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is wishing Steve Merchant a

is wishing Steve Merchant a happy birthday.

Important Words and Phrases, Part Two

• Cottaging: A British gay slang term referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory (a "cottage", "tea-room" or "beat"), or cruising for sexual partners with the intention of having sex elsewhere. The term has its roots in self-contained English toilet blocks resembling small cottages in their appearance.

A bathroom in England that resembles a cottage (cosy, countryside home)

• General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE): An academic qualification awarded in specific subjects taken by students aged 14 to 16 (year 9 to year 11) in secondary school, the equivalent of the United States' high school. Normally, eight to ten subjects are studied, though it is common for more to be studied. Compulsory subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, Religious Education, Physical Education, and some form of Information Communication Technology (ICT) and citizenship. An "A-Level" is a GCE Advanced Level, and an "O-Level" is a GCE Ordinary Level. (The "O-Level" no longer exists.)
• Karl famously received his GCSE results from Ricky and Steve thirteen years after he took the test. Although he turned up for and took exams in several subjects, he only registered for History, which is only qualification. He received an E, the last passing grade one can receive before failing.
• The GCSEs have changed significantly since Ricky, Steve, and Karl took them.

 

• Gobbledygook: Jargon or convoluted English that results in it being excessively hard to understand
• Ricky is know for speaking a lot of gobbledygook, especially on the XFM shows
• U.S. Representative Maury Maverick coined this phrase in 1944 as an onomatopoeic imitation of a turkey's gobble.

 

• Hammer and Tongs: A phrase meaning "with great energy and force," often phrased "to go at it with hammer and tongs" (to argue fiercely). The origins of this phrase is from blacksmithing

• Magpie: The European Magpie is a resident breeding bird throughout Europe, which is part of the crow family. (There are other types of magpies, such as the Australian Magpie.)
• Karl had a "pet" magpie, named Maggie, who followed him and sat on his finger. Maggie popped Karl's bike tires, pecked at Karl's head, and flew away for good when Karl took Maggie to his school in Manchester.

A European Magpie in Manchester, England

• Perambulator: A baby carriage

 

•  Trilby: Used as a synonym for a short-brimmed fedora in the UK, but it is distinguished by a very narrow brim that is sharply turned upward

Trilby Hat

Fedora Hat
(Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey on "White Collar")

More to come, including: (1) Congestion Charge, (2) Having a Go, (3) HMV, (4) Mobile Disco, (5) Snidey--AND MORE! 

Compiled by Jill A Hurley

Some information from Wikipedia and WikiMobile

Important Words and Phrases, Part One

• Angel of the North: Contemporary sculpture made of steel (that resembles an angel) located in Gateshead, England, overlooking the A1 road

• Gateshead.gov.uk site for Angel of the North

• Antediluvian: Meaning "ancient," especially in reference to an ancient and murky period, specifically the period of the Creation of the Earth and the flood ("deluge") in the Bible.
• Karl often mispronounces this word and refers to the meaning as "old." 

• Balaclava: A type of ski mask (sometimes used in bank robberies)

• Karl describes a man who walks into a bank wearing a balaclava, only to be outwit by a chimpanzee in one of his Monkey News features.

• Bangers and Mash: A traditional English dish made of mashed potatoes and sausages--traditional British working-class dish. Also known as "sausage and mash." 

• Budgerigar: A small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot native to Australia. It is also called a Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet, and is nicknamed "the budgie."

• In American English, they are often called parakeets, though "parakeet" is not specific to the budgerigar.
• Karl's mom had a budgie. When the budgie died, she put a rock with a feather from the dead budgie in the bird cage, so the other budgie would not get stressed out.

• Bung In: Put in
• Podcast Season 2

• Butlins: A company that provides economical holidays (vacations) in the UK and Ireland
• Steve goes to one on vacation once, and Ricky sneaks into one

 

• Camp: In the UK, "camp" is an adjective, often associated with a stereotypical view of feminine gay men. Although it applies to gay men, it is a specific adjective used to describe a man that openly promotes the fact that he is gay by being outwardly garish or eccentric.
• In the English sitcom The Office, one of Tim Canterbury's pranks on Gareth Keenan includes a pun on the meaning of the word camp.

 

• Fly-Tipping: A British term for illegally dumping waste somewhere else than in an authorized landfill.

• Lanzarote: Island in the Canary Islands (Grand Canaria) known for its volcanoes



Cesare Manrique House in Lanzarote

• One of Karl's vacation spots; the listeners e-mail in to say it is referred to as "Lanzagrotty"
• Discover Lanzarote 

• Pikelet: A British regional dialect word variously denoting a flatter variant on "crumpet" or "muffin."

  

  Pikelet

   

• Madeira, Portugal: One of Karl's vacation spots (where he spends his last few days kicking sand at crabs); what Madeira Cakes are named after; part of the EU



Madeira

• Madiera Archipelago 
• Marmite: A British food spread made from yeast extract. The slogan for the company that makes marmite is "love it or hate it."
• Karl talks about Ricky squeezing his head and commenting on it to Karl's friend, as if Ricky is comparing head squeezing to marmite; you either love it or hate it.

 

• Nelson's Column: A monument in Trafalgar Square, surrounded by four bronze lions at the base, in honor of Admiral Nelson

 

• Scouse: Someone from Liverpool (formally known as Liverpudlians)

• Porthmadog, Wales: Karl's childhood vacation spot--near Portmeirion, Wales

Black Rock Beach in Porthmadog

Portmeirion

• Prang: Slang for cocaine, mentioned in some songs by The Streets, which were played on XFM
• Take the Piss/Take the Mick: An expression meaning to mock, tease, ridicule, or scoff. Take the Mickey is also used
• Tenerife: Island in the Grand Canaries
• Karl mentions as one of his vacation spots

• Trafalgar Square:  A square in Westminster, Central London, England that commemorates the Battle of Tragalgar (1805), a British naval victory. It is a popular tourist attraction, containing the National Gallery, because of the sculptures on display (specifically Nelson's Column). It is also a place used for protests and New Year's Eve celebrations. The mid-point is Charing Cross, from which all distances are measured.
• Trafalagar Square

More to come, including: (1) Trilby, (2) Cottaging, (3) Gobbledygook, (4) General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), (5) Hammer and Tongs, (6) Magpie--AND MORE!

Compiled by Jill A Hurley