British phrases

I love "Bob's your uncle". I picked that up about 15 years ago on a BBS that had a messaging system with other BBSs around the world. Then, just today I ran across "horses for courses".

Neither of these phrases is very common in the US, but they seem just the thing to use in the right context. We've got a number of folks from across the pond, here. What other Britishisms should I know about?

a sticky wicket

I think it has something to do with eating croquettes??

;)

"Don't let's start" -- which I suspect may be northern -- it turned into a very fine They Might Be Giants single.

"Full of beans" -- i.e., hyper

Don't know if this is a Britishism or not: When denoting an event to happen a week on Thursday, "Thursday week".

I am reading a book which is heavy on the cockney slang. I am in awe of the authors ability to even spell it and my ability to even read it.

I went looking for some examples instead of taking excerpts from the book.
I found a site that will translate the internet into slang...so I entered the some Cellar tag lines.

http://www.thevalkyrie.com/clubhouse/cockney/index.htm

A well-organized army of rabbittin' 'eads -sycamore


Post and give yourself yer own reason to return It's all about yer! And yer and yer and yer and me Patiently awaitin' the dot-org bubble As addictive as nicotine, as nutritious as muvver's milk Free wth registration: a bunch of people to rabbit to Trolls, morons and spammers will be shot on sight -undertoad


The Cellar: Where thought provokin' discussion is talked about. The Cellar: Where somebody might agree wiv yer. The Cellar: Because yer 'ave nothin' better to do. -Whit


:lol2: that was fun ......

sorry......I'lll leave now. :o

When denoting an event to happen a week on Thursday, "Thursday week".

Definitely a Britism, as is "a week on Thursday". Both are better constructions than our "next Thursday". That inevitably starts a discussion of whether one means the next Thursday to come, which is not "next Thursday" but "this Thursday", until somebody breaks down and figures out the full date. "OK, you mean Thursday the 23rd." "Yes, next Thursday."

We kind of have the same debate sometimes until someone clarifies by saying, "no, I mean Thursday week"......" Ohhh....right, next, next Thursday".

It's more of a term than a phrase, but I've never been certain of the full meaning of "piss artist". (When I was hearing it as a kid, it would have been impolite to ask.)

hehehehehe that term has several meanings. Mainly it refers to somone who is messing about, not taking something seriously. It comes I think, from 'taking the piss'.

Saying "fortnight" instead of "two weeks".

"Pip pip" and "cheerio"

it's lunchtime and I'm feeling a mite peckish.

but first, I need to spend a penny.

How about "innit" or "summat" ...?

and izzit.

Elspode wrote:

"Pip pip" and "cheerio"

I've heard "cheers" to end a phone call. Do folks over there still use cheerio? And did they ever use "Pip pip", or is that a Hollywood thing?

Don't know about the pip pip. Might have been in vogue 50 or 60 years ago, or might just be a tv/movie thing.

Cheerio not used much except by older peeps, or in some small areas it might still remain. Cheers we use a lot, as thanks, or farewell, or as a toast.

'Gutted.' Anybody other than Brits use that? meaning -disappointed, or upset.

knackered - dead tired (the knackers yard is where dead livestock get umm... recycled)

having kittens - nervous, very expectant.

just ran across this handy-dandy translator

Nice site BS. I ran across this browsing around.

beer cf n :
standard American beer is colorless, odorless, flavorless, sugarless, untainted by calories, alcohol, and caffeine, and contains no IOC banned substances, but is obscenely effervescent and so cold that each sip is a guaranteed brain freeze. Happily, microbreweries have been springing up everywhere producing outstandingly fine, normal beers.

DanaC wrote:

hehehehehe that term has several meanings. Mainly it refers to somone who is messing about, not taking something seriously. It comes I think, from 'taking the piss'.

I disagree - I think it means someone who drinks a lot. Also "to be out on the piss" = out to get drunk.

A Scottish-ism "One for the shuch" (pronounced shukh) - To have another (perhaps final drink); syn. "One for the road".
The "shuch" is the ditch at the side of the road ... :D

I disagree - I think it means someone who drinks a lot. Also "to be out on the piss" = out to get drunk.

That too. As I said, it has several meanings. Where I hail from, if someone is being a dickhead, or just not taking something seriously, someone will say " Oh don't be such a pissartis." also used for someone joking about.

'Sticky Wicket' is a cricketing term meaning that the wicket isn't very favourable. It's obviously also used to describe a difficult situation. Stuck between a rock and a hard place so to speak.

This is a term we use over here too.

dar512 wrote:

I've heard "cheers" to end a phone call. Do folks over there still use cheerio? And did they ever use "Pip pip", or is that a Hollywood thing?

I use "cheers" all the time (to mean 'thanks and bye", usually, rather than just "bye") but you hit the nail on the head with "pip pip". Say that to a Brit over here and you're likely to end up with a set of authentic British teeth. Sadly, some people still say "cheerio". ;)

Does anyone say "wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more..."

:D

Coz that would be cute.

barefoot serpent wrote:

having kittens - nervous, very expectant.

I use "having kittens" to mean panicky/panicking, sometimes in a situation where one might be extected to be handling it better. "The children started a paint fight in the classroom and the sub teacher was having kittens". "My keys were locked in the car, my cellphone was dead, my kids were due off the school bus in the middle of nowhere and the tornado sirens were going off -I was having kittens"

Brianna wrote:

Does anyone say "wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more..."

:D

Coz that would be cute.

They do, sometimes. It isn't cute. ;)

monster wrote:

They do, sometimes. It isn't cute. ;)

Everybody sick of the Pythonisms?

Here's some for you to be going on with:

Up the duff
Three sheets to the wind (I think that's British)
The dog's bollocks

Up the Junction, a fine Squeeze single. I take it to mean in a big load of confused trouble.

I should do.

seems out of order when first you hear it. or missing the 'it'..got used to it from my english friend , .......Tim?


you know much that is hidden, o' Tim.

monster wrote:

Here's some for you to be going on with:

Up the duff
Three sheets to the wind (I think that's British)
The dog's bollocks

[translator]Up the duff, to have one up the duff - to be with child
Three sheets to the wind - to have overimbibed the alcoholic stuff
The dog's bollocks - something very good indeed [/translator]

Shawnee123 wrote:

http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/

Slang .................................English
How d'ya Likey......................Pikey

Oh great, what the hell does Pikey mean?:rolleyes:

Pikey is a Gypsy or more commonly these days a scumbag twat with limited or no education who spends their days getting pissed/stoned and being a general annoyance (trailer trash I suppose)

Three sheets to the wind is an interesting one, it does imply a pissed condition but it dates back to the Royal Navy days when sails needed to be constantly adjusted depending on the wind conditions. If the crew were busy getting pissed below deck instead of seeing to the rigging, then the sails could flap aimlessly in the wind hence the term three sheets to the wind.

Why are Gypsies given such short shift?

It's a British disease, we like to feel permanently superior.


To elaborate, Pikey was originally a London term for Gypsy, but it has recently developed into a generic term for scumbag unfortunately.

sproglet wrote:

It's a British disease, we like to feel permanently superior.

Ah! I know that disease well! :lol: we all think we are special, don't we?

Ah, but there's a subtle difference between thinking and knowing.

sproglet wrote:

Pikey is a Gypsy or more commonly these days a scumbag twat with limited or no education who spends their days getting pissed/stoned and being a general annoyance (trailer trash I suppose)

Ah, thank you.

Three sheets to the wind is an interesting one, it does imply a pissed condition but it dates back to the Royal Navy days when sails needed to be constantly adjusted depending on the wind conditions. If the crew were busy getting pissed below deck instead of seeing to the rigging, then the sails could flap aimlessly in the wind hence the term three sheets to the wind.

A common term in New England as far back as I can remember. :beer:

sproglet wrote:

Ah, but there's a subtle difference between thinking and knowing.

That-sproglet-is very, VERY good stuff. May I have the courtesy? Only a true Brit would think in those terms (you must, really, forgive Americans, because they are completly without an inheritant class system, a system you Admirable Brits have cleverly devised and we Yanks have continually ignored)...and continue to follow no matter what. Bully for you.

I think many, many Americans (if I may so present them, bandits as they are) would be only too glad to help you 'remember' the differance betx "thinking" and "knowing"

limey wrote:

[translator]Up the duff, to have one up the duff - to be with child
Three sheets to the wind - to have overimbibed the alcoholic stuff
The dog's bollocks - something very good indeed [/translator]

erm, it's cheating if you are a Brit.... :rolleyes:

Sproglet and Sprogs. Not sure if those terms are used elsewhere. Any Brits remember "Sprog-bashing Day"? Was it just a Northern thing?

I always refer to my offspring as the Sprogs. It words great in the stores/playgrounds -I yell sprogs and they know I mean them, no-one else thinks it means them, no need to waste time saying each name :D

To elaborate, Pikey was originally a London term for Gypsy, but it has recently developed into a generic term for scumbag unfortunately.

I always thought 'Pikey' referred in particular to Irish gypsies as opposed to Romany gypsies? Maybe that's just how it ended up being used up here in the North.

"Shine on", used to add emphasis to a sentence, or as a mild emphatic statement on its own. "Shine on, I haven't seen one o'them in years".

Do you guys have 'pubcrawls'?

Not sure if Blimey and Crikey are used worldwide - for surprise
and Pants for irritation

Jeanie Mac for surprise/ frustration too, but I suspect that's Irish

I say "Up the stick" for pregnant, if it's to comic effect.

I'll say Cheers when I get off the bus - so it's Goodbye and Thank You combined in that case

Using Trouble affectionately is possibly British too - I'll say to my cats, "What are you up to, Trouble?"

It's actually tricky to work out what is British and what isn't, until someone picks you up on it!

It's actually tricky to work out what is British and what isn't, until someone picks you up on it!

Certainly is. I never realised 'fortnight' was a Britishism

I didn't realise stones (as in weight) was until I sat next to a woman on a flight to San Francisco and we got talking about diets!

Undertoad is The Cellar's dog's body ;)

monster wrote:

erm, it's cheating if you are a Brit.... :rolleyes:

Sorry :o will try not to do it again.

monster wrote:

erm, it's cheating if you are a Brit.... :rolleyes:

Well who's going to tell us what they mean, if not a Brit?:confused:

... but Brits don't cheat....
it wouldn't be cricket, and our peers would condemn us for 'not playing the game' whilst exhorting us to 'play the white man'

xoxoxoBruce wrote:

Well who's going to tell us what they mean, if not a Brit?:confused:

I think we (superior beings) should be allowed the amusement of your guesses before we fill you in on such things! ;)

That's it, I'm callin' Homeland Security and tellin' 'em your keepin' secret's from Americans. You'll be in Gitmo in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

Oh, wait, they keep secrets from Americans....hey, are you in bed with the administration?:eyebrow:

Plums

As in testicles. But then also used in this way to describe people.

Is "King Edwards" used in the same way? I understand it's a variety of potato?

Not that I know of....
The only potato references I've heard are about Wayne Rooney, a football (soccer) player who's head somewhat resembles a spud

Another term for a guy's 'bits and bobs' is his 'family allowance'. Usually used when injured ie. "Fuckin got me right in my family allowance".

Peculiar to the North I think: "Our Kid", referring to one's brother or sister. Also sometimes used with someone who is a close friend, a bit like calling someone Bro. as in "A'reet our Kid." (meaning hallo).

The use of 'Our' to denote kinship more generally. Eg, our dad, our mam, and in Yorkshire a guy will refer to his wife sometimes as 'our lass'.

So how did Prince Albert become a certain type of body piercing?

Am I missing somethin here?
I've always been confused by the joke - Do you have Prince Albert in a can? Let him out then.

To me Prince Albert was, and is, simply the late husband of Queen Victoria. Very fertile, much mourned, celebrated in The Royal Albert Hall and the slightly incredible Albert Memorial outside.

Here in the States, we refer to a male genital piercing through the glans as a "Prince Albert". I'd kind of like to know why, also.

Perhaps a male Brit would be a better source, here. No offense, SG...

No offense taken - I shall ask around here anyway.
Throws yet more confusion on Prince Albert in a can though.
Or do I have it confused with another Prince?
More confused than ever now :)

There was/is a brand of tobacco called Prince Albert that came in a tin.

Sundae Girl wrote:

To me Prince Albert was, and is, Very fertile

you may be on to something...

dar512 wrote:

There was/is a brand of tobacco called Prince Albert that came in a tin.

They probably have John Adams Tobbacco in a tin in Britain... :D

I believe the naming of the Prince Albert piercing came from the use of a small pin that was used in men's pants in the *old* days to make them sit flat/neat.

Wow...what a smarty 'pants' you are Ducks! ;)

or I could be bullshitting :p

Nah, I did read that somewhere, I remember useless shit like that

This doubtless belongs over in the American phrases thread, but yes, Prince Albert is a brand of tobacco that can be gotten in tin cans, likewise its competing brand Sir Walter Raleigh, whose association with Virginia tobacco and tobacco products would be understandable.

It was a downright traditional phone prank to call up the town drugstore and ask, "Do you have Sir Walter Raleigh in the can?" "Yes." "Well, let him out!" Click. "The can" being yet another term for the bathroom. Never heard of any fast-thinking drugstore clerk saying something like, "He's in there with Prince Albert and God knows what those two Englishmen are up to!"

When is it proper to refer to one's (business) superior as "Guv'nor?" This was often a form of address used in the book Black Beauty, and it confused me quite a bit, because none of the people so addressed were ever elected to public office ... I also saw it used on the TV show, Life on Mars, where the head of the detective division was called "Guv" a lot.

The other thing, this is old usage ... why would initials followed by a line be used in novels, where obviously things were made up anyway, to refer to the Countess of S---- or the Baronet of Q----- ?

Possibly because there really was a Baroness of Q----, not to be mistaken with the one in the story, or possibly to make you think it was a real person being described....Not entirely sure though

Guv or Guv'ner is still sometimes used, but mostly in a mocking way. I queried something in the recent office move and the furniture mover shrugged at me and said "Dunno love, ask the Guv'ner" I doubt he called his manager that to his face, but it underlined the fact that he wasn't prepared to make any decisions himself.

I didn't watch Life on Mars, but has good reports from friends - did you like it?

And thanks to all who cleared up the Prince Albert thing. I knew "can" was US for toilet, but didn't put the two together....!

Also, Guv is sometimes used in place of 'Boss' or 'sir' usually when there is no real assumption of higher rank. For instance, a delivery man might ask "Where d'ye want this Guv?"

I "get" guv'ner, because I like to call people "captain" or "chief" . . .

'Guv' was also used extensivly in 'The Sweeny', which was contemperous with the setting for 'Life on Mars'. Which, incidently was a great series and well worth watching.... can't wait for the next series (season, to our cross-Atlantic chums....).

I querstioned one of my mates ( an ex-chief inspector for Cheshire Constabulary) and he confirmed that 'gov' is still used by plain-clothes divisions, though frowned upon in uniformed branch.

What is a "flying squad"?

sweeny todd....


the sweeny...


flying squad....

an elite Metropolition (ie London) Police division. All armed, fast cars, non- uniformed. In todays jargon, they would be a 'quick response armed tactical unit' but without the uniforms and fairly automonous - they could pick their own targets.

Ah, I was on-topic and didn't even know it!

Ah...we call that "SWAT" (Special Weapons and Tactics)

Flint wrote:

I "get" guv'ner, because I like to call people "captain" or "chief" . . .

Do they use Colonel in Texas too, or is that an antebellum south thing?:confused:

mmmm.... I actually refrained from using the term 'swat', althought there are similarities....

But the flying squad was more than that.They had their own intelligence network, and the automony to select their own objectives. In todays jargon, they were proactive rather than reactive.

Secret police. :unsure:

I'm just having a "spot of tea" now.

My two cents re: three sheets to the wind:

First, despite what at first blush would be considered a "sheet", the sail is just a sail. A sheet is the rope used to fasten the sail to an anchor point, usually the deck. This sheet controls your sail and thence, your sailboat. When you lose control of your sheets, the sails flap extrememly violently to the point of destruction of the sail and anyone who tries to apprehend it.

Three sheets to the wind is extrememly, violently out of control. Unless your boat is becalmed, then you proceed to become three sheets to the wind.

Re: "Pubcrawls" When I was a bike mechanic we did something like a pub crawl with our three speeds. We'd ride from bar to bar having a drink or two at each place. The last person to arrive had to buy the first round. Something like that.

"family allowance" we have "family jewels"
Dog's body? = bee's knees? something great.

Dogsbody is a servant; your batman. Which term may be military, as I never recall seeing it used in any other context.

Sundae Girl wrote:

I didn't watch Life on Mars, but has good reports from friends - did you like it?

I thought it was an outstanding show, both as a police drama and for the major plot point (cop from 2006 has near fatal accident, ends up in early 1970s ... which is the dream?). I sincerely hope that BBCAmerica picks up next series.

From American Phrases

Flint wrote:

Sweatin' like a whore in church.

I've heard
Sweating like a rapist
and Sweating like a paedophile in a creche

Also
Polite as a whore at a Christening

Flint wrote:

I'm just having a "spot of tea" now.

You'd do better to have a cuppa.

Urbane Guerrilla wrote:

Dogsbody is a servant; your batman. Which term may be military, as I never recall seeing it used in any other context.

dogsbody = gopher

Sundae Girl wrote:

From American Phrases

I've heard
Sweating like a rapist
and Sweating like a paedophile in a creche

Also
Polite as a whore at a Christening

Hmm. you may need to move to a nicer area?

monster wrote:

dogsbody = gopher

Also spelt "gofer" if your spellchecker doesn't tyrannize. I rather prefer this spelling as it more clearly carries the meaning:

"You need a gofer."
"Huh?"
"A gofer. A guy to go fer coffee, go fer a paper..."

--Some Donald E. Westlake novel I read over thirty years ago

I see I wrote a little too ambiguously: I figure "batman" for a chiefly military usage. I know he's not a "batsman."

In an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine (UK) Daisy claims she is "highly sprung and anything smelly is bad for her swerves." is there some Britishness in this or is it just "stuff and nonsense"?

I always thought (stepson is a HUGE Thomas the Tank Engine fan, I know the episode you speak of) that it was a pair of stupid train puns, for the phrase "high-strung and anything smelly is bad for her nerves". Not that that makes a whole lot of sense either, but at least those are two known phrases.

That makes a lot of sense, I think you are right. I have a tendency to make things more complicated than they need to be.

Did you hear the UK version with Ringo Starr narrating? It seems kind of funny.

I preferred the Ringo Starr versions, not that I've seen a lot of episodes of Thomas. My friend's kid was into it (his father is a real train engineer) and I had to keep up to be able to talk to him when he was three.

monster wrote:

Hmm. you may need to move to a nicer area?

Quite right - although in honesty 1 was on a dvd, 1 was in London and the other was shock value :)

footfootfoot wrote:

Did you hear the UK version with Ringo Starr narrating? It seems kind of funny.

Whaaaaaat? I never even realised there was another version?! Okay I haven't seen Thomas in years, but the Ringo Starr narration was an essential part of it for me. Although this may have been because my Dad used to read the books to my brother in the same accent (well, doing a very very bad Ringo Starr impression). We occasionally try to get him to do it at family get-togethers but he denies all knowledge. Parents.

Sundae Girl wrote:

Whaaaaaat? I never even realised there was another version?!

The comedian George Carlin does most (all? all the ones I've seen anyway) of the ones in the US.

How about "hang it all"? Is it still used?

Clodfobble wrote:

The comedian George Carlin does most (all? all the ones I've seen anyway) of the ones in the US.

That is awesome, to me. 90% of our Thomas watching is "split screen" i.e. Youtube thomas on one side and a very skinny cellar on the other. So I get a mix of George Carlin and Ringo. I think it is positively subversive that GC is narrating. If Zappa were alive, he'd be another choice.

"a little green tank engine, makes a muffin ???"

here's two I just remembered:

Did you have a scrap with the lawnmower?

She looks like she's been dragged through a hedge backwards.

The simple "Ta" as "thank you" -- is it still in use?

We say Ta over here for thankyou. In fact, that's the word most mothers get their kids to say for thankyou when they're first learning to speak.

What about 'daft', as in 'Are you daft (meaning crazy)?

Or 'Ta Ta!', meaning 'good bye'?

Ta, daft and ta-ta are all still in use in Brit.

And "hang it all"?

Not much used in my experience. 'Bugger it' is more likely. And 'Bugger that for a game of soldiers'...oh yeah and 'sod it'

And, indeed, "sod that for a game of soldiers" ...

well indeed.

The first time I visited the US (Christmas in Oregon, 1967) it took me a few days to realise why at certain times of the day people would ask me the time, then fall about laughing at my reply.

At twenty five minutes past the hour, I say -

"Five and twenty past ten" for example, or "Five and twenty to two".

It never failed to reduce them to giggles until I sussed it and changed the way I said it. Does it still amuse?

CzinZumerzet wrote:

The first time I visited the US (Christmas in Oregon, 1967) it took me a few days to realise why at certain times of the day people would ask me the time, then fall about laughing at my reply.

At twenty five minutes past the hour, I say -

"Five and twenty past ten" for example, or "Five and twenty to two".

It never failed to reduce them to giggles until I sussed it and changed the way I said it. Does it still amuse?

Frankly, it amuses most Brits too (except those from Somerset and Nottingham) ;)

Saying "quarter to three" rather than 2:45 seems to be not the done thing round here, but they know what I mean.

Bollock-all

=nothing

"I worked all night but I had bollock-all to show for it"

'Sweet Fanny Adams'. Is this a Brit phrase, or do Americans use it to? As in Sweet F.A.

Totally Brit. That old band Sweet had a song called that (Sweet F.A.) and I never understood why.

I do hereby humbly suggest that we move on to pronunciation...

to whit: Jaguar

two syllables or three?

Sweet F.(uck) A.(all). F.(anny) A.(dams).

I do hereby humbly suggest that we move on to pronunciation...

to whit: Jaguar

two syllables or three?

Three Jag-ewe-er/ar

I never did understand the mangling of jaguar in Winnie-the-Pooh until St. Louis got a Jaguar dealership that had radio commercials.

Could you explain that last comment please Dar?

Here in the US we pronounce jaguar with two syllables jag-war. Somewhere in one of the WtP stories, they mention a jaguar as a jagular. Heffalumps and woozles made sense as mispronunciations, but jagular didn't - until I heard the British pronunciation.

OMG! You're messing with a classic car. It's pronounced Jag-U-ar! Get it right FFS!!!

okay.......and Iraq?....Iran?.....is there an eye in either of those?:P

Aliantha wrote:

OMG! You're messing with a classic car. It's pronounced Jag-U-ar! Get it right FFS!!!

See. And I think Jag-U-ar sounds pretentious. I admit that it may have something to do with the snooty sound of the guy who did the commercials.

But Jags are pretentious cars. If we didn't have the potholes we do here, I'd have an XJS convertible (any colour will do :) ).

lol...maybe so, but it's just the way the word is pronounced - unless you live in the US I guess.

I admit that it may have something to do with the snooty sound of the guy who did the commercials.

Snooty.......or English?:P

Excuse me, but I've heard plenty of poms who sound very far from snooty. lol

Oh hell I know that....but shhhhhh don't tell the yanks:P

lol...surely even they know that not all poms sound snooty and even fewer actually are?

nah, they think all poms are cockney :P

well you can't be cockney and snooty at the same time.

One would think not!

DanaC wrote:

Snooty.......or English?:P

Snooty. I can tell the difference. As I said at the beginning of this thread, I love English literature and English phrases.

After thinking about Limey's comment, I think maybe snooty was what they were shooting for, in any case.

Aliantha wrote:

well you can't be cockney and snooty at the same time.

Well no, but then you only need to look at Mary Poppins to see how well either concept is understod ;)

btw, they pronounce Nicargua to rhyme with Jaguar. Weirdos. :p

Snooty. I can tell the difference. As I said at the beginning of this thread, I love English literature and English phrases.

I know....I was just being flippant, forgive me :P

Aliantha wrote:

OMG! You're messing with a classic car. It's pronounced Jag-U-ar! Get it right FFS!!!

Uh...it's a Ford. ;)

There's 'Chumley' as the correct pronunciation of Chalmondley, 'Bister' for Bicester, 'Beaver' for Beauvoir, but 'Edinburror' for Edinburgh. Easy, eh?

How does that grab yer? On the button! That's the Johnny! Gordon Bennett, who'd 've Adam and Eve'd it?

TTFN (or toodle-pip if you prefer...)

mmmm.... you missed out Towester....


(and mis-spelled Cholmendeley..)

I'm not sure if anyone else does "Pinch Punch" or whether that's typically British?

The office is empty today, so I didn't get a chance to get anyone. I can't even do it on here, as I only thought about it now and it's gone 12.00.

For those who don't know about it:
In the morning of the first of the month you get to pinch and punch other people, saying
"Pinch, punch, first of the month"
It's then important to say "White rabbit" (or "No returns" - they mean the same thing) or they can get you back with "A punch in the eye for being so sly"

Of course in adults this tends to be symbolic, although I remember some rather more heated exchanges from school.

My Dad delighted in getting us every year, instilling the same glee in me.

JayMcGee wrote:

(and mis-spelled Cholmendeley..)

Hmmm...

Sundae Girl wrote:

I'm not sure if anyone else does "Pinch Punch" or whether that's typically British?

"Pinch, punch, first of the month"
It's then important to say "White rabbit" (or "No returns" - they mean the same thing) or they can get you back with "A punch in the eye for being so sly"

... at my old all boys school the retort was: 'a punch and a kick for being so quick!' (and I have the scars to prove it!)

I knew there was a valid one I couldn't remember...
Of course I've heard plenty of made up ones, my favourite being, "A punch up the bracket for making a racket"

My wife and I have visited England twice in the past few years. Her favorite expression was the one you see and hear in the London Tube stations, "Mind the gap".

She gave me a Tom Tom GPS for my car for my birthday this year (like a Magellan or Garmin but made in the UK). I chose the voice of "Jane". She has a nice British accent, easy on the ears like one of those BBC news readers. I like when she instructs me to "Keep to the left and then enter the motorway" which we would refer to as the freeway here in the US.

Then there's Menzies, pronounced Ming.....but then that's the Scots for you :P

Years ago and far away, I worked in a jewelry store which also sold china. One of the brands was Royal Worcester. It was a tongue-twister for one of the china salesladies. It always came out Royal Rooster.

yeah, and is there actually a sauce from Worcestershire or is that just an Amercan invention?

Worcestershire Sauce flavoured crisps were my favorite as a sprog. Oh yes, the sauce exists there. Most commonly used in hangover cures, I think ;)

Most commonly used in my flat in just about everything from cheese on toast to chilli and spaghetti bolognaise. That and the 3 varieties of Tabasco are staples in my :yum:

Sundae Girl wrote:

Most commonly used in my flat in just about everything from cheese on toast to chilli and spaghetti bolognaise. That and the 3 varieties of Tabasco are staples in my :yum:

you obviously don't drink enough ;)

Everyone knows that the only viable hangover cure is a cooked breakfast and another pint of Stella :p

Absofuckinglutely. Preferably with fried bread and some blace pudding.

gotta have the fried bread. I like to preceed mine with diet coke to strip the beer coating so I can taste it better. Hold the black pudding for me, though.

(haven't actually tried one of those hangover concoctions, though, I'm sure they'd just bring on the barf.....)

I once greatly entertained a Portsmouth taxi driver by pronouncing the town I'd been in the previous day on a day-trip as... "Sal-is-bury."

His eyes got rather big and he exclaimed, "I love the way you pronounce Salisbury! -- better than ours." As I got into the taxi, I said, "And the pity of it is, I do know the native pronunciation and try and follow it." Well, we had a wonderful gab all the way from the waterfront to downtown, parted ways with expressions of esteem and went on our ways rejoicing.

So, um, in Brit-land... how many syllables in "Salisbury Steak?"

Fried bread around here usually means Navajo fried bread, like a puffy tortilla, on which other goodies are spread, either savory or sweet. If it's a slice of bread dipped in egg beaten in milk, it's French toast.

Fried bread is just that over here - a slice of bread shallow fried in oil or butter. Much less common than it used to be ....

Urbane Guerrilla wrote:

So, um, in Brit-land... how many syllables in "Salisbury Steak?"

3 - Salls-bri Steak
Now you have to explain what a Salibury Steak is!

So, is Austin Powers vehicle the Shag -ewe - ar?


and why do the announcers on the BBC always say: Geogre W. Boosh?

Sundae Girl wrote:

3 - Salls-bri Steak
Now you have to explain what a Salibury Steak is!

One of my (many) pet peeves is when people pronounce it "sals-BERRY" or The Traveling Will-BERRIES.

It's burry, it is!

In Ohio, there's a lot of that going on, the butchering of pronunciations.

barefoot serpent wrote:

So, is Austin Powers vehicle the Shag -ewe - ar?

Yep!

and why do the announcers on the BBC always say: Geogre W. Boosh?

Bush in this country rhymes with Shush. If it sounds more like boosch I suppose it's possible the announcer is Scottish?

There are many Ohio locals who say boosch, and feesh, and the like.

Hispanic version: JERGeh DOBlay-ooo Booosh :biggrinba

Shawnee123 wrote:

One of my (many) pet peeves is when people pronounce it "sals-BERRY" or The Traveling Will-BERRIES.

It's burry, it is!

In Ohio, there's a lot of that going on, the butchering of pronunciations.

Bloody yanks are always butchering pronunciations!

My British grandparents came to America in 1952 to live with us and I was mostly raised by them when my mom went back to work in Manhatten.

I was always taught to say "I have to spend a penny" when I had to pee. Seems that this was the cost in the coin toilets in the UK and well brought up people would never say anything so crude as "I have to make pee pee"

Aliantha wrote:

Bloody yanks are always butchering pronunciations!

:p

chrisinhouston wrote:

My British grandparents came to America in 1952 to live with us and I was mostly raised by them when my mom went back to work in Manhatten.

I was always taught to say "I have to spend a penny" when I had to pee. Seems that this was the cost in the coin toilets in the UK and well brought up people would never say anything so crude as "I have to make pee pee"

Absolutely. My mother liked us to say "I'm just going to powder my nose" :rolleyes: I'm sure she thought it was hysterical to hear a 5-year-old say that, and hang the consequences when said 5-year-old gets to school

Sundae Girl wrote:

3 - Salls-bri Steak
Now you have to explain what a Salisbury Steak is!

Cube steak (maybe a burger patty) served up kind of de luxe by smothering it well in wine-and-mushroom gravy, usually with mashed potatoes on the side. Popular in Swanson TV dinners and military chow halls. I somewhere got the idea the Salisbury in question may have been in South Africa. ??

The first of 357 S.s. recipes on Cooks.com when I googled the critter. Wikipedia explains it also -- no wonder I've only seen the item in frozen dinners and chow halls/school lunch circumstances.

But foodreference.com refutes the S.A. idea, crediting the dish to one Dr. James H. Salisbury, fl. 19th century, a food faddist.

Urbane Guerrilla wrote:

Cube steak (maybe a burger patty) served up kind of de luxe by smothering it well in mushroom gravy, usually with mashed potatoes on the side. Popular in Swanson TV dinners and military chow halls. I somewhere got the idea the Salisbury in question may have been in South Africa. ??

The first of 357 S.s. recipes on Cooks.com when I googled the critter. Wikipedia explains it also -- no wonder I've only seen the item in frozen dinners and chow halls/school lunch circumstances.

Well that certainly ain't British cuisine.

Steak is a whole piece of meat (no such thing as cube steak -if it's good enough to be steak, serve it whole; if it's a nasty cut, it's beef)

Burger patty? PATTY? Not a Brit word. Very 'gay' sounding ;)

gravy is brown and doesn't involve anything that grows in the ground :)

Umm, not quite....we have stewing steak, but I always thought that might be irony:P

"early doors" early in the morning, usually associated with leaving the house. "If you're out early doors and back in late""

poetic licence ;)

Yes, poetic license is said here as well. :)

Clodfobble wrote:

Yes, poetic license is said here as well. :)

I was referring to my generalization about steak..... :D

oh, and I gave up correcting single typos for Lent, then the wind changed and I stayed like that! ;)

Ha--I was assuming it was a British spelling, rather than a typo. Nevermind then...

Might be, for all I know. After six years here I'm completely mixed up! :lol:

monster wrote:

gravy is brown and doesn't involve anything that grows in the ground :)

Except the flour to thicken... :)

I was gobsmacked that you don't realise the difference between Brit licence (noun) and license (verb) - similar to practice (noun) and practise (verb). Other examples may follow. Both pronounced the same but it's nice to have the distinction in writing.
I drooled at the mention of "blace pudding" but it turned out to be a typo.

I have a friend who lived in London for a few years and she would always type FFS in her text messages when she was agitated. I finally asked her what it meant. For Fucks Sake. LOL I don't know why but it always makes me laugh. :3_eyes:

steppana wrote:

I was gobsmacked that you don't realise the difference between Brit licence (noun) and license (verb) - similar to practice (noun) and practise (verb). Other examples may follow. Both pronounced the same but it's nice to have the distinction in writing.
I drooled at the mention of "blace pudding" but it turned out to be a typo.

Gobsmacked? You might need to get out more. :lol: Americans use only the license version. Why would you expect them to know the Brit spellings?

Or were you referring to me? In which case, lose no more sleep over it, I can get my Cs and Ss and nouns and verbs in the right place when required :) This is a bulletin board, not an English exam. :rolleyes: Americans would write license, I usually spell in American seeing as I live here, but occassionally revert to Brit subconsciouly when late at night/on an international board/drinking etc... Oh, and I might have been being a teensy-weensy bit facetious. Lighten up, dude, all is OK. :)

(I am rather hoping that you weren't trying to say that I don't know the difference between a noun and a verb, because that would have been a little bit patronizing and pompous, and rather presumtious, and I'm sure you had no intention off coming across that way at all :))


(btw, you need a little more practice (;)) as a pedant -checking the OED would have revealled that both spellings can be using in both contexts in British English, although the uses you described are the most common :D )

/did I use enough smileys there? I've been practising :p

crazybeotch99 wrote:

I have a friend who lived in London for a few years and she would always type FFS in her text messages when she was agitated. I finally asked her what it meant. For Fucks Sake. LOL I don't know why but it always makes me laugh. :3_eyes:

Is that not used over her then? Well I never! No wonder the church ladies look at me all funny! :lol:

I've seen lots of Americans use the abbreviation FFS. I've only ever seen Brits use TBH for "to be honest," though.

monster wrote:

(I am rather hoping that you weren't trying to say that I don't know the difference between a noun and a verb, because that would have been a little bit patronizing.......

I take it you meant 'patronising'....

;)

How about "I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot bargepole" -is that a universal phrase? I just used it on another thread and realis/zed (:p) that I don't think I've heard anyone else say it over here?

do they have canals over there?


the other variation is of course 'I wouldn't touch it with yours'.....

JayMcGee wrote:

do they have canals over there?


the other variation is of course 'I wouldn't touch it with yours'.....

yes. http://www.americancanals.org/

but so many people use phrases without understanding their origins that I wouldn't use a lack of canals as an indicator that the phrase wouldn't be used, anyway. Take for example "One Fell Swoop" -how many people even say it right, never mind have any idea as to it's possible origins. hmm, come to think of it, does anyone outside the UK use that one?

Do they have canals in Australia? And do they use that phrase there? It seems funny to hear Aussies use so many of the phrases that Brits do but Americans don't -no wonder so many Americans can't tell Aussie and Brit accents apart!

I really am at a very muddled stage after 6 years here where I sometimes really have to think about which phrases and words come from which side of the pond, and which one I need to use in a particular circumstance.

My kids' doctor (unintentionally, she says) played a mean trick on me. My daughter had a verruca that wouldn't go away, so we took her to see the doc. The doc has a Brit husband so understood what I was talking about, but never let on that Americans call them something different (Plantar Wart), then nearly peed herself laughing at the confusion caused at reception when I tried to book an appointment to have the offending growth removed. How on earth can you properly enjoy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory without knowing what a Verruca is? :lol:

"One fell swoop?" Oh, absolutely, we use it in the States. Even if it took us until we read Tolkien in junior high school or so to see "fell" used in that sense in or on something other than a swoop.

All it takes is a spot of literacy.

I remember a doodle showing a hairy, goggle-eyed and friendly looking critter declaring himself "one swell foop."

Heavy reading of Patrick O'Brian novels suggests the barge in question that has a barge pole is an Admiral's barge, and the pole a boathook.

Also the literary record -- Donald E. Westlake IIRC -- records a refusal to touch something with an eighteen foot Lithuanian.

"Why would you expect them to know the Brit spellings?"
I expect very little from anyone. But why would they not know British spellings? Are Americans not exposed to British literature? British books are not rewritten with alternative spellings for the US market.

"Or were you referring to me?"
No.

I was really wondering if anyone would pick up on "gobsmacked".

steppana wrote:

British books are not rewritten with alternative spellings for the US market.

Not all, but most are. There is plenty of editing done to books when they are shipped over from the UK for US readers. Not only spelling changes, but colloquialisms are "translated" for clarity.

Watched a British cooking show last night in which the woman placed a mixture in a "goblet" and "blitzed" it. The British do not merely blend!

Really? Wow. I hate the thought of that :P I have real difficulty reading translated works (I'm thinking more in terms of fiction, rather than historical sources etc) it disturbs me that I am not actually reading the words of the author :P Don't know why, I just always have found that extra abstraction makes me feel too distant from the author's intentions.

Generally speaking, I don't think American books are altered to make them more understandable to a British audience, although cover designs are often very different. The assumed taste of the British reader seems to be different than the assumed taste of the American reader.

More on UK/US book editing. No changes needed for the Aussies, but the US and Canada get plenty of changes.

I don't really understand why they would do that. There are plenty of books out there that utilise dialect and slang that isn't familiar to the reader. Some authors deliberately subvert grammatical and lexical conventions in order to create something new, like in Clockwork Orange, Vurt, Vernon Godlittle and a bunch of others.

Besides, just because something isn't understood in detail, doesn't mean the reader won't get the meaning behind it.

I just don't get it.....some of my most treasured reading memories have been American books and one of the things that makes them so great is the different use of language and imagery.


*wanders off muttering*

That's nothing -they revoiced the Teletubbies and Bob the Builder! The Tellytubbies! Eh Oh? I'm sure it would really confuse American kids hearing "eh oh" in a Brit accent :rolleyes:

Bob's hedgehog friends turn into porcupines and his cheese sandwiches become PB&J. it's not like American children don't come across cheese sandwiches, and hedgehogs feature in lots of kids' books. My American friends with sprogs don't understand why these were changed, either.

monster wrote:

My American friends with sprogs don't understand why these were changed, either.

I know exactly why: someone gets paid to do it.

Along with all the other work done to music and video (PAL conversion, time codes, audio sample rate changes, compression and editing to match for commercial breaks, "radio ready", etc) there are entire companies out there that work with imported television shows to make the "broadcast ready" for the US by changing words, phrases, and accents through dubbing.

It is probably very difficult to sell a series to broadcasters in the states without proof that the show has the "broadcast ready" stamp on it, no matter how small the changes are.


...and are you sure about the Teletubbies? The "eh oh" had a British accent as I remember, as did the narrator. Same for that other exported abomination, Boobah.

Kitsune, what do you think about that? Do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing?

What about Lord Bargepole? Wasn't he a character from Punch magazine?

I had another uk ? and now I've forgotten it.

Kitsune wrote:

...and are you sure about the Teletubbies? The "eh oh" had a British accent as I remember, as did the narrator. Same for that other exported abomination, Boobah.

Oh yes, I'm sure -it was initilally British when I first moved here, then my two-year old got bored of it and when we came back to it for the next sprog it was all Americanized. Except for the "show and tell" segments, although they were often substituted for American ones which is fair enough, I think. But Kipper always kept the British voices. :neutral:

Fortunately, my kids grew out of that stuff before BooBah came along, but from what I have seen of it, I'd be quite happy to stand alongside the Americans and toss it into Boston Harbor.

monster wrote:

toss it into Boston Harbor.

....and for all you Brits out there, I'm using the Amercan interpretation of this :eyebrow:

DanaC wrote:

Kitsune, what do you think about that? Do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing?

I think Boobah is a terrible thing.

Now I really AM gobsmacked. I had no idea Britspeak literature would be dumbed down, I mean altered. Imagine reading Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited" or Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" without their flair for English narrative! Imagine if Stephen King's novels were anglicized - what would happen to all the product placements, for a start?
Dubbing children's tv programs I can understand.
Talking of dumbing down, I think Teletubbies should have been forbidden by law in the first place, but I grew up with Muffin the Mule, Thomas the Tank Engine, Pugwash the Pirate and the Flowerpot Men. Even the Flowerpot Men had better dialog than the flicking Teletubbies.
"Weeeed! Little weeeed!"

steppana wrote:

Now I really AM gobsmacked. I had no idea Britspeak literature would be dumbed down, I mean altered. Imagine reading Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited" or Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" without their flair for English narrative!

They leave the classics alone, thankfully.

I don't like that they edit books this way, but I understand that they do it because it is an easier sell. I think it would be interesting if we could compare two versions of the same book, side-by-side, and find the differences and see if much is changed in the overall meaning and plot.

The editors must have readers that do nothing more than highlight passages and words they don't understand or seem uncomfortable in reading. Every instance of a light switch flipping down to turn something on must be meticulously altered to stop mass confusion! Entire paragraphs describing "her delicious, juicy butty" must be rewritten to prevent snickering!

monster wrote:

Burger patty? PATTY? Not a Brit word. Very 'gay' sounding ;)

There is actually a difference between a burger and a patty.

If you're buying frozen pre-formed meat at the store, always go for the burgers.

Both, if labelled as such, will contain 100% beef. Patties, however, contain the less popular parts of the animal, including lips, veins, and testicles.

Remember, always buy the burgers.

... and yet our introduction to the word "patty" came from McDonalds. Wait, makes sense.

I still remember the Big Mac advert from the 70s
"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun..."

This website shows the differences between the UK and US editions of Harry Potter. For me it contains weird examples of finding out something I thought was universal is in fact simply British. Like posting here :)

Sundae Girl wrote:

This website shows the differences between the UK and US editions of Harry Potter.

I'd just like to note that I fully plan on using the phrase "do his nut" in everyday conversation after reading this. Thank you.

[QUOTE=Sundae GirlI still remember the Big Mac advert from the 70s
"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun..." [/QUOTE]


omg, I just remembered one of my big tricks in Jr Hi was being able to say that backwards. I still can. Without reading it. TA DAAAAA (I went to a very boring Junior High School!)

[slight detour]
American FYI re Harry Potter
The Harry Potter books mention Muggle coins with 7 sides or something like that. I have learned that some Americans assume this is just a flight of fancy of the author and are unaware thet two British coins are in fact heptagonal rather than round. Should you ever need this in a quiz, they are the 20p and 50p pieces.
[further off track] another potential quiz winner is that there are 14 pounds in a stone
[/further off track]
[/slight detour]

It occurs to me to wonder -- after discovering that Lucky Jack Aubrey (he's like Horatio Hornblower but more recently written, and more lively written too) weighs exactly what I do -- does anyone know why exactly fourteen pounds to the stone, and not a dozen, nor eighteen?

[tangentially OT]In reading any Aubrey-Maturin Patrick O'Brian novel, it is helpful to have recourse to The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. I suspect O'Brian had his own copy. I've finally learned what brailing is, sailing large, and sailing on a broad reach; tacking and wearing I'd already grasped. O'Brian's novels give you the no doubt dangerous impression that with a couple of week's experience on a square-rigged ship, provided you'd read all the novels, you could con and fight her -- if not a line-of-battle ship, then at least a fourth-rater (also explained in the Companion).

Urbane Guerrilla wrote:

does anyone know why exactly fourteen pounds to the stone, and not a dozen, nor eighteen?

the standard cannon ball weight for a ship-of-the-line?

Urbane Guerrilla wrote:

[tangentially OT]In reading any Aubrey-Maturin Patrick O'Brian novel, it is helpful to have recourse to The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea.

Any idea why the wheelhouse is the bridge?

Speaking of odd transatlantic editing...

Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles? What the hell?

Upon TMNT's first arrival in the United Kingdom, the name was changed to "Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles" (or TMHT, for short), since local censorship policies deemed the word ninja to have excessively violent connotations for a children's program. Consequently, everything related to the Turtles had to be renamed before being released in the UK. The lyrics were also changed, such as changing "Splinter taught them to be ninja teens" to "Splinter taught them to be fighting teens."

Baffled us too, don't worry.
I used to know the theme tune off by heart though.

Yeah we all knew the Ninja bit. That was a weird thing. Didn't really care, though, as I was getting a bit long in the tooth for that sort of thing by then.

Over here, a hamburger is the whole bun with salad, onions and a meat patty in between. Meat patties are made of minced meat.

Sometimes when I make rissoles (the australian word for what you call a hamburger) I put curry paste (and a few other things) in them. They're very yummy that way if you've never tried it.

Aliantha wrote:

Meat patties are made of minced meat.

And then, of course, us Brits have mincemeat to really confuse things. :D
Very popular this time of year, especially with vegetarians as long a real suet isn't used.......

I just made fruitmince pies the other day. They're a christmas favourite in our house this time of year. ;)

barefoot serpent wrote:

the standard cannon ball weight for a ship-of-the-line?

Doubt it, as there really wasn't one then. Two- and three-decker ships ran to having multiple calibers: their heavier armament being on the lower decks, with lighter guns next tier up and, supplemetarily, carronades -- approximately, seagoing howitzers, though not fired on high trajectories, as the state of the gunners' art simply wasn't good enough to hit a moving target from a moving platform with plunging fire, but their lighter weight/lower velocity combination allowed them to throw huge balls with enough range to do just fine in broadside engagements at half a sea mile and less -- around a thousand yards -- while not having to deal with the much greater weight of a long gun of the same bore.

The great guns would run to 24- and 32- and 42-pounders. Lighter-armed vessels might have long twelves, notably as bow and stern chasers, while the broadside guns would be of a shorter-tubed description so as to better fit crosswise on the gundeck. Cannon balls seemed rather, in the early nineteenth, to skip over the 14-pounder, going from 12- to the greater smashing power and carry of the 18-pounder. The whole -pounder scheme is quite like the shotgun's gauge or bore system, but cannonballs are in balls of iron, not lead -- eighteen pounds of iron, melted, will form into the same exact size of sphere every time when zero-geed off the top of a shot tower and caught in a tub of water at the bottom.

The American frigates of this era, contemporary with the USS Constitution, were apparently much noted for their use of big carronades as most of their armament, producing a stable ship, formidably armed and throwing a huge weight of broadside, without having to pay a weight or stability penalty and able to mount these great big bores high up in the hull in consequence, which means they could use this heavy armament even in quite high sea states that could prevent a more conventional ship of the line from using its heavy battery because it couldn't open its lower gunports without being swamped. Severe weather could cripple a first-rater's fighting abilities.

Any idea why the wheelhouse is the bridge?

Griff, probably because a bridge usually (there are exceptions, like the Iowa class BBs) extends from one beam end to the other across a ship -- handy for the steersmen in docking and other close maneuvers, and for a captain to get a good look aft as well as forward, on either side. Quite the new invention, once conceived, which I think accounts for the use of such a term.

Tudor ships had cannons onboard. I suspect 14 pounds to a stone originated before American frigates.

Kitsune wrote:

I don't like that they edit books this way, but I understand that they do it because it is an easier sell. I think it would be interesting if we could compare two versions of the same book, side-by-side, and find the differences and see if much is changed in the overall meaning and plot.

Harry Potter would probably never have caught on in the States had the dreaded word "Philosopher" appeared on the first cover. It is also difficult to make the leap of logic that turns a type of young girl's dress into a sweater.

So, Brits and Aussies, how are you going to spend Boxing Day tomorrow, now that you probably don't have servants?

And there's the kind of mince that comes in a brick-pack and needs to be moistened with something, say, apple juice and rum, to really behave like a pie filling. Mince-brick is better for spooning onto hot cereal, though, as its flavor is more concentrated than most mince in jars, which is more fluid.

Hmmm Boxing Day? Well in my family that usually works out as a second, mini-Christmas day. Judah was at his dads for Christmas day, so he, my mum, my bro and me will exchange gifts and have a nice meal with a few glasses of port.

My eldest niece will be driving mum and dad potty with her new 'Fairground Grabber, candy machine'. It's loud, I had no idea when I bought it just how noisy it was! All the time she's trying to work the grabber, it makes fairgound/circus music *grins*

My youngest niece will no doubt by now, be deep in a book, having had her fill for the moment of her new playstation.

This afternoon, me, Judah and mum will watch some Battlestar Gallactica on jude's projector screen. I have no doubt that there will be a plate of mince pies involved somewhere. Oh and a line or two of coke......alright, I'm kidding about the coke.

Boxing Day = Bubble & Squeek - Christmas day's leftover vegetables mixed up all together and fried in a frying pan with a little oil (or turkey dripping - that's the fat off the turkey that's now solidified - sounds great doesn't it?)until hot all though and slightly scorched on the bottom, and then served with Cold Turkey (not the drug-related sort, although another two days and into Turkey casserole - that's the one that follows Turkey Curry - and you'll probably be needing them) and pickles (piccalilly, sweet pickles, mango chutney - whatever takes your fancy) plus some gherkins and/or pickled onions to round off the dish. And you thought we Brits were heathens when it came to cuisine - well, really!

Well, if you take the Coke cans out of their carton...

Aliantha;300325 wrote:

Sometimes when I make rissoles (the australian word for what you call a hamburger) I put curry paste (and a few other things) in them. They're very yummy that way if you've never tried it.

Only just read this - we used to love rissoles at school! But mostly because if you said it the right way it sounded like arseholes.

"What's for lunch today?"
"Aah, rissoles!"

Kids, eh?

boxing day was spent trying to eat through all the leftovers and freezing what we couldn't stuff down our pie holes.

Would you believe we still haven't cut the christmas cake??? No one's had room for anything remotely related to dried fruit or rum since boxing day ended. lol

I have a spare home-made Christmas pudding.....

Aliantha;305608 wrote:

Would you believe we still haven't cut the christmas cake??? No one's had room for anything remotely related to dried fruit or rum since boxing day ended. lol

We only cut into ours last night - usually we get one from a friend who bakes them for charity, but this time we bought from M&S - thing was bloody dry!

Favourite food purchase for Mrs CF this year - Pink Champagne chocolate truffles - not sure where she bought them from, but no one else got a look-in!