2. An English Nerd - Britishness

Episode 2: Being British

 

In this episode:

• Top 30 things that British people do
• Chat with Shereen from An English Nerd - Experiences living in Manchester (UK)
• Phrasal Verb of the week
• Learn from a learner

 

Top 30 things that make you British (Metro March 2019)

 

This episode plays on stereotypes - not all British people are like this.

Stereotype = a popular generalisation about a group of people.

 

30. Putting ketchup on everything

 

29. Never letting your emotions get the better of you - 

To get the better of you = to strong for you to control

 

28. Shouting wahey when someone drops a drink in the pub

TEST IT!

27. Being squashed on the train by a larger person and pretending you don’t notice when they are half sitting in your seat.
28. Being tolerant

Tolerant/To tolerate = To accept something you don’t like.

 

25. Saying ‘right’ before you’re about to do something.

 

24. Moaning about our commute

To moan = to complain    A commute = a journey you do regularly, usually to and from work/school 

 

23. Respecting our elders 

Elders - people older than you / Elderly (adj) A polite way to say ‘old’

 

22. Wearing shorts and sunglasses the second the sun comes out

 

21. Holding the door open for someone when they’re unnecessarily far away so they end up running for the door

 

20. Having a barbecue as soon as the sun comes out

 

19. Having meals based on what day it is – like Fishy Friday - a Sunday roast

 

18. Not complaining in a restaurant when the food is bad

(an example of being tolerant)

17. Pulling together in a crisis

To pull together = To cooperate with people/to work together to solve a problem.

16. Being proud of where you are from
17. Eating fry ups for breakfast

A fry up - a meal with fried food: sausages, egg, bacon, tomato, baked beans, toast

14. Sarcasm

Sarcastic (adj) = saying the opposite of what you mean to be funny, or to criticise. 

13. Having good manners

Manners = doing polite socially acceptable things. Eg saying please and thank you.

12. Having a dry sense of humour

The joke is not always obvious, perhaps said in a normal or serious tone of voice. Sometime plays on misleading or unexpected details. (what are you doing in my house? Turned off the lights jokes).

11. Having a stiff upper lip

Not expressing emotion / hiding your emotions

10. Going to the pub
11. Dunking biscuits in tea

To dunk = to dip = to put something into liquid, and pull it out again quickly.

8. Saying please and thank you

(good manners)

7. Saying ‘sorry’ too frequently
8. Using tea as a cure/fix for everything
9. Liking fish and chips
10. Putting the kettle on in a crisis

Kettle = a machine to boil water

To put the kettle on (a collocation)

3. Having a roast dinner on Sundays
4. Queuing

(not queue jumping or cutting in line)

1. Talking about the weather

 

Generational differences were also found:

42% of older people considered it British to be proud of where you’re from 

19% of younger adults agreed

13% said they weren’t proud to be British at all

 

Talk to a Teacher

 

Shereen from An English Nerd - Living in Manchester

 

Phrasal Verb of the week

 

To put up with

 

To accept something which you don’t like.

To not complain about something which is unpleasant. Or someone who is unpleasant.

 

Eg: I put up with some of the TV shows my wife suggests we watch together.

Learn from a learner

 

Chien likes British weather. 

Q: Does she prefer summer or winter?

 

She can enjoy the day and enjoy the sunshine, and it’s pretty nice here

(she lives in the UK).

 

Temperature pronunciation

 

Repetition of nice

The temperature is - pleasant, just right, warm,