Category: Lost In Translation

  • Funny phrases

    Living and working in the UK has led me to laugh a lot. My British co-workers have come to learn that while conversing with me, my laughter indicates that either I didn’t understand anything they came out of their mouth or that the words they said were pronounced in a very British way. Most of my…

  • Learning English

    The more time I spend at work, the more [British] words and phrases I learn. Here is a collection (part 1 of many, I hope) of new-to-me words and phrases I have learned while living in England. I have provided the American word(s) that are the equivalent. AA: the Automobile Association (equivalent to the US…

  • Remember, Remember

    Today is the 5th of November. And to Americans, this is just another day. In England, today is a day to celebrate! And to light bonfires and fireworks! And for remembrance. Today’s post is about history of today and the history leading up to today. First, let’s first go through some historical perspective on monarchies and…

  • Slight differences

    As Americans look forward to an extra hour of sleep this weekend, we “fell back an hour” last weekend. I put together a list of things that we’ve noticed so far that are completely different between the two countries. It is a US versus UK showdown! 1. Doors For fire safety reasons (correct me if…

  • Holiday versus vacation

    In the US, I never really thought much about the meaning of the words I used on a regular basis. However, nearly every day I’m learning gobs of new words and phrases. Or I am learning alternative meanings for words and phrases (for example, pants aren’t the same thing as trousers). One thing I recently learned was what the…

  • English muffins

    I first need to distract you from this post. While writing it up, I couldn’t help but think about a scene in the movie Shrek, in which Gingy (the gingerbread man) is being interrogated by one of the villains, Lord Farquaad (NOT MY GUMDROP BUTTONS!) This leads to further distraction (at least for me) to find the…

  • You alright?

    In a quick, high-five styled dinner, a friend who lived in the area for a few years mentioned that locals have a very strange [to Americans] greeting of “You alright?” When Lynn told me about it, I hadn’t experienced myself, yet. I think the way she described it to me perfectly exemplfies how I feel…

  • An enlightening first vocabulary lesson

    On the top level of my workplace, there is a wonderful cafeteria. The food they sell is what I would consider to be fairly multicultural, especially in comparison to most American cafeterias. Every day, there are sandwich, soup, and salad options in addition to the hot meal specials. Each week, there are some expected foods:…