Uniquely British things

[ChristmasA123]

I went for a walk earlier and saw one of my favourite things.. a random glove stuck on a railing. Obviously someone had dropped it and a kind stranger has put it somewhere easy to spot. I often see dropped items popped on fences/gateposts like this and it got me wondering.. I wonder if they do that in other countries? I've also noticed how polite drivers are here.. mainly! With that little wave or thumbs up when someone lets you through. I've never seen that driving in the US or Europe. Oh and I love the BBC Christmas ident. It's always so cosy. Are there any other cute/ wholesome things that only generally happen in the UK?

Ahem.

Back to the thread. There's an essential cruelty to aspects of British humour that I enjoy very much, and miss it. Australians are essentially nice - must be all that sun - so I'm careful what I say. When I'm with other Poms, I can be more open.

It’s a shame there always have to be people trying to bring others down on this site. What do they get out of it?

I agree with your pronunciation. But then I fall foul on both sides of the argument as, for me, it’s jam only - cream is the work of the devil 🤮

“You alright” not being a question but a greeting and always retorting with “yeah, you alright” - has baffled any non British friend/colleague I’ve ever had.

Adding “cheeky” on the beginning of something rather benign when you’re feeling frivolous.

thank you for the post OP, it has cheered me up, despite all the negative posters x

Not a British thing, but a MN thing.

Guaranteed, on a lighthearted thread, that someone will be offended and a little bit grumpy. Will keep ridiculing - often with an “ooh, touched a nerve?” comment. And, at some point, the OP will feel the need to apologise/justify - thereby turning things full circle back to apologising to inanimate objects.

Maybe the well-known saying should be changed to: there are three things in life - death, taxes, and nit-picking melts on most MN threads.

She said it was very British, not exclusively. Something can be quintessentially British or American or Jamaican or French and still happen elsewhere.

Fries. Quintessentially American even tho....

That should have read certainties, not things! I was momentarily distracted by my cat nudging me for attention.

Not being allowed to express strong emotion. Never use the word 'hate'. It is an overreaction to hate anything.

If you show any emotion beyond 'mild', it is a deep character failing.

We bond by moaning about stuff. I'm sure other countries moan, just can't imagine they go on holiday and look for something to moan about in the way us Brits do, in attempt to make small talk.

I agree that Brits moan about stuff - they are well known for it in other parts of the world.

Hello… Australia. We’re unable to take most things seriously.

I'm in the US and can faithfully report that people leave all sorts of lost items on bushes and fences. Hats, baby socks, gloves, etc, and on one occasion, DD1's beloved little dolly whom she had dropped. We found her stuck into a chain link fence, a very happy reunion.

Drivers are very polite here. Hence the success of the American 4-way stop as a traffic organising method. Hence also the rule of the road stipulating that funeral processions displaying undertaker's signs and flashing hazard lights have right of way on all public thoroughfares. They can drive past stop signs and through red lights. Other traffic can't break into the procession or go on green while the procession passes.

And lots of hand signals to say thanks for the many instances when someone lets you into traffic...

My kid takes the school bus every day in the US. He's at high school and told me that every kid thanks the bus driver when they get off the bus. We also do it here when we take buses in the city.

@GardenNice
I also apologised to a mugger because I only had small change in my purse. After scooping out the coins he demanded my ring and I told him he couldn't have it as it was my wedding ring. So he said OK, and left me there.

Irish people thank the bus driver too.

I live in SE Asia and I always say hello and thank you to our bus drivers. I've noticed the locals don't and the drivers never greet locals, just ex pats. We exit the door in the middle of the bus and I'll often have a "Thankyou" - "Goodbye Ma'am, have a good day" down the bus. Makes me happy.

Chocolate oranges. I proudly presented my son's Italian girlfriend with hers as she'll be going home for Christmas. Totally blank face. "Am I supposed to be excited by this British chocolate?" 🤣

An obvious one, but 'a nice cup of tea' being prescribed for anything bad happening to you, or some one you like.
If a particularly shocking thing has happened, it will be 'a nice sweet cup of tea'

I'm almost certain our a and e wait times would be lower if the vending machines just spat out endless builders tea 😅

Also as an aside, I feel absolutely flummoxed if I offer a guest a tea or coffee upon arrival, and they say no.

Maybe it's an urban myth that during the London riots, thieves queued up in the sports shop to take the tags off their trainers, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was true.

We do the same in Sweden.

my guess is that if you put ‘uniquely British’ in the title you are kind of leaving yourself open to people pointing out, politely or otherwise, that loads and loads of the suggestions made are nowhere near uniquely British. That said, you do have great senses of humour.

But the Dutch also thank bus drivers.

political satire this goes back centuries and no other country ridicules their politicians in quite the same way

our indirectness it can be confusing for people who come from countries where people are very direct we have lots of social cues that we no means not really or no thanks without actually saying that or it’s said indirectly

we are very passive aggressive too I notice this especially when I am in the US

i think finding things amusing is often about our awkwardness in situations

sarcasm, queuing, cup of tea that magically fixes all problems and our obsession with the weather

I love that all cultures have their quirks I think many our countries are also followers of tradition ours is particularly grand and known world wide for this

And apologising 😆

we are a funny nation at times

Sorry @mathanxiety that made me really laugh

Smiling at dogs