British, informal. : to pack up one’s belongings and move to a different place.
“They upped sticks and left for the countryside.“
The above was posted on FaceBook, where the so-called ‘Fact Checkers‘ have now been found out to be friends of the owner of FB and don’t really know any ‘facts‘ at all!!!!!
Perhaps these so-called ‘Fact Checkers‘ should up sticks and move to a country where facts don’t matter……
NOTE: Business English etc.
can be found below the translation exercises.
Translate the Text: Übersetzen:
Susann, Faten, Rico, Heike, Simone and Frank.
Meine Mitbewohnerin liebt Sauerkraut.
Liebst du Mayo oder liebst du mich?
Mein Mann und Ich essen gern Knödel mit Sauerkraut.
Meine Partnerin isst fast alles.
Ich esse meine Bretzel mit Senf nur in Amerika.
Sind die Knödel wirklich zu scharf für dich?
Mein Hund isst gern fast alles, aber keinen Salat.
Warum ist meine Bretzel nicht mehr im Kühlschrank?
Gewerkschaftsvertreter / Ladenwächter = A Shop Steward = a person elected by workers, for example in a factory, to represent them in dealings with management.
Sample Sentence:
“The Shop Steward for the workers at Amazon UK Hemel Hempstead put the case forward to the management that they should have a raise from £10:50 per hour to £15 per hour.”
Law English word of the Week:Gesetz Englisches Wort der Woche:
“50% turnout threshold” means that there has to be, by law, at least 50% of the workforce has to attend the meeting where there will be a vote taken regarding a motion set forth by the shop stewards to the management
Sample Sentence:
“In the Amazon dispute over pay and conditions, the first ballot saw less than a 50% turnout (which is below the legal threshold) and so the vote was null and void.”
Vocabulary for Contracts:Wortschatz für Verträge
“Chain” = A sequence of linked sales and purchases.
Sample Sentence:
“It took a long time for me to buy my house because I had to wait for the chainof buyers and sellers to all sign their contracts before my buyer could buy my house and exchange our contracts. More than once either a buyer or a seller ‘fell through” and broke the chainand we had to wait for another buyer.
Vocabulary for Negotiations:Wortschatz für Verhandlungen:
TRANCHE = a portion of something, especially money.
a punctuation mark (:) used to precede a list of items, a quotation, or an expansion or explanation.
a colon used in various technical and formulaic contexts, for example, a statement of proportion between two numbers, or to separate hours from minutes (and minutes from seconds) in a numerical statement of time.
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
Meaning of a close shave in Englishis a situation in which you come very close to a dangerous situation: Synonym. “a close call.”
Sample Sentence:
“I had a close shave this morning – some idiot almost knocked me off my bike.”
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“Hands across the Ocean, sea or water”
Hands Across the Sea is a military march composed in 1899 by John Philip Sousa. Sousa told interviewers that the following phrase inspired him to compose the march: `A sudden thought strikes me; let us swear eternal friendship` The march was dedicated to all of America`s allied countries abroad.
[Modern English song] `Hands Across the Sea` is the ninth single by British new wave band Modern English. The song, produced by Hugh Jones, was taken from the band`s third album Ricochet Days. It reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.[play]Hands Across the Seais a short comic play by Noël Coward, one of ten that makeup Tonight at 8:30, a cycle is written to be performed across three evenings. In the introduction to a published edition of the plays, Coward wrote, `A short play, having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creativity.
Hands Across the Ocean Lyrics by The Mission
Every time I think of you it’s like the last beat of my heart The memory of leaving you is tearing me apart No waves, no tears, no backward glance But I’ll always hold you dear Never regret but I’ll never forget ‘Cause there’s not enough heaven here.
Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water Hands, across the ocean, Ocean
And every time I’m missing you I just can’t let it show And every time I want to cry, I just can’t let it go Wine and song and masquerade and refuge holds me dear Ribbons and lace and daisy chains But there’s not enough heaven here.
Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water, reaching out for you Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water Hands, across the ocean.
Bangles, beads and lipstick games And comfort holds me dear Velvet and lace and perfumed sheets But there’s not enough heaven Not enough heaven here.
Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water, reaching out for you Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water Hands, across the ocean, ocean, ocean, ocean.
Hands across the ocean, reaching out for you Across the waves, across the water Hands, across the ocean.
British English (B.E.) = cul-de-sac (also we do use “Dead End“)
American English (A.E.) = Dead-end
Sample Sentence:
“I used to live in a cul-de-sac in England; it was called Fern Avenue. Under the nameplate of the road was written in smaller letters, ”cul-de-sac and not the words Dead end.“
noun – an end of a road or passage from which no exit is possible.
“The path came to a dead end.“
verb North American verb: dead-end; 3rd person present: dead-ends; past tense: dead-ended; past participle: dead-ended; gerund or present participle: dead-ending,
(of a road or passage) come to a dead end.
“She kept walking onwards until the narrow corridor dead-ended.“
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
Be careful how you use the words “Speak / Talk“.
Examples:
“Do you speak German?” – “Sprichst du Deutsch”
“No, I don’t speak German. – “Nein, ich spreche kein Deutsch.
Do not say, “Do you talk German?” and “No, I don’t talk German.” But you can say:
“Be quiet, don’t speak!“
“Be quiet don’t talk!“
to talkabout something – über etwas reden.
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
“Really leery, rarely Larry.”
Try and say this sentence ten times quickly without a mistake.
Versuchen Sie, diesen Satz zehnmal schnell und fehlerfrei zu sagen.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
GermanTranslationFalse Friend (F.F.)Meaning of F.F.
Dom cathedral dome Kuppel
Wit, wit, wit
Witz, Witz, Witz
This quote just goes to show how little men know of the Universe and how they can plumb the depths of stupidity and ignorance with their ‘so-called‘ witty comments.
“The stars are not bad, but there are decidedly too many of them, and they are not very well arranged. I would have done it differently.”
Quote by James McNeill Whistler.
Slang word of the day: Slangwort des Tages:
“To up sticks”
informal•British means to go and to live elsewhere. To pack up one’s belongings and move to a different place.
Sample Sentence:
“You could just up sticks and move to London.“
“She upped sticks and left for Berlin.“
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
A Tom cat means a male domestic cat.
Sample Sentence:
“We have a big Tom cat and his name is ‘Wuschi’.”
NOTE: In the great cartoon series, “Tom and Jerry” Tom is a male cat.
Cockney rhyming slang: Cockney Reimender Slang:
“To take a Gander!” means to have a quick look (OK, first off: what’s agander? It’s a male goose. Most of us today don’t make a distinction between a female goose and a male goose, but historically, a gander was the male, a goose the female.)
Sample Sentence:
The customer says: “Do you mind if I take a Gander around the shop?” The shopkeeper replies: “No, as long as it’s housetrained.“
This is an actual joke in a comedy radio show from the UK. A gander is a male goose, and also an insult meaning a “simpleton,” a bit like calling someone “a silly goose.”
Quote of the week: Zitat der Woche:
“I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted.“
W. C. Fields.
On the internet, you can ‘Google’ “The Flat Earth Society” as these loonies still exist!
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