I had a professor who used to work in the UK. He told us about how a coworker stepped into his office asking if he could borrow a rubber. My professor was kinda weirded out and told him he should get his own. He later found out that, in the UK, a "rubber" is an eraser, not the useful bit of latex found in the pharmacy aisle.
@@bethel1019 Yes and no. Soliciting for business is quite legitimate and is used in many trades and professions. However, in some contexts, it has become a by word for soliciting in one line of work in particular.
I remember reading of someone who told the father of an American friend that she was training to be a barrister. She was puzzled why he seemed rather dismissive and didn’t pursue the conversation. It was some time later she realised he thought she was training to be a barista.
Lawyer in the U.K. is an umbrella term, it has two main types within it, Solicitor and Barrister, a Solicitor deals with common legal work, a Barrister (one who has taken the Bar exam and has passed it) deals with advocacy and litigation, I hope that this helps.
wait, you mean Tori Amos isnt a member of the conservative party? then who the hell did i vote for?* *for comedic purposes and not an admission of guilt, terms and conditions apply.
Plus it has such a well known political connotation. |f it is your leaning you wouldn't use it as it is most often used by opponents, and if you are not a lifelong supporter you definitely wouldn't choose it!
I do actually know a Tori here in the UK. Yes, her parents named her Victoria, but she chose to be known as Tori rather than Vicky. She always was a bit "alternative" though!
How funny, loved your examples. I had a German colleague at work years ago who told me one of his mistakes - he was at his other workplace and was limping across the office cos he'd hurt his foot and a colleague shouted out, hey are you okay and he guessed the English word for limping based on the German word humpeln for limping and said, it's okay, I'm just humping! Different meaning in the UK!🤣
My friend had a German colleague who upon watching him struggle, frowning, with a door lock told him "Take it easy, you will put creases in your foreskin!"
When my then 10-yr old son began at his US school after our move there for my work, a new-found schoolmate took him to the nearby stationers for supplies. This friend told me when he visited our house over the following weekend, how he'd collapsed laughing in the store. Apparently, my son had asked for, "A pack of small rubbers; you know the ones one puts at the end of one's pencil." 😅
My niece used to collect erasers and when I was on holiday in the US I asked in a store if they sold rubbers, the guy looked at me funny and I quickly said "Erasers".
@@brucethenCalling it an eraser is a bit pretentious, rubber is good ! In Queensland cocktail frankfurts are called cheerios . My daughter went into a butcher shop in London and asked for a kilo . They thought that she was odd .
As an Englishman who has lived in the US for 45 years I find your channel very enlightening. Just for the record when someone asks if you are a Tory the correct answer is “Good God no, whatever gave you that idea?” 😊
There are so many accents and dialects in the UK that I think we all have similar stories. I am from the north east and am a high school teacher. I remember when I got a job in the north west the first time I warned a child he'd 'get wrong' if he didn't stop it the kids had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't realise 'to get wrong' was a Geordie expression. It means 'to get into trouble'. And the kids were always imitating my Geordie habit of saying 'cannot' (stress strongly on the first syllable) rather than 'can't'.
The answer to the question "are you a Tory?" "No, my name is Kaityn" is clever and will be seen as "My politics are my business" or "I don't subscribe to any particular party, I am just me" So don't feel embarrassed The descriptions of the misunderstood words would have made a brilliant Two Ronnies TV sketch, thank you for such an entertaining video..
Unless the person is a close friend it is a rude question to ask anyway. A girl I knew got a job in Dundee and lots of people asked her if she was Catholic or Protestant. I would have answered "Mind your own business"!
@@Phiyedough I was once asked by the elders of a Mosque whether I was a good Catholic to which I replied "No." leaving them to wonder whether I was actually a good Catholic because a good Catholic would never admit to it because they are always striving to do better or whether I was being honest. I never expanded on my reply so that I could see that they were still working out what the answer meant.
@@Phiyedough You're right, that is rather rude! The Scots and the Irish also consider a 'mixed' marriage one being Catholic & one Protestant. In England it's really a non-issue. But that sort of thing could get real spicy in Ireland & Northern Ireland, back during 'The Troubles'.
@@Phiyedough My usual answer to that is 'no, I'm a Jew', which confuses and shuts them up. For 30 seconds. Followed, invariably, by an argument about Israel. So I stopped doing that. Doesn't go down well in some circles, either.
As an employee of local government, one is meant to be politically neutral. That you were asked if you were a Tory by a colleague is deeply disturbing and most improper. The correct answer is to tell them to mind their own business.
@@phoebus007 If you're referring to the vowel sound in the second syllable then its functionally identical between the two unless you're putting stress on it. Unstressed syllables in English (irrespective of accent or dialect) tend to be pronounced as a schwa (the name of the sound of the a in comma).
Although I imagine they both come from the same root word in Latin consilium which means "debate, advice, advisory body, plan hence someone giving 'counsel' ie an advisor.
Love it Kalyn, thanks for sharing. I worked with a lady from San Francisco many years ago and there were many instances where the different use of certain words and phrases between UK & US English caused much amusement and confusion.
Years ago, I studied at a British university (I'm an American) for the summer semester. I was just chatting with a few random guys and told them that I loved wearing full-length skirts and that I never wore pants as I found them horribly uncomfortable. They looked taken aback a bit which confused the heck out of me. After talking for a while longer, I left and went home. A full 24 hours later, I remembered that "pants" in British English means "underwear."
OMG that's hilarious! They must have thought "wow, I get embarrassed when I accidentally put on differently coloured socks. These Americans are so much less prudish than I thought!". 🤣
'Reception' is also the gathering for the guests after a wedding, for cutting of the cake, food, dancing, drinking, etc. If held at a hotel you could ask at reception where the reception is.
Reception as a part of schooling is confusing to many amongst us older Brits as well. When I was at school you went from "playschool" (under 5) to "Infants" (age 5-6) to "Junior School" (age 7-10) to "Senior School" (age 11-16) then optionally "Sixth Form" / "College" (age 17-18) then University. Now it's all "Year 3", "Year 7" which requires some mental gymnastics. Education reform hasn't made anyone smarter, it just made older people look dumber.
^This, exactly. I work in a school now and I constantly have to convert "Year 11" into "5th Year", etc. I'd never heard of Reception until a few years ago and I was totally confused about what the person was talking about.
After a rough night’s sleep (I have psoriasis and it itttttccchhhhes like crazy at night when I am trying to sleep! Uhhhhh 😖😖😥😥) but today’s vlog has put a big 😃 on my mush! It really made me laugh with your “misunderstandings” of our particular terms and expressions… poor you….but hey, it was funny and I am feeling your ‘cringe’ moments! 🫣😂😂 Please carry on presenting your blogs “as you are” - there’s no need to get dressed and made up to the “nines” (have you heard of this term - it has a real meaning behind it) - just pop yourself in front of the camera and just chat away - you are really “one of us” and we like you - as Mr Billy Joel says - “just the way you are….” 🥰🥰
If you work somewhere that needs photo ID, it's a pretty major security breach on the part of the team issuing those IDs to give you one with the wrong picture on - the level that leads to being shown the door...
This was hilarious!!! Your "cot" example reminded me of a question a couple of years ago on the Trip Advisor London Forum. An American lady asked how likely it was that her London hotel might put a cot in her room for her 13 year old daughter to sleep on. It of course solicited many responses from locals enquiring about how tiny her 13 year old must be to be able to fit into a cot, or why she didn't ask for something larger and more comfortable for the poor girl!! Then there was the time that my cousin from North Carolina came to live in London for six months. She got herself a temporary job working in Boots, where she was required to wear a skirt as part of the uniform. As winter drew on, she found herself feeling the cold, so decided to ask her boss if it was acceptable to wear something a bit warmer. So of course she went to her boss and asked if it was OK if she wore pants to work. His red-faced response was, "That's...really none of my business!". Her face was equally as red when she realised she had just asked her manager if he minded her wearing underwear to work! 😂
I'm also from North Carolina. I was thinking you were going to mention some odd southern saying she used that confused someone. I wasn't expecting the pants/trousers mix-up.
One of the things I watch your videos for is to learn about an American who has gone to London. When I visited Chicago there were signs saying 'No Solicitors' I just had to have a picture of my wife standing under one because to us, in that context, a solicitor is a lady of the night. Just shows how much I need to learn. When I arrived at a hotel in Beijing There were a few children at the reception desk about age five. A lady explained to us that you are allowed to bring your child to work after school hours in China. Sometimes they help out sometimes they go to sleep under the counter.
A family member in the US had a recorded message saying they don't take calls from solicitors before the ringing started. Made it feel like I was calling a (remarkably open) crime syndicate.
LOL this was fun! My anecdote: when I moved to the US, a friend of a friend was very surprised that I didn't know what "bullion logic" was. Now, I know Boolean logic very well but I had no clue that they were talking about the same thing.
When I was in the US, I used to chuckle to myself because every shopping centre I entered seemed to have sign on the door, NO SOLISITORS. I knew what it was referring to, but it still made me chuckle.
When I first went to America this made me chuckle too, as I was at the time studying to qualify as one (solicitor)! I used to joke to my fiancé “I won’t be able to come here in x months”😂😂😂
I come from London and the first day at work in Nottingham, at lunch I was asked "Have you brought your snap?" 'Snap' in local dialect means 'lunch'. I heard this (in their accent) as 'snout' - a London term for tobacco or cigarettes. When I answered "No, s'okay - I don't smoke" then confusion abounded. We have solicitor - legal entity handling things like land, probate, legal issues up to court appearance. In court appearances, we have barristers - from the term being called to the Bar (who are 'recruited' by solicitors). Then higher ranking, you have K.C.s - King's Councels who are barristers who have qualified to act on behalf in court for the monarch. As far as I know. As far as 'surgery' is concerned, it's use is of a verb or a noun. You use surgery to cut into someone; you go to a surgery to speak to a doctor. Considering regional dialects and phrases, it's not only Americans who have trouble! 🙂
I'm English but moved to Scotland and sep up a business repairing domestic alliances. I quickly learned never to use the word "done" as in "it's done". People there thought I was saying their machine was done as in beyond repair.
I laughed my head off at your snap story. Very funny. I too am from London, although I left the UK in the 90's. I friend from Newcastle asked me "Am I corn beef"? I thought Corn Beef!! She said "Deef". Oh, you mean "Mutton Geoff".
@alantheinquirer7658 They would say 'Have you brought your bait? 'in Newcastle. According to Stephen fry it's not called snout now. It's called 'burn'. 'Two's up on your burn.'
Here in Australia, KC or King's Counsel or in some juristictions SC meaning Senior Counsel it means you can get away with charging your clients $3000 per hour rather than the more normal $650 per hour for ordinary counsel.
Many years ago I was in a sandwich shop in Vermont and I asked what 'fillings' they had. They look confused at me for a moment and said, "You mean, what's on them?" My friend in New York told me that they almost certainly thought I was asking about their dental work. 😄
@@XennialTVthen you have never read any of the ‘Jennings & Derbyshire’ books by Anthony Buckeridge!! they were always getting “ticked off” by the Head!! - you have missed a deep reading joy!
I think that nowadays, the reception class is the first year of infants - age 5 approx. Before age 5, there are various names in the UK; nursery, playschool, kindergarten, preschool.
Re the cot. I remember an American couple and their adult daughter booked a hotel room with a 'cot'. So they walked into a room with a double bed and a crib. The hotel found another room. sorted
Here in Australia, one of our two major political parties, the conservative side, is called the Liberal Party. Not to be confused with someone whose politics are more liberal (note the absence of a capital letter). The conservatives are called the Liberal party, and the liberals are called the Labor party. Never try discussing Australian politics with an American. you'll have their brain synapses bursting in minutes.
@@afpwebworks whereas in the UK the Labour party are centre left and the liberal (or Liberal democrat) party are centrist so brits wouldn't be too confused
First i think it's great you go for the natural look rather than being fake. I have an American girlfriend who lives in Texas, over the years we have had several misunderstandings over words, on both sides.
Don't worry everyone around the world have said or done things that is embarrassing, this shows how honest you are and have a British sense of humour 😊
I heard an American who was hiking in the UK say he was glad he was wearing his water proof pants. It was just starting to rain. He had the rest of the group laughing so hard they were in tears.
Misunderstandings between nations. Just before being seconded to the US I handed in my grade 1 daughter's school report to the head teacher of her new school and every element of the report had a tick (check) against it. I handed it to the lady and her face dropped - the longer she looked the more concerning her face became. She looked at me and asked "How is her reading?". I told her that she had just taken the school reading prize. Utter confusion followed by the realisation that there was a reversal of convention in using the tick or a cross in the American school system and she thought my daughter had failed in all things instead of 100% achievement. Steep learning curve for both parties.
This is the funniest video I have seen for ages. When I was teaching English to students on a hotel hospitality course in Mexico I had to use text books which used American English. All was fine until we were looking at examples of problems a hotel guest might have and we reached "I have stained my pants". I admit it, I creased up with laughter. The following year I was asked to give an entire course on the differences between American and British English.
Loved this video. Incidentally my mental health counsellor is called Tory and I used to be a councillor. But, my confusion came within the UK when, having been brough up in an urban environment and having worked for an engineering company I moved on to work for an agricultural feed company in human resources. On my SECOND day I am taking notes at a negotiating meeting between the sales reps and managemnet when they started talking about increased performance in rape. Yes RAPE. How was young urban me - I was 23 supposed to know that oilseed rape was a crop that was just being introduced into Britain. It is now all over the place in beautiful fields of yellow flowers - but, well, you can imagine my confusion.
Not to mention that the word was used for the top-level sub-divisions of the county of Sussex until local government reform a couple of centuries ago. In other counties the same thing was called a "hundred", apparently because it had to raise a hundred soldiers when a medieval king wanted to muster an army. (Quite shocked me when I first saw an antique map of Sussex.)
@@michaelbloomfield9911 It’s regional. Scotland and Northern Ireland have primary and highschools. Reception to us is primary 1 and it goes up to p7. Highschool goes a bit like Harry potter- first year, second year etc
English,65 year old man here and this is the first time I took have come across the term reception to mean early school.Nursery school would be the the term I would still use.
When dealing with GCSEs and A-levels, marks and grades are not the same. You get marks, and they then finalise the grade boundaries based on the distribution of marks for all people taking that exam. After that they can calculate your grade. So a mark of 75 can lead to different grades depending on the subject, the exam board, and the year.
More confusion......in the UK we use the word grill instead of broiling. Broiling is never used in the UK and this caused me a real problem when I first travelled to Canada.
'"Brillig" means four o'clock in the afternoon, the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.' From Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Apparently, broiling was known in 19th Century Britain.
@@kittyprydekissme Oh, of course! "Twas bryllyg, and the slythy toves Did gyre and gymble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves; And the mome raths outgrabe." Beware the Jabberwocky!!
BTW Canadians use "councillor" for our local government representatives and we also call members of our Conservative party "Tories". However like Americans we use "lawyer" rather than "solicitor" or "barrister" because most of our lawyers are both. (Our judges and lawyers like UK wear robes like the UK but not the wigs.) Canadians use "grades" and "marks" interchangeably. "Ticks" and "ticked off" for checkmarks is only used infrequently here in Canada but I have heard it. BTW most Canadians use two 2 meanings of "pissed" as in drunk (UK) or angry (USA), context usually tells you what meaning is intended. The category that seemed to have the most differences between the UK and North America is for driving and cars. Since childhood, I knew about "bonnet" and "boot" for hood and trunk and some others but recently I learned that "flyover" is what we call an underpass and a "dual carriageway" is what we call a divided highway.
I've heard the equivalent term for a British solicitor in the US is an attorney (someone who does your legal paperwork), while an American lawyer in Britain is called a barrister (someone who represents you in court).
In the US all lawyers need to pass a bar exam in their state both to practice and represent someone in court. In the UK only barrister's are members of the bar. A solicitor can't represent you in court only in front of the magistrate (not a judge) for an initial hearing. A solicitor brings cases to a barrister. They have a separate governing body and rules to follow.
That is pretty much spot on, although it is a little more nuanced than that. A barrister is indeed a solicitor who represents a person in court, albeit only within the Crown Court, which is one 'rung' on the ladder of the court system. Above the Crown Court is the High Court, which is reserved for only the most high-profile and significant trials, and below it is the Magistrate's Court, which deals with less serious crimes. Solicitors work in all of these courts, but barristers have to undergo further training once qualified as a solicitor due to the intricacies involved in that position. I could get very deep into the weeds here, explaining the reasons for the wigs and robes, the KC (King's Counsel) title, and various other things, but that feels a) like far too much for a YT comment and b) a little unfair to just dump all this stuff here without being asked. So, with that in mind, I shall post this, do some digging on YT and come back to edit this comment if I find a video that will do a better job than me waffling on here! 🙈🤪
OMG 3 mins in and in hysterics.😂 Kudos for sharing this. This is comedy gold. The inner workings of Tory's mind. I hope my comments don't tick you off.
This was such fun to watch! I learnt a couple of things from your video. I never realised that solicitor in the US is a person who works in telesales. Also your use of the word "checkmark" confused me, and maybe your ex-friend didn't understand either. Happily, google explained to me that it's another word for what I would call a "tick".
I'm born and raised in the USA, midwest area. I never knew telesales people were called solicitors either? To me they're marketers/telemarketers/salespeople who generally work in marketing depts/firms.
Solicitors can also be door to door sales people. When I was a kid they would come around selling stuff like vacuum cleaners, cookware sets, encyclopedias, etc.
When I first got to Australia I was told to not to forget my Parka (jacket) when I went home. The only parka I had of was a Parker pen. So I was confused why I need to take my pen home until I learnt what they meant.
I think that I have already told you about my confusion on returning a rented car to an airport in the US. I was asked whether I wanted a valet service. In the UK a valet is typically a servant who looks after his master's clothes and "valeting" is cleaning clothes.
I’m British but have been in the US 45 years. I wouldn’t have had any clue what reception means, either. Hilarious video, though. I have quite a few embarrassing moments from when I first went to the US.
Nursery then Infants (reception, middle class, top class), then junior s (Standards 1-4), high school (forms 1-5) Lower then upper 6th form, Uni. It confuses me why they kept reception when they changed it to Years 1-13. I was the year that took their GCSE's in form 5 but returned for Alevels in year 12😂
When one orders coffee in Greece one asks for "plain coffee with milk" (Sketto me gala). Sketto - plain. Skartar is poo . I onced asked for skartar me gala - poo with milk. My two friends who could speak Greek burst out laughing, the waitress was very kind & diplomatic. Phew
@@maudeboggins9834 It means running, as in "running water". If you want tap water rather than bottled you ask for "eau courante". Yes he should have asked for vin maison.
I once ordered a glass of white wine with a meal in France and received a carafe of red. My French was OK, so I reckoned that was just the nearest thing they had.
The Canadian Conservatives are referred to as Tories, as is the Liberal Party in Australia (despite the name, they are anything but liberal - Australia, everything's upside down :D ).
Another example of misunderstanding is I went to Australia in 1990 and my cousin a young woman who I had not seen since we were children together almost 30 years previous at that time, said to me I will buy you a pair of thongs while you’re here and I immediately replied that is not necessary I can get anything like that myself. I felt embarrassed and she was smiling intently. It was sometime later that I found out thongs in Oz meant flip flops and not skimpy underwear as we refer to the word. So it happens in lots of places where English is spoken.
I've never heard the term 'reception' used as you describe before (kindergarten) - when I was wee, it was called 'creche'. Mind you, that was in the '70's, and I don't have any weans so the lack of knowledge over reception is moot I suppose. I am really enjoying you videos - I love language, and hearing you experiences and thoughts over UK and US uses of the shared English Language really interesting. My ex was American, and we were always tripping over things you describe - either side of the Atlantic. You're doing a great job : )
That's funny! We call first year in school here in the UK Reception...well we lived in Australia a few years ago and they call it 'Prep' and before this they go to Kindy (short for Kindergarten) whereas the Brits call it Pre-School or Playgroup. Lol soo much confusion 😂😂❤
Reception isn’t (or at least it wasn’t when I was at school) a term used in Scotland either. Where we had Primary 1 - 7, followed by first to sixth year. Oh and a crib in the UK is a specific type of cot for a newborn, with people mostly either using a mosses basket which is made of woven grass or a crib which is made of wood (normally with wooden spindles on the sides) they are both of a similar size and probably somewhere around a third or a quarter of the size of a cot.
@lynnejamieson Ditto for my upbringing in 'Norn Iron'. Just Primary and Secondary schooling. No notion of nursery, reception, elementary, infants, junior school, middle school, high school etc. And no 'graduations' or Balls. Simpler times. When I listen to American news reporting that twenty 10th graders were shot and killed (unfortunately a common headline), I'm thinking .... just tell me their age.
@@Ulysses1707 yes it is, along with wooden or coloured ‘silverware’. Which is a little mind boggling. Though I don’t think that it’s unheard of to use the term ‘silverware’ in the UK but I think it’s reserved purely for cutlery and other items laid out on the dining table that has some silver content and not something that most of us will ever own.
When I first came to the USA, I wanted to buy a fluid used in the UK as a cleaning agent etc, it's called Methylated Spirit, or Meths in the UK! The people in the hardware store nearly called the police, but instead they called someone who informed them it is called denatured alcohol in the USA! Of course, in the UK it is coloured purple and smells distinctive, whereas in the USA, it is clear with very little smell.
In the UK, Kindergarten is an alternative word for Nursery, the non-statutory year(s) before Reception. Reception has been reception since at least 1980 - and I can't think what else it would have been called before that.
@@carolineskipper6976Well, when I started going to school (which was in the 60’s) there was no such thing as a Reception class, so we didn't call it anything. The first year of school that anyone attended was called 'first year infant school' or just 'first year infants'. There was no state-provided schooling before that.
On councillor vs. counsellor. I'm a mental health counsellor/psychotherapist, but you'd be surprised how many administrators in my profession misspell 'counsellor' as 'councillor'. Idiocy is universal.
I'm from the northwest of England, and had a friend at university who was from the southeast. One day she made some remark like "it's warm today" and I could not understand what she was saying. To me it sounded like woam. She then clarified she was talking about the weather, and I understood. I guess to her,my pronunciation of warm sounded like wahm.
Fun video I enjoyed. UK Councillor the American equivalent is Councilman or Councilwoman. Strangely I have an LGA online training session this evening as I am one of those Councillors.
When I lived in SE Asia, I must have told my girlfriend how beautiful she was numerous times (as you do). It was some months before it was pointed out to me that I was using the wrong tone (it's a tonal language), and all that time I'd been telling her, "You're really unlucky"!
In the 1990s there was a British TV comedy called the Brittas Empire where the receptionist put her babies in her desk drawers as she couldn’t get childcare (using the drawers as cribs😀)
In the UK, a crib is usually a small, portable cot that's less than 90 cm long and is suitable for a baby's first few months of sleep. A cot is generally larger and can be used for babies and toddlers up to four or five years old. Guses what we call a bed for camping?....... A camp bed!
Your local MP will also have surgeries, which is just a time, usually when they are not in London, to meet local people and answer questions. Reception is also used at weddings, as in the meal after the ceremony. You may have had one of these when you got married
I'm an Englishman and I lived 8 years in the US (NYC, NJ, DE). I can totally relate to your feelings. On my first morning's work in the office I asked a (female) colleague if she had a rubber.
Good giggle. The embarrasments work the other way round - my speaking English when I moved to the US caused red face on occasion.. (BTW if you go to the GP surgery with a nasty cough, they might take your head off for a proper look there, then put it back) - joke 37(b) Tales of Nonsense, 1967.
You've got to love the small differences, it's great that you're happy to confess to the misunderstandings and make me laugh!
I had a professor who used to work in the UK. He told us about how a coworker stepped into his office asking if he could borrow a rubber. My professor was kinda weirded out and told him he should get his own. He later found out that, in the UK, a "rubber" is an eraser, not the useful bit of latex found in the pharmacy aisle.
In the UK a solicitor might advise you to employ a barrister to defend against a charge of 'soliciting'.
🤣🤣🤣
I'm not sure that an American would understand the implications of that form of soliciting.
Yes. Was going to say that being a solicitor is one thing, but soliciting is something quite different...
@@bethel1019 Yes and no. Soliciting for business is quite legitimate and is used in many trades and professions. However, in some contexts, it has become a by word for soliciting in one line of work in particular.
@@JAmediaUK I do know that. Just didn't want to confuse matters any further.
"I don't know what that means" or "I don't understand" are perfectly acceptable responses we should all use more often, but are somehow reluctant.
Or " It might be a stupid question but...." As I always say, there are no stupid questions only stupid answers
It would be, but, you have to recognise that there is a misunderstanding before you can ask for clarification.
@@clivewilliams3661A stupid answer is how to respond to a stupid question.
@@nedludd7622 The only stupid question is the one that you already know the answer it otherwise it can't be a stupid question.
Similar to a driver actually asking for directions.
If you ever wear khaki trousers. Please don’t tell anyone you’re wearing cacky pants!
😂😂😂
Yep, a perfect example of how a difference in terms and pronunciation can potentially lead to an enormous misunderstanding! 😆
@andybaker2456 Indeed. Micky Flannagan, on the pull in New York, was hilarious.
Well worth it to see peoples faces!
👏👏👏
I remember reading of someone who told the father of an American friend that she was training to be a barrister. She was puzzled why he seemed rather dismissive and didn’t pursue the conversation. It was some time later she realised he thought she was training to be a barista.
So it turns out intralinguistic differences are a great way to weed out the snobs, too!
Lawyer in the U.K. is an umbrella term, it has two main types within it, Solicitor and Barrister, a Solicitor deals with common legal work, a Barrister (one who has taken the Bar exam and has passed it) deals with advocacy and litigation, I hope that this helps.
@@Adam_Le-Roi_Davis. In Scotland there are no barristers. We have advocates.
@@Ulysses1707 Do you mean there is no division or that you just have a different name
@@Zygon13 Advocate is the equivalent of barrister. There are also solicitors as in England.
So our lawyers (also called attorneys) in the US would be the equivalent of barristers since they have to pass the bar exam to practice?
wait, you mean Tori Amos isnt a member of the conservative party? then who the hell did i vote for?*
*for comedic purposes and not an admission of guilt, terms and conditions apply.
I suspect there are not many British girls named Tory as it's a diminutive form of Victoria and they are more likely to be called Vicky.
Plus it has such a well known political connotation. |f it is your leaning you wouldn't use it as it is most often used by opponents, and if you are not a lifelong supporter you definitely wouldn't choose it!
I do actually know a Tori here in the UK. Yes, her parents named her Victoria, but she chose to be known as Tori rather than Vicky. She always was a bit "alternative" though!
My first girlfriend was a Victoria who often went by Tori. I've never known anyone actually called Tory though.
My daughter answers to Toria or Vicky.
Tori Amos lives in Cornwall!
I think it's great that you are on camera as you are, you seem like such a lovely person and that's what counts. Good on you.
How funny, loved your examples. I had a German colleague at work years ago who told me one of his mistakes - he was at his other workplace and was limping across the office cos he'd hurt his foot and a colleague shouted out, hey are you okay and he guessed the English word for limping based on the German word humpeln for limping and said, it's okay, I'm just humping! Different meaning in the UK!🤣
I think hump must also have a different meaning in USA as "hump day" is a slang term for Wednesday.
@@Phiyedough haha, how funny. That definitely wouldn't work in the UK.
My friend had a German colleague who upon watching him struggle, frowning, with a door lock told him "Take it easy, you will put creases in your foreskin!"
@@lottie2525 "hump day" is used in the UK too. Most especially because of the double-entendre. 😋
@@Naptosis Never heard it before.. Where abouts in the UK are you then? Maybe it's a regional thing.
When my then 10-yr old son began at his US school after our move there for my work, a new-found schoolmate took him to the nearby stationers for supplies. This friend told me when he visited our house over the following weekend, how he'd collapsed laughing in the store. Apparently, my son had asked for, "A pack of small rubbers; you know the ones one puts at the end of one's pencil." 😅
Classic! 😅🤣😂
Hilarious. The one you 'put at the end of (your) pencil' even sounds like the right euphemism for them too 😂😂😂
My niece used to collect erasers and when I was on holiday in the US I asked in a store if they sold rubbers, the guy looked at me funny and I quickly said "Erasers".
@@brucethenCalling it an eraser is a bit pretentious, rubber is good ! In Queensland cocktail frankfurts are called cheerios . My daughter went into a butcher shop in London and asked for a kilo . They thought that she was odd .
As an Englishman who has lived in the US for 45 years I find your channel very enlightening.
Just for the record when someone asks if you are a Tory the correct answer is “Good God no, whatever gave you that idea?” 😊
There are so many accents and dialects in the UK that I think we all have similar stories. I am from the north east and am a high school teacher. I remember when I got a job in the north west the first time I warned a child he'd 'get wrong' if he didn't stop it the kids had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't realise 'to get wrong' was a Geordie expression. It means 'to get into trouble'.
And the kids were always imitating my Geordie habit of saying 'cannot' (stress strongly on the first syllable) rather than 'can't'.
nice to see a fresh face who just is real...keep on going with this. Lived in the UK now for 15 years and is a definite learning experience everyday
The answer to the question "are you a Tory?" "No, my name is Kaityn" is clever and will be seen as "My politics are my business" or "I don't subscribe to any particular party, I am just me" So don't feel embarrassed
The descriptions of the misunderstood words would have made a brilliant Two Ronnies TV sketch, thank you for such an entertaining video..
Unless the person is a close friend it is a rude question to ask anyway. A girl I knew got a job in Dundee and lots of people asked her if she was Catholic or Protestant. I would have answered "Mind your own business"!
@@Phiyedough I was once asked by the elders of a Mosque whether I was a good Catholic to which I replied "No." leaving them to wonder whether I was actually a good Catholic because a good Catholic would never admit to it because they are always striving to do better or whether I was being honest. I never expanded on my reply so that I could see that they were still working out what the answer meant.
@@Phiyedough You're right, that is rather rude!
The Scots and the Irish also consider a 'mixed' marriage one being Catholic & one Protestant.
In England it's really a non-issue. But that sort of thing could get real spicy in Ireland & Northern Ireland, back during 'The Troubles'.
@@Phiyedough My usual answer to that is 'no, I'm a Jew', which confuses and shuts them up. For 30 seconds. Followed, invariably, by an argument about Israel. So I stopped doing that. Doesn't go down well in some circles, either.
As an employee of local government, one is meant to be politically neutral. That you were asked if you were a Tory by a colleague is deeply disturbing and most improper. The correct answer is to tell them to mind their own business.
We also have the word counsellor in British English as someone who provides counsel (advice) rather than someone who forms a part of a council.
Although barely noticeable, counsellor and councillor are pronounced slightly differently.
@@phoebus007 If you're referring to the vowel sound in the second syllable then its functionally identical between the two unless you're putting stress on it. Unstressed syllables in English (irrespective of accent or dialect) tend to be pronounced as a schwa (the name of the sound of the a in comma).
Thanks for correcting the spelling :-) that was painful ;-)
Although I imagine they both come from the same root word in Latin consilium which means "debate, advice, advisory body, plan hence someone giving 'counsel' ie an advisor.
There is no such phrase as British English. It's just English.
Love it Kalyn, thanks for sharing. I worked with a lady from San Francisco many years ago and there were many instances where the different use of certain words and phrases between UK & US English caused much amusement and confusion.
Years ago, I studied at a British university (I'm an American) for the summer semester. I was just chatting with a few random guys and told them that I loved wearing full-length skirts and that I never wore pants as I found them horribly uncomfortable. They looked taken aback a bit which confused the heck out of me. After talking for a while longer, I left and went home. A full 24 hours later, I remembered that "pants" in British English means "underwear."
OMG that's hilarious! They must have thought "wow, I get embarrassed when I accidentally put on differently coloured socks. These Americans are so much less prudish than I thought!". 🤣
Now that really IS embarassing!
@@adriannaconnor6471 I'm sure you didn't refer to it as a "semester" at the British university you went to... 😉
the silly thing is that underwear is called underpants but what you wear over them are not called pants! Why aren't they called undertrousers.
@@CaseyJonesNumber1 in school, it's referred to as 'terms' but in university, they use the word 'semester'
If your local MP is in town for meetings with the public, they’re holding a SURGERY which you can book in to talk about any issues you have.
Because its their opportunity to disect and pull apart any ideas you might have of your own
That always confuses me 😂
A surgery can be a one to one meeting with your lawyer too, though less commonly used these days.
Also we'd never say 'have A surgery' we'd say 'have surgery' (uncountable) or 'have AN operation'.
As an Australian, I’ve never heard of this. I wonder what we call it here?
'Reception' is also the gathering for the guests after a wedding, for cutting of the cake, food, dancing, drinking, etc. If held at a hotel you could ask at reception where the reception is.
Reception as a part of schooling is confusing to many amongst us older Brits as well. When I was at school you went from "playschool" (under 5) to "Infants" (age 5-6) to "Junior School" (age 7-10) to "Senior School" (age 11-16) then optionally "Sixth Form" / "College" (age 17-18) then University. Now it's all "Year 3", "Year 7" which requires some mental gymnastics. Education reform hasn't made anyone smarter, it just made older people look dumber.
^This, exactly. I work in a school now and I constantly have to convert "Year 11" into "5th Year", etc.
I'd never heard of Reception until a few years ago and I was totally confused about what the person was talking about.
After a rough night’s sleep (I have psoriasis and it itttttccchhhhes like crazy at night when I am trying to sleep! Uhhhhh 😖😖😥😥) but today’s vlog has put a big 😃 on my mush! It really made me laugh with your “misunderstandings” of our particular terms and expressions… poor you….but hey, it was funny and I am feeling your ‘cringe’ moments! 🫣😂😂
Please carry on presenting your blogs “as you are” - there’s no need to get dressed and made up to the “nines” (have you heard of this term - it has a real meaning behind it) - just pop yourself in front of the camera and just chat away - you are really “one of us” and we like you - as Mr Billy Joel says - “just the way you are….” 🥰🥰
If you work somewhere that needs photo ID, it's a pretty major security breach on the part of the team issuing those IDs to give you one with the wrong picture on - the level that leads to being shown the door...
This was hilarious!!!
Your "cot" example reminded me of a question a couple of years ago on the Trip Advisor London Forum. An American lady asked how likely it was that her London hotel might put a cot in her room for her 13 year old daughter to sleep on. It of course solicited many responses from locals enquiring about how tiny her 13 year old must be to be able to fit into a cot, or why she didn't ask for something larger and more comfortable for the poor girl!!
Then there was the time that my cousin from North Carolina came to live in London for six months. She got herself a temporary job working in Boots, where she was required to wear a skirt as part of the uniform. As winter drew on, she found herself feeling the cold, so decided to ask her boss if it was acceptable to wear something a bit warmer. So of course she went to her boss and asked if it was OK if she wore pants to work. His red-faced response was, "That's...really none of my business!". Her face was equally as red when she realised she had just asked her manager if he minded her wearing underwear to work! 😂
I'm also from North Carolina. I was thinking you were going to mention some odd southern saying she used that confused someone. I wasn't expecting the pants/trousers mix-up.
Natural and authentic look presenting your videos is always appreciated.
My US mother in law offered me some squash and I said no thank you I'm not thirsty but she ment was squash as a vegetable.
This was hilarious Kalyn! I could feel your embarrassment, but I couldn't stop laughing at the misunderstandings. Great video.😅
One of the things I watch your videos for is to learn about an American who has gone to London. When I visited Chicago there were signs saying 'No Solicitors' I just had to have a picture of my wife standing under one because to us, in that context, a solicitor is a lady of the night. Just shows how much I need to learn. When I arrived at a hotel in Beijing There were a few children at the reception desk about age five. A lady explained to us that you are allowed to bring your child to work after school hours in China. Sometimes they help out sometimes they go to sleep under the counter.
A family member in the US had a recorded message saying they don't take calls from solicitors before the ringing started. Made it feel like I was calling a (remarkably open) crime syndicate.
LOL this was fun!
My anecdote: when I moved to the US, a friend of a friend was very surprised that I didn't know what "bullion logic" was. Now, I know Boolean logic very well but I had no clue that they were talking about the same thing.
When I was in the US, I used to chuckle to myself because every shopping centre I entered seemed to have sign on the door, NO SOLISITORS. I knew what it was referring to, but it still made me chuckle.
When I first went to America this made me chuckle too, as I was at the time studying to qualify as one (solicitor)! I used to joke to my fiancé “I won’t be able to come here in x months”😂😂😂
This is a great video, thanks for the chuckle.
The solicitor tale and the camping one made me chuckle 🤭 :)
I come from London and the first day at work in Nottingham, at lunch I was asked "Have you brought your snap?" 'Snap' in local dialect means 'lunch'.
I heard this (in their accent) as 'snout' - a London term for tobacco or cigarettes.
When I answered "No, s'okay - I don't smoke" then confusion abounded.
We have solicitor - legal entity handling things like land, probate, legal issues up to court appearance. In court appearances, we have barristers - from the term being called to the Bar (who are 'recruited' by solicitors). Then higher ranking, you have K.C.s - King's Councels who are barristers who have qualified to act on behalf in court for the monarch. As far as I know.
As far as 'surgery' is concerned, it's use is of a verb or a noun. You use surgery to cut into someone; you go to a surgery to speak to a doctor.
Considering regional dialects and phrases, it's not only Americans who have trouble! 🙂
I'm English but moved to Scotland and sep up a business repairing domestic alliances. I quickly learned never to use the word "done" as in "it's done". People there thought I was saying their machine was done as in beyond repair.
I laughed my head off at your snap story. Very funny. I too am from London, although I left the UK in the 90's. I friend from Newcastle asked me "Am I corn beef"? I thought Corn Beef!! She said "Deef". Oh, you mean "Mutton Geoff".
@alantheinquirer7658 They would say 'Have you brought your bait? 'in Newcastle.
According to Stephen fry it's not called snout now. It's called 'burn'. 'Two's up on your burn.'
Here in Australia, KC or King's Counsel or in some juristictions SC meaning Senior Counsel it means you can get away with charging your clients $3000 per hour rather than the more normal $650 per hour for ordinary counsel.
Enjoyed that , good fun ,i think there are a lot of councillors who need counselling looking at the way they are running our towns and cities 😊😊❤.
Many years ago I was in a sandwich shop in Vermont and I asked what 'fillings' they had. They look confused at me for a moment and said, "You mean, what's on them?"
My friend in New York told me that they almost certainly thought I was asking about their dental work. 😄
"Ticking you off" in the UK can also mean getting a "telling off".
@@XennialTV I've often known it used to mean "telling off".
@@XennialTVthen you have never read any of the ‘Jennings & Derbyshire’ books by Anthony Buckeridge!! they were always getting “ticked off” by the Head!! - you have missed a deep reading joy!
@@XennialTV WTF are YOU on about? I had been ticked off more than once by my parents and bosses in my time. It may be a regional thing...
@@BarnabyRudge-sx3pbexactly!
@@XennialTV Not sure which bit of the UK you are from but here in the south it certainly can mean being told off.
I think that nowadays, the reception class is the first year of infants - age 5 approx. Before age 5, there are various names in the UK; nursery, playschool, kindergarten, preschool.
A Brit here. I smiled all the way through until you told the Reception story when I laughed. Thank you.
Re the cot. I remember an American couple and their adult daughter booked a hotel room with a 'cot'. So they walked into a room with a double bed and a crib. The hotel found another room. sorted
When i was a kid in the 70s and 80s, i went to nursery, then infant school, then junior school, and finally high school.
Somewhere there is a Tory who is a Tory Councillor counsellor
That Tory Councillor counsellor has a surgery too
And somewhere there is a Tory who is a Labour Councillor. 😄
Here in Australia, one of our two major political parties, the conservative side, is called the Liberal Party. Not to be confused with someone whose politics are more liberal (note the absence of a capital letter). The conservatives are called the Liberal party, and the liberals are called the Labor party. Never try discussing Australian politics with an American. you'll have their brain synapses bursting in minutes.
@@afpwebworks whereas in the UK the Labour party are centre left and the liberal (or Liberal democrat) party are centrist so brits wouldn't be too confused
@@misterthegeoff9767except they're actually not centrist at all and have always had waaay more radical policies than labour. 🤷🏼♀️
Thanks for sharing your mistakes. Very brave and most of all, very funny.
First i think it's great you go for the natural look rather than being fake. I have an American girlfriend who lives in Texas, over the years we have had several misunderstandings over words, on both sides.
This is wonderful. Thanks Kalyn, for the entertainment. 😄
Don't worry everyone around the world have said or done things that is embarrassing, this shows how honest you are and have a British sense of humour 😊
I heard an American who was hiking in the UK say he was glad he was wearing his water proof pants. It was just starting to rain. He had the rest of the group laughing so hard they were in tears.
Misunderstandings between nations. Just before being seconded to the US I handed in my grade 1 daughter's school report to the head teacher of her new school and every element of the report had a tick (check) against it. I handed it to the lady and her face dropped - the longer she looked the more concerning her face became. She looked at me and asked "How is her reading?". I told her that she had just taken the school reading prize. Utter confusion followed by the realisation that there was a reversal of convention in using the tick or a cross in the American school system and she thought my daughter had failed in all things instead of 100% achievement. Steep learning curve for both parties.
That is sooo weird. Ticks mean bad, cross means good. 😂
Here in the US when we hear tick we think of the blood sucking arachnid that carries Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. 😅
The UK and USA divided by a common language. And 3000 miles of ocean 😊
As Winston Churchill said.
Love your videos, Kaylyn & keep up the great work!
This is the funniest video I have seen for ages. When I was teaching English to students on a hotel hospitality course in Mexico I had to use text books which used American English. All was fine until we were looking at examples of problems a hotel guest might have and we reached "I have stained my pants". I admit it, I creased up with laughter. The following year I was asked to give an entire course on the differences between American and British English.
Loved this video. Incidentally my mental health counsellor is called Tory and I used to be a councillor. But, my confusion came within the UK when, having been brough up in an urban environment and having worked for an engineering company I moved on to work for an agricultural feed company in human resources. On my SECOND day I am taking notes at a negotiating meeting between the sales reps and managemnet when they started talking about increased performance in rape. Yes RAPE. How was young urban me - I was 23 supposed to know that oilseed rape was a crop that was just being introduced into Britain. It is now all over the place in beautiful fields of yellow flowers - but, well, you can imagine my confusion.
Not to mention that the word was used for the top-level sub-divisions of the county of Sussex until local government reform a couple of centuries ago. In other counties the same thing was called a "hundred", apparently because it had to raise a hundred soldiers when a medieval king wanted to muster an army. (Quite shocked me when I first saw an antique map of Sussex.)
My little one is starting Reception in September & now I'm imagining him sitting behind the front desk in the school reception... 😂
Get them a job in reception 😂 it’s a great idea 😂
@michaelbloomfield9911 no not new - my son is 30 and he started in reception in 1999
@@michaelbloomfield9911 It’s regional. Scotland and Northern Ireland have primary and highschools. Reception to us is primary 1 and it goes up to p7. Highschool goes a bit like Harry potter- first year, second year etc
English,65 year old man here and this is the first time I took have come across the term reception to mean early school.Nursery school would be the the term I would still use.
It’s not a new thing. I had reception at school. I’m 30.
You're a great, witty storyteller. The fact that you don't laugh at yourself on video (much), makes it even funnier.
When dealing with GCSEs and A-levels, marks and grades are not the same. You get marks, and they then finalise the grade boundaries based on the distribution of marks for all people taking that exam. After that they can calculate your grade. So a mark of 75 can lead to different grades depending on the subject, the exam board, and the year.
More confusion......in the UK we use the word grill instead of broiling. Broiling is never used in the UK and this caused me a real problem when I first travelled to Canada.
Broiling sounds very unappetising to me because it sounds like boiling. Imagine boiled chicken or a boiled steak😝
'"Brillig" means four o'clock in the afternoon, the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.'
From Through The Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. Apparently, broiling was known in 19th Century Britain.
@@kittyprydekissme Oh, of course!
"Twas bryllyg, and the slythy toves
Did gyre and gymble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves;
And the mome raths outgrabe." Beware the Jabberwocky!!
@@alanwatson7560 Great film.
Chickens for meat are known as broilers.
BTW Canadians use "councillor" for our local government representatives and we also call members of our Conservative party "Tories". However like Americans we use "lawyer" rather than "solicitor" or "barrister" because most of our lawyers are both. (Our judges and lawyers like UK wear robes like the UK but not the wigs.) Canadians use "grades" and "marks" interchangeably. "Ticks" and "ticked off" for checkmarks is only used infrequently here in Canada but I have heard it. BTW most Canadians use two 2 meanings of "pissed" as in drunk (UK) or angry (USA), context usually tells you what meaning is intended. The category that seemed to have the most differences between the UK and North America is for driving and cars. Since childhood, I knew about "bonnet" and "boot" for hood and trunk and some others but recently I learned that "flyover" is what we call an underpass and a "dual carriageway" is what we call a divided highway.
I've heard the equivalent term for a British solicitor in the US is an attorney (someone who does your legal paperwork), while an American lawyer in Britain is called a barrister (someone who represents you in court).
You may, however, end up court if you are prosecuted for soliciting. 😉
In the US all lawyers need to pass a bar exam in their state both to practice and represent someone in court. In the UK only barrister's are members of the bar. A solicitor can't represent you in court only in front of the magistrate (not a judge) for an initial hearing. A solicitor brings cases to a barrister. They have a separate governing body and rules to follow.
That is pretty much spot on, although it is a little more nuanced than that. A barrister is indeed a solicitor who represents a person in court, albeit only within the Crown Court, which is one 'rung' on the ladder of the court system. Above the Crown Court is the High Court, which is reserved for only the most high-profile and significant trials, and below it is the Magistrate's Court, which deals with less serious crimes. Solicitors work in all of these courts, but barristers have to undergo further training once qualified as a solicitor due to the intricacies involved in that position. I could get very deep into the weeds here, explaining the reasons for the wigs and robes, the KC (King's Counsel) title, and various other things, but that feels a) like far too much for a YT comment and b) a little unfair to just dump all this stuff here without being asked. So, with that in mind, I shall post this, do some digging on YT and come back to edit this comment if I find a video that will do a better job than me waffling on here! 🙈🤪
Not UK, just England and Wales. Scotland does not have barristers, the nearest to that is an Advocate, who undertake different training to barristers.
@alanj9391 oh, shoot, yeah! Thanks for that.
OMG 3 mins in and in hysterics.😂 Kudos for sharing this. This is comedy gold. The inner workings of Tory's mind. I hope my comments don't tick you off.
I thought your solicitor misunderstanding was going to go a different way. Which would have been more embarrassing.
In the US I was confused as to why lawyers were not allowed to use rural rest spots, as they had signs saying 'No solicitors'
This was such fun to watch! I learnt a couple of things from your video. I never realised that solicitor in the US is a person who works in telesales. Also your use of the word "checkmark" confused me, and maybe your ex-friend didn't understand either. Happily, google explained to me that it's another word for what I would call a "tick".
I'm born and raised in the USA, midwest area. I never knew telesales people were called solicitors either? To me they're marketers/telemarketers/salespeople who generally work in marketing depts/firms.
Solicitors can also be door to door sales people. When I was a kid they would come around selling stuff like vacuum cleaners, cookware sets, encyclopedias, etc.
They are called TORY in Canada too.
@@chrisbodum3621 People named Tory.
@@Naptosis 🤣
Really enjoyed the "solicitor" muddle. Did an actual out-loud chortle!
You are a gem Kalyn, never change,
cheers 🦘
When I first got to Australia I was told to not to forget my Parka (jacket) when I went home. The only parka I had of was a Parker pen. So I was confused why I need to take my pen home until I learnt what they meant.
I had forgotten that we used to call them Parkers ! That was back in the 60s and 70s .
4:05 "Do they all just need emotional support for this new building that's going up?" That made me laugh, and it's probably somewhat true! 😅
I think that I have already told you about my confusion on returning a rented car to an airport in the US. I was asked whether I wanted a valet service. In the UK a valet is typically a servant who looks after his master's clothes and "valeting" is cleaning clothes.
I’m British but have been in the US 45 years. I wouldn’t have had any clue what reception means, either. Hilarious video, though. I have quite a few embarrassing moments from when I first went to the US.
I don't know when we started to use the word 'reception' in an educational context, but when I was growing up we called it the infants' (school).7
Yes we did too.
When I lived in the UK in the 90’s , I found the term ‘reception’ for Kindergarten such a strange term. I’m Australian.
Nursery then Infants (reception, middle class, top class), then junior s (Standards 1-4), high school (forms 1-5) Lower then upper 6th form, Uni. It confuses me why they kept reception when they changed it to Years 1-13. I was the year that took their GCSE's in form 5 but returned for Alevels in year 12😂
It may have been embarrassing for you Kalyn, however I'm sure you were forgiven and just keep being your true self. It is so refreshing to see 😃
In New Zealand where I was born and in Australia where I live we use pre-school now but between 3-5 years old it was called kindergarten too!😊
Very funny nearly wet myself laughing. It's very endearing
The only one that I have heard about a few times is from British who told me about trouble they had when they used their slang word for cigarettes.
And to us Brits, the longer version of that word means a butcher's herby pork and liver meatball.
A very, very funny video!! Thank you for making me laugh!
When one orders coffee in Greece one asks for "plain coffee with milk" (Sketto me gala). Sketto - plain. Skartar is poo . I onced asked for skartar me gala - poo with milk. My two friends who could speak Greek burst out laughing, the waitress was very kind & diplomatic. Phew
My dad once asked for "vin courant" in a restaurant in France, he wanted the house wine.
@@BarnabyRudge-sx3pb What is "Courant"? Is that rude? Should it have been "vin maison", although I have no idea. 😂
@@maudeboggins9834 It means running, as in "running water". If you want tap water rather than bottled you ask for "eau courante". Yes he should have asked for vin maison.
@@BarnabyRudge-sx3pb hahahaha. I like that. Running wine, & why not, it is France after all. Thanks
I once ordered a glass of white wine with a meal in France and received a carafe of red. My French was OK, so I reckoned that was just the nearest thing they had.
The Canadian Conservatives are referred to as Tories, as is the Liberal Party in Australia (despite the name, they are anything but liberal - Australia, everything's upside down :D ).
Another example of misunderstanding is I went to Australia in 1990 and my cousin a young woman who I had not seen since we were children together almost 30 years previous at that time, said to me I will buy you a pair of thongs while you’re here and I immediately replied that is not necessary I can get anything like that myself. I felt embarrassed and she was smiling intently.
It was sometime later that I found out thongs in Oz meant flip flops and not skimpy underwear as we refer to the word.
So it happens in lots of places where English is spoken.
Very funny and endearing. Thanks Kaylyn 😊
You always crack me up, 😂. I’m so hungover from watching England last night, and laughing hurts my head.
‘Reception’ really made me chuckle.
What about the other kind? "No Soliciting"😁
Check mark means nothing in uk. Tick is the word. (Also for the engineers - check valves don’t exist, we have non-return valves!)
I was born in the 1970’s. We called Reception Play School.
I've never heard the term 'reception' used as you describe before (kindergarten) - when I was wee, it was called 'creche'. Mind you, that was in the '70's, and I don't have any weans so the lack of knowledge over reception is moot I suppose. I am really enjoying you videos - I love language, and hearing you experiences and thoughts over UK and US uses of the shared English Language really interesting. My ex was American, and we were always tripping over things you describe - either side of the Atlantic. You're doing a great job : )
That's funny! We call first year in school here in the UK Reception...well we lived in Australia a few years ago and they call it 'Prep' and before this they go to Kindy (short for Kindergarten) whereas the Brits call it Pre-School or Playgroup. Lol soo much confusion 😂😂❤
Reception isn’t (or at least it wasn’t when I was at school) a term used in Scotland either. Where we had Primary 1 - 7, followed by first to sixth year.
Oh and a crib in the UK is a specific type of cot for a newborn, with people mostly either using a mosses basket which is made of woven grass or a crib which is made of wood (normally with wooden spindles on the sides) they are both of a similar size and probably somewhere around a third or a quarter of the size of a cot.
@lynnejamieson
Ditto for my upbringing in 'Norn Iron'. Just Primary and Secondary schooling. No notion of nursery, reception, elementary, infants, junior school, middle school, high school etc. And no 'graduations' or Balls. Simpler times. When I listen to American news reporting that twenty 10th graders were shot and killed (unfortunately a common headline), I'm thinking .... just tell me their age.
Me either, English old fogey. Google says it's a voluntary class for kids under the compulsory starting age of five.
Americans call cutlery "silverware". Is it therefore possible to have plastic silverware?
@@Ulysses1707 yes it is, along with wooden or coloured ‘silverware’. Which is a little mind boggling. Though I don’t think that it’s unheard of to use the term ‘silverware’ in the UK but I think it’s reserved purely for cutlery and other items laid out on the dining table that has some silver content and not something that most of us will ever own.
A grade in the UK tends to be a letter, a mark is usually a number out of a maximum number of marks.
Except for GCSEs, where it's 1-9.
When I first came to the USA, I wanted to buy a fluid used in the UK as a cleaning agent etc, it's called Methylated Spirit, or Meths in the UK! The people in the hardware store nearly called the police, but instead they called someone who informed them it is called denatured alcohol in the USA! Of course, in the UK it is coloured purple and smells distinctive, whereas in the USA, it is clear with very little smell.
I think reception is a relatively new term in the UK. The word kindergarten was used when I was that age.
In the UK, Kindergarten is an alternative word for Nursery, the non-statutory year(s) before Reception. Reception has been reception since at least 1980 - and I can't think what else it would have been called before that.
I thought we used the word nursery for pre school children.
@@carolineskipper6976Well, when I started going to school (which was in the 60’s) there was no such thing as a Reception class, so we didn't call it anything.
The first year of school that anyone attended was called 'first year infant school' or just 'first year infants'. There was no state-provided schooling before that.
Love your vids. So refreshing and so funny 😂
On councillor vs. counsellor. I'm a mental health counsellor/psychotherapist, but you'd be surprised how many administrators in my profession misspell 'counsellor' as 'councillor'. Idiocy is universal.
I'm from the northwest of England, and had a friend at university who was from the southeast. One day she made some remark like "it's warm today" and I could not understand what she was saying. To me it sounded like woam. She then clarified she was talking about the weather, and I understood. I guess to her,my pronunciation of warm sounded like wahm.
Fun video I enjoyed. UK Councillor the American equivalent is Councilman or Councilwoman. Strangely I have an LGA online training session this evening as I am one of those Councillors.
When I lived in SE Asia, I must have told my girlfriend how beautiful she was numerous times (as you do). It was some months before it was pointed out to me that I was using the wrong tone (it's a tonal language), and all that time I'd been telling her, "You're really unlucky"!
In the 1990s there was a British TV comedy called the Brittas Empire where the receptionist put her babies in her desk drawers as she couldn’t get childcare (using the drawers as cribs😀)
In the UK, a crib is usually a small, portable cot that's less than 90 cm long and is suitable for a baby's first few months of sleep. A cot is generally larger and can be used for babies and toddlers up to four or five years old.
Guses what we call a bed for camping?....... A camp bed!
Your local MP will also have surgeries, which is just a time, usually when they are not in London, to meet local people and answer questions. Reception is also used at weddings, as in the meal after the ceremony. You may have had one of these when you got married
I'm an Englishman and I lived 8 years in the US (NYC, NJ, DE). I can totally relate to your feelings. On my first morning's work in the office I asked a (female) colleague if she had a rubber.
Good giggle. The embarrasments work the other way round - my speaking English when I moved to the US caused red face on occasion..
(BTW if you go to the GP surgery with a nasty cough, they might take your head off for a proper look there, then put it back) - joke 37(b) Tales of Nonsense, 1967.