I spent a lovely weekend with the family up in Northumberland recently. Walking around the tiny village of Greenhead (near Hadrian’s Wall), my Yankee son noticed this sign outside the local pub and it made no sense to him. Pensioners' Pudding Club at the Greenhead Hotel Pensioners? In the UK, that’s the name we often give our senior citizens – originating from the fact … [Read more...] about A Brit Back Home: Puddings and Pensioners or Just What Exactly Is the Pensioners Pudding Club?
English Language
British Slang: Tea Time – British Words for Tea and Tea Related Culture
Tea is a culture entirely of its own in Britain. It’s not a stereotype; most Brits really do love their tea and cherish a good cuppa. It’s a form of relaxation and socialization that is key to ‘getting’ Britain (like talking about the weather). But there is a lot of confusion out there - many people don’t realize the difference between High Tea or Afternoon Tea or Cream Tea. … [Read more...] about British Slang: Tea Time – British Words for Tea and Tea Related Culture
British Slang: British Railway Terms
A round-up of railway terms related to train travel in Britain that may differ from American understandings. Every issue of the Anglotopia Print Magazine features 'The Slang Page' on the back page of the magazine. Each issue covers an interesting exploration of British English. Subscribe to the Anglotopia Print Magzine to make sure you get the latest lists! Tube - Nickname for … [Read more...] about British Slang: British Railway Terms
Laura’s Britain: Exploring the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford – An Inside Tour – Tons of Pictures Inside!
The Bodleian Library in Oxford – the library of the prestigious University of Oxford – is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. In Britain, it is second in size only to the British Library in London. The Bodleian first opened to scholars in 1602. Its incomparable collections of books, papers and manuscripts are housed in buildings in the city center, and you can book a … [Read more...] about Laura’s Britain: Exploring the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford – An Inside Tour – Tons of Pictures Inside!
Anglotopia’s Grand Adventure: Amusing British Signs We Spotted On Our Journey
As we journeyed from Cornwall to Scotland on our recent Grand Adventure, I started to notice something, which made me start to take pictures. I started seeing very interesting signs. Everywhere. And then once I started noticing a few, I started to notice more. Some were funny; some were dark. But what surprised me, especially about the ones warning of danger, was how specific … [Read more...] about Anglotopia’s Grand Adventure: Amusing British Signs We Spotted On Our Journey
An American Student Abroad: My First Week as a Student in England
The whole first part of this past week was just surreal. That’s really the only way to describe it. It didn’t quite seem real when the bags were all packed and set to the side in a nice row, not for a vacation, but for a migration. The morning we left, it was not too different a morning from any other that I had spent over the past seven years in Craig, Colorado. I had … [Read more...] about An American Student Abroad: My First Week as a Student in England
The Repat Report: Quirky British Weather Words
So Jonathan & Jackie are on their travels as I write. By British standards, he’s making the horrendously long journey from Lands’ End (at the tip of Cornwall in England) to John o’ Groats in Scotland. We Brits don’t usually drive that far so we’d generally dismiss this as madness, before deluging him with tips on how to get there faster via planes or trains. Anyway, on … [Read more...] about The Repat Report: Quirky British Weather Words
The Repat Report: Very British Marketing – A Clever Use of British-isms
I’ve written a little about the very British food I’m discovering on British shelves. Only in the UK can you market Wonky Food really. (Question – if you did so in the USA, would people assume the veg were “preoccupied with arcane details or procedures in a specialized field" as per the Merriam Webster dictionary?) Although in general Brits don’t go in for overt displays of … [Read more...] about The Repat Report: Very British Marketing – A Clever Use of British-isms
Have a Nice Day – and other New Words in the UK
So, I was in my life-saver Post Office yesterday, buying dog food actually (told you they were great), and the sales person bade me farewell with “Have a nice day!” I have heard variants of this in shops, train stations, pubs, petrol (gas) stations and public parks, since my return. “Enjoy your day”, and “See you later”. What’s going on? If memory serves, I was reading … [Read more...] about Have a Nice Day – and other New Words in the UK
Cymru: Ten Interesting Welsh Place Names and Their Meanings
Welsh culture emerged following the withdrawal of the Romans, developing its own rituals, its own identity, and its own language. Despite conquest by the Anglo-Saxons and the Normans, Welsh culture has remained fiercely distinct and proud even to this day. While the majority of Welsh persons speak English, the country remains bilingual, and many signs throughout the country … [Read more...] about Cymru: Ten Interesting Welsh Place Names and Their Meanings
Ten Interesting Scottish Place Names and Their Meanings
Scotland is a place of kings, where high mountains hide crystal clear lakes and the whisky flows as freely as the rivers. The Scots language is as rich as the country’s history. It originally derived from Old English then Middle English before branching off into Early Scots and Middle Scots. As the English language gained more of an influence, Modern Scots gave way to Modern … [Read more...] about Ten Interesting Scottish Place Names and Their Meanings
Ten More Brilliant British Idioms and Their Meanings
Welcome to our second article on British idioms, the guide to helping you understand many of the words and phrases used in casual conversations and heard on your favorite TV shows and in your favorite films. The vocabulary of any culture is quite enormous, so you’ll be little surprised to know we found ten more idioms whose meanings and origins we’ve dissected for you. Have a … [Read more...] about Ten More Brilliant British Idioms and Their Meanings
Ten Brilliant British Idioms and Their Meanings
An idiom is a phrase or expression that carries meaning that may not be self-evident. The expression might be so old that it’s origins have little meaning to us today, though the idiom still conveys value. While some British idioms translate to America, others are more difficult to decipher outside of UK culture. As such, we’ve found ten common British idioms and unraveled … [Read more...] about Ten Brilliant British Idioms and Their Meanings
The Repat Report: Wonky Veg and Chuck On Clothing – Loving These Supermarket Slogans
You may have heard of the “British sense of humor”; you know, that thing the rest of the world smiles at with a mixture of bemusement and forbearance. This subtle humor can be found in the most unlikely places too. In the last few months, some of the signs and labels in shops have had me chuckling to myself while my American husband eye-rolls (new verb) at how little it takes … [Read more...] about The Repat Report: Wonky Veg and Chuck On Clothing – Loving These Supermarket Slogans
Brit English: British Sporting Terms and Leagues
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Anglotopia Print Magazine in 2017. Every issue of the Anglotopia Magazine features 'The Slang Page' on the back page of the magazine and each time focuses on British Slang and British English (or just English to pedantic Brits). You can subscribe to the Anglotopia Print Magazine here. The British sporting world is … [Read more...] about Brit English: British Sporting Terms and Leagues
The Repat Report: Brit Words I Can Use Again In A Country That Understands Them
Most Brits living in the US quickly learn that if you want to make it to the end of a sentence uninterrupted, you drop a lot of your British vocab. (We also know that to start or derail a conversation, you lob a British-ism right in there! Voila! Everyone’s asking about the word you just used.) Some Brits insist on “keeping their identity” by continuing to use words and phrases … [Read more...] about The Repat Report: Brit Words I Can Use Again In A Country That Understands Them
Guest Article: Travel and Learn Abroad to the UK with TLab
Editor's Note: Last summer I had the chance to study in Oxford for a week with the ESU and it was an incredible experience - you can read my articles about the experience here - the ESU has written this guest post to outline their available programs for 2018 - and the deadlines to apply are fast approaching! The world is shrinking. Traveling to the UK used to be a monumental … [Read more...] about Guest Article: Travel and Learn Abroad to the UK with TLab
English Language: British Christmas Words You May Not Be Familiar With And What They Mean
Here is a list of words related to British Christmas to help you understand how the Brits celebrate the holiday season (which for them includes Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s). Boxing Day - Boxing Day is a holiday that’s the day after Christmas. Traditionally it’s when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box,” from their bosses or employers. … [Read more...] about English Language: British Christmas Words You May Not Be Familiar With And What They Mean
Anglotopia Imports Alert: New Products Added – Marvellous Maps Imported from the UK
Welcome Back to Anglotopia Imports! It's time to launch a new product at Anglotopia Imports. We've been wanting to bring over the maps made by Strumpshaw, Tincleton & Giggleswick’s Marvellous Maps for quite some time and we're thrilled to be the only company offering them here in the United States. I've been pouring over the Great British Adventure Map for hours … [Read more...] about Anglotopia Imports Alert: New Products Added – Marvellous Maps Imported from the UK
New Jane Austen £10 Banknote Released
It's been a long time coming but the new £10 Note featuring Jane Austen has now been released into the wild. It will slowly replace the old paper £10 Darwin Notes over the next few months. Like the new Churchill £5 note released last year, the new £10 note is a plastic polymer based paper. I will admit, they take some getting used to. Old £10 notes will be slowly taken … [Read more...] about New Jane Austen £10 Banknote Released
Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Six – War-Time Writing, New Words, Dunkirk and Closing Reception
My final full day in Oxford proved to be a very eventual day - I had lots on the agenda. I was very sad to see my time in Oxford coming to an end. The week flew by! But my final day would have some delights including some amazing museums and seeing the hit film Dunkirk with a British audience (more on that later). But first, we had a morning of final lectures. First up was … [Read more...] about Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Six – War-Time Writing, New Words, Dunkirk and Closing Reception
Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Five – Jane Austen, The Future of English, Bodleian Library and a Tolkien Excursion
This was probably my favorite complete day of the entire Oxford experience. It started off as the previous days did, with the morning lectures but the day expanded into a lovely tour of the Bodleian Library followed up an excursion to Wolvercote to pay my respects at Tolkien’s grave and to visit an abbey ruin. By this point in the trip, my body had finally caught up with the … [Read more...] about Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Five – Jane Austen, The Future of English, Bodleian Library and a Tolkien Excursion
Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Four – Rain on the Roof, Shakespeare, The OED, Ashmolean Museum and Missing a Concert
There were the experiences I was prepared for, and then there were the ones I wasn’t prepared for. I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep despite the jet lag and it started raining. As my room was on the top floor, the only thing between the rain and me, were the few pieces of wood that made up the roof. It was the most sublime sound as the rain pounded down on the … [Read more...] about Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Four – Rain on the Roof, Shakespeare, The OED, Ashmolean Museum and Missing a Concert
Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Three – Old and Middle English, Pilgrimage to Blackwell’s
I did not sleep well overnight. I was hot. The heat was a problem since I’d arrived in Oxford (in a day or two, the heat would go away, thankfully). While the building I was staying in was relatively new, it did not have air conditioning, and I was on the top floor. Even with the windows open, I was hot all night. My jet lag also follows a pattern. The first night, I sleep like … [Read more...] about Amongst the Dreaming Spires: Oxford Trip Diaries – Day Three – Old and Middle English, Pilgrimage to Blackwell’s
English Language: “That gadgie’s gannin’ proper radgie, like.” – Understanding the Geordies
The word Geordie refers to both a person who lives in the Tyneside region of North East England and also to the dialect spoken by those living there. Tyneside would be considered as the city of Newcastle Upon Tyne, North & South Tyneside, and Gateshead, although some may argue that it only relates to those who live to the North of the River Tyne. Just as the definition of a … [Read more...] about English Language: “That gadgie’s gannin’ proper radgie, like.” – Understanding the Geordies
Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas in 2007 in a closet in Chicago. Anglotopia is for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Join us as we explore Britain and everything it has to offer!
