Irish in the UK - what are the things that it took you ages to realise people don't say here.

[ConflictedCheetah]

Inspired by the thread about Pancake Tuesday.

That thread has cracked me up because SO many posters are insisting no one EVER calls pancake Tuesday - it's Pancake Day - and sayu it's weird and wanky to call it that. And then all the Irish people on the thread are like ' wait, we've always called it that and never noticed that no one else did.

So what else you got?

For me, and I'm here 20 years, I only found out about a year ago that no one here calls a birth certificate a 'birth cert'. My English husband thought it was proper weird that I kept saying that. I had never picked up that it wasn't a thing! I think Irish people are so used to talking about the Leaving Cert or Junior Cert etc. that the Cert but feels natural. DH says no.

What other ways have I been unknowingly embarrassing myself for 20 years?

Whenever instead of when. So "whenever we went into town I bought a jumper".

I do this but it isn't deliberate! I was once given a detention for answering the Irish supply teacher in an Irish accent. My family are all Scottish but I lost my accent soon after arriving in England. It comes back when I'm with Scottish or Irish people or on the phone to relatives.

I'm Irish and I do it to Scottish people. The more I try not to, the more I turn into Rab C Nesbit.

I believe it should be classed as a disability.

My accent adapts to whoever I'm speaking with.
Not intentionally.