I came across a few new words/phrases this week:
1. bluestocking (n.), as in "She's a bluestocking" - a disparaging term, no longer in common use, for an educated, intellectual woman. In mid-18th-century England, it described any of a group of women who met to discuss literature. Attempting to replace the playing of cards and such social activities with more intellectual pursuits, they held "conversations" to which they invited men of letters and members of the aristocracy with literary interests. The term probably originated when Mrs. Elizabeth Vesey invited the learned Benjamin Stillingfleet to one of her parties; he declined, saying he lacked appropriate dress, until she told him to come "in his blue stockings" — the ordinary worsted stockings he was wearing at the time. The word bluestocking came to be applied derisively to a woman who affects literary or learned interests. (from: Britannica Concise Encyclopedia)
2. craic (pronounced 'crack'), as in "Last night was great craic" or "She's good craic after a few drinks"; an Irish word adopted by the English, meaning 'fun', usually used in association with alcohol or dancing
3. pukka (pronounced "puck-a")- genuine, first-rate, as in, "this place sells pukka pies" or "he's a pukka worker"; Indian in origin
4. pressurise instead of pressured, as in "I felt pressurized by her"
5. geezer - a bloke, not necessarily old as a geezer might be in America... more like dude
6. poncy - something that is too fancy, as in, "that's a bit poncy for a cafe"
7. lairy - loud, noisy, usually associated with drinking "after a few drinks, he gets a bit lairy"
8. molly-coddled - looked after, is in, he doesn't have a girlfriend because he was molly-coddled by his mother when he was young
9. pasty (past-y, not paste-y): a vegetable or meat filled pastry-
10. pensioner- senior citizen
11. prat - idiot
12. septic- cockney slang (septic tank- yank) = American *
13. stroppy- unreasonable, grumpy
14. trainspotter- a person whose hobby it is to spot trains (I hadn't realized that this was a hobby - do people do this in America, too??)
* a note on Cockney slang- A true Cockney is someone born within the sound of Bow Bells. (St Mary-le-Bow Church in Cheapside, London). Rhyming Slang phrases are derived from taking an expression which rhymes with a word and then using that expression instead of the word, so if someone says, "Use your loaf", you have to think that 'loaf' goes with 'loaf of bread' and bread rhymes with 'head' so 'loaf' means 'head'
Other examples:
Bath- (from bath tub) = pub, as in "I'm going to the Bath for a few pints"
Bread and butter = nutter, as in "That bloke's a right bread n' butter"
and a few typical British foods/ingredients:
1. malt loaf: a typical British snack which has a sweet taste and a chewy texture like very heavy, soft bread. It is made from malt and often contains fruit such as raisins. Many eat it with a spread of butter, chocolate or cheese. Yummy! Soreen became famous for its original malt loaf, which is produced in Manchester.
2. Lyle's Golden Syrup
125 years old this year ...
3. piccalilli relish (or indian pickle): A sweet, spicy pickle relish that typically includes tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions, cucumber or other garden vegetables. It gets its bright yellow color from turmeric or sometimes mustard. The term first appeared in the 18th century.
4. dandelion and burdock: a carbonated soft drink made of fermented dandelions and burdock roots (similar to sasparila or root beer, apparently- will try it tonight and report back ...)
and a few annoying spelling differences (annoying for me as an editor anyway):
1. practise is a verb, practice is a noun
2. it's sceptic, not skeptic
