Looking back thru' this post, I'm suprised no other English person has challenged the use of 'bobby' or 'bobbies' for Policeman/men. It certainly used to be used, but I don't think I've heard of it in about 40 years in normal speech - it can be used ironically, in quotes,(as in ,for example,newspaper headlines about the need for more Bobbies on the Beat - nice and alliterative) or in references to the 1950s(especially in films), but from one English person to another now would get a very strange look, even amongst the older generation. We are quite happy for tourists to use it, and would think it was quite sweet and would know what you meant, but is really an archaic use now. Same as Rozzers. The usual phrase is the police (singular or plural), cop or the cops, 'the old Bill'(London working class or ironic,) or less charmingly, by the criminal fraternity, 'the filth'. Another common usage is 'Plod' as in PC (police constable) Plod. I suppose this was originally based on the image of the flat footed, large shoe sized constable, pounding his beat on foot and 'plodding along'. Used now as in: 'better slow down, there's a couple of Plod up ahead with a speed gun' It's a generally affectionate term. The use of 'pig' for a policeman, common from about the 60s to the 80s, has also died out.

Quite right, Panda. I believe Plod is also used dismissively by specialist coppers of their uniformed colleagues: but PC Plod is a character in Enid Blyton's "Noddy" books, surely?

You may, incidentally, hear "Noddy" used, with much the same meaning as "Mickey Mouse", as an adjective. An older variant, from children's first reading books, is "Janet and John" (occasionally still used in the Civil Service for the simpler and shorter versions of documents for the general public and the dimmer members of the Government of the day).

US flashlight
UK torch

After doing an Advanced Search on this thread, I think I've come up with two that have not appeared here, yet:

US - Charter, responsibilties
UK - Remit

As in the case where you are gettng a new assignment or a new organization at work, you might be asked by a coworker, "What's your remit?"

US - Temporarily hired for a temporary assignment
UK - Seconded (accent on the 2nd syllable)

As in taking an assignment in UK for six months, as an expat from anywhere; from a UK perspective you'd have been seconded to UK.

Jeff's touched off another thought. "Remit" (stress on the first syllable) sometimes appears coupled with a word you won't normally hear outside Scotland: "outwith", as in "outwith my remit" (a posh jobsworth's way of saying "nothing to do with me"). And a jobsworth is the kind of functionary who's likely to say "That's more than my job's worth" of anything that sounds remotely like doing someone a favour above, beyond or indeed outwith the strict terms of their rulebook or contract.

UK: Tosser - as in, "He's a tosser!" (may be a Lancashire colloquilism...)

US: Jerk

UK: dust bin

US: trash can/garbage can

quote:

Originally posted by PDXtine:
A quick note on "vacation". It is still used in American English too. Cities (usually Public Works departments) issue permits for "street vacations" when construction or other activity will close the street. It almost sounds exotic. "Oh, you're going to the coast? We're going to have a street vacation."

As a foreign exchange student I encountered a couple of oddities. I was asked by a classmate for a "rubber", which I learned was an eraser. One day I had a sneezing fit in class and the teacher (a nun) asked me what was wrong. I replied that I was "all stuffed up". The nun blushed and the other girls burst into laughter. What I meant was that I had nasal congestion. What they understood was something entirely different.

Christine

I guess it may be too late to get a response on this, but I'm curious (or, perhaps, "I'm a curiously confused Canadian"...). Were you a foreign exchange student in England or in the U.S.? In Canada, at least where I live, we use the term "stuffed up" to refer to nasal congestion and we use either "rubber" or "eraser" to refer to an eraser, so I'm a bit flummoxed. I also can't, for the life of me, figure out what "stuffed up" implied to your Catholic classmates.

U.S. doctor's office

U.K. surgery

Hi Naomi,

I was an exchange student in South Africa. The expression "get stuffed!" was also used, so I assume they were responding to that context. I think "stuffed up" can also be used in the same context as screwed up...as in: "You really stuffed up that assignment".

Christine

Years ago, I was speaking on the phone with an American client who was not supposed to know she was calling Canada. In the course of conversation I used the expression "the whole kit and kaboodle," and there was a pregnant pause before she demanded: "Where are you from?" She explained that, where she was from (some southwestern state, I forget which), they would never-ever say that; they would say "the whole ball of wax."
Anyhow, where I live we'd say either of those expressions or a myriad of others--"whole nine yards", "whole bag of tricks"... with never a thought about the localis(z)ation of the expression.

Question: Is "whole kit and kaboodle" a British expression?

Well it's certainly known to me. "Kaboodle" sounds to me as though it's Dutch in origin, and a bit of googling seems to support that.

Now, just to show this is not all about Londoners like me, try yourselves on this:

Yur a Glaswegian if:

1. Ye can properly pronounce McConnochie Wink, Ecclefechan Milngavie, Sauchiehall, St Enoch, Auchtermuchty and Aufurfuksake.

2. Ye actually like deep fried battered pizza fae the chippie.

3. Ye get four seasons in wan day.

4. Ye canny pass a chip/kebab shop withoot sleverin when yer blootert.

5. Ye kin fall about pished withoot spilling yer drink.

6. Ye see people wear shell suits with burberry accessories – pure class!

7. Ye measure distance in minutes.

8. Ye kin understaun Rab C Nesbitt and know characters just like him, in yer ain family.

9. Ye go tae Saltcoats cos ye think it is like gaun tae the ocean.

10. Ye kin make hael sentences jist wae sweer wurds.

11. Ye know whit haggis is made ae and stull like eating it.

12. Somedy ye know his used a fitba schedule tae plan thur wedding day date.

13. You've been at a wedding and fitba scores are announced in the Church/Chapel.

14. Ye urny surprised tae find curries, pizzas, kebabs, fish n chips, irn-bru, fags and nappies all in the wan shop.

15. Yer holiday home at the seaside has calor gas under it.

16. A big flash car has a ned at the wheel.

17. Ye know irn-bru is a hangover cure.

18. Ye learnt tae sweer afore ye learnt tae dae sums.

19. Ye actually understand this

20. Finally, you are 100% Glaswegian if you have ever said/heard these words: how's it hingin, clatty, boggin, cludgie, pished, get it up ye, wee beasties, arse bandit, amurny, away an bile yer heid, peely-wally, humphey, backit, Ba'-heid baw bag, dubble nuggit

You might need this to help!

http://digbig.com/4nkhg

UK kit
US stuff: gear, tools, supplies, toiletries, whatever

...and not a different word, but a different pronunciation of the same word: URINAL

US: yer-in-ul

UK: yer-anal

...at least as I heard it in Reading, Berkshire

As I read the "Happy Birthday Steve" postings I was reminded that in the UK people may have simply said "Many Happy Returns" rather than 'Happy Birthday"

quote:

Originally posted by Naomi B.:


Question: Is "whole kit and kaboodle" a British expression?

I'm a lifelong Chicagoan (who's visited England many times, but has no roots there) and my family has used "kit and caboodle" forever. I love this expression.

quote:

Originally posted by Naomi B.:
Question: Is "whole kit and kaboodle" a British expression?

Here's the apparent source of the expression. Interestingly it seems to be American, but extra points to Patrick for identifying the Dutch influence.

.In my social circle I mix with lots of lawyers and they always refer to the police as "bobbies"sometimes in a derogatory way!!

No one has mentioned the UK/US spelling and grammatical differences....which are numerous.

Hi, and then there is Australian English
Bertoli

A a recently joined person, I don't think I'll wade back through 7 pages of this, but I have a few comments on this page.

"Bobbies" is certainly used in my circles as a NICE way of referring to the boys in blue. I was in a meeting on Friday when the expression was used on a number of occasions. Of course there are lots of pejorative workds for the same people, but "bobbies" is positively NICE.

"Plod" definitely comes from "PC Plod" in the Noddy books

I think "seconded" as slightly different meaning from that ascribed above- if one is "seconded" one's employer sends one to work for someone else but still on his payroll.

And "tosser", I think, is stronger than "jerk". It refers to a male, one-handed action. I think"jerk" can just mean idiot- but please enlighten me if I'm wrong

In some, but not all circumstances "stuffed up" would mean pregnant.

Patrick, not being a Glaswegian- andindeed being slightly offended at the mere thought, I'm appalled to relisse that I relate to most of that post. I couldn't get "amurny" even when I'd looked it up.

UK: yob, as in "If he drinks too much beer, smokes cigars, talks too loud and drools when he talks, stays up all night and then dumps his garbage in the street on the way home - he's a yob!"

US: ruffian, tough guy, low-life, disorderly character

quote:

Originally posted by pro lege:
And "tosser", I think, is stronger than "jerk". It refers to a male, one-handed action. I think"jerk" can just mean idiot- but please enlighten me if I'm wrong

I meant to post a comment on that myself. Interestingly tosser and jerk are exactly synonymous, but somehow I think that jerk has become a little bit more acceptable in "polite circles". I usually apply my would-I-use-this-word-in-front-of-my-mother test and I would get away with jerk where I probably wouldn't with tosser.

quote:

Originally posted by beebee:I usually apply my would-I-use-this-word-in-front-of-my-mother test and I would get away with jerk where I probably wouldn't with tosser.

Me too. Mind you, that wouldn't have stopped my mother using it for certain people.

Good way of making the distinction. I concur with m'learned friends.