Lingo

So, when you have a kid it is proper parent responsibility to teach that kid to say ‘thank you’.  It occurred to me while at playgroup this week that almost every single parent was teaching their kid to say, ‘ta’.   ‘Ta’, of course, is ‘thank you’ abbreviated – something the Brits just love to do.   I’ve asked Andy about this on a few occasions (most likely when someone has said ‘arvo’ instead of ‘afternoon’ or when Andy’s sister refers to him as ‘And’) and he explains it as why bothering to say the whole word if a portion of it will suffice?  Actually, I can’t remember the exact reason he gave me – probably because he was saying it in a boasting manner and I tend to tune him out when he starts puffing out the feathers (as it were) – but it was along those lines.

After a year of being in England, I think I have a fair chunk of the lingo down pat.  There are still things that throw me off and things that still make me giggle, but on the whole I’m used to it and as many of my friends back home can attest, a lot of the lingo has slipped into my own vocabulary.   But really, what fun is a blog post of someone getting used to something?  I decided last week to start taking photos of things that still make me laugh living here.  I don’t have as much as I’d like, but that’s only because I chickened out at Tesco after one photo when a Tesco employee caught me taking a shot of the hot dog selection.   I’ll try to be braver next time.

 Here's the one shitty shot I captured at Tesco before getting all 12-year old girly, "Oh, I don't think I should be doing this...oooh."

I would like to mention that I did spend a good 15 minutes (much to the disgust of Henry) reading the ingredients of these different types of hot dogs.  It appears that all of them are made with some bit of pork but more often than not, it's chicken that makes up 60% of the dog.  There wasn't a single brand that had beef in it, which is a shame since the All Beef Oscar Meyer dogs are the ones I really really like.   I did end up buying the 'Bockwurst' style ones...the ones for 99p (not pictured)... and while I didn't care for them all that much, Henry thought they were the dog's bollocks (ha!)

The next picture is something I've been looking at for a long time since it's up in Henry's playroom.   This product is made in the EU (not China) so I'm thinking that whatever country this was made in, they must have had one single English speaking person on staff who could come up with a better description for this box than 'nice'.  It's basically saying, "well, it's OK I guess...it's 'nice'...I've seen better though."

I got this next one as kind of a gag gift for my sister, Maggie.   They were selling these at Tesco and I did a sort of half laugh thinking of someone wearing the Union Jack on their head while they showered.   With the Queen's Jubilee coming up soon and the Olympics being held in London this year, there really is no shortage of Union Jack trinkets you can get right now.

It actually wasn't until I flipped it over and read the back that I had a full on laugh and decided to send one to Maggie post-haste.

Some people call them 'sprinkles', some people call them 'jimmies'.  Here, they are simply 'strands'.

If there is a word that the Brits love as much as Americans love the word 'awesome', then that word is 'gorgeous'.   There is rarely a day that passes that I don't hear 'gorgeous' uttered from someone.   My son is gorgeous.  Those sausage rolls are gorgeous.  The top that Imogen was wearing last Tuesday was gorgeous.   The Lake District is gorgeous.   That terraced house is gorgeous.   Sometimes, even the value is gorgeous.

OK, to find the humor in this next one, you have to read the signs from Right to Left.   Andy stated that it would be even better if someone added a 'life' before 'changing' in the left hand sign.  If I ever remember my marker pen when I go to the Children's Center, I just might have to do some graffiti.