I want to understand British references to your countries.

by compound complex 30 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  freddo

  Just to confuse ...

  Isle of Man, Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey etc.) are Crown Dependencies

  Gibralter, Falkland Islands, Ascension Island and St. Helena etc. are British Overseas Territories

  Scilly Isles, Isle of Wight, Lundy Island etc. are part of England and thus part of the UK

  Isle of Anglesey is part of Wales and thus part of the UK

  Isle of Skye is part of the Inner Hebrides which are a chain of islands which are a part of Scotland and thus part of the UK

  Rathlin Island is part of Northern Ireland and thus part of the UK

  That's enough Islands ...
• 

  LoveUniHateExams

  Correction - the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not part of the UK, although the British military takes care of their defence. The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory.

  Edit - good post Freddo ...
• 

  Simon

  Manchester is shorthand for "better at football than you".

  The mix of geographic and political grouping can be confusing, here's a great diagram to explain what is in which group:

  
  

  If you want to really confuse people you can learn some cockney rhyming slang. Things like "trouble" for "wife" (trouble and strife), the "apple" for "stairs" (apple and pears) and so on. You either know them or you don't.
• 

  LoveUniHateExams

  If you want to really confuse people you can learn some cockney rhyming slang - and when you wish someone Happy Birthday you can add "don't get Oliver Twist!"
• 

  smiddy3

  new Zealanders are known as Kiwis and here in the land of OZ we refer to french people as froggies ?

  And aussie slang you can add bag of fruit for suit ,walking is to go by shanks pony
• 

  compound complex

  Utterly amazing!

  I gather that all the information you provided was at your fingertips, at the ready, off the top of your head, given me off the cuff. It never occurred to me that the detail I so blithely asked for was, well, that detailed. I'm going to devise a method of collating what all of you have kindly shown me. Obviously, you were well taught in school and have retained all the basics, and then some.

  BTW, an elderly, former British agent of WWII is a neighbor and fellow writer. I was proofing his latest spy thriller and asked him what "grey flannels" were. Of course, they're trousers; if you respondents to my OP had heard me say, "Oh, you mean gray flannel pants," you'd probably have sniggered. But, you wouldn't have caught my US spelling of gray, however, unless you were listening very, very closely.

  I can't thank you enough!
• 

  Bungi Bill

  The term "Commonwealth" has very little relevance.

  It ceased even being called the "British Commonwealth" as long ago as 1949, and some of its members (e.g. Rwanda, Mozambique and Cameroon) were never British territories prior to independence. "Commonwealth" is definitely not a term of national identity; not even close, in fact!
• 

  Driveby

  The American - English and English - English are not the same. I am American born and my wife is English born and we have been married for eight years. We still come up with words and phrases that the other never heard of. There are central reservations, dual carriage ways and zebra crossings which an American needs to know about if he is to drive in the UK. Pavement in the UK is a sidewalk in the US, so it may sound odd to the American when someone says you can't drive on the pavement. Verge is the shoulder of the road. Then there are car parks instead of parking lots. Oh. and bonnets and boots are hoods and trunks on cars. You put petrol in your car rather than gas. And a boot sale in the UK is comparable to a flea market in the US, but neither are for selling boots or fleas. A loo is a toilet. Tyres are tires. The Welsh have their own language. And then there are the accents...
  
• 

  compound complex

  Thanks, Bungi Bill and Driveby.

  Yes, when in Australia 20 years ago, I realized that we were driving on a motorway (not a freeway) and, when passing another vehicle, we were overtaking it. Then, at rest, we stationed the car (French term, "stationer") in a parkway.

  I believe it was in one of the Diehard sequels where the bad guys gave themselves away by saying "flat" instead of "apartment" and that it was "raining dogs and cats." You really gotta be careful around Bruce Willis. He picks up.
• 

  charonsdog

  stan livedeath... Aren't you aware that the entire reason the colonies rose up and tossed you redcoats out was so that we could pronounce our words any damn way we please? And drink coffee instead of tea? ;-)