Adapters, Webcams, Countdowns and Slang!

G'day to you, chaps.

Today my US to UK socket adapter arrived in the post, along with a webcam for my family. My laptop is already equipped with a built-in webcam, so we ordered a webcam for Amazon for the home computer. That way, when I am in England and Scotland, we can still see each other. Ah, modern technology. It's a marvelous thing.

Also, check out the countdown ticker above this post! Pretty awesome.

Which leads me to...slang. Do people say 'pretty awesome,' 'check it,' 'sweet,' and other American slang in the UK? I know they have their own slang and lingo, but I'm curious what crosses over and what doesn't.

For example, in the UK, credit card machines are sometimes referred to as 'chip and pin machines.' In Colorado, most people call them 'card readers.'

In the US, it's the 'bathroom' or 'restroom.' In the UK, it's the 'loo.'

In the US, it's usually 'the mail.' In the UK (and parts of the US) it's 'the post.'

In the US, it's a 'cell phone.' In the UK, it's a 'mobile.'

In the US, it's the 'TV.' In the UK, it's the 'television' or 'telly.'

In the US, it's 'counterclockwise.' In the UK, it's 'anti-clockwise.'

In the US, it's 'fired.' In the UK, it's 'sacked.'

And then Scotland's got its own jargon, with their heavy accents and what-not. Maybe I'll touch on that in a future post.

Interesting, no? If you're so inclined, you can see a list of British words not commonly used in the US from Wikipedia.