English with Rob 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.
- Putting ketchup on everything
- Never letting your emotions get the better of you -
To get the better of you = to strong for you to control
- Shouting wahey when someone drops a drink in the pub
TEST IT!
- Being squashed on the train by a larger person and pretending you don’t notice when they are half sitting in your seat.
- Being tolerant
Tolerant/To tolerate = To accept something you don’t like.
- Saying ‘right’ before you’re about to do something.
- Moaning about our commute
To moan = to complain A commute = a journey you do regularly, usually to and from work/school
- Respecting our elders
Elders - people older than you / Elderly (adj) A polite way to say ‘old’
- Wearing shorts and sunglasses the second the sun comes out
- Holding the door open for someone when they’re unnecessarily far away so they end up running for the door
- Having a barbecue as soon as the sun comes out
- Having meals based on what day it is – like Fishy Friday - a Sunday roast
- Not complaining in a restaurant when the food is bad
(an example of being tolerant)
- Pulling together in a crisis
To pull together = To cooperate with people/to work together to solve a problem.
- Being proud of where you are from
- Eating fry ups for breakfast
A fry up - a meal with fried food: sausages, egg, bacon, tomato, baked beans, toast
- Sarcasm
Sarcastic (adj) = saying the opposite of what you mean to be funny, or to criticise.
- Having good manners
Manners = doing polite socially acceptable things. Eg saying please and thank you.
- 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).
- Having a stiff upper lip
Not expressing emotion / hiding your emotions
- Going to the pub
- Dunking biscuits in tea
To dunk = to dip = to put something into liquid, and pull it out again quickly.
- Saying please and thank you
(good manners)
- Saying ‘sorry’ too frequently
- Using tea as a cure/fix for everything
- Liking fish and chips
- Putting the kettle on in a crisis
Kettle = a machine to boil water
To put the kettle on (a collocation)
- Having a roast dinner on Sundays
- Queuing
(not queue jumping or cutting in line)
- 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,