English (British) language

Ok, we have a cruise coming up in a month or so and will be in London pre-cruise for a few days. Can someone do a language translation? Add more as you think of differences.

Beefeaters = ?

Pint = glass?

Mash =

more please..

Ok, we have a cruise coming up in a month or so and will be in London pre-cruise for a few days. Can someone do a language translation? Add more as you think of differences.

Beefeaters = ?Guards or Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London or brand of Gin or a restaurant chain.

Pint = glass?Is a measurement of beer or milk. Beer comes in a pint glass, milk comes in a pint bottle.

Mash =potatoes mashed

more please..

...

Chips = french fries

Crisps = chips

Off-licence = liquor store

Takeaway = a restaurant exclusively for take-out or to go food

Here are a couple of important transport ones:

Subway = an underground passage used for crossing a busy road, not to be confused with...

Underground = also called 'tube', this is the public rapid transit system, consisting of trains which mostly (though not always, especially in the 'burbs) run underground

Mushy Peas .... are not mashed up green peas that you find here usually in green pea soup, they are huge peas mashed up, surprisingly good.

Ploughman's Lunch ... pronounced Plowman's = usually daily pub fare lunch with bread, cheese or other things. Used to be a good deal, now probably not so much.

Bangers = Sausages

Wikipedia has a whole long list!!!

Some important ones for Health and Safety and avoiding embarrassment;)

Pavement = sidewalk

fag = slang for cigarette

fanny = 'lady's parts':eek:

bum = rear end

Toilet / WC - washroom / restroom

Lift - elevator

Quid - pound e.g lend us a few quid or that will be 10 quid please

Fiver - five pound note

Tenner - ten pound note

Fags = Cigarettes

Selswick

Fags = Cigarettes

 

Selswick

Nmg beat me to it

Fortnight = two weeks

Pint = 580 ml approx but in the right context generally means a beer eg "a pint please" in a pub restaurant or cafe does not mean a pint of milk. Confusingly some milk still comes in pints and some in litres. Britain still has miles rather than kilometres but food measurements and temperature are metric.

20 degrees = pleasantly warm

25 degrees = quite warm

30 degrees = hot

35 degrees = phew!!

If you come from Florida, Louisiana California or Texas you can probably add five degrees to each of those :)

Some important ones for Health and Safety and avoiding embarrassment;)

 

Pavement = sidewalk

fag = slang for cigarette

fanny = 'lady's parts':eek:

bum = rear end

...and thats why we call them 'bum bags', not 'fanny packs'!

Simon

Americans ask about 'downtown' in Europe. We don't have downtowns. We have town centres or in many other European cities, historic centres.

Just to clarify measurements:

Temperatures are in Celsius.

Except for older folk who still remember Fahrenheit and prefer it cos it sounds warmer.

Lengths are in millimetres and metres.

So a 4x2 is a 100x50, and carpets are typically in widths of 2, 3, or 4 metres.

But people and clothes are still in feet and inches. So a six-footer is still a six-footer, and a 40 inch waist still means you need to diet. Shoes and hats are measured in some unfathomable unit.

A metre is the same as a yard if you're not too fussy about accuracy.

We measure longer distances in miles, even though infuriatingly the Discovery Channel converts everything to kilometres.

Bridge heights, road widths and weight limits are usually displayed in both imperial and metric. Showing them simply in metric led to a lot of repair bills, because some truckers' mental arithmetic wasn't quick enough, ouch!!

Speed is measured in miles per hour except for truckers, whose speedometers display kilometres per hour. Road direction signs are in miles, and speed limits in miles per hour - again except for truckers, who have to do the mental arithmetic.

Liquids are in litres, except for those that are in pints, gallons or fluid ounces.

Order draught beer in pints or half-pints but bottled and canned beers come in odd numbers of millilitres that don't equate to any sensible measurement, or occasionally they come in fluid ounces. Easiest to ask for a pint of brew or a bottle of Bud or a can of Fosters.

Beer is the only product that the European bureaucrats in Brussels allow us to sell in pints.

Milk has to be sold in litres - but the producers pack it by the pint, typically labelled "1.137 litres (2 pints)" or "2.273 litres (4 pints)" . That seems to keep everyone happy.:). Same applies to some other products, partly because Imperial is how some Brits prefer it & partly to poke their tongues out at Brussels.:p

Wine bottles are usually 0.70 or 0.75 litre, same as the US. And it always has been - a "pint of wine" is far too coarse a measurement for such a fine product. But a "glass of wine" can be any size the seller wants to use, normally anywhere between 125 ml (six to the bottle) and 250 ml (three to the bottle) so you have no idea of the value for money that you're likely to get.

Like most liquids, petrol (gas) is sold by the litre.

But fuel economy is still measured in miles per gallon, which tends to flatten the batteries in the calculators of those of us who care about fuel economy - which most of us do, because the stuff costs around £1.18 per litre. I won't convert that to a price per gallon for you, partly because my calculator battery is flat & partly because our gallons are bigger than yours - not everything in the US is bigger. :p

Our engines are measured in cc (cubic centimetres). This is because they sound much bigger than if we measured them in cubic inches.

Weights are measured in tonnes, kilograms and grams.

Except for people again. We're still in stones (1 stone =14lb) and pounds. I weigh about 15st 3 - but lets face it, you still don't know if I'm as skinny as a rake or as fat as a pig.

A tonne (1,000 kg) is, purely by coincidence, almost exactly a ton. It's spelled "tonne" or "metric ton" by those who care about the difference.

Kilograms and hundreds of grams are the measurements you're most likely to come across. A kilo of cheese is too much (about 2lb 3oz) and an 8oz steak is about 220g

A gram isn't very much, hardly worth talking about unless you're a chemist.

Pressure, which used to be in pounds per cubic inch, is now in "bar". If you need to pump up a tyre, best to kick it to see if it's OK because nobody seems to know what a "bar" is worth - and anyway, gauges on gas station forecourts are notoriously inaccurate.

So there you have it.

Simple really, I don't know why folk get so confused about it.

JB :)

I'll need to create a WORD document with these. I assume WORD is OK to use :)

Just to clarify measurements:

 

Temperatures are in Celsius.

Except for older folk who still remember Fahrenheit and prefer it cos it sounds warmer.

 

Lengths are in millimetres and metres.

So a 4x2 is a 100x50, and carpets are typically in widths of 2, 3, or 4 metres.

But people and clothes are still in feet and inches. So a six-footer is still a six-footer, and a 40 inch waist still means you need to diet. Shoes and hats are measured in some unfathomable unit.

A metre is the same as a yard if you're not too fussy about accuracy.

We measure longer distances in miles, even though infuriatingly the Discovery Channel converts everything to kilometres.

 

Bridge heights, road widths and weight limits are usually displayed in both imperial and metric. Showing them simply in metric led to a lot of repair bills, because some truckers' mental arithmetic wasn't quick enough, ouch!!

 

Speed is measured in miles per hour except for truckers, whose speedometers display kilometres per hour. Road direction signs are in miles, and speed limits in miles per hour - again except for truckers, who have to do the mental arithmetic.

 

Liquids are in litres, except for those that are in pints, gallons or fluid ounces.

Order draught beer in pints or half-pints but bottled and canned beers come in odd numbers of millilitres that don't equate to any sensible measurement, or occasionally they come in fluid ounces. Easiest to ask for a pint of brew or a bottle of Bud or a can of Fosters.

Beer is the only product that the European bureaucrats in Brussels allow us to sell in pints.

Milk has to be sold in litres - but the producers pack it by the pint, typically labelled "1.137 litres (2 pints)" or "2.273 litres (4 pints)" . That seems to keep everyone happy.:). Same applies to some other products, partly because Imperial is how some Brits prefer it & partly to poke their tongues out at Brussels.:p

Wine bottles are usually 0.70 or 0.75 litre, same as the US. And it always has been - a "pint of wine" is far too coarse a measurement for such a fine product. But a "glass of wine" can be any size the seller wants to use, normally anywhere between 125 ml (six to the bottle) and 250 ml (three to the bottle) so you have no idea of the value for money that you're likely to get.

Like most liquids, petrol (gas) is sold by the litre.

But fuel economy is still measured in miles per gallon, which tends to flatten the batteries in the calculators of those of us who care about fuel economy - which most of us do, because the stuff costs around £1.18 per litre. I won't convert that to a price per gallon for you, partly because my calculator battery is flat & partly because our gallons are bigger than yours - not everything in the US is bigger. :p

Our engines are measured in cc (cubic centimetres). This is because they sound much bigger than if we measured them in cubic inches.

 

Weights are measured in tonnes, kilograms and grams.

Except for people again. We're still in stones (1 stone =14lb) and pounds. I weigh about 15st 3 - but lets face it, you still don't know if I'm as skinny as a rake or as fat as a pig.

A tonne (1,000 kg) is, purely by coincidence, almost exactly a ton. It's spelled "tonne" or "metric ton" by those who care about the difference.

Kilograms and hundreds of grams are the measurements you're most likely to come across. A kilo of cheese is too much (about 2lb 3oz) and an 8oz steak is about 220g

A gram isn't very much, hardly worth talking about unless you're a chemist.

 

Pressure, which used to be in pounds per cubic inch, is now in "bar". If you need to pump up a tyre, best to kick it to see if it's OK because nobody seems to know what a "bar" is worth - and anyway, gauges on gas station forecourts are notoriously inaccurate.

 

So there you have it.

Simple really, I don't know why folk get so confused about it.

 

JB :)

Oh my God, I really needed a laugh and you truly provided it :D

Ours is a crazy country............but I do love it so very much :)

I'll need to create a WORD document with these. I assume WORD is OK to use :)

Word is just fine :)

Just please, please, please don't say 'fanny pack' :eek::eek:

....I curl up inside every time I hear it :o

Oh my God, I really needed a laugh and you truly provided it :D

 

 

Ours is a crazy country............but I do love it so very much :)

Let's not confuse our friends across the pond with weather temperatures.

Hot weather discussed in Fahrenheit and cold temperatures discussed in Centigrade?

Seems perfectly natural to me as a Brit...

Pants = Trousers

If you ask for pants you'll be given underwear

Jumper = sweater. So if someone suggests a jumper because it might be a bit chilly later, they are not suggesting you wear a pinafore dress.

And don't forget our understatement. So "a bit chilly" means "freezing". And "Not quite what I was expecting" equates to "What the f¥€£ is that, you moron".

And 'word'? Having a word = giving a right dressing down :)

Bathroom = a room containing a bath (tub)

 

Ours is a crazy country AGREED...........but I do love it so very much :) ME TOO

First time visitors to this wet, crazy, little island may appreciate reading Bill Bryson's "Notes From a Small Island", I'd recommend reading it on your flight home, not on your flight here otherwise it may put you off!

Oh and on the subject of etiquette, it's ok for us to call it "wet" "crazy" and "little", not so good to hear any of those descriptors from our guests. ;)

A Tip is something you hear regarding a horse you should bet on, or somewhere you can take your household rubbish to.

With a few exceptions that is the only time we Tip!;)

In a pub, despite them selling beer we never ask the bar man for "A glass of beer" - If we want a beer we will usually ask for Bitter, Mild (in certain parts of the country), Lager, Stout or more usually the actual name of the Beer (i.e. Pint / half pint of Guinness etc).

There is no such think in the UK as Hard Cider, ask for a Cider and it will contain alcohol - usually lots of alcohol (Scrumpy Cider is very different - usually very dry and extremely high in alcohol).