by Cate Dean
courgette - zucchini
cream tea - consists of a pot of tea, scones and strawberry jam, with the previously mentioned clotted cream - delicious!
crisps - potato chips - in a million and one flavors
crumpet - what we think of as an English muffin, but loads tastier
cuppa - cup of tea – ah, instant relaxation
digestives - tasty round cookies, made for babies and toddlers
entrée - appetizer - not the main course
fairy cake - cupcake
fizzy drink - pop or soda
Flake - a long, crumbly stick of Cadbury chocolate - heaven!
gammon - ham
gateau/gateaux - a rich cake, usually served with cream
golden syrup - a thick syrup used for sticky pudding and desserts - my nephews have it on their peanut butter sandwiches instead of jam or honey - yum!
hot pot - a one pot stew, usually made with lamb, veg and sliced potatoes on top, slow cooked in a low oven
jacket potato - baked potato
jelly - jell-o
kippers - smoked herring - I’ve had them cut in half and served on a plate for breakfast - beautiful!
ladyfingers - light, crispy, sweet sponge cakes
lady’s finger - okra
lager - closest to American beer, drunk from a pint glass instead of a bottle and served cold, but not as cold as you’re used to
lemon squash - lemonade, still
lemonade - lemon lime soda, carbonated - think Sprite or 7-Up
mash - short for mashed potatoes
mince - ground beef or other meat
mushy peas - dried peas that are soaked overnight and simmered until they go all, well, mushy - much tastier than they sound
pasty - (pass-tee) savory half-moon shaped handheld pie, originally from Cornwall - a good one is heavenly, a bad one is like eating flavored glue (I’ve had both, unfortunately)
pickle - a mixture of veg, spices and vinegar - looks like a brown lump on your plate, is a surprising burst of flavor when you eat it
pickled onions - shallots in pickling vinegar - lovely with a good, creamy cheese
pub grub - aka pub food - can be surprisingly good, and a good value as well
pudding - general name for dessert
rasher - slice of bacon
sausage roll - sausage wrapped in pastry
savoury/savouries - pastries that are savory instead of sweet
Scotch egg - hardboiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated with bread crumbs and deep fried, then eaten cold
shandy - lager and 7-Up
shepherd’s pie - minced lamb and veg, topped with mashed potatoes - not to be confused with cottage pie
soda - soda water
soldiers - finger size slices of toast - perfect for dipping in egg yolk
squash - a concentrated drink for kids - add water and you’re good to go
starters - appetizers
stone - the pit in your fruit
stout - dark beer or ale
sultanas - golden raisins
swede - rutabaga
take-away - fast food places like Pret a Manger or EAT will ask if your order is eat in or take-away - it means to go, and unless you’re dying to sit in that noisy, often narrow room for an extra charge, say “take-away, please!”
tart - like our pies, with fruit or jam - I’ve always had mine served with cream or custard
toad in the hole - sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding batter
treacle pudding - steamed sponge cake with a thick syrup topping - can also be served with custard or cream
Yorkshire pudding - a light batter that is baked in a tin with hot oil at very high heat until it rises – similar to popovers in America... but not really... just another unique bit of English cuisine
Places
apothecary – place that dispensed medicine and medical advice - now the modern chemist
bridleway - public right-of-way path for walkers, horseback riders, and cyclists
bungalow - single story house
canteen - a cafeteria
casualty - emergency room, may also be called A&E for accident and emergency
chemist - pharmacist/ pharmacy - what you know as a drugstore, plus loads more on offer than you would ever expect
chippie/chip shop - fish and chip shop
cinema - movie theatre, where you go to see a film, not a movie
dress circle, upper circle - the upper rows in the theatre (may also be called royal circle, grand circle, depending on the theatre) - these seats are close together, so you will be nose to knees with the person behind you
cupboard - any closet in the house
en-suite - bathroom is attached to the room and not shared
fell - hill, mountain or high plain (Lake District and Pennine Dales)
first floor - second floor (our first floor is the ground floor in England)
flat - apartment
gallery - balcony
gangway - aisle in the theatre
gaol - jail – pronounced the same
garden - the entire yard, not just the flower or veg beds!
heath - open land with low growing plants and vegetation
High Street - the main street or road in a town
licenced restaurant - restaurant with a license to sell alcohol
lift - elevator
listed - protected historic building
loft - attic
London School of Economics/LSE - well-known university in London
lounge - living room
mews - stables built behind 17th-18th century London houses, now converted into modern dwellings
newsagent - similar to our convenience store
off-licence - liquor store
pitch - playing field
public footpath - right of way path on private land that gives walkers the legal right to travel, also known as public rights of way
public school - private school, i.e. Eton
stalls - the best seats in the theatre, close to the stage
state school - public school
theatre - live theatre
to let - to rent
towpath - trail or road along the river, originally used to tow boats
Transport
bonnet - the car hood
boot - the car trunk
call - as in call at the station, rather than stopping
caravan - a trailer - and the cause of many a tailback
car park - the parking lot
cat’s eyes - road reflectors
clearway - section of road where it is illegal to stop
coach - a long distance bus
diversion - a detour
dual carriageway - divided highway with a minimum of 2 lanes in each direction
flyover - the overpass
ford - low water crossing
gearstick - the stick shift
give way - yield
hand brake - the parking brake
lorry - a truck
motorway - the freeway
petrol - gas
return ticket - a round trip ticket
roundabout - a traffic circle
service areas - freeway rest areas (also called motorway rest areas or MSAs)
single ticket - a one way ticket
sleeping policeman - a speed bump
slip road - an entry or exit ramp
subway - an underground walkway
tailback - what we refer to fondly as a traffic jam
taxi rank - a taxi stand
ticket inspector - the person who checks your ticket on the train
Tube/Underground - the subway
verge - grassy edge of the road
way out - the exit
zebra crossing - (rhymes with Debra) the crosswalk
English slang, or what did he just say?
all agog - excited - I’m all agog!
at sixes and sevens - in a confused or difficult situation - I’ve b
een at sixes and sevens since the theft
bloody - less offensive expletive - not bloody likely!
Bob’s your uncle - there you go, that’s it!
brilliant - magnificent, excellent
cheap as chips - inexpensive
chuffed - delighted, pleased
codswallup/codswallop - nonsense (I’ve seen several spelling variations of this one - they all mean the same thing, a load of nonsense)
dicey - risky
donkey’s years - ages, a long time
full Monty - the whole thing, going all the way
gander - to take a closer look at something - take a gander at that!
give over - stop, give me a break
gobsmacked - shocked, amazed, speechless
hen night/hen party - bachelorette party
homely - homey, cozy
hump - to carry something heavy
just a tick - just a second
loads - lots – as in I use this word loads of times!
mean - tight fisted, stingy
natter - to talk incessantly, go on and on
nick - to steal, take without permission
knackered - exhausted
knock up - to be woken up - please knock me up at 7 am (I had a B&B proprietor ask when I would like to be knocked up in the morning - fortunately I knew what she meant!)
over the moon - ecstatic - he’s over the moon about it!
pear-shaped - gone wrong, become a disaster
pissed - drunk (not something you want to say to someone of new acquaintance!)
put a sock in it - shut up
rubbish - nonsense
skive - to avoid responsibility, as in skiving off work
snog/snogging - kiss, kissing, making out
sod off - piss off, get lost
sorted - fixed the problem, worked things out
spend a penny - go to the bathroom/loo
splash out - spend far too much money!
stag night - bachelor party
suss out - figure out
taking the mickey - making fun of someone
wanker - nice definition: an unpleasant person, normally a man
whinge - (rhymes with hinge) to whine or complain in an exceedingly annoying fashion
wonky - unstable, crooked
Yank - American
Ghosts of the Past
Maggie Mulgrew Mysteries Book 6
Cate Dean
Copyright, 2019
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except for use in any review. This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, locales, and events are either pure invention or used fictitiously, and all incidents come from the author’s imagination alone.
About The Author
Cate Dean has been writing since she could hold a pen in her hand and put more than two words together on paper.
She grew up losing herself in the wilds of fantasy worlds, and has had some of her own adventures while tromping through the UK, and a few other parts of the world.
A lover of all things supernatural, she infuses that love into her stories, giving them a unique edge.
When she's not writing, she loves cooking, scaring herself silly in the local cemeteries, and reading pretty much anything she can get her hands on.
There - I got the official biography out of the way. I love to write, and yes, I have been doing it most of my life. I've made up stories in my head for as long as I can remember, and I am thrilled to be able to write them down and share them with you.
I love writing different types of stories, and jump from fantasy, to mystery and paranormal, then over to romance and YA. So many genres, so little time...
If you want to be the first to know when the next book is released, or be in on some fun, exclusive contests and giveaways, join my list here: https://catedeanwrites.com/join-my-list.
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