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seahorse
Senior Member
USA
1075 Posts |
 Posted - 12 May 2005 : 03:22:03
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Hi Folks,
I'm about 6 months into life in the UK and I have to tell you that I have no idea what some people are saying. Here's a few new words I've picked up far. Try and guess what they mean.
Hole in the wall:
butty:
bum bag:
dosh:
peckish:
pavement:
afters:
bangers:
wellies:
faff:
There are more, but nothing else comes to mind at the moment |
Ken
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Worldwide Partner Group
Microsoft |
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Hamlin
Advanced Member
United Kingdom
2386 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 04:02:51
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bum bag? Are they around still, I thought they died out in the 90's. The rest I have no problem with  |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 04:52:08
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ok, here goes a translation
Hole in the wall - usually refers to an ATM cash machine
Butty - Sandwich
bum bag - in the US they are fanny bags I think (a fanny is something entirely different in english)
dosh - money
peckish - hungry
pavement - sidewalk
afters - bit difficult to explain this one, but means ofter eating something you go back for more
bangers - sausages
wellies - are in fact wellies, a rubber boot for your feet (wellington boot)
faff - means to to something in a non methodical way |
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MarkJH
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1722 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 05:40:30
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quote:
they are fanny bags I think
Fannypacks, isn't it?
quote:
afters - bit difficult to explain this one, but means ofter eating something you go back for more
You've got to love the English language. It's a regional thing too. 'afters' is what we call our dessert in this neck of the woods.
I remember talking to my future Canadian mother-in-law just the other day and telling her I was 'gobsmacked'. I think she thought that somebody had punched me in the face! 
Seahorse, just wait 'til you have to deal with Cockney rhyming slang! |
Bandlink.net - http://www.bandlink.net/
Bandlink Music Forums - http://www.bandlink.net/forum/ |
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MarkJH
Senior Member
United Kingdom
1722 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 05:46:18
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| Anyway, I should stop faffing around in here, get my bacon and eggs down the apples and pears and get some grub going (because I'm rather peckish - maybe a few sarnies?) and then get back to earning some bread & honey to pay the Burton-on-Trent! |
Bandlink.net - http://www.bandlink.net/
Bandlink Music Forums - http://www.bandlink.net/forum/ |
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pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 06:46:54
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MarkJH - that's just mean, be kind to poor seahorse - he's still settling in and wondering why people snigger when he says 'pants' ;-)
Glad you're having fun with it seahorse :) |
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seahorse
Senior Member
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 07:48:23
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I thought a butty was a bread roll for weeks before I realized it's actually a sandwich.
I'm learning more English English from my kid and he's in nursery.
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Ken
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Worldwide Partner Group
Microsoft |
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HuwR
Forum Admin
United Kingdom
20584 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 08:02:00
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a butty can also refer to a police car their traffic patrol cars were often called jam butties because of the stripe round the middle.
and don't forget here your car doesn't have a trunk only elephants do |
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ChienFou
Starting Member
Belgium
33 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 09:53:23
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quote:
Originally posted by HuwR
and don't forget here your car doesn't have a trunk only elephants do
and no Hood or Muffler either |
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Shaggy
Support Moderator
Ireland
6780 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 09:58:23
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quote:
The English have no respect for their language, and will not teach their children to speak it. - George Bernard Shaw
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 Search is your friend
“I was having a mildly paranoid day, mostly due to the
fact that the mad priest lady from over the river had
taken to nailing weasels to my front door again.” |
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seahorse
Senior Member
USA
1075 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 11:29:00
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"Sorted" is something I hear a lot.
Are you all sorted?
Not hard to figure out, but it slows you down a bit sometimes.
Some of the accents are pretty strong with some people. Really hard to catch some times.
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Ken
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Worldwide Partner Group
Microsoft |
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pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2005 : 11:42:12
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haha Manchester may be tricky but try Geordieland(Newcastle) - nobody understands them  |
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ChienFou
Starting Member
Belgium
33 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2005 : 05:11:42
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Yes, Geordies are not easy, neither is the Glaswegian accent either
seahorse, did you sort out your incorporation OK? I put a link on the thread where you mentioned it. |
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pdrg
Support Moderator
United Kingdom
2897 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2005 : 06:57:23
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And it's JAM not JELLY :)
Yesterday, one of my Hyderabad colleagues mixed absolute formality and infomality beautifully when trying to understand what I was explaining...'excuse me, please could you come again?'
One foreign friend, thinking she was using an English idiom correctly got a bit confused with 'b??l??ks' (censored, as in it's common form means dangleberries, but originally meant priests [NOTTINGHAM MAGISTRATES' COURT 24/11/77 - google for a transcript]).
in everyday UK parlance...
'b??l??ks' - something pretty bad
'the dog's b??l??ks' - something really good
'the b??l??ks' - abbreviated form of 'the dog's...'
So, in a presentation in front of her UK colleagues, she pointed to a page full of impressive numbers, and stated in all sincerity 'so as you'll see from the above, this really is b??l??ks' - so near yet so far... |
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Shaggy
Support Moderator
Ireland
6780 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2005 : 07:11:42
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Ooo, ta for that, Pdrg; now I know the derivation of my favourite word.
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Search is your friend
“I was having a mildly paranoid day, mostly due to the
fact that the mad priest lady from over the river had
taken to nailing weasels to my front door again.” |
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chumbawumba
Junior Member
United Kingdom
304 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2005 : 08:59:25
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scouse (liverpool) is a good dialect too:
"giz a ciggy mate"
translates to
"pardon me kind sir, please may i have a cigarrette" |
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