7 British Words That Are Catching on in America
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- Опубліковано 30 тра 2024
- Recently, I asked my American followers which British English word, if any, they use the most. As a result, here are 7 British words that might be catching on in America.
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Sorted is actually due to American and English militaries.
Our troops get stationed in the UK and get used to saying it and then come back or get deployed with UK troops and come back saying it.
While we always had the officer exchange program (officers swap countries to lead other nation's troops) It really ramped up in the 80s and exponentially ramps up after 2001.
When you consider that 12.3 million people (almost 4% of the US population) joined the military in the 15 years after 9/11, all of them exposed to British words, and then released back into the wild, there really is no wonder why the popularity of those words increased.
Adding onto the hit shows of Dr Who( before it became trash), and Downton Abbey, and Penny Dreadful; the English uses of words just skyrocketed.
Bloody goes back further. It evolved from the term 'by our lady' in catholic England.
Great lists... I use a lot of those American words, although there is one I am surprised you didn't mention which I wish would sink to the bottom of the pond and never re surface and that is the phrase 'reach out' which is being used instead of 'contact' drives me mad when I hear someone saying that. 😀
It's English, not British English and for a native speaker you seem to have a tenuous grasp of it.
Also, try talking through your mouth rather than your nose. You're not in Oasis or a Python sketch. 🤢
Lost in the Pond is a beggar who tries to get people to subscribe. If you want those, EARN THEM! People will do them when THEY WANT to, not when you WANT THEM to. You do not deserve subscriptions.
I am a 57-year-old American and I’ve been using the word wonky to describe something thing that is askew or messed up my whole life.
Which region do you live in, if you don't mind? Regularity of American use of wonky seemed to be debated in the original community post about this, but it also appeared to be possibly regionally limited
I'm sixty-seven, and the same here. I was proper surprised to hear it being proclaimed a British import.
@@tabularasa I'm 63 and also have always used the word "wonky," I live in the Midwest but spent some time in the South.
I've used wonky for quite a while...I'm in the Midwest.
@@tabularasa I was born in and grew up in New Mexico, but I have lived most of my adult life in Florida. My parents were originally from Pennsylvania and Illinois. I’m pretty sure wonky isn’t a southern thing because my parents were from the north and used it as well. Maybe wonky is a more common word amongst people who sew, knit or crochet. If your tension is off your scarf, blanket, pot holder or whatever you made will be wonky. If you can’t, maintain a straight line when sewing hems and seems especially with a sewing machine ,your garment will be wonky.
I don't blame Ron Weasley for Bloody Hell. I blame Chief O'Brien!
Bloody Hell! Damn cardies!
Exactly!
This! This right here!
Who?
Nerd! In arms...
Little-known fact...
The word 'fall' for autumn was originally used in England during Henry 8th's time, but went out of fashion. The word autumn entered English from the French automne.
Which was itself a corruption of "automan", the famous TV show from the 1800s. And also a Turkish empire.
@@RFC3514also the first name of a doomed German battleship.
A lot of American English (and spelling) is from old English. When we separated in the late 1700s, the language became stilted somewhat. A lot of the differences stem from us Americans being a bunch of hillbillies but it's fun to listen to Canadian UA-camrs say words like:
"Been" (pronouncing it like "bean")
"Battery" (pronouncing it "bat-ry")
And many others. (Don't get me started on aluminum.)
Canada is still married to the UK and so there is a lot more shared language and culture with England north of the border.
@@GizmoFromPizmo i always notice the "O" sound with Canadians, like how they pronounce sorry like soar-ee
@@coyotepeyote - They also pronounce "worry" like we pronounce "wary". "Don't wary."
A few words that I’ve tried to implement in my daily life and get other people on board are “Mate,” “Bloke,” “innit,” and “cheers.”
I just like the way those words sound and flow. I have a delusional sense of belief that I, alone, can make these words catch on lol
Keep on trying mate, you sound like a decent bloke. Cheers.
Greetings from 🏴
PS I just can't bring myself to use the word "innit"!
@@garylancaster8612 luckily that's just London area, i 'm from the North and i've never said innit in my life.
I'm trying to get Bellend across the Atlantic.
@@nealgrimes4382😂
I picked up "innit" from british youtubers like Gavin Free and Wilbur Soot
In my experience, Americans do use "sorted" to mean "resolved," but if we want that meaning, we don't use the word "sorted" alone. Instead, we say "sorted out." For example, "Let's talk for a few minutes to get our Christmas plans sorted out."
"Sorted" alone could mean "tawdry."
@@barbaramatthews4735 No, that's "sordid."
We do say "sorted out" but I've noticed we use it only for multiple tasks. For singular tasks we'll say "fix". Instead of "get your hair sorted" we'll say "fix your hair."
Recently I’ve heard a lot of people use “sorted” without “out.” I was sensitive to it because I was in the UK last year and there were signs up on the trains saying something like “see it, say it, sort it” (where I live it’s “see something, say something.”) I think the two Englishes are getting closer every day.
It’s a much shorter way of saying I’ve got my ducks in a row or all my shit in one sock.
I really like "Cheeky", its a far less aggressive version of annoying/mischievous/surprising
W.S. Gilbert was once asked how "Bloodygore" was going, and Gilbert replied, "It's Ruddigore." The person then said, "It's the same thing," to which Gilbert replied, "So if I say 'I admire your ruddy complexion'-which I do-it's the same as saying 'I like your bloody cheek'-which I don't."
Cheeky does not mean cheeky in any way, nor is it an equivalent to surprising.
Brit here. I use 'cheeky' to mean 'daring' and 'unconventional' as well.
@@theoneanton Fair enough, Cheeky 😂😂
I love cheeky and sassy are some of the all time greats.
I was once in Florida on a small fishing boat with my dad and a local guide. About half way through the trip, the local guy turned to us, dead serious and squinting - "What language are you guys speaking? Norwegian?!". We're Geordies of course (northern/newcastle). Things were pretty awkward from then, as he was strapped (of course) and seemingly didn't believe that we were British anymore..
My theory is the Danes had a massive impact on the Geordie accent!
This brings back fond memories of when I was in the US Army and stationed in West Germany at GHQ Rheindahlen. I got a "proper" education from my British "mates." I use all these words along with wing (fender), boot(trunk), bonnet (hood) and referring to a truck as a "lorry." I do love and respect my UK cousins. "God Save The KIng!"
Cheers!
Lorry is the word I bought back with me from Europe. I say lorry all the time and most people look at me with an odd stare after I say it...
Sounds like ya’ll are doing it for attention.
Wonky has been somewhat common in the US for at least 30 years. I used it as a child more often than i do now.
Yes I’ve used it since I can remember (and I am almost 58) and even my parents and grandmother used it frequently and most if their lives. However, it could be regional usage. It has caught on in areas that rarely used it before. Influence from British programs being easier to see? Maybe. People moving due to life changes and taking that regional speech with them? Also maybe. And maybe a combination of the two. The last one is my guess.
Perhaps, but an Ngram search shows its use in American English exploding the century.
Really common in programming/computing ("that looks wonky", "something's wonky") for as long as I can remember.
I blame Willie Wonka. He was a wonky fella.
You mustn't go shopping often enough then… otherwise you'd be experiencing the wonky wheel on a shopping trolly far more frequently! 🛒
when I was a teenager I had heard the word "bugger" a few times with little context. I assumed in meant "to annoy" like we use "bug". I would go on to use the word in that context on a semi-frequent basis. Quite a few times I would approach someone and say something akin to "hey, mind if I bugger you for a moment?". I was pretty damn embarrassed when I learned the true definition of the word.
Haha. I didn’t realize its true meaning until recently. I never used “Bugger off!”, but would say things like “Bug off!” and “Stop bugging me!”. I always thought it referred to annoying someone like a bug often does (especially mosquitoes). I didn’t know about “buggery”… Well, at least the term haha.
😂
Yea, that is the real meaning of the word bugger, however, it’s used more often to say things like “Bugger off!” as in “Get lost” “Go away”
"I was pretty damn embarrassed when I learned the true definition of the word."
So no takers then?
Well don’t tell someone to sit on their “fanny” either
It’s quite literally 180° off the mark by definition.
Lost in the pond is a proper brilliant UA-cam channel.
Now, it's not just your words.
"Gutted" is one I've heard with more frequency. I think most people here were exposed to it through The Great British Bake Off, which became extremely popular to stream during the pandemic when everyone took up baking as a hobby.
For "sorted" in the sense of resolved, Americans have traditionally said "sorted out".
In British English it is just Sorted on it's own, no preposition needed. As in - Is it finished? Yes, sorted.
"Sorted out" is more specific than "finished". It means that there was a problem that is now solved, and also that the true nature of the problem was not at first understood but looked highly feasible.
I started saying, "And Bob's your uncle!," after watching too many British panel shows like WILTY, and my boyfriend told me to just knock it off. Now he's picked up the expression and sees just how wonderful it is. The one Brit I dated in my life was a Liverpudlian who said "actually" more than anyone should be legally allowed to.
Yeah, my family uses it too. Especially since my wife has a less than savory uncle named Bob, so it's also a little dig at her when I use it.
@@brianwhite8465 Oh man -- my uncle was a Bob as well! I just now realized that -- duh.
@@linguaphile42, but do you have an Aunt Fanny? The expression in full is: "Bob's your uncle, and Fanny's your aunt". 😆 It was a music hall hit in the early 1950… they really knew how to live it up back then!
Roberts your mother's brother.
"Arse". That is a recent favorite of mine. 😂
It sounds slightly less vulgar than ass.
With a British accent arse and ass sound almost the same.
“Chuffed” is my absolute favorite, and I got it from watching all the British UA-camrs I love. Crossing my fingers that “…and Bob’s your uncle!” will catch on sometime soon in the US. 😅
Oh wow, is "crossing fingers that" not generally understood where you're from? Since that's a literal reference of a gesture (🤞) I thought it might be more universal :)
@@JfromUK_The phrase they were quoting was "and Bob's your uncle". They are crossing their fingers in hopes it will catch on with other people in the US because they like it😊
I've been using the phrase "and Bob's your uncle" for years. I get strange looks but I like saying it. 😅
And Bob's your uncle has been used in the US for at least the years I've been old enough to remember. At least here in Missouri.
My dad was English; so of course growing up my brother and I picked up British words. Until recently, using "proper" and "sorted" drew funny looks, but I've noticed that's stopped over the last few years.
As an older Canadian I picked up most of my English words and phrases from Monty Python, on The Buses, Benny Hill, and Are You Being Served with a bit of James Herriot thrown in. It’s off to bed for me now, I’m knackered.
Another Are You Being Served tv show watcher here too. I’ve even watch3d them on You Tube as of late.
Now that was a show that was right bloody brilliant.
Yes this one is familiar to me. There was a British family who lived in our neighborhood and we picked it up from them. I love the word knackered because there is no word on the USA side of the pond that expresses a general state of malfunction or disrepair or in some cases of medial or mental state. This useful word also hinds of the knackery where things go to be disassembled, recycled, or the glue factory for old horses. LOL And of course the phrases, I'm gonna knacker you or You need a knacker... take on a life of their own. WHen I hear them they are normal so I get a chuckle from them. Bloody Hell or Forking Hell are ones I hear often and am probably responsible for. I use Forking Hell instead of the F-bomb version to take the edge off of it but it still ruffles a few feathers. Love you Brits. You Lot are masters of humor and dry sarcasm. Love it.
I must say you've got great taste in comedy. Fabulous programmes all of them. I salute you! 👍
@@KlodFather One of the words/phrases we always used to hear in the North of the UK was 'bobby-dazzler' which you don't hear people say much now. It means 'outstanding, fancy, sparkling' , for example 'that red and blue hat you're wearing is a right bobby dazzler'!' I've always liked that phrase, I don't know why!
Bloody hell, this was bloody brilliant the way you sorted this proper phenomenon of how wonky American vs. British word usage is.
My own vocabulary has been heavily modified to include bloody ‘ell and the like for a good 25 years already as I have been an American expat living and working with Brits, Aussies and Kiwis (many of each) as the sole ’merican pilot at our company in Asia since moving here in the 90s They made it one of their missions to get my vocab sorted right proper they did. 😂
Yeah, I was chuffed to bits lol
Yup
Bloody daft innit
You couldn't fit "gobsmacked" and "chuffed" into that comment? It wouldn't have been that difficult.
My wife is British (I’m American) and I find myself saying “Oh my days” ever since we’ve gotten together since I always loved the way she said it
I've heard 'Flat' used a lot instead of apartment.
Same, it's strange how it's suddenly out there in the U.S.
There's new places that have been built where I live with the name "X Flats" and have heart the word used a lot more often now.
"Flat" is the main word used for "apartment" in San Francisco
I will say that "sorted" by itself is usually only used in American English to describe a system of organization, as in "sorted by color." But the British meaning you mention of "resolved" has always been used in American English, but it requires the preposition "out" along with it. A Brit might say, when a problem has been resolved, "I'm glad we got that sorted," while an American in the same situation would say "I'm glad we got that sorted out." Sometimes, the American phrase even adds a modifier, with the phrase "all sorted out" (and even "mostly sorted out" in cases where there are still a few details to be fixed) being common, as well. But "sorted out" is a tried-and-true American English-ism, I've been using it since I was in elementary school, and I just turned 68 recently.
This is true.
I knew a South African girl that used sorted out, meaning to discipline somebody. Watching British TV and films from 60 or 70 years ago, they used to use "up" when using the verb queue, as in to queue up, just like to line up in American English. I don't know when the Brits started dropping the up from queue. The South African girl also used proper. I saw an American TV show from 60 years ago that used "do the marketing" for going grocery shopping.
I see "sorted" on its own in US English more and more, but really only in the context of cars/car issues. Guessing that's influence from something like Top Gear.
Good eye.
The US usually has "out" after sorted whereas "sorted" may end the sentence in Britain.
I've heard both wonky and dodgy used commonly my entire life over here in the pacific northwest. I've never even thought of them as british. At this point I don't even think they are.
I like your (obviously put on for the camera) weary, almost despairing, teetering-on-the-edge-of-losing-your-temper-but-you-must-get-through-it-somehow energy.
It's very British.
Yes, Games Workshop, who produces Warhammer, very much exposed me to lots of British terminology through various publications. More recently (last 15 - 20 years), their PC and mobile games have really brought a lot out. The green skinned Ork / Orc races in their games have been assigned a British Cockney accent. This gave me access to many of the phrases you used here as a teen / early 20’s person.
I love language and the differences in 2 English speaking countries. My favorite British word is gobsmacked.
Gobs’mack’ed…… Was named after me lol!😊❤
Everlasting Gobsmackers! Yum 😜
love it and I used it all the time.
Nobody uses 'gobsmacked' seriously here. It's basically tabloid speak. We'd only use it ironically.
@@bradjensen4927 That was first heard by me in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory."
I grew up in Texas and am nearly 50 years old and the word "wonky" has been part of my vernacular all of my life. I actually assumed it was a southern US word since it's used so much where I grew up. I don't think this is a recent addition to American English, at least for Southern US English. Maybe this is the case for Midwestern US English, but it's been commonplace in Texas for my entire life.
I have to agree. It's very common in the south. I've heard it a ton for many years.
I agree too. I'm 68 & have used it as long as I can remember. Also in Texas.
Another Texan here: I've also used "wonky" since I was a child, as well as "knackered." My older relatives were big fans of British television shows on PBS back in the early 80s, so that may have been the culprit.
I'm from Michigan, and i've used wonky for as long as I can remember
I grew up in mid west (though we called it north) we used it.
I didn’t know this was a British word until recently, but in my region of Maine I’ve said “eyup” as a greeting my whole life.
"Chuffed" always sounded like a word for being upset by something to my ear. Funny that it's the direct opposite.
I've used many of these words/phrases for decades. Likely they were attached to my vocabulary through Monty Python and other PBS shows in the 70s-80s.
Me too. Love my britcoms! Now, is wonky any relation to Willy Wonka cuz he's so crazy and disorganized?? Hmmm.
PBS - making Americans British one show at a time 😁
Personally, I have made it my one man mission to incorporate the word "faff" into American English. There really is no alternative, and a multitude of errands and responsibilities do call for it.
I'm glad you're doing that as it sounds too much of a faff for me to bother.
I use the word, but only in the phrase "faffing about", which I find there is a lot of, so it gets used.
Only if you use the phrase "faffing about" lol
@@Kingdom_Of_Dreams That too. But it is also a noun. eg, "No dear, I will not individually crimp all these pasta shells for your mother's birthday luncheon. It's too much of a faff."
I've used it for years.
That sofa/couch/settee, that short sleeved shirt and OMG that carpet - I'm sure many of us in our late 40s/early 50s saw that old photo of you and were like "that's just like me at home at that age".
A sofa is smaller than a couch. I have never heard the term settee before.
@@TheInkPitOx Oh that's interesting; I don't know where you're from but where I'm at here in the UK all three can & are used interchangeably, although you do tend to hear settee a lot less often nowadays.
I studied in England briefly and brought a lot of these phrases home with me. Fun to see them being used more and more.
@@karmakazi101 lol why am I a little 💩?
@@karmakazi101 hahaha thats awesome! I wasn’t offended, just curious. Glad to find a fellow Anglophile!
I have lived my entire life in the American Midwest, and have heard "wonky" for the last 30 to 40 years. Not all the time, but often enough.
The others are "newer", and indeed seeing more use!
Love how Kafka mysteriously disappears at 2:22 into the video. I was gobsmacked !
Proper brilliant Laurence! My most used import (and go-to expletive) is *'bugger'* -- British profanity in general seems utterly adorable and carries no cultural baggage even though I'm well aware of what the words actually refer to.
"Bugger" has been "Declassified" as a swear word in Australia as it's so prominent and is an exclamation of something that has gone wrong.
There are even TV adverts (Toyota iirc) where even the dog says it !
I like “knackered” it feels more visceral.
American. I lived in Essex for a year in 1974, “bloody hell” is still a daily part of my vocabulary.
As somebody born in Essex in 87 I can confirm that the only people that still say bloody hell in Essex were there when you were 😂
People still say that up north of England still.
@@BJJISTHEGAYPARTOFMMA yeh but north and south are so different, the dialects and accents are world's apart, even the economies are so different we could have different currencies 😂
@@myalways5052 yeah for a council house down south you can buy a mansion up north with the same money lmao
@@BJJISTHEGAYPARTOFMMA 😂 it's mad that that's so true, it's why so many houses up north are leased by landlords in the south, the HS2 would have changed/will change that...I don't keep up to date on news so no idea what's happening with thst
I have to admit I’ve used Wonky many times 😅
Wonky seems such a natural description of something off, ungainly, unstable.
Thats funny that you call him Harold Potter. I picked up most of the words you mentioned by watching IT Crowd. I love that show!
I get all my British words from 'The Repair Shop' Chuffed was the one I could not wrap my head around. Brilliant!!! easy.
@bbrachman I'm surprised that gets shown. Is it on BBC America?
@@crose7412 One of the streaming services offers the first 5 seasons. Don't quote me since rights shuffle around weekly.
I (a US native), recently received an email from my web designer (a UK expat) suggesting that we get together for a 'chinwag'. Although I am well-versed in both tongues, I had never hear that term before. The term was self-explanatory. We chatted over a cuppa.
A Londoner here: we used chinwag all the time when I was growing up. Just means a chat. Pow wow, was another one, meaning a similar thing, but maybe a bit more serious. I am 71 years old. I don’t think young people use it now.
@@yossarian6799 Are you winding me up? Perhaps people heard it in Western films, which were very popular when I was young. Other foreign expressions: “I’m going to take a shufti”, meaning take a look - I think the British troops brought that back from North Africa. It is Arabic for “look”. Also a cup of “cha”, meaning a cup of tea. Is that from India? “Cow tow”, meaning making yourself subservient, is from China, I think.
I've heard chin wag for at least my entire adult professional life - a couple decades. 40 year old US native here. I'm also an army brat though, so I have been exposed to several different dialects along the way
Thank you for the new Briticism! I deliberately use them when I'm in the mood to do so. I am a twenty-four-year-old Autistic American (who still resides in the US and has unfortunately never travelled overseas; I don't even have a passport as of now) who is fascinated with language in general (I'm a legitimate logophile and was shocked to learn that there's a word for people just like me!). In particular, I am enamoured with British English as a result of growing up believing that it was "true English" and that foreign dialects were no more than "knockoffs". (I intend no offence to anyone with a zeal for their version of an imported language.)
I’ve been using “wonky“ for quite a while, but I have mostly heard it used as generally not quite right, and that’s the way I’ve used it. On the other hand, generally when I’ve heard the word “chuffed“ it has been from British UA-camrs.
Same here. Growing up we had a couple of wonky kids in school. Being from northern Minnesota we usually used 'catty wompas' when something was askew. 'Chuff', was a new one for me.
Paris Hilton was said to have a wonky eye since the early 2000’s
Same here with respect to wonky.
@@andonbailey9656Here in NC we use cockeyed more for something askew. I've heard chuffed from Yorkshire folks on UA-cam.
Chuffed is a joke word here - no one uses it in real life. The 80s satirical puppet show Spitting Image used to use it as a way to avoid stronger swear words. "I gonna chuffing kill you!"
I picked up the word lovey while traveling through Labrador City, NF. A word I use when when I play with my English bulldog, Joy.😆😎
Wow. I didn’t think I’d see it come up, but I’m absolutely chuffed to see it amongst the seven words! 😮
I have been using wonky all my life. My mother would say that you just needed to cook wonky meat a little longer to make sure that it was safe. A depression era child upbringing never left her.
I have become indoctrinated to many idioms in English slang due to my love of all the writings by Sir Pterry Pratchett, God rest his soul.
If I might be so bold as to steer you in the direction of a bit of classic BBC comedy from the early 1980s'; A programme called "The Young Ones", which ran for two series (Seasons).
Alot of slapstick, innuendo and quite bad language.
Ever wanted to hear a punk rocker shout "Sod off ugly po-faced git"?
Then this could be "Just your cuppa Rosy Lee, Govner."
Here in Ireland brilliant has been in use for at least 30 years.
That's grand!
@@pechaa I don't think that's so old 😁😁
I had never heard cruft before I saw a program called World's Dumbest. A British girl referred to something that had happened to her made her feel chuft. I had to look it up. This was only a couple of years ago. It's the only time I've heard it until now.
I've heard (and used) "wonky" regularly and often since growing up on the US East Coast (both North & South), and I was born in the 1950s.
In addition, I can remember my mother-in-law using it regularly (especially when I hung her Christmas decorations), and she was a lifelong Wisconsinite.
I am a lifelong Anglophile and the only one of these I haven’t adopted is chuffed. Time to add a new word to my vocabulary!
People in the U.S who know the word will be 'chuffed' to hear you use it!
An old math education professor of mine, who is American but followed a lot of British education materials, she would use phrases like, "Well done!" to praise students, which is common in England, but not as common here. She'd also say "walk about" instead of the more American "walk around."
I took 2 linguistic classes and the word 'sorted' would be an interesting one because "American Flapping" would make it sound like its own thing. Example. British - "Sor-ed" where the T is silence and American Engish - "Sor-dd-ed" where we turn the T sound into a DD. I spent a good bit of my time living close to the Appalachian Mountains, we used a lot of older British words like 'Yonder' & 'Reckon'.
I used to work for a manufacturing company where the director of research and development was a brilliant but mercurial Britt. When one of his creations catastrophically disassembled itself in the lab, he described the results as a "Right, proper, bloody mess," which I believe to be the best third-level intensifier that can be spoken in polite company.
Sounds like the lab exploded if he’s using such a strong wording.
@@alphabetaomega265 we were talking about bits of a bearing cage and individual rollers embedded in cinder block walls, so yes, spectacular.
I have heard that phrase more than once in a British movie or TV show.
Third level intensifier. Very nice 👍
Also i was imagining him to be Q from James Bond. I felt i needed to share that, not sure why.
Americans would probably say "clusterfuck" :)
I've been saying "wonky" since early childhood in the late 60s...my Daddy said it was short for "cattywampus". We here in New England also use "sorted" quite often..."well, he got that sorted".
Yeah, one thing I've found a lot from these videos is that new englanders (which I'm one of) have used a lot of British slang for a looooong time. So many things he brings up I'm like, "But, I've been saying that my entire life...?" Heh. It really shows just how much things vary by the part of the US you're from.
😂😂 Cattywampus was common down in the south too
@@Saphire1993 I'm so delighted by this thread. I thought cattywampus was just a northern Minnesotan thing. It's so nice to here other people actually use it too.
@@Saphire1993I was born in York, PA and I’ve used this word (cattywampus) my whole life - all 76 years of - and I still do! Many people do not understand😄😄😄😄
Wonky, not to be confused with cattywampus
Love your channel! I would like to offer a theory that the decline of the use of proper in both countries is because of the rise of casual culture. People don’t wear proper clothes to go out anymore they wear t-shirts. It used to be mandatory to wear proper footwear when traveling, now people travel in flip flops ( a good way to get your toes stepped on). It used to be implied, if not written in a proper dress code, that you wore proper clothes to work. In my experience the minimum standard was a pair of pants with a belt and shirt with a collar ( shirt tucked in if it has round tails, untucked is ok if it has square hem).
Not just in attire, meetings are casual nowadays, nobody reports to the boss, you just talk to the boss like any regular person, that would have been considered disrespectful not very long ago. Meetings are casual too.
The only time I frequently hear the use of proper is at a bar, getting a draft beer. We all want to know that we are getting a proper pint and not getting shortchanged.
Not trying to call it right or wrong, just observing the culture change, hence the language.
Cheers!
Also I keep trying to introduce wonky as a general term in my friend and work groups and it hasn’t caught on.
As a mechanical engineer my coworkers and nerdy friends tend to only use wonky as a semi-technical term meaning out of rotational balance, harsh vibration, or unsymmetrical; i.e., “The rotor is going wonky at 10k RPM but it stabilizes above 12k. We probably have a harmonic issue or undetected flaw”
I heard an American use 'gander' as in 'having a gander (look) this week. I was most surprised!
I’ve been using wonky since the 1970’s never realized it was British in origin. My ww2 veteran grandfather used it, usually to describe an apparatus that needed attention/ fixed before it was proper broken.
I’ve used “wonky” for as long as I can remember - wonderful word! And then there is “gobsmacked” - I just love the way it sounds and is so perfectly descriptive!
Because my dad was a stickler for speaking correctly, the word gob wasn't allowed in our house as it was considered coarse slang. (Kid as in child wasnt allowed either!) As a result, although gobsmacked is perfect in many ways, I still wince when I hear it!
Brit and massive nerd here. This is what Warhammer is:
Warhammer is a family of tabletop wargames made by the British model-making company Games Workshop. The various Warhammer games were created throughout the 1980s and beyond, as Games Workshop heads noticed that people were buying their Dungeons and Dragons miniatures in large numbers to use in battle games, not just small-scale role-playing games.
The Warhammer games themselves are fantasy games, with half rooted in a traditional fantasy setting (similar to The Lord of the Rings), and the other half rooted in a future-fantasy setting (similar to Star Wars). These are called "Warhammer: Age of Sigmar" and "Warhammer: 40,000", respectively. The latter is more popular because, in short, you get to see sword-wielding warriors and fantasy monsters on the same battlefield as laser cannons and tanks.
The hobby itself is multi-faceted. The miniatures themselves are made of plastic kits, like Airfix models, and there is fun to be had in building and painting them. It's also a creative hobby, like LEGO, so you can have fun creating unique models from different bits. Given that man-sized models are about an inch tall, the building and painting of models takes some level of skill and practice.
There's also the game itself, which is a fairly complex tabletop game where you use your army of plastic models to do battle against an opponent's army of plastic models, with tape measures being used to determine distances (such as troop movement and weapon ranges) and dice being used to determine the outcome of certain events (such as whether or not you hit your target when attacking them). Games are won or lost based on many factors, ranging from territory control to the destruction of the enemy army. Games can be played either narratively (where the game is used to tell a story, similar to Dungeons and Dragons) or competitively (where the game is played purely on a rules level, like chess).
Lastly, as with stories such as Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, the stories behind these franchises are very in-depth and complex. Games Workshop's publishing arm, Black Library, has released hundreds of novels over the years which go into detail about the stories which take place in these different fantasy worlds, which give context to the world in which Warhammer games take place. Along with the flavour text found in the various rulebooks, and the stories from spin-off media such as video games, reading the various Warhammer stories is a past-time in and of itself.
Basically, Warhammer is a family of games which are like using Airfix models to play board games which are somewhere between Dungeons and Dragons and Risk. It's basically nerd heaven.
Bloody hell, I am quite chuffed at this brilliant video about these proper British words!
Good to see that your cultural assimilation is sorted.
Bloody hell, an American who knows how to use bloody hell! That's bloody brilliant, mate (do please note I said mate not bloke though!)
I’ve adopted the word “wheelie-bin” which is more fun to say and shorter than “recycling bin.”
can you start adopting the term rubbish bin rather than trash can so your neighbours think you’re slowly becoming a crazy british person when you put the bins out
I'm hearing "hoovering up" (as a general term for data collection etc) on US podcasts a lot more. Hoover never used to be the de-facto verb for vacuuming when I was growing up in the (North east) states (in the 80's) but was one that instantly stood out when I moved to the UK (...doing the hoovering...) Seems the verb is catching on over the pond now too, though possibly only for non-vacuuming tasks... IDK.
I’m a 64 year old American and my Anglo love comes from my Grandmother. She insisted she was British American despite being 6th generation with three direct ancestors “on the green” (a Lexington and Concord reference). She introduce me to Dame Agatha from where I took British expressions this confounding some of my teachers.
I spent many happy formative years in England as a pilot for USAF. The use of language and how it was applied was wonderful. The context and the reasoning behind common phrases was illuminating. I adopted numerous words, but the one that always stayed with me was cheers, mate. Something so simple given without expectation but heart warming to the core.
Where were you based and what did you fly?
@@andyhinds542 Mostly RAF Mildenhall flying KC-135Q/A/R/T. Great mission, great location and great people.
@@edjarrett3164 Yep. I lived in King's Lynn from 1977 to 1987 and remember going to spot planes at Mildenhall around that time. I was only a child but remember Mildenhall was great for KC135s, as well as visiting RAF jets such as Jaguars, Buccaneers and other jets. Not forgetting of course F-111s from Lakenheath and their fenland bombing runs,
@@andyhinds542 I remember how totally wierd it was when I saw all the plane spotters when I first visited. Later, on a quick trip to London, I picked up the latest log of aircraft arriving and departing Mildenhall. I was really surprised how accurate the log entries were. They included all our KC-135Q aircraft, the RC135s and the SR71 tail numbers. Short of the actual mission routings, it was strikingly accurate especially considering the classified nature of our missions.
@@edjarrett3164
Don't you have plane spotters, bird spotters or train spotters in US.
There's accurate books for each. with photos, best places and time to see them. And people mark them off until they've seen them all.
I've been using 'Wonky' all my life and I'm 31. My mom used it all her life and she's 70. Both sides of my family moved to America in the 1880's-1890's, so they didn't bring it over.
I’m an American from Texas and I often use the word “gutted” to mean disappointed or upset. I remember it being said when I was in England and hearing it on British TV and movies. I just like the way “I was totally gutted!” sounds than “I was so disappointed”.
Many years ago in the late 80’s I watched a Tomorrow’s World where they entered “to be or not to be” in a computer and it came up 6 times previously before Shakespeare used it.
A lawyer I worked for who took business trips to London every few months used "sorted". I learned "chuffed" from some Beatles quotes.
I'll find myself saying "Happy Christmas" or "Happy Crimble" because of the Beatles sometimes. 😂
"Responding on Threads"
... Bloody hell.
"Proper sorted" is a f***ing brilliant phrase. Thank you for enriching my dictionary with this.
I’ve said wonky all my life and love the book Wonky Donkey! I follow Julie Montague, The American Viscountess, and she’s uses brilliant all the time. I had no idea it was largely British usage.
The only time I have ever heard "chuffed" in the US is when it refers to a sound the tigers and other large cats use as a happy greeting to each other and their human care takers .
My nan taught me "Chuff-chuff" for "Railway locomotive" when I was little. This puzzled me because even when I was 3 the trains went "Gnnnnnrrrooorrrrrrrr"!!!
I've heard chuffed used in relation to big cats too. But since I do watch British shows when available I've heard it there too
That was a good and brilliant video. I’m chuffed and gobsmacked that you featured these words. Bloody hell, it was proper the dogs bollocks
Two Britisisms I've used are "git" and "twat", probably from watching all of Red Dwarf for so many years 😂
I watch a LOT of British tv & youtube videos. I've picked up "let's get crackin'", stop wafflin', & several others that of course refuse to come to mind at this moment. But honestly, some of these words &/or sayings were quite common when I was growing up here in Texas. I must assume that my ancestors were originally from England? Had to laugh at "Harold Potter"! That was hilarious. 🤣🤣
Is "get crackin'" originally British?
I've also used "stop waffling", "I'm waffling", etc for as many years as I've been alive (quite a few).
I've heard the "let's get crackin'" phrase, although I've seldom used it.
Also "wonky" has never not been in my vocabulary, as well as the vocabulary of those around me, along with a few more that he's mentioned as carry- overs from Britain.
So they must have been far earlier carry- overs than what he's thinking, or they aren't carry-overs at all...
@@brianwhite8465 I have no idea, but I've only heard it on British TV shows.
I think the best part of this video is how Lawrence’s cat learned how to teleport somewhere around the 2:50 mark
The magic of video!
"Sorted" surprises me, as well. Having lived in the USA my entire life, I have used "sorted" since I was able to talk. The first time I used it in the presence of my wife - as in, "Great! That's sorted. Now we can focus on the next issue" - she looked at me as if what I had said was not English, at all. I think her reaction was to give me a very odd look, while slowly repeating, "...sorted?".
"Bloody" is definitely the British word that's entered my vocabulary.
gobsmacked in Warhammer (the tabletop war game) is used by the Ork faction, because they have a thick cockney accent layered on all their lines, and they use a lot of cockney british slang. Due to its popularity in the USA, Warhammer has thus imported quite a few british-english slang terms into american-english speakers' lexicons.
The way the Orks speak in Warhammer is also reminiscent of the recurring Monty Python characters called Gumbys.
But with more "WWAAAAAAAUGHHH!" thrown in.@@kentvesser9484
Let's also add that The Warhammer is Ghal Maraz, an enchanted war hammer, so that our friendly Brit what makes the videos will know what a Warhammer is and maybe be gobsmacked.
Zoggin umies
I was surprised to encounter gobsmacked in American usage because I don't associate them as using "gob" for mouth. If you don't know what a gob is, how do you know what's being smacked? But apparently they do.
After many years working overseas, I still tend to use "cheers" when saying good-bye in person or on the phone. Knackered is my favorite. A perfect description of tired/completely worn out. I am also quite fond of "Bob's your Uncle".
Cream crackered. London cockney.
I don’t quite understand bob’s your uncle. What exactly does it mean and when is it used? Are there multiple meanings it can have?
@@alphabetaomega265bobs your uncle and Fanny’s your aunt - there you go that’s how it’s done straight forward - ‘simplles’ can be used due to the insurance tv advert (Compare the Merecat)
bing bang bosh, bob's your uncle, mate
@@alphabetaomega265 "Bob's your uncle" means "It's done" or "There you have it".
Like the French saying "Et voilà".
In watching British TV such as Midsomer Murders and Endeavor, I've run across "did for him" quite a few times. I learned the expression--which is very odd to American ears--from Jonathan Gash's Lovejoy books, but I took the word as of a piece with his other slang, such as "naff." I had the association for the word of providing care or service, as in "she did for him," but I learned otherwise. It seems a quaint expression when there are so many words and expressions for someone killing someone: terminate (with prejudice), frag, scrag (which I find is British), eliminate, bump off, rub out, do away with, etc.
Chuff is a sound tigers make to greet others in a nice way. Emily a curator at Turpentine Creek wildlife refuge makes the sound as good as the tigers do. Just another definition thrown in there.😊
Warhammer is space fantasy war game played on table top (literally what it sounds like) played with miniature figures. That's a very watered down explanation, but the fact you used to live in Indianapolis you may have heard of Gencon, a large table top convention that covers board games, card games (like Magic and Pokemon) Dungeons and Dragons (though you're more likely to find Pathfinder games there) and war miniature games like Warhammer. Among many other things.
I've used a bunch of those as an American. The one we really need to adopt is "torch" instead of "flashlight". It's so much more manly and cool to say "I'm getting a torch!" lol
American here, I frequently say "bloody hell", "palaver", "faffing about", "around the shop", "boffins", "chuffed to bits", "load of bollocks" and I often call my dog a "cheeky bastard"
For attention.
@@kat7047 I'm sorry your life is so miserable you feel the need to be rude to strangers online.
You mate! Made me laff taday, I hit the the thingy so you can get some bob. you're very funny .. but not a snob. Your video presentation was top nosh. Elloo get this geeza a drink on me !!.
Wonkey. I'm an American and I remember wonkey being used most of my sixty years. But Catawompus is probably related but I've heard that even more my entire life.
I'm 63. Also used "wonky" all my life. Also used "catawompus," but the version I grew up with was "catywompus." 😂
And catawumpus. Mostly in print.
Using “cheers” for purposes other than celebrating a drink is becoming more common in the USA, typically as a greeting or a thank you. I started using it about 10 years ago when a British coworker said it to me while I was holding the door open for him. It is also fun to use as an email sign off when I dump a load of work on one of my colleagues. 😂
Hear it a lot , in the US midwest too , used in the same context .
The last bit tho…😂🤣💀
I think it is generally used when in a hurry or when goodbye seems too formal.
Cheers for that!
Aaah, British sarcasm.
Tiz an art form unto itself !
I'm an 80's/90's kid. I've used and heard "Wonky" all my life in the rural Midwest. Right gobsmacked, I was, finding out it's a British word! Innit.
Don't forget the influence of _Monty Python_ on American culture - "Spam" is the most popular one, plus there's "throatwablermangrove" 😉🤣
I first heard the word gobsmacked from a British friend about 10 yrs. ago. I loved it and adopted it immediately.
I like "chuffed" because tigers do something called "chuffing" as a friendly greeting, so it sounds badass.
My husband and I picked up "sorted" and "mind" and "proper" (and others) during our last trip to London. We used them just between us as a nostalgic nod to London for a while, but soon added them to our normal speech. It isn't only because of "Mind the Gap" from the tube stations anymore. "Brilliant" also makes a regular appearance, but we haven't shortened it to "brill" yet in normal conversation. I've been using "wonky" as long as I can remember and didn't even realize it was a British term. We've also been influenced by watching "Keeping Up Appearances" and others. We both love Brit TV and films.
Lovely content. New Jersey native pushing 40, and I named a Christmas tree wonky. Don't think I got it from submerging myself in BBC television. *Shrug* Interesting.
I'm a little sad that one of the most important British pop cultural institutions wasn't mentioned. The one that exposed me to so many Britishisms when I discovered it back in the '90s. All hail the great Monty Python!
Of course, I also picked up a ton from Top Gear in the early 2000's, and then a few more in the 2010s from youtubers. I actually used to annoy my friends because I started using "zed" in random places like car models and what not, lol.
Zed Zed Top
@@jsmith498 😂
@@jsmith498 Jay-Zed.
😂😂😂
I use wonky but I was surprised knackered isn't catching on. I have used it and love the phrase because it sums up the feeling of tired and exhausted so well.
It basically means "fit for the knackers yard" - being the place where horse carcasses were collecte do
I think it came about with the sad state of a horse, it would be sent to the Knackers Yard to be turned into glue!
Coming from a cosmopolitan city in America, my language is peppered with a bit of slang, interjections, and expletives from Yiddish, Italian, British, Mexican, Polish and even a few Chinese.
4:45 What I remember about "proper" is from the Beatles movie _A Hard Day's Night_ the "press" scene where a woman asks Ringo, "Is that haircut here to stay?" and Ringo answers, "This one is. It's stuck on good and proper now."
In the West Country UK 'proper job' means something done well.
I’ve picked up the phrase “no worries”, but I think that’s more Australian! 🤷♀️
True, It originated in Australia and became common in UK.