When in England, as a starnger in a pub, is it proper to buy around? Or would this be taken the wrong way?
People would think you were strange and probably immediately leave.
As a stranger? You mean, buy drinks for everyone present?
I’m sure it would be a popular move, but it would be highly unusual. If you’d just won the lottery, maybe, otherwise, no.
Shut up!
These people are ignorant of the strong British tradition that, on first entering a new pub, it is expected that you buy a drink for everyone there present. It is simple manners.
Unfortunately for the Yanks, the dollar is so weak right now that an English beer costs between 35 and 50 dollars. So sure, buy a round – it’ll help you fit in – but if you haven’t got the brass to pay for it, the landlord will call in a deputation of football hooligans to break all your bones, yea unto the fifth metatarsal.
I don’t usually LOL, but – LOL! 
I would everyone to know that this is also the tradition in my home state of Montana, as well as in North Carolina, where I currently live. And also whatever other state (bar) I happen to be standing in at the time. 
All you could ever want to know about British pub etiquette.
Chapter 5 covers round-buying.
My friends and I do this fairly often. I didn’t know it was considered a British thing.
I’ve never seen a STRANGER buy a round though. I thought that only happened in movies.
The closest I’ve ever been to a general ‘Round for the house on me!’ is a bartender pouring shots for everyone present after a hometown sporting event win. I suppose that is a drinks on the house sitch, though.
I’ve bought (and rx’d) plenty of drinks for strangers but usually it’s because they have some affiliation with the group I’m with.
5 years ago I was out with a friend on Christmas eve. There were about 11 people at the bar. I budget X dollars each week and I had about 60 left over in the budget that week. I figured I’d be a big spender and buy a round for the bar. After all, it was Christmas. I figured I put 60 down and then put the rest on a CC if need be.
We were in a small bar in a small town south of Hazleton PA.
The bill came to less than 17 dollars. I was stunned.
I have also been in a bar a few times when stranger bought a round for the bar and in fact it happened just a month or two ago in a small bar near where I live.
When I lived in Harrisburg, PA I used to go to a local bar (I don’t drink any more, but the company was nice). On several occasions, a stranger bought a round for the bar. The one case I recall was a military guy who had just got back from Afghanistan. Most folks felt that they should be buying him drinks, but he was insistent.
In the UK folks will accept your drink, but they’ll think you’re crazy.
I’ve mostly been to bars in big cities, so maybe that’s the difference. Although when I was traveling around the UK I did visit quite a few smaller towns and villages and didn’t notice anybody offering to buy rounds in general. Maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.
A friend and I bought speckled hard-boiled eggs for the house once when we were really drunk. It was some kind of odd appetizer, and it was on the menu for 50 cents a pop, so we figured we could afford it.
It was hugely popular, and people cheered us, but I noticed not many people ate the eggs.
Similarly when you board a bus or a train in the UK it’s considered good manners to shake hands with all your fellow passengers.
And don’t forget to engage the bus driver in conversation. Just like taxi drivers, they like nothing more than to chatter away, and especially appreciate witty banter about the price of fares, whether or not they are keeping to the timetable, and so forth.
(Actually, there’s a couple around here who really do. It feels you’ve stepped into a parallel universe.)
Haggling is an ingrained British tradition. You should always spend at least a minute or two trying to get a better deal on anything you buy. If you have any interaction with the police, it is customary to show them your appreciation with a small cash bonus.
Also, understand that queuing, while ingrained in the British psyche, is optional, and not really for the faint of heart. Hardened Britons will be pleased to allow you to the front upon discovering that you are a foreigner.
Walk in a pub in my area on a Saturday afternoon (during the footie) and that is going to be one hell of an expensive round…
50 bucks for a beer? That can’t be right. That would mean that British people pay between 17 and 25 pounds for a pint. I realize that there is a dedication to drinking that is not match in all parts of the United States in the United Kingdom, but 25 pounds for a pint of beer? Ridiculous!
hear that whistling sound right over your head? 