This week we celebrated Pancake Day at our weekly Breakfast Club and then marked the start of Lent – aka Ash Wednesday – by not eating pancakes! I remember thinking as a child that it was a time to give up chocolate as we were going to (hopefully) eat so much at Easter. I also vaguely associated it with lending or borrowing, obviously getting my Lent & lent confused. I have always had a fascination with words that have multiple meanings. I like to think that it is a cultural thing and the same can be said about most Brits; who love a good double-entendre at the very least.
Just look at the very clever headlines that are continuously plastered over the tabloids in the UK. And hats off to the British Weekly who have brought the amusing red-top tradition to California. Freddie Star Ate My Hamster is possibly the most memorable for my generation. Not to mention the wit brought to us by William Shakespeare, or the blundering banter from Prince Phillip to the popular and naughty Carry On series of films.
So I am sure you can all appreciate the great pleasure I got when I moved to Los Angeles. The common ones like fanny, pants, and gas still make me snigger, but I think one of my favorite wordplay stories was when an American friend visited Britain and was very impressed that there was a reading train available, not realizing we have a town in England called Reading.
The word ‘fancy’ is a funny one (as in odd not haha!), as it means so many things – from ‘fancy a pint?’ to ‘taking a fancy’, or ‘fancypants’. Even one of our favorite British grocers is called ‘Oh Fancy That!” (over on Ventura Blvd if you didn’t already know!).
I actually won a ‘Fancy Hat’ competition at the tender age of three. But I was a bit disappointed when at Trader Joe’s I bought some very plain, unroasted, unsalted assorted nuts, and they had the cheek to label them “Fancy Raw Mixed Nuts’ not sure what is fancy about them although I did still fancy them…
Some of you may recall we hosted a Kids Fancy Dress competition a few years ago at our Queen’s Jubilee celebration. The British kids all arrived in costumes , dressed as their favorite fictional characters whereas the American kids all showed up in evening attire! So if you get an invitation to an Oscar or Toscar party this month and the dress code is ‘fancy’ please don’t show up as Darth Vader or Wonderwoman, or perhaps do…..
One word(s) that I cannot find an American translation for is ‘washing-up bowl’. Where I’m from to ‘wash up’ means to do the dishes but over here it means to give yourself a wash! Hence the difficulty I’ve had locating a new bowl – I’ve searched for sink bowl, dish bowl, kitchen bowl but had little success. I even texted a friend for the name and she replied “Tupperware? I have no clue” – I did learn along my unfruitful search (via The Guardian) that a washing-up bowl is like Marmite – you either love it or you hate it. I am in the love camp. So if anyone out there can tell me what to call it I will be really grateful. For once I am completed stumped, and it seems Google is too; unless I want to order one for $26 from England!
We have lots of opportunities to meet some of the Brits in LA group in person, rather than virtually. From our weekly Breakfast Club to Pub Quiz at The Pikey (both on Tuesday) then the glamorous affair that is The Toscars on February 24th. All details can be found on our Facebook page or by visiting www.britsin.la
Feel free to show up as Batman or Snow White if you – ahem – fancy it 😉
If you have any questions or comments or can help me on my quest drop us a line at britsinla@gmail.com. We always enjoy hearing from you
Cheers!
Eileen
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