“Rooinek” - Afrikaans for “redneck” - is a colloquial term used (sometimes in a derogatory manner) for South Africans of British descent (or for British people generally). It is indeed based on the idea that British people who came out to South Africa would get sunburned necks because they were pale and didn’t wear appropriate headgear.
See also the Aussie term “pommie”. I think.
True story: a guy I used to work with had spent a year seconded to the US office (East coast, as I recall). To make the most of his stay he, wife and the young family were in the habit of taking weekend breaks to local attractions, nearby cities and so forth.
Summer came around, and he tried to book a trip for early July - but when he rang up there were no rooms available at his preferred hotel. Surprised, he asked why that was.
Hotel reception: That is Independence Day, sir.
He said: I didn’t appreciate that (meaning: I hadn’t realized that was the case.)
Hotel reception heard: I didn’t appreciate that (meaning: How dare you, I didn’t like that at all.)
I don’t know if it still the case, but at the time there was a fairly widespread belief that the British were still ticked off about the whole independence thing, and liable to get upset if it was mentioned - whereas in fact British people are so little interested that, absent of context, July the 4th just doesn’t ring any bells - hence the confusion.
All settled amicably, you’ll be glad to hear.
Not wishing to re-hijack, but small point of interest: there are now more than a thousand vineyards in Britain.
j
I remember when in a comments section, someone mentioned a “bog roll,” saying that at a work activity, the organizer had them toss a bog roll to each other. Other commenters were puzzled as to what that was. Someone guessed it was a beanbag (something you might toss around.) Someone else thought maybe it was an inferior sandwich on a bread roll.
In British English, “bog” is a word for toilet or bathroom, so a bog roll is a toilet paper roll.
I have British friends and I learn new terms from them. (I’m in Canada.)
One such term is “cozzie”, meaning a bathing suit. It’s short for “swimming costume.”
Of course English has a long history of adding the ‘ie’ or ‘y’ suffix to short forms of words to make them more familiar/affectionate. Older forms are used in the US as well - puppy, kitty, mommy/mummy etc. Some of the more modern British examples could, I guess, lead to some bemusement:
ciggie: cigarette
biccie: biscuit
pressie (pronounced prezzie with a soft z sound): present (as in gift)
sarnie: sandwich
Corrie: Coronation Street
I’m sure there are modern North American examples that might befuddle a Brit too. I can only think of Caddie for Cadillac, but we’d probably get that from context. Any other examples?
Strangely, Australians tend to add an ‘o’ prefix for their modern diminutives.
OB
I can dig most Australian diminutives. The one that baffles me is “bikie” for “biker”. It sounds too cute of a word to hold almost the exact connotations that “biker” does in America.
Viniculture in Great Britain was reduced by the Little Ice Age, although not completely wiped out. But the remaining supply couldn’t compete with imports from the warmer parts of France. So the British imposed higher tariffs, while compensating with beer and whisky production. When the Industrial Revolution came, the British had a leg up with all their craftsmen who could make copper vats.
For those copper boilers as well as the worm-proof hulls of their East Indiamen, Britain’s copper was as vital to their empire as the silver under Athens had been to theirs.
Doesn’t seem worse than jolly swagmen.
“The bikies are making ice.”
Aww, they’re building a snowman…
Here on the edge of the Black Country , the locals use a couple of other words as an alternative to sodding .They are cowing and godding .
For example ." I fell off my godding bike "
Or " Her said it wor him as ruined the cowing settee."( She said that it was not him that ruined etc)
Cheers
Oops .Think I replied to the wrong person . No offence , mate
Did you mean suffix? Because David will probably get called Davo, for instance.
We Australians are world champions at this (likely inherited from the Brits of course). The latest I’m aware of is “cozzy livvy” which is short for “cost of living”.
Fancy dress party - meaning costume party - was a source of confusion that led to me and a bf having a ten minute conversation with me thinking I needed to find a new formal dress.
Swotting, meaning “studying” was a new one on me. I figured the speaker was saying “swatting” and I wondered at the statement “I guess you’ll probably be swotting all weekend”. I honestly thought he was referring to the mosquitos in my backyard garden. Neither of us realized at the time that we were talking about two different things.
I don’t even want to admit to my misunderstanding of “minge” or how I found out its meaning 
Maybe ot but, the whole world has decided that Big Ben is the whole clock and tower, not just the bell like they insist. Get over it.
Damn skippy. It’s Elizabeth Tower; which I learned at an older age than you’d like. For whatever reason, I don’t recall being taught this. It’s always just been Big Ben. Are there any Brits that misname it / don’t know?
A habit we share with/inherited from the Dutch, where it’s very usual. Where else might the word 'cookie" come from?
Loads. As you might guess, naming the clock tower for Elizabeth is very recent.
I find it quite endearing that the person who collects your domestic waste is a “garbo”. The job and its residue might well make them ‘vant to be alone’.
I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody in the real world call it St Stephen’s Tower/Eliizabeth Tower
Calling the whole thing - the clock and its bells, and the tower, ‘Big Ben’ just makes more sense than naming all the parts separately - ‘Big Ben’ is an apt and memorable name for a 96 metre tall clock tower that has become an iconic landmark for London. It’s called Big Ben now - the whole thing, because that’s what people call it, and that’s how ‘it’s called [whatever it is called]’ works.
It may be formally named Elizabeth Tower, but it’s called Big Ben.