Ricky as host of the Golden Globes

Ricky was not too harsh when he hosted the Golden Globes for the second time last weekend. Most Americans don't understand British humor. Plus, the Head of the Film Association should have been more light-hearted about Ricky's joke. They hired him to host AGAIN. You would think they knew what they were getting into.

One con: Ricky's final comment (thanking God for being an atheist) was unnecessary.

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