Monday, September 8, 2008

Have you been paying attention?


This is a good exercise for either Brits or Americans. Can you give the American equivalents for these British words? Many have been discussed on this blog. A few are new.

Aubergine
Banger
Biscuit
Butty
Candy Floss
Chips
Cling Film
Cornflour
Courgette
Crisps
Ice Lolly
Rashers


14 comments:

  1. I believe that I can only guess as to the American meaning on 2. I do really like this site and am adding you to friends' list @ blogcatalog. Thank you for visiting my site and I hope that you will return!

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  2. You have been a good teacher Max, and I reckon I'd get full marks :)

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  3. Hey, I did pretty good...I got 7!
    How 'bout "Wally" and "Loo" for exrta credit?

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  4. Hmm, the ones I don't know the American equivalent for:
    -Candy Floss
    -Cling Film
    -Cornflour
    -Courgette (is it Lady's Fingers?)
    -Rashers

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  5. Candy floss = cotton candy
    cling film = saran wrap or plastic wrap
    Biscuit = cracker
    Butty ??
    Chips = french fries
    Cornflour = corn meal??
    Courgette = ?? [isn't that french?]
    Crisps = potato chips
    Ice Lolly = popsicle?
    Rashers = potatoes of some sort?

    Gosh, I htink I know them all and then I am humbled by your list... LOL

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  6. Thank you all for playing my games here. And thank you especially for not simply googling the answers. I am sad to report that a. got them all wrong. (Kidding. You knew them all. And I doubt I deserve any of the credit, either.) :)

    Don, thank you for becoming a regular commenter here, you too Shiv. I appreciate it. You are all welcome over at the pub as well. And Dee. Don't think you haven't been noticed as well! Welcome back to our friend bulletholes. And I love all your blogs. :)

    Ok, the answers are (let's see if I can remember them!):

    1. Aubergine - is the vegetable Americans call Eggplant. Honest to god, the Brits call eggplant aubergine!

    2. Banger - sausage. Bangers and mash (mashed potatoes) is a favorite British food. Good pub food, like fish and chips or chips and gravy. (Onion gravy, of course!)

    3. Biscuit - A biscuit in Britain is a cookie in America. And a biscuit in America is kinda like a scone in Britain, only not sweet as a scone. And a scone in America is really a pastry. Sigh.

    4. Butty - sandwich in Americanese. And a chip butty is, you guessed it a sandwich of french fries. Holy shit. True.

    5. Candy Floss in American is cotton candy. Like the stuff you get at carnivals that sticks to your face.

    6. Chips - are called fries in America. Not so much French fries anymore. That's a different story, though. Chips in America are what the Brits call crisps.

    Are you starting to see why I started this blog? We really don't speak the same language at all!

    7. Cling Film in America is Saran Wrap. Actually that is a brand name for the stuff, but that's what everybody calls it. It is probably just called "cling wrap" but I've never heard an American say anything other than Saran Wrap.

    8. Cornflour is corn starch in America.

    9. Courgette - Zucchini (a long green squash).

    10. Crisps - potato chips.

    11. Ice Lolly - popcicle (on a stick). If it is not on a stick it is just an ice pop (in the UK.) As kids we used to call the ones without sticks "ice bombs" in the U.S.

    12. Rashers - refers to slices of bacon. Never heard the word rasher in the U.S.

    Heh, bulletholes. Extra points for those. I had to ask a. what a wally was. She said it was a synonym for someone who called himself bulletholes. But not really as bad as a regular pratt. Go figure. So I still don't know. :)

    Dee, yes it looks French all right. But then our zucchini is Italian. So what the heck, right?

    Shiv, gonna Americanize your arse yet, dude! You are getting very good at this!

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  7. I got all but the butty.
    How about a milliard?

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  8. I only got about half of them right....
    I shall snap off an inch of seaside (bridlington) rock, to celebrate.

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  9. Soubriquet, don't feel bad. I just discovered I had "Americans" spelled wrong in the lead paragraph for 2 or 3 days. I need to go back to the school posts and slow down, I guess. Good to see you again. I wonder if you might do a little piece on the difference between public and religious schools at the elementary/primary level? Either as a post or a comment? I'm interested. If you have experience or know, that is.

    And, of course, now I have to ask you to clarify the seaside rock a little. :)

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  10. Descartes, without looking it up (trying to play fair) isn't that the same as a million over here?

    I still can't believe the Brits would slap some fries between two slices of bread and think it was a butty. Maybe I should just shut up until I try it.

    Next time I go to McDonalds (in 10 years or so) I will scrape off the meat and slap the fries in the bun and give it a whirl. Or maybe I'll just ask the for a chip butty and watch the 15 year old behind the counter's head explode.

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  11. Aubergine = Eggplant
    Banger = Sausage/defunct car
    Biscuit = Cookie/Cracker
    Candy Floss = Cotton Candy
    Chips = Fries
    Cling Film = Plastic Wrap
    Cornflour = Cornmeal, Cornstarch
    Courgette = Zucchini
    Crisps = Chips
    Ice Lolly = Popsicle/Ice Popsicle
    LollyRashers = ????

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  12. I also forgot "butty" which is something you normally get in a chip shop. Usually, it's a small roll of soft/crusty bread, often lightly buttered. Deep fried potato slices are shoved into its core and th the result is drenched in salt and vinegar.

    It is truly the food of gods.

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  13. Qelqoth, I never cease to be amazed at the depth of your knowledge about even the weirdest stuff. But I am still taking your word about how good a chip butty tastes.

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  14. Ahh I get it now, lol. Rashers. Not LollyRashers. I actually woke up one night, asking my missus what the fuck a LollyRasher was. Thank fuck we've cleared that one up.

    P.S. Chip Butties are fucking awesome.

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