question for those of you in the UK.
 

I'm really interested in England and British terms but there are alot of terms that I don't understand
I get the basics but maybe you guys could explain a bit more to me?
like what's accustomed over there and what's an absolute don't do
and is it true you can't give the peace sign because it's like flipping someone the finger?
I just want to broden my horizons a bit. :D

urm...well the thing about the peace sign isn't strictly true...it you do it with the palms of your hands facing the person you're giving it to, then it's a peace sign, but if you do it with the back of your hand facing the person, it's like swearing and is considered rude. And I can't really think of other 'don't do's' - I'll have a think:)

lol the peace sign is similar to our "giving the finger" although I think if it's nails outwards it's swearing, if it's nails inwards it's peace.
other than that....you might need to be more specific?

No, the peace sign is the peace sign. You'd run into problems if you reversed it, so that your palm is facing you.

There are a lot of unwritten rules for things, especially public transport. Like always standing on the right hand side of escalators, always having your ticket ready for the barriers, having correct change, etc.

But you really need to be more specific. It'd be like asking what is the done thing in America. And probably for a lot of things it will vary according to where in the country you are.

I have no idea what context you mean by things we do and don't do. Like in a social situation? What we say?

ummm don't spit at people?

like in social situations yes and what's polite and what's not and there are some slang terms I don't understand.
and how much American money is a quid in England?
you're guy's money always confuses me.
like a pound is....a dollar?? right?
and what exactly is a "chav" and a "tosser"
those I don't understand and I asked my partner about it who's english and she laughed and told me to look it up. :/

1 quid is one pound sterling

A pound sterling/a quid is like a dollar. It's like how in slang you would refer to it as a buck.

A chav is a bit like white trash, almost like a social underclass. A tosser is just a person who is a bit annoying.

What's polite in social terms? I'd imagine it to be not that much different to most other western countries. For example, wait until everyone has their food, use the right cutlery, don't talk with your mouth full, place cutlery on plate properly when finished.

oh...
do you use the term "yeah" in question form? or is that all just BBC television shows?
and...right cutlery..like knife and fork and such?
and what's "tea" from my understanding it's like....in-between meal?
and is it absolutely mandatory?

like over here we have 3 meals a day but you guys have like three meals a day plus tea time.
it's confusing
:/
is it really raining all the time or does that depend on which part of the uk you live in?
and do you have to get a passport or something if you want to move from america to there?
cause I've always wanted to live in england since I was little

Erm, no, it doesn't always rain. In some parts of the UK it's actually too dry. It's not the rainforest.

Yes, people use 'yeah' in question form, but usually when someone has said something unbelievable or strange. For example, "Did you hear that we won a gold medal at the Olympics today?" "Yeah? What event?"

You have different cutlery for different meals, although that tends to be at more upmarket restaurants. But most people will use different spoons for soups and desserts.

Tea can be another name for dinner. Or it can be 'afternoon tea' (which hardly anyone has) and consists of something light, like a little sandwich or a scone or something. Like an elevenses, but in the afternoon.

you need a long term visa to live in the UK

is any meal time mandatory?! lol. I've always referred to tea as the last meal of the day...breakfast, lunch and tea. Like a snadwich or beans on toast or something.

also...I'd say you would need a passport to get to england, yes. Unless you meant a visa. I think the answer to this is yes too.

I'm a little concerned how unsocialized you think we are.

The 'reversed peace' sign, as in this, stems from the French claiming that they would cut off the arrow-shooting fingers of all the English and Welsh longbowmen after they had won the battle at Agincourt (1400's) But when the English came out victorious and showed off their two fingers, still intact doing the 'v' sign.



Tea is either a drink, an evening meal, or an 'afternoon tea'. Some people say breakfast, lunch, dinner.... others say breakfast, dinner and tea.

or does it? i think i saw an episode of QI where they said that wasn't true - might be imagining it though...

PS i frequently have afternoon tea.

Quid = A Buck.
It's just a nickname for our currency.

A chav and a Tosser =


Things like this. And anyone who has the waistband of their jeans around their knees.

Breakfast is served 7 until 9.

Not a minute later! Or you will be cast out!:-p

You'll want a visa to visit the country for longer than three months.
And if you want to live here. I think it's a work visa, but I'm not 100%

It's always raining somewhere. At this time of year most of that "somewhere" is parts of the UK. Scotland mostly.
But during the summer we actually have lots of sunshine.

Oh and London isn't foggy either :-p
We don't actually have a lot of fog.

The most important thing you need to know about us Brits is that we don't all sound like the Queen or like Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins, despite what American TV programmes say :-p

I also don't get the stereotype that we all have bad teeth?