The British Bit is a weekly column bringing you the latest culture from across the pond.
If you studied abroad in the United Kingdom and are anything like me, you probably came back to campus with some newly-acquired vocabulary that has your friends' eyebrows furrowing in confusion. To all bewildered friends of such people: We’re not trying to be pretentious. We just can’t help ourselves. Most words will eventually fall by the wayside, but until that happens, here’s a little guide to deciphering what your friends may be saying.
Cheers
interj.
1. To thank someone.
2. Not just used during toasts, but also for when someone holds the door open or when the cashier hands back change.
Synonym: ta
Chunder
verb
1. To throw up, to vomit.
2. What you do while on your Gap Yah.
Craic
noun-ish
pronounced like “crack”
1. Fun, good times, having a laugh.
Example: "Last night was great craic!"
2. “What’s the craic?” can alternatively mean, “How are you? What’s new with you?” or, “Do you know any juicy gossip?”
3. From the Irish Gaelic; also prevalent in Scotland.
Cuppa
noun
1. A cup of tea.
Example: "I’m putting the kettle on. Would you like a cuppa?"
Fancy
verb
1. To like, as in, “Would you fancy a pint?”
2. To have a crush on someone.
Fit
adj.
1. Attractive.
2. Used to describe the opposite sex.
Synonym: hot
Jim-jams
noun
1. Sleeping clothes, a.k.a. pajamas.
2. A way cuter name for pajamas.
Jumper
noun
1. A sweater.
2. Not those denim dresses you wore in the 1990s.
Pint
noun
1. A British pint is 20 ounces instead of the standard American 16 ounces.
2. A "real" pint.
3. Served at the Celtic Knot, in case you're interested.
Pissed
adj.
1. To be intoxicated, to be drunk.
2. Never used to mean “angry” in Britain.
Synonyms: plastered, ratted, sloshed
Pudding
noun
1. Dessert.
2. No, not a type of dessert. The actual course that Americans refer to as dessert.
Example: "We’re having ice cream for pudding."
Tea
noun
1. In Northern England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland it means the main evening meal, or what Americans would call dinner.
2. It’s not strange to call your lunch “dinner” and your dinner “tea.”
There are plenty more than these ten, but these are some of the more interesting or amusing ones that I remember from my time abroad. Do you know of any others? Leave a comment below.