Speaking English
There comes a point in time when foul ups and mess ups hit such epic proportions that all you can do is brag.
This weekend, I tried to set up the Bella's Point Blog Challenge with a linky tools sign up form.Tried and tried. All I got was errors.
That confirmed it. I was
Refusing to give up, I sent an email to Brent Riggs, the creator of Linky Tools. We had several back and forths, trying to figure out why his website was
The problem?
I was the straw that broke the camel's back. Linky Tools was over capacity and when I tried to sign up, it was crashing.
Mr. Riggs fixed the problem- totally great guy btw- being a
Now, there is a linky list available for sign ups, so if you haven't signed up...do it now...HERE!
Enough of my fails! I'd like to turn things over to a lady who makes this kind of stuff look easy.
Please welcome Kyra Lennon. She is here with her own challenge and some awesome, awesome prizes...I only wish I could win!!!
Hi everyone! Thanks to Elizabeth for
letting me stop by today!
When Elizabeth asked me for a guest
post about the differences between English and American words –
because there are truly a lot of words we use differently – I did
originally write that post, with pictures and everything. Elizabeth
and many others were amused by Leah’s use of British words in Game
On, and through the series, so it was definitely a good suggestion
related to the books.
But then I thought, maybe everyone
knows these already? My problem was, I couldn’t think of anything
that was so unusual, people might not have heard it before.
Chips/crisps, nappies/diaper, etc. So I decided to do a different
slant on it. Leah also uses a lot of British phrases and there are SO
many of those out there, that I thought I’d turn this guest post
into a quiz!
Below there are ten British
words/phrases. All you have to do is leave a comment right here on
Elizabeth’s blog with a guess to one or as many of them as you’d
like. You don’t even have to get the answers right (but I will give
the answers to Elizabeth in a week or so); just for entering, you get
a chance to win a selection of Leah’s (tasteful) tacky souvenirs!
(In Game On, Leah explains her love of tacky souvenirs, and when I
did this giveaway before it was ridiculously popular!). So – here
you go:
Slang quiz:
“Have a butcher’s”
“Starkers”
“Knees Up”
“Tickety Boo”
“I’ll give you a bell”
“Cheerio”
“Rat-arsed” (if you’ve read Game
On, you’ll know this one!)
“Skew-whiff”
“Chuffed”
“Rumpy pumpy”
A week? I have to wait a week? Ahh, come on!!
Blurb: At the age of twenty-one, Bree Collinson has more than she ever dreamed
of. A handsome husband, a fancy house, and more shoes than
Carrie Bradshaw and Imelda Marcos combined. But having everything
handed to her isn’t the way Bree wants to live the rest of her life. When an idea to
better herself pops into her head, she doesn’t expect her husband to question her, and keep her tied by her apron strings to the kitchen.Isolated and unsure who to turn to, Bree finds herself falling back into a dangerous friendship, and developing feelings for the only person who really listens to her. Torn between her loyalty to her husband and her attraction to a man who has the perfect family she always wanted, she has some tough choices to make.
While Bree tries to figure out what she wants, a tragedy rocks the Westberg Warriors, triggering some dark memories, and pushing her to take a look at what’s really important.
Kyra is a self-confessed book-a-holic, and has been since she first learned to read. When she's not reading, you'll usually find her hanging out in coffee shops with her trusty laptop and/or her friends, or girling it up at the nearest shopping mall.
Kyra grew up on the South Coast of England and refuses to move away from the seaside which provides massive inspiration for her novels. Her debut novel, Game On (New Adult Contemporary Romance), was released in July 2012, and she scored her first Amazon Top 20 listing with her New Adult novella, If I Let You Go.
Speaking of awesome Brits...
Sharon Aldcroft has started a book review blog. She loves to read and support authors she likes. Check out her reviews and say hi to Sharon HERE!
Thanks for having me, Elizabeth! <3
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure Kyra!!! I have to take a crack at these!
Delete“Have a butcher’s”- I'm going with an ax murdering. Ya'll don't have guns to do your murdering, you have to butcher people up. Just as Annalisa- I read her books!
“Starkers”- People who follow you in alleys- we call them stalkers over here.
“Knees Up”- sexy; I shall say no more ;)
“Tickety Boo”- Scared to grow old- or is that tickety tock boo?
“I’ll give you a bell”- That's a punch to the nose. A bell ringer is what we call it.
“Cheerio”- That's the sign off Arnold Swartzenegger used in the Brit version of Terminator. They swapped, "Hasta la vista baby" with the friendlier, less aggressive Brit version
“Rat-arsed” (if you’ve read Game On, you’ll know this one!)
“Skew-whiff”- that's screw it, with an accent
“Chuffed”- zip tied and tossed in the paddy wagon?
“Rumpy pumpy” We call them cougars...old ladies that hit on young men
Did I win?
I didn't try rat arsed because I did read Game On and don't want to give away answers!
Delete*is crying with laughter* Thank you for making me giggle!
DeleteSo, I'm not right? Hmm. ;)
DeleteOooh I love all those phrases. I have been rat-arsed a few times in my life!! I must say I did think that I'd have a butcher's at this but I won't write any more because I'm also a Brit and that wouldn't be fair ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL! Yay for Brits!
DeleteI knew it! Having a butcher's has nothing to do with meat!
DeleteLol! Differences in turns of phrases can make for some entertaining conversations between Brits and those outside our fair isle. Like Suzy I don't want to have an unfair advantage. But this is a pukka quiz and the best of British to all!
ReplyDeleteHa, pukka! I totally forgot about that one!
Deletepukka? Now that sounds like something to avoid at all costs.
DeleteYou guys do have so many fun sayings!
I wonder if "Have a butcher's" is have a steak? Cheerio means goodbye, I think...
ReplyDeleteMy stepdad is British, so you'd think I'd know these! I know he says, "They're full up" whenever something has reached capacity (restaurant, parking lot, etc.). There are several other sayings he has, too, but I can't think of them on four hours of sleep!
Thanks for joining in with the fun!
DeleteWhereabouts is your stepdad from?
Cheerios is what we eat with milk Stephanie. You can thank me for the reminder later :)
DeleteI know about half of those. Is that good?
ReplyDeleteSorry you crashed Linky Tools. I was going to ask if you wanted me to create a sign up for you since I didn't see one.
Half is pretty good!
DeleteI knew them all Alex. I'm the winner.
DeleteAh thanks! If Brent hadn't answered my SOS, you'd have been getting bugged.
I guess I'd better not answer them and ruin it for everyone else ;-)
ReplyDeleteLOL I didn't realise Elizabeth knew so many Brits!
DeleteNo. You're not allowed to answer. Perhaps next time we will have a list of Americanese for you guys to try!
DeleteStalk people long enough, they become friends. It's ya'll's accent I'm drawn to.
DeleteBeing a limey, I know them all but I won't spoil it for anyone else.
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks for stopping by!
DeleteYou may inbox me answers Jo, that is fully appreciated.
DeleteHey Elizabeth! Funny story about Linky. See, you didn't jinx it. You were just that final straw. I'm trying to catch up (I can't even say that with a straight face...but I'm trying!) on my blog buddies' newest happenings, so I just skimmed through your past two or three. Wow, your mom getting remarried and moving to Alaska?? THAT is one adventurous women! How wonderful to have a mom like that. Also, somewhere in an older post, you mentioned your "perfect life" and having hot java ready at your desk...and that made me look around for MY cup of coffee, which I must've left downstairs! How could I?? I'll be flying down the stairs in just a minute to grab that large cup!! Have a great rest of the week!
ReplyDeleteMy mom always has liked to travel and be adventurous. I'm glad she gets the chance to keep on living.
DeleteSeems you and I have the same sort of perfect lives. I never remember where my drink is either. Or my pens. Or my phone. Oh, I could go on forever!
Oh, P.S. Hello Krya! Nice to meet you!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you too!
DeleteWhen things don't work, sure can suck and make one swear lol
ReplyDeleteI knew half of those too, just the bees knees, the mutts nuts, tickety boo, away i go lol
The mutt's nuts is a great one, lol!
DeleteI've never heard the mutts nuts...did you make that up yourself? Pat Hatt, writer and phrase coiner?
DeleteGrats Kyra! The only one I even vaguely know is Cheerio, which I think was farewell.
ReplyDeleteI signed up for your blog challenge twice, Elizabeth. Does that make me a masochist?
I'm glad at least one of them was easy, haha! :D
DeleteMakes you my hero Loni!!!
DeleteNoooooo… I want the answers NOW!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHonestly? I have no idea… it's all gibberish. I haven't heard of any of those aside from the classic "Cheerio!" … But it's FUN. I can't wait to find out what it all means!!!
Hahahaha, not even a guess, Morg? <3
DeleteI gave the answers in the comments, Morgan. I'm pretty certain I got them all right. NOT.
DeleteI can't speak English, as my advisor famously mocked my work "That's not English--heck, that's not even American!"
ReplyDeleteOne of those sorts of grammar nazis? Tell him to take his Oxford comma and stick where the sun don't shine.
DeleteLOL!
DeleteYou ladies are fun. Here goes:
ReplyDeleteHave a butcher's = Don't judge a wiener by it's length.
Starkers = Debbie downers; people who don't laugh when tickled.
Knees up = There's a mouse in the house.
Tickety Boo = The circus is scary.
I'll give you a bell = You're a ding a ling.
Cheerio = Eat the cereal. It takes like crap, but it's good for you.
Rat arsed = having a whiskered tush
Skew whiff = sideways snort
Chuff = angry chef
Rumpy pumpy = premature and zig zagged ejaculation
Hahahahaha! I can't wait until you see the answers!
DeleteMakes total sense to me Robyn. I say we should rewrite the dictionary. It's old, needs some update and polish.
DeleteYes, Elizabeth. That dictionary would be a best seller - in the fictional humor category.
DeleteKyra, I'm glad to make you laugh. I think I know two of the actual answers, to give myself a tad of credit.
PS Ladies, ugh, I hate when people add an apostrophe to "its." And I was one of those people!
Cheerio! xo
Great that you didn't give up, Elizabeth. I would have tossed the computer or something else equally as nuts! Another good luck wish to Kyra.
ReplyDeleteI don't give up easily. I whine a lot and am a pain to live with, but I don't give up. Well, unless it's a diet.
DeleteYou persevered, Elizabeth! I remember not too long ago, I was asking "what the heck was a linky link?!" *LOL* Great game, Kyra. I know most of them having watched a lot of BBC! Have a wonderful weekend, ladies.
ReplyDeleteYou should have guessed Christine! Everyone needs tacky souvenirs to decorate with!
DeleteLol, yes Christine, you should have played along!
DeleteHey Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteMe sign up to one of those kinky slinky linky tools? Arrghhhh!!!! NO THANKS! LOL Still, glad you seem to have been sorted.
Delighted to see Kyra here. Living in England and knowing all that slang makes me chuffed to bits. Maybe we should tell our North American friends was "tossing" can mean. Um, maybe not.
Gary is leaving this site.....:)
I'm guessing a toss may be as exciting as a roll in the USA!
DeleteLOL, Gary! I think we should let that one go!
DeleteOf course, Kyra, because we don't give a toss! :)
DeleteThe bell one is calling someone, I'm sure, and cheerios means goodbye. I'm stumped on the other ones.
ReplyDeleteI'll check out the linky.
I can't wait to see the answers!
DeleteGood guesses!
DeleteI think chuffed is happy.
ReplyDeleteNo worries about crashing the Linky Tools site—sounds like something that would happen to me! I too am blogging challenged at times!! :)
Isn't it sad, Kristin? Like writing doesn't have enough stuff to learn- we have to be techno wizards too.
Delete*high fives Kristin*
DeleteCor blimey, this slang's got me all sixes and sevens and billy no mates!
ReplyDeleteI'd suggest penicillin for that ;)
DeleteLOL, brilliant!
Delete