Sunday Expressions: C2C Edition

I've been learning a lot about Yorkshire, thanks in part to Last Tango in Halifax and also due to my recent read of Amanda Owen's memoir The Yorkshire Shepherdess.  I will be doing a post on this book soon, but I digress.

The other day I stumbled upon a beautiful blog called Four Walkers on Walking Places.  The four walkers in question are four grandmotherly-types who walked the Coast to Coast trail in 2010.  I highly recommend this blog for their amusing account of their experience, as well as stunning pictures.  It is quite a bit of inspiration as well.

This week's Sunday Expression was discovered on their blog.  Heather, the blog's author, writes, "An early start of us, so it was a cat's lick and a promise as far as getting washed was concerned..."  I thought that was such a great expression for those times when you know a shower or bath is just not in the cards.  So thank you, Heather, for this week's "Sunday Expression".

Do you have time for a proper bath in the morning or evening or do you have to get by with a cat's lick?

xo,

Amy

Sunday Expressions: The British Banker Edition

Trying to be all adult-like, I made several appointments with my local bank to try and sort out things like oh...retirement and funding the children's education.  You know.  Minor details.

So of course my Banker would be from England.  And just in time because I needed some authentic Sunday Expressions.

I was treated to several HOURS (lots of sorting needed) of British expressions.  I seriously wanted to take notes, but I supposed that would have been too weird.

So my Sunday Expression:  The Banker Edition is "Wait a tick."  This expression was used when I attempted to chatter while he was adding up my sums (or lack of), when I interrupted him while he was on the telephone sorting out my various messes, or needed me to clarify some financial nonsense I was spouting.

Any Brits out there use "Wait a tick"?

Sunday Expressions: What?

No, really what?

What?

No, what?

This week's Sunday Expression was inspired by Sophie Brookover who after listening to a few Jeeves & Wooster audiobooks increased her British vocabulary impressively and
exponentially.  This tweet had me particularly intrigued...

So, what is what?

Sophie's theory is that it emphasizes the speaker's point and is used to "encourage agreement with an expectation of a response like 'quite so', 'indeed', or "I jolly well agree!'".

I jolly well agree and feel like it's similar to the Hindi "accha" which can be used in a variety of situations and for different meanings.

Ah, the mystery of British expressions, what?

Do you use what? and when, what?

And thank you, Sophie, for your simply dashing use of British expressions.

Sunday Expressions: View-halloo!

Whether you agree or not with the idea of fox hunting, this week's Sunday Expression is view-halloo!  This is a fox-hunting term that is used when the fox "breaks cover" and is sighted during the hunt.  If fox hunting is not your sport, you can still use this expression when you've discovered something important.  For example, an important clue...in a murder investigation...in a English country home...

Which all leads me to tomorrow's book review AND giveaway!  What?  View-halloo and stay tuned!

Sunday Expressions: Kip

Well I have noticed that my last two Sunday Expressions have been slight downers.  Nobody wants to focus on the collywobbles or be a damp squib.

So this week's expression is "kip".

As I was in bed for two days this week, I had plenty of time to catch up on Season 3 of Call the Midwife.  And by catch up I mean I viewed almost the entire season from start to finish.  Chummy, for reasons I won't reveal, is feeling quite low and so her husband fixes her tea, a hot water bottle and orders her on a kip routine.

A kip can mean some sleep, a lie down, or a place to take a lie down.  I had two day's worth of kip routine and was back to work by Friday.

What's your kip routine?

Sunday Expressions: Damp Squib

This week's Sunday expression is one I first noticed while browsing through an online dictionary of British slang.

I wasn't sure I was going to go with it, but then there it appeared in the book I'm reading by Annabel Pitcher, Ketchup Clouds!  I decided it was a sign, so here we go.

This week's expression is damp squib.  Literally, this is a firework that does not go off because it has gotten wet.

Or...  My trip to NYC was a bit of a damp squib due to the fact that I lost my wallet.

Have you ever had a damp squib moment?

Sunday Expressions: Collywobbles

This week's Sunday expression is one I found by browsing through an online dictionary of British slang.

The collywobbles basically means an upset stomach brought on by anxiety, which I am definitely prone towards having.

As I head back to work tomorrow - even though it's mid-year of my seventh year - I can't help but have a slight case of the collywobbles.

Do you ever have the collywobbles?  Anything you're nervous about this week?

P.S.  Don't forget to check your local public television listings (1/4/15) to see when Downton Abbey and The Great British Baking Show are on the air!