Thursday, June 7, 2007

Thursday Thirteen


#1 Thirteen words I've had to learn since moving to England


It's not just the driving on the wrong side of the road that I've had to adjust to since moving here!!


1. Rubbish - can't we just call it trash?

2. Bin - the place where we put our rubbish. It's all rubbish to me.

3. Tip - Okay I'm on a roll with the rubbish but this is what we would call a dump. Not so much a landfill because it is just a parking lot full of dumpsters that you put the appropriate rubbish in.

4. Skip - Oh wait they aren't dumpsters - yep you guessed it.

5. Car Park - Ah hah! It is a parking lot.

6. Ring, to give someone a ring - I would prefer to just say I'm going to call you.

7. Mobile - more calling is done here but we Americans prefer cell phone.

8. Childminder - this is what Mel does - she's an in home daycare provider.

9. Non Iron - this one infuriates me because it took me 5 minutes to explain to a woman at the outlet mall that yes in fact when I say wrinkle free it means that I want a NON IRON shirt.

10. Chips/Crisps - I'll put these two together. Chips are French Fries and Crisps are Chips......are we running in circles yet?

11. Jacket Potato - just your averaged baked potato, however they have no russett potatoes in all of England and this is hardly acceptable when your husband is from Idaho!

12. Plaster - It's a freaking band-aid people. It isn't even made of plaster so how does that even make sense?

13. Biscuit - a biscuit is a cookie, I'm not sure what they call a biscuit - in fact I don't think I've ever seen a proper biscuit since I've been here.

And this concludes my Thursday 13 - we'll ignore the whole Mom/Mum thing because I've done that already.

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14 comments:

FatBlokeThin said...

You say tomato, I say tomato! Glad your 'enjoying' your stay in England.

Please...'in home daycare provider'!??? I think I have a subject for my next thursday 13 - lol!

You missed out Jam/jelly/Jello - that always confuses people!!

Have a great day.

Mom not Mum (Sandy) said...

Thanks for stopping by - too true with the jelly/jello

Christie O. said...

haha! funny list! when I took a trip to Germany, my biggest pet peeve was having to order "flasser wasser" which was "flat water" at a restaurant. I just wanted plain old "regular" water!

alisonwonderland said...

fun list! i had a roommate from canada in college, and i had to learn some new words then.

i'm hoping to get a TT posted later today - but i've got to get ready for work now ...

thanks for stopping by!

p.s. do you mind if i put a link to you on my blog so i can easily come back frequently?

Anonymous said...

My parents are both British so I grew up hearing a lot of these. I love the word "rubbish" for trash.

Rubbish rubbish rubbish rubbish, hee hee.

Loo is also another favorite of mine :)

Anonymous said...

Great list - Maybe you can help me - my neighbor keeps using the term "stone" to refer to weight and I have no clue what she's talking about. I nod my head like I know... i.e. I need to drop a stone. I guess this means something in lbs, but I don't know????

Mom not Mum (Sandy) said...

I think a stone is like 14lbs. Which leads me to the fact I never know how tall my kids are or how much they weigh because the dr's office weighs them in kilograms and measures them in centimeters. LOL

Feel free to direct link me - the more the merrier!!

Pam said...

my favorite word is crikey lol this is hilarious, but i am catching up on the brit speak cuz i chat w a cpl of peeps. yonk, snogs, monk on, etc lol

Crimson Wife said...

Too funny! The New England dialect seems to have borrowed pretty liberally from "old" England since many of those words are ones I grew up hearing & using.

Kat said...

ROFL Too funny!

Emma in Canada said...

This made me laugh because I am the opposite...I've been in Canada since I was three, but I hold onto a lot of those British words.

Anonymous said...

My favorite phrase..."knock you up" (wake you up). Let me tell you I jumped when someone asked "So, can I knock you up in the morning?

Mine's up.

bichonpawz said...

Yikes! I have some studying to do if I ever take a trip! Great TT!

Anonymous said...

My favorite, probably because I rode the tube entirely too much, is "Mind the Gap." And also fizzy water vs. flat water. And trainers for tennis shoes.

I miss England.