Since arriving in Switzerland, I have come across some English words and expressions which got a bit scrambled... so here are a few which are now part of my dictionary:

Fluffy Bag = Jiffy Bag

Crumpled Egg = Scrambled Egg

Spider = Cider (after a couple of large glasses of Addlestones on a visit to England, I guess it's understandable how this could be confuddled...)

Smashed Potato = Mashed Potato

Meal = Meat (my Swiss colleague just can't get this one right... after 3 years she is still calling meat meal)

Leaves = Sleeves

But, having laughed heartily at these, I am also cringing at my inability to speak Swiss German... doesn't make me feel better, much.

Anyone got any more??

Stand up = get up (out of bed)

'Crumpled egg' and 'spider' have to be my faves.

I think I'll start using them too...

Bath tube = bath tub

Got off my home trainer last night and discovered that I had really

Betty Swollocks.

Had a shower, felt great afterwards.

Those are all new for me actually. But I find similar improper sentances from many esl people here.

eg: Instead of "Can I borrow a.." or "coud you lend me a..", I hear "Could you borrow me a.."

I have an online game character called that...

LOL! They don't come often but are like the number 49 bus, you wait ages and then two come at once... here are today's gems:

S'teemer = Dimmer (for the light)

Pharmacodingdingding = Pharmacovigilence (This one is definitely part of my vocab now)

(I know a band in Eastbourne called the Betties - they used to be called Betty Swollocks...ew)

Arriving in CH before beamers were popular, I always assumed "beamer" was the correct English word for them.

Until I got odd looks from the secretary in England when I asked if she had one that I could use.

I hear "can you borrow me..." all the time, something I have trouble with is the following, I always say I'll take out my shoes (I know it is wrong) instead of take off my shoes, my husband has quite a laugh And yes I do take out my shoes when I wear them

Beamer - what is it called in English then? I came here long before they came into use and I thought it was English too.

Ha! This one will definitely come in handy... I think I know a few native speakers who use that term.

Slang for BMW.

I think they just call 'em projectors. Beamer is a much better word.

Some that come to mind are

surfer = server (as in mail server, file server etc)

spanner = dirty old man

excursion = day trip of any description

showmaster = TV presenter

Actually, no.

That's N. American slang, but over here, it's a projector - they won't know what the hell you're going on about if you refer to a car as a beamer...

Any more suggestions for 'beamer'. Doesn't make all that much difference I suppose as I'm never talking English when I'm having anything to do with beamers anyway.

I've always called them Video projectors.

I think that's what amogles was saying . . . that a beamer was a BMW, in English slang. That's certainly what it means in London. In business/international English (i.e. what I hear in the office here in Zürich) it's what I would call a projector.

OHP - Overheadprojektor