Thursday, February 21, 2013

Tea

Tea
noun 
1. The dried and prepared leaves of a shrub, Camellia sinensis, from which a somewhat bitter, aromatic beverage is prepared by infusion in hot water.
3. The beverage so prepared, served hot or iced.
7. British. Any meal, whether a light snack or one consisting of several courses, eaten in the late afternoon or in the evening; any meal other than dinner, eaten after the middle of the afternoon.

Thursday, UK

I've always told my students there are not many opportunities for Americans and Brits to misunderstand each other. That's true, but the more time I spend here the more things I hear that make me stop and think, such as, "Have this sausage for your tea."

Now you're not going to misunderstand that, right? I mean you're not going to put pork sausage into your tea cup and drink it. But you might have to stop and think. Here are a few other examples from today; keep in mind some of the may be Cumbrianisms not heard all throughout England:
loo = bathroom
loo paper = toilet paper
kitchen paper = paper towels
sweet shop = candy shop
gammon = ham
biscuit = cookie
windscreen = windshield
single cream = cream
pudding = any dessert
ta = bye
pip = seed
pleas = it's my pleasure
bloody = fucking
bugger! = fucking shit!
streaky bacon = bacon
bacon = back bacon
well done = uh huh/ok
hot up = heat up
luck (pronounced look) = luck (pronounced luck)
spot on = great 
Don't worry, there are not spots on anything.

Homework 
Do you know of any regionalisms in Lithuania (or Latvia)?

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