Bloke - Your average Joe Schmo-type gent. Although it is usually used to refer to a man, it does offer an interesting genderless alternative to the problematic "man" as a generic noun, and it is so much less dry and boring sounding than simply using "person" all the time. "Bloke" is just one of those friendly kind of words.

Bobby - If you've ever seen the Keystone Cops, you know what a bobby looks like. They keep the peace in England and say things like "Roight. Now what's with all this here?" and "There's nothin' to see, carry on, carry on." At least, that's what they do in the pictures, and we all know that the pictures is what life is really like.

Bum - (See: Arse).

Fanny - One of those words that could really get you in trouble since, not only does it mean two different things in American and British, but it also has very different tones. In American, it is a somewhat innocuous, almost childish word for someone's behind, ranking up there with "hiney" and "tush." In British, however, it is slang for a woman's genitals, along the lines of the American "pussy." Now you know why the laugh track on BBC sitcoms always twitters when a character named "Fanny" gets called by name on the show. In case you haven't' realized it, I really only included "arse," "bum," and went to great lengths to explain "fanny" so that I could put in print as many words for "bottom" as possible in quick succession. Yes, humor can sometimes be childish, but face it: "hiney" is just a hilarious word. Go ahead. Say it to out loud a few times. "Hiney, hiney, hiney, hiney, hiney." See, fun!

Knock Up - To call someone on the phone. I only stuck a copy of this entry here with "People and Body Parts" because in American English, well quite frankly, it would belong in this section! I include it here in an attempt to ward off that inevitable look of shock and confusion that will freeze on your face the first time an English person says to you "I'll knock you up later, then." in a light, bright, cheery voice apparently totally devoid of evil intent or a serious offer.

M.P. - In case you happen to glance at one of their newspapers and read through the headlines ("newspaper" is British for "tabloid"), you might begin to think that England is ruled by a police state. I, too, wondered at first why there seemed to be so many Military Police in the news until someone finally told me, "Reid, you moron, that stands for Member of Parliament."

Armed with this knowledge, you will be able to follow all the latest breaking news from the government of Great Britain and learn who's who in the very biggest gears of their Parliamentary system. This is, of course, if you can find any of this sort of news buried under all the splashy scandal headlines such as "M.P. Found in Bed with Hooker and Yorkshire Terrier" (As it turned out, the M.P. was forced to resign—and forced to receive his $120,000-a-year pension—the so-called "hooker" was actually a member of the Royal family—boy, am I gonna get in trouble over that one—and the terrier refused to comment and is now sipping martinis in Tahiti and has been seen going about with someone that bears a suspicious resemblance to Lassie.)

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