This is a very good idea.

LLL = long lean line

I'll let Angie take care of the Angieisms.

There was one Tanya used recently but I can't remember what it was. AAR maybe? I don't know what that is, but I forgot to ask.

YLF= You Look Fab
PPL= Perfect Pant's Length
AAR= Angie Approval Rating (as in high AAR or low AAR)
CRS= Constructive rating system (see CRS thread)

Angieism "Holding Thumbs" = Crossing Fingers

He, he, great idea. However, "Holding Thumbs" is not an Angeism, everybody in Europe uses that :)

Angieism sounds better than Europism... ;)

Fab idea. Here are some others that might get lost in translation:

Angiesms:

o Spanner = wrench
o Polo neck = turtle neck
o Bloke = guy
o Lass = lady
o Bob’s your uncle = “there you go, all sorted”
o Jumper = pullover sweater
o Pinafore = jumper
o Pukka = authentic, the real deal
o Hose = ALL hose. Everything you’d find in a hosiery department.
o SNN = Statement Nicole necklace

That’s all I can come up with at the moment.

Don't forget vest vs. waistcoat.

Also "the proof is in the pudding" - I am kind of vague on that one, but I am not a native speaker :)

Cossie = swimsuit :D

Angie has been known to... let's see, how should I put this... create her own versions of popular expressions.

For example, "the proof is in the pudding" is her abbreviation of the saying: "the proof of the pudding is in the eating".

My favourite was the time she combined "how do they live with themselves?" and "how do they sleep at night?" to arrive at "how do they sleep with themselves?" (said, of course, in a very indignant tone of voice). :)

On the sticky thread - I like the idea of creating a reference, but I would prefer to consolidate all of the input in this thread into one page that I will link to from the sidebar. I'll do that in a few days.

Greg

It’s actually “cozzie”, or bathing costume = swimsuit

until the cows come home = forever

Knickers = panties (“don’t get your knickers in a knot”). A few more on this post:

http://youlookfab.com/2007/09/.....anslation/

Angie - I know how you feel when you get those blank stares. I lived in Britain for a year and a half after I graduated from college (that would be "university") and I moved there straight from the American South. Not only did the Brits not understand my Americanisms, they laughed outright at some of my "Southernisms."

I have had fun reading that post you linked to Angie! Most of these I understand, as Australian English is similiar. In the state I live in we call swimsuits bathers. (other states call them cozzies, or swimmers, or togs)

Oops...cozzie, my mistake, hee hee.

It's been fun learning all these Europe/British/Angieisms from Brendan and then hearing them here, too. I like how he refers to all pants as trousers, and undies as knickers, and vitamins are "v-it-amins" (as apposed to vite-amins). Tennis shoes/sneakers are "trainers," and don't even get me started on how he says bananas and tomatoes. :D I think he sometimes feels awkward about it, but I told him not to change it, because I really like it. I like all the Angieisms too (the story Greg told cracked me up!).

Ana,

My husband and I are both Australian but I say vitamins like Brendan and he say it like you do! In fact he often teases me about that particular pronounciation and is trying to teach his to our daughters!

BTW we often use knickers for girls underpants, (but also say "pants" or "undies" for both sexes) but not for male ones. Do you Angie? some people also call them "jocks".
And Angie's saying "don’t get your knickers in a knot" I am pretty sure we say "in a twist"

Ha! Greg, thanks for that bit of inside life with Angie! I never knew the phrase "The proof is in the pudding" was a condensed version of "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." As a matter of fact, I had never heard that expression before.

I often mix up common sayings as well...the one that I'm most famous for, because I can't seem to get it right is..."Not the sharpest lightbulb in the shed" Which of course is a combination of "Not the sharpest tool in teh shed" and "Not the brightest lighbulb in the box." And considering what those sayings mean, it makes my gaffe even funnier.

I have a friend who lives in Alabama (Southern US for those not familiar with US geography)...and she has the cutest colloquialisms I've ever heard.

This has turned into a fun thread.

Ha Nicole! Love your “integration”. (My sweetie can’t help himself, these things crack him up).

Ana and Anne, Greg and I pronounce all our words the way Brendan does. Wait till you hear us say “schedule” – we say “shed-dule”, and “data” is “daaa-ta”. Faucets are “taps” and power outlets are “sockets”. Rest rooms are “loos” and gas is “petrol”. Sharpies are “felt-tip pens” and mechanical pencils are “clutch pencils”. I could go on forever and this topic always comes up at a dinner party. It’s like our party trick. We have not adopted American English or spelling. We have kept it the same because that’s what we know. The same way you keep your English the way you know it. I think it’s great to share the differences and be understood.

Anne, knickers are for gals and undies are for blokes. Thats how we refer to underwear. I also enjoy Sothern colloquialisms. Enchanting.

quezzie = question
sends me into orbit= when something, or a thought is so fabulous, I can’t contain my delight for it

And every time you hear me mention patent leather – I’m actually saying " pay-tent" and not "pat-tent". Bet that’s unexpected.

Oh that (Pay-tent) is how I always say it! Didn't realise that was another way!

And Angie, I am with you on data, schedule, loos and petrol. But we call felt tip pens textas and I'm not even sure what mechanical pencils are - but I think we call them pacers (brand names, both of these)

Ah ha Anne. We speak the same dialect! Pacers are common in SA and I’ve never heard of textas. Interesting.

I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading this thread . English is not my native language so I have nothing to share, well other than the fact that what we learned in high school was supposed to be British English, but everyone of course kept watching ( and listening) to American version on TV. So one day in an essay I have used words 'apartment' and 'truck', which got crossed in red, substituted by 'flat' and 'lorry', and my grade was lowered entire one point. I was pretty mad at the time, and I still remember it :)

I also wanted to thank Greg for sharing these little tidbits about Angie's' expressions, very interesting and cute.

I too enjoy reading this thread and the acronym help is much appreicated.

Anne, I've so enjoyed having you on the forum. I studied abroad in Australia and having you on takes me back to that time. I haven't yet seen any comment about jumpers but that was one of those Autralian terms that always made me do a double take. :-)

Hee, it's been fun reading this thread :)

Like Tanya, I started learning "British English". I don't remember being penalized for American expressions, though - from what I remember, out teachers started switching to American English. After I changed schools (and countries) in 9th grade, I was confused why people didn't use "proper" spelling. And punctuation. Even now, my punctuation is all over the place, I use rules from my native language and American English. Plus I'm still tempted to spell certain words with an extra "u" :-)

Like many Americans, I adore various UK accents. I watch a fair bit of British TV and films, and I tend to pick up a lot of idioms and expressions along the way.

Love the discussion of language usage, pronunciations, etc. I have heard many times the expression "the proof is in the pudding," but never knew it was a shortened form of another expression. So Angie is not the only one who does that!

Other acronyms we may want to add:
BR=Banana Republic
AT=Ann Taylor
ATL=Ann Taylor Loft
NM=Neiman Marcus

Very fun and funny! Another Angie-ism is squizz - which I think means taking a look. And having a cuppa (which I was complimented on by a British client) means having a cup of tea.

Hi Alecia,
Glad you're enjoying having an Australian here. Did you do a semester here?
One of my earliest posts here is below and discusses "jumpers"
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....replies=26

Did you get shocked about how Australians use "toilet" ? ie like bathroom? "Miss I need to go to the ..." I use "loo" just as often myself though.

Good additions Becky. I was out of the loop when the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale was the hot YLF topic. When I returned to the site after my vacation, i saw all these NAS acronyms and I was totally confused. Then I figured it out...

NAS = Nordstrom Anniversary Sale

bumping this -
found it after scratching my head wondering what PPL is!

perfect pant length (trousers length if in uk) x