British Stuff: 101 Objects That Make Britain Great

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All the store employees asking “you alright?”’ (May Myat Noe Naing), ‘realising, after a five minute awkward talk, that the British don’t ask “are you alright?” because they see you unwell’ (Santiago Borda Esquivel), ‘someone asked me “are you okay?” which was a way of asking “how are you?”’ (Komal Anwar), ‘”hiya” and “are you alright? Instead of how are you?”’ (Muyleng Taing). The United Kingdom inherited the literary traditions of England, Scotland and Wales. These include Arthurian literature and its Welsh origins, Norse-influenced Old English literature, the works of English authors Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare, and Scots works such as John Barbour's The Brus. Robert Burns is regarded as the national poet of Scotland. [23] Bees knees – the phrase does not relate to bees or knees but is an idiom for excellent. It became popular in the 1920s along with “cat’s whiskers.” We did our best to cover all of the varied meanings of “British” with our visual gallery of British things and descriptive list. But if you feel there’s something we missed, please feel free to let us know and leave a comment. The Wind in the Willows: A children’s novel about four anthropomorphic animals – Mole, Toad, Rat and Badger. Written by Kenneth Grahame.

Thomas Hobbes: A philosopher and one of the founders of political philosophy. Served as the inspiration for “Hobbes” from Calvin and Hobbes. In 2006, 37 years after its first test flight, Concorde was named the winner of the Great British Design Quest organised by the BBC and the Design Museum. A total of 212,000 votes were cast with Concorde beating other British design icons such as the Mini, mini skirt, Jaguar E-Type, Tube map and the Supermarine Spitfire. [73] The Spitfire featured in Christopher Nolan's 2017 action-thriller film Dunkirk. Joan Collins: An actress, author and columnist. Famous for her role as Alexis Carrington in the show Dynasty. The Forth Railway Bridge is a cantilever bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It was opened in 1890, and is designated as a Category A listed building.

45. The Tank - 1914

London Eye: Also known as the Millennium Wheel or the Coca-Cola London Eye. A huge ferris wheel/observation wheel on the River Thames. Maypole Dancing: A dance around a maypole (a tall wooden pole assembled for European folk festivals).

Winston Churchill: A politician, writer and army officer. The Prime Minister of the UK from 1940 to 1945.Wallace and Gromit: An animated show about an inventor and his companion Gromit (an anthropomorphic dog). Toys and gadgets from the '80s that are still worth money include Cabbage Patch dolls, Transformers, Ninja Turtles and Walkmans. How much are vintage toys worth? Flogging a dead horse – to try and find a solution to a problem that is unsolvable. For example: “You’re flogging a dead horse by asking Martha to move to the UK – she hates rain” G Under the cosh – is used when you feel under pressures or restricted. For example: “She is under the cosh to deliver that project on time.” V

Print [ edit ] Caricature of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in Vanity Fair, 30 January 1869 A love of tea seems to be incorporated in our genes, we are famed for our British reserve and manners, and are self-confessed experts at queueing. From the creation of the United Kingdom, the English school of painting is mainly notable for portraits and landscapes, and indeed portraits in landscapes. Among the artists of this period are Joshua Reynolds (1723–1792), George Stubbs (1724–1806), and Thomas Gainsborough (1727–1788). Mitts – a mitten is a kind of glove. But Brits have shortened the word and made it slang for hands. For example: “I’d love to get my mitts on a new camera!” Land Rover: A British brand of four-wheel drive cars. Focuses on manufacturing luxury sport utility cars.For crying out loud – This is a replacement for a rude word. For example, you discover your bike has a flat tyre & you yell “Oh, for crying out loud!” Keith Richards: A musician, singer and songwriter who is famous as being part of the Rolling Stones. Michael Caine: An actor, author and producer who is best known as Albert in the Batman film franchise.

Vibe – is slang for feelings, atmosphere, mood. For example, you may go to a club and say “I like the vibe in here the music is reem.” Don’t rush things, be patient, be wise. Learn to listen and observe all different perspectives and points of view. Don’t judge. Every person is looking with their own personal glasses. Glasses that have been moulded by their own experiences and circumstances.’ John Keats: A poet who wrote during the Romantic era. One of the main figures of the Romantic movement. Rinsed – can be used in a couple of ways. The first is if you defeat someone in an argument, fight or other competition. The second context is when someone pays over the odds for something. Bertrand Russell: A logician, philosopher, writer, historian, social critic and political activist.Hiya love” – my first incidence was on my very first day in Leeds at a convenience store and I was like aww, so sweet!! Then I came to know it was an everyday thing and I wasn’t special (Shai Abdullah), ‘I have fallen in love with the word ‘lovely’. All Brits say it at least thrice daily’ (Igwebuike John), ‘everyone called me “darling” or “love”. Well, I was only used to getting that from my significant other’ (Mncedisi Taala), ‘always “lovely”’ (Guilherme Pedretti). Most of the evidence so far suggests that fluid shifts up to your centre up to your trunk, and actually you lose some volume from a fluid point of view and your lower limbs,” he said.