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Topic: My list of Britishisms  (Read 6068 times)

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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2018, 04:24:16 PM »
I moved to England back in 1995 so my list of "British-isms" comes from a list I wrote to my sister in December 1995, 1996, 1998 and a letter to my best friend when I was about to return to the US in 2004 of things I would miss.

They are:


*Very few drive thru's of anything

*Actual working hours of 9-5pm and 37.5 hour work week

*Stores closing at 1pm on a Wednesday, "early closing hours" and staying "late" to 6pm on Thursday

*Lower Earley, Berkshire ASDA had the very first 24 hour opening store in the country in 1996-ish. It was weird that it was 24 hours Monday through Friday but closed early on Saturday and Sunday. I felt it was silly and defeated the purpose. But that was then and I wouldn't mind it now.

*The ASDA's "international" food section was only 4'x4' and only had a few pastas, pasta sauces, a sad Old El Paso taco shells and some curry sauces and the freezer section only contained frozen fish, chicken and beef, vegetables, some ice cream and gateaux. I discovered that it was gateaux and not cake. It's like vol-au-vents. Just call them appetizers, for goodness sake. So, it was before the massive advent of ready-meals, if you can believe it!

*My father-in-law actually receiving a "pay packet" with his wages calculated on an envelope in ink and was paid in cash

*We lived in a neighborhood without ability to have cable tv so it was BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 only. Channel 5 came in 1997.

*I loved and still love "Prime Minister's Questions".

*It was interesting to meet my then MP: John Redwood at his "surgery" at Rose Street in Wokingham. I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to even meet the mayor of the small town I currently live in, never mind an MP.

*One of the jobs I worked at, Reading Evening News in 1997-1998, we still had "elevenses" and break at 3pm. We actually had a "tea lady" who had a trolly and would make a drink to your specification at 11am and again at 3pm. It was a break for about 15 minutes. That was truly lovely.

*I loved and still miss BBC Radio 2

*I especially loved how you had RDS radio so you can drive from Reading to Durham and still listen to your radio station without having to re-tune it

*This was 1995 so the particular ring of the telephone (loud double ring) always reminded me that I was not in the US.

*I was instructed to answer the phone not with "hello" but "0734 655315" our phone number

*There was a "phONE" day where many cities around the UK changed their numbers to add 1 to their phone number. Reading changed theirs in 1996. It was significant to me because my husband helped create the tool to change millions of numbers in the UK. Btw, London used to be (071) & (081). He also created the tool to have the change in the phone number for many cities in the UK, including London & Reading, to it's current numbers 0171, 0181 and 0118 9. I found all the changes a bit fascinating.

*I'm from Texas so trains will always be a favorite. I especially loved having the tea trolly person selling all sorts of things up and down the aisles

*My bus to work was a Routemaster with a ticket seller on board

*The big deal made about a Christmas Number 1 song

*The fact that Mr Blobby, Bob the Builder and the Teletubbies all have a Number 1 song on the charts. Mr Blobby had a Christmas Number 1 in 1993 and Bob the Builder in 2000. Seriously?! lol

*I don't think it's Christmas unless my husband blares out Slade, Wizzard, Chris Rea and that bliking Paul McCartney song. I hate them and love them in equal measures. I simply HATE that Pogues & Kirsty McColl song. You know that horror!

*My father-in-law and his obsession about the "immersion heater". What the hell is that?

*The British and their many, many panel shows. Admittedly, I loved "Never Mind the Buzzcocks" and "Have I Got News for You" but there can be too much of a good thing

*There were very few US shows to watch (apart from Oprah) so you pretty much watched UK tv shows both old and new and they were a great way to have something to talk about with other people so I missed out on "Sex in the City" or "Will & Grace" and countless other shows.

*My children's school was a religious-affiliation school and it didn't cost anything at all. I only had to prove my children were baptized and we went to church.  If we were in the US, we would pay private school tuition.

*The kid's primary and junior school were in the same building and could fit all the children in the "assembly hall" every morning. There were approximately 225 students in total from reception to year 5. That's a big change to my grand-daughter's elementary school that is considered small but has 890 students.

*I lived in a house in 1995 that only had a bathtub and no shower. What the actual...? I hate baths. When we were in the market to buy a home, many homebuilders actually told us a shower and an outside tap was an "add on, subject to extra fees". I went with a builder who had those as standard and not extras. Seriously  ::)

That's what I can remember from all those years ago. Remember these were the dark ages before the internet.

I was in England earlier this year and I'm astounded that it's so Americanized now. I can kinda understand why the English are bothered by how much things have changed. But it will be okay for me when we return sometime in a year or two.

Btw, TeamTollie, they used to have "pound notes" until 1984. Adam of Adam and the Ants sang these words in his hit song, "Goody Two Shoes" in 1982

"If the words unspoken
Get stuck in your throat
Send a treasure token, token
Write it on a pound note, pound note".

*sigh* I'm old

FYI--the 2 pound coin was introduced in 1999




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My list of Britishisms
« Reply #16 on: October 31, 2018, 04:53:48 PM »
Lorenausuk - Reading your post was like reliving my teen years :P.

 
*There were very few US shows to watch (apart from Oprah) so you pretty much watched UK tv shows both old and new and they were a great way to have something to talk about with other people so I missed out on "Sex in the City" or "Will & Grace" and countless other shows.

Sex and the City and Will and Grace were both shown on Channel 4 in the late 90s. I remember watching both of them when I was 15... and we didn’t have cable...we only had 5 channels :).



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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #17 on: October 31, 2018, 05:29:06 PM »
Love this list. In 1995 I was four years old  :o
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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2018, 11:29:15 PM »
I did just experience a strange “Britishism” just now and a friend reminded me of another.

My husband just ate a pot pie (he’s from a town near Wigan, the pie eaters ) and declared it “nice”. That can be anything from “It’s edible” to “My God! That is a taste sensation”! I’m never quite sure. 22 years of marriage and I still am not sure what he means with “nice”.

My best girlfriend reminded me of “The Whip”. I hung out with my concert buddies at Camden’s Roundhouse a few years ago. There were eight of us and someone declared a “whip”. Apparently, everyone orders their favorite drink and get the cost of the round. Then everyone buys a round and gives the money to the bar staff. So, everyone pays for a round of drinks for the group so on that day, we all had EIGHT drinks each! I remember telling my spouse over the phone (he was in Houston) that my friend started “a whip”. He asked me to put my name, his phone number and the address of my hotel in eyeliner on my arm! It was an experience for sure!




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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #19 on: October 31, 2018, 11:41:47 PM »
Everything you said - so true!

I am smiling away at your comments (hubby wonders why).


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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #20 on: November 01, 2018, 07:11:20 AM »
We still see pound notes in circulation in Scotland, occasionally. 

I'm not sure if this counts as a 'Britishism', and I'm not sure I'm happy with that term anyway, but whatever...

I've lived in the UK for 30+ years and yesterday I came across a word/term I'd never heard of before... 'derv'.
I was watching repeats of Supermarket Sweep (hey, it was 5am, options are limited), and in their wee mock-up of a supermarket, they had a poster on the wall that says 'WE SELL PETROL & DERV'... so I googled it, and it turns out that derv is an old term for diesel fuel... Diesel Engine Road Vehicle fuel, it stands for!  I don't know why this has amazed me so much, but I really had never heard of it before, and now I want to use it all the time, just to be awkward!  ;) ;D


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My list of Britishisms
« Reply #21 on: November 01, 2018, 11:25:03 AM »
From Glasgow

“Who’s first?”I remember standing at the counter at Costa, looking at the people behind me in the “queue” beseeching them with my eyes to tell me, really which one of you is first, cos I’m next!

“That’s you then.” A polite form of dismissal! Love this one too. When I head off to bed before DH, I’m sure to say “that’s me then”
« Last Edit: November 01, 2018, 11:44:51 AM by barbjones56 »


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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #22 on: November 01, 2018, 11:44:22 AM »
We still see pound notes in circulation in Scotland, occasionally. 

I'm not sure if this counts as a 'Britishism', and I'm not sure I'm happy with that term anyway, but whatever...

I've lived in the UK for 30+ years and yesterday I came across a word/term I'd never heard of before... 'derv'.
I was watching repeats of Supermarket Sweep (hey, it was 5am, options are limited), and in their wee mock-up of a supermarket, they had a poster on the wall that says 'WE SELL PETROL & DERV'... so I googled it, and it turns out that derv is an old term for diesel fuel... Diesel Engine Road Vehicle fuel, it stands for!  I don't know why this has amazed me so much, but I really had never heard of it before, and now I want to use it all the time, just to be awkward!  ;) ;D
I said "britishism" as a joke.  "-isms-" usually indicate funny things about the subject.  Americanisms, foodisms, Mollieisms, etc.

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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #23 on: November 01, 2018, 11:46:48 AM »



I've lived in the UK for 30+ years and yesterday I came across a word/term I'd never heard of before... 'derv'.
I was watching repeats of Supermarket Sweep (hey, it was 5am, options are limited), and in their wee mock-up of a supermarket, they had a poster on the wall that says 'WE SELL PETROL & DERV'... so I googled it, and it turns out that derv is an old term for diesel fuel... Diesel Engine Road Vehicle fuel, it stands for!  I don't know why this has amazed me so much, but I really had never heard of it before, and now I want to use it all the time, just to be awkward!  ;) ;D

Yeah I think this counts as one ;)

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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #24 on: November 01, 2018, 11:48:56 AM »


*Very few drive thru's of anything

*Actual working hours of 9-5pm and 37.5 hour work week

*Stores closing at 1pm on a Wednesday, "early closing hours" and staying "late" to 6pm on Thursday

*Lower Earley, Berkshire ASDA had the very first 24 hour opening store in the country in 1996-ish. It was weird that it was 24 hours Monday through Friday but closed early on Saturday and Sunday. I felt it was silly and defeated the purpose. But that was then and I wouldn't mind it now.


Still hardly any drive thru's.

It's now 9-6pm and 40 hours weeks (mostly unfortunately)

ASDA in Lower Earley recently stopped being 24 hours.  :(


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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #25 on: November 01, 2018, 11:50:41 AM »
Paid phone calls.

Why do we have to pay to call anyone locally these days?

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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #26 on: November 01, 2018, 11:51:11 AM »
Paid phone calls.

Why do we have to pay to call anyone locally these days?

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This reminds me of paying to use the bathroom!

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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #27 on: November 01, 2018, 01:15:27 PM »
Lorena,I think the whole world is all getting homogenised. We all have Facebook and use google and iphones and Samsung. Everyone uses Netflix. Amazon is taking over.  This is across the world. The EU is the same.  It's all going that way.   I couldn't believe how 'western' China was (compared to 2005) when I was there recently.   

TeamTollie, the funny thing is , you'll get so used to them that you'll forget 'what is American' soon. 
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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2018, 03:26:01 PM »
I did just experience a strange “Britishism” just now and a friend reminded me of another.

My husband just ate a pot pie (he’s from a town near Wigan, the pie eaters ) and declared it “nice”. That can be anything from “It’s edible” to “My God! That is a taste sensation”! I’m never quite sure. 22 years of marriage and I still am not sure what he means with “nice”.

My best girlfriend reminded me of “The Whip”. I hung out with my concert buddies at Camden’s Roundhouse a few years ago. There were eight of us and someone declared a “whip”. Apparently, everyone orders their favorite drink and get the cost of the round. Then everyone buys a round and gives the money to the bar staff. So, everyone pays for a round of drinks for the group so on that day, we all had EIGHT drinks each! I remember telling my spouse over the phone (he was in Houston) that my friend started “a whip”. He asked me to put my name, his phone number and the address of my hotel in eyeliner on my arm! It was an experience for sure!




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I really like that bar at the roundhouse!



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Re: My list of Britishisms
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2018, 03:33:47 PM »
I really like that bar at the roundhouse!

I barely remember that bar at the Roundhouse I totally feel Roy from the I.T. Crowd:




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