British Phrases I Love

In my 30+ years of travelling to Britain and being married to a Briton I’ve heard lots of British saying and phrases which were very unfamiliar to my American ears. In this video I share my 21 favourite phrases that I love to hear or say!
Which of these phrases do you really like? Are there any you’ve never heard before? Let me know your thoughts!
And stick around for more discussions of food, culture, travel vlogs and other British fun! Cheers! XX Dara
To buy items with my favourite British Sayings and some quirky sayings of my own, check out the link to my new Merch Store - magenta-otter-travels.printif...
NOTE: When ordering MERCH be sure to order products titled USA or UK - based on where you live - to minimise shipping costs.
Video Links:
6 Reasons I Love Living in the UK (from 2021) - • Why I Love Living in t...
15 More Reasons I Love Living in the UK (from 2023) - • 15 Things I Love About...
Britain’s #1 Best National Treasure - • Britain's Greatest Nat...
Hedgehogs, Otters and Puffins video - • Otters, Hedgehogs & Pu...
My UK Culture Shocks after Living there the first year - • American Culture Shock...
My American “Reverse Culture Shocks” after coming back to the US - • 10 Reverse Culture Sho...
My taste test of 2 Hobnobs with my American friend - • HOBNOBS Sticky Toffee ...

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Love British sayings? Check out my MOT Merch for some of my favourite... as well as a few I invented ;-) magenta-otter-travels.printify.me/products

[@JeanLong-zc9wg]

I think the full saying of "swings and roundabouts" is. "What you loose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts". Meaning that it will all come out equal in the end.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Ah yes, I didn't get the nuance quite right. Every day's a school day!

[@nbclaymore1861]

@@MagentaOtterTravels Also, the roundabouts in this phrase are not those on the roads but rides in children's playgrounds - as are the swings, of course.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@nbclaymore1861 yeah, I've felt pretty stupid that I got that wrong. But, every day is the school day!

[@suekey8072]

A roundabout in this context is what I think you Americans call a merry go round🤷🏼‍♀️ chalk and cheese is when something looks the same but is completely different

[@leohickey4953]

I believe the phrase comes from the operation of commercial fun fairs. Some of the rides might be more profitable than others, in fact some might act as loss leaders - unprofitable but popular rides that bring in customers to the fair. So, even if the owner loses money on one type of ride, he'll make it up on another.

[@Poliss95]

Larry Foley was an australian boxer who never lost a fight. His last fight was in the 1870's, he was paid the vast sum of £1000 and won the fight - "hence as happy as Larry".

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

THANK YOU! So much more fun using subscribers to educate me rather than Google ;-)

[@Poliss95]

@@MagentaOtterTravels I had no idea where the phrase originated until 10 minutes ago. 😂😂I think you could describe my phone as cheap and cheerful. Inexpensive, but does the job.

[@neilgayleard3842]

Box of frogs is a Australian saying as far as I know. They also say cut snake. In Britain it's mad as a hatter or a match hare.

[@neilgayleard3842]

March hare.

[@RZ-np2wv]

common alternatives to 'dragged through a hedge backwards' are 'look like death warmed up' and 'look like something the cat's dragged in'

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

We say "death warmed over" and "something the cat dragged in" in the states. Fun to compare these idioms! Cheers!

[@sarumano884]

Dragged through a hedge backwards = Something the cat dragged in = scruffy, untidy personal appearance (cp. "You look like you've been thoroughly rogered" to a woman) Death warmed up = You look ill/dreadful Dog's dinner = Assortment of badly mixed/chosen garb. Scraps, as you'd give the dog after YOUR dinner!

[@nevillemason6791]

Here's one for your collection: 'He was hoist by his own petard'. It comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. A petard was an explosive device placed against the gate of a fortification that was being attacked. The fuse was lit and you ran away before the explosion. Sometimes it exploded too soon and the person was 'hoisted' i.e. blown up. The meaning is to badly hurt by something that you created. The architect of your own harm or destruction.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That's a great one! I think I've only heard someone say that once before. Very colourful!

[@helenwood8482]

As different as chalk and cheese probably makes more sense to a culture that doesn't have cheese that isn't that different to chalk. 😆

[@kevinshort3943]

Or Cheese that comes in a spray can

[@glendaw5221]

Oil and water here in the US?

[@kevinshort3943]

@@glendaw5221 Oil and water are things that don't mix, so that referees to people who don't get on. Chalk and cheese is saying they are just very different.

[@MetalSamurai99]

Swings and roundabouts are both play equipment for children you’d find at the park. Though frankly I don’t think you’d often get far trying to convince a crying child they’d have just as much fun on the roundabout if the swings are all full. And rock up does just mean to turn up somewhere. But there’s a subtext that the arrival is somehow sudden, uninvited, unwanted, or unexpected or that the guest is unprepared or inappropriately dressed.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Fun story: I filmed and posted this video before we left on our trip to New York City this past week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went up to the pulpit at one point to speak. He was wearing rather casual travel attire and used the phrase "rock up" in mentioning showing up there that day. I was just tickled to hear him say that and had to go talk to him after the meeting!

[@victorhbagnelle4551]

Roundabout is not only road layout but it is a playground it for children to ride on

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I messed up on that one!

[@nickgrazier3373]

The one price for chips I really remember from back when I was about nine or ten was “six of chips and a bag of batter” which is a sixpence worth of chips (old money small silver coloured coin) and the drips of the batter cooked and collected from the beef dripping in the fryer for throwing away. With salt and vinegar on both made a fantastic tasting banquet for us kids!

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Was this in the north? I didn't learn about cooking in beef fat and buying the little crispy batter bits until we visited County Durham.

[@peckelhaze6934]

I use most of these. With regards to "cheap as chips", back in the 1960's children would often go to a fish and chip shop and you could buy a paper bag of "scraps". Scraps were the bits of fish batter that would fall off when frying the fish. For 6 pence (old money), about 7 cents I guess, you could buy a bag which you shared among your friends. Occasionally, you might get them free if "chippy" had a good day.. I am 73 and remember those times very well.

[@paulbartle8375]

sixpence (old money) is two and a half pence in new money so only about three cents at todays exchange rate?

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I was just about to bring up the thing about bringing old newspapers to the chippy for free chips or scraps. I learnt about that when I posted my video of the Beamish!

[@nealgrimes4382]

When i was a kid, scraps where always free.

[@austin12ascot]

In North Hertfordshire we called them scrumps.

[@neilgayleard3842]

We also say something is yesterday's chip paper meaning it's old news. Because chip shops got the papers from newsagents who would throw them away because they were of no use.

[@JulieAyrton-zf1hy]

Yes we Brits use ‘six of one , half dozen of another’ too. In fact according to Google it dates to the 1700s and was first recorded as used by a British naval officer in 1790. I think ‘swings and roundabouts’ is too old a saying to be referring to road roundabouts. I think it refers to the swings and roundabouts found at the fair!

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I got the wrong roundabout! haha

[@booker0110]

Not quite. Swings and roundabouts means what you gain on the one hand you lose on the other. That means you end up as you were. Sorry but this lady hasn’t really done her research. 6 of one half a dozen of the other dates back to the 1700’s. It’s not American, sorry folks. She doesn’t give the whole saying. “It/they are a different from each other. We Brits use shorthand in talking to each other. She needs to ask us what they mean, not guess.

[@bobswan6196]

@@booker0110 eh?

[@EeBee51]

@@bobswan6196 - It means where 2 things are different, but the end result is the same eg, when choosing a travel route from A to B when the distances are similar. Or, it can be used where the person really doesn't have a preference between 2 choices. Eg "What do you want for dinner tonight, Fish and chips or hamburgers?". " I don't know, it's six of one and half a dozen of the other..."

[@vickygarside6141]

We have very similar expressions ‘looking like death warmed up’ which, I believe, refers to someone looking ill and ‘looks like a dog’s dinner’ meaning the person looks a mess.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Funny we say "looks like death warmed over".

[@AnnMcKinlay-zp2ef]

Or a real dog’s dinner😄

[@KenFullman]

@@MagentaOtterTravels"Dog's dinner" is a bit more subtle than just a mess. Someone that has just got out of bed could look like death warmed up but we wouldn't use "dogs dinner" in that context. It's more used for something that is a mess due to being overworked. Maybe too much make up, a mix of styles that don't work together. Or even just being overdressed for an event. Basically where too many ideas have been thrown together for effect.

[@seanstanley-adams6511]

On the other hand, being the dog’s bollocks is a compliment.

[@garryreeve824]

Dara, the roundabouts in "swings and roundabouts" refers to a piece of equipment in the childrens playground along with swings and slides etc. It was a round wooden contraption on a fixed spindle, kids would stand or sit on it while other kids spun it. Needless to say some kids would spin it so fast that kids would fly off in all directions, so they were removed on safety concerns. As an aside, I'm a Brit married to an American living in the U.S. and have picked up some American sayings. My favorite at the moment is "Well pardon me all to hell".

[@garryreeve824]

@@noelall1839 Yes, as Dara said "six of one and half a dozen of the other".

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yeah, I had no idea that the things in a park were called roundabouts! Every day's a school day! Your favourite saying is one of those passive aggressive things we say when we really are NOT apologising! haha I'm glad to hear that you are part of a Brit/American couple as well... you get us ;-)

[@garryreeve824]

@@MagentaOtterTravelsThank you, and yes I do indeed get you. Oh, I've just remembered 2 other sayings used in England the first is " he/she won't beat about the bush." and the other is "it's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey" which as a kid I thought was rude until my uncle explained what it meant and how it originated from the Royal Navy in Nelson's day. I'll keep you in suspense and see if any Brits can explain it first ! 🙂

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@garryreeve824 someone else just told me it was cannon balls!

[@garryreeve824]

@@MagentaOtterTravelsHaha yes, partly ! Basically they used to stack iron cannon balls on a brass plate on the deck called a monkey plate, which was named after the powder monkey boy whose job was to make sure the guns had gun powder and cannon balls. Because brass and iron shrinks at different rates in the cold the balls would fall off the plate! Hence the saying.

[@jinxvrs]

To me, there a difference in meaning between "dragged through a hedge backwards" and "looking like a dog's dinner (breakfast)" versus "looking like death warmed up (over)". The first two would indicate someone looks a mess (haven't washed their hair or in creased clothes) and the last indicates someone looks or feels ill (flu or suchlike) or has a bad hangover.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

How about looking like something the cat dragged in?

[@jinxvrs]

@@MagentaOtterTravels Akin to a "dog's dinner", a mess. Although one should not confuse a "dog's dinner" with the "dog's bollocks".

[@riculfriculfson7243]

@@MagentaOtterTravels synonymous with the hedge😁

[@MsRoslet]

I would slightly disagree with the nuance here... being dragged through a hedge backwards would mean you had taken no care about your appearance whereas being done up like a dog's dinner means you have made the effort but have got it spectacularly wrong and gone way over the top. Lookng like death warmed up, mean you look pale and wan, either through illness or perhaps being out on the lash or the piss...

[@charlesjames799]

She said dog’s breakfast not dinner which is something completely different

[@robynmurray7421]

All of these phrases are common in Australia as well.

[@martinscholes2023]

Good point. Our Aussie cousins are the nearest thing to a Brit. We love them. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇦🇺

[@Jack-fs2im]

I have even heard Cockney Rhyming slang from Australians

[@EeBee51]

@@Jack-fs2im "I"m going down the frog to meet the bundle of strife"...😄😄

[@Jack-fs2im]

@@EeBee51 trouble and strife .darn the road to the rub a dub for a Kate and Sidney Pie ,ha

[@EeBee51]

@@Jack-fs2im - I went down the Rubbity Dub on my Pat Malone, leaving the Tin Lids with the Cheese and Kisses.. When I got back, she'd done the bolt with a rich Septic Tank...

[@alanmon2690]

I first heard "cheap as chips" from a TV presenter David Dickinson who used it to describe the costs of antiques on a daytime show "Bargain Hunt" and "Real Deal".

[@michaels640]

In our childhood, the fifties/sixties, children’s playgrounds had swings and… roundabouts; a pole with hanging from it a wooden circle fixed by metal poles; you could sit/stand on the circle or climb to a cross bar between the poles. It was quite dangerous, as the wooden circle not only revolved but went in and out, and could hit a child’s head - but swings can too, if a child is careless. We all survived.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I had no idea of the origin... or the fact that there was something on a playground called a roundabout! haha It's a wonder we all survived to maturity! I was talking to my brother yesterday (he's 71) about the fact that he used to sleep in the back window of the car during long car trips with the family!!!

[@MarlynMeehan]

We definitely say 'six of one, half a dozen of the other'.

[@kaferere]

"Roundabouts" in this context refers to a "Carousel" found in travelling fairgrounds along with the "Swingboats" (Swings). The expression in full is - "What you lose on the Swings, you gain on the Roundabouts" referring to how much money you would take from people per ride as regards passing trade. The expression has nothing to do with Children's playgrounds because it was about how much money was made and on which ride. In American speak, it's a "Carnie's" expression, now abbreviated to just "Swings and Roundabouts". Swings and Roundabouts does not refer to "things being the same", it means "don't be downhearted about a loss in one area, you'll soon make it up in another, and things will even themselves out. (Providing you own both the swings and the roundabouts of course) I'm afraid I don't believe the "Cotton's Socks" story and I never have. It is an American expression, not an English one, and it comes from the American cotton fields of the South. Perhaps why the story has been sanitised a little ? "Fell Pregnant" - You answered your own question but didn't realise. The Latin for "Pregnant" is "Gravid" which has the same derivative as "Gravity". you spoke about gravity so you were very near to the answer. "Heavy" in other words. Chips from a "Chippie" in my day were 5d (fivepence, pronounced fivepunss, equivalent to 2.5 new pence in use today, that's 2.5p ). Old money used £ (pounds) s (shillings) and d (pence) If you wanted a larger portion of chips, it cost 6d (Sixpence, pronounced "sixpunss") also called a "Tanner" in slang, something to do with the Leather industry maybe. A very common vulgar expression is to say someone has "pissed on my chips", meaning someone has spoiled a plan either accidentally or on purpose. "Well THAT'S pissed on MY chips" The American definition of "Mooch" is the correct one, and that's how the word was used for the majority of my life as a Brit. However, the British have now confused it with the word "root", meaning to dig about or look for something. "I'm going to have a root about" for some reason became "I'm going to have a mooch about" which makes no sense. Just as Brits are now confused between the words "Wary" and "weary", "Lairy" and "Leary", "sill" and "seal", "bought" and "brought" "High Bred" and "Hybrid", "foot stall" and "foot stool", and lots of others. It's a good things Americans are taking an interest in British expressions, I think they'd disappear otherwise.

[@Gismo-ih7gi]

I remember being in Turkey years ago at a little rural market. There was a big sign that read 'cheap is chips' which really made me smile. Not quiet right but any brit got the gist😂.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That's very funny! I guess they were clearly catering to a British audience 🤣🇬🇧

[@The_Brit_Girls]

Love "It would be rude not to". "Not too bad" is so typically British - and "doing my head in!" 🤣

[@charlesneal68]

I could have sworn that "rock up" was an Americanism. It's a relatively recent thing in the UK, I don't think anyone said it pre-2000

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

It is definitely recent, but I've never heard an American say it!

[@neilgayleard3842]

Australian.

[@charlesneal68]

@@neilgayleard3842 ah, that makes sense.

[@alanrogers8535]

Ive been hearing it all my life. To arive uninvited or... at an unspecified time . Or for example, Do you want to come over? Yeh, i might rock up at some point. ps, im 60.

[@derekgreenacre9530]

The phrase " sorted" comes from the printing industry. In the past when printed material was made from lead type the letters were sorted into a sectioned tray with each section for each letter. The trays were called "cases" and there were two cases an " upper case " for the capital letters and beneath it a "lower case" for the small letters. After something was printed the letters from the print page were removed to be used again but had to be sorted back into the trays. This is the origin of phrase sorted meaning to place things back into their correct position to be reused. It is also the origin of the phrases " upper case " and "lower case". Sometimes in printing things went wrong if for example you ran out of the letter " e" for an article you were printing it was said you are "out of sorts" we still use thus phrase to mean you are not feeling well.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That's fascinating history! Thanks for sharing! I don't think I have the patience for that kind of sorting 😉

[@neilmacke4039]

Cheers learnt something new today 👍

[@bobswan6196]

"Sorted" also means "done", as does "done and dusted".

[@martynforshaw6138]

That's not correct, in printing a sort was a line of metal text made of lead cast by a machine and then 'sorted' into order by the typesetter, after printing these were melted down again and re cast. A sort could also be a block with an graphic image on it. Sorting individual letters into order was called compositing. What is interesting is that the typesetters, in order to proof their work, learned to read backwards as all the type is physically reversed.

[@Allspice321]

Mind your Ps and Qs is also from the printing industry. Lower case Ps and Qs looked so alike the compositor had to be careful to use the correct letter.

[@michw3755]

We don't say dog's breakfast we say dog's dinner better alliteration 😂 my favourite saying was when my mum would tell me off for running about she'd say will you sit down you're like a witch on a windy day, brilliant 😂❤

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, that is better alliteration! And "a witch on a windy day" is FANTASTIC! Thanks for sharing.

[@bingbong7316]

"Dog's breakfast" means a mess, but "dressed up like a dog's dinner" means the opposite, dressed in your best clothes to impress.

[@paulmccafferey9622]

You got the definition of "rock up" pretty much spot on. It just means to turn up ... but possibly unexpectedly !

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Not sure I can drop that one into conversation without sounding ridiculous ;)

[@d4round584]

@@MagentaOtterTravels you may hear it said if someone says 'What are you doing next week? We are having a house warming / get together. You are welcome to come along if you wish - no need to let us know, just rock up.

[@0cgw]

I like the mental imagery when I hear someone say that so-and-so is throwing their toys out the pram. I don't know if there is an American equivalent.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That is brilliant! I've not heard an American equivalent but it is wonderful! Cheers! Dara

[@andrewfitzgerald2327]

My grandmother had a whole vocabulary of sayings, including your as much use as a chocolate fireguard. The latter ones were a sandwich short of a picnic .This was said to people who didn't show common sense. My great grandmother would say you will have me in the workhouse every time we my grandmother would take her shopping,she thought sherry was 2p a quart. My boss would say well,your half right , instead of saying l don't agree. On a visit to Chicago a few years ago l found many British sayings from the locals. Chips when l was a boy were 10p a fish was 18p and if you wanted to push the boat out a Pukka (brand) was 20p. When my cousin was getting ready to go to school. My aunt would say don't go out looking like a bag of rubbish tied in the middle. Happy days.

[@BrianC1664]

We use "a dog's dinner" for a mess (not a general mess, but when you've made a mess of doing something, like you've failed to build something right, or you burned your food etc. you could say "I've made a dog's dinner of this")

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I guess British dogs have messy dinners and American dogs have messy breakfasts ;-) LOL

[@krisjonesuk]

“Not too bad” has some alternatives - mustn’t grumble, can’t complain; bearing up; and, keeping my head above water, all spring to mind.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I love "bearing up under the not inconsiderable strain" 🤣🤣

[@JustMe-dc6ks]

For the passive aggressive drama queen. Paging Dr Smith. Dr Smith, return to the saucer.

[@booker0110]

Fair to middling

[@andymorris3523]

When I was quite young, we used to go to the local chippie and as for 'a six of chips' which means 6 pence worth of chips. It wasn't less than you'd get nowadays for a couple of quid !

[@kevinrakow380]

I've never lived in the UK but have spent a lot of time there and done business in London. There are certain words or phrases that I love but seem disingenuous if I try to use them (Cheers for example). Some has slipped in though. I use 'clever' frequently as in 'Aren't they clever'. 'Staff' when referring to my employees is another. And one, which I need to stop using with my 'staff', is 'I would suggest...'. They don't get it. It isn't a suggestion. I expect them to do it. My favorite in business, by the way, is 'That is a very brave proposal'.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh yes, the epitome of understatement! 🤣 I used to think I would sound funny trying to say cheers, but after living there long enough, it just became natural ☺️

[@neilgayleard3842]

Say cheers mate, regardless of gender. The other 2 might come across as you are trying to be sarcastic in a bad way.

[@josiebridle1947]

Swings & roundabouts are both play equipment in the childrens park. They are usually sited near each other, so if the swings aren't free, you can use the roundabout instead.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I had no idea of the origin... or the fact that there was something on a playground called a roundabout! haha

[@catinthehat906]

One of my favourites is you can say the absolute worst about a person, but as long as you follow it up with the phrase 'bless them' -then it's OK. Because it implies they aren't really responsible for whatever action or character trait you deplore and you have forgiven them (even if you haven't really).

[@grahamtravers4522]

It also subtly implies that they are not smart enough to know any better. Typical British irony, used to insult someone without them even realising it.

[@paulwhite3237]

I must say I love the enthusiasm you show in your videos for my country. Thank you.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Aw, cheers mate!

[@davidjones332]

If you go back as far as WW2, you could by a "penn'orth of chips" -a penny's worth. It was just about the cheapest food item you could buy, hence "cheap as chips". I've never heard the expression "That looks like a dog's breakfast" used in Britain. It's usually "a dog's dinner" or "a pig's breakfast". My favourite saying was one my mother used often to describe any situation where someone is either wandering about aimlessly or in a state of distraction: " You're back and forth like a dog at a fair!" It just conjures such a vivid image.

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

How about 'up snd down like a bride's nightie'?

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That is a good one - dog at a fair! I like that!

[@davidjones332]

Here are a couple more that occurred to me: a quick and not very thorough wash is "a cat-lick", and if you do a quick and superficial cleaning job it is sometimes called "a lick and a promise". @@MagentaOtterTravels

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@davidjones332 oh I like cat lick!! 😻

[@weatherwithyou4122]

If you watch the film “ Bell Book and Candle” (1958) starring James Stewart, Kim Novak and Jack Lemmon. Lemmon uses the phrase “Bless your cotton socks” when talking to Kim Novak’s character

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oooh interesting! Just another example of an archaic saying that was used here in the states and then stopped. But is still used in Britain.

[@debraharris879]

We use sorted in both ways, it’s just another way of saying sorted out.

[@rickrikardsson7444]

I didn’t know ‘it would be rude not to’ was exclusively British. One of my favorites is ‘much of a muchness’ to mean no great difference exists between two things.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I've not heard that one before!

[@Denathorn]

I say something roughly with the same setup as your 'much of a muchness'... "Doing the doings", which means busy doing just... Stuff... "Yeah, sorry I couldnt answer the phone there, I was busy doing the doings" :)

[@rickrikardsson7444]

@@MagentaOtterTravels It could be something that older people say, perhaps. I use it here in the States because I love it.

[@paulrobson7887]

I didn’t realise ‘rock up’ was particularly British. It just means to arrive somewhere but there is a sense that it might be unannounced or unexpected, e.g. ‘he just rocked up to the party even though he wasn’t invited’. I love ‘dragged through a hedge backwards’ too but a less common one which my Mum uses in the north east is ‘I look like the wreck of the Hesperus’. That one is great.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh I've never heard that last one!

[@lulusbackintown1478]

My family use that too and another is 'like the Marie Celeste' meaning empty or abandoned. I said this to the man in my corner shop and he just looked at me blankly. You could use 'tumbleweed' instead.

[@juliamaitland7160]

I use the wreck of the Hesperus a lot!!

[@CathySalmon-rs1dm]

Me too

[@rachelhenderson2688]

I know that there is a poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus", one of those sad poems that were so popular in Victorian times, about the captain of a ship of that name. He took his young daughter on the voyage with him, and when there was a storm, he tied her to the mast to keep her safe. The ship was wrecked in the storm and she was drowned.

[@susanp7386]

"Not bad" is very common, but I used to work with a woman who would answer "I'm bearing up under the strain" so now I use that frequently 🙂

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh, that is SO British! I love that dark, "I'm a martyr" tone LOL

[@bethiakittify]

Bearing up under the not inconsiderable strain... is the version I've always used 😂

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@bethiakittify that's funny! It's like coming up with a really long response to something that you can say instead of simply saying "fine" 🤣

[@stephenhowell5611]

There are so many, many are also regional. My grandparents said the funniest things, if my grandmother was startled she would say " ooh I nearly had kittens". A lot of the good ones are probably dying out.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

So true! That's a funny one that your gran used to say ;-)

[@bingbong7316]

Being too angry to speak clearly, "spitting feathers".

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@bingbong7316 oh that's a good one!

[@michaelcaffery5038]

​@@bingbong7316I've only heard that to mean "I'm really thirsty". Though I suppose if you're thirsty it is hard to talk with a dry mouth.

[@fleckensteinsmonster]

You can also "have a go" at somebody meaning you take them to task about something they've done.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Ah yes, there is a more aggressive meaning as well.

[@CroisMoi]

An English boyfriend used to say things I did not understand. When he explained it, I thought he was just making it up. One of those phrases is “The painters are in”. I’m enjoying your videos. I’m in Dallas, and looking forward to my next UK trip.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I thought I knew what that meant, and I had to look it up just to be sure. Yes, one of those euphemisms! Lol When is your next trip? Where are you planning to go? Thank you so much for watching my videos! Cheers! Dara

[@Home8rew]

See also “Up on blocks”, “fallen to the communists”, “my friend’s in town”, etc.

[@CroisMoi]

I am hoping to go by April 1. @@MagentaOtterTravels

[@martinscholes2023]

To Rock Up means to arrive either unannounced or unprepared. You would rock up to something and try and blag your way through it

[@user-hm1ii9pu6f]

I believe cheap and cheerful was connected to the Woolworth stores in the UK. They were known to sell cheap things that were of reasonable quality, hence 'cheap,and cheerful. Best, Cook.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That makes sense. No one else has really mentioned a good origin story for the phrase 👍

[@lulusbackintown1478]

Something my grandmother used to say 'red hat no drawers' or she's all furcoat and no knickers. Both meaning all top show and no substance.

[@zosemabubble7825]

I'm surprised you didnt include "Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt" or "what's that to do with the price of fish". Also, "daft as a brush". 😊

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks for contributing your favourites!

[@vilebrequin6923]

​@MagentaOtterTravels or a Northern idiom for hot weather "It's cracking the flags!". The flags in question are the paving flags and they're allegedly breaking in the heat 😊

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@vilebrequin6923 that's another one I've never heard!

[@EeBee51]

A modern varieation is "Bob's your auntie's new live in boyfriend"... 😄

[@daverawson8190]

As far as I know, happy as Larry is short for as happy as Larry the lamb in spring, a lamb prancing around a field on sunny spring day.

[@victorhbagnelle4551]

Roundabout is not just a road system it’s also a piece of equipment in a children’s playground

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, unfortunately I only learned that after posting this video! Lol

[@doughunt9621]

Without trawling through over 500 replies to see if this has been commented on, in Britain we have a similar expression to 'death warmed ove', it is 'death warmed up'.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, it's funny that Americans don't say warmed up. Such a small difference. I think these also are similar to "something the cat dragged in" ;-)

[@warrenturner397]

Hello from Australia! We also use most of those sayings. Here a some I inherited from my Dad that go back at least to the 1940s. "Spanner short of a toolbox" "Mad as a cut snake" "Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick" "Better than a slap in the belly with a wet fish" "Walks like a South African running duck" "Keep your knickers on" "Face like a boarding house pudding" "Dry as a dead dingo's (use your imagination) "Don't get your t*ts in a tangle". Plus heaps more. Not too sure if they're used anywhere other than Australia. Love your work!

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks so much for sharing your favourite old sayings from Down Under! Some of those my mum used in the states (the poke in the eye with a sharp stick was memorable!). I've never heard face like a boarding house pudding or most of the others. The one I have to compare is your toolbox one. English people have mentioned "sandwich short of a picnic" and here in Texas we say "a taco short of a combination platter" (referring to Mexican food). Thanks so much for your support of my channel! Cheers! Dara

[@robcrossgrove7927]

I normally say "Better than a poke in the eye with a plastic daff", (Daffodil). Don't know where I got that from.

[@nattreasure6102]

Also, "Better than a kick up the bum with a pointy shoe!" 😄

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@nattreasure6102 yes that does sound painful!

[@voivod6871]

In England we say "don't get your knickers in a twist" as well as "Keep your knickers on" both mean the same thing.

[@MRB-19]

Regarding "mad as box of frogs": hearing you mention it, for the first time I got cross-wired in my brain to Ray Steven's "Missippi Squirrel Revival" ... which seems to me about as close an example of the British saying as you could find from the USA🤣👍 (🤔 though maybe that's an appropriate tag line for most of Ray Steven's catalog?)

[@WFPCo]

'Have-a-go-heroes' often would appear in the newspapers, which means someone who jumps in to help someone in distress or in an emergency in the absence of 999 crew.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I had never heard of them before until I published this video and a couple people mentioned them. I had no idea!

[@gaynorhead2325]

We also do say six of one thing and half a dozen of another! I use it often.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

It's a good one!

[@charlesneal68]

"Mind how you go" I love that you specifically referenced Thursday saying this in Endeavour. To me it's a neatly understated way of the scriptwriter showing, despite a grumpy demeanour, what a kind and decent chap Thursday is and how he has this paternal affection for Morse.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, indeed. I love that show so much!

[@Yandarval]

Like many British phrases. The tone used is VERY important. Its can be affection, or sarcastically to mean Its would be nice if something bad happens to you.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@Yandarval so true!

[@nattreasure6102]

I love how the video shows the age-group Dara must've spent time with 😄Definitely something most folks under 70 wouldn't use (or maybe even know).

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@nattreasure6102 i'm a pretty old lady, and most of my subscribers are older than me. But as for my friends in real life, they are usually much younger than me! That's my strategy for still having friends when I'm in my 90s. All my friends are 10 or 15 years younger than me 🤣

[@geoffknight874]

A roundabout is also a thing in a kids play area with the swings.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I didn't know that when I filmed this video. Now I do! ;-)

[@peterhetherington914]

Swings and roundabouts refers to the common fairground rides which have been around a long time in Britain.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I only knew about traffic circle roundabouts until I published this video. Oops! Every day's a school day! ;-)

[@tanyaansley3992]

Chalk and Cheese...used quite often in one of my favs...Doc Martin. Yep...last words ...Inspector said, " Mind how you go." I use 'have a go' quite often. Thanks Dara. These are great. I also hear many Brits say, "Well done you."

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I LOVE Doc Martin! Have you been to Port Isaac yet? I do like "well done you" and say that one a lot.

[@tanyaansley3992]

I have not. My third child graduates this year, so the empty nest will allow for more travel opportunities. Port Issac is on the list for sure. @@MagentaOtterTravels

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@tanyaansley3992 it's fun to see it in person. I did a vlog there... it had some funny bits 😉

[@elizabethnuttall5374]

Of course we say 6 of one half a dozen of the other. Swings and roundabouts were in old English playgrounds for children. Love all of your examples of difference.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Didn't know until this video that Britons call those spinny playground things roundabouts! That's not an American term ;-)

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

@@MagentaOtterTravelsyou need to watch the Magic Roundabout; it’s a short French children’s programme beloved by a generation of Brits

[@rocketrabble6737]

More to do with commercial fairgrounds

[@frankgibson1335]

@@MagentaOtterTravels It doesn't matter now, the swings are still there but the roundabouts fell victim to Health and Safety's desire to wrap everyone in thick wads of cotton wool and the legal fraternities attempts to swell their already bulging pockets by sueing all concerned.

[@trickygoose2]

"Cheap and cheerful" is generally used for something that didn't cost much but did exactly what you wanted to and pretty much as well as a more expensive option.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Ah, cheers for explaining! Does "cheerful" mean that you're happy to have got what you needed at a cheap price?

[@trickygoose2]

@@MagentaOtterTravels yes something like that and that you didn't pay more for something that wasn't any better.

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

Nothing special but it’ll do the job

[@ParadiseStreet]

Swings and roundabouts is like saying “it’s as broad as it’s long “

[@Poliss95]

It appears that the phrase ‘See it. Say it. Sorted.’ was something the British Transport Police invented. 'Sorted' is earlier.

[@shellieeyre8758]

two things that are like chalk and cheese are as different from each other as they can be; one suggested origin is about the type of land used to raise sheep (which can be on chalk) and dairy (for making cheese); And "fell pregnant" is in the same vein as "fell ill". And I think the chips referred to in cheap as chips refers to chips of diamonds created when the stones are cut. These were (perhaps still are) set in cheap jewellery.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Ah, I never heard that chips referred to DIAMOND chips!

[@colinlavery625]

I did research it. At the time of Nelsons navy young recruits were known NEWTS. Every sailor received a daily tot of rum. The youngest men couldn't cope with it like the old sailors and easily became drunk, hence the expression "p....d as a newt" The daily rum ration was only stopped relatively recently in The Royal Navy.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Wow, that's a very interesting origin story!

[@michaelcaffery5038]

I was informed it refered to the sluggish movements of newts when uncovered in colder temperatures. Your explanation sounds better.

[@Bob-67]

Swings & roundabouts are found in children's playgrounds. Or they were when I was small, many years ago.

[@barryford1482]

I'm Australian and we use most of those about 18 of the 21. For some one pregnant we say along with the Brits someone is "up the duff"

[@charlesjames799]

Yes that is common up the duff

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

To an American, up the duff sounds really vulgar... don't think I'd use that one ;-)

[@bethiakittify]

But be aware that being up the duff is not the same as being duffed up

[@glendaw5221]

I’m an American who loves all things British. I used to have a very well read boyfriend who used the dragged through a hedge backwards phrase. Gemma of the Gem of Books channel just introduced me to the bless your little cotton socks phrase recently. I love it! I happened to stumble upon your channel (probably the KZbin algorithms) and you made my morning.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh wow! Thank you KZbin algorithm! I LOVE talking to American Anglophiles... so I hope you subscribe, stick around and join the Magenta Otter Tribe! You would be most welcome.🤗 Do you travel to the UK much? Watch British TV shows? Nice to meet you! Cheers for watching! Dara

[@glendaw5221]

⁠ Hi Dara. I definitely subscribed and shared your channel with a good friend whose mother was from England. I love British mysteries! I am one of the very few people in the US who doesn’t own a tv (mine broke and I didn’t replace it) but I subscribed to BritBox. I’m definitely a Royal watcher! (Needless to say I have an opinion about the spouse of the spare.) I live in Charlotte, NC.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@glendaw5221 fun to learn more about you. I'm a big fan of British mysteries as well. It's good to not have a TV! Unfortunately it's my one vice 🤣 I have a dear friend who lives in Raleigh. They are coming to Britain for a month next summer! We will be there 4 months and then a month in Germany. I'll send you a couple links to my most Anglophile videos. As well as a super fun food one that I filmed with that friend from Raleigh last year 😉

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

My recommended videos for you to check out... My emotional Anglophile moment in Northumberland - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGm4fKmtes5_rLs The two favourite Anglophile things I did in England - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZSQaJ16gMedhKc Hilarious video with my foodie friend from NC of all the things we ate in our England tourist day - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pX21mqR8h8usp7s

[@glendaw5221]

@@MagentaOtterTravels I’m loving this!! Will check out the places you mention. Particularly interested in the video of you and your NC friend. I moved to Charlotte from Florida (native) and I just love it here.

[@bobswan6196]

Chips used to cost a tanner. I first heard the phrase, "Dragged through a hedge backwards", used to describe the hairstyle of Farrah Fawcett-Majors back in the 70's, or whenever she first appeared. Note also that we add an 's' at the end of words like backwards, forwards, towards, etc.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

OK, forgive the dumb question but what is a tanner?

[@bobswan6196]

Sorry, forgot to add that bit: it was 6 old pence and had its own tiny coin (called a tanner). After the currency was "decimalised" (decimated, given the immediate inflation) it became 2.5 "new pence" but you couldn't buy a bag of chips for 2.5 p!@@MagentaOtterTravels

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@bobswan6196 Oh my goodness, the old money thing is massively confusing to me! Lol

[@barbarahalkyard1901]

Growing up in the 50s and 60s. The saying Bally Anne day.Was popular.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I'm not familiar with that what does it mean?

[@barbarahalkyard1901]

It basically meant the day before pay day. When families lived hand to mouth and there was no money or food .Until the man of the house brought home his pay packet.

[@matthewwalker5430]

I never would've thought "not too bad" is a British thing to say, but I guess it is. I say "not too shabby" quite a bit, or I say "surviving" a LOT, both of which in my mind are way more British, lol, but now I know even just saying "not too bad" is giving me away! Every day is a school day I suppose! Also, we don't say "looking like death warmed over", we would say "looking like death warmed up" ... and we don't say "Dog's breakfast", we say "dog's dinner" here in Britland

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Haha, both are!

[@Lily_The_Pink972]

Other ways of putting it are 'not three bad' and if someone asks if you're alright to reply 'No, I'm half left'.

[@maxwellgeorge1985]

One I use when asked if I am OK is "Still warm and vertical". = still alive.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@maxwellgeorge1985 that's a good one!

[@Pippins666]

Roundabouts and Swings - Patrick Palmer, a banker in London around 1900, The key to the phrase is the final two lines: It was early last September nigh to Framlin'am-on-Sea, An' 'twas Fair-day come to-morrow, an' the time was after tea, An' I met a painted caravan adown a dusty lane, A Pharaoh with his waggons comin' jolt an' creak an' strain; A cheery cove an' sunburnt, bold o' eye and wrinkled up, An' beside him on the splashboard sat a brindled tarrier pup, An' a lurcher wise as Solomon an' lean as fiddle-strings Was joggin' in the dust along 'is roundabouts and swings. "Goo'-day," said 'e; "Goo'-day," said I; "an' 'ow d'you find things go, An' what's the chance o' millions when you runs a travellin' show?" "I find," said 'e, "things very much as 'ow I've always found, For mostly they goes up and down or else goes round and round." Said 'e, "The job's the very spit o' what it always were, It's bread and bacon mostly when the dog don't catch a 'are; But lookin' at it broad, an' while it ain't no merchant king's, What's lost upon the roundabouts we pulls up on the swings!" "Goo' luck," said 'e; "Goo' luck," said I; "you've put it past a doubt; An' keep that lurcher on the road, the gamekeepers is out." 'E thumped upon the footboard an' 'e lumbered on again To meet a gold-dust sunset down the owl-light in the lane; An' the moon she climbed the 'azels, while a night-jar seemed to spin That Pharaoh's wisdom o'er again, 'is sooth of lose-and-win; For "up an' down an' round," said 'e, "goes all appointed things, An' losses on the roundabouts means profits on the swings!"

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks for sharing the history! Cheers for that! Dara

[@mickstaplehurst8471]

With reference to 'cheap as chips', when I was a young whippersnapper we used to go to our local chippie and get a 'tanners worth' of chips wrapped in newspaper. Now you just have to figure out what a 'tanner' is in monetary terms......😀

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I've had many comments on this video telling me the price of chips in "old money"... leaving me totally bewildered LOL!

[@sidecarbod1441]

2:22 it is not referring to a road roundabout, it is referring to a merry-go-round, we also call them as roundabouts, we also have small merry go rounds that you scoot round with your feet them jump onto them, you will find them in kids play areas along with swings.

[@NBNatureTrailvan]

Loved that one Dara. We use a lot of those phrases Swings and Roundabouts. 🤣🤣. We use that a lot - no idea where it came from but probably the playground - it will be a roundabout on a playground not a road intersection. So many cool phrases 😃😃. Fascinating that they’re not used in the States!! Hope you’re doing well Dara. 👍👍

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Great to hear from you Dave. Thanks for watching! I'm glad that you enjoyed the video... even though I learnt a lesson from this one. There is more than one kind of roundabout! Didn't know that ;-) But every day's a school day! LOL

[@catherinerobilliard7662]

Yes both move and are fun but you don’t go anywhere; comme ci, comme ça

[@NBNatureTrailvan]

@@MagentaOtterTravels 😃😃😃

[@rachelhenderson2688]

Either a fairground or a playground roundabout, but definitely NOT a road

[@Peterraymond67]

Hello Dara. A regular phrase here is that somebody or something is as “Much use a chocolate teapot”, or someone could “be a sandwich short of a picnic”. Because I live in the English speaking part of South Wales we often mix Welsh-English sayings, usually by non-Welsh speakers. One is Chwarea Teg, by a local it sounds more like worra terg. It means fair play, both in sport or to someone doing something very well. My youngest brother when he was younger would say “Tidy Init” meaning it’s good. He stopped saying this after he was bought a local book called “Speaking Tidy in Ponty”, a comical book. My young nephew who lives in Bala, North Wales, would confuse us all when he wanted to “Go down to see the Fonzz”, it took a while to understand he wanted to go to the lake and feed the swans. When my younger brother was naming his new boxer puppy he called her Tess, his reason was that she looked like a lady who lived in our village, he said “She had a face like a slapped butt” or “she looked like she was chewing a wasp”. In the late 50’s I used to buy a bag of chips for 6 old pennies, 2 ½ new pence theses days. In pre decimal times six old pence was from the nursery rhyme “Sing a song sixpence a pocket full of rye” I think it then went on about two and twenty blackbirds in a pie? We could buy some cheap candy, 4 fruit salad chews or 4 black jacks for an old penny, a 240th of today’s £1.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I love the chocolate teapot comment. I wish I had included that in the list! The Texan version of the "sandwich short of a picnic" is "a couple tacos short of a combination platter" which refers to Mexican food... enchiladas, beans, rice, tacos, etc ;-) Poor Tess LOL!

[@rachelhenderson2688]

"As much use as a chocolate teapot!"

[@Allspice321]

We use 'as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike' as well as chocolate teapot or chocolate watch.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@Allspice321 that's hilarious!

[@redplanet2010]

Which Ponty....so many to choose from..I lived in Pontypridd while studying IT at what was then..The Polytechnic of Wales ( Previouslsly the School of Mining, Now Universty of Glamorgan). tidy was definitely in frequent usage.

[@stonkr]

Rock up: informal attendance, usually at an informal event. "Did you hear John's having a bit of a shindig at his place later?" "yeah. Was gonna rock up about seven-ish."

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks for the example 👍

[@The_Brit_Girls]

We do use ''six of one, half dozen of another". It's a very interesting back story to ''bless his/her little cotton socks".

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes it's a sweet story! And I love that phrase 💖

[@what_im_eatin_uk]

Rock up means to attend without an invite. For example I rocked up to a party would basically mean to gatecrash

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Ahhhhhh.... Fun fact: after posting this video, I was in New York last week. I went to church on Sunday and a man visiting from DEVON went to the pulpit to talk at one point and in his remarks he used the phrase "rock up". I was tickled!!!

[@peckelhaze6934]

My mother was from Devon, my father was from Manchester. Consequently, my accent is unusual I am told. I don't really have a problem understanding most dialects.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That's a very handy superpower!

[@glastonbury4304]

My mum was from Skye and Dad from Glasgow but I was born in Manchester and I don't have a hint of a Scottish accent!! 🤷‍♂️😅

[@peckelhaze6934]

@@glastonbury4304 Strange, isn't it!

[@glastonbury4304]

@peckelhaze6934 ...yep...I was always playing football in the street so ended up mimicking my mates more 😉

[@robbuxton8438]

You got the meaning of Cheap and Cheerful just right. Again relates to politeness. You might think, “ Gosh that’s Trashy”, but you would say Cheap and Cheerful

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

🤣

[@gailmann9345]

I’m an American but my grandparents were from England. My mom would use different phrases and sometimes tell me her mom used it. One that makes me laugh is “ I’ll have your guts for garters”. I think it’s said when referring to someone that has made you mad. Another is “daft as a brush”. Not sure what that means! My favorite was “ That’s that, said the little old lady as she peed in the ocean”. I have cousins in the UK and one they use that I like is “well done you”. Over here we’d say “good job!”, but they say Well done you. So much more charming. Also, I’ve never heard anyone say this except my mother, so I’m thinking it’s probably something she heard her English mother say and it is said to a child when they are being sassy or bratty - “ don’t give me no monkeyshine “. If anyone has heard that before, please let me know! I just found your channel today and I’m having so much fun watching your videos!

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I have heard most of those before and they are SO funny! Guts for garters always sounded very threatening to me! haha I guess brushes are known for not being very intelligent... ;-) I'm so glad you found my channel! Welcome to the Magenta Otter Tribe! I normally reply to comments much faster... but my sons came to Dallas to spend Christmas with us and I've pretty much been offline for the week they were here. Happy New Year! Dara

[@robhunt-watts8908]

Another way to say "Not too bad" is to say "Mustn't grumble"

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh yes, that is very British!

[@danowen79]

I always thought “swings and roundabouts” referred to the things in a kid’s playground, not the traffic circle in the latter case. As in, both are fun things in the playground that are equally good really - so “swings and roundabouts” is kind of a variant of “six and half a dozen”.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oops! I feel dumb for getting that wrong about the roundabouts.. but oh well, every day's a school day! ;-)

[@user-bh2oj4ih9w]

@@MagentaOtterTravels Yes, but the phrase originated before kids had access to public playgrounds, but there were travelling funfairs where there were swings and roundabouts. And if there kids weren't paying to go on the swings they were paying to go on the roundabout. i.e. you could be losing on one attraction but you'd be gaining on another. In common usage it came to mean simply there's no need to change anything, everything balances out in the long term. BTW, we don't say pigs in muck, we'd more commonly say, 'he's as happy as a pig in sh*t!' Mind you, I grew up on a farm and pigs are rather clean animals, they just liked to wallow in mud for sun protection.

[@matthewwalker5430]

@@MagentaOtterTravels Yes, they're also different things which move you in a direction but you end up back where you started

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

@@matthewwalker5430 good point!

[@joebutlersnr7017]

It's happy as a pig in sh*t .

[@ianpadraig5263]

"Right , you are" has become my go to phrase.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Give me an example of how you use it please

[@ianpadraig5263]

Oh, it's quite versatile.You can dress it up , or dress it down.I have responded "right you are" ,in the course of a friendly exchange, in total agreement with the other person. Or, in it's more caustic form , shut someone down with whom you could never agree in a mixed gathering - as you (for emphasis) break off from further engagement ;) @@MagentaOtterTravels

[@alandjenkins]

Grew up in the 1960s. Fish and chips was pretty consistently 1/6d a portion - pre-decimal coinage, that is: one shilling and sixpence, when twelve pence = one shilling and twenty shillings = one pound. So, 7.5p in modern coinage!

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oh man, that is SO confusing to me! Thanks for explaining!

[@ianmoffat4460]

Mad as a Hatter as per box of frogs. From the use of mercury in the hat industry in days past. As in The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. You could also say "He's going round the bend". Love your comments re the language differences. 😊

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

We use Mad as a Hatter because Alice in Wonderland is popular in the states... but I had never heard about the box of frogs LOL!

[@caromurray6152]

In Australia we say Mad as a cut snake!

[@ianmoffat4460]

ps. The mercury fulminate did indeed affect people and I believe it may have killed quite a few people eventually.

[@austin12ascot]

Luton was a major hat making town. I think the football team are called "The Hatters"@@ianmoffat4460

[@paulhanson5164]

Yes we say six of one half dozen of the other, as for the roundabout, that is referring to a playground toy often found next to the swings...we could have gone with slides and see saws. I might start saying that just to confuse people.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

YES! Let's start saying that one! I love it.

[@user-jh8no1zb9e]

ROCK UP - is something new - it was never used when i lived here in the UK back in the early 90s - ive only heard it since i returned in 2019

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yeah, it's what the cool kids are saying these days.... so unlikely I'll start using it LOL

[@wencireone]

Dragged through a hedge backwards, see ' Dead man's Switch' hair dryer rant short 😂

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

RUDE! But appropriate ;-)

[@Sue474]

Re. the first one, the roundabouts aren't the kind you see on the road, they are something you will see (along with swings and a slide) in the kind of small children's playgrounds that you might find in a park or in a town. I just Googled American terms for this and it seems you may call them merry go rounds or playground spinners. So, in that context, swings and roundabouts are similar things as they are both children's equipment.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Oops! I feel dumb for getting that wrong... but oh well, every day's a school day! ;-) Those roundabouts are not really merry go rounds - those are carousels. Those spinner things I've never known to have an actual name... I hate them because I am very easily made dizzy & motionsick!

[@timelord5920]

It’s getting chilly here in Britain, it will soon be “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey!” Meanwhile, SueEllen is “a few sandwiches short of a picnic” 😂

[@artrandy]

The balls reference is about cannon balls, in case our host should think us vulgar.......

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Here in Texas we say "she is a few tacos short of a combination platter" referring to Mexican food ;-)

[@damonstarkey4303]

I think this is a nautical term, a brass monkey was a brass plate with a lip which the cannon balls were stacked on, if it got too cold the brass would contract and make the balls pop off of it!

[@sarumano884]

@@damonstarkey4303 Not nautical, but field artillery -Army. The navy used to store cannonballs on long wooden beams with circular cutouts, on deck behind the guns, so wouldn't have had that problem. I heard the saying arose in the Crimean War, when British soldiers first met Arctic conditions with the new brass trays, or 'monkeys' for carrying and stacking cannonballs on wet ground. I have yet to find anyone who can calculate and tell me the temperature at which the balls DO freeze off the brass monkey.

[@adlam97531]

Happy as Larry comes from a boxer Larry Foley who won every fight and was always happy when he won.

[@robertwoodliff2536]

Not the cat at no 10 then...

[@Trueblue222]

Swings - back and forth , Roundabouts - round and round , one movement cancels the other. So the phrase means one thing cancels the other and in the end one way isn’t any better than the other.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

That makes sense!

[@ivinsp]

Hello from Wales! A few South Wales words/expressions for you, not sure if they have been mentioned already: a hug/cuddle is a cwtch, you pronounce it like ‘cutch’, rhyming with butch. Also 'I'll be there now in a minute' which means you'll be there or with someone soon but not quite yet. Also 'lush' not in the alcohol sense but something that is really good, 'that was a lush bowl of cawl (thick soup/broth)'

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks for that! I use lush a lot to describe the delicious desserts I eat 😋

[@The_Brit_Girls]

I always say “Mind how you go”. It's a very Norfolk phrase and is pronounced, "moind hew yew gew!" I can't stop myself from saying it over in the States and it is met by a very blank expression! 🤣

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I LOVE THAT!!! Don't ever change, Julie! 💖

[@xetalq]

In the US, a 'county fair' is an essentially agricultural show (as we would call such events in England). But a 'fair' in Britain is the same as a travelling fun fair in the US, which moves from town to town within a circuit, usually visiting each town on the route, once a year. Such travelling 'fairs' in Britain have a variety rides and experiences to enjoy, some of which - like air rifle target shooting - could be found just as often at a county fair (ie an agricultural show) as at a fair. But the fun fair rides that go round-and-round - what Americans call a 'carousel' - are called either 'merry-go-rounds' or 'roundabouts' in Britain. In 1960, when circular motor traffic junctions were developed from (and improved upon) their inefficient ancestors 'traffic circles', the British term 'roundabout' was swiftly adopted from its fun fair use as a colloquial term for the new circular motor traffic junctions. And it stuck. So, the British expression: 'swings and roundabouts' pre-dates 1960 and refers to the fact that travelling fairs in Britain featured both swings and roundabouts for the amusement of children. Two separate pieces of equipment for kids to play on, providing distinctly-different but equally-enjoyable experiences. Hence, the full British expression: "What you lose on the swings, you'll gain back on the roundabouts." But the expression has nothing to do with circular motor traffic junctions.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Yes, I got the whole "roundabout" thing all wrong! But I have since learnt better! Every day's a school day ;-)

[@mollycat5361]

A roundabout in uk as well as a road junction is a fairground ride which you call a carousel. So swings and roundabouts would both be at an old style fair

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thanks for explaining!

[@peterstaley796]

swings and roundabouts were playground rides in the UK when I was young - I am now 77. (I think the roundabouts were taken out because, due to more recent safety considerations, they were treated as dangerous for young children).

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

I would toss my cookies on one of those roundabouts... I'm awful with dizziness and motion sickness ;-)

[@davidedwards504]

Hello Magenta.Your intelligent open minded view of my country is wonderful! I hope next time you come here you will fully explore the English lake district where I reside.P.S. every place you both go I agree with everything you say.eg.chips need to be cooked till they brown , cheese and pickle butties etc.The point is your viewers have similar tastes in life even though we live 3000 miles away.

[@MagentaOtterTravels]

Thank you for your kind comments. We will definitely be coming to the Lakes this summer! We have already booked into Bowness with one set of friends and we are probably taking another set of American friends there as well. Such a brilliant place! Cheers! Dara

[@ians3586]

This is Dara's husband, Ian. Even though we haven't done a video of the Lake District we love it there. My favourite hike there is Low Fell near Loweswater and many years ago we spent a week in a flat in Broomriggs on Esthwaite Water.

[@davidedwards504]

Hello again Dara and Ian.I live in the centre of kendal and am originally from Liverpool and I drink real ales and love properly cooked food so my concern is that you find the best places to eat ,drink,stay while you are over here.I would forget Bowness personally but it is up to you to to experience your own path in life.Anyway may I say your videos are beautifully filmed and I find comfort in watching them.Take care both of you.P.S. you can use Branston pickle on cheese on toast er grilled cheese or even on cheeseburgers.

[@paulguise698]

@@davidedwards504Hiya David, I live in Whitehaven, but I was born in Carlisle, its a shame KZbin took down Know Where You Walk down, there were 2 vlogs on Whitehaven and 1 on Kendal

[@robertgrant4987]

'Swings' as in a park, but those parks also had a rotating circular apparatus called 'round abouts' that children would cling to while another would spin it and then jump on. Both were equally as much fun, so came the phrase 'swings and round abouts' And yes, we do use 'six of one, half dozen of the other'