
Quintessentially British Things That Make No Sense To Us
"You Alright?"

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Thanking Your Bus Driver

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Floor Numbers are Different

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"Oyster" Has Nothing to Do With the Sea in the UK
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British Politeness is Over the Top
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The Pudding is a Lie
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Two Taps in the Bathroom
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Head Scratching Weather

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Their Obsession With Tea
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Obscure Slang

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Pantomimes
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Double Taps on Public Transport

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Proper Queueing Etiquette
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The "Keep Calm" Phenomenon
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So Many Pubs

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... Which Do Not Serve Food

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... And Have Peculiar Names

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Another Obsession: Cricket
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The Royal Family
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Fish and Chips Served in Newspaper
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Morris Dancing

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Cheerio

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Roundabouts On Almost All Their Roads

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The Iconic Red Telephone Boxes
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Christmas Crackers

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Wimbledon Queue is Something Normal

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Grey Skies All Year Long

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We All Know of British Humor...
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They Drink Warm Beer
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The Cabs are Black

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The 'Juicy Bits' In Drinks
image source: reddit.com
So we all know that fruit juices, like orange juice, comes with 'bits' in it. Mostly orange juice, which we refer to as the pulp. You can get orange juice with or without pulp, but for British people scouring the grocery store shelves, it's very much "I want orange juice, but without the juicy bits, thanks". So basically they might want juice... without the juicy bits.Advertisement
There Isn't Just One 'British Accent'
image source: esquire
We know this might be obvious, but for the most part, when people think of 'the British' and what they sound like, it's very much someone who sounds posher than posher, with elongated vowels, and probably drinking a cup of tea while speaking. But there are many British accents, and some of them are very difficult to understand for people from other countries.Advertisement
The BBC Rules
image source: twitter.com
In America, we're used to many different news channels and broadcasting stations, such as CNN or Fox News. In Britain, there's pretty much one broadcaster that rules them all: the BBC. There are news stations on other channels, but for the most part, the BBC is the one to rule them all, and they also control a lot of what you see - including needing a TV licence to watch their programs.Advertisement
Being The Captain Of A Ship
image source: british antarctic survey
And we don't mean Captain Jack Sparrow - though that would be fun - we mean the rich history the British have with their naval history, and their requirements for being a ship captain. To work as a captain you need to have a very extensive knowledge of geography as well as needing to know how to captain a ship, of course. The job of a ship's captain in Britain is something that might be confusing to people from other countries!Advertisement
November 5th Celebrations
image source: reddit.com
So we know that the main firework celebration in the US is of course the 4th July, so the British firework celebration that happens on November 5th - also known as 'Bonfire Night' - might be strange to us. The celebration is based on the fact that, in history, Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament (government building). Since, people light bonfires and set off fireworks because of that.Advertisement
Stereotypes Can Be Way Off
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We know that stereotypes are true of any country or culture, and for the British, there are of course some people who closely fit the 'drinking tea, talking with a posh accent, have extreme manners' British stereotype. But some Americans might be thrown off by how many different people there are in Britain that are the furthest thing away from this stereotype as you can possibly get!Advertisement
Getting Latin Phrases As Tattoos
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Okay so this isn't exclusive to the British, but people from this country sure do like their tattoos, and most of the time that can be a fondness for text script tattoos which are usually in Latin. The British actually love saying Latin phrases in every day life for motivational quotes, and things like 'Carpe Diem' (seize the day) are popular choices for ink!Advertisement
How Cheerful British People Are
image source: insider
Or are they? This is the thing with British people and the idea of a 'stiff upper lip' - it's not necessarily that all British people are naturally more cheerful or happier, it's just that they're very good at pretending everything is fine. A British person will likely say they're having a great day when they're not, say they're fine when they're not and act like they love the awful weather they're having!Advertisement
The Spelling/Pronunciation Differences
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It's not too shocking to learn that British people spell words like 'colour' with an extra letter compared to Americans, but there's also that big difference in pronunciation where a lot of British people pronounce the extra letters in certain words, like vowel sounds, where Americans don't. Some key (confusing) examples include Oregano and Aluminium!Advertisement
Not Everything Is 'Cockney'
image source: reddit.com
We know you should do a little research and brush up on your language skills before you travel to a new country, and when it's Britain - particularly, London - you might have been watching some gangster films to learn that Cockney accent and that Cockney rhyming slang - but not everyone talks like that. In fact, a very limited number of people talk to that extreme!Advertisement
Wearing A Dress On A Cold Night Out
image source: the mirror
So the British definitely have to be commended on their commitment to a good night out! As we know, the British weather is very unpredictable - it could either be raining or snowing in the 'summer' when you've planned a good night clubbing, and that means that new dress you just bought to wear out isn't going to change anytime soon. When it comes to still going out with no coat, Brits have a talent for it.Advertisement
Afternoon Tea
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We know the idea of 'tea' is a very British thing, but this is where it gets even more confusing. There's also something called 'afternoon tea', which isn't what you might think (a cup of tea in the afternoon). It's actually a reference to a certain meal theme where you usually eat tiny sandwiches, cakes and other small bites, in the afternoon - which is usually then coupled with a cup of tea!Advertisement
There Might Be Loads Of 'Harry's
image source: reddit.com
Harry is just a really popular name in Britain, so you might be surprised how many Harrys you bump into if you're planning on traveling overseas. Of course, the most famous British Harry is Harry Potter (or maybe Prince Harry) and more and more people might be naming their new babies after the famous fictional wizard! Either way, expect to say hello to a fair few Harrys.Advertisement
'Banter'
image source: tripadvisor
It's not exclusive to the British to take jibes or insults towards friends or strangers in a joking, playful way, but this is more about that famous 'British humor' that a lot of foreigners can struggle to get. The British are big on their 'banter', which is very much an art form of exchanging teasing remarks in a witty way. So don't be too shocked if you hear people 'insulting' each other left, right and center.Advertisement
The Simon Cowell And Gordon Ramsay Phenomenon
image source: blog portal
Two of the biggest TV personalities to come out of the UK and also become big in the US have to be Simon Cowell - known for his talent show judging - and angry celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. It's important to know though that most people in Britain will remember a time when Simon and Gordon were a little different - Simon actually used to be more mean, and Gordon less so!Advertisement
The British Government Controversies
image source: British vogue
Britain has a long and varied history in politics - and with their political leaders - so while Americans might have to deal with a questionable president or two, it's worth knowing that controversies of British prime ministers and politicians. One of the most famous for her controversy has to be ex-prime minister Margaret Thatcher, while Winston Churchill is perhaps considered one of the best.Advertisement
Words For Technology
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We already know there are a ton of different language barriers and varying words for things that make no sense to us Americans, but one of the biggest differences in language terms has to be technology! What we know as USBs, they know as memory sticks. TV remotes can be known as 'flickers' or 'zappers' depending on what part of the UK you're from...Advertisement
Coffee Shop Sizes!
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So one thing every American does - or should - know is how to order the proper coffee sizes in your local favorite coffee shop (and definitely don't ask for a 'regular' size because nobody knows what that is). In British coffee shops, you won't get away with saying 'venti' or 'grande' - it's just pretty much small, medium and large. You may even get away with saying regular in this country because that likely means the middle ground of 'medium'!Advertisement
No Tipping
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Tipping is a must-do thing in American, we're used to it, and it goes without saying. In Britain, it's a different story! It isn't exclusive to this country, as some other countries of the world aren't big on tipping either, but if you're traveling to the UK any time soon, you'll save yourself some money on tips you definitely don't have to give. You can always voluntarily tip if you've loved the service, but you don't have to!Advertisement
City Streets
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America has a pretty clear grid system for their city streets, but don't expect that system when you travel to the big cities in Britain. While a lot of cities were made created on a form of grid system, it doesn't easily show on the street names. You won't get street names like '4th' or '5th', and most of them will be what appear to be random words or names.Advertisement