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English sayings that confuse foreigners.

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ProfilePosted byOptionsPost Date

BrendafromWales

BrendafromWales Report 20 Oct 2016 09:22

We call this welsh town Llanfair PG

We also have Llanfair Talhairn. Llanfair T h

Llanvire

Dermot

Dermot Report 20 Oct 2016 08:32

Try this smashing tongue-twisting Welsh village name on any visitor & local alike:- Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

The approximate pronunciation in English orthography is given at the station as:-

Llan-vire-pooll-guin-gill-go-ger-u-queern-drob-ooll-llandus-ilio-gogo-goch.

(From the Net).

JoyLouise

JoyLouise Report 20 Oct 2016 07:53

Sylvia, there's a shop (boutique-style) in Durham called Mugwump. :-D

Allan

Allan Report 19 Oct 2016 22:41

Just ask a foreigner to pronounce the name of Oswaldtwistle correctly, or even Featherstoneheath :-D :-D

SuffolkVera

SuffolkVera Report 19 Oct 2016 21:21

Just sending an email to someone and found myself typing "He told a porkie"

BrendafromWales

BrendafromWales Report 19 Oct 2016 20:53

Joy ...it was my memory going not yours. I was the one who had forgotten you had posted.
Got a lot going on at home this week a friend who is blind ,diabetic,has a blind diabetic dog and lives alone in a big house called me early this morning in trouble health wise .had to get paramedics .went to a and e sent him home this afternoon ,now he has called again not well should never have been sent home...waiting for out of hours dr

SylviaInCanada

SylviaInCanada Report 19 Oct 2016 19:48

"How are you?"

"Fair to middling"

SylviaInCanada

SylviaInCanada Report 19 Oct 2016 19:47

My father used to call all politicians "mugwumps"

He said that was a bird that sits on the fence with its mug on one side and wump on the other



although I see from Google that it originated in the US as a First Nations word for a war leader, but became well known after it was used for republicans who didn't support their candidate in the 1884 contest :-D :-D

JoyLouise

JoyLouise Report 19 Oct 2016 13:46

And now for one I love: many a mickle makes a muckle.

:-D

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it

Shirley~I,m getting the hang of it Report 19 Oct 2016 13:13

Well would you Adam and Eve it !!!

Rhyming slang used in Sarf East Lunnon

JoyLouise

JoyLouise Report 19 Oct 2016 08:39

Yes, Brenda, sorry. :-D

Memory lapse.

Now where the heck did I put me red shoes. :-D

I need to put them on so I can trip the light fantastic. :-0

BrendafromWales

BrendafromWales Report 19 Oct 2016 08:35

Sorry JL it was me not remembering about the dancers that you posted....memory going!

Yesterday,I paid for groceries in supermarket with my card.then went for petrol and put wrong number in...mind you I have my 32 yr old granddaughter staying with me at the moment and stayed up a lot later than normal and out of routine......that's my excuse!

JoyLouise

JoyLouise Report 19 Oct 2016 08:24

Maggie,

Snap. My post on 12 October at 6.42 - up the dancers! My Gran's expression too - and I still say it. :-D

Red shoes, no knickers is a new one cos we always use the 'fur coat, no knickers' expression.

Red shoes ... That's me done for then. I love colourful shoes and I still have three pairs that I still wear.

BrendafromWales

BrendafromWales Report 19 Oct 2016 08:15

Fur coat no knickers was another one !

maggiewinchester

maggiewinchester Report 19 Oct 2016 00:19

Det. my gran used to say 'Red shoes no Knickers'.

BrendafromWales

BrendafromWales Report 18 Oct 2016 23:38

Treading the boards....or the light fantastic.

Going to bed up the dancers.

If you had a little accident and hurt yourself...'my gran used to say ..oh it's alright,it'll ba a pigs foot in the morning...where that came from I don't know!!

Allan

Allan Report 18 Oct 2016 23:33

Ah'm reet clemmed or, more poshly, I'm really clemmed

JoyLouise

JoyLouise Report 18 Oct 2016 23:14

Sylvia, we used to call the back alley 'the back entry'.

For a long time I thought the Beatles song read 'thank you very much for the entry iron' because the rag-and-bone man (as he was called) used to walk down the back entry touting for tat, including old iron things, shouting 'Entry iron,'

'Thank you very much for the entry iron' seems exactly as I recall his thanks.

'Thank you very much for the Aintree iron' never rings true to me.

+++DetEcTive+++

+++DetEcTive+++ Report 18 Oct 2016 22:15

Fur coat and no knickers ;-)

SylviaInCanada

SylviaInCanada Report 18 Oct 2016 19:58

"up t'ginnel and rahnd t'back"

my instructions from a woman on how to find her neighbour when I was delivering Christmas post in Oldham


"ginnel" was a passageway between 2 terraced houses, often with an archway over it.

It led through to the back of the houses, and into a yard where there were other small houses built onto the back of the ones that faced the street.

hence an address would be ..........

Number 4
5 Yard
xxxxxx Street