I keep reading blog posts by folks of the British persuasion talking about knitting "jumpers."
At first, I thought, OK... I'm not much of a skirt person myself, and I haven't worn a jumper since I was 8 years old, but hey, maybe it's one of those weird British fashion things like hats.
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| Seriously?!? This is high fashion?!? |
But then people started talking about knitting jumpers for men. Hmmm... at first I thought they meant some sort of kilts or something...
But seriously, do men outside of Scotland really wear kilts? And can you really knit plaid?
Or are men in the UK just wearing skirts these days? I mean I know fashion is different "across the pond" but really?
Finally today I couldn't take it anymore and I looked it up. So here's the deal... In British English a "jumper" is a sweater.
Good GAWD! What's that they say... two people separated by a common language?
Too funny! I only learned about this difference from watching Bridget Jones' Diary.
ReplyDeleteYou learn something every day ;)
Hmmm... I LOVED Bridget Jones' Diary, but somehow I missed the jumper part. But to tell the truth, I sort of have to rely heavily on the visuals when watching British movies because I generally can't understand at least half of the dialog!
DeleteHaha, I could have told you that! The most language confusion I experienced when I lived in the UK was not with new words or slang, but rather with words that mean very different things in British English. Pissed = drunk. Pants = panties. There are more, but those are the two I got embarrassingly wrong at first.
ReplyDeleteOh dear... I wonder how many times I've used the word pissed on a British blog. They probably think I'm a total lush or something!
DeleteIf it weren't for the fact that I have a friend that frequently goes over the pond to Ireland (and being lucky enough to go there myself!), I wouldn't have known what they were talking about either! Other weird words mis-matches: they call cookies biscuits, they call cookies digestives (w.e.i.r.d.), they call ketchup tomato sauce, they call french fries chips, potato chips are called crisps, having a good time is called craic (pronounced crack), link sausages - or is it bacon - are called bangers, the trunk of a car is the boot, and I'm sure I could come up with a few more, but those are the ones I fondly recall :)
ReplyDeleteAnd what IS it with those hats? I absolutely hate them! But I guess I'm just not up & up with international fashion.
Digestives?!? Eeeeewwww! That sounds like either an antacid of something really disgusting. I guess it could be a good diet strategy though... make it sound gross and you'll be less likely to want to scarf them down!
DeleteDigestives refer to a specific type of round, lightly sweetened, crumbly biscuit. They're made partially with wholemeal, so they were thought to be more digestible, hence the name. (If you think the name is bad, there are also biscuits called 'squashed flies' -- bits of fruit within the biscuit give it its name. And don't even get me started on the dessert called spotted dick.) Chocolate digestives (one side slathered with a layer of milk or dark chocolate) are delicious and not very good for you at all. They were one of my favorite things to have with tea.
DeleteSpotted dick?!? Seriously? The mind reels...
Deletedigestive biscuits (are a very plain sweet biscuit), and make a nice cheesecake-base if you crumble them up and mix with just some melted butter.
Deletehaha, when i say nice, I mean nice in a plain / simple way! Nicer would be with a lot of other ingredients. If you're gona be bad with a cake- then you should really BE BAD! :D LOL!
DeleteLOL... sounds good actually.
DeleteBut this whole conversation is reminding me of my first night in Norway as an exchange student. My host family served meatballs, which is "kjøttkaker" in Norwegian. To the untrained American ear, this sounded disturbingly like "shit kaka!"
Is that first picture what you call a jumper? I'll consider myself educated.
ReplyDeleteAnd that hat? ALL of Britain had a good laugh at that hat!
Hi Rachel,
DeleteYup, that first picture is the classic American "jumper" but it can refer to any sort of a skirt with a bodice or with suspender like things that go over the shoulders.
I'm so glad to know that even the Brits thought that hat was over the top. I was seriously beginning to wonder!
The word you really want to avoid using is "fanny". My mother picked up on that and insisted on using it whenever she meant "bottom", after spending a holiday with some American friends. I was a teenager at the time and mortified, because I'm sure you all know what fanny means here in England, and it ain't bottom! She wouldn't stop though, insisting that she meant the *American* meaning of fanny. It was no use pointing out to her that ok, but she wasn't IN America.
ReplyDeleteMothers, huh?
Cathy
OMG - thanks for the warning! I had NO IDEA and had to go look up the British meaning. Geez, I hope I haven't used that one on a British blog either... since here in the US it's considered much more polite than saying "bottom."
DeleteYes, I can remember the first time I heard the phrase "fanny pack"! My mind did boggle!
ReplyDeleteHa! The mind reels!
DeleteI've nominated your blog for the "One Lovely Blog Award" ;-)
ReplyDelete