Oscar Wilde said, “The Americans are identical to the British in all respects except of course language.” Going to other countries can make for amusing language confusion.

If you go to the UK and tell a Brit that you’ve been watching the boob tube (U.S. television) it would raise a completely wrong image. In the UK, boob tube is a slang term for a tank top or knitted sleeve top. Oops!

Telling a Brit that your daughter just got braces on her teeth, may classify you as a wazzack. Braces mean suspenders in the UK and are used for keeping your pants up. They’ll wonder why your daughter has suspenders on her teeth. In case you are wondering what wazzack means, I’ll tell you. If you aren’t wondering, I’ll tell you anyway. When the Brits call somebody a wazzack, it’s a friendly way of telling them they are idiots. For example, “Listen you wazzack, don’t you know the difference between braces and suspenders.” Keeping that in mind, I’ve decided it’s more fun to be a wazzack. I’ve had some embarrassing moments, but more importantly, I met some really cool people, who found my fractured British laughable…as we remain friends…despite the language confusion.

Pamela Beers
http://www.pamelabeers.com