Throughout my time spent in London and the east of England, I have had the most invaluable pleasure of discovering all of the various and extensive slang and foreign words that most Brits use on a day to day basis. One would think in a country that speaks the same language, a conversation would flow with absolute congruity. However, there have been an alarming amount of occasions when I've felt dumbfounded and confused because either American and British words and phrases didn't mean the same thing, or they have a word that doesn't even exist in American terms. Looky here, the world doesn't actually revolve around us.
"You alright?": Now this is the phrase that got me the most confused. One would think that it's simply an expression of asking if someone is okay and that something has gone wrong. This explains why I would get defensive when people here ask me this because I would look at them quizzically and say, "Yea... I'm fine" then I would think, What the hell, is something wrong? However, I had to quickly learn that it simply means, "How are you?" and it should be followed with a minimal response. People aren't actually interested in if you're alright. In American terms I guess it would be equal to the intelligent "Sup, dude?"
Squash: No, it's not of the butternut variety, and no, it's not a sport you play enclosed in a glass box. It is, in fact, a concentrated syrup that gets mixed in beverages. Flavors include the all-famous black currant as well as orange, pineapple, or whatever sugary fruit you can imagine. Although lovely in snakebites, squash can be mixed with water to make a nice juice drink. Although the amount of juice actually involved is exceedingly questionable.
Snakebites: Mhmmm. One of the best discoveries I have found here in Norwich. A snakebite is a very lovely, and very cheap, alcoholic beverage. Composed of half cheap beer, half cheap cider, and an alarming amount of black-currant squash. It's surprisingly delectable and equally as dangerous.
Maths: "Math" is our equivalent. Although the term "maths" sounds quite dumb to Americans, I feel like it actually makes more sense in reference to the official term of mathematics.
Aubergine: Eggplant. Auber-what now?
Corgette: Zucchini. Why so fancy, England?
Pants: You've probably heard that British people actually use the term "trousers." Sounds posh, right? Unfortunately, I've made the mistake of drawing attention to my "pants" on a few different occasions. The problem is that British people think I'm referring to my underwear. Oops.
Baccy: Tobacco! There's not a day that goes by where I don't see at least five people rolling up their own cigarettes after a lecture with their good 'ole English baccy.
Cock up: A mess up, or more accurately, a f**k up.
Taking the piss: When you're making fun of someone or something.
Cheeky: One of my favorite words. Essentially it's the adjective used to describe a smart ass or when one is being flippant. However, it can also be used more playfully than that.
Jelly: Jelly to us is the equivalent of jam. But to them, jelly is jello.
Getting Off: Originally, I thought this meant having sex with someone. However, it has been brought to my attention that it only means making out. The idea of getting off with someone sounds a lot more intense than just kissing if I do say so myself.
Hiya: Another one of my faves. It's a simple hello typically used when purchasing goods or greeting someone for a short amount of time. Sounds cheery, doesn't it?
Chunder: To vomit! Yay! Don't find yourself on the chunder chart.
Bob's your uncle!
