Customer Reviews

Bum Bags and Fanny Packs : A British-American American-British Dictionary

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is hilarious, accurate, and surprisingly useful. I lived in England for two years after college and often found myself both befuddled and tickled by the Brits' idiomatic expressions. "You're having me on!", you say. No, I'm not trying to take the Mickey out of you. Or even the Michael. I wish I'd had a copy of Bum Bags and Fanny Packs back then.

Just the other day, I consulted this book when a British colleague of mine mentioned that he found another colleague's aggressive letter to us to be "a bit shirty." Armed with Bum Bags and Fanny Packs, I not only learned the precise meaning of that adjective, but discovered an even better synonym for it: "stroppy." If you're the sort of person who enjoys wordplay, you're in for a treat with this book.

My British friend found this even more fascinating than I did, so i gave it to him when I was over there. It's a bit academic, going into all sorts of history of coins, measurements, etc. I am more of a one-liner kind of person when it comes to this sort of topic, so I enjoy the knickers in a twist book a bit more. But for intellectuals, this book is chock full of facts.

If you are an American who enjoys British novels, films, music, etc. or vice versa, this book enhances the joys of transatlantic communication through media. This book is a fresh, funny, and practical guide to modern english.

A funny book to read, and very interesting to see the similarities and differences in the English language. To see words that look and mean things so very different from the English I know.

I read a lot of British mysteries and keep running across words that I have never seen. I bought this book hoping that it would help me understand Britishisms that I was not familiar with. I was able to find only about one third of the words I was looking for in the first Brit mystery I've read since buying this book. This dictionary is not comprehensive enough for an avid reader. If you're really into Brit lit, save your money and look up the words online.

My wife and I greatly enjoy this "translation" of Brit-speak to American speak. It has cleared up a number of misconceptions and misperceptions from books, TV, and movies over the years. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys British films, TV, or books.

A "must read" before a trip to England, to create understanding in communication. A great many differences exist in word usage, & expressions used in "British English", for common everyday activities, compared to "American English". This book gives many interesting details about how these differences developed. It's a "fun" book to enjoy & learn from.