News: 30 of your Britishisms used by Americans

[airboatr]

'Crikey, chaps, the fat owl of the remove has scoffed all the buns from the tuck shop! Let's debag the rotter!'

Ian

Ben , Ian broke my bablefish.

[speedbird591]

To be fair, I doubt if there are many Englishmen under 60 who would recognise that language! It's really an echo of pre-war life from the 20s and 30s. I grew up with it from reading my dad's schoolboy annuals. The upper class toffs still used it in public schools in the 50s but were becoming isolated by the growing power of socialism. Pleb power!

Hmmm. Re-reading that paragraph, it probably throws up more arcane words than it explains

Ian

[Tako_Kichi]

Ah good old Billy Bunter. Wasn't he in one of the comics we used to read in the late 60's too? The Topper, Beano or Dandy perhaps?

[Paul K]

To be fair, I doubt if there are many Englishmen under 60 who would recognise that language! It's really an echo of pre-war life from the 20s and 30s. I grew up with it from reading my dad's schoolboy annuals. The upper class toffs still used it in public schools in the 50s but were becoming isolated by the growing power of socialism. Pleb power!

Hmmm. Re-reading that paragraph, it probably throws up more arcane words than it explains

Ian

I was at a boarding school, and we had a tuck shop.

[speedbird591]

I was at a boarding school, and we had a tuck shop.

Ah. That explains how you're so good at getting someone to fag for you

[airboatr]

Brian,
Somehow I don't think that one will get into the mainstream of Britishisms used here.

[speedbird591]

Somehow I don't think that one will get into the mainstream of Britishisms used here.

It predates the other usages, Joe.

Definition 1a here: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fag

But it may be wise to use it sparingly amongst people who are not English and of a certain age

Ian

[airboatr]

Right, Ian.

[Tako_Kichi]

I was at a boarding school, and we had a tuck shop.

I went to a Grammar School and we had a tuck shop but the only fags we had were smoked in the bogs at break time.

[FlyTexas]

Brian,
Somehow I don't think that one will get into the mainstream of Britishisms used here.

That's for sure.

Brian