Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Le List, Pt. 1

This is going to be a long series. It is a record of all the ways the U.K. is different. Words, phrases, images, habits. It will be updated as I notice more things. American English on the left, English English on the right.

elevator = lift
bun = bap
pants = trousers
tank top = vest
vest = waistcoat
bathroom = toilet, loo, WC
truck = lorry
underwear = pants, knickers
picture = photo
professor = tutor
rainboots = rubbers, wellies
good, cool, bye = cheers
pay attention to = mind
get off (usually the train) = alight
idiot = twit, twat
round trip ticket = return ticket
one way ticket = single ticket
sidewalk = pavement
purse = handbag
schedule = timetable
faculty = staff
first floor = ground floor
closet = cupboard, wardrobe
tacky = naff
potato chips = crisps
french fries = chips
cookie = biscuit
biscuit = scone
cigarettes = fags
smart = clever
dumb = thick
pee = have a wee,spend a penny,
highway = motorway
pastor = vicar
thrift store = charity store




The streetlights double as traffic lights.
The bike lanes are half the size of ours.
The streetsigns are on buildings, fences, what have you. Rarely do they stand alone.
The elevators are half the American size.
The taxis are five times cooler.
The streets are narrower.
The cars are smaller.
The trucks are smaller.
The cheap food is tastier.
The older people dress better than the older Americans I've seen
People wear jeans/nice trousers more. Rarely do I see someone in sweats, and five to one they're American. Ten to one they have a baseball cap on.
There is almost always patio dining in restaurants, if they are on street level.
The crosswalks are marked with big steel studs, like the studs on a punk jacket, about five inches square.
The charity stores are a fifth the size of our thrift stores.
When approaching a streetlight doubling as a traffic light, the white lines on the road are squiggly.
There are less coffeeshops, and pubs galore. Pubs are uncanny similar to our coffeshops.
The internet is virtually never free.
The street is usually wet.
More than half the buildings look at least eighty years old, likely more.
Said buildings have huge chimneys.





I like it here.


-Lu

2 comments:

jordan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mama B. said...

love it girlfriend! I'd write more but I've got to go spend a penny...(which I believe comes from the fact that in Europe one often has to pay a matron who tends the WC to go in. Is that voluntary? What might she do if you don't pay? Maybe better not to find out.)

BTW babygirl deleted the post cause it was me mistakenly posting as her.:}