How to Properly Use the Word “Cheers”

Scrambled Eggs è una scuola di inglese a Milano con un team di insegnanti madrelingua inglesi provenenti da tutto il mondo. Nonostante parlino la stessa lingua, loro hanno culture e tradizioni completamente diverse l’uno dall’altro. Ringraziamo il nostro insegnante Richard, che viene dalla Scozia, per il post sul termine Cheers e sui suoi differenti e sconosciuti usi rispetto agli altri Paesi anglosassoni. Enjoy!

Cheers, mate!

“Cheers” is globally famous as a word to say before you take the first sip of an alcoholic drink with a friend/friends (not to mention the famous American sitcom based in Boston). You touch your glasses/bottles together (‘chink’ them) and say the famous word.

Beware! It’s considered rude to not look the other people in the eyes while you do this!

Italians tend to also touch the glass/bottle to the table before taking a sip, but British and American people do not do this. Cheers should always be said before the very first drink, and possibly before every drink from then on, depending on the people’s customs.

In the UK, however, “Cheers” has a different meaning. It is a colloquial (slang) way to say ‘thank you’. It can also be used instead of the word ‘goodbye’, but only in a situation where you’ve been served something e.g. in a shop, restaurant, bar, or ticket office.

Cheers!

Imagine this:

A British person walks into a London pub with a friend, to have a couple of beers. He says to the barman: “Two pints, please. Cheers.”

The barman pours the pints, and says “That’s £8 please.”

The man gives the barman a tenner (a ten-pound note), and when the barman returns £2 change he says “Cheers”.

Then, handing one of the beers to his friend, the British man raises his glass and says “Cheers!” once more. They chink glasses, and drink.

At the end of the evening the British man and his friend leave the pub, and as he walks out the British man calls to the barman: “Goodnight, cheers!”

Cheers for reading, now go out and grab a few pints!

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5 ways to celebrate Thanksgiving, American style

Clicca qui per leggere la versione italiana

Aside from being one of the premier English schools in Milan, Scrambled Eggs also loves to be patriotic when it’s not in the classroom. Every one of our teachers is a native American English teacher, so the fourth Thursday of every November can be quite nostalgic! We’ll do our best to celebrate this year from afar, and here’s how you can too:

  1. Buy a turkey

Thanksgiving is not a good time to be an American turkey. So many turkeys are bought during this period that the tradition came about in the ‘60s where a president “pardons” a turkey from not being eaten. Every year over 46 million turkeys are eaten for Thanksgiving, making it by far and away the number one way to bring in Thanksgiving with an American edge.

So head down to your local butcher and order that turkey quick!

2. Eat until you’re about to blow

food_scuola_inglese_Milano

It’s not a real Thanksgiving if you can still move after you finish eating. Americans love to go all out, and that’s only magnified on Thanksgiving. If you’re lucky, you’ll still have some room in the tank when dessert rolls around, but even if you don’t, you’re going to eat it anyways.

A typical Thanksgiving dinner sees plenty of dishes arrive before the main course of turkey, as mentioned above. From cranberry sauce to corn on the cob, from loaded salads to stuffing, American families have plenty of options on Thanksgiving to pick from. The latest fad from the last couple of years is the turducken. You may have guessed it: duck stuffed inside a turkey. Is your mouth watering yet? Well, see for yourself:

3. Spend it with family

Corsi di inglese a Milano

Stuffing your face aside, Thanksgiving is about family. Since it is on the fourth Thursday in November, it is a national holiday and everyone is home from work/school. Beyond that, everyone takes the long weekend so families get together from all parts of the country to fill their bellies with their loved ones. Even if we forget that diet we were on, we certainly don’t forget our family values.

4. Make pumpkin pie

Just a few weeks after Halloween, the legitimate question must be posed: “What do we do with all these pumpkins?” Make pumpkin pie of course! Pies are always a complex dish, but if you’ve never tasted pumpkin pie before, us Americans can assure you that it is worth every minute of preparation.

5. Give thanks to those who deserve it

It’s not called Thanksgiving for nothing! Although it may be a bit of an abandoned tradition at this point, Thanksgiving means exactly what its name implies: a day for giving thanks. So don’t be shy, say it proud and say it loud. Who/what are you grateful for on this Thanksgiving day?