Because of this, there are many different ways of life in different parts of the nation. Regions across the UK have different ways of expressing and saying things. 1 decade ago. Sign Up Today: Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter! I would love if you could do a quiz using English colloquialisms across the USA. Chat. 10 Answers. See more. Just like Brazil nuts, however, it might actually be the case that the region of Castana took its name from chestnut trees that grew there, not the other way around—in which case the name chestnut might instead derive from some ancient and long-lost name for the chestnut tree itself. Most people have heard that Christmas is literally the “Christ Mass” of the Christian church, and that Santa Claus takes his name from a corruption of “Saint Nicholas,” the 4th century figure whose fondness for secretly handing out gifts apparently inspired the traditional image of Father Christmas. If you want even more deals, head on over to the Amazon Coupon page. These regional slang words will probably get you weird looks. This article contains affiliate links to products selected by our editors. These are called colloquialisms. For example, natives and residents of Liverpool are formally referred to as Liverpudlians, but are most commonly referred to as Scousers (after their local dish). You’ll no doubt have heard the word, but you might not know the meaning—frankincense is actually a type of fragrant resin, obtained from the sap of the frankincense tree, which has long been used to make incense; the frank– of frankincense is an old French word essentially meaning “high quality.” Myrrh, incidentally, is another much-prized and highly fragrant resin or oil obtained from the sap of the myrrh tree. Accents aside, the phrases we use can indicate where we grew up. Regional vocabulary within American English varies. I am born and bred in greater manchester, I didn't realize how many things we sayvthat is a northern thing. Whatever its earliest meaning might have been, carol was borrowed into English from French in the early Middle Ages and can probably be traced back to an ancient Latin or Greek word for a flute-player, choraules. We wear bling to parties and have a blast; we goof off and then catch some z's. the nursery rhyme "Taffy was a Welshman / Taffy was a thief / Taffy came to my house / To steal a piece of beef. Here’s a quick rundown of common terms with different meanings on either side of the Atlantic, and a few explanations of some common phrases. It's not just whether you say tea, dinner, or supper that separates us ... Now UK faces 25 DAYS of lockdown for 5 … Thanks. Ever say something in front of out-of-state friends that leaves them scratching their heads? There are loads round about scotland, but try these on for size. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. In fact, this quiz believes that this is where much of your dialect comes from. (Items like these are simply open-box products and have never been used.) Chock a block, kerfuffle, tickety boo qualify as slang, and CV is simply an abbreviation. Pricey kitchen gadgets are also available for less, including the Keurig Single Cup K-Select Coffee Maker discounted 28 percent and the Instant Pot Duo Nova 7-in-1 Pressure Cooker discounted 25 percent. We think of dictionaries as comprehensive … It's not all about big-ticket electronics, either. . The ­–toe of mistletoe is an Old English word for “twig,” but the mistle– part is much more puzzling. It should be easy—Britain exported the English language, after all—but there are so many regional quirks that never made it beyond the borders that things can get quite tricky for the non-locals. Share Join 🎃 See Cheap Halloween Deals Here — Home. From there, you'll see whether or not the item is available from Amazon Warehouse. "Anorak" Although it's more often used as a synonym for raincoat, an anorak is something slightly … Though it had several earlier and different uses in the 1300s and 1400s, beginning in the early 1500s, tinsel was the name of an iridescent fabric interwoven with gold- or silver-colored thread that took its name from a French word, étincelle, meaning “sparkle” or “spark.” Tinsel as we know it today dates from the late 1500s, and took its name from the sparkling silvery or golden threads that made tinsel fabric so shiny. American slang vs. British slang: terms and slang words compared From 'Eee by gum' to 'the bee's knees', each area has its own colloquial language which, to an outsider, can sound like gobbledegook. We Americans love our slang. In the years that followed, however, bauble also came to be used for the baton carried by court jesters (who were nicknamed bauble-bearers in Tudor England) and foolish people; to give the bauble meant to make fun of someone in 17th century English. Different Types of UK Accents and the Countries they Belong to Cancel. Its research found a variety of slang words were used to describe UK weather. . Deals Flash Freebies Competitions Vouchers Chat. Many slang terms and idioms are regional, meaning that there may be some places where they are commonly used and recognized, but in most other places they are unknown or at least very uncommon.These terms are most commonly popular in their places of origin and perhaps the surrounding areas. The nog of eggnog is an old 17th century word for strong beer, and in particular an ale or beer once brewed in Norfolk in the east of England. wikimedia.org. There are also essential items every house needs like Ziploc bags and Glad trash bags. The regional slang that best suits you is the Midatlantic! "In contrast to a regional dialect, a social dialect is a variety of a language spoken by a particular group based on social characteristics other than geography." English isn’t the only language to have geographically misnamed the turkey, however: In French it is called dinde (from poule d’inde, or “Indian chicken”); in Portuguese it is the peru (because the birds were mistakenly thought to come from South America); and in Malaysia it is called the ayam belanda or “Dutch chicken” (because the birds were originally introduced by Dutch settlers). In New England, children drink from "bubblers." Winky terms like terrific and awesome are now so ubiquitous that they barely even qualify as slang anymore. You probably need to be in Pittsburgh to know what this means. Ian July 4, 2020, 2:35 pm Great. Many of these products have been previously returned to Amazon by customers, and each item is given a 20-point inspection by employees before going back onto the site. From worthless trinkets to misnamed chickens, here are the histories and etymologies of 12 Christmassy words. ", "Plymouth's nickname 'Guz' and the reasons behind it", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_British_regional_nicknames&oldid=992908851, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from February 2018, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018, Articles with failed verification from June 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 December 2020, at 19:19. With a dialect, there can be variations in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Get exclusive deals, product news, reviews, and more with the Mental Floss Smart Shopping newsletter. Regional definition, of or relating to a region of considerable extent; not merely local: a regional meeting of the Boy Scouts. Cool, awesome, grungy, dude, chatty Cathy, down with, rad, swell, chill, etc are slang … Relevance. Dench - presumably derived from "hench", this word is used to describe attractive, muscular males.. Peng - "peng" is where the complimentary slang words get a bit more serious. Do you use this American slang? The Midatlantic. To make sure you're going through Amazon Warehouse for these items, go to the individual product page and click "Buy Used." Read full article. It is the most sexually-connotating slang word heard in London, comparable to "sexy". Scouse, anybody? A term featured on a list may or may not be found throughout the region concerned, and may or may not be recognized by speakers outside that region. Note: In this article, we’ll explore UK accents – including their characteristic sounds and origins, but we do not address dialects.An accent relates to how you sound when you speak, whereas a dialect refers to the words you use. Regional Slang - LatestDeals.co.uk. My other half is from surrey. Joyce. The first English dictionaries included difficult words. There are even deals on sought-after video games like The Last of Us Part II for PlayStation 4 for half the original price. They’re named after Joel Robert Poinsett, a former congressman and diplomat, who is credited with introducing the plant to the United States in the early 1800s. For example, natives and residents of Liverpool are formally referred to as Liverpudlians, but are most commonly referred to as Scousers (after their local dish). But what about all of the other festive words that crop up at this time of year? . The rein– of reindeer, incidentally, is an old Germanic word meaning “horn.”. Amazon deals aren't exclusive just to the holiday season, Black Friday, or Cyber Monday—if you go to the site's little-known Warehouse section, you'll find discounts on high-end items all year long. The earliest references to Christmas carols date back to Tudor England, but before then the word carol could be used to refer to any joyous or celebratory song, bands or choruses of singers or musicians, birdsong or the chorus of songbirds at dawn, or to a particular type of circular folk dance or piece of music written to accompany a ring-dance. He might be the most famous of Santa’s reindeer, but the name Rudolph actually means “famous wolf,” and would once have been an epithet bestowed on the fiercest or most audacious of warriors. ‘Blinding’ – a slang term that is far from something that physically causes someone to lose … Favourite answer. The word yule derives from an Old Norse word, jól, which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was once the name of a 12-day pagan festival. British slang is quite unique. ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Wolverhampton researches Black Country dialect", "Why do the French call the British 'the roast beefs'? Blinding. Test Your Knowledge of British Slang and UK Colloquialisms. Regional Slang. Those chestnuts roasting on an open fire are actually Castanea nuts, named for the ancient region of Castana in central Greece from where they might once have been imported into the rest of Europe. By Claire Fallon. Poinsettias are the large, bright red "flowers" (though the red parts are actually leaves) popular at Christmas that are native to Mexico and parts of Central America. ", "MOST Crawley residents have probably, at some time, referred to the town by its well-known nickname – Creepy Crawley", "Off the Brochure Travel Guide: Glasgow, Scotland", "The Hartlepool Monkey, Who hung the monkey? 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