Sweet Fanny Adams
Fanny Adams/ˌfanɪ ˈadəmz/
noun informal•British English, plural noun: sweet Fanny Adams; noun: sweet Fanny Adams, which means ‘nothing at all‘.
NOTE: Sometimes, in films, you hear the actor say, “Sweet F.A.“, probably because the F.A. does not mean Fanny Adams, but rather “F_ck All.”
“I know sweet Fanny Adams about working in the Aeronautical industry.“
English – English – English – English – English – English – English – English
Translate the Text into English: Übersetzen:
Faten, Rico, Heike, Simone and Frank.
das Zeug
das Feuer
das Fahrzeug
das Feuerzeug
der Flug
das Flugzeug
das Spiel
das Spielzeug
das Werkzeug
Ich mag keine Feuerzeuge.
Mein Feuerzeug ist neu.
Die Frauen mögen die Werkzeuge.
Das ist mein Spielzeug.
Ist das mein Fahrzeug?
Ich habe kein Feuerzeug.
Sein Fahrzeug ist alt.
Wir haben kein Fahrzeug.
Das Spielzeug.
Ich bin nicht dein Spielzeug.
Das Kind hat ein Spielzeug.
Ich habe kein Flugzeug.
Hast du ein Feuerzeug?
Ist das dein Zeug?
Das ist nicht mein Zeug.
Mein Werkzeug, bitte!
English – English – English – English – English – English – English – English
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The funny cartoon above is American, because Americans say ‘Parking Lot and the British say ‘ car park‘.
Word of the day: Wort des Tages:
‘Edible‘/’eatable‘ mushrooms (German ‘Essbar‘).
Sample Sentence
“Are those edible mushrooms?“
Phrase of the day: Satz des Tages:
Sweet Fanny Adams
-
nothing at all.
“I know sweet Fanny Adams about mining.”
-
a nautical (meaning being at sea in the ocean) term for tinned meat or stew.
We also say, “Sweet F. A.” for short. Some people use other words for the meaning of F and A.
Idiom of the day: Redewendung des Tages:
“Call it a day” means to stop working on something. Sometimes lovers may say this to mean let’s stop our relationship.
British (B.E.) / American (A.E.) Vocabulary:
Britisches Englisch / Amerikanisches Englisch Wortschatz:
B.E. a.s.a.p. The British say the letters one after the other = which means as soon as possible.
A.E. = Americans say this as the word “asap”, = which means as soon as possible.
Special Grammar tip of the week:
Spezieller Grammatik-Tipp der Woche:
Pay attention to homophones
Homophonic words are words that are pronounced in the same way as other words, but have different meanings, even if they are spelt differently. This can obviously (offensichtlich, offenbar) create confusion and unfortunately, there are many of these words in English. For example:
-
they’re – their – there
-
you’re – your
-
it’s – its
-
I – eye
-
here – hear
-
break – brake
-
flower – flour
-
our – hour
-
ate – eight
-
Bear – bare
-
Four – for
-
To – too – two
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So, sew sow (Die Sau).
So when you’re writing, be careful to choose the right spelling. And when you listen, remember that a word you think you understood may have another meaning. Try to understand the meaning from the context.
Pronunciation tip: Aussprachetipp:
Speak Slowly and Exaggerate (Übertreiben) the Sounds
Many English students think that the faster they speak, the better an impression they will make. This isn’t usually the case. Speaking fast tends to slur (lallen) their speech (ihre Rede undeutlich machen) and reinforce bad habits. Speaking slowly, on the other hand, will give you time to think about what you are saying and how you are saying it. It will also make you feel more relaxed.
Also, as you practice your speech, it’s always a good idea to exaggerate (Übertreiben) your sounds at the beginning. Pay special attention to the ones you have trouble pronouncing. This may seem a little strange to you at first, but don’t worry. It’s an excellent exercise for improving your pronunciation.
False Friends Tip of the Week:
Falsche Freunde Tipp der Woche:
Sensible – Vernünftig / reif (ripe)
Sensitive – Empfindlich.
As these words are also used in German, this is why they seem to have a mix-up in understanding. If I say that he is a
Sensible boy, Germans often understand that I mean that he is a ‘Sensitive boy‘. The former meaning:
Sensible = Reasonable – Rational
Sensible = cognizant – conscious
Sensible = perceptible – discernible
whereas the latter is a ‘Sensitive boy‘ meaning:
Sensitive – tender – delicate
Sensitive – painful – sore
Sensitive – soulful – sympathetic
Slang word of the day:
Slangwort des Tages:
Proper (adj)
Proper is a difficult word to define, mainly because British people use it to describe so many different things. Doing things ‘properly’ means doing them correctly or in the right way. In the North of England, ‘proper’ can also be used for emphasis in the same way as the word ‘very‘.
Sample Sentence
“A proper cup of tea needs milk and one spoonful of sugar.” “That’s the way to make a proper good cup of tea.”
Wit, Wit, Wit Business examples:
Witz, Witz, Witz Geschäftsbeispiele:
“A cigarette is a perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?”
Quote by Oscar Wilde.
Colloquial / Colloquialisms:
Umgangssprache / Umgangssprache:
Knackered (adjective)
Simply put, knackered means really, really tired (“Dog Tired” as we had in another Blog of mine). The term is used to describe the person who cleared dead animals away in the slaughterhouse, but is now used to say you’re exhausted (erschöpft). Just be a bit careful when using this one, some people consider this word to be impolite and so it is not to be used in ‘Polite company’.
Sample Sentence
“I can’t come to the pub mate, sorry and all that; but I’m feeling absolutely knackered.”
Cockney rhyming slang:
Cockney Reimender Slang:
“Cream Crackered” = “Knackered” is the Cockney Rhyming Slang for the Colloquial word above. Some people will say, “I’m creamed!” as a short form of the same thing.
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