Back in April, I did some crowdsourcing, asking readers to vote on future NOOBs entries. The winner was twee, which I dutifully explored. Many of the (now more than 400) comments on my Slate piece last week nominated specific Britishisms for consideration, so I thought another poll was in order.
Following are some of the words most frequently mentioned, plus the runners-up from the previous poll–knackered and prat. Vote for up to three.
My friend Bruce Beans sent me a fun feature from the folks at Merriam-Webster Online–click on the above photo to link to it. They say, “Although Merriam-Webster is a dictionary of American English, it contains a range of words rarely heard outside Britain. Here are some of our favourites.” (Note the ou spelling of favourite in the text, but the Americanized favorite in the heading.)
I am on record as not totally agreeing with their statement, since I have already featured plonk as having entered the American lexicon. Of the other nine on the list, I can see some that have already established a foothold here, and a couple of others that may do in the future. What do you lot think?
notoneoffbritishisms.com 