# Britishisms **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2004, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462 "2004-12-24T09:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/181 "2004-12-30T14:12:08Z")
> [@Sassafras](#): > > I have often heard the expression “ta” = what does that mean?At first I thought it was “thank you” , but I have heard in used in films where saying " thank you" didn’t make any sense. Possible confusion ahoy! “ta” = thank you “ta ta” = goodbye. (as in “TTFN” - “ta ta for now”) ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/182 "2004-12-30T14:16:25Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > Yep, it’s ‘thank you’. What context did you hear it in that this didn’t make sense? My granfather’s wife is from London- I have heard her say it when it seemed to me she should have been saying goodbye to someone. Perhaps she was thanking them for leaving. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/183 "2004-12-30T14:18:17Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Possible confusion ahoy! > > “ta” = thank you > > “ta ta” = goodbye. (as in “TTFN” - “ta ta for now”) we say “Ta Ta” as well ( not much , but we do say it ) - maybe I missed the second “Ta”! ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/184 "2004-12-30T14:27:05Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Also 10.45am in the UK is a “quarter to eleven”. Also on the subject of timekeeping, Britons often will refer to 30 minutes past the hour as “half (whatever the hour is),” i.e. U.S. 9:30 a.m. = U.K. half nine. ---
**Author:** ![Sparrow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Sparrow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparrow)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/185 "2004-12-30T14:29:23Z")
What are Twinkies in the US? I get the impression they’re some kind of candy or cake but I’m not sure exactly. We don’t have them over here. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/186 "2004-12-30T14:38:44Z")
> [@Sparrow](#): > > What are Twinkies in the US? I get the impression they’re some kind of candy or cake but I’m not sure exactly. We don’t have them over here. A semi-cylinder of a sickly sweet yellow sponge cake filled with a very sugary creme. T ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/187 "2004-12-30T16:22:35Z")
Adidas: UK pronunciation ADDY-dass US pronunciation a-DEE-dus Knowing this would have saved me a fortune when my daughter was on the phone to her US penfriend, and they spent ten minutes trying to work out what exactly they were both talking about. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/188 "2004-12-30T16:38:32Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Also 10.45am in the UK is a “quarter to eleven”. As has been said, this phrase is also used in parts of the USA, as is “quarter of eleven”. There are also Americans who’d say “quarter till eleven”. Of course, digital timepieces threaten to render all these variations obsolete. You also hear “quarter after” and (less frequently) “quarter past”. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/189 "2004-12-30T16:50:29Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > As has been said, this phrase is also used in parts of the USA, as is “quarter of eleven”. There are also Americans who’d say “quarter till eleven”. Of course, digital timepieces threaten to render all these variations obsolete. You also hear “quarter after” and (less frequently) “quarter past”. Odd, I hear (and say) “quarter past” all the time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone say “quarter after”. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/190 "2004-12-30T17:16:13Z")
As I found out in London, US Subway = UK Tube UK Subway = US Underpass so there I was, going back and forth under the street, looking for the subway. A coworker who went to England committed this faux pas: after dinner, she loudly proclaimed, “I’m stuffed!” It’d be like somebody coming over to the US and saying “I’m f\*cked!” Any wonder why Hitchcock put in the double meaning in \*Psycho \*when Anthony Perkins said his favorite hobby was “stuffing birds.” ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/191 "2004-12-30T17:41:32Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > A coworker who went to England committed this faux pas: after dinner, she loudly proclaimed, “I’m stuffed!” It’d be like somebody coming over to the US and saying “I’m f\*cked!” > > Any wonder why Hitchcock put in the double meaning in \*Psycho \*when Anthony Perkins said his favorite hobby was “stuffing birds.” Your colleague seems to have been on the receiving end of a joke, or just was dining with particularly unamusing companions. ‘Stuffed’ is perfectly acceptable in that context - and yes, it’s also a sexual metaphor. So the Psycho reference is a double-entendre. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/192 "2004-12-30T18:02:52Z")
My english friend was always talking about “pulling some bloke” last night which (being the pervert that I am) I assumed was a handjob. Apparently it’s just to attract someone? [Good site](http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/193 "2004-12-30T18:05:24Z")
Pulling, or being on the pull, is non-gender-specific, and just refers to going out looking to get laid (or as near as possible). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/194 "2004-12-30T18:08:09Z")
> [@Crusoe](#): > > Pulling, or being on the pull, is non-gender-specific, and just refers to going out looking to get laid (or as near as possible). So if one says “I pulled this bloke last night” it means they actually slept together? Or can it just mean flirtation? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/195 "2004-12-30T18:10:37Z")
To me, not necessarily. It could mean a bit of a snog (first base?), or it could be the full monty (whole thing). ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/196 "2004-12-30T18:19:30Z")
> [@Mr Jim](#): > > [Good site](http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm) Fun for sure! And now another question: do people REALLY use Cockney rhyming slang regularly? How in the hell do you know what means what? ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/197 "2004-12-30T18:25:52Z")
I’ve never heard Cockney spoken other than in 1970s sitcoms or by sarcastic fruit & veg market traders… ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/198 "2004-12-30T18:29:09Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > And now another question: do people REALLY use Cockney rhyming slang regularly? How in the hell do you know what means what? Some words and phrases are fairly common, such as: - Barnet - Half-inch - _Up the Khyber_ - _Adam & Eve it_ And some, such as ‘berk’ and ‘porkie’, have become words in their own right. How do you know what it means? Most of the time, the context makes it pretty clear…there’s not much ambiguity to “_She takes it up the Khyber_” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/199 "2004-12-30T18:31:31Z")
…as opposed to “nice Bristols”, which had me confused for _years_. ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/200 "2004-12-31T00:55:04Z")
To pull someone is usually a kiss and a grope, but can be taken to mean anything from a look right up to full sex. Context is important. If you saw someone eyeing up your friend you might say “Hey So-and-so, I think you’ve pulled!” It could also be “I pulled this bloke in the club, and when we got back to his place…” “Pulling” gives us that lovely chat up line “Get your coat love, you’ve pulled!” which should never be used seriously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=11)