Emma

[hensylee]

Emma posted: Could you please all also note that I sussed the quote in the little blue box thingys too!! YAY me!

YAY, you. I am so proud of you. Also, I don't know what sussed means?:p :p :D Maybe it's because I am old. You gonna tell me?:D ;) :o

Not sure, but I don't think I sussed in this thread.:D :D :p

[PJmomrunner]

I searched on "dictionary british english slang" and came up with a dictionary of slang used in the UK (http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/s.htm) which defined "sussed" as "Adj. Knowledgeable, well-informed, able to look after oneself." Simply searching "sussed" on Google was not enough! There were so many hits! Apparently the word is so commonly used that no one felt the need to define it on the websites that use the term in their names. That dictionary is full of words that could baffle me were I to encounter them in use!

There! I guess we're sussed!

[Maureen]

Over this side of the pond..."sussed" means "figured it out" so I presume Emma meant that she had finally figured out how to get the quotes to appear in the blue box :D

Maureen

[sue943]

I agree with you Maureen, definitely Emma now knows what it means, or knows how to do something. :)

Sussed normally means that a person didn't immediately know what something meant, but now does, perhaps after some investigation or a great deal of puzzling.

Many times I wonder if the Brits and the Americans are speaking the same language. I am an avid reader and love thriller and crime novels but have huge difficulties with many American authors, I read the books and just have to guess at what they might mean by certain words and terms, in other words I have to suss the meanings for myself.

On another site I visit frequently an American has just asked for advice about 'mud' for her bathroom walls. That one certainly threw me, I had to ask for an interpretation as mud to a Brit means the mixture of soil and water that you wipe from the bottom of your shoes. :)

[Georgia]

Sue, mud also means the stuff you put on drywall (sheetrock) to prepare it for painting and to cover the seams. It's gloppy gooey stuff that looks like clean mud!

[Emma]

hehehehehehe
Sorry! I forget the language differences at times. Have learnt several American words from Danny, Mary and Harry and Jim on chat and taught them how to use 'squinnie' too! lol
And the way you use the word 'fanny' completely cracks me up!! LOL

Yep, Sue explained 'sussed' well - I suppose it is slang but I didnt think of it at the time. I just meant I had finally worked out how to do it.

Love Emma
xxx

[Blanche]

I've been watching BBC-America because it recently came to my cable. I love it, but I have problems with words too. Thank heaven that Emma has helped me, otherwise I would have been completely gobsmacked. *Smiles*
Blanche

[Georgia]

Ditto on bbcamerica. Love it. But I have trouble mostly when there's a non-London accent and slang - sometimes it takes me half an hour of the program to understand what's being said.

Still do pretty well with Yorkshire accent from years of "All Creatures Great and Small" - of course, I'd devoured all the books so it was easier to follow.

[sue943]

I don't know about Americans not being able to understand some British regional accents and dialects, WE don't understand them either! :)

My ex-husband is from the north of England and I had been brought up in the south (even though born in the north) and our accents are completely different and some usage of words has led to confusion. One occasion comes to mind when I had a craving for some licorice toffees, and by that I meant chewy 'candies', sort of caramels but licorice flavoured. Much to my dismay he bought me some Pontefract cakes, soft pieces of licorice and not at all what I actually wanted. It was some years before I discovered that ALL sweets were 'toffees' to him!

[Maureen]

Sue, mud also means the stuff you put on drywall (sheetrock) to prepare it for painting and to cover the seams. It's gloppy gooey stuff that looks like clean mud!

Well I've never heard it called that before :confused:
Georgia, the "mud" you referred to is what we would call "plaster" :D

Maureen

[Georgia]

Nope, not plaster. It's the stuff you put on drywall to get rid of the seams after they've used the tape. I'm no builder - but we got rid of all the plaster in our house & put in drywall, and I vividly remember our builder "mudding" one day. After they slather it on they smooth it out . . . is there someone out there who can explain it better? You put primer on top of the mud and then you can paint.

[geebee]

"Mud" is also a product used by tile installers. It is spread onto walls or floors and the tile is actually set onto the product - kind of like a glue. It is not usually used for the typical 4x4 wall tile but more when larger tiles are used. Information gained by 10 years in the tile industry.;) ;)

[Granbonny]

You and Danny are not allowed to answer this:D But, what American member knows..What is a BOOT of a car?:p ...Bonnie

[PJmomrunner]

It's the trunk, isn't it? Not to be confused with the BONNET!

[gijanet]

You and Danny are not allowed to answer this:D But, what American member knows..What is a BOOT of a car?:p ...Bonnie

15 years in a maintenance company tells me you are talking about a CVC boot, which covers the CVC joint...........

[hensylee]

I didn't know what a boot or bonnet was til I moved here and had two OLD, OLD, OLD neighbors who used those terms. They also had another that was funny: Every way a country boy knows to go to town (bet Danny and Bonnie know that one, too)

Plaster - in my mother's family, it's bread pudding!

Gobsmacked - years ago right here in VR, we learned that one from Gillian.

Sqinnie? I never heard that one.

If you think American slang is unfathomable, you oughta come to the true south. It's a hoot. YOu'd be just plain lost, right Bonnie, Danny? i.e. 'bless your heart' can be taken several different ways...........

If you get an old Key Wester, you're just plain lost (refer to plaster above)

[OldManEmu]

Sussed is a common term in Australia and it means the same as the UK. We call various parts of a car different terms to the US, Bonnet is (hood), Boot is (trunk), Guard is (fender I think, not sure on that one) and as for building Mud is slang for Mortar as in what is used between rows of bricks. I am sure there are plenty of others. :)

[sue943]

Pavement is another which makes me smile, in the UK that is what we walk on by the side of the road, your sidewalk. I understand that if I walked on the pavement in the US I am either likely to be arrested for jaywalking or run over! Is that correct?

This is a webcam showing a junction in our town, as you will see, people just walk out in front of traffic, as they cross from one pavement to another! :)

http://www.jerseyinsight.com/jsyjt/webcams/charingcross.htm

[Wise]

Pavement is another which makes me smile, in the UK that is what we walk on by the side of the road, your sidewalk. I understand that if I walked on the pavement in the US I am either likely to be arrested for jaywalking or run over! Is that correct?

This is a webcam showing a junction in our town, as you will see, people just walk out in front of traffic, as they cross from one pavement to another! :)

http://www.jerseyinsight.com/jsyjt/webcams/charingcross.htm

Your are correct that crossing from one sidewalk or pavement to another is jaywalking here OR a possible way to get run over. I'm not so sure that crossing at an appropriate intersection isn't another to get run over in some places! (LOL)

Now tell me....what is squinnie?

I can tell you something funny on this subject. We had friends here from the U.S. who spent a year in Ramsgate and London. They are ministers and at one preaching engagement our friend was referring to his "suspenders" in making his point. He didn't know until later why the congregation was laughing. Now he knows that to them he was talking about his "garter belt".

[sue943]

I have no idea what a 'squinnie' can be, I know what a 'twirly' is! :)

[Emma]

I think 'squinnie' may be a word from where I come from right down south in Portsmouth. It's very much a slang word, tend to use it when children are really whining, moaning or 'squinnying'!. Not a word I use often but Harry and Jim found it amusing at least! lol

I learnt all about 'grits' (hash browns??), 'fannies' (does NOT mean the same thing over here at all!) and 'biscuits' (scones over here) from 'ya'll' too!

Love Emma
xxx

[Wise]

I think 'squinnie' may be a word from where I come from right down south in Portsmouth. It's very much a slang word, tend to use it when children are really whining, moaning or 'squinnying'!. Not a word I use often but Harry and Jim found it amusing at least! lol

I learnt all about 'grits' (hash browns??), 'fannies' (does NOT mean the same thing over here at all!) and 'biscuits' (scones over here) from 'ya'll' too!

Love Emma
xxx

Emma, grits here in the U.S. are a corn product similar to hot cereal. Most people eat them with salted with cheese and butter (cheese grits). I eat them as a cereal with milk, sugar and butter; that's because I grew up in northern Indiana where most people don't know what they are, much less have eaten them.

Hash browns are pretty much shredded potatoes that are usually fried.

Biscuits here are usually a breakfast food. When we visited Ramsgate and London 12 years ago they were calling our "cookie" a biscuit. I've seen scones here, but don't know if I've eaten them...are they slightly hard?

I've enjoyed this thread very much....I'm glad you sussed it up (not correct usage, but you get the point?)

[sue943]

Aren't grits more like porridge?

Scones are not hard, at least they ought not be. Typically they would be eaten for afternoon tea (the meal) with jam and if you are eating them in a cafe/restaurant, then spread with thick cream - yum.

[sue943]

This is a fruit scone.

3711

[geebee]

Emma, grits here in the U.S. are a corn product similar to hot cereal. Most people eat them with salted with cheese and butter (cheese grits). I eat them as a cereal with milk, sugar and butter; that's because I grew up in northern Indiana where most people don't know what they are, much less have eaten them.

Wise,
I eat my grits both as cereal (sugar & milk) and with butter and lots of pepper. Chris introduced me to the latter way as I ate them as cereal growing up. I love them both ways - have never had them with cheese.

Love scones - especially with devon creme. Scones are only hard if they are not fresh. They are definitely best eaten right out of the over only slightly cooled.

[Jan]

Oatmeal = Porridge

I just love bisciuts and gravy,

but one thng do find strange in the USA is the eating of panckakes and syrup on the same plate as bacon and eggs etc

Don't get me wrong I love pancakes, ( I eat them after breakfast sort of like a sweet course)

Janet

[Blanche]

I once shared an office with a woman who was married to an Englishman and had lived in England for some time. She said so many things that I really liked, including the phrase "please yourself," which meant, to me, do what you like. When her husband was visiting, he asked if he could borrow a book from me. I told him to "pleasure himself." The remark didn't seem to bother him, but the look on the face of the American man he was with lead me to believe that I had made a "foxes paw!" ...hehe hehe
Blanche

[Mary]

Blanche,
I use to hear the expression, Please yourself, when I was growing up. It's much less common now, but I think I'm going to make an effort to use it more.
I also say, "I beg your pardon?" when I'm not sure what the speaker has said.
That has caused many a jaw to drop!
Mary

[Wise]

Sue & Geebee, thanks for setting me straight on scones. I've only seen them in coffeeshop type places and they look hard and not nearly as delicious looking as the picture you provided Sue. Now I could eat THAT!

Jan, I don't like my pancakes on the same plates with my eggs and sausauge/bacon either. I like my sweet stuff not to touch the other food.