Terms

Add a term

Expressions

Quite good < Really good == Very good

You'll often hear something like "I had a nice meal". To me, this sounds like it was just ok, but this actually means the meal was very good. Intonation has a lot to do with it of course; "It wasn't very nice" can actually mean it was really bad.

Taking the piss = giving someone a hard time; "He was really taking the piss."

Whilst == While

Pronunciations and Spelling

Leicester
Lester
Gloucester
Gloster
Holborn
Hoeburn
Edinburgh (and most places ending with "urgh")
Edinbura
Loughbrough
Lufbra
Malborough
Mawlbra
Magdalene College (Oxford)
Maudlin College
Route
always pronounced like Root (I've heard/said it two ways in the US: Root and Rout); and Router, for instance is said Rooter.

Anywhere we'd end a word with "ize", it is spelled "ise". Organise, Apologise

Most words with the "er" sound that we'd spell with "or" is spelled "our", like Colour, Favourite, Behaviour, Neighbourhood, Savour. (This originates from French words and spelling.)

They switch "er" to "re" at the end of a lot of words. I'm not sure if this is a rule, or something that is just often the case. Centre, Theatre, Litre. Metre

They also replace "ice" with "ise" in many places: Practise

The harder it is to understand someone chances are they are from further north in England. When it becomes almost impossible to understand them, it means they are Scottish or Welsh.

Random Useful Information

Rent is usually listed per week (in London, but not outside). The standard formula for calculating monthly rent is
(Rent Per Week * 52) / 12 = Monthly Rent
When moving into your fist place, expect to pay a deposit of at least 6 weeks plus the first months' rent. :(

Flats often do not have dryers. Be prepared. You will need to get an airer that you can hang your clothes on. Your clothes will take 1 to 2 days to dry on this contraption.

Dates are always Day Month Year

When telling time, "Half n" = "n:30", so: Half 11 = 11:30

Traffic lights: When they are about to turn to green, it will be Red and Yellow at the same time, then green

Electrical equipment uses 240v as opposed to 110v in the US. Most of your electrical equipment will be rated up to 240, but it's a good idea to check before plugging it in

Conversions

To convert Celsius to Fahrenheit: n°C * 1.8 + 32 = n°F (A handy, and easy to remember shortcut is every 5°C = 9°F)

10°C
50°F
20°C
68°F
30°C
86°F
40°C
104°F
1 Kilogram
2.2 Pounds
1 Stone
14 Pounds
1 Gram
0.04 Ounces (28 Grams = 1 ounce)
1 Litre
0.26 US Gallons
1 Imperial Gallon
1.2 US Gallons
1 Centimetre
0.39 Inches
1 Metre
3.3 Feet
1 Kilometre
0.62 Miles (the UK actually uses miles, mainland Europe uses km, but you'll hear km used in the UK as well)