Speaking proper like what I does

[nmg]

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.

Stream or brook.

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.

Shopping trolley. Or possibly the garklet if he's in a wandering mood.

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.

A tiffin carrier, lunchboxes being almost exclusively plastic.

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.

Frying pan. Or possibly kitchen.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.

Sofa.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.

Guttering, or possibly drainpipe.

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.

Verandah, not that they're that common in the UK.

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.

Fizzy drinks.

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.

Don't really do pancakes at breakfast, and I wouldn't put syrup on fried eggs. Damned US cultural imperialism.

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.

Probably a baguette.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?

Trunks, or possibly plus-fours and a tweed jacket.

12. Shoes worn for sports.

Trainers in general, though plimsolls while I was growing up. I was always disappointed that my plimsolls didn't have a Plimsoll Line to show that I wasn't overloaded.

13. Putting a room in order.

Tidying.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.

A radioactive mutant moth, possibly Mothra.

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.

Woodlouse, although it's a crustacean and not an insect.

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.

See-saw.

17. How do you eat your pizza?

With knife and fork if I'm required to show any decorum, with fingers otherwise.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?

Insufficient shelving.

19. What's the evening meal?

Dinner, or possibly tea.

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?

Cellar.

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?

Water fountain or drinking fountain.

Comments

[coffeeandtv0.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I'd have liked to have seen the questions alone first, as my dialect is no one specific thing, and I tend to be influenced by what dialect is around me (for example I picked up some Northern English elements from my housemates at Bath, who were all from the North). Plus it'd make a good vocabulary test for my students.

- Rob

Breakfast

[(Anonymous)]

Bacon, fried eggs and maple syrup... Try it first, *then* complain.

H.

[ruthj.livejournal.com]

A few of my answers would have been different to yours:

5. Settee
12. Gym shoes when I was a kid (although I was dimly aware that some people called them something like 'plimsoles')
19. Tea (definitely, as dinner is in the middle of the day)

I think we need a British version of this. What about mither, mard, mimby, barmcake, etc? These are the words I needed to translate for the southeners I met at Warwick Uni...

Cheers,

RuthJ

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on settee and tea. I always refer to the midday meal as dinner, getting me into no end of bother with the other half

(I'm from Southampton)

I also say "somewhen" which seems to be an exclusively Southampton-specific word

[kaveypie.livejournal.com]

If you think of any additional questions to make it more British let me know as I'll add them to the end, having just gacked this.

[lionsphil.livejournal.com]

17. How do you eat your pizza?

Clockwise.

19. What's the evening meal?

Statistically, pizza.

[(Anonymous)]

Might be interesting to hear the answers I've tried to pick up from Texas and (now) Indiana...
Duncan

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.

Swimming pool. Possibly hot tub.

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.

I'm told it's a 'cart'.

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.

Foil wrapper from 'Wendys'.

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.

A skillet. Ideally cast-iron and "well seasoned". Which makes it harder to clean.

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.

A couch, or a sofa.

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.

Doesn't rain in Texas, so they don't have a word for it.

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.

Porch. Possibly an SUV.

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverages.

"Soda". There's a place here in Kokomo that's an old-fashioned "soda fountain" where they mix up fizzy water with syrup in a way that's totally authentic and in no way resembles what I used to do with my Soda Stream.

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.

Pancakes or waffles.

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.

It's a "sub sandwich", apparantly that's short for "submarine sandwich" which makes just as little sense when you think about it.

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach?

Speedo, if you're unlucky.

12. Shoes worn for sports.

"Tennis shoes", regardless of the sport involved.

13. Putting a room in order.

Tidying.

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.

Firefly. I understand the answer is different if you're over in Roswell, New Mexico.

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.

Gloria tells me it's a "roly poly".

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.

A see-saw.

17. How do you eat your pizza?

Very quickly, I'm told.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?

A "garage sale".

19. What's the evening meal?

Supper, although I'm trying to convert people to "tea".

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?

A basement. In our case, a "dream" as we're on the second and third floor.

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?

A bottle marked 'Dasani".