Sarah Millican's English to American Translations | Sarah Millican 

Not just single terms, but expressions. WE grew up in England but moved to Canada, and my sister spent years saying "I find that hard to believe'" to people who would then become offended; because it England "I find that hard to believe" is used the same was as "Wow, unbelievable!" here. English folk: in North America, "I find hard to believe' is aimed at the speaker, and you're suggesting they're lying.

​@@lowellthomson1958 Interesting 😊

@bretterry8356 'Realise' 😉 🇳🇿🇬🇧

They used to sell freezers too.

...what do they call a shop that sells freezers then?

...also, what do they call Iceland?

@@TheLovelyMissBeans Thank you--you just made me laugh louder and longer than Sarah Millican and I like her comedy a lot.

@@nodoboho that is such a lovely compliment, Flower! I have to admit, I do have a bucket list item to try an open mic night and see how it goes...

I just wrote the same thing! The CC was very confusing. 😂

You get a plus one from me for the use of the word "pedant" (a fave of mine) and also for predicting and intercepting the potential incoming pedantry!

@@al201103 Sometimes I like to try to annoy pedants by falsely claiming the word is “pendant”!

@@LeedsInAHat Hahahaha! That would bring it out in me, to be honest! Things like "I meant that one pacifically" and "the proof is in the pudding" get my eye twitching....and don't get me started on irregardless.....

@@al201103 “How large is the specific ocean?” … “Which one, pacifically?”

That's what I was thinking - a burger and US chips is not that unusual!

I think most of us Brits would be highly disappointed to receive crisps with our burger.

@@karenrussell8704 You've never had house-made kettle chips/crisps?

@@Shadoweclipse1386 No, only Walkers. So, the crisps in America are better? If they're super-duper mega crisps (chips), I can understand that being served with burgers. I'm thinking of Walkers (Lowes in US, I think).

@@karenrussell8704 Not all chips (crisps) in the US are great, but there are a few upscale ones that are very good as a side for a burger if you can't get fries (chips), or if you aren't into a full carbo-load meal. Kettle chips are extra thick - some restaurants make them fresh, or you can get them bagged.

Car jack. A jack for your car, which raises up the body of the car allowing you to change a wheel. Carjack, one word, is a verb for hijacking a car.

Not in the UK. Unless you get hit with a car jack during a carjack! 😉😃

Yeah bc the gen pop has PERSONAL PR ASSISTANTS WTF 😅

Now I'm struggling to remember if I've ever seen an actual newsagent, rather than just a street stall, on US media. What do you call a shop that predominately sells newspapers, magazines, greeting cards, and stationary?

​@@sokar_rostau our "newsagents " here in the UK ..are predominately 'corner shops " that sell newspapers, cigarettes ,alcohol, essentials like bread etc ,lottery tickets lol 😆 xx

😂😂Agreed! "Newsagent" sounds so official!

@@sokar_rostauthose are all lumped into corner/convenience stores.

This is true! I was hurt when she thought American biscuits were dry. 😢 They shouldn't be!

@@thomicrisler9855 I really hope that I get some good ones to try. I'm looking forward to it!

@@twn1701b -- Go to RU-vid channel called 'jolly' and look for the title "British high schoolers try American biscuits and gravy." It's a boy's school and it's a big hit. I also love, on the same channel, "?British high schoolers try American Thanksgiving dinner." Last one, "British high Schoolers try Popeye's fried chicken.". The boys are adorable, they're like 14. --- biscuits and gravy CAN be good. But they ARE heavy and carb laden, and you just need a nap after breakfast. 😴😴

@@twn1701b -- Go to RU-vid channel called 'jolly' and look for the title "British high schoolers try American biscuits and gravy." It's a boy's school and it's a big hit. I also love, on the same channel, "?British high schoolers try American Thanksgiving dinner." Last one, "British high Schoolers try Popeye's fried chicken.". The boys are adorable, they're like 14. --- biscuits and gravy CAN be good. But they ARE heavy and carb laden, and you just need a nap after breakfast. 😴😴

What you call a biscuit is called a 'scone' in England. You use a little more baking soda so they're a little fluffier usually, but essentially the same thing.

ya have to get them in the south, which does not mean Florida

I thought pavement was floor in the UK.

Not to mention, the word knickers. Don't say that out loud in the USA.

​@@Widdekuu91 Brits know the difference. You can get knackered but 'knaggered' doesn't work - 'nagging' does though.

@@claudevieaul1465 That's why I said 'in the USA" ;-)

@@Widdekuu91 You can say knickers in the US.

Serving crisps with fried food is so common in the US, that I assumed it started with exactly the same kind of "burger & chips" confusion.

I'd imagine that crisps get "potato chips" because it's often printed on the bag (to show that they're not the cheap maize/corn types but made with real potatoes).

@DarthRegoria Hahaha, yep, all the same here in Nz.

It literally is. Old fashioned wallpaper paste was flour and water. Sausage gravy is flour and milk. 🤷‍♀️

Soooo… biscuits and gravy is neither of those things, then? xD

@@TwoWholeWorms Now you’re just being difficult. That was a translation in culinary terms of what IS (in America) biscuits covered with sausage gravy… however, if a Brit was expecting biscuits (cookies) covered in brown gravy…I’d wonder why they would even try such a thing! ;-)

@@renzinthewoods I would argue it's the Americans who are being difficult tbh

@@ttaibe Yes, ever since the 1770s…

I assume its because they can be stuck through olives and other things that go in cocktails...and also the small sausages called cocktail sausages...which I assume are so called because they always used to be on the ends of cocktail sticks?! 😂

Same as a Kiwi - but then we also have our own colloquialisms, plus Māori words, AND a number of Aussie-isms thrown in to the mix. I guess that makes us all multi-lingual..?! 🤷🏻‍♀😆

😂😂😂 Spot on.

I agree. 🤢 What is she thinking. 😵‍💫

The same thing happened to me, I missed everything she said after that and had to stop the video.

It's jarred me too, but as long as they are rinsed first, it's like when you hear people talking about putting sex toys through. Sponges, mops, Lego/plastic toys, hair brushes, dog toys. The point is that everything comes out clean.

What do you think people do with their plates after they've eaten black pudding, or any other food that contains blood?

Personally i would be more concerned about using it afterwards with residue of dishwasher detergent on it. Sterilising it with some boiled water and a dash of vinegar would be a safer and more palatable option imo.

Add to that a regional third variation: Italian American nonnas in the northeast US may refer to their homemade Sunday tomato sauce as "gravy." (The Sunday referencce is because it slow cooks all day Sunday.) If you can find "pasta and homemade gravy" don't turn it down. It's amazing.

No nutmeg. Just no. Onion or garlic, sure. Best wishes from Alabama, USA

You must be from Australia!

@@janemacintyre9801 Now I'm confused because I always thought they came from Britain, and Wikipedia, at least, backs that up.

@@sokar_rostau Yes in the UK we have two different food products that could both be called a 'sausage roll'. If places do both you either have to pay attention to what sections of the menu it's in to decide which it is, and point to it on the menu whilst ordering it (we all do that anyway right?), or they might call the one that is a sausage in a bread roll a 'sausage bap' to distinguish it.

Yes. You could complain. You asked for a sausage roll. Not a roll and sausage.

@@Derek-qu8qi If they served them as as two separate items then they would have served 'a roll and a sausage', but as the sausage was inside the roll that phrase would not be correct, and they either served 'a sausage in a roll' or phrased more humanly 'a sausage roll'. As I said above it pays to scan the layout of the whole menu rather than home in on a single entry, as this 'sausage roll' was likely in a section of the menu that also include a 'bacon roll' and a 'bacon and sausage roll' and perhaps also all of the above option with a egg added in there too. Whereas the othe type of sausage roll would likely be in a section that also included 'Cornish Pasty', 'Steak Slice' and 'Cheese and Onion Pasty' amongst others.

that is so funny because as a Canadian tour guide I had to ask a husband to translate for his wife. Both from Tennessee or Kentucky....

@@linebrunelle1004 That is funny! We’re a little north and a bit west of Kentucky, but we’ve been there and been through there many times.

We hope you're enjoying Taskmaster!

When I watch British TV, I have the captions on. I can understand the individual words but then somebody says something like; "We were trundling over the burbry and it was muffins over teakettle". Which is apparently very amusing.

right Second that .. Still losted jerrpers yallzzzz

It’s just a form of endearment really. I think it’s our version of when I imagine Southern American moms saying ‘Well bless your heart!’. ‘Bless your cotton socks’ isn’t always used like that though. I’ve often heard it used in a sarcastic tone, which to be honest, is much funnier. I hope this helps a bit!

Bless your heart is a deeply hostile and insulting thing to say, disguised as a nice expression. Avoid if you're not a southern lady!

Yeah, nearly barfed at the thought of it being washed in the same load as the dinnerware. Pretty sure that's not kosher. (I don't need to email the OU about that one. Besides, I think they're tired of my questions, anyway.) Why can't she just wash it in the sink and then scrub everything down with lots of hot water and a bit of bleach?

OMG !!!! DISGUSTING 🤢

Ummm.... The dishwasher sterilizes everything. A Diva Cup isn't worse than the cutting board that had raw chicken on it, or the dog's dinner bowl. Y'all need to grow up and quit being squeamish about perfectly natural things.

@@debraadams7164Dishwashers do NOT sterilise. My scientific knowledge tells me this. However, as you don’t know me from Adam so I suggest you do your own research. My pet’s dinner bowl most certainly does not go in the dishwasher. But each to their own as they say.

@@Maria-lleriuqs , according to what I just read from the CDC, a high temp dishwasher with a sanitize or steam cycle kills 99% of bacteria. So it isn't *sterile* but it's more sanitary than your table top at your favorite restaurant. 🤷‍♀️

Her last two tours she came to Canada

That must have been someone who's never whipped cream themself.😅

Our whipped cream is actually whipped by hand, not in a can! Squirty cream is aerated cream in a can.

@@azuldan exactly 👌

The US is a very large place, and I'm from the north east - clearly not the natural home of biscuits and gravy. However, I've had excellent biscuits and gravy in the south and nearer to home. Biscuits do not have to be and (I would propose) should NOT be dry. If they are dry they are over baked or poorly made or both. Lots of foods exist as vehicles for other tastier things. The Barefoot Contessa said carrot cake exists as a vehicle for cream cheese icing. I adore carrot cake, myself :) Biscuits as a vehicle for butter is lovely, but you don't have to have awful biscuits. Have fluffy or flaky, buttery biscuits, then add your butter (or gravy - a misnomer in itself. It's a cream sauce with ground sausage in this context).

Biscuits with butter and jam or biscuits and white gravy!

​@@chandrawong449 ChandraWong is correct. Good biscuits should not be dry. That being said, I think of biscuits rather in the same way I think of grits. They're not meant to be eaten by themselves. They are a side dish that is simply a vehicle for something else. Like butter or gravy. Much like mashed potatoes.

​@@chandrawong449 On a side note, there's a RU-vid channel called "Jolly" (it's the combination of two men's names. Josh and Ollie) and they have video called "British high schoolers try Thanksgiving dinner for the first time." It's one of my favorite videos. I highly recommend it. The same RU-vid channel has one that says "British high schoolers try biscuits and gravy for the first time." And it's fabulous.. They think it looks disgusting, and they think it tastes wonderful. Lastly the same Jolly account, "British high schoolers try Popeye's for the first time." If you have any interest whatsoever, all three of those videos are really cute. ---- 😃

Yeah- I’m from Alabama, and if your biscuits are dry you didn’t add enough buttermilk or milk, and/or they got baked for way too long.

It's usually called 'Billy Bear', I don't know why but my kids loved it when they were little, in their sandwiches for school. there are lots of different ones now, dinosaurs, unicorns etc.. BUT I don't eat them now, as my children have grown up, and the grandkids aren't fussed they prefer chicken nuggets.. ;)

"Teddy" bear ham... It's either circular or square-ish with rounded corners with the image of a toy bear face in the centre :)

I don't think "teddy bear ham" is specifically British or Englisch. We've had it here in Germany for ages as well. At least since my children were little, who are all in their forties now. It's called "Bärchen Wurst".

All you need to do now is add some slang from Canada, Australia and New Zealand to further tick off your sister.😉

@@OriginalCaliKitty love that 😀

"Thank you for recognizing ..."? As if everyone in the world doesn't already know about the large vocabulary gap between the two countries? Like she's breaking new ground here? It's just a funny little video to help American audiences get her jokes better. Yeesh

It’s too bad that your sister gets mad at you. I am an American and I love Britishisms. People can speak British to me anytime.

I keep thinking why is it the Americans think they speak correct English , this can never be. American is its own language. English comes from only one place England. I am quite sure that is simple enough 😂😂😂

🌝American here. We also say "fish and chips." The ONLY situation in which we ever call french fries "chips." Somehow there, the British term stuck.🤷‍♀️

FISH and Poutine

Everyone says "fish and chips."

You would think that but I once got served fish and crisps at one place 😂

​@@lizcollinson2692😊I'm very curious (you were served fish & crisps): Did that happen here in the U.S.? And were you served by an (American) teen or young adult? What the British call crisps, we call chips. While the majority of Americans over age 40 know that the traditional phrase "fish & chips" translates as fish & fries, many young Americans may not know this, unless someone specifically tells them.🇺🇲🕊🇬🇧🕊🇨🇦

You definitely cannot buy firearms in Asda.

@@HJJSL-bl8kk no one was talking about firearms.

This FL girl too. I did have to rewind the Iceland one though, as here I was thinking it was merely the name of the island nation! I can only hope that's a hyphenate that people don't bother pronouncing, otherwise I'd be thinking the nation of Iceland has a winning legal case on their hands. Of course, I'm sure only Americans are thinking lawsuit implications when they hear a company share a name with anything more well known. Spare a thought for the poor employees who must tell people they work in Iceland and then pray no one asks a follow up question, just so they don't have to see the look of disappointment when it becomes clear it's not the country. I love the sentiment of a translation guide, but I prefer to learn by context when it comes to watching stand-up comedy from other English speaking countries, because I feel it really does translate almost all of the time. It's amazing to me that even works with impressions, because one would expect you'd need to know the real person for it to be funny, yet you usually understand by context that they're well known in their home country and for what they are known. The audience reaction will tell you how good of an impression it is. That was my experience with Eddie Izzard's impressions when I was too young to know who most were, and those of politicians and their translators in Trevor Noah's very first specials. Body language and tone of voice conveys so much humor, including the sections in languages I don't recognize or comprehend. Even Izzard's Italian Job joke told a second time is funny when you only recognize a small amount of the French language. I do also enjoy the rare times when context doesn't help the situation and I'm confused enough to do an internet search afterwards, because it can be very funny to see how far off what I was picturing is from the real thing. I think the hardest part for most Americans understanding Sarah is her speed combined with mishearing something as a homophone, so that clarification helps the most I think. I also tend to think she's globally famous enough to where most at her shows will be fans of hers already. I know I'd go to her show if I could afford tickets. All that said, I love that she did this because the jokes were pure class, as always.

May I just point out that a gown is a type of dress, so that it's clear these things are the same and both abbreviated nightie?

*careful saying 'I always love your bits' to a Brit. Here, it means you love someone's lady parts 😂

Thanks I’ll be more careful next time.😳

​@@delanicounago5719 I somehow thought the saying went: I love you to bits. I hear it all the time, but maybe I misheard.

​@@medievalladybird394we say "I love you to bits " a lot here in the NE of England where Sarah & I are from. ( Geordie accent ). Xxx

@@eviescorpio6921 yes, I'm aware of that. I'm right from the heart of the Lake District, born in Grasmere. Been living in Germany for a while though. So I bingewatch English, American and Australian channels. It sure helps understanding all the different accents. Take care.

Not intended for human consumption & likely to give a dog or opossum pause as well. I know there are fans of that. But for that matter, In my ancestry there are folks who reputedly adore natto, too.

​@@sanseijedinatto looks bad but tastes OK, Ive become a bit addicted

@@janwilson9485 👍😁

@@janwilson9485 Oh, the insanity! When my mom or grandma broke out the natto, my brother and I would go outside!

Sort of…more like gunnite with small pebbles…like river rock gravel…pressed onto the surface…

stucco is more like plaster with sand added. very lightly textured, not exactly pebble sized.

Imagine getting defensive over food when the food you're getting defensive over is American vomit :D

I love scones!!!

Me too, if there’s lots of clotted cream and jam or lemon curd!

Biscuits with Chicken and Gravy 🤤

​@@amandagreen4332 I make scones myself and they are best straight out of the oven. Sadly though clotted cream costs a small fortune in Germany. That not being a thing here, clotted cream has to be imported from the UK.

Slowly but surely I'm getting it. I might not even have to goggle 😂

VROOM VROOM

Our version of this has to be ants on a log, which sounds weird because it's celery filled with peanut butter and dotted with raisins to represent ants. But if you understand that it's a crunchy, salty, and sweet snack that simply doesn't work with one ingredient missing and try it, you may be a lifelong convert. To this day, it's the main reason I'm sad I can't eat peanuts anymore. My mom used to make tuna fish trains, which were tinned tuna sandwiches on a cylindrical roll with cocktail sticks to hold on orange slice wheels, and from what I can remember something like a bit of carrot or celery representing the smoke stack, also held on with a cocktail stick. They never stuck around for long or became something adults ask for or reference like the ants on a log, and most of my friends had never heard of them, so who knows if it was in a magazine or my mom was doing arts and crafts with food.

I was hoping someone would say this. Southern biscuits and gravy can't be what she tried. It is so good! This Tennessee girl knows first hand! ❤

@nikkis.1107 Thank you, and hello from a fellow TN native! GO VOLS!

Agreed. Pillsbury canned biscuits and Heinz gravy in a jar (or even worse, from a powder) is barely fit to be served in prison.

@@daveh7720 The concept of instant gravy makes no sense. It's not like it's hard to make! It doesn't take long. Real sausage gravy on fresh hot biscuits is gourmet food.

In a similar vein, I've always fancied trying corn bread. That stuff looks bloody delicious.

...and in Ireland you might hear the word _ratlin'_ to mean the same thing. Makes as much sense as _smashing_ I guess.

not in our city hmm uh ohhh BRing out the Book of ye ol 'erican dialects

Isn't vest and pants more like undershirt/a-shirt (trying *not* to say 'wife beater') and boxers in British? Also, to smash in current American slang means to have wild sex with. Which can also be smashing in the British sense, but only if you're really into it.

Ah yes, in America a man would be quite well dressed in an office in vest & pants with suspenders. Not so in Britain. I don't judge, but it's not what I'd consider conventional office attire...

I assumed she's touring the U.S. very soon.

actually, that IS like pizza.

​@@kenbrown2808 After reading so much about biscuits and gravy here and my Canadian friend trying to explain what hot buiscuits are and how you eat them, I am now going to goggle: I want to know what this looks like. Gravy made of milk and flour sounds like a white sauce missing the chopped onions and cheese. Is ground meat what I would call minced meat?

@@medievalladybird394 you are correct. proper white gravy is a white sauce, made with flour, milk, and drippings from your meat, seasoned to taste. and yes, our ground meat is your minced meat. as sausage and hamburgers are made from. the other side of it is American breakfast sausage is seasoned differently from UK breakfast sausage, so it has to be factored in that what tastes proper to me, would taste foreign to you. and yes, if I didn't say it before, the closest thing the UK has to a US biscuit is a plain scone, but biscuits are more tender.

@@kenbrown2808 My white sauce/ bechamel is always vegetarian and I wouldn't want anything meaty in it. I looked at a ton of recipies for biscuits and gravy and decided that that is not my cup of tea. I'd take the biscuits though. I make scones now and again with and without raisins, but mainly for guests. Being a type 1 diabetic there's just too much white flour in them, like in pizza - sadly. 15 gramms of flour = 10 gramms of sugar! I won't say what the gravy looks like. Someone might be offended. When I make biscuits btw it's usually Christmas. I make ginger nuts, short bread, Scottish oaties ( =flap jacks, although flap jacks to me are little pancakes) and lots of typically German ones. But I'm guessing you would call them cookies 😂 Thanks for answering. Take care.

@@medievalladybird394 yes, if you're not into meaty stuff, and take care of your carb intake, then biscuits and gravy are not for you. and there's nothing wrong with that. and yes, we'd call your christmas baking cookies - though I can appreciate the more recent UK convention that dry crunchy things are biscuits, while soft chewy things are cookies. it's also a bit amusing that one of our dominant "cookie" manufacturers - nabisco - is shorthand for National Biscuit Company. I believe we also have the same sort of confusion around (American) muffins, (American) Englisn Muffins, and UK muffins; and , if I am understanding correctly, the crumpet.