June's OT Board Dictionary Launched (was Brittspeak)

[eloiseherisson at aol.com]

>> annemehr added this to the Brit/American list:
>> ..Verge............Berm
>>
>> What is this?? I have no idea what a berm is.
>> Tonya

Annemehr:
>It's the edge of the road (not a street, where you have a curb). I'd
>be willing to swear there's another American name for it, but my
>chronic problem of frequently being unable to bring even the most
>common words to mind when I want them once again rears its ugly head.
>This problem is a real pain when I want to tell my kids to do
>something; by the time I think of the word I need, they're long gone.
>
>Oh! Another name for it is "shoulder" (as in "Do Not Pass On Shoulder"
>roadsigns)!

In the UK, 'verge' normally means a strip of grass edging a road (synonymous 
with 'grass verge') as opposed to the 'hard shoulder', the tarmac (asphalt) 
strip that edges a motorway or major road.

Jen:
>Bumpershoot(sp.?)=umbrella

I've never, ever heard that one


>
>Nappies*=Diapers
*(not sure if nappies is British, but my sister lived in New Zealand
and used nappies and NZ'ers used quite a bit of Brittspeak)

Correct. Short for napkins. I've always wondered where "diapers" came from.

>Private school=Public School (correct me if I'm wrong on this)

British Public School = American Private School. But only some British 
private schools are called Public Schools. These are the ones which belong to an 
organisation called The Headmasters' Conference, at least the boys' ones are. I'm 
not sure how it's defined for girls' ones

Olivier:

>I'll had 
>Rubber Eraser
>Condom Rubber
>just in case someone wants to know how one of my girl friend felt when I 
asked
>her if
>she had a rubber on her in my first student trip to United States.

While we're in that area, do I have to be the person who adds "fanny" to the 
list? ;-)

Drat! Dumbledad just beat me to it. Ah well, at least I don't have to 
explain.

( wrote this a short while ago but things like children's teas kept 
intervening)

I was told a great story the other day about an American woman who had 
invented some kind of support hose being interviewed on the BBC and causing 
embarrassed consternation to her interviewer by repeatedly extolling on air their 
virtues for smoothing and controlling your fanny.

No, I don't think Fanny is still used as a girl's name really. What would it 
be short for? Frances is the only name I can think of and although my youngest 
has a close friend of that name it's not all that common in the playground 
(school yard).

And *still* in that area, here an ass is kind of like a mule and a butt (does 
it have one 't' or two?) is a bum, or more crudely, an arse. Hence your fanny 
pack = our bum bag.

But I've never hear the word bangs used for a horse's tail. Maybe because I 
never had mine cut that short.
Queue is very old fashioned for a braid. Not common usage. 

Then to add to the list there's, 

Lift = Elevator
Pavement - sidewalk
Underground (or Tube in London or Metro in Newcastle) = subway
Subway = (I think) = underpass
Windscreen = windshield
Waistcoat = vest
Leaving school = graduation
Graduation = successfully completing an undergraduate degree    
Hair slide = barrette   
Courgette = zucchini
Aubergine= eggplant
Prawn = shrimp
Bill = check
Banknote = bill
Hockey = field hockey
Ice hockey = hockey
Football = soccer
Riding = horseback riding   
School = institution you attend up to the age of 18 or 19 (with a few 
exceptions)
College = normally an institute of higher education which may be independent 
or part of a university
Faculty = university department.
Professor = head of faculty (broadly)

Now, while we're here, can someone please explain all those names you 
Americans have for different years in school and University?
    
~Eloise

who has never forgotten the moment many years ago when a friend offered to 
lend her some suspenders for her baby son. I wouldn't have minded, but he wasn't 
even wearing stockings at the time. ;-)

Ah - Dungarees = overalls!



    



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