Keywords in British culture Flashcards
The Archers
a very popular radio serial which has been running since 1951 and relates the life of a family of farmers in the imaginary village of Ambridge
Ascot
a racecourse near Windsor, famous for Royal Ascot, a summer meeting attended by royalty and famous for its display of fashion
The Ashes
a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The Ashes are regarded as being held by the team that won the last Test series or, if that series was drawn, by the team that last won a series.
Auld Lang Syne
a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788, set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many countries, its traditional use being to bid farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight. By extension, it is also sung at funerals, graduations and as a farewell or ending to other occasions, like Scout jamborees.
Authorized Version
the version of the Bible ordered by King James I and published in 1611. The poetry of its language has had a deep influence upon English literature.
Bank holidays
the official public holidays.
Bingo
a very popular game, mainly played by women in huge bingo halls
Colonel Blimp
originally a cartoon character that now stands for narrow-mindedness and the refusal of change.
Bloomsday
16 June 1904, the day when the action of James Joyce’s Ulysses takes place. It is celebrated in Dublin but also by lovers of Joyce all over the world.
The Boat Race
a yearly race on the River Thames between the rowing teams of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Booker Prize
a price awarded each year for the best British, Irish or Commonwealth novel.
Britannia
the personification of Britain, a woman with a helmet, trident and shield.
British Library
Britain’s national library, and a copyright library (to which authors must send a copy of every book they publish).
John Bull
a personnification of the typical Englishman: a plain, fat, kindly Englishman resembling a bulldog.
Canary Wharf
a major business district located in Tower Hamlets, London. It is one of the city’s two main financial centres – along with the traditional City of London – and contains many of the UK’s tallest buildings, including the second-tallest, One Canada Square.
The Channel Islands
an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy and are not part of the United Kingdom.
Charities
voluntary, independent organizations which are active in the fields of poverty, education, religion, human rights, the care of animals, etc. Strong tradition of supporting charities in Britain.
The City
The financial district of London, where the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange can be found. It is also called the Square Mile.
Cockney
a working-class person from the east of London
Cool Britannia
a pun on Rule Britannia, the unofficial National Anthem. It refers to London as the capital of fashion, the arts and the media.
Downing Street
the street in London where the PM and the Chancellor of the Exchequer live, at numbers 10 and 11 respectively.
The Edinburgh Festival
a festival of drama and music held every August in Edinburgh. It is also known for the Fringe : all the unofficial plays, concerts and comedy shows performed during those weeks. There are many budding performers who start their careers at the Edinburgh Festival.
Entente Cordiale
the Franco-British agreement signed in 1904.
Establishment
the word refers to the ruling class: the Queen and her family, the aristocracy, the Cabinet and the members of Parliament as well as the leading figures in the world of finance and diplomacy, and in the church.
Field Sports
hunting, shooting and fishing are called field sports or blood sports since they involve killing animals.
Footsie
the FTSE, or Financial Times Share Index, is published daily and gives the share value of the 100 largest British companies
Gaelic
two Celtic languages still spoken in the West of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
G8
a group of 8 of the richest countries in the world (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.) who meet regularly to discuss economic policies.
Gentleman’s club
a members-only private club originally set up by and for British upper class men in the 18th century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, some clubs are more accommodating about the gender and social status of their members.
Glastonbury
a town in Somerset, famous for a festival of rock music held there every summer
Glyndebourne
the place near Brighton where an opera festival takes place every summer
G.M.T.
Greenwich Mean Time: the time at the 0° longitude meridian which passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
Guy Fawkes Night
also known as Bonfire Night, an annual commemoration observed on 5 November. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords. In order to celebrate the fact that King James I had survived the attempt on his life, people lit bonfires around London.
Hogmanay
the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve, which is widely celebrated in Scotland. Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight.
Jingoism
extreme nationalism, often linked with anti-Europeanism
Land of Hope and Glory
A highly patriotic song composed by Elgar and sung on the last night of the Proms.
The lion and the unicorn
appear on the royal arms of Britain : the lion stands for England, the unicorn for Scotland.
“Me” generation
a derogatory term referring to the 1970s and 1980s, when many young people were seen as exclusively concerned with money and their own selves.
MI5
the former name (though still used) of the British Security Service, which deals with terrorism.
MI6
the former name (though still used) of the Secret Intelligence Service, which gathers information about foreign countries.
National Lottery
created in 1994, hugely popular. Gives money to charities and cultural projects.
National Trust
an independent organisation to protect and preserve historic sites (castles, country houses, gardens…).
Non-U
the abbreviation for “non upper-class”.
Orange Prize
a British literary prize given every year to a work of fiction written in English by a woman from any country in the world.
Oxbridge
portmanteau word referring to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
P.C.
Political Correctness.
Poet Laureate
the official royal poet, appointed for life and writes verse for official occasions.
Poppy Day
rememberance day, in November, when people wear poppies (reminiscent in the fields of northern France) in their lapels in memory of those who died in the two World Wars.
