Do What?

It's been a while since we explored some of the quirkier aspects of the English language, so today seems like a good time to return to the subject.  It's okay, I won't be setting any more quizzes quite yet!  These are just some things you might hear from Britons...

Free House
This is a term familiar to quite a few Americans, but they always get the wrong idea!  A free house is a public house - or pub.  It is NOT somewhere where the drinks are free...

Basically, there are two types of pub in Britain; brewery houses and free houses.  A brewery house is a pub that is owned by (or supplied by) a specific brewery.  When describing a pub to someone, the phrase, "it's a Fuller's house" or "a Young's house" may be used.  A free house is not owned by or supplied by a specific brewery, meaning that you can buy several different brands of beer.

Chav
Not quite as appealing as a free house, a chav is basically the British equivalent of white trash, although there are usually specifics involved.  For instance a chav is not just a working-class, uneducated, and/or generally disreputable person; a chav is a working-class, uneducated, and generally disreputable person who wears designer clothes, is decked out in much ostentatious (and invariably fake) bling, and boasts a large and obnoxious ego.  Yes, it is very much a derogatory term.

Biro
Not a name known to many Americans, Laszlo Biro was a Hungarian who, in 1931, invented the ballpoint pen.  Subsequently, the Biro company became one of the largest ballpoint pen manufacturers in Europe.  As with brand names like Hoover and Xerox, the name biro is now a very common generic term for any ballpoint pen.

Sleeping Policeman
Simply, the name given to the item known in the USA as a "speed bump"!  Hey, it's like a policeman sleeping in the middle of the road, making you slow down!

Off-Licence
Also known as an "offie", this is the British equivalent of a liquor store, although they tend to be more of a cross between a liquor store and a convenience store.

Telly
A term known in the US, but frequently misused, and even more frequently mis-spelled!  It is what we call a television, not a telephone, and please note, it is spelled "telly" not "tele".

Wireless
Staying in the electronics field, this was a term in common usage l-o-n-g before the advent of computers and wi-fi.  It is just another word for a radio, making its way into the English language with the introduction of battery-powered (therefore wireless) radios.

Paper Shop
With no direct equivalent in the US, a paper shop (or newsagents) is the store where you buy your newspapers and magazines.  With a much wider selection of newspapers available in the UK, you would have your choice of possibly 15-20 national and local, and daily and weekly newspapers.

Also known for selling candy, soft drinks, cigarettes, greetings cards, and bus passes, it is something of a general convenience store.  Convenience is actually a very good word to be associated with such a place of purveyance, as the paper shop was always the first neighbourhood store to open in the morning.

Communication Cord
Not used so much these days, the communication cord was the short chain found in railway carriages on which a passenger would tug to stop the train in case of emergency.  Now, they are simply uninspiring looking emergency handles.

Anorak
Another term not widely used in the US, some Americans know it as a hooded coat, also known to some as a parka.  However, the British have also coined the term to describe an individual who wears the anorak.  The reason is that the type of person who would usually wear such an item of clothing would be an ineffectual and nerdy individual, such as a trainspotter.

For those of you unfamiliar with trainspotting, it is (or was) a popular British pastime whereby the said ineffectual and nerdy individual would be seen sporting his trusty anorak in all kinds of weather, armed with a pencil and paper, and jotting down the engine numbers of as many steam locomotives as he could!

This type of individual is also known in sporting circles, collecting all kinds of useful - and useless - information and statistics about his particular favourite sport(s).  Although perhaps a little derogatory, many of us are quite happy to profess our anorak status!  That's right, "WE"!  With my interest in the sport of speedway, and my quite shameless efforts to collect all kinds of facts and figures, I'm proud to be considered an anorak!