messing with language... I miss NZ.

[MsCali]

Did either of you eat "black pudding" while you were there?

(I wish it were legal here in the states...I quite liked it!)

[MsAng]

blech. No. Maybe if I hadn't known what it was I would have tried it, but... ick.
I did try haggis in Scotland though. Just a bite of someone else's, but it was ok.
Bangers and Mash rock!!! I love pub food.

[The Movie Mark]

brigantine said:

Making plans with friends: "So, I'll knock you up around ten, then?"
--You'll WHAT? I thought we were going to the bookstore!
(yeah- knock on your door)

Haha, the British are quite clever, it seems. I'm sure they know exactly what that means in the U.S. and figure they'll throw it out there and see if, with their charming accents, any girls will take the bait. If a girl gets offended then they have the easy excuse of "it's a British term."

A long time ago a friend of mine and I had great plans to tell various females that we thought they were very callipygous and see what their reactions were. I was mainly curious to see if ANY would know what in the world it meant.

Alas, we chickened out and never followed through on those lofty dreams. Perhaps 'tis an idea I should revisit.

[The Movie Mark]

mscali said:

Did either of you eat "black pudding" while you were there?

(I wish it were legal here in the states...I quite liked it!)

Sounds like a plague of some sort in a Sci Fi Original.

[MsCali]

JB, Black Pudding is better known as "Blood Sausage".

I tried it in Ireland, and it was actually good. Then again, I list my favorite food as escargot, so I am pretty adventurous when it comes to cuisine. (I saw a special on how they make blood sausage years ago on the food network...and rather than being disgusted by it, it made me really want to try it!)

Mr. C tried Haggis not too long ago - it was Robbie Burns day at the Scottish Restaurant here, and our friend's company was paying for everyone to go (I guess one of the higher ups was Scottish)...she was able to bring a friend, so he went with her. They had haggis...he said it was not good. But the people actually from Scotland said it wasn't good haggis.

So my question is...is there such a thing as good haggis?

And Ms Ang, I had bangers and mash for dinner Sunday! They are sooooo good...my other favorites are Bridies (think of a potpie & turnover combined...sooooooooo good).

Awwwww...all this food talk makes me miss Ireland...it'll be a year tuesday that we went! We wanted to go back for our 1st anniversary, but it just isn't possible this year...so we are going to Catalina Island instead.

[Laslo Hollyfeld]

"All Scottish cuisine is based on a dare" - So I Married an Axe Murderer