# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/101 "2004-12-27T11:46:38Z")
> [@Anastasaeon](#): > > Fancy a shag, love? 😃 Sadly my wife won’t let me smoke. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/102 "2004-12-27T11:51:10Z")
> [@owlstretchingtime](#): > > Sadly my wife won’t let me smoke. 😛 But will she let you _shag_, baby? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/103 "2004-12-27T17:41:13Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > conspicuous oversizing of portions is pretty much synonymous with poor quality here. Damn! That means all our restaurants are poor quality! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/104 "2004-12-27T18:29:05Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Smarties are also known as Sweetarts, which is a kind of sour/sweet small crunchy candy. Not in the UK they’re not. As said, they’re specifically M&M-ish things (though in the last couple of months they released ‘Fruit Smarties’ which are like Skittles. And really horrible). > [@](#): > > They went into a pub and ordered pints. They were informed later that ladies don’t order pints, they order half-pints. Whoever said that was either a raging sexist, or just taking the piss. > [@](#): > > They met up with a couple of guys and later on asked if they could get a ride. Apparently that meant something different that a lift home. Heh heh heh. > [@](#): > > The UK also doesn’t have doggie bags? Here, because the servings in sit-down restaurants are so huge, it’s not unusual to have the leftovers boxed up and brought home, called “doggie bags.” It’s done in some places, but pretty unusual. You might find your waiter/waitress looking surprised, and find yourself taking home food in a completely improvised container. > [@](#): > > We also tip servers over here for restaurant service, something that isn’t as common over there? 10% - 15% is the norm for good service. However, unlike in the US, servers make minimum wage, so don’t rely on the tips to live. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/105 "2004-12-27T21:49:37Z")
Brits “hire” inanimate objects, like a car or a video; Americans rent them. In America, to hire somebody is to employ them, to put them on the payroll. Hire people; rent things. ---
**Author:** ![Kiminy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/106 "2004-12-27T22:24:00Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Smarties are also known as Sweetarts, which is a kind of sour/sweet small crunchy candy. Smarties (the US candy) and Sweetarts are not the same thing. They’re both pretty much pure sugar with artificial flavor and pastel colors (no chocolate), but Sweetarts are larger than Smarties, and except for an experiment that didn’t last very long, Smarties are not very sour. [http://www.oldtimecandy.com/smarties.htm](http://www.oldtimecandy.com/smarties.htm) [http://www.candydirect.com/novelty/Sweetarts-Roll.html](http://www.candydirect.com/novelty/Sweetarts-Roll.html) Necco wafers are completely different from either Smarties or Sweetarts. They are not sour at all, and the same company and candy base is used to make Conversation Hearts for Valentine’s Day. I was at an international market with a lot of British food products, and came across a Cadbury candy named Violet Crunch (or Crush?). Is it really violet flavored? ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/107 "2004-12-27T22:50:27Z")
To **Knock up** over here simply means to rouse from sleep. Nothing rude. We used to fill a form **in** , but everyone these days seems to fill one **out** unfortunately. And in the earlier discussion about M&Ms and that, didn’t we use to have **Treats** , which melted in your mouth, not in your hand? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/108 "2004-12-27T23:05:43Z")
> [@Kiminy](#): > > I was at an international market with a lot of British food products, and came across a Cadbury candy named Violet Crunch (or Crush?). Is it really violet flavored? It might have been similar to a Violet Crumble, which is a chocolate bar available in Australia. It’s honeycomb, covered in chocolate and it’s absolutely delicious. I assume the name is derived from the violet-coloured wrapping. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/109 "2004-12-27T23:24:40Z")
> [@seosamh](#): > > To **Knock up** over here simply means to rouse from sleep. Nothing rude. > > … > > And in the earlier discussion about M&Ms and that, didn’t we use to have **Treats** , which melted in your mouth, not in your hand? AFAIK, knock up has both meanings. “They melt in your mouth, not in your hand” was the slogan for Minstrels, not Treats. And, yes, we did have them, they were like peanut M&Ms. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/110 "2004-12-27T23:28:36Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It might have been similar to a Violet Crumble, which is a chocolate bar available in Australia. Yep. They’re called Crunchies over here and the wrapper is gold, not violet. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/111 "2004-12-27T23:29:56Z")
Maybe **ivylass** was referring to Love Hearts? Little sweet/sour tablets on which are embossed sentiments such as YOURS FOREVER and MY SWEETIE? The makers seem to have finally realised that it is no longer 1943, because they are now using come-ons that are only ten years out of date, like TEXT ME and NICE LAPTOP (I made that last one up, it’s been a while since I ate a whole packet of Love Hearts). In other news, nobody in Britain spells it “connexion”, if they ever did. And “rent” and “hire” are nowadays pretty much interchangable in English-speaking Europe and mean the same as they do in North America. It was Treets, not Treats, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/112 "2004-12-27T23:35:40Z")
> [@Kal](#): > > Yep. They’re called Crunchies over here and the wrapper is gold, not violet. We have the gold-wrapped Crunchies too. Similar idea, but vastly inferior to Violet Crumbles. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2004, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/113 "2004-12-27T23:51:34Z")
> [@Kal](#): > > AFAIK, knock up has both meanings. “They melt in your mouth, not in your hand” was the slogan for Minstrels, not Treats. And, yes, we did have them, they were like peanut M&Ms. Whatever happened to Treets? They were teh lovely, and I miss them. ☹ ---
**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:** [December 28, 2004, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/114 "2004-12-28T00:05:04Z")
Ooh, just remembered one; ‘gotten’ has almost completely fallen out of use in the UK (I believe the USA has held on to the archaic form that the UK lost, rather than adding something) - we say ‘has got’ or ‘has become’ (depending on the context) ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/115 "2004-12-28T00:35:22Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Ooh, just remembered one; ‘gotten’ has almost completely fallen out of use in the UK … Speak f’yerself … s’still common 'uff 'round eer. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/116 "2004-12-28T00:49:16Z")
“Gotten” is just the past participle of “get” in (most dialects of) American English, where British English speakers would use “got”. I would say that the bigger difference is the British preference for “have got” over “have” (“he’s got a Maserati” vs. “he has a Maserati”). ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/117 "2004-12-28T01:27:12Z")
…leading on to the different ways of expressing an event in the immediate past: US: I just ate GB: I’ve already eaten In the US, the present perfect is not so common, if at all. The past simple combined with ‘just’ fulfils that function. Speaking of which, fulfil (GB) = fulfill (US), is that right? I couldn’t care less (GB) = I could care less (US). Also, has anyone else been confused by ‘homely’? What sounds like a mild compliment in Britain is an insult in the US. Homely in the US is a euphemism for ugly, similar to the GB ‘plain’. Homely in the UK means cozy, home-loving. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/118 "2004-12-28T04:25:56Z")
> [@Martha](#): > > I couldn’t care less (GB) = I could care less (US). I couldn’t care less (GB & US) = I could care less (ignorant people who don’t know what they’re talking about) ---
**Author:** ![seosamh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@seosamh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seosamh)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/119 "2004-12-28T10:48:28Z")
By the way, **Treets** was in fact the original name for **Minstrels** (I’m old, you see), just as a **Marathon** was changed to a **Snickers** - which is an awful name in over here because it sounds like “knickers”. Damn globalisation (with an s). We tend to have a schwa for the final syllable of multi-syllable words like Birmingham, which Americans say Birming-HAM. Oddly, there is always a schwa at the end of “Manhattan” no matter where you come from. And we use a short O at the end of Greek words like Cosmos and Kudos: I remember sniggering (i.e. not snickering) at the late Carl Sagan talking about the “Cos-Moze”. And also at people who think Kudos (“Koo-Doze”) is the plural of a putative monetary unit, the “Koo-Doe”. We say it like a computer programme: Q-DOS. Well, those of us who did Greek at Grammar school do, anyway, because we’re aware that it’s an omicron rather than an omega. Oh, and a Grammar school - I think there may be a few left - is a selected entry school for pupils aged 11 and over. ---
**Author:** ![owlstretchingtime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/958977/32.png) [@owlstretchingtime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/owlstretchingtime)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462/120 "2004-12-28T12:02:06Z")
Maths (Uk) - Math (US) Sport (UK) - Sports (US) (no I don’t get it either). Yanks are going to be terribly let down by the Norfolk Broads! We also speak to someone not with someone. Can I have? not, Can I get? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britishisms/281462.md?page=7)