I think the full saying of "swings and roundabouts" is. "What you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts". Meaning that it will all come out equal in the end.
@@MagentaOtterTravels Also, the roundabouts in this phrase are not those on the roads but rides in children's playgrounds - as are the swings, of course.
A roundabout in this context is what I think you Americans call a merry go round🤷🏼♀️ chalk and cheese is when something looks the same but is completely different
I believe the phrase comes from the operation of commercial fun fairs. Some of the rides might be more profitable than others, in fact some might act as loss leaders - unprofitable but popular rides that bring in customers to the fair. So, even if the owner loses money on one type of ride, he'll make it up on another.
Larry Foley was an australian boxer who never lost a fight. His last fight was in the 1870's, he was paid the vast sum of £1000 and won the fight - "hence as happy as Larry".
@@MagentaOtterTravels I had no idea where the phrase originated until 10 minutes ago. 😂😂I think you could describe my phone as cheap and cheerful. Inexpensive, but does the job.
@@neilgayleard3842"Mad as a hatter" has its origins in the manufacture of felt hats. Mercury was used to stiffen the fibres & its fumes affected the hatters, causing neurological problems. "Mad as a March hare" originates from the "boxing" displays by male hares in the mating season, usually starting in March.
Yes we Brits use ‘six of one , half dozen of another’ too. In fact according to Google it dates to the 1700s and was first recorded as used by a British naval officer in 1790. I think ‘swings and roundabouts’ is too old a saying to be referring to road roundabouts. I think it refers to the swings and roundabouts found at the fair!
Not quite. Swings and roundabouts means what you gain on the one hand you lose on the other. That means you end up as you were. Sorry but this lady hasn’t really done her research. 6 of one half a dozen of the other dates back to the 1700’s. It’s not American, sorry folks. She doesn’t give the whole saying. “It/they are a different from each other. We Brits use shorthand in talking to each other. She needs to ask us what they mean, not guess.
@@bobswan6196 - It means where 2 things are different, but the end result is the same eg, when choosing a travel route from A to B when the distances are similar. Or, it can be used where the person really doesn't have a preference between 2 choices. Eg "What do you want for dinner tonight, Fish and chips or hamburgers?". " I don't know, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other..."
Dragged through a hedge backwards = Something the cat dragged in = scruffy, untidy personal appearance (cp. "You look like you've been thoroughly rogered" to a woman) Death warmed up = You look ill/dreadful Dog's dinner = Assortment of badly mixed/chosen garb. Scraps, as you'd give the dog after YOUR dinner!
What about "he/she's got a brass neck" (meaning speaking out of turn or contradicting what they've just said); one of my dad's favourites "wind yer neck in".. meaning shut up (or "button your lip").
Here's one for your collection: 'He was hoist by his own petard'. It comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A petard was an explosive device placed against the gate of a fortification that was being attacked. The fuse was lit and you ran away before the explosion. Sometimes it exploded too soon and the person was 'hoisted' i.e. blown up. The meaning is to badly hurt by something that you created. The architect of your own harm or destruction.
@@glendaw5221 Oil and water are things that don't mix, so that referees to people who don't get on. Chalk and cheese is saying they are just very different.
Swings and roundabouts are both play equipment for children you’d find at the park. Though frankly I don’t think you’d often get far trying to convince a crying child they’d have just as much fun on the roundabout if the swings are all full. And rock up does just mean to turn up somewhere. But there’s a subtext that the arrival is somehow sudden, uninvited, unwanted, or unexpected or that the guest is unprepared or inappropriately dressed.
Fun story: I filmed and posted this video before we left on our trip to New York City this past week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went up to the pulpit at one point to speak. He was wearing rather casual travel attire and used the phrase "rock up" in mentioning showing up there that day. I was just tickled to hear him say that and had to go talk to him after the meeting!
I use most of these. With regards to "cheap as chips", back in the 1960's children would often go to a fish and chip shop and you could buy a paper bag of "scraps". Scraps were the bits of fish batter that would fall off when frying the fish. For 6 pence (old money), about 7 cents I guess, you could buy a bag which you shared among your friends. Occasionally, you might get them free if "chippy" had a good day.. I am 73 and remember those times very well.
Yes, I was just about to bring up the thing about bringing old newspapers to the chippy for free chips or scraps. I learnt about that when I posted my video of the Beamish!
We also say something is yesterday's chip paper meaning it's old news. Because chip shops got the papers from newsagents who would throw them away because they were of no use.
Dara, the roundabouts in "swings and roundabouts" refers to a piece of equipment in the childrens playground along with swings and slides etc. It was a round wooden contraption on a fixed spindle, kids would stand or sit on it while other kids spun it. Needless to say some kids would spin it so fast that kids would fly off in all directions, so they were removed on safety concerns. As an aside, I'm a Brit married to an American living in the U.S. and have picked up some American sayings. My favorite at the moment is "Well pardon me all to hell".
Yeah, I had no idea that the things in a park were called roundabouts! Every day's a school day! Your favourite saying is one of those passive aggressive things we say when we really are NOT apologising! haha I'm glad to hear that you are part of a Brit/American couple as well... you get us ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravelsThank you, and yes I do indeed get you. Oh, I've just remembered 2 other sayings used in England the first is " he/she won't beat about the bush." and the other is "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" which as a kid I thought was rude until my uncle explained what it meant and how it originated from the Royal Navy in Nelson's day. I'll keep you in suspense and see if any Brits can explain it first ! 🙂
@@MagentaOtterTravelsHaha yes, partly ! Basically they used to stack iron cannon balls on a brass plate on the deck called a monkey plate, which was named after the powder monkey boy whose job was to make sure the guns had gun powder and cannon balls. Because brass and iron shrinks at different rates in the cold the balls would fall off the plate! Hence the saying.
@@MagentaOtterTravels you may hear it said if someone says 'What are you doing next week? We are having a house warming / get together. You are welcome to come along if you wish - no need to let us know, just rock up.
To me, there a difference in meaning between "dragged through a hedge backwards" and "looking like a dog's dinner (breakfast)" versus "looking like death warmed up (over)". The first two would indicate someone looks a mess (haven't washed their hair or in creased clothes) and the last indicates someone looks or feels ill (flu or suchlike) or has a bad hangover.
I would slightly disagree with the nuance here... being dragged through a hedge backwards would mean you had taken no care about your appearance whereas being done up like a dog's dinner means you have made the effort but have got it spectacularly wrong and gone way over the top. Lookng like death warmed up, mean you look pale and wan, either through illness or perhaps being out on the lash or the piss...
Without trawling through over 500 replies to see if this has been commented on, in Britain we have a similar expression to 'death warmed ove', it is 'death warmed up'.
When I was quite young, we used to go to the local chippie and as for 'a six of chips' which means 6 pence worth of chips. It wasn't less than you'd get nowadays for a couple of quid !
The coating for cheese that is still used. Chalk is mixed with wax as a covering. When applying wax the cheese was rolled in chalk before applying the wax, they remove this layer . It is edible but gritty. You can eat it . Poor hungry folks did. Hence the saying .. my favourite northern England sayings are “let the dog see the rabbit” please uncrowd the situation. “Black over bills mothers” rain or trouble is likely. “ short arms long pockets / peel a orange in is pocket” thrifty person . Though my favourite my grandad says to me . “ that lad wants some horsemuck in is shoes” person of short statue or child reaching for a item “ . 👍 vid
Wow, those are awesome examples! I forgot to mention a really good one that I heard in All Creatures, so I assume it is from Yorkshire/the North... calling someone miserly "tighter than an otter's bottom"! haha Cheers for your comment! Dara
I first heard "cheap as chips" from a TV presenter David Dickinson who used it to describe the costs of antiques on a daytime show "Bargain Hunt" and "Real Deal".
@@Jack-fs2im - I went down the Rubbity Dub on my Pat Malone, leaving the Tin Lids with the Cheese and Kisses.. When I got back, she'd done the bolt with a rich Septic Tank...
I actually think children's play roundabouts existed well before road roundabouts, the road roundabout noun seemed appropriate when it came into use in the 50's when traffic increased. @@MagentaOtterTravels
Loved that one Dara. We use a lot of those phrases Swings and Roundabouts. 🤣🤣. We use that a lot - no idea where it came from but probably the playground - it will be a roundabout on a playground not a road intersection. So many cool phrases 😃😃. Fascinating that they’re not used in the States!! Hope you’re doing well Dara. 👍👍
Great to hear from you Dave. Thanks for watching! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video... even though I learnt a lesson from this one. There is more than one kind of roundabout! Didn't know that ;-) But every day's a school day! LOL
I've never lived in the UK but have spent a lot of time there and done business in London. There are certain words or phrases that I love but seem disingenuous if I try to use them (Cheers for example). Some has slipped in though. I use 'clever' frequently as in 'Aren't they clever'. 'Staff' when referring to my employees is another. And one, which I need to stop using with my 'staff', is 'I would suggest...'. They don't get it. It isn't a suggestion. I expect them to do it. My favorite in business, by the way, is 'That is a very brave proposal'.
Oh yes, the epitome of understatement! 🤣 I used to think I would sound funny trying to say cheers, but after living there long enough, it just became natural ☺️
We don't say dog's breakfast we say dog's dinner better alliteration 😂 my favourite saying was when my mum would tell me off for running about she'd say will you sit down you're like a witch on a windy day, brilliant 😂❤
The phrase " sorted" comes from the printing industry. In the past when printed material was made from lead type the letters were sorted into a sectioned tray with each section for each letter. The trays were called "cases" and there were two cases an " upper case " for the capital letters and beneath it a "lower case" for the small letters. After something was printed the letters from the print page were removed to be used again but had to be sorted back into the trays. This is the origin of phrase sorted meaning to place things back into their correct position to be reused. It is also the origin of the phrases " upper case " and "lower case". Sometimes in printing things went wrong if for example you ran out of the letter " e" for an article you were printing it was said you are "out of sorts" we still use thus phrase to mean you are not feeling well.
That's not correct, in printing a sort was a line of metal text made of lead cast by a machine and then 'sorted' into order by the typesetter, after printing these were melted down again and re cast. A sort could also be a block with an graphic image on it. Sorting individual letters into order was called compositing. What is interesting is that the typesetters, in order to proof their work, learned to read backwards as all the type is physically reversed.
Mind your Ps and Qs is also from the printing industry. Lower case Ps and Qs looked so alike the compositor had to be careful to use the correct letter.
An English boyfriend used to say things I did not understand. When he explained it, I thought he was just making it up. One of those phrases is “The painters are in”. I’m enjoying your videos. I’m in Dallas, and looking forward to my next UK trip.
I thought I knew what that meant, and I had to look it up just to be sure. Yes, one of those euphemisms! Lol When is your next trip? Where are you planning to go? Thank you so much for watching my videos! Cheers! Dara
I believe cheap and cheerful was connected to the Woolworth stores in the UK. They were known to sell cheap things that were of reasonable quality, hence 'cheap,and cheerful. Best, Cook.
My grandmother had a whole vocabulary of sayings, including your as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The latter ones were a sandwich short of a picnic .This was said to people who didn't show common sense. My great grandmother would say you will have me in the workhouse every time we my grandmother would take her shopping,she thought sherry was 2p a quart. My boss would say well,your half right , instead of saying l don't agree. On a visit to Chicago a few years ago l found many British sayings from the locals. Chips when l was a boy were 10p a fish was 18p and if you wanted to push the boat out a Pukka (brand) was 20p. When my cousin was getting ready to go to school. My aunt would say don't go out looking like a bag of rubbish tied in the middle. Happy days.
It's our word for rutabaga, Swede (apart from a Swedish person!) means head, usually if someone is being a bit stupid/thick/dense, like 'get this into your swede'!
Swings & roundabouts are both play equipment in the childrens park. They are usually sited near each other, so if the swings aren't free, you can use the roundabout instead.
We have very similar expressions ‘looking like death warmed up’ which, I believe, refers to someone looking ill and ‘looks like a dog’s dinner’ meaning the person looks a mess.
@@MagentaOtterTravels"Dog's dinner" is a bit more subtle than just a mess. Someone that has just got out of bed could look like death warmed up but we wouldn't use "dogs dinner" in that context. It's more used for something that is a mess due to being overworked. Maybe too much make up, a mix of styles that don't work together. Or even just being overdressed for an event. Basically where too many ideas have been thrown together for effect.
Ive been hearing it all my life. To arive uninvited or... at an unspecified time . Or for example, Do you want to come over? Yeh, i might rock up at some point. ps, im 60.
I’m an American who loves all things British. I used to have a very well read boyfriend who used the dragged through a hedge backwards phrase. Gemma of the Gem of Books channel just introduced me to the bless your little cotton socks phrase recently. I love it! I happened to stumble upon your channel (probably the TH-cam algorithms) and you made my morning.
Oh wow! Thank you TH-cam algorithm! I LOVE talking to American Anglophiles... so I hope you subscribe, stick around and join the Magenta Otter Tribe! You would be most welcome.🤗 Do you travel to the UK much? Watch British TV shows? Nice to meet you! Cheers for watching! Dara
Hi Dara. I definitely subscribed and shared your channel with a good friend whose mother was from England. I love British mysteries! I am one of the very few people in the US who doesn’t own a tv (mine broke and I didn’t replace it) but I subscribed to BritBox. I’m definitely a Royal watcher! (Needless to say I have an opinion about the spouse of the spare.) I live in Charlotte, NC.
@@glendaw5221 fun to learn more about you. I'm a big fan of British mysteries as well. It's good to not have a TV! Unfortunately it's my one vice 🤣 I have a dear friend who lives in Raleigh. They are coming to Britain for a month next summer! We will be there 4 months and then a month in Germany. I'll send you a couple links to my most Anglophile videos. As well as a super fun food one that I filmed with that friend from Raleigh last year 😉
My recommended videos for you to check out... My emotional Anglophile moment in Northumberland - th-cam.com/video/N8UKvwEiLvY/w-d-xo.html The two favourite Anglophile things I did in England - th-cam.com/video/7c-7jDKbjNE/w-d-xo.html Hilarious video with my foodie friend from NC of all the things we ate in our England tourist day - th-cam.com/video/oLRiqFRfyqY/w-d-xo.html
@@MagentaOtterTravels I’m loving this!! Will check out the places you mention. Particularly interested in the video of you and your NC friend. I moved to Charlotte from Florida (native) and I just love it here.
I didn’t realise ‘rock up’ was particularly British. It just means to arrive somewhere but there is a sense that it might be unannounced or unexpected, e.g. ‘he just rocked up to the party even though he wasn’t invited’. I love ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ too but a less common one which my Mum uses in the north east is ‘I look like the wreck of the Hesperus’. That one is great.
My family use that too and another is 'like the Marie Celeste' meaning empty or abandoned. I said this to the man in my corner shop and he just looked at me blankly. You could use 'tumbleweed' instead.
I know that there is a poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus", one of those sad poems that were so popular in Victorian times, about the captain of a ship of that name. He took his young daughter on the voyage with him, and when there was a storm, he tied her to the mast to keep her safe. The ship was wrecked in the storm and she was drowned.
Chalk and Cheese...used quite often in one of my favs...Doc Martin. Yep...last words ...Inspector said, " Mind how you go." I use 'have a go' quite often. Thanks Dara. These are great. I also hear many Brits say, "Well done you."
I have not. My third child graduates this year, so the empty nest will allow for more travel opportunities. Port Issac is on the list for sure. @@MagentaOtterTravels
I did research it. At the time of Nelsons navy young recruits were known NEWTS. Every sailor received a daily tot of rum. The youngest men couldn't cope with it like the old sailors and easily became drunk, hence the expression "p....d as a newt" The daily rum ration was only stopped relatively recently in The Royal Navy.
In our childhood, the fifties/sixties, children’s playgrounds had swings and… roundabouts; a pole with hanging from it a wooden circle fixed by metal poles; you could sit/stand on the circle or climb to a cross bar between the poles. It was quite dangerous, as the wooden circle not only revolved but went in and out, and could hit a child’s head - but swings can too, if a child is careless. We all survived.
I had no idea of the origin... or the fact that there was something on a playground called a roundabout! haha It's a wonder we all survived to maturity! I was talking to my brother yesterday (he's 71) about the fact that he used to sleep in the back window of the car during long car trips with the family!!!
There are so many, many are also regional. My grandparents said the funniest things, if my grandmother was startled she would say " ooh I nearly had kittens". A lot of the good ones are probably dying out.
Hello from Australia! We also use most of those sayings. Here a some I inherited from my Dad that go back at least to the 1940s. "Spanner short of a toolbox" "Mad as a cut snake" "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick" "Better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish" "Walks like a South African running duck" "Keep your knickers on" "Face like a boarding house pudding" "Dry as a dead dingo's (use your imagination) "Don't get your t*ts in a tangle". Plus heaps more. Not too sure if they're used anywhere other than Australia. Love your work!
Thanks so much for sharing your favourite old sayings from Down Under! Some of those my mum used in the states (the poke in the eye with a sharp stick was memorable!). I've never heard face like a boarding house pudding or most of the others. The one I have to compare is your toolbox one. English people have mentioned "sandwich short of a picnic" and here in Texas we say "a taco short of a combination platter" (referring to Mexican food). Thanks so much for your support of my channel! Cheers! Dara
"Mind how you go" I love that you specifically referenced Thursday saying this in Endeavour. To me it's a neatly understated way of the scriptwriter showing, despite a grumpy demeanour, what a kind and decent chap Thursday is and how he has this paternal affection for Morse.
Like many British phrases. The tone used is VERY important. Its can be affection, or sarcastically to mean Its would be nice if something bad happens to you.
@@nattreasure6102 i'm a pretty old lady, and most of my subscribers are older than me. But as for my friends in real life, they are usually much younger than me! That's my strategy for still having friends when I'm in my 90s. All my friends are 10 or 15 years younger than me 🤣
Of course we say 6 of one half a dozen of the other. Swings and roundabouts were in old English playgrounds for children. Love all of your examples of difference.
@@MagentaOtterTravels It doesn't matter now, the swings are still there but the roundabouts fell victim to Health and Safety's desire to wrap everyone in thick wads of cotton wool and the legal fraternities attempts to swell their already bulging pockets by sueing all concerned.
Every days a school day is one of my favourite! And it applies to me nearly everyday! Yep - it would be rude not to - another favourite. Hahahah dragged through a hedge backwards - me everyday!! It’s dogs dinner here. You can’t beat a good mooch! Great video. Cheers 🍻
Oh, the other thing that is like "dragged thru a hedge" is "looking like something the cat dragged in"... do you Britons say that? I only thought of it after I filmed the video.
@MagentaOtterTravels or a Northern idiom for hot weather "It's cracking the flags!". The flags in question are the paving flags and they're allegedly breaking in the heat 😊
We use 6 of 1 and half of a dozen of the other Swings and roundabouts are children rides on a park. First time i heard as chalk and cheese as a P.E game
Yes we say six of one half dozen of the other, as for the roundabout, that is referring to a playground toy often found next to the swings...we could have gone with slides and see saws. I might start saying that just to confuse people.
I never would've thought "not too bad" is a British thing to say, but I guess it is. I say "not too shabby" quite a bit, or I say "surviving" a LOT, both of which in my mind are way more British, lol, but now I know even just saying "not too bad" is giving me away! Every day is a school day I suppose! Also, we don't say "looking like death warmed over", we would say "looking like death warmed up" ... and we don't say "Dog's breakfast", we say "dog's dinner" here in Britland
I loved your take on British phrases! It's fascinating how these idioms reflect such distinctive cultural nuances. The 'swings and roundabouts' explanation was intriguing, giving an equalizing spin to the ups and downs of life. Some phrases, like 'chalk and cheese,' create vivid imagery. The subtle differences in expressions like 'dragged through a hedge backwards' make me smile! The depth and history behind these sayings are like a glimpse into the heart of British culture. 🎡🧀🇬🇧
I agree with everything you said. I don't even buy carrots in the US. I will be living part time in England as I just bought a house over there. I listen to all your utubes to help me find my way around. Many thanks.
@@MagentaOtterTravels I'm American. My son and his family have lived in England for the past 10 years. I am helping them to buy a house there. I love England and can hardly wait to move there.
Hello Magenta.Your intelligent open minded view of my country is wonderful! I hope next time you come here you will fully explore the English lake district where I reside.P.S. every place you both go I agree with everything you say.eg.chips need to be cooked till they brown , cheese and pickle butties etc.The point is your viewers have similar tastes in life even though we live 3000 miles away.
Thank you for your kind comments. We will definitely be coming to the Lakes this summer! We have already booked into Bowness with one set of friends and we are probably taking another set of American friends there as well. Such a brilliant place! Cheers! Dara
This is Dara's husband, Ian. Even though we haven't done a video of the Lake District we love it there. My favourite hike there is Low Fell near Loweswater and many years ago we spent a week in a flat in Broomriggs on Esthwaite Water.
Hello again Dara and Ian.I live in the centre of kendal and am originally from Liverpool and I drink real ales and love properly cooked food so my concern is that you find the best places to eat ,drink,stay while you are over here.I would forget Bowness personally but it is up to you to to experience your own path in life.Anyway may I say your videos are beautifully filmed and I find comfort in watching them.Take care both of you.P.S. you can use Branston pickle on cheese on toast er grilled cheese or even on cheeseburgers.
@@davidedwards504Hiya David, I live in Whitehaven, but I was born in Carlisle, its a shame TH-cam took down Know Where You Walk down, there were 2 vlogs on Whitehaven and 1 on Kendal
SORTED: See it. Say it. Sorted. It is used on the national railway network as well as the Tube. It comes from printing in the days of setting individual letters into racks to print something. The work was only finished when the letters were taken out of the racks, cleaned and then put into special boxes which were arranged by typeface (font), size (measured by the point of the tool used to space them out which was 1/72 of an inch, hence letters being so many points tall even now a days on computors), and finally when everything was arranged in the correct places, they were "sorted", hence the job was finished. SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS: A roundabout is a carousel. In its earliest form it was a jousting practice thing that would be hit by a mounted Knight's lance, but would swing round to hit the rider to try to unseat him. When someone made a children's ride that had children travelling round a central support, the name was used. Full saying is "What you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts", but it doesn't really make sense as you don't lose or win anything, you just have fun! SIX OF ONE, HALF DOZEN OF THE OTHER: Common in the UK, but a varient that I grew up with in Leicester in the East Midlands of England is "six and two threes" - so much quicker and easier to say. COTTON SOCKS: There are several possible origins, my favourite (and the most likely) is the Bishop of Calcutta story. CHALK AND CHEESE: The full saying ius "As different as chalk and cheese". Two things well known to everyone, very different in their physical characteristics, and also atractively alliterative. HAPPY AS LARRY: Larry Foley was an Australian boxer in the 1860s and 70s who never lost a fight. He earned a great deal of money - as much a £1000 for a single fight, a great fortune in those days. HAPPY AS A PIG IN MUD: We do say Happy as a Pig in Muck, but only as a cleaned up version of Happy as a Pig in S**t. MAD AS A BOX OF FROGS: I have not come across it as meaning "I'm angry", but only as a derogatory term for someone who is scatter-brained. FALL PREGNANT: This is normaly used for an accidental or unplanned pregnancy. We have a vast number of saying about being pregnant - In the Family Way, In an Interesting Condition, Up the Duff, Preggers, In the Pudding Club, Having a Bun in the Oven, Knocked Up, Up the Spout, etc. I don;t know how many of these are used in the US. NOT TOO BAD: A similar phrase is, Mustn't Grumble. CHEAP AND CHEERFUL: Covers many more situations than just actual items purchased. MIND HOW YOU GO: This is one of the phrases suposed to be used by coppers particularly to close a conversation, often with "Sir", "Miss" or "Madam" at the end. The equivalent opening line would be "'Ello, 'ello, 'ello. What's all this 'ere then?". Along with "You're nicked [my son]!" for "you are under arrest,". OFF YOU GO: Similar ones are "Off You Pop" and "Off You Trot". All three can have "Jolly Well" after "You". eg "Off You Jolly Well Pop.". HAVE A GO: There is a varient, "Have a go hero" which is descriptive of someone who (possibly unwisely) steps in to prevent a crime being committed, or to try to stop a crime which is in progress. DRAGGED THROUGH A HEDGE BACKWARDS: I'm sure that this could never apply to you! :) LOOKING LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER: We tend to say "looking like death warmed up", as we don't "warm over", but we do "warm up" when re-heating food. DOG'S BREAKFAST: We use this for something that looks messy, but if you make a mess of, or are taking a long while, or are over complicating, a physical task; the similar phrase used is "Making a [right/real/proper] dog's dinner of it" I hope that my comments are of interest to you, the video was of interest to me as I consider them all to be such common or garden phrases that they would be in use everywhere that English (or English as altered by Mr Webster) is spoken as the first language. Brian.
two things that are like chalk and cheese are as different from each other as they can be; one suggested origin is about the type of land used to raise sheep (which can be on chalk) and dairy (for making cheese); And "fell pregnant" is in the same vein as "fell ill". And I think the chips referred to in cheap as chips refers to chips of diamonds created when the stones are cut. These were (perhaps still are) set in cheap jewellery.
It basically meant the day before pay day. When families lived hand to mouth and there was no money or food .Until the man of the house brought home his pay packet.
I always say “Mind how you go”. It's a very Norfolk phrase and is pronounced, "moind hew yew gew!" I can't stop myself from saying it over in the States and it is met by a very blank expression! 🤣
If you go back as far as WW2, you could by a "penn'orth of chips" -a penny's worth. It was just about the cheapest food item you could buy, hence "cheap as chips". I've never heard the expression "That looks like a dog's breakfast" used in Britain. It's usually "a dog's dinner" or "a pig's breakfast". My favourite saying was one my mother used often to describe any situation where someone is either wandering about aimlessly or in a state of distraction: " You're back and forth like a dog at a fair!" It just conjures such a vivid image.
Here are a couple more that occurred to me: a quick and not very thorough wash is "a cat-lick", and if you do a quick and superficial cleaning job it is sometimes called "a lick and a promise". @@MagentaOtterTravels
Swings and roundabouts to me means you lose in one way but gain in another 😊😊 I love a good mooch around the shops Rock up just means to turn up maybe unexpectedly but can be planned too - you might say 'What time are you rocking up tonight?'
Roundabouts and Swings - Patrick Palmer, a banker in London around 1900, The key to the phrase is the final two lines: It was early last September nigh to Framlin'am-on-Sea, An' 'twas Fair-day come to-morrow, an' the time was after tea, An' I met a painted caravan adown a dusty lane, A Pharaoh with his waggons comin' jolt an' creak an' strain; A cheery cove an' sunburnt, bold o' eye and wrinkled up, An' beside him on the splashboard sat a brindled tarrier pup, An' a lurcher wise as Solomon an' lean as fiddle-strings Was joggin' in the dust along 'is roundabouts and swings. "Goo'-day," said 'e; "Goo'-day," said I; "an' 'ow d'you find things go, An' what's the chance o' millions when you runs a travellin' show?" "I find," said 'e, "things very much as 'ow I've always found, For mostly they goes up and down or else goes round and round." Said 'e, "The job's the very spit o' what it always were, It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a 'are; But lookin' at it broad, an' while it ain't no merchant king's, What's lost upon the roundabouts we pulls up on the swings!" "Goo' luck," said 'e; "Goo' luck," said I; "you've put it past a doubt; An' keep that lurcher on the road, the gamekeepers is out." 'E thumped upon the footboard an' 'e lumbered on again To meet a gold-dust sunset down the owl-light in the lane; An' the moon she climbed the 'azels, while a night-jar seemed to spin That Pharaoh's wisdom o'er again, 'is sooth of lose-and-win; For "up an' down an' round," said 'e, "goes all appointed things, An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!"
I didn’t know ‘it would be rude not to’ was exclusively British. One of my favorites is ‘much of a muchness’ to mean no great difference exists between two things.
I say something roughly with the same setup as your 'much of a muchness'... "Doing the doings", which means busy doing just... Stuff... "Yeah, sorry I couldnt answer the phone there, I was busy doing the doings" :)
Loved this video!! Cheap as chips - Chips came in three sizes when I w'r a lad: sixpence, ninepence and one shilling. I could afford a bag of chips (wrapped in real newspaper, of course) for half my pocket money!
'Swings' as in a park, but those parks also had a rotating circular apparatus called 'round abouts' that children would cling to while another would spin it and then jump on. Both were equally as much fun, so came the phrase 'swings and round abouts' And yes, we do use 'six of one, half dozen of the other'
One of my favourites is you can say the absolute worst about a person, but as long as you follow it up with the phrase 'bless them' -then it's OK. Because it implies they aren't really responsible for whatever action or character trait you deplore and you have forgiven them (even if you haven't really).
It also subtly implies that they are not smart enough to know any better. Typical British irony, used to insult someone without them even realising it.
Chips used to cost a tanner. I first heard the phrase, "Dragged through a hedge backwards", used to describe the hairstyle of Farrah Fawcett-Majors back in the 70's, or whenever she first appeared. Note also that we add an 's' at the end of words like backwards, forwards, towards, etc.
Sorry, forgot to add that bit: it was 6 old pence and had its own tiny coin (called a tanner). After the currency was "decimalised" (decimated, given the immediate inflation) it became 2.5 "new pence" but you couldn't buy a bag of chips for 2.5 p!@@MagentaOtterTravels
Mad as a Hatter as per box of frogs. From the use of mercury in the hat industry in days past. As in The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. You could also say "He's going round the bend". Love your comments re the language differences. 😊
My mother was from Devon, my father was from Manchester. Consequently, my accent is unusual I am told. I don't really have a problem understanding most dialects.
A roundabout is the circular kids ride that you find in a play park, usually near some swings. So, you can only be on one or the other so what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabout.
I didn't know about playground roundabouts until I filmed this video... oops! Every day's a school day ;-) If I went on one of those roundabouts what I would lose is my lunch! Sooooo motion sickness prone I am.
Ahhhhhh.... Fun fact: after posting this video, I was in New York last week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went to the pulpit to talk at one point and in his remarks he used the phrase "rock up". I was tickled!!!
The “cotton socks” one sometimes will just get shortened to just “bless”, which I’ve heard some US Americans confuse with “bless you’, but it really is just mildly taking the piss.
Another example of when context and tone of voice are so important to know the intended meaning! Yes, we often say "bless your heart" in the states, especially in the south
Hello from Wales! A few South Wales words/expressions for you, not sure if they have been mentioned already: a hug/cuddle is a cwtch, you pronounce it like ‘cutch’, rhyming with butch. Also 'I'll be there now in a minute' which means you'll be there or with someone soon but not quite yet. Also 'lush' not in the alcohol sense but something that is really good, 'that was a lush bowl of cawl (thick soup/broth)'
swings and roundabouts were playground rides in the UK when I was young - I am now 77. (I think the roundabouts were taken out because, due to more recent safety considerations, they were treated as dangerous for young children).
'Have-a-go-heroes' often would appear in the newspapers, which means someone who jumps in to help someone in distress or in an emergency in the absence of 999 crew.
One phrase in fairly common use that I don’t remember hearing when being young is “It’s the dogs’ bollocks” or “He thinks he’s the dogs’ bollocks”, applied to something or someone of high quality / well dressed. I don’t know its origin though.
Now that is the best (or dog's bollocks) of all British sayings imo, but it doesn't have a consistent origin among online dictionaries. But I think its a very cheeky phrase to describe something as the very best, derived from dog's licking their own bollo*ks, presumably because they like it so much...😀...
Bollocks has its own sub section as the word has so many meanings...(Not forgetting of course the the first and prime definition of Bollocks is male testicles) Dogs B = the greatest or is really good Speaking B = absolute rubbish, a complete lie or fabrication To Bollock (singular) = to verbally tear someone off a strip Made a B of it = completely messed up the task Bollock Brained = a mental lightweight to say the least To give or receive a Bollocking = be strongly and aggressively told off and admonished. Bollocks (sometimes spelled Bollox) = used often as a medium level swear word: you drop a cup of tea over the floor "Bollocks" you are running for a bus and just miss it "ahhh Bollocks" and multitude of other examples of its expletive use. - they even had a TV ad showing a little girl using it as an expletive for some reason. It was to suggest to parents that children will use and repeat and say what their parents do so be aware of it around kids. I'm sure others an think of more......
This made me chuckle, thanks! I always use “Bless her/his/your cotton socks!”. When i say it to my 9 year old, now, she tends to roll her eyes, but i don’t see me ever not saying it to her!
@@MagentaOtterTravels Hi, we’re in Essex, just outside of London. I suspect that a good many English sayings come from this area. It’s funny how such a relatively small country can have so many colloquial sayings - some of which become, eventually, mainstream sayings! An example of this was when my family moved (just 200 miles) from Manchester to Essex, 15 years ago. We’re all busy unpacking, but chatting to a succession of friendly new neighbours. As the neighbours turned to leave several of them said “Nice to meet you, see you later”. Exhausted and panicked I said to my family, “No!!! We have too much to do! Where are we meant to be seeing the neighbours later?”. Turns out “See you later” is a simple standard Essex expression meaning ‘goodbye’!
@@krisjohnson-proctor355 that's funny! 😆 Reminds me of how Brits say "you alright?" instead of hello. You can't take it literally!! I have not done any vlogs of Essex yet, but we did explore Kent and Sussex this past July and I'm working on those videos hopefully in the next month or two . But in the meantime, I hope you check out my Manchester video, because I'm very proud of it. 💖 Cheers! Dara
Love British sayings? Check out my MOT Merch for some of my favourite... as well as a few I invented ;-) magenta-otter-travels.printify.me/products
Sixpence
Dogs dinner
I think the full saying of "swings and roundabouts" is. "What you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts". Meaning that it will all come out equal in the end.
Ah yes, I didn't get the nuance quite right. Every day's a school day!
@@MagentaOtterTravels Also, the roundabouts in this phrase are not those on the roads but rides in children's playgrounds - as are the swings, of course.
@@nbclaymore1861 yeah, I've felt pretty stupid that I got that wrong. But, every day is the school day!
A roundabout in this context is what I think you Americans call a merry go round🤷🏼♀️ chalk and cheese is when something looks the same but is completely different
I believe the phrase comes from the operation of commercial fun fairs. Some of the rides might be more profitable than others, in fact some might act as loss leaders - unprofitable but popular rides that bring in customers to the fair. So, even if the owner loses money on one type of ride, he'll make it up on another.
I remember buying chips in Hounslow in the 50's for 4d ( four old pence).
Yep, that's cheap!
@@MagentaOtterTravels"cheap as chips", very inexpensive.
Larry Foley was an australian boxer who never lost a fight. His last fight was in the 1870's, he was paid the vast sum of £1000 and won the fight - "hence as happy as Larry".
THANK YOU! So much more fun using subscribers to educate me rather than Google ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravels I had no idea where the phrase originated until 10 minutes ago. 😂😂I think you could describe my phone as cheap and cheerful. Inexpensive, but does the job.
Box of frogs is a Australian saying as far as I know. They also say cut snake. In Britain it's mad as a hatter or a match hare.
March hare.
@@neilgayleard3842"Mad as a hatter" has its origins in the manufacture of felt hats. Mercury was used to stiffen the fibres & its fumes affected the hatters, causing neurological problems.
"Mad as a March hare" originates from the "boxing" displays by male hares in the mating season, usually starting in March.
Yes we Brits use ‘six of one , half dozen of another’ too. In fact according to Google it dates to the 1700s and was first recorded as used by a British naval officer in 1790. I think ‘swings and roundabouts’ is too old a saying to be referring to road roundabouts. I think it refers to the swings and roundabouts found at the fair!
Yes, I got the wrong roundabout! haha
Not quite. Swings and roundabouts means what you gain on the one hand you lose on the other. That means you end up as you were. Sorry but this lady hasn’t really done her research. 6 of one half a dozen of the other dates back to the 1700’s. It’s not American, sorry folks.
She doesn’t give the whole saying. “It/they are a different from each other. We Brits use shorthand in talking to each other. She needs to ask us what they mean, not guess.
@@booker0110 eh?
@@bobswan6196 - It means where 2 things are different, but the end result is the same eg, when choosing a travel route from A to B when the distances are similar. Or, it can be used where the person really doesn't have a preference between 2 choices. Eg "What do you want for dinner tonight, Fish and chips or hamburgers?". " I don't know, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other..."
common alternatives to 'dragged through a hedge backwards' are 'look like death warmed up' and 'look like something the cat's dragged in'
We say "death warmed over" and "something the cat dragged in" in the states. Fun to compare these idioms! Cheers!
Dragged through a hedge backwards = Something the cat dragged in = scruffy, untidy personal appearance (cp. "You look like you've been thoroughly rogered" to a woman)
Death warmed up = You look ill/dreadful
Dog's dinner = Assortment of badly mixed/chosen garb. Scraps, as you'd give the dog after YOUR dinner!
What about "he/she's got a brass neck" (meaning speaking out of turn or contradicting what they've just said); one of my dad's favourites "wind yer neck in".. meaning shut up (or "button your lip").
Yeah, I've not heard those before! Wind yer neck in sounds like a turtle! LOL
I must say I love the enthusiasm you show in your videos for my country. Thank you.
Aw, cheers mate!
Here's one for your collection: 'He was hoist by his own petard'. It comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A petard was an explosive device placed against the gate of a fortification that was being attacked. The fuse was lit and you ran away before the explosion. Sometimes it exploded too soon and the person was 'hoisted' i.e. blown up. The meaning is to badly hurt by something that you created. The architect of your own harm or destruction.
That's a great one! I think I've only heard someone say that once before. Very colourful!
In actual fact, a 'Petard' is a small flag carried typically by Dragoons and Lancers, on the ends of their lances.
As different as chalk and cheese probably makes more sense to a culture that doesn't have cheese that isn't that different to chalk. 😆
Or Cheese that comes in a spray can
Oil and water here in the US?
@@glendaw5221
Oil and water are things that don't mix, so that referees to people who don't get on.
Chalk and cheese is saying they are just very different.
Swings and roundabouts are both play equipment for children you’d find at the park. Though frankly I don’t think you’d often get far trying to convince a crying child they’d have just as much fun on the roundabout if the swings are all full.
And rock up does just mean to turn up somewhere. But there’s a subtext that the arrival is somehow sudden, uninvited, unwanted, or unexpected or that the guest is unprepared or inappropriately dressed.
Fun story: I filmed and posted this video before we left on our trip to New York City this past week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went up to the pulpit at one point to speak. He was wearing rather casual travel attire and used the phrase "rock up" in mentioning showing up there that day. I was just tickled to hear him say that and had to go talk to him after the meeting!
I use most of these. With regards to "cheap as chips", back in the 1960's children would often go to a fish and chip shop and you could buy a paper bag of "scraps". Scraps were the bits of fish batter that would fall off when frying the fish. For 6 pence (old money), about 7 cents I guess, you could buy a bag which you shared among your friends. Occasionally, you might get them free if "chippy" had a good day.. I am 73 and remember those times very well.
sixpence (old money) is two and a half pence in new money so only about three cents at todays exchange rate?
Yes, I was just about to bring up the thing about bringing old newspapers to the chippy for free chips or scraps. I learnt about that when I posted my video of the Beamish!
When i was a kid, scraps where always free.
In North Hertfordshire we called them scrumps.
We also say something is yesterday's chip paper meaning it's old news. Because chip shops got the papers from newsagents who would throw them away because they were of no use.
Dara, the roundabouts in "swings and roundabouts" refers to a piece of equipment in the childrens playground along with swings and slides etc. It was a round wooden contraption on a fixed spindle, kids would stand or sit on it while other kids spun it. Needless to say some kids would spin it so fast that kids would fly off in all directions, so they were removed on safety concerns.
As an aside, I'm a Brit married to an American living in the U.S. and have picked up some American sayings. My favorite at the moment is "Well pardon me all to hell".
@@noelall1839 Yes, as Dara said "six of one and half a dozen of the other".
Yeah, I had no idea that the things in a park were called roundabouts! Every day's a school day!
Your favourite saying is one of those passive aggressive things we say when we really are NOT apologising! haha
I'm glad to hear that you are part of a Brit/American couple as well... you get us ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravelsThank you, and yes I do indeed get you. Oh, I've just remembered 2 other sayings used in England the first is " he/she won't beat about the bush." and the other is "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" which as a kid I thought was rude until my uncle explained what it meant and how it originated from the Royal Navy in Nelson's day. I'll keep you in suspense and see if any Brits can explain it first ! 🙂
@@garryreeve824 someone else just told me it was cannon balls!
@@MagentaOtterTravelsHaha yes, partly ! Basically they used to stack iron cannon balls on a brass plate on the deck called a monkey plate, which was named after the powder monkey boy whose job was to make sure the guns had gun powder and cannon balls. Because brass and iron shrinks at different rates in the cold the balls would fall off the plate! Hence the saying.
You got the definition of "rock up" pretty much spot on. It just means to turn up ... but possibly unexpectedly !
Not sure I can drop that one into conversation without sounding ridiculous ;)
@@MagentaOtterTravels you may hear it said if someone says 'What are you doing next week? We are having a house warming / get together. You are welcome to come along if you wish - no need to let us know, just rock up.
The full phrase is “what you lose on the swings, you gain on the roundabouts” kind of a fairground phrase. You lose some, you win some
To me, there a difference in meaning between "dragged through a hedge backwards" and "looking like a dog's dinner (breakfast)" versus "looking like death warmed up (over)". The first two would indicate someone looks a mess (haven't washed their hair or in creased clothes) and the last indicates someone looks or feels ill (flu or suchlike) or has a bad hangover.
How about looking like something the cat dragged in?
@@MagentaOtterTravels Akin to a "dog's dinner", a mess. Although one should not confuse a "dog's dinner" with the "dog's bollocks".
@@MagentaOtterTravels synonymous with the hedge😁
I would slightly disagree with the nuance here... being dragged through a hedge backwards would mean you had taken no care about your appearance whereas being done up like a dog's dinner means you have made the effort but have got it spectacularly wrong and gone way over the top. Lookng like death warmed up, mean you look pale and wan, either through illness or perhaps being out on the lash or the piss...
She said dog’s breakfast not dinner which is something completely different
Something my grandmother used to say 'red hat no drawers' or she's all furcoat and no knickers. Both meaning all top show and no substance.
Without trawling through over 500 replies to see if this has been commented on, in Britain we have a similar expression to 'death warmed ove', it is 'death warmed up'.
Yes, it's funny that Americans don't say warmed up. Such a small difference. I think these also are similar to "something the cat dragged in" ;-)
I love the fact you enjoy our sayings, but with you hearing so many it certainly fried your brain. Xx
When I was quite young, we used to go to the local chippie and as for 'a six of chips' which means 6 pence worth of chips. It wasn't less than you'd get nowadays for a couple of quid !
The coating for cheese that is still used. Chalk is mixed with wax as a covering. When applying wax the cheese was rolled in chalk before applying the wax, they remove this layer . It is edible but gritty. You can eat it . Poor hungry folks did. Hence the saying .. my favourite northern England sayings are “let the dog see the rabbit” please uncrowd the situation. “Black over bills mothers” rain or trouble is likely. “ short arms long pockets / peel a orange in is pocket” thrifty person . Though my favourite my grandad says to me . “ that lad wants some horsemuck in is shoes” person of short statue or child reaching for a item “ . 👍 vid
Wow, those are awesome examples! I forgot to mention a really good one that I heard in All Creatures, so I assume it is from Yorkshire/the North... calling someone miserly "tighter than an otter's bottom"! haha Cheers for your comment! Dara
I first heard "cheap as chips" from a TV presenter David Dickinson who used it to describe the costs of antiques on a daytime show "Bargain Hunt" and "Real Deal".
A roundabout in this context is found in an English park next to the swings, it is not the other roundabout found on the roads.
Haha I didn't know there were two types of roundabouts when I filmed this 😆
@@MagentaOtterTravels Haha every day is a school day :)
All of these phrases are common in Australia as well.
Good point. Our Aussie cousins are the nearest thing to a Brit. We love them. 🏴🇦🇺
I have even heard Cockney Rhyming slang from Australians
@@Jack-fs2im "I"m going down the frog to meet the bundle of strife"...😄😄
@@EeBee51 trouble and strife .darn the road to the rub a dub for a Kate and Sidney Pie ,ha
@@Jack-fs2im - I went down the Rubbity Dub on my Pat Malone, leaving the Tin Lids with the Cheese and Kisses.. When I got back, she'd done the bolt with a rich Septic Tank...
Swings and roundabouts originated from a children's playground where there swings and roundabouts to play on
That confused me because Americans don't call those spinny things roundabouts ;-)
I actually think children's play roundabouts existed well before road roundabouts, the road roundabout noun seemed appropriate when it came into use in the 50's when traffic increased. @@MagentaOtterTravels
Loved that one Dara.
We use a lot of those phrases
Swings and Roundabouts. 🤣🤣. We use that a lot - no idea where it came from but probably the playground - it will be a roundabout on a playground not a road intersection.
So many cool phrases 😃😃. Fascinating that they’re not used in the States!!
Hope you’re doing well Dara. 👍👍
Great to hear from you Dave. Thanks for watching! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video... even though I learnt a lesson from this one. There is more than one kind of roundabout! Didn't know that ;-) But every day's a school day! LOL
Yes both move and are fun but you don’t go anywhere; comme ci, comme ça
@@MagentaOtterTravels 😃😃😃
Either a fairground or a playground roundabout, but definitely NOT a road
I've never lived in the UK but have spent a lot of time there and done business in London. There are certain words or phrases that I love but seem disingenuous if I try to use them (Cheers for example). Some has slipped in though. I use 'clever' frequently as in 'Aren't they clever'. 'Staff' when referring to my employees is another. And one, which I need to stop using with my 'staff', is 'I would suggest...'. They don't get it. It isn't a suggestion. I expect them to do it. My favorite in business, by the way, is 'That is a very brave proposal'.
Oh yes, the epitome of understatement! 🤣
I used to think I would sound funny trying to say cheers, but after living there long enough, it just became natural ☺️
Say cheers mate, regardless of gender. The other 2 might come across as you are trying to be sarcastic in a bad way.
We don't say dog's breakfast we say dog's dinner better alliteration 😂 my favourite saying was when my mum would tell me off for running about she'd say will you sit down you're like a witch on a windy day, brilliant 😂❤
Yes, that is better alliteration! And "a witch on a windy day" is FANTASTIC! Thanks for sharing.
"Dog's breakfast" means a mess, but "dressed up like a dog's dinner" means the opposite, dressed in your best clothes to impress.
The phrase " sorted" comes from the printing industry. In the past when printed material was made from lead type the letters were sorted into a sectioned tray with each section for each letter. The trays were called "cases" and there were two cases an " upper case " for the capital letters and beneath it a "lower case" for the small letters. After something was printed the letters from the print page were removed to be used again but had to be sorted back into the trays. This is the origin of phrase sorted meaning to place things back into their correct position to be reused. It is also the origin of the phrases " upper case " and "lower case". Sometimes in printing things went wrong if for example you ran out of the letter " e" for an article you were printing it was said you are "out of sorts" we still use thus phrase to mean you are not feeling well.
That's fascinating history! Thanks for sharing! I don't think I have the patience for that kind of sorting 😉
Cheers learnt something new today 👍
"Sorted" also means "done", as does "done and dusted".
That's not correct, in printing a sort was a line of metal text made of lead cast by a machine and then 'sorted' into order by the typesetter, after printing these were melted down again and re cast. A sort could also be a block with an graphic image on it. Sorting individual letters into order was called compositing. What is interesting is that the typesetters, in order to proof their work, learned to read backwards as all the type is physically reversed.
Mind your Ps and Qs is also from the printing industry. Lower case Ps and Qs looked so alike the compositor had to be careful to use the correct letter.
An English boyfriend used to say things I did not understand. When he explained it, I thought he was just making it up. One of those phrases is “The painters are in”. I’m enjoying your videos. I’m in Dallas, and looking forward to my next UK trip.
I thought I knew what that meant, and I had to look it up just to be sure. Yes, one of those euphemisms! Lol
When is your next trip? Where are you planning to go?
Thank you so much for watching my videos! Cheers! Dara
See also “Up on blocks”, “fallen to the communists”, “my friend’s in town”, etc.
I am hoping to go by April 1. @@MagentaOtterTravels
I believe cheap and cheerful was connected to the Woolworth stores in the UK. They were known to sell cheap things that were of reasonable quality, hence 'cheap,and cheerful. Best, Cook.
That makes sense. No one else has really mentioned a good origin story for the phrase 👍
My grandmother had a whole vocabulary of sayings, including your as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The latter ones were a sandwich short of a picnic .This was said to people who didn't show common sense. My great grandmother would say you will have me in the workhouse every time we my grandmother would take her shopping,she thought sherry was 2p a quart. My boss would say well,your half right , instead of saying l don't agree. On a visit to Chicago a few years ago l found many British sayings from the locals. Chips when l was a boy were 10p a fish was 18p and if you wanted to push the boat out a Pukka (brand) was 20p. When my cousin was getting ready to go to school. My aunt would say don't go out looking like a bag of rubbish tied in the middle. Happy days.
In South Wales people might say, Swede in place of head, which is cockney.
What on earth does that mean?
It's our word for rutabaga, Swede (apart from a Swedish person!) means head, usually if someone is being a bit stupid/thick/dense, like 'get this into your swede'!
We also do say six of one thing and half a dozen of another! I use it often.
It's a good one!
Swings & roundabouts are both play equipment in the childrens park. They are usually sited near each other, so if the swings aren't free, you can use the roundabout instead.
I had no idea of the origin... or the fact that there was something on a playground called a roundabout! haha
We have very similar expressions ‘looking like death warmed up’ which, I believe, refers to someone looking ill and ‘looks like a dog’s dinner’ meaning the person looks a mess.
Funny we say "looks like death warmed over".
Or a real dog’s dinner😄
@@MagentaOtterTravels"Dog's dinner" is a bit more subtle than just a mess. Someone that has just got out of bed could look like death warmed up but we wouldn't use "dogs dinner" in that context. It's more used for something that is a mess due to being overworked. Maybe too much make up, a mix of styles that don't work together. Or even just being overdressed for an event. Basically where too many ideas have been thrown together for effect.
On the other hand, being the dog’s bollocks is a compliment.
Magnificent, the quality of the shooting is excellent. Thank you for sharing, let's stay in touch. Greetings from Turkey, Best Regards🎉🎉🇹🇷🇹🇷💐
Thanks!
I could have sworn that "rock up" was an Americanism. It's a relatively recent thing in the UK, I don't think anyone said it pre-2000
It is definitely recent, but I've never heard an American say it!
Australian.
@@neilgayleard3842 ah, that makes sense.
Ive been hearing it all my life. To arive uninvited or... at an unspecified time . Or for example, Do you want to come over? Yeh, i might rock up at some point. ps, im 60.
I’m an American who loves all things British. I used to have a very well read boyfriend who used the dragged through a hedge backwards phrase. Gemma of the Gem of Books channel just introduced me to the bless your little cotton socks phrase recently. I love it! I happened to stumble upon your channel (probably the TH-cam algorithms) and you made my morning.
Oh wow! Thank you TH-cam algorithm! I LOVE talking to American Anglophiles... so I hope you subscribe, stick around and join the Magenta Otter Tribe! You would be most welcome.🤗
Do you travel to the UK much? Watch British TV shows?
Nice to meet you! Cheers for watching! Dara
Hi Dara. I definitely subscribed and shared your channel with a good friend whose mother was from England. I love British mysteries! I am one of the very few people in the US who doesn’t own a tv (mine broke and I didn’t replace it) but I subscribed to BritBox. I’m definitely a Royal watcher! (Needless to say I have an opinion about the spouse of the spare.) I live in Charlotte, NC.
@@glendaw5221 fun to learn more about you. I'm a big fan of British mysteries as well. It's good to not have a TV! Unfortunately it's my one vice 🤣
I have a dear friend who lives in Raleigh. They are coming to Britain for a month next summer! We will be there 4 months and then a month in Germany.
I'll send you a couple links to my most Anglophile videos. As well as a super fun food one that I filmed with that friend from Raleigh last year 😉
My recommended videos for you to check out...
My emotional Anglophile moment in Northumberland - th-cam.com/video/N8UKvwEiLvY/w-d-xo.html
The two favourite Anglophile things I did in England - th-cam.com/video/7c-7jDKbjNE/w-d-xo.html
Hilarious video with my foodie friend from NC of all the things we ate in our England tourist day - th-cam.com/video/oLRiqFRfyqY/w-d-xo.html
@@MagentaOtterTravels I’m loving this!! Will check out the places you mention. Particularly interested in the video of you and your NC friend. I moved to Charlotte from Florida (native) and I just love it here.
Love "It would be rude not to". "Not too bad" is so typically British - and "doing my head in!" 🤣
I didn’t realise ‘rock up’ was particularly British. It just means to arrive somewhere but there is a sense that it might be unannounced or unexpected, e.g. ‘he just rocked up to the party even though he wasn’t invited’. I love ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ too but a less common one which my Mum uses in the north east is ‘I look like the wreck of the Hesperus’. That one is great.
Oh I've never heard that last one!
My family use that too and another is 'like the Marie Celeste' meaning empty or abandoned. I said this to the man in my corner shop and he just looked at me blankly. You could use 'tumbleweed' instead.
I use the wreck of the Hesperus a lot!!
Me too
I know that there is a poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus", one of those sad poems that were so popular in Victorian times, about the captain of a ship of that name. He took his young daughter on the voyage with him, and when there was a storm, he tied her to the mast to keep her safe. The ship was wrecked in the storm and she was drowned.
We definitely say 'six of one, half a dozen of the other'.
"Six & two threes" is another variant.
Nice to know about it.
Chalk and Cheese...used quite often in one of my favs...Doc Martin. Yep...last words ...Inspector said, " Mind how you go." I use 'have a go' quite often. Thanks Dara. These are great. I also hear many Brits say, "Well done you."
Yes, I LOVE Doc Martin! Have you been to Port Isaac yet?
I do like "well done you" and say that one a lot.
I have not. My third child graduates this year, so the empty nest will allow for more travel opportunities. Port Issac is on the list for sure. @@MagentaOtterTravels
@@TravelswithTanya it's fun to see it in person. I did a vlog there... it had some funny bits 😉
I did research it. At the time of Nelsons navy young recruits were known NEWTS. Every sailor received a daily tot of rum. The youngest men couldn't cope with it like the old sailors and easily became drunk, hence the expression "p....d as a newt" The daily rum ration was only stopped relatively recently in The Royal Navy.
Wow, that's a very interesting origin story!
I was informed it refered to the sluggish movements of newts when uncovered in colder temperatures. Your explanation sounds better.
In our childhood, the fifties/sixties, children’s playgrounds had swings and… roundabouts; a pole with hanging from it a wooden circle fixed by metal poles; you could sit/stand on the circle or climb to a cross bar between the poles. It was quite dangerous, as the wooden circle not only revolved but went in and out, and could hit a child’s head - but swings can too, if a child is careless. We all survived.
I had no idea of the origin... or the fact that there was something on a playground called a roundabout! haha
It's a wonder we all survived to maturity! I was talking to my brother yesterday (he's 71) about the fact that he used to sleep in the back window of the car during long car trips with the family!!!
Another one used in wales for swings and roundabouts is "same horse different jockey" meaning everything will work out the same in the end.
Ah yes, that's a good one!
"Not bad" is very common, but I used to work with a woman who would answer "I'm bearing up under the strain" so now I use that frequently 🙂
Oh, that is SO British! I love that dark, "I'm a martyr" tone LOL
Bearing up under the not inconsiderable strain... is the version I've always used 😂
@@bethiakittify that's funny! It's like coming up with a really long response to something that you can say instead of simply saying "fine" 🤣
There are so many, many are also regional. My grandparents said the funniest things, if my grandmother was startled she would say " ooh I nearly had kittens". A lot of the good ones are probably dying out.
So true! That's a funny one that your gran used to say ;-)
Being too angry to speak clearly, "spitting feathers".
@@bingbong7316 oh that's a good one!
@@bingbong7316I've only heard that to mean "I'm really thirsty". Though I suppose if you're thirsty it is hard to talk with a dry mouth.
Hello from Australia! We also use most of those sayings. Here a some I inherited from my Dad that go back at least to the 1940s. "Spanner short of a toolbox" "Mad as a cut snake" "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick" "Better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish" "Walks like a South African running duck" "Keep your knickers on" "Face like a boarding house pudding" "Dry as a dead dingo's (use your imagination) "Don't get your t*ts in a tangle". Plus heaps more. Not too sure if they're used anywhere other than Australia. Love your work!
Thanks so much for sharing your favourite old sayings from Down Under! Some of those my mum used in the states (the poke in the eye with a sharp stick was memorable!). I've never heard face like a boarding house pudding or most of the others. The one I have to compare is your toolbox one. English people have mentioned "sandwich short of a picnic" and here in Texas we say "a taco short of a combination platter" (referring to Mexican food). Thanks so much for your support of my channel! Cheers! Dara
I normally say "Better than a poke in the eye with a plastic daff", (Daffodil). Don't know where I got that from.
Also, "Better than a kick up the bum with a pointy shoe!" 😄
@@nattreasure6102 yes that does sound painful!
In England we say "don't get your knickers in a twist" as well as "Keep your knickers on" both mean the same thing.
As far as I know, happy as Larry is short for as happy as Larry the lamb in spring, a lamb prancing around a field on sunny spring day.
I like the mental imagery when I hear someone say that so-and-so is throwing their toys out the pram. I don't know if there is an American equivalent.
That is brilliant! I've not heard an American equivalent but it is wonderful! Cheers! Dara
There is an Australian equivalent it.s spitting his dummy.
Children’s play parks have swings and they also have roundabouts, probably called a Merry Go Round in the US.
Yeah, I didn't know those things on a playground were called roundabouts! Lol
"Mind how you go" I love that you specifically referenced Thursday saying this in Endeavour. To me it's a neatly understated way of the scriptwriter showing, despite a grumpy demeanour, what a kind and decent chap Thursday is and how he has this paternal affection for Morse.
Yes, indeed. I love that show so much!
Like many British phrases. The tone used is VERY important. Its can be affection, or sarcastically to mean Its would be nice if something bad happens to you.
@@Yandarval so true!
I love how the video shows the age-group Dara must've spent time with 😄Definitely something most folks under 70 wouldn't use (or maybe even know).
@@nattreasure6102 i'm a pretty old lady, and most of my subscribers are older than me. But as for my friends in real life, they are usually much younger than me! That's my strategy for still having friends when I'm in my 90s. All my friends are 10 or 15 years younger than me 🤣
ROCK UP - is something new - it was never used when i lived here in the UK back in the early 90s - ive only heard it since i returned in 2019
Yeah, it's what the cool kids are saying these days.... so unlikely I'll start using it LOL
Of course we say 6 of one half a dozen of the other. Swings and roundabouts were in old English playgrounds for children. Love all of your examples of difference.
Didn't know until this video that Britons call those spinny playground things roundabouts! That's not an American term ;-)
@@MagentaOtterTravelsyou need to watch the Magic Roundabout; it’s a short French children’s programme beloved by a generation of Brits
More to do with commercial fairgrounds
@@MagentaOtterTravels It doesn't matter now, the swings are still there but the roundabouts fell victim to Health and Safety's desire to wrap everyone in thick wads of cotton wool and the legal fraternities attempts to swell their already bulging pockets by sueing all concerned.
We do use ''six of one, half dozen of another". It's a very interesting back story to ''bless his/her little cotton socks".
Yes it's a sweet story! And I love that phrase 💖
Every days a school day is one of my favourite! And it applies to me nearly everyday! Yep - it would be rude not to - another favourite. Hahahah dragged through a hedge backwards - me everyday!! It’s dogs dinner here. You can’t beat a good mooch! Great video. Cheers 🍻
This must be Rach. Yes, I don't brush my hair most days lately... so I am forever looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards!!
Oh, the other thing that is like "dragged thru a hedge" is "looking like something the cat dragged in"... do you Britons say that? I only thought of it after I filmed the video.
@@MagentaOtterTravels yep car dragged in is used - and I often look like it!!
To Rock Up means to arrive either unannounced or unprepared. You would rock up to something and try and blag your way through it
I'm surprised you didnt include "Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt" or "what's that to do with the price of fish". Also, "daft as a brush". 😊
Thanks for contributing your favourites!
@MagentaOtterTravels or a Northern idiom for hot weather "It's cracking the flags!". The flags in question are the paving flags and they're allegedly breaking in the heat 😊
@@vilebrequin6923 that's another one I've never heard!
A modern varieation is "Bob's your auntie's new live in boyfriend"... 😄
We use 6 of 1 and half of a dozen of the other
Swings and roundabouts are children rides on a park.
First time i heard as chalk and cheese as a P.E game
Yes we say six of one half dozen of the other, as for the roundabout, that is referring to a playground toy often found next to the swings...we could have gone with slides and see saws. I might start saying that just to confuse people.
YES! Let's start saying that one! I love it.
A roundabout is also a thing in a kids play area with the swings.
Yes, I didn't know that when I filmed this video. Now I do! ;-)
I never would've thought "not too bad" is a British thing to say, but I guess it is. I say "not too shabby" quite a bit, or I say "surviving" a LOT, both of which in my mind are way more British, lol, but now I know even just saying "not too bad" is giving me away! Every day is a school day I suppose!
Also, we don't say "looking like death warmed over", we would say "looking like death warmed up" ... and we don't say "Dog's breakfast", we say "dog's dinner" here in Britland
Haha, both are!
Other ways of putting it are 'not three bad' and if someone asks if you're alright to reply 'No, I'm half left'.
One I use when asked if I am OK is "Still warm and vertical". = still alive.
@@maxwellgeorge1985 that's a good one!
I think it's because swings are fun, and a roundabout brings you back to where you began.. sorted lol 😜
I loved your take on British phrases! It's fascinating how these idioms reflect such distinctive cultural nuances. The 'swings and roundabouts' explanation was intriguing, giving an equalizing spin to the ups and downs of life. Some phrases, like 'chalk and cheese,' create vivid imagery. The subtle differences in expressions like 'dragged through a hedge backwards' make me smile! The depth and history behind these sayings are like a glimpse into the heart of British culture. 🎡🧀🇬🇧
Yes I agree!
I agree with everything you said. I don't even buy carrots in the US. I will be living part time in England as I just bought a house over there. I listen to all your utubes to help me find my way around. Many thanks.
Oh, that is so fun to hear! Are you a dual citizen, or American? I'm curious.
@@MagentaOtterTravels I'm American. My son and his family have lived in England for the past 10 years. I am helping them to buy a house there. I love England and can hardly wait to move there.
@@maryringler2361 fantastic! I wish you all the best 🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧
Hello Magenta.Your intelligent open minded view of my country is wonderful! I hope next time you come here you will fully explore the English lake district where I reside.P.S. every place you both go I agree with everything you say.eg.chips need to be cooked till they brown , cheese and pickle butties etc.The point is your viewers have similar tastes in life even though we live 3000 miles away.
Thank you for your kind comments. We will definitely be coming to the Lakes this summer! We have already booked into Bowness with one set of friends and we are probably taking another set of American friends there as well. Such a brilliant place! Cheers! Dara
This is Dara's husband, Ian. Even though we haven't done a video of the Lake District we love it there. My favourite hike there is Low Fell near Loweswater and many years ago we spent a week in a flat in Broomriggs on Esthwaite Water.
Hello again Dara and Ian.I live in the centre of kendal and am originally from Liverpool and I drink real ales and love properly cooked food so my concern is that you find the best places to eat ,drink,stay while you are over here.I would forget Bowness personally but it is up to you to to experience your own path in life.Anyway may I say your videos are beautifully filmed and I find comfort in watching them.Take care both of you.P.S. you can use Branston pickle on cheese on toast er grilled cheese or even on cheeseburgers.
@@davidedwards504Hiya David, I live in Whitehaven, but I was born in Carlisle, its a shame TH-cam took down Know Where You Walk down, there were 2 vlogs on Whitehaven and 1 on Kendal
SORTED: See it. Say it. Sorted. It is used on the national railway network as well as the Tube. It comes from printing in the days of setting individual letters into racks to print something. The work was only finished when the letters were taken out of the racks, cleaned and then put into special boxes which were arranged by typeface (font), size (measured by the point of the tool used to space them out which was 1/72 of an inch, hence letters being so many points tall even now a days on computors), and finally when everything was arranged in the correct places, they were "sorted", hence the job was finished.
SWINGS AND ROUNDABOUTS: A roundabout is a carousel. In its earliest form it was a jousting practice thing that would be hit by a mounted Knight's lance, but would swing round to hit the rider to try to unseat him. When someone made a children's ride that had children travelling round a central support, the name was used. Full saying is "What you lose on the swings, you win on the roundabouts", but it doesn't really make sense as you don't lose or win anything, you just have fun!
SIX OF ONE, HALF DOZEN OF THE OTHER: Common in the UK, but a varient that I grew up with in Leicester in the East Midlands of England is "six and two threes" - so much quicker and easier to say.
COTTON SOCKS: There are several possible origins, my favourite (and the most likely) is the Bishop of Calcutta story.
CHALK AND CHEESE: The full saying ius "As different as chalk and cheese". Two things well known to everyone, very different in their physical characteristics, and also atractively alliterative.
HAPPY AS LARRY: Larry Foley was an Australian boxer in the 1860s and 70s who never lost a fight. He earned a great deal of money - as much a £1000 for a single fight, a great fortune in those days.
HAPPY AS A PIG IN MUD: We do say Happy as a Pig in Muck, but only as a cleaned up version of Happy as a Pig in S**t.
MAD AS A BOX OF FROGS: I have not come across it as meaning "I'm angry", but only as a derogatory term for someone who is scatter-brained.
FALL PREGNANT: This is normaly used for an accidental or unplanned pregnancy. We have a vast number of saying about being pregnant - In the Family Way, In an Interesting Condition, Up the Duff, Preggers, In the Pudding Club, Having a Bun in the Oven, Knocked Up, Up the Spout, etc. I don;t know how many of these are used in the US.
NOT TOO BAD: A similar phrase is, Mustn't Grumble.
CHEAP AND CHEERFUL: Covers many more situations than just actual items purchased.
MIND HOW YOU GO: This is one of the phrases suposed to be used by coppers particularly to close a conversation, often with "Sir", "Miss" or "Madam" at the end. The equivalent opening line would be "'Ello, 'ello, 'ello. What's all this 'ere then?". Along with "You're nicked [my son]!" for "you are under arrest,".
OFF YOU GO: Similar ones are "Off You Pop" and "Off You Trot". All three can have "Jolly Well" after "You". eg "Off You Jolly Well Pop.".
HAVE A GO: There is a varient, "Have a go hero" which is descriptive of someone who (possibly unwisely) steps in to prevent a crime being committed, or to try to stop a crime which is in progress.
DRAGGED THROUGH A HEDGE BACKWARDS: I'm sure that this could never apply to you! :)
LOOKING LIKE DEATH WARMED OVER: We tend to say "looking like death warmed up", as we don't "warm over", but we do "warm up" when re-heating food.
DOG'S BREAKFAST: We use this for something that looks messy, but if you make a mess of, or are taking a long while, or are over complicating, a physical task; the similar phrase used is "Making a [right/real/proper] dog's dinner of it"
I hope that my comments are of interest to you, the video was of interest to me as I consider them all to be such common or garden phrases that they would be in use everywhere that English (or English as altered by Mr Webster) is spoken as the first language.
Brian.
two things that are like chalk and cheese are as different from each other as they can be; one suggested origin is about the type of land used to raise sheep (which can be on chalk) and dairy (for making cheese);
And "fell pregnant" is in the same vein as "fell ill".
And I think the chips referred to in cheap as chips refers to chips of diamonds created when the stones are cut. These were (perhaps still are) set in cheap jewellery.
Ah, I never heard that chips referred to DIAMOND chips!
Growing up in the 50s and 60s. The saying Bally Anne day.Was popular.
I'm not familiar with that what does it mean?
It basically meant the day before pay day. When families lived hand to mouth and there was no money or food .Until the man of the house brought home his pay packet.
I always say “Mind how you go”. It's a very Norfolk phrase and is pronounced, "moind hew yew gew!" I can't stop myself from saying it over in the States and it is met by a very blank expression! 🤣
I LOVE THAT!!! Don't ever change, Julie! 💖
Swings and roundabouts refers to the common fairground rides which have been around a long time in Britain.
I only knew about traffic circle roundabouts until I published this video. Oops! Every day's a school day! ;-)
If you go back as far as WW2, you could by a "penn'orth of chips" -a penny's worth. It was just about the cheapest food item you could buy, hence "cheap as chips". I've never heard the expression "That looks like a dog's breakfast" used in Britain. It's usually "a dog's dinner" or "a pig's breakfast". My favourite saying was one my mother used often to describe any situation where someone is either wandering about aimlessly or in a state of distraction: " You're back and forth like a dog at a fair!" It just conjures such a vivid image.
How about 'up snd down like a bride's nightie'?
That is a good one - dog at a fair! I like that!
Here are a couple more that occurred to me: a quick and not very thorough wash is "a cat-lick", and if you do a quick and superficial cleaning job it is sometimes called "a lick and a promise". @@MagentaOtterTravels
@@davidjones332 oh I like cat lick!! 😻
Happy as Larry comes from a boxer Larry Foley who won every fight and was always happy when he won.
Not the cat at no 10 then...
I'm Australian and we use most of those about 18 of the 21. For some one pregnant we say along with the Brits someone is "up the duff"
Yes that is common up the duff
To an American, up the duff sounds really vulgar... don't think I'd use that one ;-)
But be aware that being up the duff is not the same as being duffed up
Swings and roundabouts to me means you lose in one way but gain in another 😊😊
I love a good mooch around the shops
Rock up just means to turn up maybe unexpectedly but can be planned too - you might say 'What time are you rocking up tonight?'
Thanks for explaining the nuances of swings and roundabouts! Cheers for your comment! Dara
You’ve nailed it
Roundabouts and Swings - Patrick Palmer, a banker in London around 1900, The key to the phrase is the final two lines:
It was early last September nigh to Framlin'am-on-Sea,
An' 'twas Fair-day come to-morrow, an' the time was after tea,
An' I met a painted caravan adown a dusty lane,
A Pharaoh with his waggons comin' jolt an' creak an' strain;
A cheery cove an' sunburnt, bold o' eye and wrinkled up,
An' beside him on the splashboard sat a brindled tarrier pup,
An' a lurcher wise as Solomon an' lean as fiddle-strings
Was joggin' in the dust along 'is roundabouts and swings.
"Goo'-day," said 'e; "Goo'-day," said I; "an' 'ow d'you find things go,
An' what's the chance o' millions when you runs a travellin' show?"
"I find," said 'e, "things very much as 'ow I've always found,
For mostly they goes up and down or else goes round and round."
Said 'e, "The job's the very spit o' what it always were,
It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a 'are;
But lookin' at it broad, an' while it ain't no merchant king's,
What's lost upon the roundabouts we pulls up on the swings!"
"Goo' luck," said 'e; "Goo' luck," said I; "you've put it past a doubt;
An' keep that lurcher on the road, the gamekeepers is out."
'E thumped upon the footboard an' 'e lumbered on again
To meet a gold-dust sunset down the owl-light in the lane;
An' the moon she climbed the 'azels, while a night-jar seemed to spin
That Pharaoh's wisdom o'er again, 'is sooth of lose-and-win;
For "up an' down an' round," said 'e, "goes all appointed things,
An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!"
Thanks for sharing the history! Cheers for that! Dara
Thank you , after watching the protesters in London and being an ex pat from London you brightened my day , thank you again .
I'm glad to hear. Always so much depressing bad news to be found... we all need a bit of silly escape now and then!
I didn’t know ‘it would be rude not to’ was exclusively British. One of my favorites is ‘much of a muchness’ to mean no great difference exists between two things.
I've not heard that one before!
I say something roughly with the same setup as your 'much of a muchness'... "Doing the doings", which means busy doing just... Stuff... "Yeah, sorry I couldnt answer the phone there, I was busy doing the doings" :)
@@MagentaOtterTravels It could be something that older people say, perhaps. I use it here in the States because I love it.
Loved this video!! Cheap as chips - Chips came in three sizes when I w'r a lad: sixpence, ninepence and one shilling. I could afford a bag of chips (wrapped in real newspaper, of course) for half my pocket money!
What a delight! I am impressed they came in three sizes!
You can also "have a go" at somebody meaning you take them to task about something they've done.
Ah yes, there is a more aggressive meaning as well.
'Swings' as in a park, but those parks also had a rotating circular apparatus called 'round abouts' that children would cling to while another would spin it and then jump on. Both were equally as much fun, so came the phrase 'swings and round abouts'
And yes, we do use 'six of one, half dozen of the other'
One of my favourites is you can say the absolute worst about a person, but as long as you follow it up with the phrase 'bless them' -then it's OK. Because it implies they aren't really responsible for whatever action or character trait you deplore and you have forgiven them (even if you haven't really).
It also subtly implies that they are not smart enough to know any better. Typical British irony, used to insult someone without them even realising it.
Chips used to cost a tanner. I first heard the phrase, "Dragged through a hedge backwards", used to describe the hairstyle of Farrah Fawcett-Majors back in the 70's, or whenever she first appeared. Note also that we add an 's' at the end of words like backwards, forwards, towards, etc.
OK, forgive the dumb question but what is a tanner?
Sorry, forgot to add that bit: it was 6 old pence and had its own tiny coin (called a tanner). After the currency was "decimalised" (decimated, given the immediate inflation) it became 2.5 "new pence" but you couldn't buy a bag of chips for 2.5 p!@@MagentaOtterTravels
@@bobswan6196 Oh my goodness, the old money thing is massively confusing to me! Lol
Mad as a Hatter as per box of frogs. From the use of mercury in the hat industry in days past. As in The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. You could also say "He's going round the bend". Love your comments re the language differences. 😊
We use Mad as a Hatter because Alice in Wonderland is popular in the states... but I had never heard about the box of frogs LOL!
In Australia we say Mad as a cut snake!
ps. The mercury fulminate did indeed affect people and I believe it may have killed quite a few people eventually.
Luton was a major hat making town. I think the football team are called "The Hatters"@@ianmoffat4460
Very interesting to learn, thanks for sharing ~
My mother was from Devon, my father was from Manchester. Consequently, my accent is unusual I am told. I don't really have a problem understanding most dialects.
That's a very handy superpower!
My mum was from Skye and Dad from Glasgow but I was born in Manchester and I don't have a hint of a Scottish accent!! 🤷♂️😅
@@glastonbury4304 Strange, isn't it!
@peckelhaze6934 ...yep...I was always playing football in the street so ended up mimicking my mates more 😉
A roundabout is the circular kids ride that you find in a play park, usually near some swings. So, you can only be on one or the other so what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabout.
I didn't know about playground roundabouts until I filmed this video... oops! Every day's a school day ;-)
If I went on one of those roundabouts what I would lose is my lunch! Sooooo motion sickness prone I am.
Rock up means to attend without an invite. For example I rocked up to a party would basically mean to gatecrash
Ahhhhhh.... Fun fact: after posting this video, I was in New York last week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went to the pulpit to talk at one point and in his remarks he used the phrase "rock up". I was tickled!!!
The “cotton socks” one sometimes will just get shortened to just “bless”, which I’ve heard some US Americans confuse with “bless you’, but it really is just mildly taking the piss.
Another example of when context and tone of voice are so important to know the intended meaning!
Yes, we often say "bless your heart" in the states, especially in the south
Hello from Wales!
A few South Wales words/expressions for you, not sure if they have been mentioned already:
a hug/cuddle is a cwtch, you pronounce it like ‘cutch’, rhyming with butch.
Also 'I'll be there now in a minute' which means you'll be there or with someone soon but not quite yet.
Also 'lush' not in the alcohol sense but something that is really good, 'that was a lush bowl of cawl (thick soup/broth)'
Thanks for that! I use lush a lot to describe the delicious desserts I eat 😋
Sorted in the UK means getting your smarties collated into different colours..
swings and roundabouts were playground rides in the UK when I was young - I am now 77. (I think the roundabouts were taken out because, due to more recent safety considerations, they were treated as dangerous for young children).
I would toss my cookies on one of those roundabouts... I'm awful with dizziness and motion sickness ;-)
'Have-a-go-heroes' often would appear in the newspapers, which means someone who jumps in to help someone in distress or in an emergency in the absence of 999 crew.
I had never heard of them before until I published this video and a couple people mentioned them. I had no idea!
It appears that the phrase ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ was something the British Transport Police invented. 'Sorted' is earlier.
My family’s southern, from the Florida Georgia line, and we’ve always said sorted the way you said British people say it.
That is so interesting! There are certainly many regional differences in language across the United States.
One phrase in fairly common use that I don’t remember hearing when being young is “It’s the dogs’ bollocks” or “He thinks he’s the dogs’ bollocks”, applied to something or someone of high quality / well dressed. I don’t know its origin though.
Now that is the best (or dog's bollocks) of all British sayings imo, but it doesn't have a consistent origin among online dictionaries. But I think its a very cheeky phrase to describe something as the very best, derived from dog's licking their own bollo*ks, presumably because they like it so much...😀...
Not a phrase I use, but another viewer mentioned it, along with "mutt's nuts" haha
Bollocks has its own sub section as the word has so many meanings...(Not forgetting of course the the first and prime definition of Bollocks is male testicles)
Dogs B = the greatest or is really good
Speaking B = absolute rubbish, a complete lie or fabrication
To Bollock (singular) = to verbally tear someone off a strip
Made a B of it = completely messed up the task
Bollock Brained = a mental lightweight to say the least
To give or receive a Bollocking = be strongly and aggressively told off and admonished.
Bollocks (sometimes spelled Bollox) = used often as a medium level swear word: you drop a cup of tea over the floor "Bollocks" you are running for a bus and just miss it "ahhh Bollocks" and multitude of other examples of its expletive use. - they even had a TV ad showing a little girl using it as an expletive for some reason. It was to suggest to parents that children will use and repeat and say what their parents do so be aware of it around kids.
I'm sure others an think of more......
This made me chuckle, thanks!
I always use “Bless her/his/your cotton socks!”. When i say it to my 9 year old, now, she tends to roll her eyes, but i don’t see me ever not saying it to her!
It's a great saying! What part of the world do you live in?
@@MagentaOtterTravels Hi, we’re in Essex, just outside of London. I suspect that a good many English sayings come from this area. It’s funny how such a relatively small country can have so many colloquial sayings - some of which become, eventually, mainstream sayings! An example of this was when my family moved (just 200 miles) from Manchester to Essex, 15 years ago. We’re all busy unpacking, but chatting to a succession of friendly new neighbours. As the neighbours turned to leave several of them said “Nice to meet you, see you later”. Exhausted and panicked I said to my family, “No!!! We have too much to do! Where are we meant to be seeing the neighbours later?”.
Turns out “See you later” is a simple standard Essex expression meaning ‘goodbye’!
@@krisjohnson-proctor355 that's funny! 😆 Reminds me of how Brits say "you alright?" instead of hello. You can't take it literally!!
I have not done any vlogs of Essex yet, but we did explore Kent and Sussex this past July and I'm working on those videos hopefully in the next month or two . But in the meantime, I hope you check out my Manchester video, because I'm very proud of it. 💖 Cheers! Dara
It would be rude not to almost sounds so southern, don't you think? Bless her heart...
Yes, definitely!
"Bless your little cotton socks" can have a similar meaning.