https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Thu, 16 Apr 2026 10:52:10 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms/page/2#post-74721 Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:05:09 +0000 Angie 74721@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>HA! HA! HA! Michelle, that's TWICE in one day. You crack me up. (I wrote back to you in the pregnancy question thread). </p> <p>My Eurasian Mum was the same - learnt English phonetically by ear. She would often say: "May I enjoy you?" instead of "May I join you?". She mixed up tomatoes with potatoes, and of course couldn’t say “th” so words like “thank you” became “senk you”. Mum oozed charm though, and got away with her broken English. Sounds like your Mum is just the same, Michelle :0) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms/page/2#post-74688 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 23:27:54 +0000 Michelle 74688@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Wanted to add a favourite family equivalent of "how do they sleep with themselves" courtesy of my French-Canadian mother, who has a hilarious history of mangling certain phrases. The best took place over a formal dinner when she was trying to explain Dad's pentient for making friends with locals when travelling. She couldn't decide whether to say he enjoyed "shooting the breeze with the locals" or "chatting up the locals" and wound up telling the assembled company that dad enjoys shooting up with the locals. She thought she'd clarify things once the guffaws died down, but wound up digging herself deeper when she changed it to shooting up the locals!<br /> Other amusing slips from her include "that mafia show, the Pianos" (instead of Sopranos) and describing "Skaters," that obnoxious breed of baggy-pant-wearing teenage boy from the mid 90's, as "Walkers." Love Mom! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms/page/2#post-74682 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:35:12 +0000 Maya 74682@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh, for a moment I thought Nicole had rejoined us But it was actually fun to revisit this thread. How do they sleep with themselves--HA! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-74671 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:13:57 +0000 Louise 74671@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>perfect pant length (trousers length if in uk) x </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-74666 Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:36:31 +0000 starry 74666@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>bumping this -<br /> found it after scratching my head wondering what PPL is! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21799 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 02:18:25 +0000 Nicole 21799@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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...</p> <p>NAS = Nordstrom Anniversary Sale </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21791 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 01:59:25 +0000 anne 21791@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hi Alecia,<br /> Glad you're enjoying having an Australian here. Did you do a semester here?<br /> One of my earliest posts here is below and discusses "jumpers"<br /> <a href="http://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/help-with-sweater?replies=26" rel="nofollow">http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....replies=26</a></p> <p>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. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21769 Mon, 25 Aug 2008 00:56:07 +0000 Sihaya 21769@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21706 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:52:46 +0000 Becky 21706@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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!</p> <p>Other acronyms we may want to add:<br /> BR=Banana Republic<br /> AT=Ann Taylor<br /> ATL=Ann Taylor Loft<br /> NM=Neiman Marcus </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21703 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:23:58 +0000 Lena 21703@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Hee, it's been fun reading this thread :)</p> <p>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" </p> <p>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. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21700 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:50:46 +0000 Alecia 21700@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I too enjoy reading this thread and the acronym help is much appreicated. </p> <p>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. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21685 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:25:08 +0000 Tanya 21685@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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 :)</p> <p>I also wanted to thank Greg for sharing these little tidbits about Angie's' expressions, very interesting and cute. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21683 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:13:21 +0000 Angie 21683@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ah ha Anne. We speak the same dialect! Pacers are common in SA and I’ve never heard of textas. Interesting. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21682 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:10:48 +0000 anne 21682@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21681 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:06:55 +0000 anne 21681@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oh that (Pay-tent) is how I always say it! Didn't realise that was another way! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21680 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:02:58 +0000 Angie 21680@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>And every time you hear me mention patent leather – I’m actually saying " pay-tent" and not "pat-tent". Bet that’s unexpected. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21678 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:58:00 +0000 Angie 21678@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha Nicole! Love your “integration”. (My sweetie can’t help himself, these things crack him up). </p> <p>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. </p> <p>Anne, knickers are for gals and undies are for blokes. Thats how we refer to underwear. I also enjoy Sothern colloquialisms. Enchanting. </p> <p>quezzie = question<br /> sends me into orbit= when something, or a thought is so fabulous, I can’t contain my delight for it </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21670 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 13:41:20 +0000 Nicole 21670@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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. </p> <p>This has turned into a fun thread. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21669 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:58:13 +0000 anne 21669@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ana,</p> <p>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!</p> <p>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".<br /> And Angie's saying "don’t get your knickers in a knot" I am pretty sure we say "in a twist" </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21660 Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:19:27 +0000 Ana 21660@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oops...cozzie, my mistake, hee hee.</p> <p>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. 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!). </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21657 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:11:17 +0000 anne 21657@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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) </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21656 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 23:04:00 +0000 Amanda 21656@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>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." </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21655 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:20:40 +0000 Angie 21655@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It’s actually “cozzie”, or bathing costume = swimsuit </p> <p>until the cows come home = forever</p> <p>Knickers = panties (“don’t get your knickers in a knot”). A few more on this post: </p> <p><a href="http://youlookfab.com/2007/09/14/lost-in-translation/" rel="nofollow">http://youlookfab.com/2007/09/.....anslation/</a> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21653 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 21:40:41 +0000 Greg 21653@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angie has been known to... let's see, how should I put this... create her own versions of popular expressions.</p> <p>For example, "the proof is in the pudding" is her abbreviation of the saying: "the proof of the pudding is in the eating". </p> <p>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). :)</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Greg </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21650 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:19:57 +0000 Ana 21650@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Cossie = swimsuit </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21647 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 19:26:46 +0000 marianne 21647@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Also "the proof is in the pudding" - I am kind of vague on that one, but I am not a native speaker </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21617 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:10:40 +0000 Maya 21617@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Don't forget vest vs. waistcoat. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21610 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:00:11 +0000 Angie 21610@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Fab idea. Here are some others that might get lost in translation: </p> <p>Angiesms:</p> <p>o Spanner = wrench<br /> o Polo neck = turtle neck<br /> o Bloke = guy<br /> o Lass = lady<br /> o Bob’s your uncle = “there you go, all sorted”<br /> o Jumper = pullover sweater<br /> o Pinafore = jumper<br /> o Pukka = authentic, the real deal<br /> o Hose = ALL hose. Everything you’d find in a hosiery department.<br /> o SNN = Statement Nicole necklace</p> <p>That’s all I can come up with at the moment. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21585 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:53:37 +0000 Nicole 21585@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Angieism sounds better than Europism... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/acronyms-and-angieisms#post-21582 Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:48:53 +0000 Tanya 21582@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>He, he, great idea. However, "Holding Thumbs" is not an Angeism, everybody in Europe uses that </p>