British Vernacular - In his newest book Pattern Recognition, William Gibson's protagonist describes Britain as the "mirror world." Jamie and I thought that was a pretty apt shorthand for the way everything in England seems completely normal until you get up close and find they are somehow just a little bit "off." It's not just that the steering wheel is on the wrong side, but also that the power plugs are wrong, the money's funny, appliance are too small and the toilets don't quite flush right. The cell phones -- sorry, mobiles -- seem to be from about 18 months in the future. Their much smaller houses and apartments are a strange combination of solid yet somehow cheap and flimsy construction. But of course the most interesting aspect of the mirror world is the subtle shift in our common language.

Actually, I loved the foreign slang of our Manchester friends. New words are great fun to play with, especially when you find a whole group of people who already know how to play along. Before I forget them and slip back into my native vernacular, I thought I'd share some of my favourites from the trip:

Shag: Well, of course, this is a very appropriate word for the gathering of a bunch of gay ruggers. Among the many four-letter words for fornication, I like this one because it's light-hearted and fun. The way the Brits say it, it's hardly even dirty. Clubs even promote "shag tags" to help their patrons hook up.

Slag: A perfect rhyming companion for shag, slag means slut. Equally appropriate for said gathering.

Back to mine: Where you go to shag a slag. Rather than saying "my place," Brits say "mine," which explains the name of that series of after-hours chill CD's Brian introduced me to.