England and America are two nations separated by a common language.”
–George Bernard Shaw.
One hardly needs to be British to enjoy “Last Tango in Halifax,” the terrific comedy-drama that debuted in 2012 (and that my wife and I recently binge-watched — who says that the pandemic doesn’t have any silver linings??).
As a service to American viewers, however, I offer this handy cheat sheet to convert (to my ear) the quirky English lexicon:
“Bollocks”: %$#@!!
“Dozy bugger” (also: “silly bugger,” “tosser,” “wanker”): jerk; asshole.
“Fall out”: fight; become estranged.
“Love” (noun): “dear.” See, “our.”
“Mobile” (noun): cell phone.
“Niggly”: cheap.
“Our”: third-person variant of “dear” (“Our Gillian . . .”).
“Owt”: anything; nothing.
“Pilfer”: shoplift; steal.
“Pillock”: head case.
“Pissed”: drunk; inebriated.
“Puncture” (noun): flat tire.
“Ring” (verb): call (as, “on a mobile”).
“Sod that” (verb): #$%@! that.
“Ta-ta” (also “ta-ra”): goodbye; see you later.
“Toff” (noun): rich or upper-class person; snob.
Fortunately, there’s one commonly used expression on the show that needs no translation: “Would you like some tea?”
Apparently, the British answer to that is always, “Why yes, love!” . . . 🙂
