• HOME
  • ABOUT
    • DISCLAIMER
  • CONTACT
  • TRAVEL
    • Europe
      • Amsterdam
      • Belgium
      • Budapest
      • Copenhagen
      • France
      • Germany
      • Italy
      • Scotland
      • Spain
      • Switzerland
      • Wales
    • California
    • Canada
    • Cyprus
    • England
    • Iceland
    • New Zealand
    • USA
      • New York
      • Oregon
      • Washington
  • FEATURES
    • Adventures
    • Beauty & Fashion
    • Blogging
    • Day Trips
    • DIY
    • Food
    • Life Lately
    • Photo an Hour
    • Photography
  • BLOGROLL

Chicadeedee

Adventures & Life

  • LIFE
  • ADVENTURE
  • FOOD

Lost in Translation



March 2, 2015

To some, moving to an English speaking country sounds pretty easy. Not when you’re an American moving to England, and words can have such different meanings. I’ve had more than my fair share of face palm moments, so thought I’d share a few for this months Lost in Translation travel link up with Emma, Kelly, Rebecca and Sam.
One would think having an English boyfriend would have its advantages, in he would try to combat embarrassing moments by filling his wonderful American girlfriend in on the fact that words she knows aren’t the same in England. Not the case. He just thinks its really funny.

The case of “Pants”
While at a pub, one of Adam’s friends spilled some cordial on herself, and I was like, “oh well it’s ok, at least your pants are black”.  This led her to asking me how did I know what colour her pants are and looking at herself, and me going “well duh, because I can see them obviously”. Turns out no, I couldn’t see them, as pants are underwear in England. This was quite a few years ago and I’m happy to say that calling “trousers” pants is more mainstream now. Hooray!
The case of “Fanny”
The first I found out about this embarrassing mistake was at a comedy show, and was super confused when the crude comedian kept referring to a fanny and not understand the jokes. Fanny in America is a polite way of saying butt, and a word my Mom and Nana use quite frequently (must be an Oregon thing). Not in England. Fanny means vagina. You can imagine how that could get a bit embarrassing confusing the two. It gets worse when you tell your dear Mother and Nana this, and they decide to work the word Fanny into any sentence they possibly can. *Crawls under table*
The case of “Bollocks”
I must just hang with a crude crowd, because I was silly enough to never realise Bollocks was a swear word. I just kind of likened it to “crap”, a minimally bad word. So when I was in a meeting at my old job, and the senior management said something I strongly disagreed with, I raised my hand and said “That’s bollocks” to the collective gasps of everyone attending. I don’t even know why it came out, I don’t think I’d ever even said it before, but I clearly picked the wrong place to debut it. Oops *hangs head in shame*

There have been many more instances, but we’d be here all day. I think these are three very important words to learn meanings to before throwing them around in conversations in England!

Have you ever used a word inappropriately? Please tell me I’m not on my own.
Previous Post
Next Post

CATEGORIES | Travel 80 Comments

Hi I'm Dannielle! I'm from New York and have found myself in England. Join my adventures.

FOLLOW ALONG

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

NEXT ADVENTURES

Staying at Home

ARCHIVES

INSTAGRAM

Latest pretty nails by the talented @mireillewalke Latest pretty nails by the talented @mireillewalker 

#acrylicnails #naildesign #magicnails #starrynightnails #acrylicnailsdesign #nailartist #doncaster #southyorkshire
Come visit Ingleton waterfall trail with us! It ra Come visit Ingleton waterfall trail with us! It rained our entire 3 hour hike 🤣 but that made for some pretty good waterfalls! 

#ingleton #ingletonwaterfalls #ingletonwaterfalltrail #ingletonwaterfalls #ingletonwaterfallstrail #chasingwaterfalls #waterfallhike #waterfallchasing
Shuffleboard with our little boy ❤️ Shuffleboard with our little boy ❤️
Nice sunny beach day at Morecambe. Nice sunny beach day at Morecambe.
Had a little look inside Carlton Towers and realis Had a little look inside Carlton Towers and realised I quite miss a good stately home visit! Might have to re-visit some old favourites now the weather is getting nicer.

#carltontowers #statelyhomes #england #yorkshire #northyorkshire
Our sweet little fluff enjoying the fire on a cold Our sweet little fluff enjoying the fire on a cold night. 

#catsofinstagram #firewatcher #woodstoves #keepingwarmbythefire #catstagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: API requests are being delayed for this account. New posts will not be retrieved.

Log in as an administrator and view the Instagram Feed settings page for more details.

MORE POSTS YOU MAY LIKE

Photography Friday #57

Photography Friday #57

Photography Friday #46

Photography Friday #46

Photography Friday #44

Photography Friday #44

Day Tripping :: Yorkshire Wildlife Park #4

Day Tripping :: Yorkshire Wildlife Park #4

GET THE LATEST POSTS

Enter your e-mail address

Thanks for following along!

FRIENDS AND NICE BLOGS

Crumbs in the Bed
ink + adventure Around the World in 80 Pairs of Shoes ink + adventure

Categories

Adventures Afternoon tea Amsterdam Art Bath beauty Books California Christmas Cyprus day trips England Essie Europe Festival food Iceland Lake District Leibster Life London LUSH makeup Nail polish nails inc. National Trust New York Oregon photoanhour photo book Photography Photos product restaurant review secret garden party shopping Trains Travel traveling United Kingdom Wales Workshop York Zoo

Posts You May Like

Adventures In :: England – Scarborough Castle

Adventures In :: England – Scarborough Castle

Adventures In :: Iceland – Hverir Geothermal Area

Adventures In :: Iceland – Hverir Geothermal Area

.

A Travel Afternoon Tea at Searcys St. Pancras

Adventures In :: Amsterdam – I AMSTERDAM

Adventures In :: Amsterdam – I AMSTERDAM

- THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS -