Being British: Act IX

I second that sneakers are called trainers. In HP they're referred to as trainers so i think that'd be the safest option...

And i agree with everyone about the shades being called blinds or curtains. And here's a little extra info lol - shades can mean sunglasses, although that's probably "sunnies" lol. Just thought i'd throw that in there because when you first said "shades" i thought you meant sunglasses.

Let's see, popular TV shows...for children's TV shows, i remember everyone used to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Rugrats, Scooby Doo...stuff like that:) If that's what you meant? And a sort of, grown up show, well, i was a kid in the 90s lol, but i agree that Buffy and Dr Who in particular were big:D And Star Trek...yeah, that was around the 90s. Star Trek:Voyager started in 1995, so if you're going to have your characters watching a Star Trek it'd be Voyager *stops being a geeky Star Trek fan*


~Heather <3

Just had another thought- In 90's lots of students used to get drunk and watch Teletubbies- I kid you not!

There was a whole cult phenomenon about Tinky-Winky (the purple one) because he was supposed to be gay- because he was Purple, carried a handbag and had a triangle on his head.

But that's probably a bit extreme- it was shortlived (I hope).

Lyra- What ages are your characters for and what year are they watching the TV?

Quick Question: How do Brits address their grandparents?

Grandma/Granddad
Grandmother/Grandfather
Granny/Gramps

Or, for a Grandmother, also Nana or Nan. I don't think there are any others for Grandad, but don't quote me on that . . .

EDIT: Ha, sorry, typo there. ;)

~Evie

Thanks, I just needed to know the grandmother one anyway. By the way, Grandad is actually Granddad.

What sort of petnames do grandmothers commonly use?

Is 'Whoa there!' a used term? I not what would a phrase be for 'settle down'?

Which is more British in narration: 'she hated to disagree with her mum' or 'she hated to disagree with her mom'?

Is 'hey' a common greeting?

Just a quick question, more for curiosity than anything else, though I'm sure I'll use this phrase a lot in the story I'm writing.

My dad told me that Brits never say "you guys" like Americans. Is that true, and if so, what's the British version?

Brooke - Grandparents always seem to call their grandchildren "pet" or "duck":)

It would be "mum". Always "mum" in British.

"Woah there" wouldn't really be used. If you wanted to say "Settle down" then they would say "Settle down" or "Calm down" or probably "Quiet down".

"Hey" is a common greeting among young teenagers. Adults and older generations wouldn't really use "hey" unless they were..."cool" lol.

Phoenix13 - I think it is again a young persons thing, but i know that all my friends and I say "you guys". It's kind of like "you guys don't know about that kind of thing" or "i missed you guys", but if you want a really British equivalent, i would say use "You lot". That's very British:) "I missed you lot", or "You lot are so stupid" or "I made this for you lot"...you get my point:D

Hope i helped you both:)


~Heather

Hello, I was wondering if Brits use the term patsy for someone who is easily duped/deceived. You know, "They swindled him out of every Knut he had. He's such a patsy!"

Thank you.

I agree with 'Mum' rather than 'Mom'. We just don't say it.

We would say 'Hey' or perhaps 'Hi' or 'Alright'.

A lot of this depends on the era you're writing. In Marauder Era then Americanisms like "You Guys" were only just coming in. When The Godfather came out (early 70'S?) my boss told me that all the youth of the town would dress up in gangster clothes and pretend to be American- with awful accents needless to say.

These days phrases like 'You guys' are common because we watch so much American TV- although wizards and witches wouldn't.

Patsy- you could use fool, dupe or dope. You're right that 'Patsy' is very definately an American term but it's such a great term with such a specific meaning I'm struggling to think of something with the same emphasis.

Hi Y'all (just a little Amercanism)

Two questions:
Do the British have a term for swimming naked. I my section of America it is referred to as 'Skinny dipping'. This is actually a pretty universal term, but it is hard to tell anymore with the diversity in slang.

One of my favourite Brit Coms has a character who is a 'turf accountant'. I always assumed that he was (what I would call) a real estate agent. If that is true, than is that term commanly used, because I would like to keep up the appearance of being very properly British.

po