An American's guide to speaking British

First, thanks for that.

The author used the word "lager" a few times in the examples. Is lager a general term for any beer?
 
Just when I thought I had it down in dealing with Brits, now I have a whole new set of words to learn. LOL, this is a good collection. What are the rules on us in the States throwing these in to conversation, will we be laughed at terribly when the call/meeting is over?

I spent some time working in Solihul and luckily they went easy on me with the slang, or I'd have a thrown a wobbler!
 
Just when I thought I had it down in dealing with Brits, now I have a whole new set of words to learn. LOL, this is a good collection. What are the rules on us in the States throwing these in to conversation, will we be laughed at terribly when the call/meeting is over?

I spent some time working in Solihul and luckily they went easy on me with the slang, or I'd have a thrown a wobbler!
Well when you get all that down pat you'll be almost ready to talk to the Aussies.
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Not included in Tez's list was the one that always tickles my fancy, and that is the American tendency to root. Aussies are never ones to knock back a good root but we stop normally stop short of rooting for the whole team. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, we then resort to tramp. :p Although Aussies or not shrinking violets when it comes to sex, on the main we keep it nice. We barrack for our teams and that has nothing to do with your new president! We're all for a Saturday arvo barbie. Most times its chops and snags but sometimes we'll grab a piece of chook. The guys normally stick to the piss but the shielas are more likely to toss down a chardy or two, or a cab sav. Sometimes some silly bugger will bring along a two pot screamer and he'll get rotten. He'd be just as likely to to chunder in your dunny. We love to give the Poms a bit of a rouse and youse Septics are always welcome. We give the Sheepshaggers from across the ditch heaps as well but they're ridgy-didge. We hate people who come the raw prawn and aren't all that tolerant with those that aren't the full quid.
I hope you blokes can nut out what I've written, but if you can't, no drama.
Hooly dooley, is that the time? I have to rack off. Hooroo!!
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Lager is made differently from beer. Heineken, Carlsberg, Stella Artois are lagers.
Beer comes in different styles ie stout, mild, bitter etc and often with funny names!

http://www.beerexpert.co.uk/BeerTypesCategory.html

Lager is beer. Ale is beer. Beer can be either lager or ale. The difference is only in whether they are top or bottom fermented. I tend to prefer stout, which is an ale.
 
Well when you get all that down pat you'll be almost ready to talk to the Aussies.
icon7.gif
Not included in Tez's list was the one that always tickles my fancy, and that is the American tendency to root. Aussies are never ones to knock back a good root but we stop normally stop short of rooting for the whole team. Of course there are exceptions to every rule, we then resort to tramp. :p Although Aussies or not shrinking violets when it comes to sex, on the main we keep it nice. We barrack for our teams and that has nothing to do with your new president! We're all for a Saturday arvo barbie. Most times its chops and snags but sometimes we'll grab a piece of chook. The guys normally stick to the piss but the shielas are more likely to toss down a chardy or two, or a cab sav. Sometimes some silly bugger will bring along a two pot screamer and he'll get rotten. He'd be just as likely to to chunder in your dunny. We love to give the Poms a bit of a rouse and youse Septics are always welcome. We give the Sheepshaggers from across the ditch heaps as well but they're ridgy-didge. We hate people who come the raw prawn and aren't all that tolerant with those that aren't the full quid.
I hope you blokes can nut out what I've written, but if you can't, no drama.
Hooly dooley, is that the time? I have to rack off. Hooroo!!
icon10.gif

Thank goodness for Neighbours, Home and Away, Water Rats etc!

Btw Ashes this year again and all that sledging lol! Still you can trust the Aussies to give you a fair go!
 
Just when I thought I had it down in dealing with Brits, now I have a whole new set of words to learn. LOL, this is a good collection. What are the rules on us in the States throwing these in to conversation, will we be laughed at terribly when the call/meeting is over?

I spent some time working in Solihul and luckily they went easy on me with the slang, or I'd have a thrown a wobbler!

They talk very strangely in Solihull (pronounced solly ull ), you'd throw more than a wobbler they'd make you doolallytat!
 
And Bob's your uncle... Hmm... :lol:

I actually use that one. Another favourite of mine on the list is...
Gormless - A gormless person is someone who has absolutely no clue. You would say clueless. It is also shortened so you could say someone is a total gorm or completely gormy.
...best explained with the following visual...
george-mcfly-before1.jpg

Crispin Glover had gormless down.
 
Lager is beer. Ale is beer. Beer can be either lager or ale. The difference is only in whether they are top or bottom fermented. I tend to prefer stout, which is an ale.

I understand that, but I didn't know if they had something going on like in some areas of the US South where all soda (pop) is called Coke, even if it isn't a Coke. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has been a major movement for many beer lovers in the UK, which is why I was surprised to see the term 'lager' appear to be used so generically towards beer.
 
I understand that, but I didn't know if they had something going on like in some areas of the US South where all soda (pop) is called Coke, even if it isn't a Coke. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has been a major movement for many beer lovers in the UK, which is why I was surprised to see the term 'lager' appear to be used so generically towards beer.


Lager is the drink of choice of a lot of young men and it's more fashionable really with the young these days. I imagine that's why the writer mentions it a lot, it's his drink of choice too. We have the term 'lager louts' because it seems most of the fighting is done by lads who drink lager. Usually it's Carling Black Lable or Carlsberg, though you can get cheap supermarket own brands. In clubs and pubs where the majority of drinkers are young lager will outsell other beers, its not often you'll see clubbers drinking any other beer. I think probably because its a lighter mild tasting brew.
 
Lager is the drink of choice of a lot of young men and it's more fashionable really with the young these days. I imagine that's why the writer mentions it a lot, it's his drink of choice too. We have the term 'lager louts' because it seems most of the fighting is done by lads who drink lager. Usually it's Carling Black Lable or Carlsberg, though you can get cheap supermarket own brands. In clubs and pubs where the majority of drinkers are young lager will outsell other beers, its not often you'll see clubbers drinking any other beer. I think probably because its a lighter mild tasting brew.

Read an article once in which the author suggested that the reason lager is the source of so much drunken thuggery is because it is light and you can drink a lot of it.

Reason #2,124 to drink ale.
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Twee - Twee is a word you would generally hear older people say. It means dainty or quaint. A bit like the way you chaps think of England I suppose.

It's funny that they mentioned this, because this is the very word I was thinking of as I read the list. A lot of these terms sound like they were coined by somebody's aunt.
 
Read an article once in which the author suggested that the reason lager is the source of so much drunken thuggery is because it is light and you can drink a lot of it.

Reason #2,124 to drink ale.
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There must be something to that, because when I'm full of ale, I don't feel much like engaging in thuggery.
 
It's funny that they mentioned this, because this is the very word I was thinking of as I read the list. A lot of these terms sound like they were coined by somebody's aunt.


Twee is a bit of a derogatory word though, you wouldn't use it if you were being nice about something.
Lager is more often than not sold in bottle and cans so it's easy to drink anywhere. Drinking from bottles annoys me but all the 'alcopops' and most lagers are drunk straight from the bottle, both sexes do this. I ordered a Stella a while back in a pub and was given a bottle, I looked at the barman and he hastily got me a glass lol.
 
Twee is a bit of a derogatory word though, you wouldn't use it if you were being nice about something.

Yeah, I think it shows that the differences are more in impact than in meaning. A lot of these terms are common over here as well but may differ in shock value. For example, the list mentions that **** means the same thing as *** but that it's considered ruder. Yet I knew people growing up who prefered to use **** because to them it was softer than saying ***.
 
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