Colloquialisms From Across the Water

fureverywhere

fureverywhere

beloved friend who will always be with us in spiri
Location
Northern NJ, USA
Writer Bill Bryson has often commented on how amusing certain expression come out when spoken by our neighbors in the UK. There is a site I frequent where Yanks are the minority. Sometimes I could use a glossary. Fortunate to be able to Google things in an instant. An expression that puzzled me one day..." ah the wee bairn"...turned out to be a small infant. But some of the simplest things come out so charming..."Here then, I just finished cleaning me shed and I'm knackered". Interesting question too, are there American expression that get lost in translation or tickle the funny bone?
 

I've always wondered about the phrase: "lo I swainy" or "I swain". I'm not sure now to spell it I think its a southern expression. I've never heard anyone say it in person, just books and movies.

My English neighbor used to say "Come round for tea" which I thought was a cute way of asking someone to come over to a cup of tea. :)
 
Having had deep South forebears, I'm full of "Suthernisms":

"Carry" - to take someone someplace in your car. "Ah'm waiting for mah nephew Bubba to come carry me to church. He's right proud of that new car uh his."

"Wear down" - Deal with misbehaving children. "Bubba, am Ah gone to have to wear you down with this stick or are you gone pick up them toys?"

"Fixin' to" - Thinking SERIOUSLY about going to do something sometime in the near future. "I'm fixin' to (fill in the blank) as soon as Big Bubba gets back."

"Bless his heart" - He's dumber than a box of rocks and can't do anything right, but he's ours and we love him anyway. "Looks like Bubba's youngest un's back livin' with 'em again, bless his heart."

"That dawg don't hunt!" - An unbelievable story. "Wa'al, if you wuz well enough to stay out late last night, you are well enough to go to church this morning. Don't tell me you are sick, Bubba; that dawg don't hunt!"

"Don't that beat all! - Isn't that fantastic? "You know Bubba's oldest girl Maybelline? Well, she's getting married finally. Don't that beat all!"
 

"That dawg don't hunt!" - An unbelievable story. "Wa'al, if you wuz well enough to stay out late last night, you are well enough to go to church this morning. Don't tell me you are sick, Bubba; that dawg don't hunt!"

That's so cute, bless your heart;)

My Mom was from Central PA. She taught in a private school so she did away with her accent. But when she got upset or tired the expressions would slip out "Now it's time to red up this room!!!", your father is out warrrshing the car.
 
fureverywhere said:
Writer Bill Bryson has often commented on how amusing certain expression come out when spoken by our neighbors in the UK. There is a site I frequent where Yanks are the minority. Sometimes I could use a glossary. Fortunate to be able to Google things in an instant. An expression that puzzled me one day..." ah the wee bairn"...turned out to be a small infant. But some of the simplest things come out so charming..."Here then, I just finished cleaning me shed and I'm knackered". Interesting question too, are there American expression that get lost in translation or tickle the funny bone?
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Yes but of course there are huge amounts of different accents and dialects in the UK...and many of these phrase wouldn't be understood by other people in the UK, much less anyone outside of the UK.

For example...''wee Bairn'' is the name used to describe a small child in one county in the Very North of England...and is used almost exclusively only on the east coast of Scotland..

the word ''knackered'' is a generic British word meaning absolutely exhausted, and is used widely whatever dialect is spoken :D

Linda....''come round (around ) for tea/coffee/drink)...is a phrase almost everyone uses here if they're inviting you over to their home...just as a matter of interest, what would an American say if for example they were inviting a neighbour over for tea? :D
 
I think once we have reached a certain age and read many many books and seen so many many movies, most of us are familiar with expressions and colloquialisms from the UK and over most of the world, and if not, we can easily google and find out.

I just watched Bridget Jones Diary a few days ago and one thing they do say a lot of in that movie is 'shag', which we don't use in North America, but I'm sure most of us know what it means lol.
 
Knocked up. Yup. Knocked up. "What time would you like to be knocked up?" That's what the desk clerk in a hotel in London asked when I asked for a wake-up call.
 
GeorgiaXplant said:
Knocked up. Yup. Knocked up. "What time would you like to be knocked up?" That's what the desk clerk in a hotel in London asked when I asked for a wake-up call.
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I remember you telling us that a year or 2 back georgia, and I was as stunned as you, because I have never heard anyone in my life use that as an expression to wake someone up.. ,( and I've lived all over the UK and am very au fait with just about every dialect.)....because ''knocked up'' in this country means the same as it does in the USA.. LOL...
 
The phrase "I'm knackered" is a corruption of " ....... ready for the knackers yard", which is where they took broken down horses in Victorian times.

In a more genteel era it would not be used in polite conversation, and never in mixed company!

"Across the water" depends on which side you are!

One of yours which I like is "If I had my druthers" (For the Brits - "Given a choice)).
 
Gobsmacked --- I think this is a funny one and I've heard it used in many movies and read it in many books.
 
If you are asked to tea in Australia by Aussies it will probably mean the evening meal.
On the other hand, if by an English family it is wise to clarify the invitation.
We once turned up to an invitation to tea with a bottle of red underarm and the expectation of a meal.

Our wonderfully adaptable hostess turned on a high tea at a moments notice when she realised our mistake.
 
I had a mild heart condition recently, requiring a visit to the A&E department. Fortunately, I was allowed to go home that evening.
The next morning, I had a telephone call from a Case Liaison Officer, and having established my identity, asked, 'How are you feeling today, love?'

A lot of old people here would object to be called 'love' by a stranger, but it is widely used. Personally, I find it very endearing.

Friends and acquaintances regularly use words such as love, pet, ducky, darlin', petal, dear, and many others. Some of them are regional, as are the dialects.

The trouble is trying to recall them. They are words I use everyday, yet they are not thought of as being unusual..

In the north of England, you might hear, 'Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs.' if somebody says something surprising.
I shall have to spend some time compiling a list for our American friends out there.

'Night night, sleep tight. Mind the bedbugs don't bite.'

 
Even after nearly 16 years in Scotland I'm still charmed by the language, and still occasionally learn a new phrase or word. Many are a solid part of my vocabulary and I struggle to think what I would have said in the US!
 
I had a book about musician Alex Harvey. One of my favorite bands in his day. For the most part the author translated here and there. But in interviews or live you need the Glasgow glossary. Except for natives who have told me they understand every word.
 
fureverywhere said:
I had a book about musician Alex Harvey. One of my favorite bands in his day. For the most part the author translated here and there. But in interviews or live you need the Glasgow glossary. Except for natives who have told me they understand every word.
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Few outside of Scotland and maybe England realize that many of the words used by Scots are a different language or dialect (depending on the linguist). One of them is called Lallans (Lowlands) and evolved from the same source as English which is why people think it's a bastardisation of English. Ex: hoose is house, hame is home, nae is no, aye is yes. My husband uses these words and moreso since moving back from London.

http://www.lallans.co.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lallans

I have trouble with very thick Glasgwegian accents, but then it's not the just the accent, it's the words. Overall I'd say I understand 80-90% of what a Glasgwegian says - 100% of my in-laws who are Glasgwegian.
 
jujube said:
Having had deep South forebears, I'm full of "Suthernisms":

"Carry" - to take someone someplace in your car. "Ah'm waiting for mah nephew Bubba to come carry me to church. He's right proud of that new car uh his."

"Wear down" - Deal with misbehaving children. "Bubba, am Ah gone to have to wear you down with this stick or are you gone pick up them toys?"

"Fixin' to" - Thinking SERIOUSLY about going to do something sometime in the near future. "I'm fixin' to (fill in the blank) as soon as Big Bubba gets back."

"Bless his heart" - He's dumber than a box of rocks and can't do anything right, but he's ours and we love him anyway. "Looks like Bubba's youngest un's back livin' with 'em again, bless his heart."

"That dawg don't hunt!" - An unbelievable story. "Wa'al, if you wuz well enough to stay out late last night, you are well enough to go to church this morning. Don't tell me you are sick, Bubba; that dawg don't hunt!"

"Don't that beat all! - Isn't that fantastic? "You know Bubba's oldest girl Maybelline? Well, she's getting married finally. Don't that beat all!"
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Me, too, jujube. I grew up with all those expressions. I find myself still using "fixin' to." My folks were both raised in the South by generations of southerners and even though I mostly grew up in New Mexico, of course those expressions were part of my parents' everyday language around home. The "wear you down" expression was "wear you out" in their vocabulary.
 
Expressions tend to rub off when you are exposed to them daily. I was raised in a southern household in suburban NY. My parents were from the Carolinas, one north and one south. My father worked on an ocean liner in the 1920s sailing between NY and Southampton England. He learned nautical expressions and passed some to me. I absorbed more of that during the time I spent in the US Navy. Later, I worked for an English company for 24 years and became aware that we speak different dialects of the same language.
 
Something I find amusing is that on the UK site..."Bloody"...in the US it would probably explain somebody with physical damage. On the UK sites it's apparently akin to the "F" bomb stateside.
 
fureverywhere said:
Something I find amusing is that on the UK site..."Bloody"...in the US it would probably explain somebody with physical damage. On the UK sites it's apparently akin to the "F" bomb stateside.
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Bloody is more like damn than F. I like to say bloody hell and since it doesn't sound like real swearing to me, I sometimes get disapproving looks in the UK.
 
The only real experience I can claim to knowing UK dialects is from years of watching Monty Python.

I suspect my knowledge isn't quite comprehensive, though ...
 
Manatee said:
Expressions tend to rub off when you are exposed to them daily. I was raised in a southern household in suburban NY. My parents were from the Carolinas, one north and one south. My father worked on an ocean liner in the 1920s sailing between NY and Southampton England. He learned nautical expressions and passed some to me. I absorbed more of that during the time I spent in the US Navy. Later, I worked for an English company for 24 years and became aware that we speak different dialects of the same language.
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When I moved from Michigan to TN, I picked up 'hey' instead of 'hi'. It just seemed friendlier to me than hi and it stuck. Can't say it now though as nobody in Scotland would get it.

I've picked up many, many phrases and words and Lallans in Scotland as that is what I hear all the time. Drives my sister nuts when I go back to visit. She can't seem to understand that I'd pick these up because I'm surrounded by it. She thinks since I lived in the US for 48 years that I should stick with American words only. :apathy: She assumes I use these words consciously in Scotland to be understood, but I think I have finally convinced her that the only time I have to think before I speak is in the US.

There are some terms I simply refuse to use: bonnet for hood of car, although I do say boot instead of trunk. I say garij for garage, petrol for gas, just here/just next door instead of right here/right next door (it confused people), bin motor instead of garbara truck, lorry instead of truck, postie instead of mailman, phone instead of call, post instead of mail, and then there's the spellings....
 

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