# Britishisms I've adopted **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 19, 2015, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626 "2015-07-19T18:20:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![lalaith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@lalaith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalaith)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/101 "2015-07-23T04:10:47Z")
> [@lalaith](#): > > Comes from reading a lot of British authors: > Comes from a British friend who bought me a can of Orange Peko tea (loose leaf, of course) and instructed me how to make it: Missed the edit window. Should be “Orange Pekoe tea” ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/102 "2015-07-23T07:25:55Z")
Here’s another (now rather dated, but in its day a useful way to express disagreement or at least scepticism): [www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwvnkPRgo\_E](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwvnkPRgo_E) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/103 "2015-07-23T23:01:38Z")
> [@lalaith](#): > > I made Yorkshire pudding after reading about it so much in James Harriot’s books. (Didn’t care for. But can see why it’s popular in poor farming families as it’s very dense and filling. 😕 Yorkshire pudding should be anything but dense. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/104 "2015-07-24T00:26:18Z")
I don’t use this expression, but I find the Britishism “fell pregnant” interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/105 "2015-07-24T02:08:12Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > (Bolding mine). > > No, no, no, please don’t use “Fandabidozy” as some sort of cute Britishism. It was solely the catchphrase of the rather odious “comedy” duo, [The Krankies.](http://www.krankies.com/) The very fact that their official website uses an animated gif and Comic Sans italic tells a lot of what you need to know. > > Most of the UK needed some serious brain bleach after the duo - a married couple in real life - [went public with their fondness for swinging.](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8965006/The-Krankies-We-used-to-be-swingers.html) Shudder. Their whole act required brain bleach. A married couple playing a naughty schoolboy and his dad - bleeargh. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/106 "2015-07-24T06:27:11Z")
Here is a useful instructional ‘how to’ video on the British way of doing things: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/kr2xZaaJMLg/hqdefault.jpg "Arthur does British stereo types ( vine )") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr2xZaaJMLg) ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/107 "2015-07-24T13:52:31Z")
[quote=“Mangetout, post:106, topic:725626”] Here is a useful instructional ‘how to’ video on the British way of doing things: [/QUOTE] Fuck off you fucking cunt! (Does this need a smiley? Nah, fuck it does.) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/108 "2015-07-24T22:48:30Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > Their whole act required brain bleach. A married couple playing a naughty schoolboy and his dad - bleeargh. Here’s a nice brain-cleansing picture of The Krankies with John Barrowman > **[Daily Record & Sunday Mail - Scottish News, Sport, Politics and Celeb news](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/)** > > The first for Scottish news, sport, UK and world news. Get breaking news on Scottish football teams including Rangers, Celtic FC, Hibs FC and more ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/109 "2015-07-24T23:13:00Z")
[quote=“Mangetout, post:106, topic:725626”] Here is a useful instructional ‘how to’ video on the British way of doing things: [/QUOTE] Hahahahahahaha! Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![MmeRose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/110 "2015-07-26T15:51:53Z")
> [@Grey\_area](#): > > “Innit” for “isn’t it.” > Easier to say and I’m lazy. > > Among close friends, I say fuckoff, which isn’t necessarily British, but Americans tend to enunciate the individual words more, which I don’t. Again, probably because I’m lazy. > > For the British spelling of “gray/grey” in my username, a part of my schooling was in Canada so I sometimes I get confused with the spelling of some words if it’s not the usual o/ou, like favo(u)r. In some book I once read by Anthony Burgess, the character always said “For cough”. Took me along time to figure out what he was saying. ---
**Author:** ![MmeRose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/111 "2015-07-26T15:59:41Z")
More comments: when and where I lived, “innit” was considered very low class, like glottal stops. One very irritating habit of “The Footie” announcers was referring to the game as “fooball” (sorry, I can’t think of a way to spell it. The first syllable rhymes with “put” except without the T sound). ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/112 "2015-07-26T16:04:47Z")
One Britishism that was maybe invented by me To describe social media from the viewpoint of the social media dinosaur (me) Twitface. or sometimes I use Twatface - with its other partner - Facetwat Always makes other folk smile with recognition of what I’m trying to get across, but I haven’t heard anyone else use it. I think we should all use this term to describe people whose lives revolve around social media, I do. Then you will have helped spread a brand new Britishism ---
**Author:** ![MmeRose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/113 "2015-07-26T16:17:38Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I wasn’t aware that “dodgy” was a Britishism. I use it a lot, to describe something that is suspect or possibly unsafe. > > I like the Britishism “bint”, as I don’t think there’s an American equivalent word. “Bitch” is meant for a mean, nasty woman, but I apply the word “bint” to a female lunkhead. Like the ones who walk oafishly out into traffic mid-block while staring at their cellphones. In the years I lived in England, I never once heard the word “bint”. I was occasionally called a bitch (as in “that dirty fucking Yank bitch” - I worked nights in a pub), but didn’t mind that much…somehow, “bitch” to me implies grudging respect. My great fear was of being called a “cow”. Though some comics refer to themselves as “silly cows”. I have now worked with 3 people (Americans) who speak with heavy British accents and use Britishisms at work (MEEgraine headache and the like). I asked subtle questions and found out that one of them had a couple of British relatives, the second changed planes at Heathrow once and the third has never been out of the U.S. Hmmm…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/114 "2015-07-26T21:16:21Z")
I thought of another word I like. I only use it at home when talking to my husband, because I’d sound silly using it in public. It’s “scarper.” Again, there isn’t quite an American equivalent. I use it to mean when someone runs away from a situation where they had been up to no good, as in “If a cop shows up, those drunks yelling in the street are going to scarper.” At least, I’m pretty sure that’s the precise meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/115 "2015-07-26T23:22:52Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > It’s “scarper.” Again, there isn’t quite an American equivalent. Skedaddle. Scram. Vamoose. ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/116 "2015-07-27T02:18:03Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I only use it at home when talking to my husband, because I’d sound silly using it in public. It’s “scarper.” You could get away with it. It’s in the [**Urban Dictionary**](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Scarper). > [@](#): > > Scarper > > Run away quickly from misdeed/minor felony. > > Shit, it’s the filth, lets scarper ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/117 "2015-07-27T06:31:46Z")
> [@MmeRose](#): > > More comments: when and where I lived, “innit” was considered very low class, like glottal stops. > > One very irritating habit of “The Footie” announcers was referring to the game as “fooball” (sorry, I can’t think of a way to spell it. The first syllable rhymes with “put” except without the T sound). Dropping the T (or double T) in the middle of such words is common in many British dialects - it’s sometimes sort-of-replaced by an unstressed stop. > **[T-glottalization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-glottalization)** > > In English phonology, t-glottalization or t-glottalling is a sound change in certain English dialects and accents, particularly in the United Kingdom, that causes the phoneme /t/ to be pronounced as the glottal stop \[ʔ\] ⓘ in certain positions. It is never universal, especially in careful speech\[citation needed\], and it most often alternates with other allophones of /t/ such as \[t\]ⓘ, \[tʰ\], \[tⁿ\] (before a nasal), \[tˡ\] (before a lateral), or \[ɾ\]. > As a sound change, it is a subtype of debuccalizat... ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/118 "2015-07-27T13:54:48Z")
> [@MmeRose](#): > > In some book I once read by Anthony Burgess, the character always said “For cough”. Took me along time to figure out what he was saying. Going a bit off-direct-topic; but, put in mind of another British author’s adroit handling of the f-word in published text. Eric Newby’s _The Last Grain Race_– chronicling the author’s voyage on the eve of World War II, from Britain to Australia and back, as a seaman on one of the last-remaining full-rigged sailing ships in commercial service. This ship sailed under the Finnish flag-- part of a fleet based in the Aland Islands, a Swedish-speaking part of Finland. The ship’s formal working language was thus Swedish; but the crew comprised numerous nationalities, many non-Swedish-speaking: general communication among the crew was in – often badly messed-up, not first-or-second-or-third-language – English. All conversations rendered by the author, are in quasi-English. Opportunely, the Swedish for “foresail”, is “fock”. Newby takes advantage of that, using in his reported “English” conversations, “fock” as a substitute for the f-word and its derivatives – “focking”, “focker”, etc. The book was published in 1956 – a bit surprising that it got through the then censorship. One figures that either the censors didn’t have a clue; or they cottoned on, but figured that the obscuration was sufficient at its job. ---
**Author:** ![MmeRose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@MmeRose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MmeRose)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/119 "2015-07-27T19:59:33Z")
“Knackered” - I know it means exhausted, but what is the literal meaning? I always feel like it is a little off color (off colour?), “something dirty” as we said when we were children. Is it? Isn’t a Knacker’s Yard a slaughterhouse? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626/120 "2015-07-27T20:18:15Z")
> [@MmeRose](#): > > “Knackered” - I know it means exhausted, but what is the literal meaning? I always feel like it is a little off color (off colour?), “something dirty” as we said when we were children. Is it? > > Isn’t a Knacker’s Yard a slaughterhouse? Yes, and ‘Knackers’ are testicles, so by association, it was a bit of a rude word. Knackered also means ‘broken’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms-ive-adopted/725626.md?page=7)