British families.

Riley_G

MovingForwards said:

Chips are chunky potatoes (or spuds for short)
Fries are the skinny things usually from McD, KFC etc.

Crisps (UK) = chips (USA) 

Thank you! 
You Brits have the upper hand on breakfast. My boyfriend made me a sausage and bacon barm. He got me to try something called "HP Sauce" or "brown sauce", That stuff is AMAZING. 

Also thank you to everyone is helping me. I really do appreciate it. Not looking forward to a lockdown thanksgiving (A US tradition I'm sharing with my boyfriend!)

kangoora

I remember working out in USA a long time ago. Some american friends were horrified at me putting A1 steak sauce over my breakfast (pancakes on a side plate). I was disgusted when they proceeded to pour maple syrup all over theirs

strawb_shortcake

There are people in some parts of the country that won't know what a barm is :-) also known as bap, bun, roll and possibly more
The English language can be quite a minefield 

Mojisola

Riley_G said:

Mash the tea? What do you do on that?

It just means to leave it to brew in the pot before pouring out.

MovingForwards

Best thing you can do is watch a load of English films / TV shows to pick up visually what people are referring to.
Cooking ones are great for learning the slight differences with ingredients.
Comedy shows are a way of picking up the humour over here.

Don't try to mimic how things are pronounced, that will naturally happen in time, some people could be offended thinking you are taking the p1$$ out of them / their area / the UK.

There will be a local slang for a lot of things, but again don't concern yourself with that for several years.

How tea is made / drunk and the different names for bread rolls causes huge debates throughout the UK. 

If someone offers a biscuit with your tea / coffee, it's a sweet biscuit, not the biscuit you have with gravy back in the USA. Gravy here is different too as yours is like a white sauce, here it's a meat or vegetable gravy.

Go with the flow, don't force anything and try to build up your own circle of friends, due to hobbies and interests. It's fine to have your own social life and independence and will help you settle in easier.

Apintplease

Pubs serve crisps, pork scratchings, scampi fries and peanuts

Chips are served from chippies and restaurants, French fries served in Mc Donalds

Mash the tea, means brewing the tea - done with leaf (loose) tea in a pot

Milk first when using bone china and a tea pot, last when made with a bag in a mug

A bread roll can be a bap, barm or even a bread cake depending on where you live in the country

The UK is England, Wales and Scotland. GB also encompases  Northern Ireland, which is on the Island Of Ireland but is British. Never call a Scot, Welsh or Ulster man English. In fact a lot of Welsh, Scots and NI prefer not to be called Brits, you soon find out depending on whose company you keep

We all hate the French ( tongue in cheek )

Our pancakes are crepes, we don't serve biscuits with gravy, the closest we have are Scones and they are served with cream and Jam. The pronunciation of scone depends on where in the country you live and cream or jam first also

A Cornish pasty can only be made in Cornwall, which isn't a separate country, but a principality 

Yorkshire also declare their independence

Yes we can make coffee, just don't expect Starbucks to know how to make it

We eat breakfast , dinner and tea, only some of us eat breakfast , dinner and supper and others have breakfast lunch and dinner

We have afternoon tea and sometimes we have high tea

We don't tip bar staff. We may tip servers in a restaurant where no service charge is added, but only if we are drunk or the service is exceptional

Curry sauce is a must with a Chinese take away and a fish supper - in the north. In the south a fish supper comes with a pickled cucumber ( dill pickle ) or a pickled onion

The North South divide starts at the Watford gap for Southerners. There are many millions South of the Gap who have never travelled further then that and think they will fall of the end of the universe 

The southerners are RICH ( or so they think ) and think its dire OOP North. They will travel OOP for a hen/stag night in Liverpool/Manchester/Blackpool so they can get as ruined as they like without anyone they know seeing them, giving southerners a bad name and rushing back down south and think its cool to say " oh Ive had a couple of weekends in said city - lovely place "

Just go with the flow. We are a friendly bunch within our tribes Don't take anything anyone tells you too seriously - we like to take the !!!!!!, and just don't worry about things. You will soon build a network of friend that will see you right

Emmia

Apintplease said:

The UK is England, Wales and Scotland. GB also encompases  Northern Ireland, which is on the Island Of Ireland but is British.

This isn't right, the full title of the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

Great Britain is comprised of England, Wales and Scotland. 

The United Kingdom is comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Apintplease

Emmia said:

Apintplease said:

The UK is England, Wales and Scotland. GB also encompases  Northern Ireland, which is on the Island Of Ireland but is British.

This isn't right, the full title of the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

Great Britain is comprised of England, Wales and Scotland. 

The United Kingdom is comprised of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

sorry yes you are right, got me bum from me elbow wrong

AskAsk

Lover_of_Lycra said:

AskAsk said:

Torry_Quine said:

AskAsk said:

Riley_G said:

WickedWitch123 said:

AskAsk said:

Savvy_Sue said:

Riley_G said:

Savvy_Sue said:

What I don't quite understand is why your boyfriend isn't giving you a reverse cultural induction to the one he must have had when he came to the USA.

He tried. Oh he tried. I prefer learning my own way. 

I don't know anyone else in the UK. I've never been to the UK. Boyfriend has told me to do some things. 

PLEASE make some friends yourself. I know it's not the the best of times, but whatever YOUR interests are make time for them and try to connect with like-minded people. 

it is actually not that easy to make friends in the UK as people are more reserved and are more cautious around strangers, particularly foreigners.  but yes, the OP should try to make friends as it is pretty lonely just to depend on her boyfriend.

best way to make friends is to join some sort of activity club where you can meet people who like similar things to you.

Hey that may be true if you're from 'down South' but up here in Manchester we are an extremely friendly and approachable bunch.  OP you seem outgoing and confident - you'll have no trouble making friends in Manchester. Obviously not a great time with COVID but you'll be fine.  Any other questions, ask away and welcome to the UK xx

Thank you, people on the tram were lovely. I had a nice chat with a lovely old lady who advised me to avoid an area with an "accent like mine". 

I try and be outgoing and confident sometimes I am the scared New Yorker in a new city. You guys seem to take COVID a lot more seriously than we do in the states, which is great!

I have to say your cell companies are also cheaper! I went to the cell phone store and got a new phone. They gave me £10 off a month, A free carry case and a screen protector. I have a shiny new UK phone, I can use back in NY at no charge.

You are all lovely! Thank you!

I do have another question what do all the rainbow drawings mean? My boyfriend said its to clap for keyworkers due to covid. I just think they look really cute.

I also hear my boyfriend talk about down south and loads of people have mentioned it, Does the north not like the south?

only the scots hate the english as far as i am aware.  the rest of the northerners think the southerners are a bit stuck up and unfriendly.  the southerners don't hate the northerners, we just think they have a funny accent 

Well this Scot doesn't hate the English. It's annoying when something is described as national when it's English though.

i only know the scots hate the english because my husband used to date a scottish lady and she said that the scots hate the english because of the past, your rob roy and all that  , but that on an individual level, a scot can be friends with someone english, so the animosity is not at the personal level but the national level.

One person told you this and this woman was the spokesperson for every single Scot as if we’re some sort of collective Borg? 

normally i wouldn't take one person's word for the sentiment of a whole country, but it sounded logical as when you think back to what the english did to the scottish in the course of history, it is understandable that the scots have no love for the english.  history like that do not fade with time, if you look at other countries that were at war with one another in the past as an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHZT9gg-wXY

AskAsk

annabanana82 said:

There are people in some parts of the country that won't know what a barm is :-) also known as bap, bun, roll and possibly more
The English language can be quite a minefield 

i know what a bun or a roll is but not heard it referred to as a barm or a bap.