Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Interpreting British Part 2

Good Afternoon,

Do you remember back in February when I posted about Interpreting British? If you missed it you can check it out HERE. As I mentioned in that post I follow a lot of British bloggers and vloggers and I cant help but notice different words they may used compared to our lingo so to speak.

Although before we get into my latest list of words I have to tell y'all about how Jason and I have recently been discussing just how different we say things in comparison with each other. I don't know if its the American/ Canadian thing or just that Jason's parents (not Jason) have a super strong down East accent... he thinks its me.. a "french Canadian thing" however I am just Canadian, not french. I suppose we all speak differently depending on where you're from!! I won't lie though.. I wish I had a British accent, they just sound so posh!

This type of post was a huge hit last time, so if you have others to add please to tell me in the comments, I love it!


  • Travel Mug - Flask. This one I actually thought was pretty funny because naturally we have something that we refer to as a flask, as I am sure they have the same contraption but I'm not sure what they call it. I am talking about an actual travel mug that you would use to make a coffee at home and take with you on the go. 
  • We would say "I need to get moving" if we were going to be late or something, the English would say " I need to get hot footing it" HA! You cannot lie, that just sounds way better! 
  • Stagette/ Bachelorette Party - Hen Do. I suppose this probably comes from the saying "a bunch of hens in the kitchen" when men refer to a group of women. Maybe not. 
  • Pimple/ Zit - Spot. I think this is a way nicer way of putting it. "Please ignore my spot, its that time of the month" HA! See, way more polite! 
  • Purse - Hand bag. Again there are different terms for a purse here as well, Jason's mother calls it a pocket book. 
  • Wallet - Purse. Yes they call their wallet a purse, therefore they must call their purse something else! 
  • Underwear - Pants. This can become a really hilarious interpretation with Americans/ Canadians. 
  • Pants - Trousers. Just like the wallet purse thing. However they will call Jeans, jeans and so on but generally pants are trousers. 
  • Sweater - Jumper. 
  • Chaise Lounge - Chaise Long. I though this one was hilarious and I suppose accurate. Maybe we call a chaise lounge something different.. I will show you a picture to make sure you know what I am talking about. 

  • I'm Sick - I'm Poorly. When we are sick we often say things like.. I'm feeling terrible or feeling awful and they always say "I am feeling quite poorly". 
  • Cotton Ball - Cotton Wool Bud. 

  • "I'll let you know how I like it" - "I'll let you know how I get on with it". This is something I hear a lot watching British beauty vloggers when they talk about trying new products. 
  • "I splurged and spent the money" - "I splashed out and bought the sweater". We may also say...I shelled out the money or spent a fortune. 
  • Whining - Windging. This is pretty hilarious when you hear someone use it in a sentence. I know exactly when I jotted this down because I was watching one of my favorite vloggers, Gabriella Lindley she and her mother were visiting New York this winter and she kept saying how cold it was out and her mother said "Stop your windging" it was hilarious. I suppose its quite similar to our term, whining. 
  • Hair Ties - Hair Baubles.
  • Ocean - Sea. I suppose we know the ocean as the "sea" as well but I don't know anyone that would refer to the ocean as anything other than the ocean. 
  • Romper - Play suit. You gentlemen may not know what I am talking about at all, they were quite popular in the 80s as well but they are totally back and have been for a few years. I will put a picture in to show you!


Basically its on one piece outfit! 

  • Upset - Gutted. I like this one, I use it. "I decided I wanted the shirt after all and when I get back to get it, it was gone. I was totally gutted".
  • Screwing Around - Faffing Around. 
  • Drug Store - High Street. Often when talking about make up we would refer to high end vs. drug store brands where as a British beauty vlogger would often say High end vs. High Street. Or "I bought this on the high street". 
  • Picnic Basket - Hamper. If we said "hamper" we would be referring to a place to store our dirty laundry, but they are referring to an actual picnic basket you would store snacks in to take to the park. 
  • Commercial - Advert or Advertisement. It definitely is an advertisement, so I wonder why we call it a commercial?
  • Fancy - Smart. I find their descriptive words so interesting. If I was referring to a really nice dress I may call it "fancy" or "elegant" and they would refer to it as "smart". 
  • Button - Popper
  • That's totally "Up my alley" - That's totally "Up my street" . Haha. 
  • Side Mirror (on a car) - Wing mirror. Do we call them side mirrors? I cant honestly tell you the last time I talked about the side mirror on a vehicle. 
  • Police Officers - Bobbies 
  • Cup of tea - Cuppa (I don't think this is only about tea, I believe they refer to a cup of anything as a "cuppa". 
  • TV Show - Program. See.. so much more posh! "I'm going to make a cup of tea and watch my program" I either sound super elegant or old. HA! 
  • My apartment is very dirty - My apartment is such a tip. Strange.. right?
  • Highway - Motorway. This is obviously different everywhere, in Canada we would saying "highway" but in the States you would say "Interstate". 
  • Candies - Sweeties. 
  • I was asked not to... - I was told off. This one cracks me up, if someone tells you off in North America its pretty specific as to what they have said to you, but in England is someone says "please don't take pictures of that" they would tell you that they had just been told off for taking a picture. 
Another thing that I find really different which I might have mentioned in my last post was about how they describe things so differently. If we go to a restaurant and order something and when it arrives it looks amazing, we may say it looks amazing or delicious where as they would say.. that looks gorgeous or it tastes gorgeous. 

Also news to me, some British holidays are celebrated at different times than that of American or Canadian. They celebrate Mother's Day on March 15th! I suppose American's celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of November where as in Canada its generally around the second week of October. You can read more about the differences between American and British holidays HERE.

While we are on the topic of the British can we please just take a moment and acknowledge the BEAUTIFUL new royal baby! Not only is she the cutest thing ever (looks quite a bit like her brother George) but her name.. Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, otherwise known as Princess Charlotte of Cambridge. I just love the name Charlotte. Mentioning the newest royal we must also just mention how absolutely INCREDIBLE Kate Middleton looked just hours after giving birth.. there are no words!

I hope you guys are having a fantastic day! Its been kind of crumby weather around here today so Tanya and I toured around the mall for awhile and then made our way down to Target, neither of us needed anything we just love Target! 

I am off to concoct something for dinner, we are trying to use up everything in the fridge, freezer and pantry before we move next week and so I am basically throwing things together that may not actually go together or even resemble a legit meal but should hopefully still tastes good! All in the name of not being wasteful! 

Hope you're having a great day, thank you as always for stopping by!!

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2 comments:

  1. The picnic hamper (basket) gave me a chuckle. My relatives in England have a hamper which includes cutlery, plates, glasses, etc. They sure know how to put a picnic together!! We had the best food ever (complete with wine) on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Great food and an even better view!

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    1. That sounds amazing Cathy, it is definitely on my bucket list of places to go! I will make sure to get the low down of all the do's and don'ts from you before I do!!

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