What's The Tea Sis?

Something funny I've come to realize since coming to England is that the Brits use some words differently than we Americans do. Not only are they used differently, but they can have several different meanings. The one that consistently gets me, even after living here for four months, is their use of the word tea.

In England, or at least in the Yorkshire region where I live, tea has three different meanings. When someone asks you to get tea they can be asking you to have a hot beverage with them or they could also be asking you to get your evening meal with them. I'm always getting confused between these two teas. There is almost never any contextual clues about what they're referring to. Tea can also be drama or a way of asking what's going on in your life, in which case you may hear someone say, "What's the tea sis?" Personally, I think that there is only one use of the word tea, and it is a lovely beverage I prefer to have in the morning (not 10 times a day like they tend to).

Another thing that gets me is that if you're talking about pants in England they'll think you're referring to your underwear and you may get some odd looks. I refuse to call my pants trousers however so I've accepted the fact that I'll get weird looks. I'm American... get used to it.

I'm still not used to sweaters being called jumpers either. I usually think someone is talking about a jumpsuit or something. I still don't know where the term came from? Maybe someone had trouble getting on their sweater and jumped around to get it on? Who knows.

Also, if someone tells you they're pissed do not worry. They aren't mad. Chances are they've had too many pints and are just a bit drunk. Nothing a glass of water and a nice rest can't sort out. On that note, if someone says something is mad they're saying something is crazy. Not that they're angry at whatever they're talking about.

The fact that they call chips crisps and fries chips is also something I find quite strange.. And the fact that cookies are called biscuits and buns are called tea cakes. I think that their English is quite backwards.

If you hear some guys talking about a bird, they aren't ornithologists, they are just talking about some girl.

I think one of the funniest words I've come by is bog. A bog in the UK isn't swampy land... it's a toilet and bogroll is toilet paper. I have no clue why but I haven't questioned it. It does make m giggle every time someone says it though.

There are many other words and phrases I could compare to their American counterparts, but I have to say.. I think that the American way is much simpler and self-explanatory. The Brits make everything harder to understand.