Yes, "ghastly" is used to exaggerate an experience for amusing dramatic effect when recounting a minor event when talking to a friend! Or when talking sneeringly in non serious way about someone's taste in decor, for example "their curtains were ghastly". It is not meant to be hurtful but you would definitely not say it directly to the person who had chosen those curtains!!
One that I find amusing is “pudding” for all types of dessert. Initially I was so confused that Brits loved their puddings until it was explained to me 😂
I am confused with what America calls a biscuit and gravy, as a Brit it is not a biscuit, it is more like a scone and the gravy just looks like a sauce and not brown ( meat)gravy.
@@seeyouanon2931 a biscuit in the US is a flaky version of our scones, served mostly with savoury dishes. The gravy is similar to what we call a bechamel sauce, containing fried sausage meat.
21 years with my Brit and my vocabulary has increased dramatically, mostly with extremely colorful, creative and hilarious swearing (my boy is from essex, but had the glottal stop beaten out of him and has a beautiful posh accent now, but his essex comes out when he’s angry) we have the usual arguments: trunk vs boot, aluminum vs al-u-min-i-um, bandaid vs Plaster (“plahhh-stuhhh”)…you should hear him tease my american pronunciation of badminton 😂 the one that always gets me is hospital. americans say “I am going to THE hospital”…brits say “I am going to hospital.” so now I tease back by saying I am going to post office…I am going to hardware store, I have to go to dry cleaner….” 😊
However Band-aid is a trade/product name, plaster is a generic name and maybe more appropriate. Another example would be folk saying hoover instead of vacuum cleaner🤔
@@padraigbeag Yes, Bandaid is a brand name like "Kleenex" for a tissue. The generic word for "Bandaid" is bandage as in the old Curad (another brand of bandage) jingle "My mommy put a Curad on, "Curad" it's ouchless, my mommy put a Curad BANDAGE on."
Whenever I would read a British book and a plaster was needed, I always pictured someone dabbing on something that would harden and protect the wound. Band-aid is always what I call a bandage, like hoover.
Plaster in Brit-land can be pronounced with a flat a or a lonnnggg a (ahhh), which is classed as posh in the North. But most people in the South use the long a.
Sorry if I'm repeating others here - I haven't scrolled down the comments yet. 1) BOLLOCKS in its metaphorical sense means 'rubbish' or 'nonsense', but its literal meaning is 'testicles' - so it's mildly vulgar and should be used with caution depending upon the company you're in. 2) GOB is actually the Irish (Gaelic) word for 'mouth' and so far as I know is the only Irish word to have been absorbed into Cockney slang and has spread from there to the rest of the UK. ('GOBSHITE' is particularly used in the north of England, Scotland and, of course, Ireland and is definitely an offensively rude way to describe someone you are not terribly fond of.) 3)"I BAGS (something I want before the others get it)" is a phrase that has been used by primary school children over many generations. 4) LOTS OF and LOADS OF are used interchangeably in England. 5) BLOODY is a mild swearword and, like BLIMEY, CRIKEY and many others, was originally a way to blaspheme without incurring the wrath of God - it was a coded way of saying 'blessed', as in 'The Blessed Virgin Mary' in the hope that she didn't notice you were taking her name in vain.
"Bloody" is also an adverb. For example "that's bloody brilliant!" would mean "that's very brilliant!" Also, I think you can tell from tone and context whether someone is cursing or just using it as an adverb.
I notice the British "bit" vs. the American "part" choice. As when talking about a book/movie...British "I quite enjoyed that bit" vs the American "I enjoyed that part"
My anglophile mother-in-law used to appropriate "loads" of British phrases and one she loved to say was that "so-and-so is as thick as two short planks."
Yes, thank you. As I was watching this I was thinking “Dibs, we say dibs”. As for thick, I’ve heard and have you used both thick and dense, as well as our standard, stupid and dumb.
We do use thick here in the U.S., as in she/he's "thick as a brick." There's also been a change from an American word to British: it's not glove compartment anymore, it's now glovebox in the car. Fun video, Julie👍
"thick as a brick" came from Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) who is British. I don't think anyone in the US used the phrase until his song (which is an entire album) was played here in 1772.
Yes, here in the States we would say, "Our home was burglarized." Bagsy sounds like calling "dibs." Calling shotgun would only be used for saying we want to sit in the passenger seat next to the driver. My guess is that it comes from the Old West when someone with a shotgun would ride up top with the driver to protect the stagecoach from bandits. Here's my take on "bloody." Most of the British slang I know, I learned from watching British t shows on PBS. I remember on the 1970s show "Are You Being Served?" Miss Brahms said "bloody [something]" a couple of times and Captain Peacock reprimanded her for it. So, I thought it was a "medium bad" swear word. Then, when the Harry Potter movies were released, I heard Ron say, "Bloody hell, Harry!" on several occasions. I thought it must not be as bad a swear word as I thought, otherwise, they probably wouldn't let a kid say it in a movie that was for kids. I don't know if its level of inappropriateness has changed or if Capt. Peacock's reprimands were more specific to the show. I know he felt he was superior to everyone else because he was the floor walker, so maybe he was just reprimanding her using slang at work. I remember "gobsmacked" from when I was a kid, before I found the British tv shows. I have no idea where I picked it up. There's one word the British use in a way that I can't help thinking is hysterical, and that's "alarmed." Ask your friends about that one if you don't already know it. I first heard Hyacinth say it on "Keeping Up Appearances" and, I wondered if she was just misusing it because she's always trying to sound posh. I did learn that she was, indeed, using it correctly. Every time I hear someone use it this way, I have to suppress a fit of giggles. 😂
I’m from the south (US) and would say “thick headed” to differentiate from meaning “chunky.” I just do not understand how you keep from speaking with a British accent. I do, without meaning to, after watching just one BBC sitcom on PBS! I love all your content, Julie!
Love your series - vlogs and historic houses -- one word the Brits use a lot (which you do too Julie!) is "brilliant" as an exclamation. After studying in England for a year (a long time ago), I came back to the U.S. and used the word "brilliant" constantly -- drove my college (university) friends crazy and they kept telling me: "Stop saying 'brilliant" everything isn't "brilliant!"
We're in California and my husband loves how the Brits use "brilliant". He's noticed it more since our trip over there a few years ago. I like it too. =)
My Mother always told me that “bloody” was a contraction of “by our lady” and in her day was considered blasphemous. Nowadays it is considered quite mild. In Australia we say “bags” not “bagsy”
The thing that gets me is when the Brits say "are you alright?" which them just means hello but in America we say it if something goes wrong. So my first reaction is always "why? Do I have something on my face? Do I look sick? Wtf?!" Lol
Or that British expression "go on then" -- meaning, sure, I'll agree to what you just offered. That one throws me. I'm thinking, "So did he just agree with me, or does he want me to keep trying to sell him on the idea."
So right, riding Shotgun is supposed to have originated in America's Stagecoach days, when the front passenger who wasn't driving carried the literal shotgun- for protection. These phrase comparisons are fun- hope to hear more.
I watch so many Brit’s on RU-vid that I caught myself saying, “My Christmas decorations all match nicely outside and look quite smart!” 😂 That’s not a common phrase Pennsylvania people typically use-look quite smart.
Describing something looking ‘smart’ is a turn of phrase I credit to my obsession with British Shows. Some Brit words really strike the right note. Don’t you think?
We watch British shows (me far more than hubby--I'm a mystery fan and he's a big fan of "The Repair Shop"), but when we came back from our first UK trip in 2019, "brilliant" has become his favorite word although he doesn't normally use it. I have picked up "well done, you!" =)
Here in the US, we may not say “thick” but we sometimes say “thickheaded” but it is more of an older term. I really enjoyed learning about gob smacked; it makes complete sense.
As a Canadian 🇨🇦 i understood most of the British words as we're part of the commonwealth. 😊 plus I watch a lot of British youtubers haha. Also Z=zed not zee. Lol
Two words NOT to be confused when living in the UK.....Suspenders vs. Braces!! I went shopping with my sister in law and as we were getting out of the car I mentioned I needed to buy Iain(my husband) suspenders. She started laughing so hard and kept saying "NO THE MENTAL PICTURE!! THE MENTAL PICTURE!!" I had no idea what I said. Suspenders hold up a garter belt here in the UK!! She said they are called Braces over here!! I looked at her like she was nuts. Braces go in your mouth you don't wear them!! Can you imagine if I walked into that store asking for suspenders for my husband? We still laugh about this. Absolutely love your channel. I left corporate America for a small island in Scotland in 2011. All the best from one American girl to another.
I'm 62 years old, and it was quite common in my teen years here in Central Pennsylvania to describe someone as being "thick," meaning stupid. Now I'm more likely to expand it and say, "Thick-headed," but it means the same thing, of course. "Ghastly," is not a word I'd ever heard in any kind of casual usage until I was in my 40s. I was at a conference in St Louis, MO, in the midst of a drought where daily temps exceeded 100 degrees F. the entire week were were there. It was held at George Washington University and we were housed in a 4 story dorm without an elevator, or air conditioning, on the 4th floor. The university staff kept coolers of ice and cold drinks on each landing of the staircases to keep people from getting overheated. It was horrible. The conference was in part to celebrate the bringing together the Northern and Southern parts of the mainstream Presbyterian church which had split at the time of the Civil War, and this was 1986. By design, the powers-that-be roomed us with someone from the "other" church at this event, with my roommate being a very wealthy, pampered lady from Chattanooga, TN. One particularly hot afternoon, as we stumbled into our dorm room clutching a bottle of icy water to our bosoms and drinking from another, my roommate collapsed across her bed saying, "Aah simplay cayan't STAYUND this heat! It's GHASTly!" If I hadn't been so doggoned exhausted and overheated I'd have burst out laughing. She sounded the perfect caricature of a Southern Lady. :)
Burgled/Burglarized: have had occasions where I have used both. Thick: As in Thick As A Brick. Familiar with it from the name as a Jethro Tull album. Bloody: As is in Something Is Wrong With Our Bloody Ships Today. The comment of an admiral during the Battle of Jutland. I've used this one. I am retired US Army. We tend to pickup vulgar and profane phrases from the units we serve with. The UK units have superb expressions and beer.
In Massachusetts, US we say thick for stupid, Lol. My UK and Irish friends on FB taught me gobsmacked and I love that word but I’d never use it because people wouldn’t know what the heck I was saying.
I’m quite familiar with calling someone thick- thick in the head. But my grandmother was first gen from Wales, she always had tea and biscuits. I do think growing up in New England we seem to have retained some more of the language maybe compared to the rest of America, not a lot but more. Beans aren’t really common for breakfast and totally different that English beans but outside boston u can find bakes beans and pork on the breakfast menu, and making toastie soldiers to dip in tea or coco. Suppose that’s just my experience, but that’s what I like about America- it has variety. I live in Appalachia now learning about this mountain region has been really amazing, I love the people and their sense of ethics, and morals. Also they have good manners, just far from formal.
Here, North of Boston, we still maintain a great deal of British terms and food stuff. Many British shops in the area and in our grocery stores. Traditions such as afternoon tea, Christmas cake, mince pie, steamed puddings to name a few are still very popular. It's our heritage and tradition. Outside of the region...not much as you venture around the country. Less so as you venture westward.
I have never had toasty soldiers to dip in tea or cocoa, but each to their own to be fair. In Britain we would have a soft boiled egg ( slightly runny) and a slice of toast cut into strips which we called soldiers (the strips represent soldiers lined up) and you would cut off the top of the egg and then dip the soldiers into the runny egg. It is based on the children's nursery rhyme " humpty dumpty " anything to make it fun for picky children that wouldn't eat.
Toast soldiers are for dipping in soft boiled eggs, not tea, or cocoa. Your granny was eating tea and goodie. Think of the nursery rhyme 'Humpty Dumpty', always represented by an egg, 'Humpty Dumpty, sat on a wall, (egg cup), Humpty Dumpty had a great fall, (spoon), all the Kings horses and all the Kings men, (toast), couldn't put Humpty Dumpty, (egg) together again. Funnily enough, Humpty Dumpty, was real! It was a giant fat mouthed, cannon. Toast, in genteel society, was often dipped in sweet wine, tea, or cocoa, as a bedtime 'snack'. Toast 'soldiers' are reserved for soft boiled, dippy eggs. Your granny, sounds like a real gentile 'lady'.
When I lived in the UK the two that always got me were “hotting up” instead of heating up and “drink driving” instead of drunk driving. Never could get my head or mouth around those ones!
Why are we now all saying "I couldn't get my head around this or that" instead of simply saying "I couldn't understand this or that". It's starting to irritate me as much as "growing our family" or "growing a business", another stupid cliche. Why not say simply "expanding our family" or "expanding our business". Are you going to use soil and water and fertilizer? While I'm on a rant about hackneyed phrases, I'll mention "getting our ducks in a row". Could we not simply say "Before I start, I need to get organized."? Maybe I'm just being nitpicky, but these usages are so annoying when we hear them everywhere.
I’m surprised you didn’t include the word “brilliant,” which British people use so differently! I understand it but always have to translate in my head.
I had a boss from England. (I lived in California at the time) She told me that at her former job she told a co-worker that his idea was brilliant! He took it to me that he was stupid. He reported her to her boss. She got reprimanded. She said, "no that brilliant meant that he had a great idea".It was just a misunderstanding of terminology.
If he was so confused, why didn't he ask her what she meant instead of being so quick to have her slated? To be fair, it all depends on the context of the sentence and the tone of voice. If it was said in a sarcastic way, then I would have questioned it, but normally brilliant just means exactly what it means, we may also shorten it to just " bril"
@@seeyouanon2931 She, I am sure didn't say it sarcastically. There is a joke here that is derogatory, he isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Brilliant here isn't taken the same way as it is in the UK.
Oh ok! Well yes I can see there would be some confusion then if brilliant means something completely different, one saying we have is " they are not the brightest spark " or " they are not the sharpest tool in the box"
I grew up in the midwest and "burgled" isn't anything I've used, but when I hear it I think of McDonald's Hamburgerler. I have used thick or daft for stupid and "loads" for a lot quite often. I'm pretty gobsmacked at the literal meaning of gobsmacked, lol.
People used burgled in the US, but it was decades ago. I'm old now so I remember. The pronunciation of many words have changed in recent years also. The "American English" language changes constantly. As a writer and teacher years ago, I can tell you that I still pronounce words in the way they used to be pronounced. That's impossible to change, for me anyway.
“Bagsy” came from “bags me”, which means you called something for your own-“bags me the last croissant!”. You can find this phrase in British stories from years ago. We received a lovely book from a beloved great aunt in the early 1970s called “The Christmas Mouse”, by Miss Read. It had the term “bags me” in it and we used it frequently growing up.
That is so interesting. I’m still probably going to “call dibs” here in the U.S., but it’s cool to hear the history. Is calling dibs actually dates back to a children’s game in the 17th century called dibstones. The stones were used similar to jacks or marbles so you “called dibs” when catching them and patting the person you were playing with. It’s why you occasionally see someone Pat the other person when they “call dibs” over here.
I wouldn't say "well chuffed" is the highest of excitement or contentedness. They forgot " I'm chuffed to bits!" what a classic that one is among myself and family.
As a Canadian, I’ve heard all the words you mention with the exception of “bagsy”. I don’t think I’ve ever used “naff” in a sentence. Although I’m sure I’ve heard it in movies or one of the umpteen British shows I adore watching. Burglar alarms help to prevent a place from being robbed, not burgled though. 😁 Loads and lots are interchangeable. It’s more of a case of which word sounds better in a particular sentence.
Princess Anne infamously told reporters who hung around the trickier jumps on equestrian courses in the 1970s hoping to photograph her falling off to "Naff off!" when she did so. It is interesting that it is thought to be Northern, as of course Anne's maternal Grandmother was Scottish, and the Royal family does spend a lot of time in Scotland.
I disagree burgled is used quite a bit. But we would also use robbed. We got burgled is more used for a place where as robbed you would normally use it with a person. "I got robbed the other day" - usually the meaning when you are out and about.
My husband was in law-enforcement. Being “robbed” is personal. It is The act of being mugged. You personally in your person are being deprived of your possessions. To be burglarized it is your home or your business it is a structure that holds your possessions, which are then stolen. I am sorry to say that you are mistaken.
:/ I remember as a kid, four homes were broken into over about 1 ½ years time, in the development I grew up in. Each time, the families just so happened to be away on holidays. I only ever remember hearing how their homes had been broken into, robbed, and for whatever reason ketchup was everywhere. I went to school with the kids who lived in two of the homes. One of which was two doors down, and my Mum and his mum would drop each other off to run errands before we were old enough to go to school.
Chuffed comes from a 1950's. Plumped up puffed out swollen etc. Only posh southerner used it. But 'well chuffed' has been brought down for a working class population. Anything with 'well' or 'dead' in front of it was fashionable for the 'wide boys' of the 90s. Often mostly means proud. "I'm really chuffed she got into that university. So proud of her."
We British also use the word dense but it implies a milder case of stupidity than thick. A dense person is one whose brain is not working well today. A thick person is one whose brain never works.
We use the word thick in the UK to emphasise the point that the person is dumb, as in the saying they are as thick as two short planks, or thick as a brick,or the not to pleasant phrase thick as shit- sorry folks. Ghastly and chuffed are more what the upper or middle class would use something i myself have never used, in fact i dont believe any working class person would never use, although I could be mistaken.
We watch some British TV shows, including one soap opera, and frequently hear the word "sort" as in "I'll sort it." There's a lot of sorting going on! The word is used in USA but not nearly as often.
I looked through the comments just to see if anyone mentioned “sorted.” Where Americans say, “I’ve got this figured out,” Brits say “I’ve got this sorted.” For me, as a Northwestern American , “sorting” is something you do to organize objects (like your socks), or alphabetizing or placing in numerical order lists of numbers or names/words.
Words we had to get used other than those you used: we lived in Liverpool Pissed means drunk in British, but we used it to mean mad/angry We heard people use the word gorgeous to describe the flavor of food. We would say delicious Fob = stove or oven? You’ve referred to the aga in a previous video And we get tickled with Julie’s pronunciation of lit-tral-ly where as we say perhaps more phonetically, lit-ter-ra-ly This was fun. Thank you for sharing.
A fob is a small item attached to a keyring or key chain. Hob is the British word used to refer to a stovetop. Aga is a company that makes large range cookers.
@@BenLinford30 Yes, this is the way I've always understood it too. The British warm their food on the hob (of the cooker.) American warm their food on the burners (of the stove). I understand why Brits call it a cooker because a stove really is more like what we Americans think of as a Franklin stove (a "wood burner" to the Brits), so now I always use the word "range" for my kitchen appliance that has "burners" and an oven. That huge Aga brand range would be quite rare over here in the States as it's too complicated to use and runs all the time.
Or" pissed myself laughing "is another one.(you laughed so hard you pissed your pants laughing) Or "they pissed all over them." ( they were better so pissed on you from a great height)
Thick I had a grandfather tell me to stop being so thick-headed. When I was in high school I took a creative writing class and we had to write a play and I looked up all the British Swear words so I could swear without getting into trouble. My 5 year old like to watch your videos with me and he like to watch Stephanie Jarvis's channel. He went to school one day and told his teacher he had to use the loo. She could not figure out what he was saying so he told her I have to pee. He also calls his rain boot wellies
Thick - short for thick headed - is used in many parts of the US, in parts of New England gobsmacked can be heard on occasions and we grew up saying loads of fun, food, rain, etc.
@@wingsphysio I haven't heard it either. Maybe a newer one? I wonder if it refers to bagging something--putting it into your back to take with you because you want it so much?
This was a fun video! I love British slang, having lived in London for a few years. I still use a lot of it today and I’m American. Favourite words you didn’t mention are: Peckish Knackered Stroppy Cheeky Taking the Piss Skint Nick or Off to the Nick
The banter between the 3 of you is delightful! We would also use the word 'flabbergasted' for gobsmacked which funnily enough may be British in origin.
I love these videos you do with Stephen and Claire. It reminds me of a quote from George Bernard Shaw, "The British and the Americans are two great peoples divided by a common tongue." I do actually like chuffed, but would not use it in the US. I have actually heard folks use gobsmacked in the US, but not often. Since I work with some British professors and students, I have picked up some of their terms and find myself using them in written communication even though it would feel odd to say them out loud.
Talking of gob, one used occasionally mainly by Irish people would be “gobshite”, someone who talks rubbish - and this one was used successfully once by Myleene Klasse on Countdown. As a tangent, shitehawk is another mainly Irish-used word meaning the same, from a juxtaposition of shite and talk, as in “he’s a shitehawk“ means he talks …. And no, as Dara O’Briain once observed on Mock the Week, it’s not a strange Irish hawk that craps on everyone!
As an American I find these words only sound proper coming from a person with a British accent. Love, when addressing a person, lovely, darling, and brilliant unless referring to a genius person. I'm sure there are more I can't think of right now.
Here are a couple I love: 1. The pronunciation of weekend. It’s more two words “at the week end” 2. Keen. She’s a keen swimmer. I’m from Ohio and I love your channel. 🙃
Yes, in Chicago we get burglarized, not burgled! 🤣 And as an American also from Illinois, now living in Ireland there are many words the Irish use (many the same as these British terms) that I would never say because it would sound like I'm trying to pretend I'm Irish! Also, with the Chicago accent - the words sounds so different!
It's so fun to use new words, even if not from that country of origin. Some people are real cameleons too and just pick it all up fast, or use it - the local lingua - so the locals will undertand. Feel free to be something else than just American or just Irish, after years abroad one becomes altogether a different kind of animal. Vive la différence!
@@janeflannery8757 I've lived here 5 years and I'm very much a mixture of Chicago and Ireland. But I'll always be a Chicagoan at heart. I hesitate to say "American" because that covers a huge country with vast differences between regions and even families, although we all probably share some similarities.
A tale of linguistic confusion from the Commonwealth: when my Canadian friend first moved to Australia she met a guy she thought was cute and asked mutual friends if they knew what he thought of her. They reported back that he said she was "a bit of all right". She was really miffed about his, to her, dismissive response for ages. As soon as she found out it actually meant he thought she was hot, she immediately facepalmed then went and asked him out. They've been married for about fifteen years now :P
I would agree that most of these sound better with an English accent. I do think there are some words that sound better with an American accent such as "badass".
Burglarise is nonsensical. If you take the description of the perpetrator/task performer and add "ise/ize" you can see very quickly how it is wrong, for example: The oerson fitting a bathroom is a PLUMBER, he plumbs in the fittings: your bathroom has been PLUMBED IN, not "plumberised".
Dinner / lunch is a carry over from times when the largest meal of the day would be eaten at midday in parts of Britain, rather than in the evening. Tea is traditionally taken earlier in the evening than dinner or supper
Bagsy is a new one to me. “Bags” I have heard a lot…..which translates as “a lot,”, as in “your house has bags of charm”. Enjoy your channel immensely.
You would say " I have dibs" on the front seat if you want it in America. Thick is sometimes used in America so it would be understood if used here. Riding shotgun refers to riding on top of a stagecoach with the driver while holding a shotgun (riding in the front seat next to the driver) but is hardly ever used in the US today. I enjoy watching your videos.
One time i had an argument with my American partner and i said, " so in other words you call me a bloody caw ". He was death silent, looked at me, said sorry and walked away. After about 10 days he came back on it. He told me that he didn't wanted to upset me and that he did not meant that at all. When i asked why it took him so long to come back on it he told me that he had no clue what i ment with that phrase and he had to find someone to explain it to him. We had a big laugh about it all. Words in English and American English also can have a different meaning. So me being Dutch and speaking English and him speaking American English was good for hilarious miscommunication in the first year we were together.
One term that drives me batty is "corn" used for all sorts of grain. I thought it was a local thing but British friends from Devon and those in Northumberland use the same term to describe fields planted in grain producing crops. I have stopped looking for tall plants with ears of corn growing on them lolololol
The Oxford Dictionary says to ‘bag something’ is to claim it as yours before somebody else claims it; to take something before somebody else can get it. In Australia we say ‘bags’… I bags the last cake. I’ve never heard the term ‘bagsy’.
I've heard the word bagged in terms of hunting. Like, someone bagged a deer or something similar. I'm in the US from the Appalachian region. Never as a way of calling dibs though.
When I lived in Liberia in 1966 our neighbour (British) begged my mother forgiveness for saying the word bloody! Words change their meaning over time. Poor us oldies!
This was excellent! I was always wondering about those words, too. There are many British words that are so different from American. Telly for television. The car boot for the trunk. Windscreen for windshield, and many more. We all understand each other, but the words are different.
I thought "bagsy" was a derivation of "to bag something". You'd put your bag somewhere - e.g. the back seat of the bus - and say "I've bagged us the back seat". Or "I've bagsied the back seat". If you're playing a game of any sort, you can say "bagsy go first". Robbery and burglary are two different things. You can be robbed anywhere, and you have to be present at the time, but a burglary is when someone breaks into your house (or office, or another building) whether you are actually there or not. Another word you could include is "miffed". Sort of the opposite of "chuffed".
“Bloody” would be considered a very mild swear word in Australia & often used as an alternative to much stronger language. However unlike most stronger words it is actually very offensive when the origin is known, which is “by Our Lady”. To “swear” means to take an oath, so it’s actually quite blasphemous in that usage though most would be unaware of this now - resulting in it being considered quite mild. “By God” or “ for God’s sake” are similar examples but the words aren’t rolled together so the words & origin as an oath are more obvious. Modern overuse has watered these down. However knowing the origins I’m endeavouring to really cut down on my own usage. “Bollocks” on the other hand is really coarse considering what it refers to and I wouldn’t ever use it in conversation. “Gobsmacked” isn’t offensive but I just really hate the sound of that word, it’s a pet peeve 😂 We’d say “burgled” in Australia, though some might say “burglarised”. “Naff” & “chuffed” would be rare here. We’d pronounce “ghastly” the English way. “Thick” and “stupid”, “lots” & “loads” are also interchangeable here. I’ve never heard “bagsy”before, in Australia we’d say “bags” the same way to claim something. Fascinating! 😀 I enjoy examining words like you all did together in your video.
I'm English. I agree 'bollocks' is coarse and she should be careful where she uses it. In the video 'bollocks' is described only as an expletive, but it also means rubbish or nonsense. In the first case it can be said when you drop something, for example, and in the second, 'What a load of bollocks', 'That story was bollocks' , 'You're talking bollocks' etc . I never use 'gobsmacked', as I too hate the sound of it.
There are a few more that are blasphemous in origin...."strewth" (commonly used in my father's day in London) from God's truth. "Blimey" or "gor, blimey" from May God blind me.
Here in New England, as kids we would "dib" instead of bagsy, as in "I dib the front seat." Thick means dense, a little different from stupid; more of a temporary lack of comprehension versus a permanent lack of brains. Loved the explanation for gobsmacked.
I lived in St Albans for 3 years in the 90. I remember liking the phrase “Bless his cotton socks” instead of the American phrase “Bless his heart”. I still use queue, brilliant, gobsmacked. I had to ask my work colleagues to check their diary for an appointment availability instead of checking their calendar.
@@wingsphysio This video really wasn't clear about whether it is vulgar or impolite to use that word or not. I avoided asking if it was a "swear" word because even though we've come to use the term "swearing" for all bad words, "swear" has a dictionary definition that is different from other bad words such as curses, oaths, blasphemies, vulgarities etc. I still don't know what bollocks means--testicles? I've also heard Gordon Ramsey someone got a "bollocking". Is that a spanking and how does that relate to "bollocks"?
One of my favorite Britishisms is 'bits and bobs", where in America we would say 'stuff" or 'things'. I didn't hear "thick" by itself for someone being stupid, I heard "thick in the head" or "dense", and instead of "gobsmacked" people used "poleaxed" (mostly older generation). Thank you for explaining 'naff'!
We do use more and more “British” words in the US. Gobsmacked is one of them. Depends on where you live in the US I guess. I think Midwesterners just tend to be less pretentious.
I lived in England from the late 1990's to 2004 and learned a lot about the English way of speaking and what each word meant. Your youtube channel brings back all my happy memories of when I was there. Thank you Julie and Team it means a lot. Take Care. Allie. Bloomingdale GA
Ha, fun. Too bad it's RU-vid, there are so many naughty British words that mean something completely different here in the states, but those are for girls night out over drinks.
I love this with the English words vs British words. I have been writing g the words down in a journal/notebook. Thank you soo much!! One that gets me is they say cracker where we say cookie.
Agreed! I've always heard thick-headed as stubborn, not stupid...maybe "empty-headed" for stupid? But not really, I feel like empty-headed is more ditzy/distracted, and I don't say it that often anyway
I have a friend who married a Brit and they live outside of Chicago. She uses the term "bloody" and at first I thought you're American why. lol It would be interesting (and sorry if you have, I'm new to the channel and have not watched everything!) if you and Luke or you, Stephen and Claire would have a similar video but with Midwestern words/slang.
Thick and wide (in British English) are not the same. A piece of cloth can be wide, but not thick. A liquid can be thick; a person can be “thick” (stupid), and a smile can be wide; someone’s eyes can be wide. An animal’s coat can be thick. A pathway, road, or river can be wide; a river may be referred to as broad, and in Britain an accent can be broad. All very confusing, even to most Brits!
I have not been resident in UK for fifty years, so things have changed. In my childhood (1945 on) Gob was a very impolite ((Cockney?) term for a mouth..... “What a gob..” “Shut your gob...” “Mind your gob”(manners) Bollocks was never used in polite society. If used, referred to male anatomy. Chuffed - not in my era, but ecstatic unknown to the Brits except white tablet form. The national psyche does not ordinarily reach a state of ecstasy. Lieutenant - only the French can explain that one. Phonetically the Americans are more accurate. I enjoy your posts and had no idea there were so many variations on a theme. “I bag the front seat...” Possibly comes from shooting parties, where the expression “to bag” means a successful shot. Bagged it (the bird).
