Amber. That's what he said. Amber.
Today my pal Dave asked me to describe my week, using the colors of a traffic light.
"For example, if you had a terrible week, it'd be red," he said. "If it was great, it'd be green. If it was so-so, it'd be amber. Mine's amber."
Suddenly it all clicked into place.
"Oh, you mean yellow?" I said.
"Yellow!" Dave was aghast. "Traffic lights aren't yellow. They're clearly an ambery, orangey type of color."
I keep thinking I'll get used to the many variations between American-English and British-English. But I don't think that day is anywhere near. Check out a few of the other new phrases I've heard lately:
1. While helping toddlers take turns down the slide last week, I was delighted to hear them chant, "Ready, Steady, Go!" I suppose it makes as much sense as "Ready, Set, Go!"
2. That same day we were trying to help the little ones warm up during outside play time, so Andy shouted, "Hey, everyone, let's do star-jumps!" As I was trying to figure out what star-jumps were, I realized that Andy and about 20 toddlers were doing jumping jacks.
3. Today my friend Lizzie was making a cup of tea and she said, "How've you been, ducky?" I looked around for the ducky, and then realized she was talking to me. Seeing my confusion, Lizzie said, "Yes, Steph, you are the ducky." I knew "duck" was a Nottingham term, but "ducky" is a new one.
Leave a comment