Brit Speak for Yanks! Back in 1887, Oscar Wilde wrote, "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." One would think, in a world homogenized by technology and social media, that differences between British English and American English would gradually disappear. Ask any recent traveler, though, and you'll learn that plenty of linguistic idiosyncrasies persist, and new ones emerge all the time. Folks on both sides of the pond may be in closer touch than ever before, but we are still, as George Bernard Shaw purportedly noted, "two nations divided by a common language." Blimey, I'm Knackered! is the perfect companion for anyone desiring to bridge the gap between US and UK English or who simply enjoys the evolution of language and culture. American scholar and longtime UK resident Marshall Hall has organized his insightful definitions and explanations of British idioms, colloquialisms, abbreviations, acronyms, and slang into nineteen entertaining and revealing chapters covering everything from transportation and food to politics, education, and wardrobe. Making the book truly comprehensive are sections on pejoratives and "naughty bits." Hall's often amusing explanations make the book an engaging read for language lovers and travelers alike. Charming pen-and-ink illustrations by Mark Cowie add whimsy and humor to this entertaining, useful, and unique compendium. No American need ever be befuddled again!

Brit Speak for Yanks! Back in 1887, Oscar Wilde wrote, "We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language." One would think, in a world homogenized by technology and social media, that differences between British English and American English would gradually disappear. Ask any recent traveler, though, and you'll learn that plenty of linguistic idiosyncrasies persist, and new ones emerge all the time. Folks on both sides of the pond may be in closer touch than ever before, but we are still, as George Bernard Shaw purportedly noted, "two nations divided by a common language." Blimey, I'm Knackered! is the perfect companion for anyone desiring to bridge the gap between US and UK English or who simply enjoys the evolution of language and culture. American scholar and longtime UK resident Marshall Hall has organized his insightful definitions and explanations of British idioms, colloquialisms, abbreviations, acronyms, and slang into nineteen entertaining and revealing chapters covering everything from transportation and food to politics, education, and wardrobe. Making the book truly comprehensive are sections on pejoratives and "naughty bits." Hall's often amusing explanations make the book an engaging read for language lovers and travelers alike. Charming pen-and-ink illustrations by Mark Cowie add whimsy and humor to this entertaining, useful, and unique compendium. No American need ever be befuddled again!

The first biography of one of the North East’s best-known artists. Written by well-known local art historian and author Marshall Hall, and titled John Falconar Slater – The North East’s Weatherproof Artist, it tells of how the Newcastle-born artist acquired his nickname by wearing his weatherproof oilskins to paint the local coastline in the wildest of climatic conditions. At a time when artists on the Continent were increasingly succumbing to the attractions of open-air painting, leading to their identification as “Impressionists”, a North East artist had been independently practising it for several years, and in weather conditions rarely tackled by its followers in France and elsewhere.