A. An Eskimo.
"When we visited Alaska, we saw lots of Innits in igloos!"
B. The mating call of the British garden frog
"Innit innit innit innit innit...."
C. A British mashup of the words "isn't it."
"Look at that giant frog in that igloo! It's a big one, innit?"
If you answered C, you're correct! And no, you don't win a prize (hey I'm working on a budget here).
I thought I knew everything there was to know about British words and phrases. Yes I knew that "petrol" was "gas" and the "boot" of a car was the "trunk" of a car and a "holiday" was a "vacation." But when I got here, I never realized how many other words and phrases I'd never heard of before.
Here's a very small sample of some that stumped me:
Trainers = Sneakers
OK, I could get used to that.
Tights = Pantyhose
Where I'm from, tights are thick, colored, tight leggings. Pantyhose is different. I couldn't understand why all the shops I visited sold tights and not pantyhose. I knew women wore pantyhose, why couldn't I find any? Was I shopping in the wrong place? And then the lightbulb turned on.
Rubber = Eraser
As a lot of you may know, in America "rubber" is slang for a condom. The first time someone at work asked me for a rubber I nearly fainted!
Everything's gone pear-shaped
It means everything's gone wrong.
Teething Problems
If a project has some problems when first implemented, then it's got teething problems. You could have teething problems and then everything could go pear-shaped.
Groundhog Day
OK. This takes some explaining. Yes, "Groundhog Day" is the 1993 movie starring Bill Murray as a man who lives the same day over and over again.
The British have adapted the phrase "groundhog day" to mean "déjà vu." As in, "Oh! Didn't I just do this yesterday? It feels like groundhog day."
No, no, no. *Repeated head bang on desk* It's an actual day.
Groundhog Day is February 2nd. If the groundhog comes out of his burrow and sees his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter. Otherwise, an early spring is on the way. See? Simple.
Here's a good website that explains the folklore behind it (click on the name below):
Groundhog DayFinally, let's talk a little about pronunciations. God knows I get picked on if I forget myself and say "to-MAY-to" by accident. Hmmph. But how come I say to-MAY-to, they say to-MAH-to, I say po-TAY-to...but they don't say po-TAH-to? C'mon guys, let's be consistent.
Here are a few pronunciations that were new to me:
Controversy. Sometimes pronounced, "con-TRAH-versy." I mostly hear that in newscasts.
Oregano. Pronounced "or-e-GAH-no." I burst out laughing the first time I heard that one.
Basil. Pronounced "BAH-sil." I thought he was married to Sybil?
Herb. Pronounced "HHHerb" with an "H" and not "erb" like we say it. One of my British friends laughed at me and said, "Why wouldn't you pronounce the 'H'? You do it in every other word." I just looked at her and said, "What about the word 'honor'?" She couldn't answer me -- they use a silent "H" for that word too.
(And yes I'm aware that I wrote "honor" and not "honour." It's my blog and I'll spell it how I like. So there.)
Adidas (the sportswear brand). Pronounced "AD-i-das" with the accent on the first syllable. Well that's a strange word anyway.
Aluminium = Aluminum. Oh sure, as if the word doesn't have enough syllables already, they had to add an extra one! I'll just say tin foil.
Aluminium = Aluminum. Oh sure, as if the word doesn't have enough syllables already, they had to add an extra one! I'll just say tin foil.
And finally, as my friends all know, the one that really gets me:
Maryland. Pronounced as it looks, "Mary-land" and not "Merilund." But I mean, really. Mary-land? Sounds like the land of Marys. But whatever.
I could go on and on. I actually find the language differences fascinating, so I hope no one minds me poking a little fun. After all, my language is made fun of all the time. And I like to give back.
And that's pretty interesting...innit?
