Being British XIII

[eyeofthetiger]

Hey everyone, I hope you don't mind me butting in but I have had a question that has been floating around in my head for weeks. In my story, two of the wizarding careers I'm going to talk about are Aurors and Hit Wizards. I know Hit Wizards are the muggle equivelent of police officers and that Aurors are the muggle equivelent of special agents. In America, special agents basically thought of like the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), but what does it mean in Britain/ England? And also, do you all call your police officers anything other than cops/ police officers?

Thanks in advance!!

[babewithbrains]

In America, special agents basically thought of like the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), but what does it mean in Britain/ England?

Well, in Britain we've got the MI5/6 (that's Military Intelligence and sometimes nicknamed Mission Impossible--hence the films). They're basically spies and/or secret service.

And also, do you all call your police officers anything other than cops/ police officers?

Some really crude people call them "pigs". There's also "coppers" which is like "cops". Then there's "the old Bill" which refers to police in general and "PC Plod". Hope it's helped!

[Sapphire at Dawn]

Aurors are Dark wizard catchers, so I imagine they'd only catch Dark wizards, everything else would go to the Hit Wizards, or the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. I think it was they who turned up to the disturbance at Mad-Eye Moody's in GoF.

I'm not exactly sure how the system in America works, but aren't the FBI like specialist policemen? Like if a case becomes too big for the local police force to handle, it gets sent to the FBI? I only know this from watching Bones, so I could be incredibly wrong. In the UK, the local constabularies handle every crime that occurs in their area. So they'd be Hit Wizards and Aurors combined. Special agents would be like MI5 or MI6, which is counter-intelligence and security.

Sarah x

[AidaLuthien]

The FBI generally deals with issues that are across state lines. So if someone is bringing in guns across state lines the FBI would get called in for that.

I don't know if Britain is big enough to have an agency like that, for crimes that occur in more than one... country? (Wales to Scotland, e.g.)

For names for the police, one of my Top Gear obsessed friends, insistently calls them "the Rozzers" which apparently one of the presenters on the show used once. It's probably quite old fashioned, and possibly ridiculous, but there you go.

[eyeofthetiger]

Babewithbrains and Sapphire at Dawn (aka Sarah) thanks for your help!!! Your all's posts were really helpful.

[Equinox Chick]

Cop is an American word, I've never heard anyone use it here.

Oh, I've heard cop and coppers for the police force in UK. I think the Americans nicked it from us.

Coppers came about from an old English verb 'to cop' which meant capture or seize. We certainly use it in the south of England as well as 'rozzers', although 'rozzers' is used in a hugely ironic way (much as Clarkson says it)

Rozzers could derive from the creator of the police force Robert Peel who also gave us 'Bobbies' and 'Peelers' (peelers isn;t used these days).

One thing about MI5/MI6 - MI5 are concerned with domestic issues with security and MI6 are concerned with international espionage.

~Carole~

[Sapphire at Dawn]

Well, if crimes cross counties the different forces just work with each other, I think. You're right, Aida, I reckon it is too small for an agency like that.

Names for policemen... I've never heard the word 'rozzer' so can't say if it's old or whatever. Most slang names for the police are quite old, like 'bobby' and 'plod'. The police force is sometimes called 'the old Bill', and I think that is still sort of used. But generally it's just 'the police' or 'policeman'. Cop is an American word, I've never heard anyone use it here.

Oh, I've heard cop and coppers for the police force in UK. I think the Americans nicked it from us.

Coppers came about from an old English verb 'to cop' which meant capture or seize. We certainly use it in the south of England

Ooh, I didn't know that. Perhaps it's a regional thing; I've never heard it in the south-west.

Sarah x

[welshdevondragon]

EDIT- THis is after eyeofthetiger's post

Do you really say ‘jolly good show?’ I heard it in several movies and couldn't help but wonder.

No. We never say it, except ironically, for a laugh. I know some very posh people who say 'jolly' but that's all.

- What are popular brands of tea?

PG tips. That's my favourite anyway The other most famous is probably Twinings but there are loads. You might want to go on the website of a british supermarket, like Tescos, to see other types of tea.

- Is it true that you have a permit to drive a car into London?

You need a driving licence to drive wherever you are in the country. In London there's the Congestion Charge, where you have to pay, I think it's eight quid now, to drive in but this is only the city centre.

- What kind of cars do you all have?

Insurance for anyone under twenty five is very expensive (I'm very jealous of americans and the way all the sixteen year olds seem to have cars) so I don't really know anything about this. German cars are popular though.

- Do most people ride bikes or drive cars or do they average?

I don't know what you mean by 'average'. Lots of people have bicycles- I think most people tend to have both but young people might only have bikes.

- Was American music popular over there in the 70’s & 80’s?

Yes. I think American music has always been popular here. I know my Mum was into Elvis Costello and Tom Petty.

- What is treacle? What’s in it?

It's a syrup. I think it's basically sugar. It is however delicious.

- What is shepard’s pie? What’s in it?

Shepherds Pie I think can vary but it's basically lamb and mash potato.

- What are kippers?

A type of fish. They're a traditional breakfast food though I think they've gone somewhat out of fashion recently. I still think they're delicious though : )

[eyeofthetiger]

Hey, I'm back yet again! You may think that some of these questions are pretty basic but I know next to nothing on England/ British-ism.

- Do you really say ‘jolly good show?’ I heard it in several movies and couldn't help but wonder.
- What are popular brands of tea?
- Is it true that you have a permit to drive a car into London?
- What kind of cars do you all have?
- Do most people ride bikes or drive cars or do they average?
- Was American music popular over there in the 70’s & 80’s?
- What is treacle? What’s in it?
- What is shepard’s pie? What’s in it?
- What are kippers?

Thanks in advance!

[Equinox Chick]

I think American music has always been popular here. I know my Mum was into Elvis Costello and Tom Petty.

Elvis Costello isn't American. He was born in London but of Irish descent.

American music was popular in 70's - certainly the disco movement was big, but the UK had a thriving music scene with Glam Rock (T Rex, David Bowie, Sweet) and on the whole I would say that American music wasn't as popular as it is these days.
In the 80's the UK music scene was huge. We had the tail end of punk rock and then a lot of New Wave bands like The Cure. (♥). Then there were the New Romantics (Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Teardrop Explodes). I'm not going to say that American music wasn't popular in the 80's, but there were UK bands and artists who were listened to far more. The exceptions would be artists like Michael Jackson, Daryl Hall and John Oates, Blondie, Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac. Tom Petty was well known in this country, but I can't remember him ever having huge chart success with singles, although he had a lot of album success.

What is shepard’s pie? What’s in it?
Shepherd's pie is minced lamb, onion and gravy with mashed potato on top. I always add carrots and peas as well. (Have you seen the Friends episode where Rachel mixes up English trifle with Shepherd's pie - you'll get the idea). Cottage pie is the same but it uses beef instead of lamb.

What are kippers?
Kippers are actually herrings that have been smoked. They're quite salty and are often served at breakfast in posh hotels or in aristocratic houses. They're not that expensive, it's just that most of us wouldn't bother cooking them every morning before we dash off to work.

What kind of cars do you all have?
On the whole we have smaller cars than you do in America. Fiats, Renaults, Mini's etc. However there are a lot more people driving larger 4x4's because they feel the need to drop off their children at school even though they only live ten minutes walk away.

~Carole~