A Crash Course

...in English Terminology.

It has occured to me that a lot of the words and terms I throw out in this blog and various emails might not make a lot of sense. I am sticking to words and names that I encounter and/or use in my daily life here--students saying it, reading it in magazines, etc. I don't use all of these expressions myself.

So this is a helpful glossary of terms for you to refer to...because I am starting to talk like a Brit more and more each day I'm here.

6th Form -- The last two years of high school, made up of year 12 and year 13 (16-17 year olds). These two years are optional, for kids who want to go to Uni.

All right? -- You okay? How are you?

ASDA -- A store with nice quality clothing, cheap CDs and DVDs, and lots of groceries that happens to be owned by the WalMart corporation.

Aubergine -- Eggplant

Bank Holidays -- Monday holiday. Easter Monday, etc.

Bap -- Hamburger bun.

Barclay's -- My fine financial institution that just last week sent me a new debit card.

Bender -- To go on a bender is to get drunk.

Bin -- Trash can.

Biscuits -- Cookies. That you dip in tea. The chocolate-coated ones are best.

Bloke -- Guy

Bloody -- Example: "What a bloody nightmare, that child!"

Boot -- The "boot" of a car is the trunk.

Boots -- Popular chain chemists.

Bridget Jones -- My heroine. And her next film is coming out very soon. I smell a train ride to London...

Brilliant -- Exactly what it means in the US...fantastic! Used to express pleasure. When people as me what I think of the Imperial War Museum in London, I say, "Oh, it's brilliant!!"

Bugger Off!! -- Go away!!

Bum -- Bottom. Rear end. Need I say more?

Cadbury -- Chocolate. Makers of the famous Cream Eggs we see at Easter. But year-round in Britain, they have Dairy Milk bars (creamy milk chocolate) and Crunchie Bars (chocolate-covered honeycomb). Yum!!

Can't be arsed -- Can't be bothered. And we do use this expression.

Canteen -- What we call the school cafeteria.

Chat up -- Flirt with.

Cheeky -- A smartass. I have a lot of students that are cheeky. Sometimes cheeky is cute (when it's Robbie Williams) but most often it's not.

Cheers -- A common word used for "thank you," "bye," "hello," (when passing on the street).

Chemist -- Pharmacy

Chips -- Fries. And what Americans call chips are called crisps here.

Chuffed -- Pleased, happy.

Co-op -- Exactly what it is in the US. But when you see me mention it, it's the local grocery store I do my shopping at.

Courgette -- Zuchini

Crouch -- The River Crouch runs alongside Burnham. Hence the formal name of the town: Burnham-on-Crouch.

Curry -- Indian food. As popular to Brits as Mexican food is to Californians.

Daft -- Stupid or silly.

Debenhams -- Fairly upscale department store (think Macy's) that I love already.

Dodgy -- Suspicious. I will not flirt with dodgy guys.

Duvet -- Pronounced "doo-vay" and it is a comforter.

Essex -- The county Burnham-on-Crouch is located in.

Essex Girls and Essex Boys -- Young folk with peculiar ways of dressing that remind one of the 1980s. Not in a good way. They have a national reputation. I am NOT an Essex Girl (I am too conservative). From a web site I found: Characteristics may include being working class, sexually promiscuous, fashion conscious, heavily drinking, confident and of low morals.

Fag -- Cigarette. Still, unfortunately, extremely popular in this country.

Fancy -- As in, "would you like...?" Example: "Fancy a drink?" Can also be used to express your desire for someone. Example: "I really fancy that Robbie Williams."

Firth, Colin -- Best known for his portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and for his portrayal of Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones films. The epitome of handsome, aristocratic English hunka hunka gorgeous man.

Fit -- Not just in shape, but seriously lookin' good. Colin Firth is fit. Robbie Williams is fit. Damian Lewis is fit.

Football -- Soccer. Also referred to as "footie."

Fortnight -- A two-week period. People honestly use this term in daily language.

Gawp -- To stare at. I see this word in More! magazine a lot. Because 20-something gals like to gawp at cute blokes.

GCSE -- Stands for...hmm. I forgot what it stands for. But it is a year 10 or year 11 class that leads to a test the students take in the subject at the end of year 11. I teach two GCSE-level classes. One year 10 with 8 kids, one year 11 (my after-school group) of year 11s. And the exam is what used to be called an O-level. Harry Potter fans: Think OWLs.

Ginger -- Referring to Red hair, or an orange cat.

Gobsmacked -- Amazed. I'm gobsmacked when Friday 5th period listens to two sentences in a row from me.

Gutted -- Upset.

Handbag or bag -- Purse

High School -- Consists of years 7 through 11 and 6th Form. The year equivilents are: Year 7 = US 6th grade; Year 8 = US 7th grade, etc.

High Street -- Main Street. Burnham's High Street is filled with businesses and homes.

Horses for Courses -- "To each his own." Kathy uses this one often.

"It's not that cold today..." -- Megan better grab a heavy jumper, a wool coat, gloves, scarf and hat.

Jacket Potato -- Baked potato with fillings.

Jumper -- Sweater

Keen -- Enthusiastic. Widely used by kids here.

Knackered -- Tired, exhausted.

Lewis, Damian -- Ginger star of HBO's Band of Brothers (yep, they hired a Brit to play an American hero). Very, very handsome man.

Lie-in -- Sleeping in.

London -- Inexpensive therapy for homesickness, bad mood, boredom. Enhances good moods. My favorite city on the planet (tied only with San Francisco).

Loo -- Bathroom. Also refered to as "the ladies" and "toilet." But use the word bathroom, you get laughed at.

Lorry -- Truck

Lovely -- Used in place of "nice." As in, "That was lovely! Well done."

Marks and Spencer -- Also referred to as Marks and Sparks. Famous English department store along the same lines as JC Penneys or Mervyns. Upscale but not expensive. Quality stuff.

Mash -- Mashed potatoes.

Mate -- Friend

Mentor Group -- A group of kids I see twice a day at registration periods. I take the register, and turn it in to the head of 6th Form because my mentor group is a year 12. I'm temporarily assigned to some year 12s because of some personnel shuffling. I'll be back with my original group of year 13s (a group I shared) after Christmas.

Mobile -- Cell phone. And it's pronounced Mo-bye-ul.

More! -- My favorite Brit magazine for 20-something gals.

Naff -- Uncool.

Nab -- Steal.

Off your trolley -- Crazy.

On the Pull -- Picking up blokes/gals at the bar.

Out of Order -- Disrespectful, unfair. I have a year 9 who is always shouting, "Taht's out of order, miss! That's out of order!!" when I am perfectly justified in taking away whatever toy/piece of candy/distraction he is loudly disrupting my class with. He gets sent out a lot.

Pants -- Underwear. I have to stop and think before I mention that I have a major lint problem on my pants. And change it to trousers.

Pavement -- Sidewalk

Posh -- Sophisticated, stylish.

Posh and Becks -- The First Couple of English tabloids. Becks would be David Beckham, superstar football player. Posh would be Victoria Beckham, his wife and mother of two (and expecting their third) who was a member of the Spice Girls. She was--you guessed it--Posh Spice.

Prat -- Very rude term. Someone told me on my first day on the job, "Last year's music teacher was a prat." !

Pub -- Public House. A bar, usually with food until certain times. More fun than bars/clubs because it's more laid-back.

Purse -- Wallet

Quay -- A sea wall. There is one along the River Crouch. And it's pronounced "key."

Queue/Queue up -- Line/Line up

Quid -- Slang for pound (the money). Just like we sometimes call American dollars "bucks."

Register and Registration -- I take register (roll call) during the registration periods. We have a 20-minute registration first thing every morning, and a 5 minute one after lunch.

Right -- This is used to begin sentences. Kind of along the lines of "Okay." Example: "Right, let's just settle down and get to work, then." Also can be used in place of "very."

Ring -- To call someone. Example: "Ring me and we'll talk, right?"

Robbie Williams -- My future husband. Okay, he's probably not my future husband. But he is my favorite cheeky Brit and I own every album he's put out.

Roundabout -- Traffic circle.

Row -- Fight, argument. Rhymes with "cow."

Rubber -- Kids ask me for a rubber and I still have to internally berate myself to keep from laughing (so immature, I know...). A rubber is an eraser.

Rubbish -- Garbage. And it gets put in the bin, not thrown away.

Sellotape -- Like Scotch tape. And I only include this because I wanted to point out why J.K. Rowling's fabulous books contain Spell-o-tape.

Smart -- Used to describe someone who is dressed nicely, or sharply. I try to look smart for work each day.

Snog -- Kiss. Example: At the top of my blog. "Will she snog Robbie Williams?" She'd like to.

Spot -- Pimple.

Stone -- A unit of weight that equals 14 pounds. And people talk about their weight in stones. I would like to weigh 8 stone (112 pounds) but...I don't.

Strop -- Sulking. You can be "in a strop," or "a stroppy cow."

Sweets -- Candy. Kids actually ask me what I'm talking about when I say, "Don't eat candy in my classroom!!!"

Telly -- TV

Theatre -- Live performance of a play. A movie theatre is the cinema. And you don't see movies, you see films.

Totty -- Attractive female.

Trainers -- Tennis Shoes

Trolley -- Shopping cart

Trousers -- What I have to remember to call them, 'cause the kids will laugh at me if I refer to them as pants (see above).

Tube -- The London Underground. A subway. Known as the Tube.

Vest -- Tank top. Sleeveless shirt.

Well done -- Used in place of "good job." Sometimes followed by "yay you!"

Zebra Crossing -- Crosswalk. And it rhymes with "Debra."

Zed -- The letter Z. They say "zed," (rhymes with "bed"), not "zee."


And finally...from a great website. This really sums it up:

Excuse me - This is a great one! It's what kids are taught to say when they belch in public. We are also taught to say "pardon me" if we fart out loud. Unfortunately in American "excuse me" means you are encroaching in someone's personal space and you say "pardon me" when you don't hear someone properly. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that actually Americans are not belching and farting all the time.

HA!

Cheers,

Meg