A large quantity of television programs that I consume comes from American channels and studios. Programming from Britain is a treat but relatively hard to find despite being much more commonplace in recent years.
When I first started watching British television, I was lost because of the words and expressions used. The accents didn't really trip me up, surprisingly. I had no idea what a Shilling or "p" was, the shows that didn't last a "regular" 20-ish episode American season, and shows kept coming back after series finales. Thanks to Google and years of watching television, things started to clear up a bit.
Word Switcheroo
I decided to put together a small list of dumbed down word translations/definitions I think I picked up over the years. Keywords are "dumbed down" because there is a lot of history behind some of the words, especially those concerning money, that can affect their meaning. They kind of make sense to me, but not being British, I can still be wrong, so watch out!
United Kingdom = United States
1. Lift = Elevator
2. Series Finale = Season Finale
3. Trousers = Pants
4. "p" for Penny or Pence = 1/100 or 1/240 of a Dollar, NOT respectively (~Cent)
5. Shilling = 1/20 of a Dollar (~Nickel)
6. Quid (Pound) = Buck (Dollar)
7. Nickers = Underwear
8. Motor = Car
9. DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) = Police Rank
10. DSI (Detective Superintendent) = Police Rank
11. Pissed = Drunk
12. Fancy = Like
...And a bunch relating to genitalia.
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