Weird Words My British Partner Says

We do use "living room" in England. I use that term myself. I suppose it's a question of social class at birth and where you grow up, like many linguistic differences in the UK.

The way Brits talks about time causes problems on the continent as well. I worked for a couple of months in Amsterdam and the local boss was a Brit. She would say "let's meet up at half eleven." The Dutch and Germans on the team would show up at 10:30. The Brits & Irish would show up at 11:30.

My mother corrected some 70 years ago when I was 6 that ships and pubs have lounges, home have sitting or living rooms. It was important that I took my language lessons from my parents and not the maids!

As a Brit, I can say I've been saying "living room" my entire life. Lounge is what posh people say lol, or maybe the parlour

We use the word pants as a slang word meaning a bit crap too. "that film was utter pants!"

I confused my granddaughter when I asked did she want to go to the pictures, and had to explain it was the cinema. Next time I asked if she wanted to go to the flicks. I don't think she's ready for the flea-pit yet, she'd never step inside a cinema again. Paper towels were very unabsorbent and found in public toilets and pubs.

We actually do use the word "paper towel", but specifically referring to the dispensed individual sheets that you find in some public toilets. Kitchen roll is the name for the kitchen specific roll, but generic paper towels are still a thing. Fun video!

I don’t recall ever calling it a ‘cinema’, it was always ‘let’s go to the pictures’.

I feel that in British English "Paper towel" refers to the hand drying towels (usually green or blue) that you used to get in public toilets from a dispenser (i.e. not on a roll). Might be me just being old fashioned though!

I say 'front room', as that's what grew up with. Even though it doesn't really make sense when it's just one room, like a lot homes got rid of that wall to make a larger "front" room

To me paper towels are the individual things dispensed for hand drying in the washing area of public conveniences. Kitchen roll is the tear off roll found in kitchens as opposed to the toilet roll, the tear off roll found near the toilet. I tend to say living room or front room rather than lounge. A lot depends on the type of home you have. My grandparents had a living room which was like a kitchen/diner but the cooker, sink etc were in the scullery. Their front room was the parlour, that was only used for guests. I expect there are many local variations on these names.

I also usually say "living room", but also sometimes "front" or "sitting" room

Language is an endlessly fascinating topic, isn't it? I think the "lounge", "sitting room", "living room" differences are more class-based or region specific than transatlantic, much like "settee" or "sofa". Funnily enough, I use "washing up" and "doing the dishes" completely interchangeably but never noticed until you mentioned it this video.

Interesting to hear your take on this. Though there is huge linguistic variation throughout the UK. I've never used lounge, it's living room or front room. I use film and movie interchangeably and although I would fully understand the phrase 'washing up' I always refer to it as doing the dishes. I feel like like the word fortnight is just as specific as two weeks when you understand that it means two weeks! The reason we don't call kitchen roll paper towel is because paper towels are what you get in public toilets and in schools (traditionally use a wet paper towel to cure all ailments in school!). I feel you've been a little unfair in your bit about time because of course we don't just say, 'let's meet at half past' and somehow telepathically know what time we mean, we would always say the hour as well. We're just taught from school age how to tell time using that system. Also, I'd say it's more common to use the phrase 'half 5' rather than 'half past 5'

Interestingly, I'm from Northern Ireland and I've always used living room. A film is a "filum". Clothes can be in the wash basket if they haven't made it into the washing machine yet. Doing laundry in the washer would just sound strange. We also wash pots, pans, cutlery, not just dishes when we're washing up. It's all encompassing! :P Kitchen roll or toilet roll, either explain the room they live in. On a similar topic..cling film, 'cause it clings. Sarin wrap sounds like a chemical weapon!

I've heard and used "doing the dishes" since childhood in the 1960s/1970s myself and others and would say it was common in Northern England at least. The "half past" " quarter past/to" is how we were taught as young children to read the clock, so it's ingrained in us. Although these days depending on the situation we do use the 5:30 or 17:30 with or without hours as well which is either a military or European influence.

My mum taught us that the word 'lounge', referring to the living room, was unbelievably common. I have never used it except when talking about a hotel lounge.

'Movie' comes from 'Moving picture' which is a bit of an antiquated term when you think about it. Similar to calling it a 'Talkie'! 😅 I know most feature films aren't on physical film anymore but for a very long time they were. We get 'Cinema' from Greek via French and it comes from the word to move, 'kinein', the same root as the word 'kinetic'

Defo kitchen roll. Paper towel is normally what's found in public toilets/work places. They come out of a dispenser usually atached to the wall.

In Ireland 🇮🇪 we would call it the living room or the sitting room, but never the lounge! In Ireland a lounge is found in a pub. The sitting room is where we would watch a “Fillum”! 🎥 My trousers 👖 are in the wash and I do the washing up (wash the dishes) every day at half past six. I’m going to Spain for a fortnight’s holiday (not a vacation). I use paper towels though.