… what larks! Some New Friends and New Words

jez and wess looking through the ‘young quakers’ t-shirt … what larks!

Originally uploaded by Simon Latham.

Since arriving in England I’ve been having a blast.  There are at least two things that have made it fun so far: new friends and new words.

In this picture you can see what happens when Friends put their heads together.


And concerning new words, the only words that could possibly describe how much fun Jez and I were having here are summed up in the phrase “shagging a lark.”

Here are a few other words I’ve been learning (Britishism on the left – Americanism on the right)

shtum – silent or mute
trolley – a grocery cart
“what larks” –  great times, (which derives from “shagging a lark”, but generally you don’t say “shagging a lark!”
brilliant – amazing!
dodgy – shady
rubbish – trash
how’s tricks? – what have you been up too?
heaving — packed out
pants – underwear
trousers – pants
street furniture – telephone booth, dumpsters, and objects like that
public schools are private and private schools are public

I know I’ve learned more but can’t remember them all right now.  I am keeping track of all the words I’m learning and creating a “British-English dictionary”  and will publish them in full sometime at the end of our trip!