I took a break from blogging a few months ago. We moved from London to Chicago in September and I spent our last few months focusing on doing everything on my London list (post on that to follow). I have one more post of Queen's English words and a few other posts to come wrapping up our time in London.
Squidgy--soft and wet, as in "I don't think the bread is done baking, it's all squidgy in the middle."
Manoeuvred--maneuvered, as in "When I move back to America I won't know how to spell words like manoeuvred."
Shedload--a large amount, as in "I spent shedloads of money on dinner last night."
Bogeyman--boogeyman, as in "My parents told me when I was a kid to be good or the bogeyman would get me." Also, the word "bogey" is "booger" in American English.
Caravan--mobile home or RV (Recreation Vehicle), as in "My dad wants to go caravanning as a family on holiday this summer."
99p (short for pence)--99 cents, as in "Can you believe I got this for only 99p?" Speaking of money, if something costs 4.99 you'd say "four pound ninety-nine."
Potter--occupy yourself with something pleasant, as in "I'm fine to potter about by myself."
Bruv--slang for brother, as in "Hey, you alright bruv?"
Spiffing--a very posh way of saying excellent, as in "We had an absolutely spiffing time, old chap."
Chippie--local chip (french fries) shop, as in "I'll pop down to the local chippy."
Pernickety--persnickety, as in "This job is full of painstaking, pernickety work."
Gorgeous--delicious, as in "You've got to try this gnocchi; it's gorgeous!"
Rough Sleeper/sleeping rough--a homeless person who sleeps outside, as in "Some churches offer sections of pews to rough sleepers during the day."
These last few are rude words and I include them to be thorough in my efforts to point out as many differences between British and American English that I can find in print.
The "s-word" in the UK is pronounced "shy-t" and is spelled like the American version but with an "e" on the end. It is used exactly the same way, but many think it sounds a lot posher.
Speaking of the "s-word", "shat" is the past tense version.
Fanny baws--this is a Scottish word meaning stupid bastard, as in "Shut up fanny baws."
This last one is a group of words describing...well, I think it is self explanatory. Americans have their own list but some of these are purely British.
