Friday, September 17

The Best of British

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This weekend is a crazy one. I am going to get my last hit of crack, aka Berryline, today then Sean and I are going to see The Town in the spirit of Boston pride and tomorrow is our going away party! Sunday I imagine I will be laying in bed praying for the sweet release from my hangover only death can provide.

In honor of our impending move across the pond, here are some of my favorite new vocabulary words I am learning from our book, The Best of British: The American's Guide to Speaking British.

Arseholed- Drunk! Usually in the advanced stages of drunken stupor, someone would be considered "completely arseholed". Never me, of course.

Bob's your uncle- This is a well used phrase. It is added to the end of sentences a bit like "and that's it!" For example, Marie is awesome. Everyone is going to miss her a lot when she moves to London but they'll be sure to send her lots of presents and before you know it she'll be home and Bob's your uncle!

Cock up- a cock up means you made a mistake. It has nothing to do with the male anatomy so get your mind out of the gutter kids. tsk. tsk.

Cockney rhyming slang- There are lots of words that make up cockney rhyming slang. These are basically rhyming words like "butcher's hook" which means "look" I fyou are in London and you hear someone talking about a Septic, they are probably talking about you- because it's short for Septic Tank which equals Yank- which is British for American. ummm....this whole thing seems like it could be a) a lot of fun or b) really hard to decode. I bet Eminem would do great in London.

Crikey- Another exclamation of surprise. Between blast, blimey, bloody, and crikey, it seems these Brits get surprised quite easily. I am definitely going to make an effort to yell "CRIKEY!" whenever someone walks into the room and act like I was surprised.

Dog's Bollocks- You would say that something really fantastic was the dog's bollocks. I'm really glad I learned this one ahead of time. I'd probably punch a girl in the face if she walked up to me and said "wow you're really looking like the dog's bollocks today!"

Nancy boy- If someone is being pathetic you would call them a nancy boy. It is the opposite of being hard and tough. Soooo, the American version of this would be metrosexuals? or Justin Beiber? I get it.

On the Job- if you are on the job, it could mean you are hard at work. or having sex. Ha! Be careful not to mix these ones up or that could make for a very awkward job interview.

Pavement Pizza- a descriptive way of saying vomit. hahahaha. Okay, I've gotta hand it to them at this point, English people are hilarious.

Sweet Fanny Adams- this means nothing. I think they are trying to trick me. People really use these terms? Again, hilarious I tell you.

I think when I go out today, I am going to start incorporating them into my daily vernacular. We'll see how well received I am when I tell some Nancy Boy that I think his skinny jeans are the Dog's Bollocks. Sweet Fanny Adams, it'll be a jolly good time.

5 comments:

Elizabeth said...

This is hilarious! Good luck in London!

Sean said...

the quarter life quandary is the dog's bollocks! Keep it up Marie!

Jessica said...

I moved to London from Boston a year ago and love it. If you need help getting acclimated, let me know!

Marie Evans said...

Jessica- really? that's so great! I would love some insider tips on making the transition easier! my email is mevans416 at gmail

Emma Karrlsson-Willis said...

Sweet Fanny Adams means Sweet F@*#k All !!! Oh, and don't say " Fanny" when referencing your behind - in Britain it's a certain part of the female anatomy!!
Wellies and a raincoat - first on your shoping list!!

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