Wednesday, February 20, 2008

English Ed & Et #4

Are Harry and Hermione stepping out on Ron? That is what the local news reported recently. How cute!! The article said that they were both really trying to make sure no one saw them together: yeah, hello, they will confuse all the young Harry Potter fans....what? Hermione and Harry????

I love Harry Potter. The books have got to be one of my very favorite things that have come from Britian.

Here are some more English terms brought to you by my two favorite English bloggers: Saxon and Mike Ball.

I will just share the ones with HP connections for now:

lift - elevator or giving someone a ride. How about taking a lift in that muggle flying car? or We took the lift to our dormitory, isntead of hiking the 12 flights of stairs.

headmaster - the principal of course. Did you know that Dumbledore was gay?

Muggins - fool, sap, etc. Now, who would you consider a muggins? Malfoy?

galleon and pence: from Saxon - A galleon is about 4 Litres I think. (me: what is a litre?) There are 100 pennies(pence) in a pound. ie. How many galleons did that Nimbus 2000 cost? Read Saxon's comment to understand how totally idiotic I was with this one. I think I got a little confused here from reading Harry Potter...don't they call wizard money a galleon?

tea - not just tea, but also dinner Will you join me in The Great Hall for some tea?

sarnie -sandwich (yeah, this will be a fun one to try and incorporate into my vocab next time I go to Subway- "Can I have a sarnie please?)

And lastly, for the people who may want to watch the news about Radcliffe when they do visit the U.K., you need to know this crazy tidbit:

If you have a TV you have to buy a TV licence here in the UK. It only lasts for a year so you have to buy a new one each year as long as you have a TV. The licence is a £135 and if you don't have one and are caught by one of the 'detector vans' watching TV you will get a fine of up to £1000. (I still haven't figured out how much money that is, but either way, that seems just crazy to me)

Hope you enjoyed...it took me long enough to get to it.

4 comments:

Saxon said...

a litre is equivalent to 2.11 US Fluid pints. There are four litres in a Uk Gallon. We use litres and Gallons to measure liquids. Like petrol. Petrol is charged by the litre.

You only need to buy a TV license if you live in the UK. If your visiting and staying in a hotel you’ll be covered by them. According to the current exchange rates the TV license would be $262. The fine would be $1941.

Unknown said...

Thanks Saxon...I was getting worried that you didn't love me anymore?

So, I thought that a galleon was a form of money...I guess I am wrong...it is a fluid measurement?

So my sentence about the Nimbus 2000 is totally incoherent?

My next English Ed & Et is going to have all to do with automobiles..I will have to make the galleon correction there.

I know, I know, I am such an idiot sometimes.

Mike Ball said...

Automobiles Ed & Et...

Boot = trunk
Bonnet = hood
Windscreen = windshield
Petrol = gas
Gear box = transmission


And more general

Braces = suspenders
Draughts = checkers
Drawing pin = thumb tack
Dummy = pacifier
Nappies = diapers
Flyover = overpass
Fortnight = two weeks
Full stop = period
Ground floor = first floor
Pants = underwear

I'm sure there are loads more but it's getting late and my head hurts!.

Yvonne said...

Gosh, I'm glad I don't live in the UK--I'd hate to buy a TV license.

Thanks for all that info.